Misc

We’re at #66. Just beat Twilight.

Misc January 28, 2010Comments

As I imagined it would come to pass as a wee child, it came down to us vs. the vampires, but I’m happy to announce we’ve now vanquished the book Twilight. Stuff Christians Like is now #66 and Twilight is #68.

We’re almost in the top 10.

Click here to order the book for $8.76.

Almost there, SCL is #95.

Misc January 28, 2010Comments

Oh snap, we’re getting close. The Stuff Christians Like book is now #95 on the Amazon best sellers list.

If it hits top 10, we’ll give away 2 Apple iPads instead of just 1. Almost there!

Click here to order the book for $8.76.

2 iPads from Stuff Christians Like!

Misc January 28, 2010Comments

Right now the Stuff Christians Like book is ranked #289 on the Amazon bestseller list. The number changes hourly so it might not stay that way for long, but that is absolutely crazy and I can’t say thank you enough. (You guys are blowing me away with your generosity.)

I have an idea though.

If the book hits the top 10 in the next 48 hours, I will give away not 1 but 2 iPads. That’s right, two folks will get the new Apple iPad as well as the advanced copy of the Stuff Christians Like book.

Click here to buy Stuff Christians Like for $8.76.

The ranking for the book is toward the middle of the page on Amazon if you want to check it out and follow along today.

Let’s see if we can hit the top ten. Tweet it, facebook, whatever, I think we can do this.

Here’s the phrase to tweet:

“I bought @prodigaljohn Stuff Christians Like book, which is so Christian it’s like tithing & I might win an iPad! http://bit.ly/bNzGbQ”

Win an iPad from Stuff Christians Like.

Misc January 27, 2010Comments

ipad 2

Today Apple announced the brand new iPad.

This Saturday, you’ll have a chance to win one on Stuff Christians Like.

Last week we gave away a Sony eReader to tell everyone thanks for reading the site. (Winner announced tomorrow)

This Saturday, we’re giving away an iPad to say thank you to everyone who pre-orders the book.

If you preordered it already, great. If you pre-order it today, great. Anyone and everyone that pre-orders by Saturday, February 6th is eligible. It’s $8.76 right now, so it’s dirt cheap. You can get three for about $25.

Click here to order on Amazon.

Click here to order on Barnes & Noble.

On this Saturday, simply post a comment that says “I bought the Stuff Christians Like book.” And if you want more chances to win, tweet this line:

“I bought @prodigaljohn Stuff Christians Like book, which is so Christian it’s like tithing & I might win an iPad! http://bit.ly/bNzGbQ”

Since the 16GB Wifi iPad won’t be available for 60 days, when I pick a winner, I will send that person the advanced copy of the Stuff Christians Like book right away. You’ll have it months before anyone else. I will then call them on the phone to say thank you and ask them if they bought the book. (Whole thing is going to be honor system based.)

That’s it. You can comment starting Saturday but feel free to tweet and post on facebook starting now.

Any questions?

p.s. In order to protect myself from lawyers, this contest is all honor system based. There’s no purchase necessary since at the end of the day I have no way of knowing if you really bought the book. Therefore, purchase is not mandatory to enter. The winner will be picked with a random number generator starting on Saturday from the comments posted.

Free Sony eReader

Misc January 23, 2010Comments

ereader

A week ago, the 1 millionth unique reader visited Stuff Christians Like since March 2008. That is roughly 999,998 more than I anticipated. (Thanks mom and Jenny!)

I asked Zondervan if we could give away something fantastical as a thank you and as a way to tell people about the Stuff Christians Like book. (Which you should check out.)

“Sure,” they said, “How about a Sony eReader?”

I said, “Which series, not the 505?”

“Yes,” they said.

“The PRS? Silver model?” I asked.

“Yes,” they said.

“That retails at $370. Shouldn’t we save some of that money for the Stuff Christians Like jet we talked about?”

“This is a fictional conversation, though, and to be frank with you, it’s kind of run it’s course. I mean it’s wearing a bit thin.” They said.

Whole thing kind of unraveled after that. We were both kind of embarrassed to tell you the truth.

