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Written by Staff
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Monday, 23 March 2009 03:45 PM America/New_York |
 I'm back in the office after a whirlwind trip to Dallas for the Christian Book Expo. You can check out our coverage of the events in several news pieces we've posted in our news section.
- Aside from the questions left by the meager attendance, there were other nuggets from the weekend that will make it a memorable one. Authors truly were the stars of the show and for those who attended, it was a great chance to hear from your favorites and find new ones as well. Here are a few observations:
- Evening Worship Sessions: The evening sessions were first class, alternating inspirational words from folks such as Max Lucado and Thelma Wells, music from artists Nicole C. Mullen and Cindy Morgan and multi-media elements. Not to belabor a point (too late), but the program was really worthy of a stadium full. Those of us who were there can consider ourselves to be caught in the crosshairs of an abundance of ministry and talent.
- Random quote No. 1: “I can barely stand to look at the cover” - suspense writer Bill Myers explained was his answer when asked if he ever likes to read his finished novels.
- Community: There's something to be said about the community of Christian authors who reach across their genres to support and hold each other up. Liz Curtis Higgs, who happens to be one of funniest people on the planet and a pretty perfect moderator, noted romance writer Beverly Lewis and suspense author Robert Lipaurulo (a one-time CR writer) seated beside each other on the fiction panel and said you “could not have put two people more different” beside each other. It was also good to see Jeanette Oke get props on more than one occasion for “pioneering” the Christian fiction category.
- Random quote No. 2: “You know, I'm honestly astounded that anyone would read my stuff, I really am.” - Max Lucado, during an interview.
- Discussions: The panel discussions got pretty lively but never too heated, even the “main event” of Christopher Hitchens against the “den of lambs,” as Doug Wilson put it. I actually thought the emergent church dialogue between Kevin DeYoung, Tony Jones and Scot McKnight was a little more heated. It also really made my day to hear theologian J.I. Packer explain that he tells children “everything we desire to see in heaven will be there.” Do we have to pick which one?
- Random quote No. 3: “The gospel is not just for unbelievers. The cross must be central in all our thinking” - Justin Taylor, in Friday's panel discussion, “What is the Gospel?”
- The Twitter Effect: The social networking micro-blogging Twitter was in full effect during the weekend, providing one more connection point for those who attended (there was even a Tweet-up on Saturday) and those receiving the play-by-play at home. Through these tweets, we learned what people thought of any given panel discussion, workshop or even the Tweetup itself. :-)
- Random quote No. 4: “The emergent church has been caught in the cross-hairs of culture war.” - McKnight, during “The Emerging Church” panel discussion.
- Book News bits: A few teases about upcoming books during the weekend:
- -Higgs' current project, Here Burns My Candle, has a tenative March 2010 release date. It will be set in Scotland and based on the Ruth – Boaz – Naomi story.
- -Zondervan is moving ahead with a line of Amish fiction.
- -Jerry Jenkins' next book will be a spy thriller called.....Spy. That's why he gets paid the big bucks.
- -Myers' next thriller, God Hater, will center on a atheist college professor and a real-life personality downloading technology. He says it's his “favorite book yet.”
- -Kate Gosselin (Multiple Blessings) has cookbook coming in the fall.
- -Rob Bell's next release, Drops Like Stars, will coincide with a speaking tour and will be a large, full-color coffee table book. It'll be out in August.
- Random quote No. 5: “I don't want my readers to go to bed at night dwelling on blood.” - Terri Blackstock, speaking on violence in Christian fiction during the Fiction Showcase.
- The handwritten Bible: The Zondervan Bible Across America tour, allowing people to handwrite a Bible verse for inclusion in a new published version of the NIV, was pretty much one of the coolest opportunities of the weekend.
- Random quote No. 6: “My wife is calling me.” - Henry Blackaby, ignoring his ringing cell phone in the middle of his turn on program Friday evening.
- So that's it. I could also tell you about the life-threatening cab rides, the downtown walks through no-man's land and the convergence of red-coated Mary Kay reps at the host hotel, but I'll save all that for the screenplay. Thanks for reading.
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