Whenever I write a new book, Lora and I personally gift a copy to everyone at NCC. I think of it as a first fruits offering.  I’m so grateful that I get to pastor and write.  It’s our way of saying thanks for the privilege of serving.

Sometimes we’ll just choose a weekend around the release date and whoever is at church gets a free book.  This year we did something a little different.  Anyone who has given anything to NCC this year, even a one-time gift, got a copy of the book mailed to them (as long as we had an address).  It’s a way of saying thanks for being a shareholder in NCC!

One of my goals as an author and pastor is to make sure National Community Church is the primary beneficiary of my writing.  One way we do that is by Lora and I gifting a copy to our congregation and then gifting copies for guests during the next year.  Another way is by making sure that all profits from books sales at NCC and Ebenezers go exclusively to NCC.  I think pastors have to be very careful about anything that could be construed as a conflict of interest.  That is part of being “above reproach.”  One way we do that is by not personally profiting from books sold at NCC.  It’s a fine line, but that is how we’ve decided to draw it.