tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83550522024-03-19T04:47:23.862-04:00Common DenominatorLearn, innovate, pushKen Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.comBlogger5049125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-1961857299426534452024-03-16T07:59:00.005-04:002024-03-16T08:06:19.878-04:00Week in Review (March 16, 2024)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiilHVFdRERr44_KtH7uUyAyPdbeKdEPDGLgghpMJUsBcNkxZtnJqwz2E8PAtiP6LCAK8ud7pDVvuCJka-ch-AaU1ytaHT3GDuJzyMLgprSrhbBhXrn2BNW8GXqEwVKQ0Nqx0_7O2B6f-eG-0VRgdZFz2fQE4HsoOmq3bYAIfdtag4sCaEG77Hp/s1096/Gabriel%20ad.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1096" data-original-width="935" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiilHVFdRERr44_KtH7uUyAyPdbeKdEPDGLgghpMJUsBcNkxZtnJqwz2E8PAtiP6LCAK8ud7pDVvuCJka-ch-AaU1ytaHT3GDuJzyMLgprSrhbBhXrn2BNW8GXqEwVKQ0Nqx0_7O2B6f-eG-0VRgdZFz2fQE4HsoOmq3bYAIfdtag4sCaEG77Hp/w274-h320/Gabriel%20ad.jpg" width="274" /></a></div>I have always hoped that the reason why my books haven't sold as well as some others was marketing. I'm sure this is not entirely the case. :-)<p></p><p>After over $100 in marketing (really hardly anything), I had only two sales through Facebook last weekend. That's an $80 loss on the ad itself. I was hoping it was because it wasn't a payday, but thus far this weekend, the ad hasn't garnered any more sales even among the 50 or so people who signed up for my email list.</p><p>Yesterday I started running another ad <a href="https://0d5eea-2.myshopify.com/cart/41429369978979:1,41370747371619:1,41356041945187:1,41429337309283:1,41429366603875:1?discount=free-gabriel-discount" target="_blank">with another bundle</a>. This is 5 e-books for $9.99. The books are:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://kenschenckbooks.com/products/gabriels-diary-the-enthronement-vol-2">Gabriel's Diary: The Enthronement</a></li><li><a href="https://kenschenckbooks.com/products/gabriels-diary-the-incarnation-vol-1">Gabriel's Diary: The Incarnation</a></li><li><a href="https://kenschenckbooks.com/products/gabriels-diary-the-creation-vol-3">Gabriel's Diary: The Creation</a></li><li><a href="https://kenschenckbooks.com/products/explanatory-notes-on-marks-passion-week">Explanatory Notes on Mark's Passion Week</a></li><li><a href="https://kenschenckbooks.com/products/explanatory-notes-on-jesus-resurrection">Explanatory Notes on Jesus' Resurrection</a></li></ul><div>Same setup as the other. <a href="https://hello.kenschenckbooks.com/gabriel-welcome/">Free ebook</a> to introduce you to the series which then leads you to the offer of four more ebooks for only $9.99. Five books in all for only $10. Pretty good deal! </div>
I didn't have the time to work too extensively on this ad sequence. The ad gets a good reaction (although at way too high a cost per click), and the conversion rate for getting people on my email list is very good. But once on the list, they don't seem to download the free ebook or purchase the bundle. I don't know if a larger ad spend would make any difference.
<br /><br />
I'll confess that I find it very discouraging. I know people who've written pretty trivial stuff who are selling 1000s on their personality. I mean books that have almost nothing in them. They sell because people like the author as far as I can tell. It's their magnetism. I mean, I have some charisma, but I don't have THAT x factor.<br /><br />
2. A good work week. I did have an encounter that had me chuckling a little. Someone seemed to take umbrage at our sales pitch. They let us know in no uncertain terms that their online courses were excellent, their faculty excellent, and that we could learn some things from the way they did online. Maybe so. I don't know. It felt a little out of nowhere to me.
<br /><br />Academics are funny people. Sometimes you have to be able to laugh at yourself.Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-64672900204983490892024-03-10T03:11:00.006-04:002024-03-10T16:34:33.972-04:00Weeks in Review (March 9, 2024)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDtD0IJVWDx6RiwtnuZN0g0vQ4FYAVYTFCdolg2ioSjQpk7IW2dMicplMyuoP-gjo4_E18hlmWRQmnIHzJKXdgnhgzEXRrAU6AXKacTdU5AXfDPhCnCQeYc3oZQQJxxDRdHVbtcjwExPhlPHkXu3WVfFiRPqUT7YG8H2tFnZkk48Q-hqi93Nl/s668/first%20ad.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="668" data-original-width="250" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdDtD0IJVWDx6RiwtnuZN0g0vQ4FYAVYTFCdolg2ioSjQpk7IW2dMicplMyuoP-gjo4_E18hlmWRQmnIHzJKXdgnhgzEXRrAU6AXKacTdU5AXfDPhCnCQeYc3oZQQJxxDRdHVbtcjwExPhlPHkXu3WVfFiRPqUT7YG8H2tFnZkk48Q-hqi93Nl/w150-h400/first%20ad.png" width="150" /></a></div>1. Time for my weekly check-in and journal of sorts. Work continues to boom. Working with more and more high schools and more and more colleges. Of the Wesleyan colleges, only Kinsgwood is working with us currently, I've expressed earlier my sadness that so much good is being done around rather than with our Wesleyan schools. I anticipate a day when we will contribute to the success of schools in direct competition with our Wesleyan schools even though we tried and tried.<p></p>
<p>Kingswood is the big exception. These last two weeks, microcourses on <a href="https://www.kingswoodlearn.com/course/view.php?id=70">Urban Church Planting</a> with Troy Evans and <a href="https://www.kingswoodlearn.com/course/view.php?id=68">Apologetics</a> with Adam Blehm dropped. I did the write-up for the Apologetics microcourse. So many good things are underway with Kingswood in partnership with Campus. It could have been that way for all the Wesleyan schools.</p>
<p>2. A week ago I launched <a href="http://kenschenckbooks.com">Ken Schenck Books</a>. Eventually, I hope it will be a one-stop shop for all my books, both that I have published officially with publishers and all the books I have self-published. This may require me to stock up and ship my own books, although I can ship through Amazon. The problem is how long Amazon takes to deliver author copies. It's like 10 days.</p>
<p>About 6 months ago, I started a course on self-marketing your own self-published books. Unless you're a well-promoted author (which is a select few), there's no money to be made with the normal system of publishing. And there's no money to be made with simple self-publishing through Amazon. Similarly, simple advertising on Facebook is pointless. Unsurprisingly, the system is rigged for Amazon and Facebook to make money off your futile dreams.</p>
<p>It remains to be seen whether my new venture will go anywhere. One week in, it is not encouraging. I write on too deep and detailed a level for the average audience, which of course is where the sales primarily are. Here is a brief tour of my venture.</p>
<p>3. The venture starts with Facebook ads. Above is one that has received 154 likes and 26 shares. It has been seen by about 4000 people on an ad spend of less than $20 a day. That ad spend is probably too low -- it takes money to make money, after all.</p><p>As you can see, I then send them to <a href="http://hello.kenschenckbooks.com/welcome">a landing page</a> where I try to get them to sign up for a free ebook and join the Ken Schenck Club, cleverly named. Over the last couple months, I wrote a book for just that purpose, <i><a href="https://a.co/d/46mkgI8">The Spiritual War for the World</a></i>. You can get the ebook version for free if you put your email in the box.</p><p>About 150 people have clicked on the ad link on Facebook. Facebook keeps begging me to let it set the parameters of the ad, but I tried to target people who like theology and philosophy. Also, I tried to limit it to Facebook and Instagram feeds rather than watering it down everywhere in Meta's universe. Then about 50 people have given me their emails. A 33% conversion rate isn't bad for that part.</p><p>4. Once you give me your email, of course, I try to sell you on getting three additional ebooks for $9.99. These are previous (e)books I've written in upgraded form: <i><a href="https://kenschenckbooks.com/products/chats-about-god-a-novel-seeking-faith">Chats about God</a></i>, <i><a href="https://kenschenckbooks.com/products/the-problem-of-evil-and-suffering-why-god-allows-it">The Problem of Evil and Suffering</a></i>, and <i><a href="https://kenschenckbooks.com/products/who-decides-what-the-bible-means">Who Decides What the Bible Means?</a></i> </p><p>Out of the 4000, only 2 have made it that far. Quite discouraging. Hours and hours of effort. Probably $1500 in set-up. I haven't given up. In many ways, this is expected. But I can't exactly say I'm in Joyland.</p><p>For those who signed up but haven't gone for the ebook versions, I've created <a href="https://hello.kenschenckbooks.com/paperback-faith-collection/">a paperback offer</a> where I will send them some $44 dollars worth of Amazon books for $19. Since at this point it will take over a week for the paperbacks to arrive, I'm throwing in the ebooks to read while they're waiting. On paper, it's an $80 deal for less than $20. Less than 24 hours in, no takers yet.</p><p>The books are of course on heavy topics. Stay tuned. On Friday (d.v.) I plan to unveil another book combo with another FB ad. Maybe novellas will do better than the ontological argument and the problem of evil.</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-65161298570683137482024-02-24T22:16:00.004-05:002024-02-24T22:16:43.592-05:00Weeks in Review (February 24, 2024)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlmz7iaiP5EKaPa-_Lppx2TCNWmAsPEuKPBTt-yyNaxrpTKmXkFayrp8RVIVj2LCHJXEB5lYSZcfSGF4BnZ4rfGed3k2nOvMrNzyxwW4dVEqGVIRJEdxs9xCprZ3_EgVS7BzcntFk3aA7tplG03PQWCFKcwzxzZp_wklvPXMccFRItuHnquof/s438/ai.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="278" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNlmz7iaiP5EKaPa-_Lppx2TCNWmAsPEuKPBTt-yyNaxrpTKmXkFayrp8RVIVj2LCHJXEB5lYSZcfSGF4BnZ4rfGed3k2nOvMrNzyxwW4dVEqGVIRJEdxs9xCprZ3_EgVS7BzcntFk3aA7tplG03PQWCFKcwzxzZp_wklvPXMccFRItuHnquof/w127-h200/ai.png" width="127" /></a></div>I haven't posted for a month. Campus Edu is really heating up. Over 25 Christian high schools connected. Many colleges interested in using our gen eds. Biology course well underway in design. Working on more micro-courses with Kingswood every couple weeks. Busy, busy.<p></p><p>The week before the one that just ended was spent at the ABHE annual conference in Orlando. Many good connections made. Even though I have spent most of my career in the CCCU, the ABHE crowd has more of the feel of home to me, given where I was born and raised. There really is a grass-roots, down-to-earth feel of the group. The CCCU doesn't realize that it comes across as elite and foreign to most churches. It smells "liberal" because it is culturally different. A lot of schools with declining residential enrollment don't get this.</p><p>My attempt to advertise on Facebook came to a screeching halt a week ago yesterday. Facebook flagged my business accounts as suspicious, and I haven't managed to get them to reverse the decision to shut them down yet. In the meantime, this <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2F0d5eea-2.myshopify.com%2Fcart%2F41293939212387%3A1%2C41292281905251%3A1%2C41292297764963%3A1%2C41292393709667%3A1%3Fdiscount%3Dmy-crazy-discount%26fbclid%3DIwAR1oRC6N-xOMSMiSzAf_KNB9RIYUKWzKC_NajkwIZC1aauS23KzDuCDohPY&h=AT1C9Wn5USoiQYAwvGqcomsoBkRpLpdkcHlcbg1VYmySKPqxrl02rmuwr58sAITn0WSwKetUwQX3y_7oksClqThugf6EQTLV88adVPFklAMsve4aqWwRbSGd9UEcoMVlRZSHbrdK_m1V1uajXg&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT1JR8HxaCnFwf3bYFugGkCv7adn0xduuPVrfmw5nBLZvvxdRBjs_gXbM_azi0ElmqTfG4DrcnB6m3CM_vORFvg0S93o73T1RpKRAnshJH2gv_uwwy4Ma7GsmL1j5WBKGFV0U_xBkktUfdwB1OzhJtZ7H7MKeLv-flDcJEuj3-FhRdZkeB9HJMWBIGPU9JpJ5wekddVNvEws-Do">Shopify offer</a> gives you a glimpse of what I was working toward. I fear I will have to incorporate as an LLC to get back in FB's good graces.</p><p>In the meantime, Amazon is offering to create audiobooks out of many of my self-published books. So I did. I'm particularly excited about the <a href="https://a.co/d/bHHEyH7">audiobook of my AI Living Paraphrase of the Gospel of John</a>. I already liked the paraphrase I did, and I think a lot of people would like it too if they gave it a listen. Now the audiobook is a nice possibility.</p><p>I'm trying not to give up on my advertising venture. I've put an awful lot of work into it.</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-40271699265913476032024-02-22T12:48:00.001-05:002024-02-22T12:48:24.501-05:00E-book sale on Shopify<p> I am currently running a 4 e-book sale for $9.99 on Shopify. Here are the books:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__VPGzXdDkJl7PyYtwjxUCJWCeP6imVFvbZDziaix1S0ncH7RS7vINh8PBZv24hL2c8Dvs62ZC3s6N88I9D85aY-i7eeb3pE4mzizofccKmmxleS0HqTcYSmgUxeVhCtYg0uKfLc5ZLqeNZH4k6Am3QAmNL9GWWzWL8b8jkUVCB65mJZzi7gZ/s900/Shopify%20Checkout%20Schenck%20Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="125" data-original-width="900" height="88" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh__VPGzXdDkJl7PyYtwjxUCJWCeP6imVFvbZDziaix1S0ncH7RS7vINh8PBZv24hL2c8Dvs62ZC3s6N88I9D85aY-i7eeb3pE4mzizofccKmmxleS0HqTcYSmgUxeVhCtYg0uKfLc5ZLqeNZH4k6Am3QAmNL9GWWzWL8b8jkUVCB65mJZzi7gZ/w640-h88/Shopify%20Checkout%20Schenck%20Logo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><p>If you are interested, <a href="https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2F0d5eea-2.myshopify.com%2Fcart%2F41293939212387%3A1%2C41292281905251%3A1%2C41292297764963%3A1%2C41292393709667%3A1%3Fdiscount%3Dmy-crazy-discount%26fbclid%3DIwAR1oRC6N-xOMSMiSzAf_KNB9RIYUKWzKC_NajkwIZC1aauS23KzDuCDohPY&h=AT1C9Wn5USoiQYAwvGqcomsoBkRpLpdkcHlcbg1VYmySKPqxrl02rmuwr58sAITn0WSwKetUwQX3y_7oksClqThugf6EQTLV88adVPFklAMsve4aqWwRbSGd9UEcoMVlRZSHbrdK_m1V1uajXg&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AT1JR8HxaCnFwf3bYFugGkCv7adn0xduuPVrfmw5nBLZvvxdRBjs_gXbM_azi0ElmqTfG4DrcnB6m3CM_vORFvg0S93o73T1RpKRAnshJH2gv_uwwy4Ma7GsmL1j5WBKGFV0U_xBkktUfdwB1OzhJtZ7H7MKeLv-flDcJEuj3-FhRdZkeB9HJMWBIGPU9JpJ5wekddVNvEws-Do">here is the link</a> with the discount.