I know it’s been a long wait for many of you. I’ve had so many people cheering me to the finish line here in anticipation of reading my latest book, Finding Church. They have arrived at last and today we were able to get out a good chunk of the first pre-orders. It will take us a few days to get caught up in the backlog, but we are now shipping the book for those who have waited. And it has seemingly been as much torture for those waiting to read it, as for those who got earlier editions to read. I got this last week from someone reading a PDF version of the book in preparation for my appearing on a podcast that they co-host:
I’ve been reading the advanced copy of your book in preparation for the podcast (I’ll) be doing with you in October and I must say having to keep this under wraps until it’s released has been pure torture! This is a fantastic book! It really is a book I’d like to put in the hands of every hungry believer. I’m only up to chapter 8 and already I’ve come across several quotes I wanted to share with friends. Reading this book feels the same as when I attended a college football game a couple weeks ago and watched my team throw a beautiful pass and run it all the way down the field as I stood by screaming, “Yes! Yes! Keep going! Yes!” Then they scored the touchdown. “YES!!!!!!” Many head for the goal but don’t quite make it. This one is a touchdown!
Well, Loren, and others, you no longer have to wait. Feel free to post some of your favorite quotes from the book and let others in on it as well. I have to honestly say this is not the book I set out to write. Of all the books I’ve worked on this one turned out to be a total surprise to me. I discovered so much about my own journey and how all the facets of it brought me to this season of my life. It was a grand discovery for me to write it. I told Brad today on a podcast we were recording, that if I’d only written this book for me and no one ever read it, it would have served its purpose. Doing so has helped me see more clearly into a wider creation than I knew before I began. I never saw that coming.
While I am sure this book will be helpful for those who have already given up on institutionalized forms of church, it was not written for them alone but for anyone who is struggling between the promise of Scripture and the reality of “church” as we’ve come to know it in the 21st century. Since it is Father’s desire to bring all things together under one Head, Jesus, I wanted this book to invite all of God’s people into a more wholesome conversation about what the church is and how generous hearts can engage it most easily. So this is not only for people looking for more authentic expression of Jesus’ church outside the box of organized religion, but also for those inside of it with the same hungers. Here’s how I expressed it in the book:
Since you’ve picked up this book, I suspect you might have concerns about the church as we know it today, or care deeply for someone who does. Maybe you’re an active part of a congregation hoping against hope that something can be done to make it more reflective of Jesus’ kingdom. Maybe you’ve already left your congregation and have given up hope that anything can fulfill your longing for his church. Or, maybe your parents stopped attending the fellowship they raised you in and you’re wondering if they’ve lost their minds.
Then I heard from a friend last week who was in a Sunday service recently at a Mennonite church. The speaker that morning was a Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at the local Mennonite Biblical Seminary. He had read an advanced copy of the book and told them they all needed to buy it when it became available. He said from the pulpit: “This Jacobsen is quite the writer! He writes in a way that grips you! I’m 84 years old and have only known the institutional church, but I know he’s right!” Wow! Hearing that it had touched him so deeply took my breath away.
He later wrote me that he’d had a subsequent discussion with this man: “We did have another discussion today about your book. He keeps thinking about it. He finds it very provocative. I think it was a good time for him to read it because the Mennonite church is undergoing some changes and the book charged his batteries on the subject.” I’m excited to see who this book might touch.
So they are here now and we are shipping them out as fast as we can catch up with the pre-orders. We are doing a soft release now to friends of Lifestream and The God Journey. Amazon is taking pre-orders now will be releasing them on October 15. E-books should be available by then at all the regular outlets.
We are also making them available in discounted bulk pricing for those who’d like to share them with others. We will be selling a box of 12 for $86.00 and a full case of 46 for $260.00, which includes shipping to any US destination and is less than wholesale. You can find our quantity pricing here. If you have a retail business or website and want to re-sell these books to your customers, you’d have our permission and blessing.
And if you want to keep up with the larger conversation we hope this book spawns, you might want to bookmark FindingChurch.com as I’ll be doing a bit of blogging over there as well as keeping people updated on tweets, podcasts, reviews, and blogs about the book.
