Digital vs. Print: Book Publishers Should Learn from Game Publishers/Distributors

Should ebooks cost more or less than print books?  Should they have more or less restrictions?  I think that publishers of both ebooks and print books need to pay attention to what has happened in the video game industry. 

Digital download services like Steam and Origin offer games at deep discounts, as much as 80-90% off the release price, with smaller discounts on newer titles.  In contrast, discounts on console games for Xbox or PS3 are minimal for long periods of time after release. 

What accounts for the difference?  The XBox and PS3 games can, for the most part, be resold.  Not for what they cost originally, in most cases, but they do retain some value, sometimes as high as 40-50% of list price if sold within the first year.  In contrast, download services for the PC like Steam and Origin gives you much better pricing but lock you in to a single account.  Once the game is activated, it cannot be transferred or refunded. 

There are strong parallels in the book world.  Print books can be lent to whomever for as long as you want, they can be resold, and they are therefore inherently more valuable, at least for now.  In contrast, ebooks are more convenient, like digitally downloadable games, although both require a periodic and ideally a fast internet connection.   Ebooks were initially cheaper as well, prior to price-fixing attempts by Apple and various publishers.  This made up somewhat for the fact that ebooks cannot be re-sold or transferred to another account, or even lent, except for the occasional "one time, two week loan" that is more a marketing gimmick than a useful feature.  But prices have been slowly creeping back up for titles from major publishers, aside from the occasional sale.

I'm not suggesting that the best solution is making ebooks free, or even $0.99.  There has been a recent influx of free or very cheap books on sites like Amazon, and although that is great for a the few authors who make it to the Top 100 lists, the vast majority of such books are poorly edited garbage.  Still, there should be a more reasonable pricing structure for ebooks, perhaps 40-50% of the cost of a print book.  This would reflect the reduced value due to loss of lending rights and loss of resale rights.

Will the book publishing industry learn its lessons and adapt in time?  Time will tell.  In the meantime, we as consumers should be cautious about unthinkingly supporting unreasonable pricing for ebooks because of their convenience and portability.

A Tribute to My Grandpa Lee

It's been nearly a month now since my Grandpa Lee died.  I was reminded again of the tears of joy and sorrow at his funeral, of the outpouring of love and care by extended family and friends, and of the life that he lived.

Here are some brief words I shared at his funeral service:

What I remember most about Grandpa Lee was his love for people.  He would always greet you with a smile.  He’d find out your name.  He’d find out your life story.  Sometimes it seemed like he knew everyone around here!  He had a lot of years to get to know all of you.  But still, he had a knack for connecting with people.

I want my kids to learn to care for people like Grandpa did.  When we were going places as I was younger, I remember my dad, Ray, saying, “You need to mingle.  Ask people questions.  Get to know them.”  I’m sure that’s something he learned from Grandpa.

Another way that Grandpa cared for people was by how he and Grandma invested themselves in the Gideons [Bible distribution] ministry.  He wanted to make sure people could get Bibles – in schools, in hotels, or wherever they were needed. 

I believe Grandpa Lee’s love for people was best shown in his faithfulness to church.  He led his family to go to church regularly.  He taught his kids to value church.  They have passed those lessons on to us, to be faithful to church.

Grandpa Lee was a great example to all of us. But I’m sure he’d want you to remember that it’s not enough to be a good person by human standards.  Jesus said you have to be as perfect as God in heaven is perfect.

But none of us are perfect.  We all fall short of God’s glory. And our falling short, our sin, is the reason we all face death.

Jesus was both God and man.  He walked this earth and never fell short, never sinned. So God accepted his perfect life. Jesus also died to pay for sin.  Not his sin, because he didn’t have any.  Jesus died to pay for our sin. And God accepted that death.  Our efforts can never pay for the debt of our sin.  Our good works can never take away our guilt. But Jesus can.  So we need to trust in him.

Grandpa Lee’s good example is one we all should follow. But let’s follow him as he followed God – by trusting in Jesus.  Only in Jesus can we find true hope.  Only in Jesus can we find help to live a truly good life, with no regrets.  A life that honors God, so that when that life is over, we are remembered with love.  Only in Jesus can we together have hope of seeing each other again in heaven someday.  Even though death tears us apart now.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father except through Me.”  He said, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

I believe Grandpa Lee trusted in Jesus for that eternal life.  I plead with you to do the same. Be sure you are trusting in Jesus – to gain eternal life and to escape God’s wrath.  Jesus is the only way.