</p><p>Ken</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-92094652741833658112024-01-22T23:35:00.003-05:002024-01-22T23:36:23.045-05:00The Week in Review (January 22, 2024)<p>1. I missed Saturday's post, mostly because I was rushing to finish a draft of a psychology course for my work. One of the fun aspects of my job is helping various subject matter experts create courses on various subjects. I think I am uniquely suited for this role because I have such eclectic interests. Currently, I'm facilitating the creation of a psychology, advanced writing, and biology course. </p><p>I finished the draft this morning. Now of course the subject expert will make it into his own likeness. Whenever I finish a course like this one, I think, "I should create a pastor's guide to psychology," just like I created a <i><a href="https://a.co/d/9pibPVB">Pastor's Brief Guide to Business</a> </i>last year. Maybe someday.</p><p>2. I am scrambling to write two books because of the initiative I started in the fall. One is <i>Ten Secrets about Jesus</i>. I ran some marketing headlines by Twitter and Facebook. "Which headline would make you want to click?" The responses were all over the place but it seems like "What they don't want you to know about Jesus" got the most with "Was Jesus a troublemaker?" probably second. Other candidates were "Jesus was a conservative... and a liberal." Do any of those pique your curiosity? </p><p>Technically, I'm supposed to run a market test on Facebook but I'm bogged down with getting my Facebook "pixel" to work for good tracking.</p><p>The other book is <i>Hanging on to Faith by a Thread</i>. It is an old idea but with new impetus because of a phone conversation I had last week with someone struggling with faith. I did a poll on Facebook for what chapter items should be included in this one as well.</p><p>3. The past week was not without its unique challenges because of the weather. Sub-zero weather had us strategizing keeping the chickens alive. Then we are down to one car for various reasons, and its battery died because of the cold. Today it looks like we will be back up to two working cars by the end of the week. So far all the chickens have survived, but now it's supposed to rain all week. Sucks for them!</p><p>Sometimes life just sucks almost everything out of you. But somehow we make it, thank the Lord!</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-46095220656920670462024-01-13T03:53:00.003-05:002024-01-13T03:56:34.990-05:00Two Weeks in Review (January 13, 2023)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHah0S2xuiB3YnFJ0dd9DfNySVZUa4d9x1QTp1HQHFWlDCEsf9b4YwYI0BgEwv0qZVAZkRqAUim5JXM1SPppxlp-8x1ibI5KJmOwH832mlXsOJb-ZvDe6hPoXk8BgbEJnolktHUzg8O-nz9IdBGbToaJ5mpS8pahWrcGD8bPsynqmDpVGMduWf/s1500/AI%20Gospel%20John%20cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="943" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHah0S2xuiB3YnFJ0dd9DfNySVZUa4d9x1QTp1HQHFWlDCEsf9b4YwYI0BgEwv0qZVAZkRqAUim5JXM1SPppxlp-8x1ibI5KJmOwH832mlXsOJb-ZvDe6hPoXk8BgbEJnolktHUzg8O-nz9IdBGbToaJ5mpS8pahWrcGD8bPsynqmDpVGMduWf/w126-h200/AI%20Gospel%20John%20cover.jpg" width="126" /></a></div>1. As I write, strong gusts of wind blow across the vacant corn fields around me as the temperature plunges. We're expecting temperatures in the single digits positive and perhaps negative this week. We've brought a number of the chickens into the garage in preparation, although the big coop has a heater in it. Quite the party.<p></p><p>Somehow I missed last week's week in review. I think I was scrambling to finish Steve Deneff's <a href="https://www.kingswoodlearn.com/course/view.php?id=63">micro-course on holiness</a>. This weekend a misunderstanding has me giving a fair amount of time to a course called Writing to Convince. I do enjoy being part of these course creations. Once psychology and biology are finished, we will have the <a href="https://www.campusedu.com/dual-enrollment">full panoply of gen ed courses</a> on offer.</p><p>The way it works is that a college adopts our courses and takes on our faculty as adjuncts. We administer the dual-enrollment program for them with their complete involvement. They give us names and connect us to (potentially) feeder high schools. There are other streams of students, including college students, that feed into the same classes. Because we administer it, a good deal of the friction of the traditional academy is bypassed. </p><p>So there is a growing army of associated high schools (currently around 25) and a growing number of colleges from which the student can opt to receive the credit. </p><p>It is so hard to get anything done in the traditional academy system. It's no wonder so many colleges and universities are struggling. Friction. Friction. Friction. If someone has a great idea on a high level, sometimes they are ground to a halt in the hands of infrastructure people who have lost the plot or never knew it. Or maybe a middle-level director has the vision but can't get buy-in from someone on a higher level. Courses are created that are never used because of politics or systems that they don't fit neatly into. Lots of places in the traditional system for good ideas to fail or be ground to a pulp.</p><p>It's frankly maddening. We used to wonder if we should just buy a failing college ourselves. But the goal was always to create an Amazon of college courses, a network of the best of the best of the best. We are in a really good place.</p><p>2. On New Year's Eve, I decided to go ahead and self-publish a <a href="https://a.co/d/99Crz1P">Spanish version of my ethics</a>. No one buys my books anyway. The reason it is iffy is that I used AI to translate it and didn't pay someone to proofread it. But that's hardly worth it. It would cost well over $1000 to have it proofed and I wouldn't see that much money from it for the rest of my life. Something is better than nothing. If no one uses it, so be it. AI translations are getting better and better. They will prevail soon.</p><p>Over the last couple months, I've been generating an <a href="https://a.co/d/23xTDwM">AI paraphrase of John</a>. I wasn't satisfied with what AI initially came up with, so I did a lot of paraphrasing myself beyond its raw output. You can tell me if you like the result.</p><p>Other projects in the works, as always.</p><p>Wishing you all electricity and heat this next week.</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-14184513647032587972024-01-01T01:42:00.001-05:002024-01-01T01:43:48.235-05:00New Years Resolutions (2024)<p>It's time again to write a bunch of stuff about this coming year. Since I typically write a bunch of stuff that I hardly finish, I'll try to stay reasonable here.</p><p><b>Personal</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Run five times a week</li><li>Read a chapter of the Bible a day</li><li>Read 20 pages of something each week</li></ul><b>Udemy</b><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Put a New Testament Greek course up</li></ul><b>YouTube</b><p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Hebrew of the Week on Wednesdays</li><li>Through the Bible on Sundays</li></ul><div><b>Self-Publishing</b></div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>The Antichrist</i></li><li><i>Explanatory Notes on Passion Week</i></li><li><i>Twenty-Five Years Teaching Philosophy</i></li></ul></div><p></p><p><b>Real Publishing</b></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>Science and Scripture</i></li></ul>Probably the biggest goal I have is to set up my self-published books on Shopify and to market them to an interested list. We'll see.<p></p><p>Happy New Year!<br /><br /></p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-10318408838977771372023-12-31T16:30:00.005-05:002023-12-31T16:30:40.264-05:00The Year in Review (2023)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBJsl6oEnRIQsnHc8glBMEbq5k7D54ozY2ygkQewEeMgX9UVbSBbPDxZfteostYtB7jDUJ33ipXM_BxddFGWRmuA_mybCQICytVu06S_onGWtAGjJ3iSQPaV0p7jovHeDi8EYTkHmAIDlPEwgGghKNi6RO-vfNLWFPkfDt3eepoPnMmQxEjPJ/s522/theology%20cover.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="348" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyBJsl6oEnRIQsnHc8glBMEbq5k7D54ozY2ygkQewEeMgX9UVbSBbPDxZfteostYtB7jDUJ33ipXM_BxddFGWRmuA_mybCQICytVu06S_onGWtAGjJ3iSQPaV0p7jovHeDi8EYTkHmAIDlPEwgGghKNi6RO-vfNLWFPkfDt3eepoPnMmQxEjPJ/w133-h200/theology%20cover.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>1. Another year has passed. I continue to be grateful to work for Campus Edu. We have done some tremendous things this year. We found a couple partners who believed in the vision and committed wholeheartedly to it. <a href="https://www.okbulaunch.com/">Oklahoma Baptist University</a> partnered with us to connect <a href="https://www.campusedu.com/houghton-academy">high schools</a> to them through our core general education courses (20 courses we built). This was huge. We really only needed one dedicated partner, and they caught the vision. <a href="https://www.sbuprep.com/">Southwest Baptist</a> and Kingswood University have since joined as well. <p></p><p>Oklahoma Baptist is also launching <a href="https://www.raleycollege.com/">Raley Collge</a> with us, an idea about which we have been in conversation with other schools as well. In this approach, students live in the dorms with the other students but take almost all of their general education courses with us at a lower tuition rate. They get an AA degree at the end of two years.</p><p>The other key partner was Kingswood University. Together, we have launched <a href="https://www.kingswoodlearn.com/">Kingswood Learn</a>, a gift of free micro-courses to the Wesleyan Church. These courses are great by well-known Wesleyans across the church, and churches/individuals can upload courses to the platform as well. I believe that this will quickly become a repository of the best of the Wesleyan Church and a go-to place for resources.</p><p>2. I did manage to publish some things this year. I had a three-pronged strategy: 1) self-publishing, 2) Udemy, and 3) YouTube. </p><p><b>Udemy<br /></b>I put a <a href="https://www.udemy.com/course/learn-hebrew-inductively">Hebrew course</a> on Udemy which, all in all, has done pretty well (over 100 students). The <a href="https://www.udemy.com/course/pauls-letter-to-the-romans">Romans course</a> I put up has not done as well.</p><p><b>YouTube</b><br />I added over 1000 subscribers on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@kenschenck">YouTube</a>. My best post was <a href="https://youtu.be/fcKjCaMwGl0">Merry Christmas Algebra</a>, which has almost had 1000 viewers this month. My work has been quite absorbing in the final part of the year and sapped nearly every last bit of my time. As a result, my posting fell off pretty dramatically these last couple months.</p><p><b>Publishing</b><br />I did manage to have one book published in the official way: <i><a href="https://a.co/d/ejH3lGt">Explanatory Notes on Hebrews</a></i>. I don't have analytics to know how it is doing.</p><p>I am most happy with some of my self-publishing ventures this year. </p><p><i>Wesleyan Theology</i><br />After several years of waiting, I finally edited my notes on Wesleyan theology and published them. I am very proud of these. I also used tools to translate them into Spanish, actually submitting the ethics book in Spanish today, just under the wire.</p>
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><a href="https://a.co/d/7sIiYdX">Christian Ethics: Wesleyan-Arminian Reflections</a></i> (January 30)</li><li><i><a href="https://a.co/d/7m1UvOL">Wesleyan-Arminian Reflections on Christian Theology and Ethics</a></i> (February 4)</li><li><i><a href="https://a.co/d/4yu3fxf">A Wesleyan-Arminian Systematic Theology</a> </i>(February 27)</li><li><i><a href="https://a.co/d/hDfTHyM">Teología Sistemática: Reflexiones Arminiano-Wesleyanas</a></i> (September 4)</li><li><i>Ética Cristiana: Reflexiones Wesleyano-Arminianas</i> (December 31)</li></ul><i>Explanatory Notes</i><div>In addition to the Hebrews volume above, I also published some Explanatory Notes on the Resurrection Narratives of the Gospels:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><a href="https://a.co/d/5CWVXwB">Explanatory Notes on Jesus' Resurrection</a> </i>(April 8)</li></ul><i>Chat GPT</i></div><div>I experimented a little with AI this year. I was disappointed that my explorations did not get more interest than they did. I haven't given up.</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><a href="https://a.co/d/2NHkWdp">Chats About God: A Novel Seeking Faith</a></i> (May 12)</li><li><i><a href="https://a.co/d/3xbGZDw">Plato's Republic (with condescending remarks)</a> </i>(May 27)</li><li><i><a href="https://a.co/d/j36CDKn">A Pastor's Brief Guide to Business</a></i> (June 18)</li></ul><i>Prophecy</i></div>
