Jump to content
ClubAdventist is back!

Should SDA Members Pay for Books?


Arwen

Recommended Posts

Seventh Day Adventist members return tithe and give free will offerings.

The tithe is used to give ministers a salary and provide a pension.

When a minister writes a book, should the SDA members be expected to pay for it?

In this age of the internet and downloads, should all the books written by ministers be available as free downloads?

Live for God . . . Love people

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Depends. Did they write this book on church time or their personal free time?

May we be one so that the world may be won.
Christian from the cradle to the grave
I believe in Hematology.
 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Absolutely not, and I don't believe we do?

phkrause

By the decree enforcing the institution of the papacy in violation of the law of God, our nation will disconnect herself fully from righteousness. When Protestantism shall stretch her hand across the gulf to grasp the hand of the Roman power, when she shall reach over the abyss to clasp hands with spiritualism, when, under the influence of this threefold union, our country shall repudiate every principle of its Constitution as a Protestant and republican government, and shall make provision for the propagation of papal falsehoods and delusions, then we may know that the time has come for the marvelous working of Satan and that the end is near. {5T 451.1}
Link to comment
Share on other sites

BY POLICY, they can receive royalties if they write the book 'on company time' The print run is not that big and it is not a profitable venture by itself.

If this was not allowed we would not have a lot of books.

Our biggest worry should not be about the income, our biggest worry should be about taking the good news to our neighbour and people within walking distance of our home.

If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses.

https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist

Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Although there is a lot more to the question than the answer I gave.

There is a lot of expenses to cover in a well done eBook than just the authors royalties.

Editorial, designed, cover photos, and most of all the cost to letting you know that it exists.

If you receive benefit to being here please help out with expenses.

https://www.paypal.me/clubadventist

Administrator of a few websites like https://adventistdating.com

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If the content of the book is an extension of that pastor's ministry and giftedness, they should be allowed to collect the profit. It all goes back into the life of ministry anyway!

I have a special account for all my book profits which I use to take my kids with me (one at a time) on ministry trips. Time alone with our children is hard to come by and our children are our greatest ministry. Each of my three children have been on many trips with me. Not always thanks to book money (there's not much coming in!) but it is my fatherly commitment to take each child on at least one trip a year. I enjoy those trips!

Adventures in the Bible

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

I must agree with Stan & all, the important aspect is to get the word out. Secondly, it is expensive to publish ebooks or paper. IMHO we should be encouraging the efforts of our people.

If your dreams are not big enough to scare you, they are not big enough for God

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

Having done some comparative analysis, the cost difference between print and ebooks is minimal. I was quite surprised, but it does make sense. Printing costs are a relatively small piece of publishing. And production and delivery in digital format is not without significant expense.

"Absurdity reigns and confusion makes it look good."

"Sinless perfection is such a shallow goal."

"I love God only as much as the person I love the least."

*Forgiveness is always good news. And that is the gospel truth.

(And finally, the ideas expressed above are solely my person views and not that of any organization with which I am associated.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If one is slightly technically inclined one can create his own e-books at no cost for the creation of the e-book. For a long time Open Office could export (save as) to pdf, a common e-book format. MS Office also does it, but they started way after Open Office. Calibre, a free Linux e-book application, can convert between several different formats.

One can also use Scribus for creating electronic documents. It works on Linux and various other platforms. It's in the Debian and many other Linux distribution repositories.

About five years ago I was owner builder of my own house. I decided to write a book about it and sell it. This was only completed recently. So, I created my own online shop (I'm a programmer), found hosting (about US$11.00 per month) and did what was needed. You can see this owner builder book shop by clicking the link. PayPal handles the payments and gets about 50c on the $9.95 per sale.

I also loaded it to Google books - two formats, one pdf as in my shop and one .epub created with Calibre. Google provides a command line Java application to check epub documents. Mine doesn't have a single mistake. Google will now also sell it.

So, in short, it's possible to sell or distribute electronic books at very little or no cost, hosting included. All one needs is a bit more than a little bit of know-how.

If anyone is interested, email me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

I'm an author. You won't get rich writing books. Perhaps a dollar a book if you're really lucky - all the other costs eat the rest. The Bible says 'the workman is worthy of his hire'. The author should be paid for the work done.

If an author *chose* to give away his or her work, that would be that person's right.

If the author got nothing, though, it would only drop the price by perhaps 5% anyway...

