“I believe that many who find that 'nothing happens' when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.”
C.S. Lewis - Introduction to "On the Incarnation" by St. Athanasius
11.14.07
Posted in Writing at 1:34 pm by Adam B.
I have received helpful feedback from many of my readers and I have made some important changes to the structure and content of the book and it is almost ready to send to a publisher. I have an “inside man” at Zondervan (my current publisher of choice) who has said he is excited about my book and that he will read my proposal and sample chapters. I have a book on crafting good proposals and it notes the importance of the writer settling on a good title. It admits that most books will have their title changed by the publisher but it chalks this up to writers not taking the time to find the right title for their work.
Thus far I have been using the title Naked Worship: Rethinking Modern Worship Lyrics and Spirituality. Unfortunately there are several reasons I believe this title will not make it all the way through the publishers gauntlet. First off, for a Christian book (hopefully) published by a major publisher it is rather edgy. Secondly, it has not been well accepted by my readers thus far (it seems to be a love it or hate it type of title). Third, many Christian organizations would firewall a website entitled nakedworship.com. I still like the subtitle but I feel I am only being idealistic thinking that a title like Naked Worship could be accepted. Still, the title is captures the essence of the book better than anything else I have come up with.
For those of you who have not yet read or completed the manuscript I will summarize my approach. I have tried to reduce the concept of “Worship” down to its core elements to see if Modern worship has really captured the essence of biblical worship or missed the mark. Essentially, I argue, worship is loving God. This allows me to bypass the fruitless word studies about worship that have plagued every worship book written since 1980. (I say they are fruitless because the word studies and analysis of “critical passages” on worship always seem to say exactly what the author wants them to say. Two books with completely opposing opinions will use the same verses and sections to make their points. This is because passages that use the word worship are never about how to worship or what worship is but assume that the reader already knows what they are talking about when they use the word “worship”. Writers have capitalized on the vagueness of these references to expound their own ideas that have little relation to the text at hand.) Since worship is loving God I write about love instead of “worship” because the Bible does have a lot to say about that. Chapter 1 and 2 look at the biblical view of loving God. Chapter 3 looks at faith (the foundation/motivation of biblical love). Chapters 4-6 deal with worship in the psalms (How has God been worshiped/loved in the past). Chapter 7 addresses the dilemma of manifest presence in modern worship.
With that understanding, what should my book be called?
I liked the word naked because I am trying to strip away all the preconceived ideas and traditions about what worship should be and look at worship at its core. I thought of the words “essential” (like essential oils) or “distilled” or “core” or “refined” (each modifying “worship”) but none of them captures what I was really trying to do. I have also considered a less aggressive form of “naked” like, Worship Unadorned. I do like that. I also thought about Raw Worship but that doesn’t carry quite the right connotation, and besides, someone already has the domain (though they are not using it). So here are a few titles. What do you think, do you have anything better?
Naked Worship: Rethinking Modern Worship Lyrics and Spirituality.
Worship Unadorned: Looking at the essentials of worship to rethink Modern Worship lyrics and spirituality.
Pure Worship: Looking at the essentials of worship to rethink Modern Worship lyrics and spirituality.
(Your title here).
Perhaps I need something longer than a two word title… Any comments, suggestions?
BTW the cover design is something I put together a while back. Obviously this would not be the final cover even if the title gets accepted. Still, I like the concept.
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10.23.07
Posted in Writing at 11:29 am by Adam B.
As we mature we learn more about ourselves, if we are careful. I know the weaknesses of my natural disposition, so I diligently pursue the cure.
Thinking is effortless, but writing takes courage, and it is all too easy to fall back on lesser goals and dreams. It is not that the fight is too difficult, or the labor too intense, no; it is the thought of what lies ahead, the task as envisioned by my imagination that hastens my first step down a path that is much less formidable in reality than in my mind. And so I delay. I check the news, see if the Irate Gamer has posted a new video on YouTube, check the news again, get some tea. I cannot be defeated if I never begin, and it is easier to put off beginning if I know I don’t have time to finish. So day after day slips by without engaging the dream.