<div>Finally, my mother was quite keen for me to publish a book her father had written in 1960:</div><div><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i><a href="https://a.co/d/bBNL9Wu">Foundational and Fundamental Truth Concerning the Coming of the Lord</a></i> (May 2)</li></ul>3. I remain grateful for the Lord's graciousness to me. God has been faithful. Angie has mostly recovered from her accident in 2022. These have been humbling days for me, but I hope they have brought clarity to who I am and what is important.</div>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-28739837245780858072023-12-30T08:22:00.003-05:002023-12-30T08:45:06.539-05:00The Week in Review (December 30, 2023)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZseD5MLSmr4fnz0OM5iFqONDzy31dy20TO8HMsifee6g79xpTZiw3Pcz0ptWywtgmK9IJN_DofRTEF5wKhUOtWhaPfgG-ar19ttUJfhO9DjqbC5W5wPBenZGOgalY78OVKGLGNXJeC1OR0geMXL2CYKX-6Rj51oeSLxiqOOmr-0ylcdmHPrm/s2048/follow.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1362" data-original-width="2048" height="133" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxZseD5MLSmr4fnz0OM5iFqONDzy31dy20TO8HMsifee6g79xpTZiw3Pcz0ptWywtgmK9IJN_DofRTEF5wKhUOtWhaPfgG-ar19ttUJfhO9DjqbC5W5wPBenZGOgalY78OVKGLGNXJeC1OR0geMXL2CYKX-6Rj51oeSLxiqOOmr-0ylcdmHPrm/w200-h133/follow.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>1. This week of course has included Christmas. I apologize for being one of those sad souls who dread Christmas. The expense has often been overwhelming. I am not good at finding pleasing presents. There are sometimes tensions with broader family. The whole event is the most stressful part of the year for me. I always breathe a breath of relief on Christmas evening. I realize the true meaning of Christmas is lost in all that, but I'm being honest. I have to think I am not alone.<p></p><p>I'd almost like to have a separate day set aside mid-year to celebrate Jesus' birth.</p><p>2. On Thursday, I traveled to Cincinnati for FOLLOW, the youth convention my denomination has every four years. I'm still there as I type. This has been really fun. It comes home to me how many youth pastors and pastors I've taught over the years. These are my friends, and it's good to see them.</p><p>I'm here with the launch of <a href="http://kingswoodlearn.com">Kingswood Learn</a>, a free resource for the Wesleyan Church that Kingswood and Campus Edu have partnered to provide. Feel free to sign up and enroll in some micro-courses (5-10 hours each). I'm one of the instructional designers behind the lessons in many of these courses. Let me just point out a few:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>There is a condensed version of Bud Bence's <a href="https://www.kingswoodlearn.com/course/view.php?id=19">church history</a> course.</li><li>There is a condensed version of Dave Smith's <a href="https://www.kingswoodlearn.com/course/view.php?id=32">inductive Bible study</a> course</li><li>There is a semi-autobiographical micro-course featuring JoAnne Lyon called, <a href="https://www.kingswoodlearn.com/course/view.php?id=55">"Saying 'Yes' to the Holy Spirit."</a></li></ul>3. I am pondering an increasing sense that the Wesleyan Church as a denomination is devolving toward a connection. I would say this trend is largely fueled by Boomer leaders associated with large churches. Many of them are afraid of what has happened in the UMC. They don't like the Trust Clause that says church property belongs to the denomination. They don't like paying the denominational "tithe" that funds schools and central administration. They also have a more Baptistic ecclesiology.<p></p><p>I'm trying to be objective. I think the idea that a connection of churches would retain a coherent Wesleyan identity, that we would still have Follow and The Gathering and common ordination standards and Global Partners and organized church planting and schools that retained a Wesleyan identity seems unlikely to me over the long term. Our schools would go their own way, whatever that is. Small churches would fizzle away without support. Large churches would do their own thing as they pretty much are now, largely Baptist by another name. There would be little funding for current denominational events or initiatives.</p><p>We'll see what happens. I think it might take a very intentional effort to reverse the current trajectory. It may already be too late. The Trust Clause would have to stay. The "tithe" would need to stay. District leadership would probably have to be balanced back away from large churches. There would need to be more submission to the denomination's general leadership, whose power is weaker than it has ever been since the denomination was founded in 1968.</p><p>What do you think?</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-4380342755145864392023-12-25T06:40:00.005-05:002023-12-25T06:41:31.732-05:00Merry Christmas (December 25, 2023)<p>Merry Christmas all!</p><p>I woke up with the words from Longfellow's 1863 poem on my mind. I posted three stanzas on Facebook:</p>
I heard the bells on Christmas day,<br />
Their old familiar carols play<br />
And mild and sweet their songs repeat<br />
Of peace on Earth, good will to men<br /><br>
And in despair I bowed my head<br />
"There is no peace on Earth, " I said<br />
For hate is strong and mocks the song<br />
Of peace on Earth, good will to men<br /><br>
Then rang the bells more loud and deep<br />
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep<br />
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail<br />
With peace on Earth, good will to men
<p>This is my wish for the new year. The world is crazy right now, but it could get crazier. Praying that cooler heads prevail in this new year. I keep asking myself what I could do in my world to build peace.</p><p>2. I missed my Saturday review. I feel like I've been busier these last couple weeks than at any time in my life. We are rollling out <a href="https://www.kingswoodlearn.com/">Kingswood Learn</a>. Check it out!</p><p>I built the "innards" for several of these: church history with Bud Bence, the brief guides to the Old and New Testaments, theology of the body, JoAnne Lyon's "Saying 'Yes' to the Holy Spirit, Dave Smith's How to Study the Bible, and more. I may have put too much work into them, but I saw it as a service to the church. To me it was important.</p><p>3. Nice to have all my children home for Christmas. Angie did have a wee bout of COVID but is coming out of it in time for Christmas day. I have tested negative so far and feel fine. Praying the same for the rest of the family.</p><p>4. I'm off to FOLLOW the rest of the week, the every-other-year youth convention of the Wesleyan Church. Hope to see many former students.</p><p>Merry Christmas all!</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-7467110870372638772023-12-16T00:43:00.000-05:002023-12-16T00:43:45.521-05:00The Week in Review (December 15, 2023)<p>1. The first semester of Campus' dual enrollment program ended today. It all clicked rather quickly in late summer and we ended with over fifty high school students in it. That's pretty amazing for such short notice. We're now gearing up for a spring semester.</p><p>Here are some of the key points:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>We had 10 options for fall. Now there will be <a href="https://www.campusedu.com/dual-enrollment">close to twenty</a> for spring.</li><li>You can now choose between three colleges to transcribe the credit: <a href="https://www.okbulaunch.com/">Oklahoma Baptist</a>, <a href="https://www.sbuprep.com/">Southwest Baptist</a>, and Kingswood University.</li><li>OBU is launching <a href="https://www.raleycollege.com/">Raley College</a> in the spring where you live in the dorm but take online classes through Campus.</li></ul>In short, things are really ramping up.<p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IsMOfEc0wVmqgd_m6EavazYFdU-hd4_qH4UD-RZveMB2MAn6lgSZsTusbRPbZeFcDr3znFBc14e-KJeDuxv9PWyWuCRsezen40iA7BEH6_5CZysy_34BA4yxvQz7hks9FqrUaEoH9YUjmtd5DdKTV_7IGiV1pqyzFfya5KyjvlRlernClBIH/s522/gabriel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="348" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3IsMOfEc0wVmqgd_m6EavazYFdU-hd4_qH4UD-RZveMB2MAn6lgSZsTusbRPbZeFcDr3znFBc14e-KJeDuxv9PWyWuCRsezen40iA7BEH6_5CZysy_34BA4yxvQz7hks9FqrUaEoH9YUjmtd5DdKTV_7IGiV1pqyzFfya5KyjvlRlernClBIH/w133-h200/gabriel.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>2. I spent the bulk of the week on a "concept" micro-course to show how some resources the CCCU has on "sexual and gender minorities" might be put together for professional development. This was quite a task because it required processing a constellation of materials they have and trying to simplify them. I'll be interested to know what they think.<p></p><p>3. I've been burning the candle at both ends for work with little time for my own project. Let me just mention that I have two Christmas books you might consider.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8K8W0swZpJzzqc4_EbIcHb4s4zo3uokTrz_2rbOllYkJGqXK2HWHQONFEei9qBMs_DeezVr26Qf_jADHl2CKzR-reV2w6NG7uWPqrg6hjYasf5MXNsZV-EeTiZ65c4Rn5CPud-G40QM_V8ULDqEAcqpXY2XiDilCMUqMu9x3Txepk9jHHR8jK/s522/en%20gospels.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="348" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8K8W0swZpJzzqc4_EbIcHb4s4zo3uokTrz_2rbOllYkJGqXK2HWHQONFEei9qBMs_DeezVr26Qf_jADHl2CKzR-reV2w6NG7uWPqrg6hjYasf5MXNsZV-EeTiZ65c4Rn5CPud-G40QM_V8ULDqEAcqpXY2XiDilCMUqMu9x3Txepk9jHHR8jK/w133-h200/en%20gospels.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>First, there was <i><a href="https://a.co/d/af0BsYZ">Gabriel's Diary: The Incarnation</a></i>. This was the first novel I ever actually finished, back in 2017. It tells the story of the incarnation from Gabriel's perspective.<p></p><p>Then the second I did last year: <i><a href="https://a.co/d/aQViybn">Explanatory Notes on Jesus' Birth</a></i>. This is my old style verse-by-verse commentary, covering the birth stories in Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2, with the first part of John 1 thrown in.</p><p>4. Sophie's home. She finished up her quick trip around Europe with Copenhagen. Then she returned to Edinburgh to pack up her stuff. Now she's back in the states again. Now she is conspiring to figure out how to get back to Europe. </p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-84574928050041773542023-12-09T00:10:00.007-05:002023-12-09T00:13:03.451-05:00The Week in Review (December 9, 2023)<p>Oh, how the weeks fly.</p><p>1. My daughter Sophie has had a very enjoyable week traveling Europe before her soon return to America. From Amsterdam, she meant to go by train to Strasbourg and then to Munich. God or chaos theory intervened. A railway strike kept her from France, leaving her to look around the scintillating Karlsruhe (sarcasm). Then unexpected snow and frigid temperatures stopped her train journey at Ulm (it has a spectacular minster which I don't believe she was able to see in the end). Finally, after a night staying warm on a parked train with free coffee, she actually had to take a taxi from Ulm to Munich, thankfully at Deutschebahn's expense.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgIWjA6x8bFonU184jf14ShjoYJZDxO6FvkA51pEXIshADjRLltHEMQfCCKV2C3Uyfj1S2BW7KstnNJ-Bb9nt0NtXeRM1C67d4rt19tNJB9-ugZHUo7XEwkmfqB7rQ8NKQkatTBTouRZQloSE2DRFnWaxmgGL64CaAXpukdQ32y59qD2CyoHAM" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjgIWjA6x8bFonU184jf14ShjoYJZDxO6FvkA51pEXIshADjRLltHEMQfCCKV2C3Uyfj1S2BW7KstnNJ-Bb9nt0NtXeRM1C67d4rt19tNJB9-ugZHUo7XEwkmfqB7rQ8NKQkatTBTouRZQloSE2DRFnWaxmgGL64CaAXpukdQ32y59qD2CyoHAM" width="180" /></a></div>I have a strangely clear memory of most of these locations from my European days first in the 90s and then on my two sabbaticals in Germany in 2004 and 2011. The privileges of another life when I was a scholar. We spent late 2011/early 2012 in Munich, so Sophie revisited some of the old haunts from our time there, including the Gisele Gymnasium where Tom and she went to school.<p></p><p>Last Friday, Ken Blake in Munich unexpectedly found out he was in danger of a heart attack. God graciously drew attention to the situation before it became really serious. The long and the short of it is that Sophie was able to visit with the Blakes for several hours the afternoon he came home from the hospital. We attended their Wesleyan church when we were there on sabbatical.</p><p>She then spent a couple days in Vienna, another place we had visited in 2011. Then on to Copenhagen, a place still on my bucket list. I provided her with a few tales of Soren Kierkegaard and Niels Bohr. I'm so thankful she has been able to do this and that God has kept her safe.</p><p>2. I had the idea to make a video of <a href="https://youtu.be/fcKjCaMwGl0">a fun algebra ditty</a> a former Greek student once showed me. It takes an equation and reworks it into the form of "merry x-mas." I put it online Wednesday and it already has over 600 hits. It will probably turn out to be the most successful YouTube video I've made.</p><p>I haven't had much time for my science and math goals, unfortunately. Just too busy.</p><p>3. The Kingswood Learn platform with free micro-courses for the church has been shared with a beta group but will launch officially at the end of the year. I will make sure that you know how to sign up when the time comes. I've finished my part of Bud Bence's "Brief Guide to Church History" and David Smith's "How to Read the Bible." This week I've slipped in Eric Hallett's "Missional Ministry Development." This resource is going to be huge. And your church can upload things too!</p><p>4. I am so very grateful to be doing what I'm doing. The young people I work with are so smart, so sharp, so talented. They dance circles around me in so many things. I am grateful to be part of what we're doing and, hopefully, I'm doing my part too. </p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-32128431381983740612023-12-02T05:22:00.002-05:002023-12-02T05:25:27.113-05:00The Week in Review (December 2, 2023)<p>So we enter the final month of 2023. This week blew by. I find myself looking back and wondering where it went. Such it would seem is most of life for many of us. We wake up one morning and we are old, and we can't quite figure out where our lives went. I am not 60, but I do find myself feeling old on several counts.</p><p>The main event of my week was a quick trip to Dallas to ACSI headquarters. My organization and ACSI have been working together for a couple years now. We are doing a lot of work currently with Christian high schools, so an ongoing relationship seems appropriate. </p><p>I'm effectively the chief academic officer for Campus Edu, so there was a lot of "make sure everyone and every course gets across the finish line" work this week. Checking in on students, checking in on professors. A little teaching here and there. Not a lot of time for my own projects. We are on a deadline to get dozens of micro-courses launched for Kingswood University by the first of the year, so that is consuming a lot of time. I'm working on several higher ed courses for spring too. A lot to do.</p><p>My daughter Sophie is doing a quick once around Europe this week. She's been through Amsterdam and is now in Germany. Strikes and snow are messing with her nicely laid-out plan a bit. She's bringing back memories. On this score, she's reliving some of my life.