"Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity" Does Not Support the Homosexual Movement

And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” Genesis 9:12-16 NIV (emphasis mine)

What beautiful and wonderful words! The above passage is a reminder to us of God's covenant both with Noah in particular and the earth in general. When we see a rainbow it reminds us of God's faithfulness, mercy, and love. He will never again destroy the earth with a flood (even though we deserve it as much today as it was deserved thousands of years ago). The rainbow is a symbol of the greatness and kindness of God.

Fast forward to today. Sadly, the rainbow has been hijacked by pro-homosexual activist groups. Now whenever pro-gay rallies of any sort take place the rainbow is present. In fact, one of the most prominent homosexual symbols is the gay flag, which is basically a rainbow. This is both frustrating and perverse. Those perpetuating and promoting this sinful, vile lifestyle have taken something beautiful and - at a cultural level - attempted to make it their own.

This brings me to Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity. I want to make it clear that the book I edited does not support the homosexual agenda.

Some people might be confused by the cover of the book. After all, the symbol on the front is sort of rainbow colored. Please allow me to explain. Selecting a cover for a book is not easy. I desired something that would convey the ideas of both unity and diversity. The cover symbol does that. It shows different people coming together as one. However, I had no specific agenda or topic in mind. Frankly, homosexuality never even entered my thought process.

As for the book, I cannot remember if homosexuality is mentioned. If it is, the subject is not prominent. While some of the authors may have differing opinions about homosexuality, it is not advocated in the book. If you are wondering what I believe specifically about the homosexual lifestyle, please click here to see a series I wrote about one year ago.

Announcing Two More Book Winners!

Copies of Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity do more good in the hands of readers than they do on my shelf. Therefore, I'm giving away two more copies. The winners are Stephanie and LaDon! Enjoy!

And the Book Contest Winners Are...

This past Monday I announced that I would be giving away two free copies of Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity. This evening my kids randomly selected the winners. Those winners are Dan and Philip.

My favorite aspect of editing this book is the thought that it might help people. I am firmly convinced that God has a model for the life of his church that he has shown us in scripture. When we live according to his plan the church can be a glorious and amazing thing.

I hope these free copies will be beneficial to the winners!

Win a Free Copy of Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity. No Strings Attached!

One of the best parts of being editor of Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity is that I get to give away free copies. That's what I'm doing right now in this blog post - with no strings attached of any kind.

If you win you don't have to say anything nice about the book, write a review, or even tell anyone that you won. Of course I do hope that you actually read the book.

One of the book's primary themes is simplicity. Keeping with that, I'm going to make this giveaway as simple as possible. If you want to enter all you need to do is send me an email with your name and reason for desiring a copy. Please limit your message to a few sentences so I don't get overwhelmed with this. Send the email to ecarp70@yahoo.com.

I'm doing this via email both because it is simple and because sometimes people run into problems trying to comment on this blog. Don't worry - I won't give out your email address to anyone.

I'm giving away two paperback copies. You may enter between now and Friday night. On Saturday I'll have one of my kids randomly select the winners. I'll then contact both winners to ask for mailing addresses.

You must be eighteen years old to enter.

What could be simpler?

(Thanks to Redeeming Press for providing me with several copies.)

Now This Is One Smart Feline!

Simple Church:Unity Within Diversity contributor Chris Jefferies recently posted this photo of his cat on Facebook. I don't know this feline, but it seems to be intelligent and have good taste in books!

Win a Free Copy of "Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity"

Redeeming Press is sponsoring a giveaway of two free copies of Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity. If you have not yet read and/or purchased the book, this is an opportunity to get a copy for no cost.

Little in life that is any good is also free. This offer is an exception to that rule.

Click here to visit the website Christian Books Free. At that site you will be able to easily sign up to win. Enjoy!

I Have An Idea For You...

It's only one week until Christmas!

If you are still looking for a great gift, let me suggest this book. Yes, I am biased in favor it. I've read it several times. It is excellent.

