Marc’s Musings

I’ve recently become aware of two things about the title of my book The Get R.E.A.L. Guide to Asking for Money: Connecting Donors with What Matters to Them Most.

1. It is really long.

2. The “R.E.A.L.” raises spam alerts.

Would you help me by voting on keeping this title or choosing one of three new ones?
Click here to take survey.

As a thank you, your email will be entered into a drawing for a free copy of the book.

Click here to take survey.

To read more about the book, go to: http://fundraisingcoach.com/realsimpleguide.htm

[Update 8/27: Thanks to everyone that's responded to the book title survey!

Although a shorter one seems popular, many of you are making persausive arguments for sticking with the title I have. Most of your comments reflect that the word "fear" in the title isn't a good thing.

And many of you are nice to say that my writing makes seeming difficult things like fundraising feel "simple." I still have to get the final from my publisher but it looks like the book title will stay as it is!]

Here’s the Christianity Today editorial I referenced in the last blog post:

Editorial: Why We Like Harry Potter
The series is a ‘Book of Virtues’ with a preadolescent funny bone.
A Christianity Today editorial

January 10, 2000

You may have read newspaper accounts and heard radio reports of how Christians are fighting school boards over having the books in libraries. As a concerned parent, what should you do?

We think you should read the Harry Potter books to your kids.

First, we should all be suspicious of the media’s hype of Christian parents objecting to the books. Reporters love the dialectic of first presenting the Christian stick-in-the-mud who objects to or is outraged by something, followed by the “reasonable” person who demonstrates how to be both moral and fun-loving. What remains unreported is that many Christians—such as Charles Colson and Wheaton College literature professor Alan Jacobs—enjoy and defend the Potter series.

Second, Christians should never apologize for rigorously scrutinizing what influences our children. A major scandal of our day is how seldom this happens. Modern witchcraft is indeed an ensnaring, seductive false religion that we must protect our children from (see “The Bewitching Charms of Neopaganism”). But the literary witchcraft of the Harry Potter series has almost no resemblance to the I-am-God mumbo jumbo of Wiccan circles. Author J.K. Rowling has created a world with real good and evil, and Harry is definitely on the side of light fighting the “dark powers.”

Third, and this is why we recommend the books, Rowling’s series is a Book of Virtues with a preadolescent funny bone. Amid the laugh-out-loud scenes are wonderful examples of compassion, loyalty, courage, friendship, and even self-sacrifice. No wonder young readers want to be like these believable characters. That is a Christmas present we can be grateful for.

Yep, I really like Harry Potter. And am enduring a minor case of HPWS: Harry Potter Withdrawal Syndrome.

Yeah, I took a while to get on the bandwagon. Three years in fact. Why would I, a Christian, waste my time reading a book that glorifies witchcraft. Dumb at best; dangerous at worse.

But I was wrong. Dead wrong. Somehow, I totally neglected the witches, wizards, and magic in Narnia and The Lord of the Rings. Even when Gandalf is one of my all time heros.

A few years ago, I really appreciated a Christianity Today editorial “Why We Like Harry.” (And I rarely “really appreciate” much from CT.) Today, Lois Nash a fellow pastor on Long Island, sent me a link to a Newsday editorial. I’m including it here in its entirety.

“Keating: Harry Potter and the Christian allegory”
Raymond J. Keating
August 13, 2007

It’s the summer of Potter. Should Christians be pleased or worried?

In July, “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” hit movie theaters, and the final book in the series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” hit stores. Both have been wildly successful.

In 10 years, seven books and 4,100 pages, author J.K. Rowling has proven to be a master storyteller. She created a fictional universe that rivals what J.R.R. Tolkien accomplished with “The Lord of the Rings” and C.S. Lewis with “The Chronicles of Narnia.”

Rowling’s “Potter” series wrestles with big issues: the journey from child to adult, power, family, friendship, the fight between good and evil, and the choice between what’s right and what’s easy. And it’s all wrapped in stories featuring fascinating characters, adventure, humor and sadness.