</p><p>AI is coming. It's only here in a taste. I know new millionaires are in the making. I won't be one of them. I suppose AGI might make that money meaningless anyway. We'll see. I wouldn't mind AI taking over the world. Just as long as I could convince it of the right values. :-)</p><p>That's it for this week in review. This weekend? Hopefully a couple more chapters of AI translation. A bit of work on a biology course and a missional ministry microcourse. Probably should slip a run in there. Grading would be responsible. Blessings to you all.</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-34707328363303246882023-11-25T14:12:00.002-05:002023-11-25T14:12:21.523-05:00Two Weeks in Review (November 25, 2023)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QqBM0Jj_HLNB_aVls-W_uAnyMVYPYQidud6m9SQe5dqQebc5rzE2WFlahq02KGo3k57lzAkTLQQ0m8f28i_JFZuJSMo9vPRl3MrbfMnaJi4msffSb-72-iErXLhEpEvhFE0fRw_vWvpXUbwB6XKE5R4o34RDdgpsmYq2GvxWg3ybE78Fw3_V/s9248/sophie%20graduation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="9248" data-original-width="6936" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QqBM0Jj_HLNB_aVls-W_uAnyMVYPYQidud6m9SQe5dqQebc5rzE2WFlahq02KGo3k57lzAkTLQQ0m8f28i_JFZuJSMo9vPRl3MrbfMnaJi4msffSb-72-iErXLhEpEvhFE0fRw_vWvpXUbwB6XKE5R4o34RDdgpsmYq2GvxWg3ybE78Fw3_V/w150-h200/sophie%20graduation.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>I missed last week's review because I was in Scotland for my daughter's master's graduation from the University of Edinburgh. I also missed SBL (Society of Biblical Literature), although I doubt I would have gone anyway this year. <p></p><p>A lot of scholarly banter is the process of sorting through ideas, so I suppose much of the process of this sort of scholarship does not end up going anywhere. Probably most papers at SBL, IBR (Institute for Biblical Research), or ETS (Evangelical Theological Society) end up unhelpful to anyone but the presenter.</p><p>There are some works each year that stand out, and the book hall is always a highlight. This year, Nijay Gupta's <i><a href="https://a.co/d/5yr5lVx">Tell Her Story</a> </i>has sold so many copies that it has already gone through several printings. It is of course scholarship written for a more general audience. </p><p>The divide between the academy and the grassroots church seems larger than ever. The academy has a tendency to be dismissive because it knows stuff, but the popular church has its own interests and is making itself heard. I have long mourned the seeming inability of the two to communicate with each other. They both need each other.</p><p>2. Scotland was enjoyable. Very proud of my daughter. Made me want to write a book summarizing my twelfth-grade humanities class. It was a mixture of history, art, philosophy, and literature. We went to several museums, including the Kelvingrove in Glasgow. We saw El Grecos, Picasso, van Gogh, Renoir, Raphael, etc. Plenty of history too. John Knox, Mary Queen of Scots, St. Giles. Good food as well -- Italian, Greek, Korean, Scottish breakfasts, etc.</p><p>I finished the church history micro-course the week prior to departure. I was told the material was very good, perhaps even publishable. Now finishing up a How to Study the Bible micro-course featuring some videos from David Smith.</p><p>Not much else to say. Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Life goes on.</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-29578445368652471882023-11-11T06:11:00.003-05:002023-11-11T06:14:58.347-05:00The Week in Review (November 11, 2023)<p>1. Quite a significant week for Campus Edu and perhaps for higher education. Our partner, Oklahoma Baptist University, launched <a href="https://www.raleycollege.com/">Raley College at OBU</a> with us. The concept is fairly simple:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>You live in the dorm and participate in campus life. You go to chapel. You eat in the cafeteria. You can't play intercollegiate sports, however, because you're in an associate degree program (AA in Interdisciplinary Studies).</li><li>You take one face-to-face class, but the other four are online classes partnered with Campus. They are, in effect, OBU classes with OBU professors in OBU's catalog. Campus Edu is like a really fancy textbook with a professor inside.</li><li>The tuition is $10,000, making this the least expensive tuition of any CCCU school. The goal is to serve as a junior college. Why go to a secular community college, sometimes with less equipped instructors?</li><li>Someone could of course commute. Room and board is $8400.</li></ul><p>This is like a Priceline model. Sell the empty rooms in your dorms at a special rate. Why let them sit empty? Most students will still want the classroom experience if they can afford it. But this just might get some to come who can't. And they get a Christian perspective with courses designed for digital natives. Then you can try to upsell them into your bachelor's programs.</p>OBU has been a model partner. They are motivated, willing to take calculated risks, willing to change when it is reasonable. They have really helped us refine the model. Rarely have we found such a nimble partner. We have talked to other potential partners whose fear of cannibalizing students who might pay full price undermined the project. <p></p><p>The key is that virtually no student actually pays full sticker price at any private college. By the time scholarships and such are added, the average tuition a student pays is usually about half of the sticker price. It's a game. And the amount a college wants to make on a student from tuition is perhaps half of that. In the end, colleges won't actually make much less on a student with this program. And if it gets or retains students who wouldn't otherwise have attended, it's gold.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTgD6fHhofveHqYXj7tDFY2mW2gMBAdDnRnSzgHDgedO5LcQIbunHrpNulUmiC-wPlZ8OIZPW1mitPrxfGxMz0D5iqpHJZREjQApwMH4j-pyZ3lwEiEY8yIKCnKw31feDDuRg4miWmEKlgfvpBTDVVSsULoiLnWcXDhFRV1gYFRdEERPT848f/s2048/wesleyan%20founding.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="2048" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHTgD6fHhofveHqYXj7tDFY2mW2gMBAdDnRnSzgHDgedO5LcQIbunHrpNulUmiC-wPlZ8OIZPW1mitPrxfGxMz0D5iqpHJZREjQApwMH4j-pyZ3lwEiEY8yIKCnKw31feDDuRg4miWmEKlgfvpBTDVVSsULoiLnWcXDhFRV1gYFRdEERPT848f/w200-h150/wesleyan%20founding.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>2. The rest of my week was spent working on church history courses. On Wednesday, Bud Bence and I met on the campus of Anderson University where the Wesleyan Church was founded. We did some bantering about the merger. This will become a Wesleyan Church History and Discipline course toward ordination, largely with Kingswood, with some other surprises in store. Kingswood has also proved to be a model partner.<p></p><p>The rest of the week I was putting together the micro-course version of Bud Bence's full church history course. A Bud Bence legacy course already exists through Kingswood. As part of the <a href="https://www.campusedu.com/campus-and-kingswood-university-announce-revolutionary-partnership-to-launch-kingswood-learn">Kingswood Learn</a> project, we will be rolling out over fifty free micro-courses for the Wesleyan Church. One of them is a crash five Lesson course in church history, featuring some videos from Bud's broader class.</p><p>The church is going to love what Kingswood is providing as a service, for free. What an incredible discipleship tool for the church!</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-3562155658789294342023-11-04T23:39:00.002-04:002023-11-04T23:40:02.923-04:00The Week in Review (November 4, 2023)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgUgT4KKssKSKZPdIr4e20r5ai0HMRXZX93c26JQaAwHBNeXgmkj7yjCyCRAAvItzFhC8a-J1MWyQNYBvofxH6J02EopFpLGkXUmNODdW4NSr_WQqADTUhMAgLqS5fHfV0OL2idMhLK-xhyphenhyphen64o1uw49POIa9Cc54WhFjQu8Xc6VinDEFKlDmi/s1144/The%20A%20Team%20in%20OK.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="1144" height="175" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgUgT4KKssKSKZPdIr4e20r5ai0HMRXZX93c26JQaAwHBNeXgmkj7yjCyCRAAvItzFhC8a-J1MWyQNYBvofxH6J02EopFpLGkXUmNODdW4NSr_WQqADTUhMAgLqS5fHfV0OL2idMhLK-xhyphenhyphen64o1uw49POIa9Cc54WhFjQu8Xc6VinDEFKlDmi/w200-h175/The%20A%20Team%20in%20OK.png" width="200" /></a></div>1. The week started in Oklahoma with the Campus team. We were visiting a great university that I may post about on Linkedin in the near future. This is a scrappy college that is not only willing to think outside the box, but they know how to navigate the landmines. This one might make the papers.<p></p><p>We have only encountered a few colleges with this kind of growth mindset. Some just don't see it. Some can't get out of their own way. Some think they're God's gift to academia. </p><p>2. Kingswood is another scrappy college that is seizing the moment. Almost all of the video for the upcoming free micro-courses is shot and now we are busy assembling the courses themselves. Really shaping up to be quite a contribution to the church. Look for the primary launch at the first of the year.</p><p>3. Work on spring courses is also in full swing. Here is an example of a high school landing page we have set up for <a href="https://www.campusedu.com/houghton-academy">Houghton Academy</a>. We have almost twenty Christian high schools now taking these courses. Another university in Missouri has just signed up as another option to transcribe the credit, with more colleges on the way. Momentum!</p><p>4. That doesn't leave a lot of time for personal goals. Nevertheless, I continue working on AI translations of John and Revelation. I did some outlining for a book on Science and Scripture. Hopefully I'll live long enough to finish some of these projects.</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-76798496570946586492023-10-28T03:19:00.001-04:002023-10-28T03:19:16.166-04:00Week in Review (October 28, 2023)<p>1. A good work week. I am working a lot with content, which suits my skills as a writer. I built the content for a micro-course called "Theology of the Body" featuring Jonathan Morgan. This is the Kingswood Learn project where Kingswood will soon be offering to the church over fifty free courses on topics relevant to Christian life and the church. We also set in motion a new dual enrollment course in Psychology and set up the process for others to move forward for spring.</p><p>I have long recognized that capitalism generally rewards those who mechanize content rather than those who create it. It is not the screenwriters that make the big bucks in Hollywood but the actors and especially the producers. Jeff Bezos isn't a billionaire because he writes books but because he sells them. This is just the way the world is. I am a content provider.</p><p>2. I have been moving forward with "Project One-Two Punch." This is to have a free e-book to get people to sign up for my book distribution list. Then I will offer a three-book bundle as a follow-up. If you've read these posts, you might remember that I've been debating which books to feature. I've played a little with the idea of an AI paraphrase of the Bible.</p><p>A night ago, I was having trouble sleeping and edited AI paraphrases of John 1 and Revelation 1. Then I added study notes to Revelation 1 in study Bible format (biblical text at top, study notes at bottom). I was actually pretty pleased with the combination of using ChatGPT to create a raw translation/paraphrase and then for me to use my knowledge and skills to edit it. Tonight I did John 2 and Revelation 2.</p><p>I don't know if anyone will buy it, but that's how I'm proceeding. The current plan is to give the "AI Living Paraphrase" of the Gospel of John away for free in exchange for signing up for my emails. Then the bundle will include Study Notes on an AI paraphrase of Revelation and two other books for $19.99 plus shipping. For the other two books, I'm currently thinking <i><a href="https://a.co/d/h4WecHf">Gabriel's Diary: The Incarnation</a></i> and <i><a href="https://a.co/d/h4WecHf">Chats About God: A Novel Seeking Faith</a></i>. We'll see.</p><p>3. I am fascinated by the reaction of so many younger Americans against Israel and for the Palestinians. Clearly, the situation is complicated. Hamas committed horrible atrocities and the guilty parties should be eliminated. At the same time, the response sometimes seems to hit the wrong target in a disproportionate way. I'm curious how these events will play themselves out in the next presidential election.</p><p>4. A new speaker of the House. I read an interesting interview about the speaker <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/10/27/mike-johnson-christian-nationalist-ideas-qa-00123882">here</a>. Another shooter in Maine. No will to change anything as usual.</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-64148903906277377562023-10-21T02:04:00.003-04:002023-10-21T02:04:53.823-04:00The Week in Review (October 21, 2023)<p>1. My work continues to go well. Very excited about current and emerging products and partnerships. For example, you will be able to take a cybersecurity class through Campus Edu in the Spring.</p><p>2. Today I had my first stint on a DBMD (District Board of Ministerial Development). I consider it a sacred task. Our job is both to mentor and assess candidates for ordination. I was very pleased with all the candidates we saw today.</p><p>The process reflected the organizational genius of Carla Working and Kalina Carlson. It was SO well run. It was by light years a more efficient and helpful process than when I went through over 30 years ago. One could also see continued signs of the "Alan Hirschification" of the denomination, particularly on the subject of baptism.</p><p>3. As last weekend came to an end, I finished evaluating a paraphrase (<b>not</b> <i>The Passion </i>translation). In a little shy of a month, I had plowed through the 260 chapters and 7,959 verses in the NT one by one noting significant paraphrases, paraphrase and interpretive additions, omissions, and general errors. Quite a task.