I couldn’t help but share a few loose ends hanging around my desk this morning:
My listening audience is expanding. I got this from the mother of a fourteen-month old:
Our son loves listening to you read the Jake book. He just sticks his thumb in his mouth and stares out the car window. Too cute. I wish you could see it. He knows a grandpa voice when he hears it!
Hilarious!
Drew Marshall, host of The Drew Marshall Show is a talk show host in Canada who is a real outside-the-box thinker. I game him a copy of The Shack a year ago and asked if he’d look at it. He finally got around to it and sent me the following endorsement this week:
“It took me a year to read this book simply because I had never heard of the author. Publishers send me 2-3 books every week wanting to have their authors as guests on my show. I really thought that this book was just another book. Trust me folks – IT’S NOT! Usually, because of my spiritual gift of pessimism, when bandwagons come along I usually just take a step back and let them go right on by. However, when it comes to The Shack, I’m not only on the stupid bandwagon, I keep asking the driver to stop and pick up all of my friends. Sad to admit but I can’t remember the last time a book, let alone a work of fiction, had this much of a healing impact on my life. As Brennan Manning says, “healing our image of God heals our image of ourselves.” Something is going on with The Shack and all I know is that it ain’t because of some multi-million dollar, well oiled publishing campaign.”
Paul, the author of The Shack will be on his show today. You can listen to it on-line or in the archives at their site. Also the Nashville newspaper did an article on Paul and The Shack this week.
And finally, some of you know that I spent two days this week in New York City with Brad as we were being courted by two of the most powerful publishing companies in the world. They would like to help us take The Shack to level of distribution that we could not begin to duplicate here, with a partnership agreement that allows us to control the content as well as share the entire process of how this book finds its way into our culture. Our logo will stay on the book and they also want to work with us to release some of Wayne’s titles at a wider level and to publish other books we feel have an important message to our culture. We were blessed that God would open such doors at the highest level of national dialog with no one wanting to change the message and content of people thinking outside the stale boxes of organized religion.
We sat in conference rooms with the top executives of these organizations as they shared with us how this book had touched their lives and how they wanted to help this find a broader audience than we had found. One executive told me in a personal conversation that if they had released this book a year ago by an unknown author with such a unique story, and would have sold 400,000 books in the first 10 months with all their sales and marketing forces behind it, they would have called it phenomenal. “What you people have done with THE SHACK, without any of that is well beyond phenomena.”
Of course we know that we’ve had an even more potent sales and marketing forces, A God who appears to have breathed on this book and the word of mouth of folks like you who kept passing this book along. Last week we showed up as #47 in USA Today’s Best-Selling book list. This week we jumped up to #33. We have almost 500,000 in print and still have not reached our first-year anniversary.
We have some huge decisions to face in the next few days that will affect not only the future of The Shack, but my books as well and how my time and schedule will be altered by new responsibilities. We need God to give us direction at every turn, take advantage of those doors that are his and to say no to those who are not. While the decision is incredibly important, it is not a choice between good and better. It is a choice between awesome and awesome. This is the opposite of voting in presidential elections where you have to choose the lessor of two evils. We couldn’t go wrong either way here. The level of respect and the open doors they have extended us for other things we want to do is shocking. We’re not blind as to what they want on their side of it, but we’re also amazed at how committed they were to the passion of this book and our other ideas to help people connect with the amazing love of the Father and think beyond the rigid lines of Christianity-as-religion in the 21st Century. Your prayers in all of this would be most appreciated.
It’s amazing what Papa can do without the help of an organization. “The Shack” has forever changed my life and those around me. Along with the Jake book and “He Loves Me”. Thank you for introducing me to Papa and this journey.
I will be praying that Papa’s direction is clear for you, Brad, and Paul.
Many thanks,
Chas
Wayne, talk about our Father doing exceedingly above anything we could ask or think!!! Interesting how Papa’s timing coincides with all the publicity that Oprah is giving The New Earth by Ekhart Tolle. No accident there!
