It was a real joy and privilege to get to contribute to a teaching ministry I have received so much from over the years.
Big thanks go to the LEFC family for giving me a writing week back in March to work on this short project based upon Resisting Gossip.
I hope it helps many people to better understand what gossip is (and isn't) and how the gospel of Christ gives us everything we need to reject gossip when we are tempted to give in.
On Friday, I enjoyed talking about Resisting Gossip yesterday with Bill Arnold on Faith Radio out of Minneapolis.
Live radio can be kind of daunting--I had a few moments when I blanked out and I tripped over my words, but it was still fun to have a lively conversation about saying, "No" to the temptation to talk about people behind their backs.
The strangest story about Resisting Gossip from the last year was discovering how this pastor from down-under has created a set of potato-heads to illustrate the five kinds of gossips from chapter 3. How creative!
"Resisting Gossip is a book I re-read every 1-2 years, and each time, I glean important reminders. I just completed it from my summer 2019 reading list, and I continue to learn and be convicted by it. This time, I wrote, 'I don't have to say everything I think!' in my planner. Thank you again for writing a book that equips Christians to live in a way that 'goes against the tide.'"I praise the Lord that my work gets to be used like this in people’s lives.
Rejoice with me!
Resisting Gossip is now available as an audiobook at Audible!
It’s unabridged and read by yours truly, clocking in at 4 hours and 24 minutes.
I am especially thankful for this new development because it is a loooooong time in coming. I first recorded the chapters in the Fall of 2013 and Spring of 2014, but we never got it edited and produced into an audiobook until this last year. Five years later, we finally have an audiobook!
A big thank-you goes to Jim Pitman at CLC Publications for believing in and rebooting this project, finding a quality sound editor, and seeing it through to publication.
Thanks also to my friends Tim Sullivan and Kenneth Hawthorne for volunteering to listen to the raw recordings and find all of my verbal typos to be fixed in post-production.
And a great big special thanks to WTLR, our local Christian radio station, for giving me time in the studio to record Resisting Gossip. The quality of the audio is wonderful because of your generosity.
Now that we have an audiobook version, I can help people with requests like this one that came in a year or so ago:
I have a quick question for you. I have a mother I am counseling whose daughter is struggling with people gossiping about her at work. I gave the mother one of your books. The problem is, her daughter is legally blind. This brings me to my question. Have you put Resisting Gossip on audiobook yet? If not, are there any plans to do so in the near future?Yes, we have! I pray that this new version helps many people who need to or like to imbibe their books through their ears to win the war of the wagging tongue.
One of my worries when I was writing Resisting Gossip was that some unscrupulous church leaders would misuse it to silence dissent among their followers. I could foresee insecure and/or controlling pastors piously holding the book up to their people and subtly saying, "See! You shouldn't criticize or disagree with me. I'll decide what gets talked about around here and when. We're going to be a gossip-free church."
8. Open Channels for Airing Concerns
The flip side to the last two points is that leaders must create and sustain open channels of communication in the church for those who have concerns. Sometimes when there is gossip within a church, it is actually the leaders’ fault. Those who are gossiping should not be doing it, but gossip flourishes when there is an oppressive regime and a tyrannical atmosphere of silence.
When was the last time you asked for constructive feedback? Paul told Timothy, “The Lord’s servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful” (2 Tim. 2:24). That does not mean that a good church leader will agree with all the criticisms he receives or will budge on orthodoxy, but he will humble himself to solicit critique.
Being approachable is easier said than done. I know I have failed to listen more than I have succeeded, but I often quote Proverbs 27:6 to my people: “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.” Hurt me, friend, if I need it. That is love. (Resisting Gossip, pg. 168).I have no way of telling if my worries have come true and if unhealthy pastors are using my book to shield themselves from accountability. I hope not, but I'm not naive enough to believe it will never happen.
(I never thought I'd title a post like that!)
Check this out! This pastor from down-under has created a set of potato heads to represent the 5 gossips from chapter 3 of Resisting Gossip.
This one takes the cake as the most creative use of my book so far!
Rejoice with me!
Rejoice with me!
This week marked the fourth anniversary of the publishing of Resisting Gossip: Winning the War of the Wagging Tongue. What a joy it has been to be see it continue to be read by people all around the world.
Here are eight important milestones from the last 12 months:
1. I got to speak about resisting gossip and using our words for good at the 2016 Deep and Wide Conference at Faith EFC in Mountain Lake Park Maryland.
2. The Spanish version, Resistiendo el Chisme, is now available as an e-book in multiple formats.
3. The Korean version,험담을 멈추라, was released by CLC Korea.
4. CareLeader republished my article on Keeping Gossip Out of Prayer Requests.
5. The Russian version, Противостоять сплетням, was released by CLC Belarus and (another first!) they produced a Russian version of the original book trailer.
That brings the total number of languages up to 6 (including the original English, the only one that I actually understand)!
As Christians, we are to pass the faith on to the next generation. Whether we are parents or grandparents, church staff or volunteers, we have been tasked to make disciples (Matthew 28:19). One of the primary ways we can be discipling the next generation is by encouraging them to be readers.
We serve a God who created all things by using words (Genesis 1-2) and a Savior who calls himself the Living Word (John 1:1-14). Christians are also called to be a people of the Word and to meditate upon God’s Word day and night (Psalm 1).
Not only should we – and our children – feed upon God’s Word, but we should also be feeding upon other words. That is, we should be reading. We should be reading theological books, classics, fiction, etc. Teaching our children to be readers in many different genres and categories will foster a deeper appreciation for the various genres and categories found in Scripture.
However, simply saying that we should disciple our students to be readers can seem like a daunting task. Where do we begin? What books should we focus on? At what ages should this begin? These questions led to the creation of the following plan.I was greatly encouragement to find that they had listed Resisting Gossip as a suggested book for 10th graders to read (see pg. 9 of the PDF version).
Rejoice with me!
The good folks from CLC Belarus have translated our little book into the Russian language and made it available to the Russian-speaking world.
It's so exciting to see it in yet another script and yet another language. I can't hardly wait to hold a copy in my own hands.
May the Lord use Противостоять сплетням to further His kingdom and help followers of Christ to win the war of the wagging tongue.
And here's yet another "first." CLC Belarus has dubbed and subtitled the original trailer into Russian, as well. Thanks to Third Brother Films for creating the short film in the first place and giving CLC permission to translate it across the globe.