</p><p>One thing led to another, and at the end of the week, I ended up experimenting a little with using AI to "translate" some chapters of the Bible with a relatively young reader in view. I liked the result. I know someone will publish an AI "translation" of the Bible. Why not me? We'll see.</p><p>4. The House still hasn't elected a speaker. The Republican Party seems like a complete mess. After January 6, it is befuddling to me that Donald Trump could be a candidate for President again. </p><p>The Israeli/Palestinian conflict continues. As it turns out, the bombing of a hospital was probably an errant jihadist missile. It is a reminder of our knowledge predicament. Much of the time, you and I are not in a position to know what's really going on. We're just sitting somewhere on our phones or laptops being fed stuff. We should have a "hermeneutics of suspicion" toward the voices out there, especially the ones we like the most. </p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-35805653946756528702023-10-14T00:08:00.000-04:002023-10-14T00:08:08.277-04:00The Week in Review (October 14, 2023)<p>I write my weekly entry with a lovely night pitter-patter of rain on the roof in the background.</p><p>1. The big world news this week is the attack of Hamas on Israel. My first thought was what in the world were they thinking. Israel generally smashes them after this sort of thing. They seem to have no chance of success. One difference this time is hostages. Hamas has hostages, which makes this a somewhat different situation. Nevertheless, the smashing has begun. </p><p>Having said that, what has happened consistently in the past with major conflicts between Israel and the Palestinians is that Israel ends up with more land. Israel telling the Palestinians to vacate the northern Gaza Strip has the possible markings of another land expansion. Lots of thoughts about these things, but my thoughts will have no impact on the situation. </p><p>Lots of people talking prophecy. God of course can fulfill the words of Scripture however he wants. In context, however, I doubt there is any passage in the Bible that had the current conflict in mind. My grandfather would have a different approach if you want to <a href="https://a.co/d/b26YNOk">read his book</a>.</p><p>2. Lots of great things happening with Campus Edu. I expect a string of partnership announcements and ventures over the next weeks. With regard to the micro-courses for Kingswood Learn, I was privileged to work on J. L. Miller's micro-course on "Healthy Spiritual Practices" this week. I think you're going to love what he has to say!</p><p>3. I've been filling every extra moment with my translation evaluation work. Even now I hope to work quite a bit in the night. Did you know the New Testament has 260 chapters and almost 8000 verses? I will have read through the whole New Testament with an eye to the Greek hopefully in two or three more days. For the record, I'm not liking the particular translation I'm working through much at all (it's not the <i>Passion</i>). </p><p>I keep wishing I could be working on my own <i>Explanatory Notes</i> as I go verse by verse through the NT. I hope I can before I die. What I wouldn't mind some help pondering is whether the verse-by-verse format is actually desirable. I've wondered if people might enjoy more a selective commentary--verses where there is something striking. I was getting at something like that with my "Ten Surprising Things about Romans" idea. Your thoughts always welcome.</p><p>Well, back to Acts...</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-78564760526162970262023-10-07T08:08:00.000-04:002023-10-07T08:08:00.764-04:00The Week in Review (October 7, 2023)<p>I have high hopes to get well into Acts today in my translation evaluation work, so I'll try to make quick work of this post.</p><p>Good work week. Contracts a'flying. New initiatives a'baking. Students a'cookin. Campus Edu is on a flywheel that, I predict next year at this time, will be spinnin' like crazy.</p><p>I'll cryptically say that I continue to watch events at Christian colleges with interest. Change is often an opportunity for improvement, but it can also reflect disintegration. Wondering if anyone is noticing and what their sense of the direction is.</p><p>I'm using every drop of extra time to work on this translation evaluation. I didn't advance hardly at all on my book-selling schemes.</p><p>US politics is more of the same, same old same old. Conservatives in the House take us to the brink on keeping the government open. The unhinged element in the "Republican" party ousts the Speaker of the House. Now we're in chaos. I don't know if the Democrats will end up liking this play or not. They participated in it no doubt hoping for something more moderate. Will they get it? "The grass is always greener..."</p><p>I waiver between disgust and despair.</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-65262480136799484082023-09-30T03:03:00.012-04:002023-10-07T07:50:52.887-04:00The Week in Review (September 30, 2023)<p>I always start these posts feeling like not much has happened this week, but then the posts seem to fill out as I start writing.</p><p>1. In my work, I have been working extensively with putting together what we are calling "micro-courses" with Kingswood University. I do believe these are going to turn out to be a major resource for the Wesleyan Church. This week I focused on finishing Steve Lennox's micro-course on the Old Testament and Abson Joseph's similar course on the New Testament. Previously, I put together two leadership courses by Laurel Buckingham.</p><p>2. Our partnership with Oklahoma Baptist continues to be incredibly fruitful in relation to dual enrollment and a dorm-filling initiative, and other schools are lining up. I continue to mourn the fact that we couldn't get any Wesleyan school in the US to partner on some of these initiatives. I do think history will shake its head at this fact. So many missed opportunities handed on a plate and shunned. Our <i>last-minute</i> dual enrollment venture this fall so far has accrued over 50 students from a dozen high schools. Imagine what this initiative will become when it has lead time and grows. </p><p>3. I've tried to continue inching forward with my book-selling project. I will aim to market a Gabriel's Diaries sequence in early December. In the meantime, I may try mid-October to launch another bundle. Here's what I'm thinking:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Give away an e-book version of <i>Who Decides What the Bible Means? </i>for free to generate an email list of interested readers.</li><li>Then offer at a discounted rate a "God bundle" of 1) <i>Chats about God</i>, 2) <i>The Problem of Evil and Suffering</i>, and 3) <i>God and Creation</i> for about $19.99 (a savings of about $11)</li></ul>
I'll redo the covers of three of these and give the content another edit. Thoughts?<br /><br />
4. Little by little, I've been evaluating another translation. I'm less impressed with this one. It does give one a vision for what an exciting paraphrase might look like. I always think of the Jewish <i>targumim </i>when I'm reading paraphrases. These were interpretive renderings and expansions of Old Testament texts. They indicate that at least some Jews felt free to do <i>Message</i> and <i>Passion </i>type ventures with the biblical texts. What could a hyper-interpretive paraphrase look like that was somewhere between a study Bible and a more formal translation?<br /><br>
As an example of what I'm thinking, take Galatians 2:16. Let me give first a formal translation and then a "targumic" paraphrase:<br />
<ul style="text-align: left;"><li>"knowing that a person is not justified by works of Law except through faith of Jesus Christ, even we have put faith in Christ Jesus so that we might be justified by faith of Christ and not from works of Law, because from works of Law no flesh will be justified."</li><li>"Since we know that you cannot come to be in right standing with God by paying close attention to aspects of the Jewish Law like circumcision, the food and purity rules, or Sabbath observance. Many in the Jesus movement think that will get you a long way toward a right standing, but everyone in the movement would agree that you must also trust in the faithful death of Jesus our Messiah. For that reason, everyone in this debate has trusted in Messiah Jesus so that we can be in right standing with God, as it were, by "the faith of Christ." I'm using a double entendre here. I mean both the faithfulness that Jesus showed in going to the cross and dying and the fact that we have put our faith, our trust, in Jesus as well. Notice that we all agree that Jesus is essential to this right standing. Everyone agrees that the particulars of the Jewish Law--especially those that separate Jew from non-Jew, will not get you there by themselves alone. This reality is indicated even in Psalm 143:2, which implies that no Jew is inherently right with God just by being a good Jew and keeping the Law."</li></ul>
Imagine doing that with the whole New Testament!<br /><br />
I will leave these notes at that. Thoughts welcome!Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-73447674176007096002023-09-23T08:30:00.004-04:002023-09-23T08:49:01.480-04:00The Week in Review (September 23, 2023)<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBKDRqI9CECETbTzu8R3qQKQ0odUawRZ4704W6eC3K1ObR-2yjinWkSs1vaqs4VgsRv6nKQyneOraObIOOmC7HGaOHrkEcPgt1_Bp3vtHNtvw_JDItR8ToQuwShrimgKlzPfcjAwm9snhmPxELLGnBQL01Mx2VNGf8dcFl1ZbYj3ek_AawKAj/s522/hebrews.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="522" data-original-width="348" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCBKDRqI9CECETbTzu8R3qQKQ0odUawRZ4704W6eC3K1ObR-2yjinWkSs1vaqs4VgsRv6nKQyneOraObIOOmC7HGaOHrkEcPgt1_Bp3vtHNtvw_JDItR8ToQuwShrimgKlzPfcjAwm9snhmPxELLGnBQL01Mx2VNGf8dcFl1ZbYj3ek_AawKAj/w133-h200/hebrews.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>1. The big news this past week is the official publication of <i><a href="https://a.co/d/ctn9NOy">Explanatory Notes on the Sermon of Hebrews</a></i>. This was with Cascade Publishing, an imprint of Wipf & Stock Publishers. It is my first time publishing with them, although I do have a second contract for an inductive Bible study textbook with them that is 3/4 done.<p></p><p>It is aimed at a church audience so it doesn't have a lot of footnotes. Thanks to Amy Peeler for writing a little blurb for the back. I did a <a href="https://my.seedbed.com/product/the-letter-to-the-hebrews-onebook-daily-weekly/">little book for Seedbed</a> on Hebrews and did the notes for the <a href="https://a.co/d/fHKJXhC">CEB Study Bible</a> on Hebrews, but this book would capture my understandings the best so far in one place.</p><p>2. It was also my birthday this past week. I repeat what everyone says in this stretch of life and beyond. "How did I get this old?" Even since high school, the passage of time has always been a mystery to me. Every morning as I walked across the breezeway at Fort Lauderdale High School, I wondered how I managed to get from the previous day to the next one. Now I seem to have tunneled to the future in my late 50s.</p><p>I don't feel mature enough to be this old.</p><p>3. I have been providing feedback for a revision of <i>The Passion Translation</i>. This last week and some change, I compared its Gospel of Mark to the Greek. I find this version of Mark to do a pretty good job of making clear what is happening in the text. Matthew seemed a little more out there than Mark. My biggest critique is the assumption that the Syriac translation of the Gospels somehow has a more direct route to the original. Rather, the Syriac is probably a translation from the Greek.</p><p>When I put my marketing hat on, however, this is a great advantage. I think Brian Simmons genuinely thinks that the <i>Peshitta </i>is a window to Jesus and the original wording. This not only gives readers a sense of uncovering secrets to the text, but it also validates the added material that is in the King James Version. That makes the paraphrase very marketable to a certain audience, I would say.</p><p>4. I've mentioned that am exploring a new writing journey. <a href="http://kenschenck.blogspot.com/2023/09/my-independently-published-book-catalog.html">Last week's catalog</a> of my self-published books was getting ready. What I think I need to launch the new project, perhaps, is a bundle of my books to sell. One would be a free e-book. Then the other three would be a special deal. If you want to give me advice, I'll take it!</p><p>I'm currently playing with the idea of a Christmas special:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Give away for free as an e-book: <i><a href="https://a.co/d/8DXVtSS">God with Ten Words</a></i></li><li>Revise, update the cover, and use <i><a href="https://a.co/d/3zHHGcR">The Incarnation: Gabriel's Diaries</a> </i>as an anchor.</li></ul>Then in the next two months, I would write two more in the <i>Gabriel's Diaries </i>series with somewhat of an affinity to Christmas:<p></p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><i>The Intertestament: Gabriel's Diaries</i> -- In this novel, Gabriel would narrate the intertestamental period in preparation for Jesus. It would speculate on the origins of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, and tell a story of the origins of the Apocrypha. </li><li><i>The Book of Daniel: Gabriel's Diaries</i> -- I have some wild stuff in mind for this one!</li></ul>What do you think? Would you get on a mailing list for this sort of bundle?<p></p><p>5. Thanks for reading! I hope you all have a good week!</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-72147726989943415692023-09-16T01:50:00.010-04:002023-09-16T09:24:59.692-04:00My Independently Published Book Catalog<p>I have two sets of books that I have written. First, there are the books I have published with established publishers. These range from Cambridge to Westminster John Knox. I have a book coming out soon with Cascade. My general goal is to publish a book a year the old-fashioned way. These are the ones I put on my C.V. and that have the more extensive footnotes. I think I'm <a href="https://kenschenck.blogspot.com/2019/02/books-ive-published.html">around 31 books</a> in this category.</p>
