Jim Palmer's Blog, page 54
November 23, 2013
Trekkies unite for The Notes Campaign!
The post 15 Things Jesus Didn’t Say is a quote from my upcoming book, Notes from (Over) the Edge. The post went viral with close to 600,000 views because I think people are interested in exploring the spiritual significance of Jesus on different terms from what they’ve been told about Jesus through religion.
We are independently publishing Notes from (Over) the Edge, and it has been a community effort from the start. A team of several folks have carried out all the roles and functions that a publishing house would – editing, copyediting, proofing, cover design, formatting, etc… Many of my Facebook friends supplied endorsements that will appear on the cover and inside the book.
The Notes Campaign was created to generate the funds to publish the book, and spread the word about it. Indiegogo selected The Notes Campaign to feature today on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+.
The William Shatner Wrist Watch Indiegogo Campaign has raised $178,478 dollars, and has 507 contributors. Look, I like Star Trek as much as the next guy, but $178,478 for a wrist watch??? Our goal for The Notes Campaign is to have a minimum of 100 contributors. We need 16 more to reach that goal, and I was hoping to get that today. The cost of fully funding the effort to independently publish Notes from (Over) the Edge is $5,000 and we are getting close to that too. The Shatner campaign has 35 days left. Ours has 16 days because we wanted to run a short campaign. If it helps, I can print off pictures of William Shatner and mail them to anyone who contributes to the campaign today Seriously, we are just encouraging people to make a $5 contribution to the effort. That’s all 5 bucks. Consider sharing the link with your friends.
Here are three things you can do right now that will take less than 5 minutes but will make a big difference with the effort to independently publish Notes from (Over) the Edge:
1. Make a $5 contribution to the campaign. Here’s a direct link to the campaign.
2. Share the campaign link with your social media friends and contacts, and encourage people to make a $5 contribution.
3. Visit the Indiegogo Facebook page, and “Like” the post about The Notes Campaign and leave an encouraging comment.
Thanks!
Okay, off to watch Star Trek. 
November 22, 2013
15 Things Jesus Didn’t Say
15 things Jesus Didn’t Say:
“For God was so disgusted with the world and you that he gave his one and only Son.”
“I have come to bring you a new religion.”
“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have correct theology.”
“If anyone would come after me, let him disparage all other religions and their followers.”
“If you love me, you will regularly attend a church of your choice… within reason.”
“Blessed are the tithers for they shall be called the children of God.”
“Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in Heaven after the earth goes up in flames and destroyed.”
“You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor,’ which means the people with whom you attend church and relate to in your Christian sub-culture.”
“In my Father’s house there are a limited number of rooms. But no worries, there is plenty of room in Hell.”
“The kingdom of God has come!… Well, not exactly. I mean, not completely. Let’s face it, the really-real kingdom comes after we die. Hang in there. It won’t be long.”
“And you will know the truth and the truth will make you superior to all the other simpletons who never learned Greek or Hebrew.”
“You are the light of the world… well… in a sinful-filthy-scum kind of way.”
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you a checklist of things to do and not do in order to remain in God’s favor.”
“For God so loved the world… you know like theoretically… as in, God loves the big ‘W’-world. But when it come to you specifically, that are quite a few things that would need to change for God to actually and specifically love… or even like… YOU.”
“He appeared to his disciples over a period of 40 days and spoke about how to incorporate his life and teaching as a 501(c)3, and go into all the earth to build mega-churches in his name.”
- Jim Palmer. Notes from (Over) the Edge
*I appreciate everyone who is sharing this post. It’s an excerpt from my upcoming book, Notes from (Over) the Edge. You can learn more about all my books on my Goodreads Author Page. Photograph by Erwin Olaf.
