Communiqué - July/August

CLASS Communiqué CLASSEMINARS.org

July/August 2010

C L A S S E M I N A R S

Christian Leaders Authors Speakers Seminars

FOX News Reporter and Anchor for FOX News Radio, Todd Starnes,
joins the esteemed
faculty of the 2010
CLASS Christian
Writers Conference!
(Details below.)

Limited to 100 attendees.
Register online today at CLASSEMINARS.org.

In this edition:

FOX News' Todd Starnes

Writers Conference Lineup

Teachability is Key to Success

Do You Pass Teachability Test?

CLASS Events

Equipping Others for Peaceful Living

Personality Training

Creatives Need A Business Plan

Scholarship Guidelines

Be Published This Year!

Callouts and Contests

Todd Starnes

FOX News Reporter and Anchor for FOX News Radio,
Todd Starnes
joins the 2010
CLASS Christian Writers Conference!

November 10-14, 2010
Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM

"Fox News Radio reporter Todd Starnes is an unabashed Christian who takes his faith to work. But he says being a born-again journalist isn't about lacing every news story with a gospel message," according to Charisma Magazine.

An author and network news reporter for Fox News Radio - based in New York City, he's covered a number of high profile stories - taking him from Wall Street to the White House. He is also a contributor to FOX Nation and The Strategy Room on FOXNews.com, and host of the weekly Fox on Faith podcast. Todd is a recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award and the Associated Press Mark Twain Award for Storytelling.

His first book, They Popped My Hood and Found Gravy on the Dipstick(Charisma) is a best-seller. It's a humorous collection of stories about his open heart surgery in 2005. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee wrote the foreward and the book is endorsed by Southern Baptists like Dr. David Dockery, president of Union University; Gloria Gaither, and Jonathan Falwell, pastor of Thomas Road Church.

Coming Soon

His second book, Dispatches from Bitter America, includes exclusive interviews with FOX News Channel's Bill O'Reilly, Michelle Malkin, Paula Deen, Gov. Mike Huckabee and Amy Grant. He was a presenter at the 2009 Gospel Music Association DOVE Awards.

Todd Starnes will lead an intensive course at the 2010 CLASS Christian Writers Conference. Book now at CLASSEMINARS.org and get your registration down payment in, conference limited to 100 attendees.

Bruce Wilkinson
Keynote

CLASS Christian Writers Conference
Take a look at the lineup!

November 10-14, 2010
Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, NM

Limited to 100 Attendees
Book Now!

Take your writing to the next level and learn from top professionals, such as Keynote Bruce Wilkinson, author of 60 books, Fox News Reporter Todd Starnes, children's author Kersten Hamilton, John Van Diest (Tyndale), Craig von Buseck (CBN.com), Linda Canup (InTouch), Jesse Florea (Focus on the Family), Joshua Williams (WinePress), Rick Steele (AMG), Terry Burns (Hartline Literary Agency), Len and Carolyn Goss, and many others, including a host of CLASS faculty.

Along with providing times to grow spiritually in a gorgeous setting filled with His presence in Abiquiu, New Mexico, attendees will partner with mentor and peers to polish a work to be included in a book to be published solely from those attending the conference, Out of the Overflow (book project details below).

Space is limited. Register now and come early for added value.
3 popular options for the day before conference back by demand:

On-Ramp Orientation, with Ron Benson and Lee Warren
Book Proposal Blitz, with Tama Westman and Team
Marketing Boot Camp, with Karen Porter and Kathi Lipp

Be sure to check out the CLASS website for up-to-date news.

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other."

- John F. Kennedy,
from speech prepared for delivery
in Dallas, TX, Nov. 22, 1963

Rubel Shelly

Teachability -

Key to Success

One of my all-time favorite quotes is from Coach John Wooden: "What really counts in life is what you learn after you know it all." After the initial chuckle, that is an ouch-maker for most of us. The older we get, the more set in our ways we are likely to be. The older we get, the harder it is to master new skills and adapt to new paradigms. The older we get, the more likely we are to tune out ideas that would require re-thinking a point of view.

I wonder how all you older accountants and CPAs felt about replacing those pale green ledger sheets and sharp pencils with computer software - software that required one of those newfangled machines called a computer! Do you know anybody who said it was just a fad that wouldn't last?

How does a physician stay current with new medications, diagnostic tools, and therapies? How does an attorney stay abreast of changes in the law? How does a professor stay current in her area of scholarly research?

A key to success in every profession or business is teachability. One can get left behind pretty quickly these days! So a really good educational experience bears little resemblance to indoctrination - the memorization of fixed right answers. It is, instead, the mastering of good tools that allow one to do credible research and the fostering of a mindset that is willing to test everything.

Click here to read more.

Rubel Shelly is a preacher, professor and author of more than 30 books, and holds degrees from Harding University (B.A.), Harding Graduate School of Religion (M.A., M.Th.), and Vanderbilt University (M.A., Ph.D.).

*Condensed for space.

"The moment you stop learning,
you stop leading."

- John Maxwell,
The Maxwell Leadership Bible

Dr. Richard J. Krejcir

The Character of Teachability

Do You Pass the Teachability Test?

Is the character of teachability working in you?

Here is how you can find out. Take a careful look at this character by examining these passages.

Here are positive examples from Scripture:

Daniel 1: 3-20; 2:17, 49; 3:12-30
Matthew 28:1-8
Mark 16:9
Luke 19:11-19; 24:1-12
John 3:1-21; 20:1-9,18.

Here are negative examples from Scripture:

Judges 8:33-34
Ecclesiastes 3:1-12
Luke 19:20-27
2 Thessalonians 2:3-4
1 Timothy 1:20
Revelation 2:9.