My favorite part about the book is that the twenty-four contributors all have slightly different perspectives on church life. Despite this, we together offer a call for unity in Christ as his body. We are looking for true community in our Lord as we see described in the New Testament. We are hoping for a reformation within the church that strives for healthy church bodies seeking edification for all involved. We desire to see Christian maturity in all believers. We long for a church that is known for its self-sacrificial living and unconditional love.

You can order Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity at Redeeming Press or Amazon.

Simple Church in My Living Room

You can see in the above photo of my living room floor that it is Christmas time. You can also see thirty copies of Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity. This is a combination of books I purchased and books I earned by being editor and contributor. What a haul!

I'm excited about this book not because I'm the editor. Rather, I'm excited because I believe it is unique. Twenty-four contributors uniting to discuss a wide variety of simple church principles and practices from a generally positive perspective is not something you find too often in the bookstore.

As you probably know, the book published earlier this week. It has been doing well so far, especially in Kindle format. Up to now all the reviews of the book at Amazon.com have been written by contributors. I'm looking forward to additional reviews popping up there as others who have read the book get the opportunity to share their thoughts about it.

One of the benefits to this book is the wide variety of topics it covers. The Table of Contents is as follows:

Part 1: Glorifying and Enjoying God
1. A Church That Honors the Triune God
2. A Church That Cherishes Jesus Christ Above All
3. A Church That Follows the Lead of the Holy Spirit
4. A Church That Clings to Scriptural Truth
5. A Church That Holds Theological Convictions With Humility

Part 2: Living Radically
6. A Church That is Most Notable for Its Love
7. A Church That Forgives
8. A Church That Is Composed of Peacemakers
9. A Church That Accepts Suffering as Part of Life
10. A Church That Exhibits Personal Holiness

Part 3: Building the Body
11. A Church That Is United In Christ
12. A Church That Recognizes Equal Laity With Christ As the Only Head
13. A Church That Counts Every Member as Key
14. A Church That Views Itself as a People
15. A Church That Assembles for Mutual Edification
16. A Church That Knows Leaders Are Servants

Part 4: Impacting the World
17. A Church That Gives Liberally and Generously
18. A Church That Gives Everything Away
19. A Church That Sacrificially Cares for the Needy
20. A Church That Dies For Others
21. A Church That Seeks Justice
22. A Church That Restores Dignity

Part 5: Proclaiming Salvation
23. A Church That Knows Eternal Life is Free
24. A Church That Sees Every Christian as Family
25. A Church That Proclaims the Gospel Clearly
26. A Church That Takes the Gospel to the World

I hope you get the chance to read the book. Enjoy!

Simple Church Has Arrived!

Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity has arrived at my house (twenty-nine copies to be exact)! I wasn't sure when the book would actually show up; this was quicker than I thought. Holding a hard copy somehow makes it feel more real. When should I read it again?

PUBLICATION DAY!

Today is the day. Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity is published. Hooray! You can order here or here. The book has already made it onto Amazon.com's Top 100 Christian Ministry books list and has been labeled a "Hot New Release" (whatever that means).

I'd like to thank Jeremy Myers of Redeeming Press for both initiating this project and for publishing the book.

I also want to thank all the contributors (excluding myself):

Edwin Aldrich
Bobby Auner
Stephanie Bennett
Alice Carpenter (my wonderful wife)
Bonar Crump
Christopher Dryden
Kathy Escobar
Keith Giles
Chris Jefferies
Michael Jones
Travis Klassen
Alan Knox
Miguel Labrador
Chuck McKnight
Guy Muse
Jeremy Myers
Sam Riviera
Will Rochow
Steve Scott
Steve Sensenig
Arthur Sido
Brian Swan
Kathleen Ward

Great writing everyone! Thanks again.

One Day More!

Simple Church: Unity Within Diversity will finally be published tomorrow. It has been a long time coming; this book has been in process for over a year now. I'm thrilled that we have arrived at the finish line.

I've said from the beginning that my hope for this book is that it will bring about unity and understanding within the body of Christ. I have no desire to "prove a point" or "win an argument" about church issues. Rather, it will be wonderful if this text will lead to healthy discussions about church life. Let's hope.

I hope you get the opportunity to read this book. You can order it here or here.