A few other places to connect
I wanted to let my friends here know there are a few other places where you can find me:
11 Religious Beliefs to Question
11 things we are often told that we don’t question, but we should:
1. You are separated from God
2. You were born bad
3. You need to be saved from yourself
4. Knowing God is about having correct theology
5. You can’t trust yourself
6. Only a few special and enlightened people find peace and harmony
7. Something is wrong with you
8. You’re not trying hard enough
9. Heaven is the big payoff
10. The world is without hope
11. Even grace has a few conditions
Indiegogo features Notes from (Over) the Edge
This is the email I received from Indiegogo:
“Hello Jim,
The Indiegogo Team is impressed by your campaign to fund ‘Notes from (Over) the Edge.’ We’re writing to let you know that on Sat Nov 23, ‘Notes from Over the Edge’ will be Indiegogo’s Campaign of the Day on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. This is a big milestone for your campaign, so make sure to share the news with your friends, family, followers, and contributors.
Congratulations, and good luck as you continue your campaign!
Sincerely,
The Indiegogo Team”
That’s awesome news! As you know The Notes Campaign is the effort to independently publish Notes from (Over) the Edge. Our goal for the campaign was to have a minimum of 100 contributors; right now we have 74. Being featured by Indiegogo on Saturday could make a big difference in the campaign, and help get the word out about the book. If you have not yet made a contribution to the campaign, I have a request to make. Would you be willing to make a $5 contribution today, and on Saturday share the campaign link with your Facebook friends and ask them to contribute $5. Your $5 makes a big difference! Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far. This campaign could really help create a groundswell of interest in the book, and more importantly, the message. Don’t forget to check out the “perks” for various giving levels!
Thanks for your help!
Here’s a link to the campaign site.
November 21, 2013
God’s job is not to fix suffering later
“I often come across the view that God’s will is something that “will be done,” as in the future. We look out into the world and see misery and suffering and it’s clear that this can’t be “God’s will.” And so our way of maintaining a belief in the perfection of God and the imperfection of the world is to say that God will some day sort through it all and will ultimately somehow make everything okay. This idea is meant to help us swallow the bitter pill of the misery of the world because we surmise that at some later time everything will be worked out.
For a time I worked for and traveled the world with an international human rights agency, based out of Washington D.C. (IJM). I posed as a customer in brothels where girls as young as 12 years old are forced to provide sex to customers 4-6 times a day, six days a week. I also visited a slave labor camp, under the guise of being an investor, where boys that same age were chained to poles and worked around the clock rolling cigarettes to meet their quota or be beaten with electrical cords.
The theology that ultimately God’s will and all this horror will work out fine in the afterlife seemed to fall empty in the face of their daily torment. The violent violation of their most basic human rights is not God’s will – not then, not later, not ever. There is no later resolution as a theological rationale for their current reality.
There is only one cause of suffering in this world – our spiritual ignorance and what we rationalize out of it. The only solution is to see things as they truly are, and to begin living life by responding to situations as they require, which includes rescuing children out of brothels and slave camps.
The end of suffering is not something God does for everyone at some later point. This idea is appealing because it lets us off the hook of taking responsibility for our lives and the condition of the world. There is nothing left for God to do. Jesus said the Kingdom of God has already come.
People sometimes wonder why God would allow so much suffering in our world. Maybe instead we should be wondering why we do.”
- Jim Palmer
November 20, 2013
Indiegogo features The Notes Campaign
I have some pretty awesome news!
I was just contacted by Indiegogo. The Notes Campaign, which is the effort to independently publish, Notes from (Over) the Edge, has been selected to be Indiegogo’s ‘Campaign of the Day’ on Saturday, November 23 – this coming Saturday! It’s a huge milestone and big deal for The Notes Campaign to be selected for this.
Indiegogo is an international crowd funding site for projects in independent film, music, art, charity, small businesses, gaming, theater, and more. So far they have facilitated the funding of over 100,000 projects from more than 196 countries, close to $20 million dollars in total.
On Saturday, November 23, The Notes Campaign will be the featured Indiegogo campaign on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+. We are hoping this might help us reach and far exceed our goal for a minimum of 100 contributors. We’ve been encouraging folks to make $5 contributions. It’s going to be a great opportunity to help spread the word about the release of Notes from (Over) the Edge. I’m working to see if it’s possible to have the book on pre-order status before Saturday.
Thanks to everyone who has participated in the campaign so far! Consider the possibility of lending us a hand on Saturday and the Indigogo feature day. More on that later. Off to class. I’m teaching tonight.