Interesting, Arwen, that you have now asked two questions about ways to reduce or entirely remove the livelihoods of SDA pastors. Why is that?

Truth is important

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

There are a lot of talented writers that will never get rich doing it. Just like there are a lot of talented musicians and artists that will never get rich. That is because more than talent is required. Marketing is a huge part of the equation that makes people wealthy. There are many grossly inferior works, products and ideas that catch on, not because they are all that great, but because they are sold by very hard working and talented marketers. It is sort of like the familiar formula for genius - one part inspiration and nine parts persperation.

"Absurdity reigns and confusion makes it look good."

"Sinless perfection is such a shallow goal."

"I love God only as much as the person I love the least."

*Forgiveness is always good news. And that is the gospel truth.

(And finally, the ideas expressed above are solely my person views and not that of any organization with which I am associated.)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Should Adventist members pay for books? Should Adventist pastors be paid? Should Adventist teachers be paid? Should Adventist member continue to return tithe? (when they evidently don't trust the "Organization"?) Have we gone absolutely crazy????????? (before I forget... Who said that Adventist pastors have 'free time'?... Adventist pastors, I believe, are paid and are on call 24/7..... It was interesting that when we went out on Mission Service we were told that "The Call" was for two but only ONE got paid"..... Nuff Sed

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Online is the way to go. As I said I get by far the biggest share of the price of a book sold online. Why don't you put your books on Google books? You can mail them a hard copy, they disassemble it, scan it and sell it. It will most likely take months before it's ready for sale. Of course, if you provide an electronic copy, it's faster.

The Internet really is a wonderful resource where one can find information on nearly everything under the sun and compare prices from your home before buying. I buy all my books online.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

Right-on ... 'nuff sad thumbsup

If your dreams are not big enough to scare you, they are not big enough for God

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Moderators

:like: @ nuff said

My thought was why would you NOT want to pay an Adventist author for their effort and time in writing a book?

Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence.

Einstein

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Administrators

Seriously??? LOL

If your dreams are not big enough to scare you, they are not big enough for God

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BY POLICY, they can receive royalties if they write the book 'on company time' The print run is not that big and it is not a profitable venture by itself.

If this was not allowed we would not have a lot of books.

Our biggest worry should not be about the income, our biggest worry should be about taking the good news to our neighbour and people within walking distance of our home.

Hi Stan

Thanks for filling us in on this policy.

1. Why do you think that we would not have a lot of books if this policy was not allowed?

2. What is the policy if a minister writes a book that is not ‘on company time’?

Live for God . . . Love people

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I must agree with Stan & all, the important aspect is to get the word out. Secondly, it is expensive to publish ebooks or paper. IMHO we should be encouraging the efforts of our people.

Hi Naomi

What do you mean by 'our people'?

Live for God . . . Love people

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Interesting, Arwen, that you have now asked two questions about ways to reduce or entirely remove the livelihoods of SDA pastors. Why is that?

Live for God . . . Love people

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Should Adventist members pay for books? Should Adventist pastors be paid? Should Adventist teachers be paid? Should Adventist member continue to return tithe? (when they evidently don't trust the "Organization"?) Have we gone absolutely crazy????????? (before I forget... Who said that Adventist pastors have 'free time'?... Adventist pastors, I believe, are paid and are on call 24/7..... It was interesting that when we went out on Mission Service we were told that "The Call" was for two but only ONE got paid"..... Nuff Sed

Hi Nuff Sed

I remember the days when most Pastors did believe that as shepherds, they were on duty 24/7 – but today some pastors do not think that way.

I think questions should always be asked. I think we always have to reassess how best to enable believers to fulfill the Great Commission.

This question about books/ebooks, is not about wealth or how much money a person or an organization may or may not get. It is about principles:

What would Jesus do?

What does scripture say?

How does it affect the Great Commission?

How does it affect our Christian walk with God?

How is Christ’s love for others, reflected and transmitted in our lives today?

Live for God . . . Love people

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Arwen,

Sell everything that YOU have and give the money to the poor. Then you can have the authority to ask questions like this.

Remember Adventists Online?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Windsor

Every Christian has the authority to ask questions; and every Christian should ask them self these (and other questions) every day.

Quote:

What would Jesus do?

What does scripture say?

How does it affect the Great Commission?

How does it affect our Christian walk with God?

How is Christ’s love for others, reflected and transmitted in our lives today?

Live for God . . . Love people

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

If you find some value to this community, please help out with a few dollars per month.



×
×
  • Create New...