A hundred years from now, people will still be enjoying and discussing Lewis, Tolkien and, yes, Rowling.

Lewis and Tolkien, though, integrated Christian allegory, themes and symbolism into their works. What about Rowling?

Well, some Christians - mainly fundamentalists - have attacked “Harry Potter” for featuring witchcraft. Meanwhile, in Time magazine recently, Lev Grossman argued: “If you want to know who dies in Harry Potter, the answer is easy: God. … Rowling has more in common with celebrity atheists like Christopher Hitchens than she has with Tolkien and Lewis.”

Both Grossman and the fundamentalists are dead wrong.

Holy Scripture certainly instructs against dabbling in witchcraft. But it doesn’t prohibit using imagination in writing, reading and enjoying great fantasy tales. Those viewing “Harry Potter” as a path to the occult either haven’t read the books or they’ve failed to understand them.

As for Rowling herself, she told a Vancouver Sun reporter in 2000 that she’s a Christian. She added: “Every time I’ve been asked if I believe in God, I’ve said, ‘yes,’ because I do, but no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that, and I have to say that does suit me, because if I talk too freely about that, I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what’s coming in the books.”

That’s evident in the “Deathly Hallows,” which is rich in Christian imagery and references if one pays attention. (Warning: Spoilers follow.) At one point, Harry - who, by the way, had to have been baptized, since he has a godfather - visits a graveyard behind a church in which people are singing Christmas carols.

One headstone carries the inscription: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Though not cited in the book, that’s from Matthew 6:21. The tombstone for Harry’s parents features: “The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” That’s in 1 Corinthians 15:26, in a section where St. Paul speaks about Jesus Christ, and how his sacrifice and resurrection conquered death.

In Christ-like fashion, Harry’s mother willingly gave her life for Harry, and later Harry chooses death to save those he loves. It is the shedding of innocent, sacrificial blood that protects against evil and overcomes death in “Harry Potter.” Meanwhile, what drives the evil Voldemort is his inability to accept death. Rowling’s unmistakable point in the “Potter” series is that there’s more. Death is not the end.

After sacrificing himself, Harry talks with Dumbledore, his deceased mentor and friend. Dumbledore advises: “Do not pity the dead, Harry. Pity the living, and, above all, those who live without love.”

In 1 John 4:16, we are reminded: “God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”

It’s possible to read “Lord of the Rings” and “Narnia” without recognizing the religious aspects. That’s even more so the case with “Harry Potter.”

But Christian themes are there nonetheless. Rowling embraces Christianity; Christians should embrace her fantastic fictional world.

Copyright © 2007, Newsday Inc.

I’m not going as far as to say you “should embrace her fantastic fictional world.” It’s fine to disagree.

And for what it’s worth, I intentionally laid the foundation of Narnia and Middle Earth for my kids before introducing them to Harry. I wanted them to say that Potter was like Narnia; not Narnia was like Potter!

We saw this Tuesday night at midnight (or is that Wednesday morning at midnight?).

I love this series.

Couple take aways:

• Luna points out to Harry that Voldemort would wants Harry to feel like he was alone, all by himself, isolated. That would make him easier to defeat.

  It’s the same in real life. The enemy would love us to get so hurt by the Church that we isolate ourself and be easy pickings.

• Harry realizes Voldemort doesn’t know love or friendship. That’s his weakness.

  Again, we need to band together as we join God in advancing the Kingdom.

• At the end, Harry boldly says “We have something worth fighting for.”

  So do we. Each of us.

Last night at kinship, we talked about what we’d die for. Interesting. Everyone mentioned relationships, people.

Nothing about money. Or jobs. Or hobbies.

Or church activities.

Only each other.

And I agree, that’s worth fighting for.

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by JK Rowling
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by JK Rowling
• Exile by Richard North Patterson
• Paul the Jewish Theologian: A Pharisee among Christians, Jews, and Gentiles by Brad Young
• The Dip: A Little Book That Teaches You When to Quit (and When to Stick) by Seth Godin
• Acts (TNIV)
• Fool-Proof Marketing: 15 Winning Methods for Selling Any Product or Service in Any Economy by Bob Bly
• The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason
• Beyond Bullet Points by Cliff Atkinson

As you can see, I’m trying to reread all the Potter books before the upcoming movie (Order of the Pheonix) and book (Deathly Hallows)!

