I like it. Do you get to choose what you want on the cover? like there’s all these cover art, and you get to choose… or you say you like this one, but the publisher can trump you if s/he likes?
Joseph – I had not say at all in the cover. That is completely in the publisher’s control.
The book is scheduled to be published in March, 2009.
Dee – Thanks
Matt – You are right about the name, there should be an “M.” between Kevin and Watson…
I did get your email, and have been meaning to email you for awhile, but just haven’t had time yet. Hope you are doing wonderfully in your new ministry location.
Yep, I’m doing good. I understand your busy-ness, as I’ve been incredibly swamped as well. We’ll catch up sometime. Hopefully you’ll get that “M” in there soon! 😉
Shandiraisaid:
Awesome Kevin! March ’09 seems so far away. Can hardly wait. I can’t believe I know a celebrity :):):)
Shandi – I think you have it backwards, I believe you are the celebrity, as it was you who made an appearance on NPR
Andrew – I will do that.
Bill Pieringersaid:
Hi Kevin,
Was tooling around your site after someone here in Western Pa suggested that we clergy could use Wesley’s general rules as a foundation for a “rule” among our clergy to seriously commit too.
Recently I was asked by my bishop to chair the order of elder (long, long story) and I immediately began thinking what this might mean…without getting caught up in the mumble jumble of the Discipline.
Seems to me anyway that the classic sense of an order had a commitment to a rule…which leads me back to the beginning of this email and back to the possibility of using parts of the general rule for a covenant among clergy. Our Bishop gave all of us copies of Jobs Three Simple Rules for Christmas last year…and though I appreciated the insights of Bishop Job..I thought the book to be less than his profounder insights in his guide to prayer books..I thought it lightweight in content.
I was wondering if your upcoming book might be good for a conference wide clergy study – one that would focus us and bring us deeper in connection with one another (no easy task) and in our Wesleyan heritage? Is there any way to read a pre-published chapter or two? and do you envision giving retreats on the subject?
Well hopefully you will have time to respond, and be understanding of my post Thanksgiving ramblings!
Blessings
Rev. Bill Pieringer
chair order of elder Western PA Conference of the UMC
I am thrilled that your conference is considering using Wesley’s General Rules as a “rule” for the clergy. I think that is a wonderful idea.
While it is of course difficult for me to give an objective evaluation of Blueprint for Discipleship, I do believe that it would be a good resource for a conference wide clergy study. During my time in the local church, I led a clergy group that met weekly, and we actually used drafts of chapters of this book at one point in the study and the discussions were very fruitful. There were a wide range of responses. People who were fairly familiar with Wesley seemed to enjoy the chance to go a bit deeper and to think more carefully about the practical implications of the general rules for their own lives and their ministries. On the other extreme, there were some people who did not have much previous exposure to Wesley, and they seemed to really enjoy getting to know where Wesley was coming from. They particularly seemed to appreciate Wesley’s expectations for committed discipleship. So I believe I can safely say that this resource would work well in a clergy setting. (The book also has questions for discussion following each chapter and a guide for small groups as an appendix.)
I think the biggest challenge to using it as a clergy-wide study would be working to make sure it does not become an opportunity for pastors to talk about how far short their parishioners fall of living up to this standard. We tried to consistently make it first about us, and secondly dreaming about how God could productively use the general rules to make disciples in our churches. (I think this is probably a challenge of nearly any clergy study… avoiding the tendency of disintegrating into a gripe session.)
I will email the publisher and ask them if there might be a possibility of making a sample of the text available through my blog or somewhere else online.
And to your final question, I look forward to opportunities to discuss this material with pastors, laity, and anyone that is interested. I am very much open to leading retreats on this, or speaking at conferences.
Thank you for your interest, and please let me know if you have any further questions I can answer.
Kevin M. Watson 
I like it. Do you get to choose what you want on the cover? like there’s all these cover art, and you get to choose… or you say you like this one, but the publisher can trump you if s/he likes?
anyway, when’s the book release date?