We will be praying for you, Brad, Paul and everyone involved in the days and weeks ahead. May you be lead by wisdom and motivated by love as you follow the path Papa has laid out. To Him be the glory!
It’s amazing what Papa can do without the help of an organization. “The Shack” has forever changed my life and those around me. Along with the Jake book and “He Loves Me”. Thank you for introducing me to Papa and this journey.
I will be praying that Papa’s direction is clear for you, Brad, and Paul.
Many thanks,
Chas
Wayne, talk about our Father doing exceedingly above anything we could ask or think!!! Interesting how Papa’s timing coincides with all the publicity that Oprah is giving The New Earth by Ekhart Tolle. No accident there!
We will be praying for you, Brad, Paul and everyone involved in the days and weeks ahead. May you be lead by wisdom and motivated by love as you follow the path Papa has laid out. To Him be the glory!
Hey Wayne, I can’t wait to check out Paul’s interview on the Drew Marshall show. He is hilarious and I’ve followed some of the interviews that he’s done over the course of the last few years. I really had hoped that Paul and the message of the Shack would make it there. You guys will be in our prayers. Remember Wayne walk don’t run…Listen… With you heart. What an amazing ride for you guys.
Standing in awe.
Hey Wayne, I can’t wait to check out Paul’s interview on the Drew Marshall show. He is hilarious and I’ve followed some of the interviews that he’s done over the course of the last few years. I really had hoped that Paul and the message of the Shack would make it there. You guys will be in our prayers. Remember Wayne walk don’t run…Listen… With you heart. What an amazing ride for you guys.
Standing in awe.
Wayne – keep those “Shack” updates coming. Love to hear how Father is using this book and getting it into so many hands. I’ll be praying for wisdom and guidance in regards to the decisions before you.
Much love,
Lindsay
This is wonderful news, though I understand how this all must be a little scary. You and Brad and Paul and your families and ministry through this book are in my prayers. I am confident that God will show you what is the right course to take.
Many blessings
~Amanda
Wayne – keep those “Shack” updates coming. Love to hear how Father is using this book and getting it into so many hands. I’ll be praying for wisdom and guidance in regards to the decisions before you.
Much love,
Lindsay
This is wonderful news, though I understand how this all must be a little scary. You and Brad and Paul and your families and ministry through this book are in my prayers. I am confident that God will show you what is the right course to take.
Many blessings
~Amanda
Just listened to the latest God Journey this afternoon and at the end when you are talking about the visit to NY, you guys almost make it sound like you are heading into the lions’ den, or something like that. Glad this was not the case! It sounds like some great stuff is going on. Be at peace and continue to ski with God.
Just listened to the latest God Journey this afternoon and at the end when you are talking about the visit to NY, you guys almost make it sound like you are heading into the lions’ den, or something like that. Glad this was not the case! It sounds like some great stuff is going on. Be at peace and continue to ski with God.
Wow. This is so amazing. I truly believe Wayne that Papa wants us healed. What a neat thing he has done in through our Brother Paul.. I, like Kent, am in awe… SMILING REALLY BIG RIGHT NOW!
Wow. This is so amazing. I truly believe Wayne that Papa wants us healed. What a neat thing he has done in through our Brother Paul.. I, like Kent, am in awe… SMILING REALLY BIG RIGHT NOW!
Wayne,
praying for the holy family’s wisdom to shower on you all and soak you to the max…
your sundoulos
Wayne,
praying for the holy family’s wisdom to shower on you all and soak you to the max…
your sundoulos
I recently listened again to the Jake book on CD in my car. I too found myself staring out the window with my thumb in my mouth. 😉 Loved it even the third time through.
I recently listened again to the Jake book on CD in my car. I too found myself staring out the window with my thumb in my mouth. 😉 Loved it even the third time through.