Author with Seven Million Books Sold Presents at Online Conference for Christian Writers this week

By Michael Ireland
Senior Correspondent, ASSIST News Service


HOLMAN, WI (ANS) -- Christian writers from around the globe are being invited to attend an online writing conference organized by Athanatos Christian Ministries.

Athanatos Christian Ministries is an apologetics ministry with a mission: defend the faith in the culture by cultivating Christian authors, artists, and musicians.

On top of their annual Christian writing contests, they have now added a free online writing conference. The conference will be held on August 18th, 2011. The conference website is http://www.christianwritingconference.com .

ACM is not new to virtual conferencing. It has hosted two online apologetics conferences in the last two years.
This spring, Dr. Gene Edward Veith was the keynote. The 'keynote' to ACM's writing conference is also connected to Dr. Veith. John Erickson, author of the 'Hank the Cowdog' series, which has sold 7.5 million copies, has more recently written a book speaking specifically to Christian writers and Dr. Veith writes the introduction. (Nancy Pearcey writes the foreword.)

Cover artwork for John Erickson's book Story Craft.

"Story Craft: Reflections on Faith, Culture & Writing" shares Mr. Erickson's experiences and perspectives with the Christian author in mind.

Since the conference is free and takes place online, Christian writers from across the globe can participate from the comfort and convenience of their laptop or desktop computer.
Other presenters include the conference's host, ACM's Executive Director, Anthony Horvath. Author Dr. Holly Ordway will present on the 'art of wordsmithing.'

The winners of ACM's first annual Christian novel contest will also be presenting: Shirley Tucker, author of the upcoming release "Diamonds in the Dust" and Robert Abernathy, whose title "The Walk to Walden Hill" is officially available September 1st. Other presenters include published short story author Pastor Jamie Greening and screenwriter Robert Kramer.

ACM has been actively reaching out to Christian authors and spurring them on to excellence for three years.

Its second annual Christian novel contest is taking submissions through September 1st. $2,500 awaits the winners, plus possibly an offer to publish.

ACM's fourth annual Christian short story and poetry contests begin taking submissions on September 2nd. A scholarship is available for eligible high school entrants and the winner of the adult category is invited to present at one of ACM's conferences.

Last year's winner of the 19 and up category, Robert Cely, is presenting at ACM's August 18th conference.
To learn more about ACM's contests and to submit an entry visit http://www.christianwritingcontest.com. 

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** Michael Ireland is Senior Correspondent for ANS. He is an international British freelance journalist who was formerly a reporter with a London (United Kingdom) newspaper and has been a frequent contributor to UCB UK, a British Christian radio station. While in the UK, Michael traveled to Canada and the United States, Albania,Yugoslavia, Holland, Germany,and Czechoslovakia. He has reported for ANS from Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Israel, Jordan, China,and Russia. Michael's volunteer involvement with ASSIST News Service is a sponsored ministry department -- 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' (MIMM) -- of A.C.T. International of P.O.Box 1649, Brentwood, TN 37024-1649, at: Artists in Christian Testimony (A.C.T.) International where you can make a donation online under 'Donate' tab, then look for 'Michael Ireland Media Missionary' under 'Donation Category' to support his stated mission of 'Truth Through Christian Journalism.' Michael is a member in good standing of th e National Writers Union, Society of Professional Journalists, Religion Newswriters Association, Evangelical Press Association and International Press Association. If you have a news or feature story idea for Michael, please contact him at: ANS Senior Reporter

Josh McDowell - 'The Bare Facts'

By Nico Bougas 
Special to ASSIST News Service

ATLANTA, GA (ANS) -- Josh McDowell may have exceeded his allotted three score and ten, but on the evidence of his appearance at the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) recently, he is still very much alive and energized to continue his prolific ministry that is approaching the 50 year mark.

Josh McDowell

His razor-sharp mind is as active as ever and I rarely got to complete a question before he rattled off his answer.

The bestselling author and famed apologist was attending the show in Atlanta to promote his latest book. "The Bare Facts: 39 Questions Your Parents Hope You Never Ask About Sex" (Moody Publishers).

When it comes to the Bible's view of sex, many young people, including Christians, have mistaken God's serious approach as negativity toward the subject. God does take sex very seriously, says McDowell, who has spoken to more than 10 million young people during his years of ministry. "But the picture Scripture gives us of sexuality is more intense, vibrant, and well.sexy.than the view taught by the culture."

"As our culture increasingly promotes sex without boundaries, God's view of sex seems more and more radical," he admits. "But sticking to God's plan for sexuality leads to sex that is far more fulfilling than the sexual experiences supported by the world."

Co-authored with Erin Davis, founder of Graffiti Ministries, "The Bare Facts" offers frank answers to top questions students are asking on everything from sex and relationships to pornography and sex addiction.

Book and DVD, which answers even more questions

Teenagers may be physically ready for sex, McDowell argues, but their "most powerful sex organ" isn't fully developed. "Your most powerful sex organ isn't covered by your swimsuit. It's between your ears," he says unabashedly. "Biologically speaking, the average teenager isn't quite ready to take on the role of 'brain CEO', but young people in this stage of development are making decisions about sex that will have consequences for the rest of their lives."

I suggested to him that some people would consider it naïve to think that adolescents in today's world will wait until marriage to have sex. He immediately countered that, "The notion that young people can't wait is flawed logic because it ignores one important point. As human beings, we are created with the God-given ability to think and to make moral choices."

Some of the tough questions tackled in "The Bare Facts" include: "Can I have oral sex and still keep my virginity?" "Isn't premarital sex really great preparation for good sex in marriage?" "Is sexting wrong?" "How will pornography affect my sex life?" and "isn't it unrealistic to wait?"

McDowell points out that the word "sex" receives 338 million Google searches a month - more than four billion searches a year. With teenagers making up such a large portion of internet users, this trend reveals that many may be looking for answers in the wrong places.

He concludes, "In a culture where sex is everywhere and purity has lost its meaning, young people including those in the church, are left to face tremendous sexual temptation. God isn't silent on the subject of sex, and neither is the culture. We want young people to explore God's truth on this subject."

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Nico Bougas is the International Coordinator of Hellenic Ministries (www.hellenicministries.com). He has a master's degree in communication from Wheaton Graduate School and M. Div and D. Min degrees from Trinity Theological Seminary. He is the author or co-author of four books. He previously worked for Youth for Christ in South Africa and was Editor of In Magazine and Christian Living TODAY and now serves as Consulting Editor to JOY Magazine. For further, information contact: nico@bougas.info