So here’s the contest. Post a comment response to the question, “How long have you read Stuff Christians Like?” and you’ll have a chance at a new Sony eReader and a digital Bible. Comment  as many times as you want until Tuesday, January 26.

Away we go.

“How long have you read Stuff Christians Like?”

Deadline stop motion video.

Misc January 23, 2010Comments

I saw this video the other day on my friend Ben Meredith’s site and thought it was brilliant. It’s stop motion and took thousands of post it notes. The behind the scenes video where you see the stacks of notes is pretty crazy too. It has very little to do with anything else, but it’s Saturday and sometimes Saturdays are random.

Collide Magazine

Misc January 22, 2010Comments

Recently readers of Collide Magazine voted Stuff Christians Like the top Pop Culture & Faith Blog of 2009. Thanks for voting for this site. I think this might be the only award it’s ever won and I really appreciate your willingness to do that.

There were some other great blogs nominated. Here are the links, you should check them out too:

blog.jasonboyett.com

christandpopculture.com

jesusneedsnewpr.blogspot.com

leadingsmart.com

thinkchristian.net

5 books I’m reading.

Misc January 21, 2010Comments

I’m trying to read more these days. Here are the five books I plan on reading next:

1. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience . By Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Why? It was named one of the top 100 business books ever and the study of how people try to get happy is fascinating to me.

2. Celebration of Discipline. By Richard Foster

Why? Our men’s group is reading it and I’ve heard great things about it.

3. Ish. By Peter Reynolds

Why? Probably one of my top 5 favorite kids books of all time. It’s for artists who don’t think they’re artists. Or everyone.

4. Abba’s Child. By Brennan Manning.

Why? Because Brennan Manning speaks grace like few modern writers.

5. Ignore Everybody: and 39 Other Keys to Creativity. By Hugh MacLeod

Why? Because this guy is like me, he has a day job and does his passion at night. I appreciate that hustle and perspective. Most books tell you “Quit your job today! Follow your heart!” as if you can’t do both sometimes.

That’s what I’m reading right now.

How about you?

What are you reading?

Winners of Craig Gross book & Greg Sczebel CD

Misc January 21, 2010Comments

A few weeks ago we had two giveaways. One for the new book from Craig Gross and one for the new CD from Greg Sczebel. If your name is listed below, email me and I will hook you up.

Craig Gross book winners:

Jeremy Keegan
Kelsie Nuessmeier
ryan guard 
chrissymariec
remedyconnect

Greg CD winners:

JanetInLA
Carla Anne
Sam Isaacson
Cheryl Barker
Nick McMaster

Win an autographed Chris Tomlin scarf!

Misc January 16, 2010Comments
This head terrifies me.

This head terrifies me.

I have a crazy head and a crazy idea.

Let’s talk about the head first.

As I’ve mentioned before, this is a head my daughters got from the salon my wife goes to. It’s made of real human hair. Sometimes I forget we have it and open closets and scream like a small cat when I see what I perceive to be a murdered lady resting peacefully next to my daughter’s sweaters.

Around this head, is an autographed scarf from Chris Tomlin. It is unnecessary to wear with a short sleeve shirt and very metrosexual. It is awesome. And because the winner of the scarf has not claimed it in 4 weeks, it’s available again. There are also 9 Stuff Christians Like buttons up for grabs.

Let’s talk about the crazy idea now.

I think we should try to get the Stuff Christians Like book on the New York Times bestseller list.

That’s impossible, right? That is ridiculous, right? That is so egotistical that even reading that should make your teeth hurt a little. But why not?

How fun would it be to have a Christian satire on the New York Times bestseller list? And why is it so impossible?

I think we can do it. I think we should try.

So what now? Well the big thing is actually selling the book, which you can pre-order on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Click here to buy the book for $8.76 on Amazon

Click here to buy the book for $8.76 on Barnes & Noble

But what about the head?

Oh yeah, new giveaway for the scarf and 9 Stuff Christians Like buttons.

To enter, post an idea on how we could sell the Stuff Christians Like book. (Should we do a blog tour? Create a street team where people go to bookstores and sneakily put it on the bestsellers table?)

Any idea will be listened to. Comment until end of day Tuesday, January 19th. And then I’ll pick a winner at random and mail you the scarf.

Let’s get started.