You can learn more about The Notes Campaign at this link.
My Confession
21 Mistakes I Made As A Senior Pastor:
Putting church over community.
Putting orthodoxy over love.
Putting certainty over wonder.
Putting teaching over conversation.
Putting polished over real.
Putting answers over questions.
Putting membership over friendship.
Putting Christianity over Christ.
Putting knowledge over action.
Putting style over substance.
Putting appearance over authenticity.
Putting functionality over beauty.
Putting religion over spirituality.
Putting numbers over faces.
Putting holiness over humanity.
Putting accountability over acceptance.
Putting heaven over earth.
Putting reputation over risk.
Putting charisma over compassion.
Putting the Afterlife over the Herelife.
Putting thinking over feeling.
- Jim Palmer
15 Things Jesus DID Say
15 Things Jesus DID Say:
“There’s only one litmus test to authenticate if someone gets what I’m about – love.”
“The kingdom of God is here and now, which means it’s not somewhere else and later.”
“If you’ve reached perfection on your journey, feel free to judge others. Otherwise, be quiet.”
“My peace is not as this world gives. Your strategy to control circumstances in order to be happy won’t work… ever.”
“You religious people have your nose buried in the Bible, feeling all smug about your spiritual maturity. But you wouldn’t know my truth if it knocked you in the head.”
“There is no mountain, sacred place or church building where God expects to be worshiped. True worship is a way of seeing – it’s spotting and honoring the divine in all things.”
“You think you are doing well because you have not been hauled off to prison for murder, but your harsh and critical spirit is no different.”
“Embracing my truth will make you a heretic in most people’s minds and you will be persecuted. No worries; you’re on the right track in my kingdom.”
“God and I are one, you are included.”
“I have to die. Otherwise, you’re going to create a religion around my human personhood and personality, rather than embrace and give expression to my spirit and truth.”
“Don’t say you love God and then hate people. Those two things can’t be true at the same time.”
“You and God are not separated and never have been. You are connected to God like a branch to a vine – the essence and nature of God is the sap running through your veins.”
“You can’t reduce my way to a book. The same spirit that filled and led me fills and leads you. Follow that spirit.”
“You think your humanity is an affront to God. If this were true how could I be one with God?”
“You look into the sky to find some God that sits on a throne. You want to see God? You’re looking at him. Now, see that same God as yourself.”
- Jim Palmer
November 19, 2013
Reporting from over the edge
Phew! It’s amazing how a million and one little details happen at the 11th hour when you’re trying to publish a book! I might just go over another edge here pretty soon!
Here are 5 things to know about where things are with publishing Notes from (Over) the Edge.
1. The book has been written, and has gone through the editorial, copyedit and proofing stages. Thank you to Mike Willis, Yana Cortlund, Ryan Ange, Rachael Jefferies Kelly, and Heather Palmer for that.
2. The cover of the book is finished. Photographer and friend Darla Winn did the cover image, and Graphic Designer and friend, Anne Goodrich, designed the cover.
3. The manuscript is currently in the process of being properly formatted for print and digital editions. Once this step is completed it will be handed over to Amazon to by published. The book will be in print as well as Kindle, Nook, and iBooks. The cover and interior includes endorsements from several of my Facebook friends.
4. Meanwhile, the Notes Team has been discussing how to encourage and inspire a big release-day campaign for the book. A separate post will be written in the next day or two to get your ideas. Now that the cover is finished, steps are being taken to create pre-order status for the book. More on that soon.
5. Notes from (Over) the Edge is an independent publishing effort. We calculated it to be a $5,000 venture. We created The Notes Campaign, inviting people to make a contribution, leave a comment, and share the campaign link with your friends. The goal of the campaign was to have a minimum of 100 participants. So far we have 65. Whether it’s $5, $15, or $50 dollars, every contribution counts! Please take 5 minutes and make a $5 contribution to the cause. I am deeply grateful for each of you who have been involved in the effort so far. Don’t forget to take a look at the “perks” for the different giving levels. There are 19 days left in the campaign.
Here’s THE LINK