Then ask yourself:

How do I exhibit teachability in my daily life?
What can I do to develop a better willingness to be more teachable?
What blocks teachability from working and being exhibited in me?
How can I make teachability function better, stronger, and faster, even in times of uncertainty and stress?

The character of teachability has two aspects to it; one is being a learner and the other is to pass it on, to share insights and what we have learned with others to disciple them.

It never means being condescending or thinking we know it all. This is not the spiritual gift of teaching, rather the call to pass on God's love and insights to others. It is first being a learner, absorbing and applying what God has for us, then replicating that in others. To be a person who can teach we have to be a person who is teachable...

Click here to read more.

Richard Joseph Krejcir, Director of "Into Thy Word Ministries," a missions and discipling ministry, is a pastor, teacher, speaker, and author of Into Thy Word.
He is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, CA (M.Div.).

"In the Western tradition, we have focused on teaching as a skill and forgotten what Socrates knew: teaching is a gift, learning is a skill."

- Peter Drucker

We're coming your way!
Learn more about the many
CLASS opportunities
on our website,
CLASSEMINARS.org.

Click on each seminar title for more information.

HURRY! THESE DATES ARE COMING FAST, REGISTER TODAY TO RESERVE YOUR PLACE.

Writers Express

September 18, St. Joseph, MO

CLASSeminar

September 20-22, St. Joseph, MO

Marketing Boot Camp

August 21, San Jose, CA
October 2, Plainfield, IN

Personality Training

August 23-25, San Jose, CA
October 4-6, Plainfield, IN

Linda Gilden

Equipping Others for Peaceful Living through Personality Training

"If it is possible as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone."

- Romans 12:18

If we are true to that verse, we cannot be selective in practicing it. Neither can we limit ourselves to equipping others through our Personality Training workshop. We must be available to train people in the church, workplace, educational arenas, and more.

While I was judging a literary meet at a local school, one of the administrators stopped by to chat. She mentioned a problem in one of the classrooms. "You know what you need?" I asked.

Surprised by the promise of help, she responded, "No what?"

"Your teachers need the Personality Training. If they understood some of the basics of how their students think, they could help them learn more effectively." A week later I received an invitation to be the guest speaker on the subject of the Personalities at the next teacher inservice day.

Click here to read more.

Linda Gilden is a CLASS team member and Director of the CLASS Christian Writers Conference. She is the author of several books, including Mommy Pick-Me-Ups (New Hope) and the popular LoveNotes series (New Hope).

Are YOU ready for
Personality training?
Edit Image

August 23 - 25,

San Jose, CA

October 4 - 6,

Plainfield, IN

by Linda Jewell

Partnering with Pros -
Business Coach
Karen Robertson

Many speakers and writers have felt surprised and discouraged when they see their income and expenses reported in black and white on their Individual Income Tax Return.

Prior to becoming a personal success coach, Karen Robertson was a classroom teacher, school administrator, college instructor, and staff developer. She also pursues a career as speaker, writer, and comedian.

Karen Robertson

With her background, Robertson knows a solid business plan impacts your bottom line, especially for speakers and writers. "Business plans give us a focus to achieve our creative goals."

Robertson also relates to the artistic temperament. "Creative types, like speakers and writers, tend to spend more time developing their creative skills and therefore get good at their craft. However, they need to approach getting their product to the marketplace the same as any other business person."

Click here to read more.

Linda Jewell lives in Albuquerque, NM and encourages brave hearts on the home front. Read about ways you can support our military men and women in her weekly Support Our Troops blog.

Dan Penwell

Scholarship Guidelines

Dan Penwell Scholarships
Application Details

Through the Dan Penwell Scholarship Fund, CLASSEMINARS, Inc. recognizes and thanks Dan Penwell for the years he invested in the lives of aspiring writers. His legacy of writing with excellence for the Kingdom of God inspires us all to do the same. We will miss Dan at the conference this year but he will be there in spirit through the lives of those whom he has touched as well in those who will be able to attend because of the scholarships in his memory.

In addition to the memorial gifts to this scholarship fund, CLASSEMINARS is providing a full scholarship that includes four nights lodging at the Ghost Ranch.

A full tuition, two half tuition, and two mini tuition scholarships will be granted. For complete details, deadline and contact information, see complete guidelines posted on CLASS blog.

We are pleased to announce that Gloria Penwell joins the leadership team of the 2010 CLASS Christian Writers Conference.

******************

DiAnn Mills

The DiAnn Mills $400 Fiction Scholarship (Scholarship will be applied to tuition when you register for the conference. No check will be issued.) For complete details, application deadline and contact information, read scholarship guidelines posted on the CLASS blog.

Tama Westman

A Note from the Editor

How's your summer? I've taken two vacations (one to Mexico and one camping on Lake Superior) to recoup from planning my daughter's wedding in June, all the while filling blank journals with new writing and thoughts.

This July/August edition of the Communique is themed around the topic of teachability. You'll find articles, Scripture references, quotes, even a Teachability Test to see where you stand on the teachability scale.

As the Vice President of Cholerics Anonymous, I've taken a few turns at the teachability wheel. I've learned that when you finally get good enough to do something for God's glory, He takes the time to make sure you are completely out of the way of His plan first, before using those gifts and skills He has honed in you. The essence of teachability is the ability to listen, to learn, to change and grow, without offense, without rebuttal.

CLASS is ramping up for fall events, even announcing a new Writers Express to be held in St. Joseph, Missouri in September. Be sure to check out the details and dates posted here and on our website at www.CLASSEMINARS.org.

At the CLASS website you can learn about and register for upcoming seminars and workshops, listen to archived radio programs, read our blog, post comments, even hear the message from keynote speakers at last year's writers conference. A one-stop inspirational spot that can lift and gift you with what you need to fulfill the mission God has placed in your heart.

Blessings,
Tama

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