Testimonies drying up!

[Frederick]

Help! As a born-again Christian I shelved writing fiction and swung across to theology, writing a book on private testimonies, the aim being if people were able to read a book concerning how their lives had totally changed since asking Jesus to take control of things, maybe, just maybe, they would find the answers to their own problems and hopefully salvation to go with it. In fact, if just ONE person finds true salvation through reading other people's testimonies, it would have put everything I have ever written in the shade. One person who sent me their testimony had served SIXTEEN prison sentances before finding Christ! Anonymity is guarenteed - nobody is interested in who you are, only in what you have to say. Long or short, it doesn't matter. What does matter is it has to come from the heart. My testimony is amongst them.
It got off to a flying start, but has recently petered out, and that's where where you come in! I've got about a dozen or so testimonies, but I need at least forty to turn it into a book as opposed to a booklet. I've got to get it up to about 70,000 words for it to be publishable and hopefully released through Christian Bookshops or some similar outlet. Nobody will receive payment for their contribution (Freely you have received, [gifts from the Holy Spirit], freely give). Legal technicalities will be dealt with as they arise.
May I ask for two things 1.) Your testimonies or for to you mention my objectives to your friends and 2.) Your prayers that God will see His way clear to make this mission an eventual success. Thank you.
Your Brother in Christ, Fred

[JM]

Originally Posted by Frederick

Help! As a born-again Christian I shelved writing fiction and swung across to theology, writing a book on private testimonies, the aim being if people were able to read a book concerning how their lives had totally changed since asking Jesus to take control of things, maybe, just maybe, they would find the answers to their own problems and hopefully salvation to go with it. In fact, if just ONE person finds true salvation through reading other people's testimonies, it would have put everything I have ever written in the shade. One person who sent me their testimony had served SIXTEEN prison sentances before finding Christ! Anonymity is guarenteed - nobody is interested in who you are, only in what you have to say. Long or short, it doesn't matter. What does matter is it has to come from the heart. My testimony is amongst them.
It got off to a flying start, but has recently petered out, and that's where where you come in! I've got about a dozen or so testimonies, but I need at least forty to turn it into a book as opposed to a booklet. I've got to get it up to about 70,000 words for it to be publishable and hopefully released through Christian Bookshops or some similar outlet. Nobody will receive payment for their contribution (Freely you have received, [gifts from the Holy Spirit], freely give). Legal technicalities will be dealt with as they arise.
May I ask for two things 1.) Your testimonies or for to you mention my objectives to your friends and 2.) Your prayers that God will see His way clear to make this mission an eventual success. Thank you.
Your Brother in Christ, Fred

I think you have it around the wrong way..

People are interested in who a person is not what they have to say..

People are fed up with hearing what people have to say!.. Religion is full of that.

I dont think you going to get many testimonials here..

Saying its going to be a book concerning how their lives had totally changed since asking Jesus to take control of things

People are not robots, Jesus doesnt do what you can do for yourself...

You said no one would get payment for contributing.. but i bet you will get payment for selling it

Also why would you place this book in a christian book shop? Only people who go in there are proclaiming christians...who already believe in Jesus..

Isn't the goal here to get it in front of people who dont believe in Jesus

I think you may need to think this one out a bit more clearer

[Frederick]

Originally Posted by JM

I think you have it around the wrong way..

People are interested in who a person is not what they have to say..

People are fed up with hearing what people have to say!.. Religion is full of that.

I dont think you going to get many testimonials here..

Saying its going to be a book concerning how their lives had totally changed since asking Jesus to take control of things

People are not robots, Jesus doesnt do what you can do for yourself...

You said no one would get payment for contributing.. but i bet you will get payment for selling it

Also why would you place this book in a christian book shop? Only people who go in there are proclaiming christians...who already believe in Jesus..

Isn't the goal here to get it in front of people who dont believe in Jesus

I think you may need to think this one out a bit more clearer

Thanks for your comments - the only one I take REAL objection to is the side swipe about me lining my pockets with the proceeds/royalties of the book. I am quite happy to forward you the release form which is signed by every contributor enabling me to use their testimony free of charge, which catagorically states that no money will be used to line my own pocket. It further states the accounts of sales etc. will be available for inspection, and if a profit is made, all contributors will be invited to a meeting to discuss/debate how best the money should be used to further the work of God. If you've ever listened to lay preachers, you yourself will have to agree that most stand and listen for no more than thirty seconds, so you haven't got long to project any message before they carry on walking.
You say only Christians visit a Christian bookshop - possible, but I was only giving that as an example - somehow I can't see it making it as far as John Menzies or W. H. Smiths, but then you never know. The last part of my signature projects my hopes for the future - nothing cannot be achieved with God.
We may live in a materialistic/hedonistic world, and maybe I come across as somewhat naive, but believe me Jeff, not everybody is out there to make a quick buck! If I wanted to make a quick buck, I could write smut/porn.

[JM]

I hear yah.

