By sifilings on
Archive
John Piper
Desiring God Ministries
“We’ll tell you more in the months to come. But here’s one implication of this clarified focus on the Web. We’ve decided that this ship could sail faster and farther if we stopped carrying hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of book inventory…We are leaving the selling business.” “Speaking of dumping the inventory, we are putting all of our books and resources on sale for $5 or less. Think of this as a transition sale. We’d be thrilled if you would take advantage of this and help us lighten the ship.” An Update From John Piper

Discussion

Wed, 02/15/12
Not a Piper fan, but I applaud DG for this move.

No. 1) They’re employing intentional thinking — sadly, something not always to be taken for granted in the Christian world.
No. 2) They’re employing forward thinking — even many industry leaders are still puzzled with how to maneuver in the age of the Internet. It sounds like DG is making a wise move; what’s more, they are not doing it out of desperation, but in an attempt to be on the leading edge.

Congrats to DG; let’s learn from their example.

Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry

Thu, 02/16/12
“We’re leaving the selling business”
That is after they sell everything at a redeced price. But it is refreshing to hear DG admit it is a “business”. Something many have argued about such practices. I am not sure how cutting edge it is. There are many ministries that have offered their publications without charge for decades so that they never entered the realm of turning ministy into business and with the internet they simply made their materials available online again with no charge. I wonder will DG still engage in the selling business via publishers though.

My blog: http://thepedestrianchristian.blogspot.com/

Fri, 02/17/12
[Alex Guggenheim] But it is refreshing to hear DG admit it is a “business”. Something many have argued about such practices. I am not sure how cutting edge it is. There are many ministries that have offered their publications without charge for decades so that they never entered the realm of turning ministy into business and with the internet they simply made their materials available online again with no charge. I wonder will DG still engage in the selling business via publishers though.
DG obeying Romans 12:11: “Be … Not slothful in business” (KJV)

Twitter

Jim's Doctrinal Statement

Sat, 02/18/12
[Jim Peet]
[Alex Guggenheim] But it is refreshing to hear DG admit it is a “business”. Something many have argued about such practices. I am not sure how cutting edge it is. There are many ministries that have offered their publications without charge for decades so that they never entered the realm of turning ministy into business and with the internet they simply made their materials available online again with no charge. I wonder will DG still engage in the selling business via publishers though.
DG obeying Romans 12:11: “Be … Not slothful in business” (KJV)

This is why exegesis is important. Let’s do a bit of a word search and context discovery.

The word translated in the King James as business is spoudḗ (σπουδή). Most often it is translated “diligence” or “zealousness” with reference to “doing your best”. In other words, in all things do your best, don’t be lazy.

So how this justifies making merchandise of the Word of God, I don’t know, you posted it so that is up to you to provide the argument. It will be interesting to see it made. However, as a context it is not referring to “business” itself, rather any kind of effort.

But again, how that justifies charging for the Word of God remains to be seen.

My blog: http://thepedestrianchristian.blogspot.com/