Trust Jesus today.  You are not guaranteed tomorrow.

If you are trusting him, cling to that hope for strength in this trial.  Jesus will never forsake his people.  Jesus will raise us up with him.  We eagerly wait for that day of resurrection.

Until that day, Grandpa, we will miss you.  Thank you for the lessons you taught us.

Careless Talk about Justice and Eschatology

Careless exegesis leads inevitably to wrong conclusions. Note especially the leap of logic under his second point. He takes the phrase "good news is proclaimed to the poor" as part of the ministry of Jesus, and equates it to a change in economic status rather than spiritual life.

Is This Discipling?

I saw a thought-provoking video today about discipleship and what it means for the church. 

I was curious who produced the video.  It was produced by Foursquare Church, which seems solid on several key doctrinal points, but believes all spiritual gifts are still active today (non-cessationist) and presumably would have no issue with female pastors (egalitarian).  Still, their work might be helpful, so let's consider what was said.

The video primarily criticized the emphasis of programs over people and questioned the value of the church gathered in one building vs. the church scattered to build relationships and evangelize.

True, American churches tend to have many programs, for kids and adults alike.  These programs can easily become the focus rather than the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).   True, it is sometimes easier to hang out in a Christian bubble than to get involved in the complicated and tiring process of meeting lost people and communicating the gospel by both words and actions.

But the Great Commission is not the sole command given to the church, nor is it the entirety of her purpose.  For example, Hebrews 10:24-25 has much to say about assembling together regularly for mutual encouragement.  Based on how this concept is used in the New Testament, it is probably, though not always, more substantial than a couple of believers gathering for coffee. 

My point is simply this: The church has several purposes, of which evangelism and discipleship/ministry are only two or three.  So let's not ignore the other purposes of the church, such as fellowship and worship, some aspects of which can only be fully practiced when the church is assembled.  Jesus said "Go" (make disciples), but he also said "Gather" (once disciples are made).  The church is not complete without both.


I had a few other concerns about the video, like whether soup kitchens and 'liberation' are to be the primary or even any of the activities of a local church, since that seems to confuse what I may/should do as a Christian individually with the church's main focus in how it relates to the world.  But that's a discussion for another time.

Neither 1984 Nor Brave New World, But Aspects of Both

Recently, officials in Massachusetts have been considering a plan to cache information gathered by police car license plate scanning technology.

If this plan or something similar is instituted, people may legitimately fear the strong parallels to the totalitarian society described in George Orwell's well-known book, 1984.  But, if such a plan succeeds, it will largely be due to the fact that most of us will be too busy pursuing other more interesting things, a la Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, to be bothered to stop it.

HT: Slashdot

The Role of a Pastor's Wife

Recently, I was considering the biblical role of a pastor's wife.  Because of long-established traditions, it is easy to have strong feelings derived primarily from observation and opinion, rather than biblical principle.

The main role of a pastor's wife is to be the wife of the pastor.  As a result, her focus is to be on the home (1 Timothy 5:14; Titus 2:4-5).  As she fulfills those responsibilities, she should also serve in her church, like any other believer, using the spiritual gifts given by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, 18-20). 

The pastor's wife is not the pastor for the women.  She is not the de facto supervisor of day to day church activities.  When she tries to take on too many ministry roles, her husband's ministry will suffer, along with her children.  The pastor must be careful to guard his wife's time, as he is the best judge of her strengths and weaknesses.  The church must also be careful to benefit from her spiritual gifts, without exhausting them by unreasonable expectations.  In this way, the pastor will have the support at home which he desperately needs, and the church will follow the biblical pattern of being led by godly men.

For further help on this topic, see a helpful series of articles which can be referenced here. 

Like a Little Child

During the 4th of July weekend, our family was able to go camping up near Port Austin, MI for a few days.  About halfway through that trip, my one year old son, Braeden, was really tired.  Worn out from lack of naps and playing outside, I was rocking him in the hammock and he fell sound asleep.

I was struck by this, as I have been before in similar circumstances.  My son fell asleep, trusting me completely to hold him safely and take care of him while he rested.  In the Bible, God describes Himself as our Father, and tells us to cast our cares on him (1 Peter 5:7/Psalm 55:22).  Even as my son can fall asleep without fear and without worry when I hold him securely, so too we as Christians should rest in the power and goodness of God.  He is our good and loving Father.