Very cool.
I like everything except the name at the top. 😉 Seriously man, it’s awesome. BTW, I’ve got a new phone number, etc. Did you get my email?
Joseph – I had not say at all in the cover. That is completely in the publisher’s control.
The book is scheduled to be published in March, 2009.
Dee – Thanks
Matt – You are right about the name, there should be an “M.” between Kevin and Watson…
I did get your email, and have been meaning to email you for awhile, but just haven’t had time yet. Hope you are doing wonderfully in your new ministry location.
I love it! Can’t wait to be able to buy a copy.
Love,
Mom
Yep, I’m doing good. I understand your busy-ness, as I’ve been incredibly swamped as well. We’ll catch up sometime. Hopefully you’ll get that “M” in there soon! 😉
Awesome Kevin! March ’09 seems so far away. Can hardly wait. I can’t believe I know a celebrity :):):)
Very cool. Let us know when we can put in a pre-order 🙂
Thanks Mom!
Matt, definitely need to catch up soon.
Shandi – I think you have it backwards, I believe you are the celebrity, as it was you who made an appearance on NPR
Andrew – I will do that.
Hi Kevin,
Was tooling around your site after someone here in Western Pa suggested that we clergy could use Wesley’s general rules as a foundation for a “rule” among our clergy to seriously commit too.
Recently I was asked by my bishop to chair the order of elder (long, long story) and I immediately began thinking what this might mean…without getting caught up in the mumble jumble of the Discipline.
Seems to me anyway that the classic sense of an order had a commitment to a rule…which leads me back to the beginning of this email and back to the possibility of using parts of the general rule for a covenant among clergy. Our Bishop gave all of us copies of Jobs Three Simple Rules for Christmas last year…and though I appreciated the insights of Bishop Job..I thought the book to be less than his profounder insights in his guide to prayer books..I thought it lightweight in content.
I was wondering if your upcoming book might be good for a conference wide clergy study – one that would focus us and bring us deeper in connection with one another (no easy task) and in our Wesleyan heritage? Is there any way to read a pre-published chapter or two? and do you envision giving retreats on the subject?
Well hopefully you will have time to respond, and be understanding of my post Thanksgiving ramblings!
Blessings
Rev. Bill Pieringer
chair order of elder Western PA Conference of the UMC
Rev. Pieringer,
I am thrilled that your conference is considering using Wesley’s General Rules as a “rule” for the clergy. I think that is a wonderful idea.
While it is of course difficult for me to give an objective evaluation of Blueprint for Discipleship, I do believe that it would be a good resource for a conference wide clergy study. During my time in the local church, I led a clergy group that met weekly, and we actually used drafts of chapters of this book at one point in the study and the discussions were very fruitful. There were a wide range of responses. People who were fairly familiar with Wesley seemed to enjoy the chance to go a bit deeper and to think more carefully about the practical implications of the general rules for their own lives and their ministries. On the other extreme, there were some people who did not have much previous exposure to Wesley, and they seemed to really enjoy getting to know where Wesley was coming from. They particularly seemed to appreciate Wesley’s expectations for committed discipleship. So I believe I can safely say that this resource would work well in a clergy setting. (The book also has questions for discussion following each chapter and a guide for small groups as an appendix.)
I think the biggest challenge to using it as a clergy-wide study would be working to make sure it does not become an opportunity for pastors to talk about how far short their parishioners fall of living up to this standard. We tried to consistently make it first about us, and secondly dreaming about how God could productively use the general rules to make disciples in our churches. (I think this is probably a challenge of nearly any clergy study… avoiding the tendency of disintegrating into a gripe session.)
I will email the publisher and ask them if there might be a possibility of making a sample of the text available through my blog or somewhere else online.
And to your final question, I look forward to opportunities to discuss this material with pastors, laity, and anyone that is interested. I am very much open to leading retreats on this, or speaking at conferences.
Thank you for your interest, and please let me know if you have any further questions I can answer.
Blessings,
Kevin