<p>Then there are the self-published ones. Unless you're N.T. Wright or a small handful of authors, you can't always get a publisher. And normal publishing is slow. I'm sure it has hurt my reputation, but woe is me if I publish not my thoughts.</p><p>I also wanted to see if they could be a revenue source. Only a few select individuals can make significant amounts on officially published books. And I did make a little money when my NT Survey was part of the adult program at IWU in the 2000s. Over 10,000 copies sold. In the heyday, IWU automatically shipped new copies to students. It was a nice check every year. At its peak, it was maybe a seventh of what I was earning with my day job. </p>
<p>I have yet to make more than a few hundred dollars a year on self-published books. I am strategizing and learning. Stay tuned. At the same time, I'm not sure I've ever cataloged my "independently published" books. That is a significant failing on my part. They are not widely known. I hope to have a Shopify store up in the next month or two. </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8HPOAJPr4OvBYTVhXTMrCAccfrgQMGmEtOIXSphEv6UaJOER-ZyNmgktkks5uYfht-lk_y2LNJTB67zjojAuxm3oVn9avDMg2nBhdyYVGLgA1YLEeUOLxuRwlLMFO9NReCvmR9p2QltRQnvUEuTp2VQOscClDze4cO3Uzt1RMyaJEGHIaZGpK/s1360/who%20decides.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="907" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8HPOAJPr4OvBYTVhXTMrCAccfrgQMGmEtOIXSphEv6UaJOER-ZyNmgktkks5uYfht-lk_y2LNJTB67zjojAuxm3oVn9avDMg2nBhdyYVGLgA1YLEeUOLxuRwlLMFO9NReCvmR9p2QltRQnvUEuTp2VQOscClDze4cO3Uzt1RMyaJEGHIaZGpK/w133-h200/who%20decides.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>But for the moment, here is a catalog of the books I have self-published.<p></p>
1. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/j6K6pQ9">Who Decides What the Bible Means?</a> </i>(2006, 2018)<br />This was my first self-published book, back before CreateSpace and KDP. Keith Drury put me on to Lulu Publishing. I had first submitted it as a part of a contest to WJK. Got an interesting eyebrow-raised response. Waited a year on Abingdon to respond. In the meantime, they published a similar book by a more famous author. I always found that sequence suspicious. I think the book would have done well with Abingdon if they had gone with it.<br /><br />
"Walk down the typical city street in America and you will see church after church, all with different beliefs. What is even more intriguing is the fact that most of them claim to get their beliefs from the Bible. Who decides which interpretation is right In this book, Ken Schenck explores why Christians believe so many different things about the Bible and suggests the best way for Christians to use the Bible with integrity."<br /><br />
2. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/7UQ7BKy">The Problem of Evil and Suffering: Why Does God Allow It?</a> </i>(2012)<br />This was my first with CreateSpace when it was a distinct element in Amazon's network. This was exciting--to be able to publish directly to Amazon. Since I don't have a silver bullet on the problem of evil, not least, this book never made the rounds.<br /><br />
"Those who believe God is loving and good have always wrestled with the question of why he allows evil and suffering to continue in the world. This short book presents some of the best suggestions."<div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHtvlTp6S88sTP6b4n0wH-_OUJWTu17iTpO7eSgW47CdoenFOC8ppkbaFBbuHKE-zNKZhlXIKU-xHBfa5ajevX1OMw_1y4vEILSj9yeLNcrs8Bt3eQNatnxAEBn07UMWlomcPjoFPsrmsMyjJ3YHsMnZF-_QIEF_NY3bLTaBYEO8zo9OiV7Y2/s1360/true%20wesleyan.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="907" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBHtvlTp6S88sTP6b4n0wH-_OUJWTu17iTpO7eSgW47CdoenFOC8ppkbaFBbuHKE-zNKZhlXIKU-xHBfa5ajevX1OMw_1y4vEILSj9yeLNcrs8Bt3eQNatnxAEBn07UMWlomcPjoFPsrmsMyjJ3YHsMnZF-_QIEF_NY3bLTaBYEO8zo9OiV7Y2/w133-h200/true%20wesleyan.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
3. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/4SlwFn7">The True Wesleyan</a> </i>(2012)<br />
Named after an early Wesleyan Methodist magazine, my goal in this short work was to capture what was distinctive about the Wesleyan Church's identity. I was Dean of Wesley Seminary at the time and still had hopes to see the Wesleyan Church be a thought leader. I saw such great potential.<br /><br />I suspect some of this book would be more controversial now than it was then since the frog has been boiling in the kettle in the broader culture. But I still think it is a good presentation of some of the strongest potential contributions of the Wesleyan Church to the church and world today.</div><div><br />
"A brief overview of the historic strengths of the Wesleyan tradition, including its optimism about what God wants to do in the world and its focus on the heart."<br /><br />
4. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/5KZzzam">Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology I: The Word of God: Summary and Evaluation</a> </i>(2013)<br />
I thought I might catch some spillover traffic from individuals going to buy his infamous theology book. I do still get a regular trickle on this one, although it's hard to beat Amazon's algorithmic filters.<br /><br />
"Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology is widely influential. It is well laid out, easy to understand, and has components that make working through it a spiritual experience. The problem is that it is wrong at a number of fundamental points. This is the first of seven booklets summarizing and evaluating Grudem's theology. This first booklet evaluates his theology of Scripture, whose underlying problem is that it is riddled with anachronistic thinking. Grudem neither fully knows how to read the books of the Bible in context, nor is aware of how fundamentalist Reformed influences have skewed his interpretations of Scripture."<br /><br />
5. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/cDyPwsm">Explanatory Notes on Galatians</a></i> (2013)<br />
The next month after I self-published the book on Grudem, I self-published the first in my "Explanatory Notes" series. I had long been inspired by Wesley's <i>Explanatory Notes</i> that he wrote during a year when he was sick. I have all sorts of fragments of these on this blog. My goal was and I suppose still is eventually to publish these notes on the whole Bible. The thought was to keep myself motivated by doing it in atoms, then molecules. I have several of these in various stages of production, now linked to my weekly podcast, <a href="https://patreon.com/kenschenck">"Through the Bible in Ten+ Years."</a><br /><br />
6. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/bG6nKEW">God and Creation: Wesleyan-Arminian Reflections</a></i> (2015)<br />
As I was finishing up as Dean of Wesley, I <a href="https://kenschenck.blogspot.com/2016/07/wesleyan-reflections-on-christian.html">blogged through</a> Wesleyan (Church) theology systematically. I used short articles with one-sentence theses to capture our shortened spans of attention. I tried to make it fit what I take to be the pragmatic potential of our tradition. And of course, I engaged Scripture extensively. It was not until this year (2023) that I finally published all the pieces of what was originally a blog series.<br /><br />
"This book explores the classical topics of Christian theology in relation to God and creation from a Wesleyan-Arminian perspective."<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLaQkul5__t4I4BMgzZNDFfm6wOo-OX9vJo0hnbOFhJj_FPsXQ-608AJG6nthMj5eAHl2Okrl36r3F0k-8-Ycny1Zuwvm74EthKuYd8KT6R2yb3UsyFjV2hivE_5S5qennrOK2QREvSBvhAhJR8dSz1sEIoAYhgilyWEKNOIEnfoOjLRwJysg/s500/dean.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoLaQkul5__t4I4BMgzZNDFfm6wOo-OX9vJo0hnbOFhJj_FPsXQ-608AJG6nthMj5eAHl2Okrl36r3F0k-8-Ycny1Zuwvm74EthKuYd8KT6R2yb3UsyFjV2hivE_5S5qennrOK2QREvSBvhAhJR8dSz1sEIoAYhgilyWEKNOIEnfoOjLRwJysg/w133-h200/dean.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>7. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/aYxp8f6">Six Years a Dean: Reflections on the Founding of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University</a></i> (2017)<br />
I wrote this about a year after I left the seminary to go back to the undergraduate school of ministry. The historian in me wanted to preserve the founding of Wesley Seminary because I thought God had done something pretty spectacular and exciting. It still has a strong Hispanic MDIV program going, but it seems to me that it has generally lost its original flavor. <br /><br />
"The founding of Wesley Seminary at Indiana Wesleyan University was an adventure in academic innovation and entrepreneurship. This book gives over six years' worth of reflections by the founding Dean."<br /><br />8. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/5ye6DcJ">Gabriel's Diary: The Incarnation</a></i> (2017)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3Seyppr5AGDbGhAGTjkNfZtz2P4L8bCsaPtUidtjCR_OynxqmYgio0L2OzT5RppBniflFjAItFlq4HtVFd5cK2NdMDvdab3mEgPfQLjFpJk4eIaVOP-xNx2ESxLHA6UjI4KJfqSFq42lnOZXzzASH-8cZ3Otmvjkv_KB4Pa8nEBB7h3o5i2o/s500/incarnation.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI3Seyppr5AGDbGhAGTjkNfZtz2P4L8bCsaPtUidtjCR_OynxqmYgio0L2OzT5RppBniflFjAItFlq4HtVFd5cK2NdMDvdab3mEgPfQLjFpJk4eIaVOP-xNx2ESxLHA6UjI4KJfqSFq42lnOZXzzASH-8cZ3Otmvjkv_KB4Pa8nEBB7h3o5i2o/w133-h200/incarnation.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>This was the very first novel I ever finished. I have over fifty more that I started over the years, going back even to before my England days. The goal was to tell the story of the Bible from Gabriel's perspective. Writing in novel form allows not only speculation but going well beyond. The goal was eventually to have a compilation volume going from creation to Revelation. I did three of five proposed volumes, but lack of interest killed my motivation.<br /><br />
"Gabriel is the archangel God uses more than any other to communicate with the universe. In this first of several entries into his diary, Gabriel recounts the coming of the Logos to the Earth as Jesus the Christ."<br /><br />
9. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/bQKykfX">Gabriel's Diary: The Enthronement</a> </i>(2018)<br />
The second installment looked at Jesus' earthly ministry, death, and resurrection.<br /><br />
"In the first installment of his diary, the archangel Gabriel shared his reflections on Jesus' incarnation as a child. In this second volume, he shares the story of Jesus' earthly ministry, death, and resurrection."<br /><br />
10. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/eqftssH">Gabriel's Diary: The Creation</a></i> (2018)<br />
I sensed a little interest in the first two volumes. There didn't seem any interest at all in this third volume, although I was very excited about it. I thought this might be an experimental niche volume for nerds interested in cosmological physics and science. It also was a chance to explore whether it was possible to integrate evolution with the biblical narrative and Christian theology. The result had a C.S. Lewis feel of a sort. But the book has been a dud so far as far as sales. The cover didn't help.<br /><br />What I've realized is that it is almost impossible anymore to sell books on Amazon without a lot of work and investment. I'm currently studying how to do it. I may resurrect this series in a new form. For example, "The Story of Romans: Gabriel's Diaries."<br /><br />
"This third novella in the Gabriel series has Gabriel recount the creation of the universe up to the fall of humanity in the rainforest of Eden. The account implicitly speculates how the perspectives of modern science might cohere with Scripture and Christian theology."<br /><br />
11. <a href="https://a.co/d/5u8vS4n"><i>Paul Ricoeur's</i> Interpretation Theory<i>: Schenck Notes</i></a> (2018)<br />
Similar to the book on Grudem, I thought I might capture a niche of people trying to understand this classic philosophical, hermeneutical work. I thought I might do my own "Cliff Notes" on key biblical and philosophical writings. I had blogged through this book, so it also fits in the category of taking material I had blogged and translating it into book form."<br /><br />
"Paul Ricoeur's Interpretation Theory is a classic in hermeneutics. These Schenck notes walk through the text, breaking it down so it can be understood and connected to related works."<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSU_-nWwDVfSvjmqprqt0xfCkt8T5lCbarwlbdNWEdrItpYDj0douN7vOFYV4h9hgswct64dz2zzQjqnpi1YoNLDnD0HVkY1c4w6i8kGtRwA_tu5Gwj1jPuzirnjQAw2y85Oao8SsfuIhPuI4wAqez8NlFieGMPLHryVrwH26iopwxrTEsC8pn/s1500/horse.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="943" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSU_-nWwDVfSvjmqprqt0xfCkt8T5lCbarwlbdNWEdrItpYDj0douN7vOFYV4h9hgswct64dz2zzQjqnpi1YoNLDnD0HVkY1c4w6i8kGtRwA_tu5Gwj1jPuzirnjQAw2y85Oao8SsfuIhPuI4wAqez8NlFieGMPLHryVrwH26iopwxrTEsC8pn/w126-h200/horse.jpg" width="126" /></a></div>12. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/cvXetvg">A Horse Strangely Warmed: The Life of John Wesley as Told by His Horses</a></i> (2019)<br />
I don't know what I was thinking. I just had a funny thought one day. Tell the story of Wesley from the standpoint of his horses. This is my fourth novel finished. How one laugh sustained me to finish this book I don't know. Very unusual. It took a bit of research, since I'm not a Wesley expert. I have memories of writing it in my office at IWU in the library. I thought it might be popular with Methodists and Wesley fans. It does have a prancing of sales from time to time but never a gallop.<br /><br />
"See the ministry of John Wesley as seen through his horses--Maggot, Holey, Sophy, Grace, Georgy, and Charlie."<br /><br />
13. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/9VnPEzi">Explanatory Notes on 1 and 2 Thessalonians</a> </i>(2020)<br />