Fred,
Don't be discouraged, JM is a bit cynical at times. Are you looking primarily for testimonies that are more on the sensational side? Or will any saved-by-grace testimony do?

[Frederick]

Originally Posted by NCAngelFire

Fred,
Don't be discouraged, JM is a bit cynical at times. Are you looking primarily for testimonies that are more on the sensational side? Or will any saved-by-grace testimony do?

Absolutely not! There are no prizes for the most sensational/dramatic/flames shooting out of the top of my head-type testimony. People who have so far contributed have come from from all walks of life, You out there, JM? from reformed drug addicts to ex-nuns who have "seen the light". One was a normal office clerk working in my company, who, although he was an atheist, would happily accompany his wife to church and idly think about football during the sermon - his spiritual rebirth came gradually. Another was an ex-nun who "saw the light". My testimony is in there, anonymously, neither the first nor the last - it certainly isn't sensational. Whether or not you wish to use your name is of no consequence. Length is immaterial - it can be anything from a couple of paragraphs to 1500 words. Far, far more important than length or content is sincerity it has to be written from the heart. I cannot stress that enough. Nobody who reads it will know you personally, so don't write it for dramatic effect. The only person who will know you will be your Saviour Jesus Christ. Write is as though are telling me personally what God has done for you, and you can't go wrong. "Confess me before all men..." has been my inspiration. My preacher friend, who helped me find salvation, is a retired bank manager - he was born-again as a youngster of fifteen, and has preached the word of God throughout his life - there is no typical born-again Christian. Each has a message as different from the rest to proclaim.
Although they don't admit it in so many words, most people who read the problems page of a newspaper are looking for an answer to their own predicaments. As I said earlier, few people listen to a lay preacher for more than thirty seconds. If, however they browsed through a book of problems as varied as drug abuse to crises of faith, the common demonitor being how by putting their trust in our Lord Jesus Christ they found an answer to their problem, maybe, just maybe, one or two will find a spiritual rebirth that will strengthen their life. As I said, I personally have nothing to gain financially out of this - my philosophy is simple. Don't bottle it up - if God through his Grace has done something wonderful for you, shout it from the highest rooftop! Jesus acttually tells us that in the closing verses of Matthew - go make disciples of all nations. If somebody does find the answers to their problems through reading others, then it would have put into the shade everything I have ever written, but it would be no praise to me for it is God, and God only, who has the power to enter into people's lives and change them, the way He changed mine. But, of course, there is no handle on the outside of your heart. You have to open it and invite Him in. Only then will He come in.
If you, or anybody else is interested in discussing this forther, I would be only too happy to forward them my e-address. If anybody out there would like to read a couple of sample testimonies, I'd be quite happy to forward them to you. Your Brother in Christ, Fred.

[JM]

I could probably give you a handful of testimonials that say " Jesus did everything for me, and im this and that, i feel this "

and

I could give you a handful of testimonials that says " Jesus did nothing for me "

Which one are you likely to publish?
Which ones are more valid?

I would call the book " Two Sided Testimonials " .. im sure it would garner a wider audience of readers

[Frederick]

Originally Posted by JM

I could probably give you a handful of testimonials that say " Jesus did everything for me, and im this and that, i feel this "

and

I could give you a handful of testimonials that says " Jesus did nothing for me "

Which one are you likely to publish?
Which ones are more valid?

I would call the book " Two Sided Testimonials " .. im sure it would garner a wider audience of readers

Good point, but if, for argument's sake, you're a rep trying to sell Mercedes, you don't harp on about the benefits of a B.M.W. - now tell me they're owned by the same company
I've "known" you for about four years, and I must admit you've changed somewhat over that period of time . Maybe you've become more "street wise", but we are all, or at least should be, selling the same product. I can't preach to save my life, bar a five minute testimony down at Tower Hill, although on a 1/1 basis I could discuss the subject all day with up to a dozen people, and certainly I can't sing, neither can I play music in any form - I couldn't tell a ten bob note from a quaver. Thus said, I do try to maximize what gifts the Holy Spirit has given me. In my case, it is the ability to write. Not very well, but I put my all into it.
For the record, the book is called "In Him I Place My Trust." Which is part of my own statement.

[JM]

Originally Posted by Frederick

Good point, but if, for argument's sake, you're a rep trying to sell Mercedes, you don't harp on about the benefits of a B.M.W. - now tell me they're owned by the same company
I've "known" you for about four years, and I must admit you've changed somewhat over that period of time . Maybe you've become more "street wise", but we are all, or at least should be, selling the same product. I can't preach to save my life, bar a five minute testimony down at Tower Hill, although on a 1/1 basis I could discuss the subject all day with up to a dozen people, and certainly I can't sing, neither can I play music in any form - I couldn't tell a ten bob note from a quaver. Thus said, I do try to maximize what gifts the Holy Spirit has given me. In my case, it is the ability to write. Not very well, but I put my all into it.
For the record, the book is called "In Him I Place My Trust." Which is part of my own statement.

We dont need to sell that which we already have.

[JM]

By the way how many chapters have you written so far?