I have found a quick antidote to fear: pressure. I will not learn Greek on my own, but I will learn it for a grade. I won’t learn how to build a store for my website except I need to eat. Necessity is the mother of invention and the slayer of that dragon, Fear. But alas, some dreams cannot be forced in this way for they produce no income and have no external pressure pushing us forward. Here is the abiding dilemma, fear must be conquered from within.
After sufficient struggle I take that first step, and even as the journey begins I find myself too easily swayed by my timid heart. I would rather live in my former delusion that my work is too laborious to complete, that my heart and mind are not up to the task, than accept the facts that what I am doing is not as difficult as I thought. So that I might not be proven wrong I work half-heartedly. As a half-man cannot hope to accomplish anything he sets out to do, I soon discover that the work really is too much for me. But in a strange turn I do not find myself comforted in being right, but angered that my dreams have over-reached my abilities. This fury, while achieved through much wasted time and psychological self-deception, is the elixir I have earnestly sought to overcome my fear. Fury to fight, fight to battle, battle to tears, tears to perseverance; all in a lonely room in front of my computer screen.
The Intellectual Life is a book that has confirmed my suspicions about how I should live. It has brought order to the chaotic musings of my mind and has given practical direction for ordering a life devoted to study and giving. In light of my reading I have come to some idealistic conclusions for ordering my time. As life changes I will need to adjust, of course, but for now this small schedule might help tame the dragon within. So here it is:
I have discovered that 5 hours a day is more than enough time to accomplish all the “work” I have to do. This includes school, web design, King’s Yomen details and house management. I have also seen that 12:00 to 5:00 is the best time to accomplish these things. Consequently, anytime before 12:00 can be spent on other things. I have decided to devote 8:00 to 10:00 to reading (never school reading as that falls under my work time). This is because I need something to stimulate my mind in the morning and it is the most enjoyable and least fearful task before me. I say “8 – 10″ and not “two hours” because this motivates me to be use that time for that task, and I cannot just put it off until later. Between 10:00 and 12:00 I eat and write (hence this blog). If this regiment is successful I may be blogging more, or perhaps I will spend more time working on the various projects I have considered since finishing my former work.
This schedule makes all the time Chrissy is at work (8-5) valuable and helps curb some of my tendencies to put things off or to grind everything to a halt while I attempt to complete a “prioritized” task. I know this regiment is idealistic, but idealism is a good motivator for me and this will help me accomplish all the things I love, reading, writing, and finishing my work. I highly recommend The Intellectual Life to anyone who hopes to write or influence others through the accumulation and exposition of knowledge. It is written by a Catholic monk so it is both thoughtful and holistic, that is, it considers the entire person and their relationships when teaching about truth and life. I haven’t enjoyed a writer this much since Lewis or Dallas Willard.
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09.21.07
Posted in Writing at 12:35 am by Adam B.
As many of you know I have been preparing a book about worship, and I am happy to say that the first manuscript is finally completed. Stephen Fitzmaurice and I dreamed up this book while we were still in IL, and I have spent the last four years learning the writer’s craft so I could bring the dream to life. The time has come.
The next stage is to prepare a book proposal that I can send to publishers to convince them that my books is worth publishing. Before I do this I would like to get it in the hands of people I know so they can read the manuscript and give me feedback on things I can improve. When I had completed the first few chapters early on, the help I received from my readers was invaluable in the learning process. You can imagine my excitement now. If you would like a copy, send me an email with your home address and the number of copies you would like (in case you would like a separate copy for your husband/wife or children or neighbors or friends or relatives or pastor or worship leader to read at the same time as you).
The competed work is over 75,000 words which is about twice the length of the thesis I will have to write for my current degree. The book is aimed at worship leaders, pastors, and college students studying church worship or spirituality. The book was written to be practical and accessible to these groups, and it is intended as a challenge to some of the trends in worship today. I have taken a somewhat unorthodox approach because, in addition to the seven chapters, introduction and conclusion, I have also included two stories that illustrate the main themes in the book. These two stories make up over a third of the book’s total length. The are my first attempt at story telling on this magnitude, and I have learned a lot in the process.
Legally, the book is already protected by copyright, but I will be submitting a formal request soon (maybe today) to protect the work between now and publication. They say completing the manuscript is only half the work. I hope that’s an exaggeration.
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