After a seven-year hiatus, I took some of the explanatory notes from my blog and published another volume of the Explanatory Notes series. Three out of Paul's 13 down, 10 to go. I have plenty of fragments wanting to be filled out. For example, I think I have all of Philippians lying here on this blog somewhere.<br /><br />
"In the spirit of John Wesley's Explanatory Notes on the New Testament, Ken Schenck translates 1 and 2 Thessalonians verse by verse. The book gives general insights into the original meaning of Paul's earliest letter, as well as plenty of speculation about the setting of Paul's most mysterious letter."<br /><br />
14. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/j0TuPSo">God with Ten Words</a> </i>(2021)<br />
I was also excited about this one. It attempted to capture some key insights into Christian beliefs about God in ten words. Simple, I thought. What I have learned is that, as much of a reach as I have, I will never be able to make substantial revenue off of my current social media network. Self-published authors have to market to 10,000s and spend $100s a day to find and maintain an audience.<br /><br />
"It is common to speak of the attributes or characteristics of God. This book picks ten key characteristics of God and explores them both biblically and theologically. God is mystery, love, power, knowledge, presence, Immanuel, good, parent, justice, and savior."<br /><br />
15.<i> <a href="https://a.co/d/1WWgwDO">Profound Spiritual Reflections (or not)</a> </i>(2022)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jpyixr-76NSgXwq7Eqa2H_UVsdpax9flTnEonBDAwoKnV9kpgRyd3YmeIdX0FAJLY6JeMe_e3XkPCwQyFcUJfybH6yLrRU4JPEsCJh9WFjH1mOYXGUqWvi62n0GyKc2TmFjvUSUxLHkR4QhzzDgK3bFr4xwMcaBtNxKehMKdiLs1bbq6HvyS/s1500/deep.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="938" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7jpyixr-76NSgXwq7Eqa2H_UVsdpax9flTnEonBDAwoKnV9kpgRyd3YmeIdX0FAJLY6JeMe_e3XkPCwQyFcUJfybH6yLrRU4JPEsCJh9WFjH1mOYXGUqWvi62n0GyKc2TmFjvUSUxLHkR4QhzzDgK3bFr4xwMcaBtNxKehMKdiLs1bbq6HvyS/w125-h200/deep.jpg" width="125" /></a></div>I did make a good first round of sales on this one. Many of my students from the 2000s bought this compilation of Deep Thoughts as a good memory from their time at IWU. Dave Mason brought them back by having me give them at Silver Lake camp in Ontario.<br /><br />
"Life is serious. These thoughts are not. Amid the insanity of life and current events, these thoughts will hopefully brighten your day."<br /><br />
16. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/eUqurei">Profound Halloween/Reformation Day Reflections (or not)</a></i> (2022)<br />
I wondered if a follow-up edition focused on Halloween and Reformation Day might be a hit as well. Not so much. It was the memory of earlier days that sold the first more than the jokes themselves, it seems. Volumes I pondered on Christmas, July 4, and beyond have not materialized.<br /><br />
"The Reformation was serious. Halloween and these (not so) profound reflections are not. Amid the frivolity of Halloween and the never-ending splintering of Christianity, these thoughts are meant to brighten your day."<br /><br />
17. <a href="https://a.co/d/7qckPNr"><i>Christ and Salvation: Wesleyan-Arminian Reflections</i></a> (2022)<br />
In 2022 I resolved to finish editing the systematic theology I had blogged through several years previous and publish it. After <i>God and Creation</i>, the next block of material was on Christology and soteriology. Seven years later.<br /><br />
"This book explores the classical topics of Christian theology in relation to Christ and salvation from a Wesleyan-Arminian perspective."<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIfVwJ9XWzwWKNX0Yd7oQGOAFanK3jj0ntUHlTJN7dzYiGBsjLH8dsbuuKQuGqC-6DslLZ-QCZGYRib4tEjM-eM3ocCxWp6-XTu9JSmieqzXtE9A0WdCi4M84-iIR4Whfh8OxeH9dxTW-AxcoIi1xUTuACJ-BjzqzTYCHecoPqygTlWNUIIeT/s1500/birth.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDIfVwJ9XWzwWKNX0Yd7oQGOAFanK3jj0ntUHlTJN7dzYiGBsjLH8dsbuuKQuGqC-6DslLZ-QCZGYRib4tEjM-eM3ocCxWp6-XTu9JSmieqzXtE9A0WdCi4M84-iIR4Whfh8OxeH9dxTW-AxcoIi1xUTuACJ-BjzqzTYCHecoPqygTlWNUIIeT/w133-h200/birth.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>
18. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/3fdahqb">Explanatory Notes on Jesus' Birth</a> </i>(2022)<br />Following the same idea I had used for <i>Gabriel's Diaries</i> a few years earlier, I resolved to have Explanatory Notes on key passages in the Gospels ready for Christmas and Easter. I needed to be a little earlier, but managed to publish this one December 16, barely in time for Christmas.<br /><br />
"This book is part of a number of "Explanatory Notes" I have published on the New Testament. This one looks at the birth stories in Matthew and Luke, as well as the Prologue in the Gospel of John. We go verse by verse through the biblical text, with a special view to the original meaning, but also to theological and practical significance."<br /><br />
19. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/j1u7Lz2">The Spirit and the Church: Wesleyan-Arminian Reflections</a></i> (2022)<br />
The third and final volume of the systematic theology portion of my blogging was done, published on Christmas Day. Since this is the area where I think Wesleyans are the most distinctive theologically, I was especially proud of this one. <br /><br />
"This book explores classical topics of Christian theology in relation to the Holy Spirit and the Church from a Wesleyan-Arminian perspective."<br /><br />
20. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/7zNG3c8">Christian Ethics: Wesleyan-Arminian Reflections</a> </i>(2023)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiii2PLsSb6PptBmDbmgeK2-tQu-Jw9J-JyZD5SYLdp0uRitqbXMFQqDDCy1kfYbnWfkdnqyToPdIhm_hsT2TmOTu0qqhOO_fMyVOZ7F4tA8UTAMzsCscWJrQN5x5IS4IccUXPQQznMmTIi0eV49aFOUbvRU2phFC5-1BrBvUMWGVcHfMQugQ7I/s1500/ethics.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiii2PLsSb6PptBmDbmgeK2-tQu-Jw9J-JyZD5SYLdp0uRitqbXMFQqDDCy1kfYbnWfkdnqyToPdIhm_hsT2TmOTu0qqhOO_fMyVOZ7F4tA8UTAMzsCscWJrQN5x5IS4IccUXPQQznMmTIi0eV49aFOUbvRU2phFC5-1BrBvUMWGVcHfMQugQ7I/w133-h200/ethics.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>The fourth part of the theology series was on ethics. I published it as a separate volume. It uses the Ten Commandments as the framework and, again, I was very happy to see this volume get into print. In these volatile times, I tried to represent the current sense of the Wesleyan Church while engaging in broader dialogs.<br /><br />"This book explores the key topics of Christian ethics from a Wesleyan-Arminian perspective. The basic structure of the book follows the Ten Commandments but views them through the lens of the New Testament, especially the twin commands to love God and love neighbor."<br /><br />
21. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/g3L6w6h">Wesleyan-Arminian Reflections on Christian Theology and Ethics</a> </i>(2023)<br />
This is the only hardback I have ever self-published. It is the compilation of all four theology and ethics volumes in one. It's a big book, the longest I've ever self-published, well over 700 pages.<br /><br />
"This is a compilation volume bringing together in one place four smaller volumes that are already available in paperback. These were 1) God and Creation, 2) Christ and Salvation, 3) The Spirit and the Church, and 4) Christian Ethics. This hardback volume brings all four of those "Wesleyan-Arminian reflections" in one place."<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYvtPzdO9W8bi3gM9LrjGdUSy5OClExwzxChVB7gi5SV7xY_HO0TLLAwxoc9AgrdzOeEm7JVaf7byxC1KbEcbo5SUD9KJymjxYQTbhA1JFZAmEJhH5HZsqCdpxcX4OtdL4JSv9leuvLazMPJQyiGrM7y7LRwKmfHUQO9tS4WTKTYE7tZrpCdj/s1500/systheol.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfYvtPzdO9W8bi3gM9LrjGdUSy5OClExwzxChVB7gi5SV7xY_HO0TLLAwxoc9AgrdzOeEm7JVaf7byxC1KbEcbo5SUD9KJymjxYQTbhA1JFZAmEJhH5HZsqCdpxcX4OtdL4JSv9leuvLazMPJQyiGrM7y7LRwKmfHUQO9tS4WTKTYE7tZrpCdj/w133-h200/systheol.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>22. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/2AxT8lq">A Wesleyan-Arminian Systematic Theology</a></i> (2023)<br />
It seemed to me that the big hardback was a bit cumbersome and that a more desirable package would be the three theology volumes together, so I published the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit pieces together soon thereafter. I might be most proud of this volume of any book I've self-published. The Wesleyan Church and its forebears have not produced much along these lines. Luther Lee wrote one in 1859. That's about it.<br /><br />
Now, whether it likes it or not, the Wesleyan Church has a systematic theology. I think the fact that it's self-published, along with the style in which it was written, fits some of the pioneering spirit of the Wesleyans this last century and a half. The style and spirit fits with the original founding of Wesley Seminary. It fits the spirit of IWU's ministry department in the 2000s, IMO. <br /><br />
"This volume brings together in one place the three theology volumes of the Wesleyan-Arminian theology series. These were 1) God and Creation, 2) Christ and Salvation, and 3) The Spirit and the Church."<br /><br />
23. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/cBq1FQg">Explanatory Notes on Jesus' Resurrection</a> </i>(2023)<br />
Soon it was Lent, and I did my best to publish Explanatory Notes on the resurrection narratives before Easter. I had initially wanted to do all the passion narratives as well, but it was just too much. Perhaps before Easter next year.<br /><br />
"As part of the Explanatory on the New Testament series, this book provides Explanatory Notes on the Resurrection narratives in the Gospels, with some additional material from Acts and 1 Corinthians. We go verse by verse through the biblical texts, with a special view to the original meaning, but also to theological and practical significance.."<br /><br />
Much more of this series to come. I suspect that, when I have enough to start bundling, I will get more interest.<br /><br />
24. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/bfFLz16">Chats about God: A Novel Seeking Faith</a></i> (2023)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJcIrvQkTEsj61upnbhdrBj-VNvIeRsPLf7tjaoFfFJ5_aK4PQxnmMfVbAfbOBytqZd9T5KkJkMdGvll3lYMdJ99Ilbc2LWASoyYJHVQ36lBYMc2Vt9soW9Ord61XZvjHN7DGF20lBY7ABM6d8h3WrHLu4hFmRCRVXIW6SBrYe16SCi_S0t-s/s1500/chats.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJcIrvQkTEsj61upnbhdrBj-VNvIeRsPLf7tjaoFfFJ5_aK4PQxnmMfVbAfbOBytqZd9T5KkJkMdGvll3lYMdJ99Ilbc2LWASoyYJHVQ36lBYMc2Vt9soW9Ord61XZvjHN7DGF20lBY7ABM6d8h3WrHLu4hFmRCRVXIW6SBrYe16SCi_S0t-s/w133-h200/chats.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>This was my first color book and my fifth novel. Late 2022 and early 2023 saw the advent of ChatGPT. I suppose our reactions to such things are somewhat predictable. As someone who likes innovation, I was excited. I actually used some early AI image generation in it. Midjourney would knock the socks off it now.<br><br>
It actually gave me good motivation to write a novel idea I had toyed with for a few years--processing faith with an "objective" AI. I thought curiosity would get me sales on this one. But very little. <br /><br />
"In this novel, a young college student works through his faith questions by dialoguing with "Chat," a voice-activated artificial intelligence, and a small group of friends that call themselves the Seekers. One by one, he looks at the various arguments and objections to the existence of God. In the end, he concludes that Christian faith is reasonable and that God reaches out to each one of us in the hope that we will move toward him."<br /><br />
25. <a href="https://a.co/d/0Af1PkF"><i>Plato's</i> Republic<i>: with Condescending Remarks</i></a> (2023)<br />Convinced AI was a path to crank out some things, I returned to the same genre as I had done with Grudem and Ricoeur. But now, I thought, Chat could instantly generate the summaries that I had painstakingly generated by blogging before. I had ChatGPT generate summaries of Plato's <i>Republic</i>, book by book. Then I "trashed" Plato thereafter. Not a single sale as far as I know.<br /><br />One challenge is that Chat is not always right. Sometimes it just makes stuff up. I ended up doing a lot more checking and editing of its summaries than I had hoped. In the end, the absence of interest and my inability to pierce Amazon's algorithms killed my enthusiasm. On my hard drive is a half-finished expansion of this idea to Plato's other treatises. I still hope to do versions of this on Augustine and beyond.<br /><br />
"In this first of the "with condescending remarks" series, ChatGPT summarizes the ten books of Plato's Republic (as well as Plato's life and broader thinking). Then I provide condescending remarks of superior intelligence putting that Plato in his place. Yes, yes, I know, the Republic is allegedly the most influential book of philosophy of all time."<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1BO-dyW02XrXr7nU4_oHrBIW1K_Vtesq-g5KimsvYrPdMWzS2gN0opbERMZjSdKRgtEBCkLe0u2yJTSUgR-Aj-v3WG2eLlu-bxpFFaG_O2fMyKH8knFBb7C7nSoEqxZbd5q3NplSMKzP_ay3Od9uC0s8p2ZAUjJkzpchH8XTpA2ABH2eNfyAS/s1500/business.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1BO-dyW02XrXr7nU4_oHrBIW1K_Vtesq-g5KimsvYrPdMWzS2gN0opbERMZjSdKRgtEBCkLe0u2yJTSUgR-Aj-v3WG2eLlu-bxpFFaG_O2fMyKH8knFBb7C7nSoEqxZbd5q3NplSMKzP_ay3Od9uC0s8p2ZAUjJkzpchH8XTpA2ABH2eNfyAS/w133-h200/business.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>26. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/3On6OU2">A Pastor's Brief Guide to Business</a> </i>(2023)<br />
Again, I had what I thought was an exciting idea. Use ChatGPT to write brief guides to various topics. "A Pastor's Brief Guide to Science," "A Pastor's Brief Guide to Philosophy," etc. This book is spectacular, in my opinion. I sent some copies out. I took out some small paid ads on Facebook and Amazon. Nothing. I've come to realize the amount I spent was not nearly enough to pierce the odds.<br /><br />
"This book overviews the main topics of business in summary fashion as a potential help for pastors and churchpeople who may have little knowledge or training in this area."<br /><br /><br /><br />