I finished Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this week!

It certainly has helped me increase the amount of fiction in my reading diet since my last book post!

From an interview with David Goetz in the latest Cutting Edge magazine on his new book Death by Suburb.

The challenge of Christian spirituality is that there is no formula. People like a list of do’s and don’ts, but in reality it’s a life of following Jesus. True Christian sprituality is never a direct route. So instead, you develop a lifestyle of practices that open you up to God so that you can listen to him in the midst of this crazy world and see what happens. We cannot simply use willpower to control our life and our spirituality. It doesn’t work like that. But ongoing practices can open us up to all kinds of unanticipated things in God.

One of the folks over at ChurchMarketingSucks.com just posted on a blunder he made in writing a press release to a new book.

In comparing it to the T.D. Jakes book “Woman, Thou Art Loose” !

I wonder if Bishop Jakes might get a whole new audience for his book now…

The original ChurchMarketingSucks.com post is here.

I’m playing with a new Amazon.com WordPress plugin from manalang.com.

Here’s what I’m currently reading.

• Hardy Boys The Secret Warning (Caleb’s recommendation)
• Paul: The Man and the Teacher in the Light of Jewish Sources by Risto Santala
• Communities of Kindness by Steve Sjogren
• Wild at Heart by John Eldridge
• Epic by John Eldridge
• Waking the Dead by John Eldridge
• The Dance of Anger by Harriet Lerner, Ph.D.
• The Book of Acts (TNIV)
• Why Bad Presentations Happen to Good Causes by Andy Goodman

Did I mention I read multiple books at one time?

I find the study of generations to be exceedingly interesting. Wikipedia has a great Strauss and Howe page.

Here’s a bit of it:

Generations last the length of time of one phase of life–the same length of time as a turning. Like turnings, generations also come in four different archetypes, defined in “The Fourth Turning” as Prophet, Nomad, Hero and Artist.

• Prophets are values-driven, moralistic, focused on self, and willing to fight to the death for what they believe in. They grow up as the increasingly indulged children of a High, come of age as the young crusaders of an Awakening, enter midlife as moralistic leaders during an Unravelling and are the wise, elder leaders of the next Crisis. The Boomers are an example of a Prophet generation.

• Nomads are ratty, tough, unwanted, diverse, adventurous, and cynical about institutions. They grow up as the underprotected children of an Awakening, come of age as the alienated young adults of an Unravelling, become the pragmatic, midlife leaders of a Crisis and age into tough, post-crisis elders during a High. Generation X and the Lost Generation are examples of Nomad generations.
• Heroes are conventional, powerful, and institutionally driven, with a profound trust in authority. They grow up as the increasingly protected children of an Unraveling, come of age as the Heroic, team-working youth of a Crisis, become energetic and hubristic mid-lifers during a High and become the powerful elders who are attacked in the next Awakening. The G.I. Generation that fought World War II is an example of a Hero generation. Millennials are expected to emerge as the next generation of this example if all goes well.
• Artists are subtle, indecisive, emotional and compromising, often having to deal with feelings of repression and inner conflict. They grow up as the over-protected children of a Crisis, come of age as the sensitive young adults of a High, rebel as indecisive midlife leaders during an Awakening, and become the empathic elders of an Unravelling. The Silent Generation is an example of an Artist generation.

The Wikipedia page has lots of links to more information on the writings of Strauss and Howe.

I’ve been wanting to do this for over a decade. Now I have no excuse. For Christmas, my amazing wife bought me Homebrewing for Dummies and The Homebrewers’ Recipe Guide.

Better still, she corralled my family to give me money for my birthday (on January 6th) so I could purchase the equipment!

Java Stout, here I come!

If you have any advice to a newbie like me, feel free to comment below.