27. <i><a href="https://a.co/d/gCByMvM">Teología Sistemática: Reflexiones Arminiano-Wesleyanas</a></i> (2023)
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjym-YMHJk94cYcar_wDcfJFHa6MrBKrAJSsdCROx0OVJDIjBEJcyJtvAP60eSY17i7GzZ8jTvaDKH3VSqs7bw-qyWAtrA3pEodQIdA715BydIL2zHaZQo8VmjMHIwfwjET_7yJjOPozxM5Jkpm_cDF29A3PTtr4wO3qH4MK1cUtmWsb1CCRWpg/s1500/teologia.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="1000" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjym-YMHJk94cYcar_wDcfJFHa6MrBKrAJSsdCROx0OVJDIjBEJcyJtvAP60eSY17i7GzZ8jTvaDKH3VSqs7bw-qyWAtrA3pEodQIdA715BydIL2zHaZQo8VmjMHIwfwjET_7yJjOPozxM5Jkpm_cDF29A3PTtr4wO3qH4MK1cUtmWsb1CCRWpg/w133-h200/teologia.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>This is my first self-published work in another language. When I first published the systematic theology, one comment was to remember the need in Spanish. Indeed, after I published the Spanish version, someone reminded me about the frustration we had in the seminary when Grudem was mostly what was available for theology in Spanish. This one might have some legs. The question mark of course is how good the translation is. I used three different tools to translate it. These tools are clearly getting better and better, but they're not perfect.<br /><br />
"Este volumen es un tratamiento sistemático de la teología cristiana desde una perspectiva wesleyana-arminiana, lo que lo convierte en uno de los pocos tratamientos de este tipo en español. Bajo los títulos generales del estudio de Dios Padre, Cristo y el Espíritu Santo, este libro también presenta las doctrinas de la creación, el pecado, la expiación, la salvación, la Iglesia y los sacramentos.".<br /><br />
I've gotten better and better with the covers. I'd like to think I've become a better writer. I think all the reasoning behind the book ideas were sound. I think the product is good enough. I simply have lacked the right marketing approach and spend. Nevertheless, "a writer writes," whether she or he has an audience or not.<br /><br />
Much more in the works, both fragments on my drives and ideas in my head. There are whole books sitting here on this blog (e.g., the equivalent of a pastoral leadership book and almost an entire pastor's brief guide to biblical scholarship). We'll see what pops out over the next year.<br /></div>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-78766787046041719072023-09-09T03:29:00.005-04:002023-09-09T03:31:31.346-04:00The Week in Review (September 9, 2023)<p>Happy birthday to my son Thomas today! Stefanie's birthday was yesterday, and Sophie's birthday is tomorrow. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may!</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JQRZs9a-sJtU591AWiH7coJDMDoNxPbeXdZ53bC_A9vN74lsjNBKPxg68WuvXpMmTvd7QRLJwXrJXWHKktiyA-q-3zx02EBpVl3WY7by1jMHTmRmrXi_y--mH6PK3dNo2mPxClgVWEc-5LvdiJIxpzjXhkiidks-1ymWEeh7Iw4nO6OvTctL/s1200/teologia%20sistematica.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="800" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JQRZs9a-sJtU591AWiH7coJDMDoNxPbeXdZ53bC_A9vN74lsjNBKPxg68WuvXpMmTvd7QRLJwXrJXWHKktiyA-q-3zx02EBpVl3WY7by1jMHTmRmrXi_y--mH6PK3dNo2mPxClgVWEc-5LvdiJIxpzjXhkiidks-1ymWEeh7Iw4nO6OvTctL/w133-h200/teologia%20sistematica.jpg" width="133" /></a></div>1. I self-published my systematic theology book <i><a href="https://a.co/d/8yXJ7bE">in Spanish</a>! </i>It is the first book I have self-published in another language. It will be obvious that I used tools that are available. At first, I did copy and paste from a mix of Google Translate and ChatGPT. However, I soon realized that there was a much simpler way. After a couple months doing about 25% of the book with the tedious copy-paste method, the rest was translated in almost an instant. Duh.<p></p><p>Is it any good? Great question, and I plan to give a few free copies to individuals who would want to check it out anyway. My spot checks tell me it isn't bad, although native speakers always say that these automated tools don't produce good translations. I initially had the title wrong I realized so that would have been embarrassing. I am a little worried about the first part, since I ran it through a translator after it had been through a translator. I am so slow sometimes. It drives me crazy.</p><p>Now that I know the process, I will probably translate the <a href="https://a.co/d/6LnhijZ">ethics</a> part of this series in the next couple weeks. I now could do this into many languages, so speak up if you have a wish.</p><p>2. I started taking a marketing course for independent publishers. They marketed to me over a period of time. I explored. I watched. Their marketing to me was effective. What they said resonated both with my own experience and limited knowledge. We'll see what happens. I'm keeping my day job for the time being.</p><p>3. I continue to add materials to the <a href="https://www.udemy.com/course/pauls-letter-to-the-romans/?referralCode=A983C7967B48C9552956">Romans course</a> I created on Udemy. This week I added a 30+ minute video on Romans 1 and Homosexuality. I was thinking perhaps I would add a "faith of Jesus Christ" video next. The whole of Romans is already there. These are supplemental. </p><p>Not a lot of takers for that course. I have well over 100 takers for my <a href="https://www.udemy.com/course/learn-hebrew-inductively/?referralCode=6E74C29C3F4C97ED1DCA">Hebrew course using Jonah</a>. It's always fascinating what sticks and what doesn't. My YouTube videos on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYE3_FVvq70gkOqyhFbfJuVGwUWLGznCv">Hebrew of Ruth</a> have gained a strong audience too. Hebrew is clearly popular! Meanwhile, my <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLYE3_FVvq70jCD1J6ND4GsFObANGSAKOZ">Greek videos on Philippians</a> do not attract much attention. You just never know, it seems most of the time.</p><p>Thanks for feedback on titles for a Romans book. I'm still leaning toward something like, "Hidden Surprises in Romans" or "Hidden Nuggets in Romans" or "Surprised by Romans." What do you think?</p><p>I have a vision for a numbered list. Two- to three-page entries on topics like, "It's a real letter, not a theology textbook" and "Jesus had faith too." Feedback welcome. </p><p>4. My wife Angie has been sick this week and missed most of work. Although the test was negative, we've wondered if she has had COVID. I had it a couple months ago. She seems to have lost her sense of smell. It went into her chest, and she has coughed a lot. In general, it followed the same path mine did. Thankfully, she seems to be coming out of it, and her oxygen is good.</p><p>5. I finished the raw version of another online course this week. This one is an introduction to the Bible and none other than Jim Lo is the featured professor. The trailer is <a href="https://www.campusedu.com/dual-enrollment">on this page</a> if you scroll down.</p><p>One of my co-workers created some awesome images for one assignment in the algebra course using Midjourney. The tools are amazing. I may try to create a video today using Pictory. We'll see how it turns out.</p><p>That's probably enough for now. I realize these are somewhat narcissistic. Think of it as my journal.</p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8355052.post-58263318454609934442023-09-02T08:22:00.003-04:002023-09-02T08:26:29.243-04:00The Week in Review (September 2, 2023)<p>1. The weeks pass by one after the other. I regularly reflect on the fact that I have rarely stopped to enjoy them or "smell the roses." There's always a project I'm behind on, always something I feel like I should be working on. My wife Angie has occasionally helped with that, especially for our children growing up. I am a candidate for one of those people who wakes up one morning and realizes their whole life is gone and what have they really done to enjoy it?</p><p>This Labor Day weekend we will be socializing twice, once with family and once with friends. It pains me greatly. There's so much I want to do with this precious extra time. Stolen by extroverts! It feels like I am being robbed of my time off. But that is my personality and my issue.</p><p>I'm not opposed to a life of leisure. I would love to be such an accomplished writer that I could teach a couple classes a week on whatever subject I choose in whatever way I choose. Then spend much of my time at some coffee shop in Hilton Head writing whatever I choose. That's not a life I deserve nor am ever likely to have. </p><p>2. I finished the first draft of a College Algebra course this week and handed it off to a real mathematician to proof, edit, and perfect. I created about 190 pages of course materials. It could be quite interesting for such a class. I'm very interested to see student response. It should be available to take <a href="https://www.campusedu.com/dual-enrollment">September 18</a>, especially but not exclusively for high school students, at a very good price.</p><p>I'd like to publish things on the side related to my course-creation work. I was thinking about something like <i>Algebra: A Picture Book</i> for this one. We'll see.</p><p>3. The fall college season has largely begun. There are winners and losers. Having once aspired to be a college president, I watch these things and try to analyze the reasons.</p><p>Asbury College and Seminary are way up. The college is very predictable. The revival was bound to push them up. The seminary apparently also has some great things going on behind the scenes. I think it may have its largest enrollment ever. I predicted they would go down because of the Global Methodist Church not requiring seminary, but they have found some very clever ways to counteract whatever impact that decision might have. One is to offer the third year free if you pay for the first two.</p><p>Taylor is a winner in enrollment for fall. They continue the formula of outstanding academics with solid orthodoxy. Warner is a winner in Florida. Don't know all the details, but the president is very entrepreneurial. He actually has an arm tattoo with Warner's logo on it, so I assume he plans to retire from there.</p><p>In Wesleyan circles, Houghton and OKWU would seem to be winners. I don't know if Houghton benefited much from Alliance closing. I understand that Tim Fuller had been helping them refine a PELL strategy before he died. When I was there, they had been at 260 incoming class for a couple years. They seem to have transcended that number by a smidge. </p><p>I don't know if the crisis over pronouns in emails benefited them. It may have. They were actually in the New York Times over it. Without any details, my guess is that its enrollment impact was probably a wash. That is to say, I would guess the loss and gain from the publicity probably evened out. But I welcome correction by those who would actually know. I can imagine they received some donations from it and probably also lost some donors too.</p><p>I continue to mull over the reasons why other colleges are down. The answer that comes most to mind is an ambiguous brand proposition. What is the compelling reason that would lead someone to you? I posted that question on Facebook. Had a response I really liked: "Good friends, good teachers, good chapel, good God!"</p><p>There are several schools where I find myself asking, "Why would anyone come to you?" Let me translate the response above into questions:</p><p></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li>Is there a vibe of excitement from your students and alumni? Does the campus buzz when students step foot on it? Is the admissions office humming with smiling, positive students who love the school?</li><li>Do alumni have such great memories that their kids will find it infectious? Do the kids of your alumni grow up thinking, "I want to go there too one day like Dad and Mom?"</li><li>Do you have exciting teachers? This relates to the previous question. "Be sure you take a class with Wilbur Williams." Solid teachers are important but a dime a dozen. Do you have a great "faculty zoo," with lots of really interesting looking animals?</li><li>For a Christian college, what is the spiritual atmosphere of the campus? Is the campus full of haters or lovers? Is the Holy Spirit palpable on campus? </li></ul><p></p><p>4. I have been slowly using tools to translate my <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BW2BSZ1N?ref_=cm_sw_r_cp_ud_dp_TCDPBHB9EWXS2XFPAYDK">systematic theology</a> into Spanish. Imagine my surprise when I found a button in Word that does it instantaneously. Felt pretty stupid for as many weeks as I've been copying and pasting back and forth. The footnotes didn't pull over, but the end is now in sight. I may have it published by next weekend now.</p><p>5. I've only had three takers for my <a href="https://www.udemy.com/course/pauls-letter-to-the-romans/?referralCode=A983C7967B48C9552956">Romans course</a> on Udemy. I took out a Facebook ad a couple days ago to promote it. I don't know if I've ever gotten a single sale from taking out a Facebook or Amazon ad. Seems pretty much like a waste of time. I am tempted to take a course by an organization called <a href="https://clients.stevepieper.com/ammo2/">AMMO</a> that's allegedly about optimizing the marketing and directly selling your books, but of course I'm afraid I'd just be throwing good money down the drain. Anyone heard of it?</p><p>6. My wife is tired of me product testing with her. "What do you think of this?" She did enjoy some writing I read to her this week on "Growing Up Wesleyan." It might offend some, however, so once again don't know if it will see the light of day until I die. And of course then it won't be relevant. :-)</p><p>She thinks "Stuff You Didn't Know about Romans" is more likely to sell than Explanatory Notes or "The Story of Romans." An alternative title might be, "Top Ten Surprises in Romans." What do you think?</p><p>Signing off from another week... </p><p><br /></p>Ken Schenckhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09745548537303356655noreply@blogger.com3