Jenna Lucado is the daughter of my dear friend and bestselling author Max Lucado. She is the co-author of You Were Made to Make a Difference, along with her dad. She is also one of the main speakers at Revolve, a conference for teenage girls. In a moment, I will tell you how to get a $10.00 discount on a Revolve ticket.

I have known Jenna for several years. Gail and I traveled with her and her husband, Brett, to Ethiopia. It has been fun watching her come into her own as a communicator. In fact, the first time I heard her speak, I was sitting next to Max. Five minutes into her talk, I leaned over to him and whispered, “Wow. She is better than you!” Without missing a beat, he laughed and replied, “I know. She is!”

Last fall amid a struggling economy and political turmoil Max Lucado released a very timely book called Fearless: Imagine Your Life Without Fear. Now a year later, he is releasing his newest book, Outlive Your Life: You Were Made to Make a Difference (Thomas Nelson).

I love all of Max’s books, but I believe this to be his most important one yet. Recently, I had the opportunity to interview him about why he wrote this book and what he hopes to accomplish.

Next week, we begin shipping Fearless, the new book by mega best-selling author, Max Lucado. In a few minutes, I’ll tell you how to get a copy free.

On the morning of September 15, 2008, I arrived in New York City for a series of meetings on Wall Street. When I got off the plane, I discovered that Lehman Brothers, one of America’s most venerable financial institutions, had filed for bankruptcy. People in the street, on the elevators, and in my meetings seemed stunned. They barely talked. The fear was palpable.

So much of modern technology makes us feel more isolated and less connected. That’s why I get particularly excited when I see software that actually brings people together and facilitates community.

A few weeks ago, I learned about Groups Interactive, a web-based system that helps small group leaders and members stay connected. It was developed by a group of believers at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio where Max Lucado is the Teaching Minister.

Once a quarter, we pull all our Nashville-based employes together (about 400) for an all-company team meeting. Our goal is three-fold: to report on the previous quarter’s results, recognize outstanding performance, and preview our “coming attractions.”

We held this quarter’s meeting yesterday at The Donelson Fellowship, a church near our corporate headquarters. Rob Morgan, the pastor, and his gracious staff, have served as our hosts now for more than five years. Their facility is perfect for our size, with state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment.

Yesterday, the Christian Book Expo floor opened. We had 66 publishers, scores of authors, and dozens of book signings and author events. The attendance was lighter than I had hoped. However, given the fact that this is a consumer show and most consumers are working during the day, it wasn’t a complete surprise. Hopefully, attendance will pick up on Saturday.

Regardless, I thought it was a very productive day. We sold books steadily out of our booth all day long. Our friends from Family Christian Stores staffed the cash registers, which was a huge help. Meanwhile, Gail and I met with literally dozens of authors throughout the day.

The first-ever Christian Book Expo (i.e., “CBE”) began yesterday in Dallas Texas. I’ve decided that I will post my daily activities, so that you who can’t attend can follow along vicariously. In case you missed it, I blogged about the details of this book festival a month ago.

Yesterday morning started out early with the GPA Invitational Golf Tournament. This is an annual event designed to raise funds for the Global Publishing Alliance (i.e., “GPA”). We played at the beautiful Tour 18 golf course in Flower Mound, Texas, just outside of Dallas.

I played in a foursome with Max Lucado. The tournament was a scramble format, and the weather could not have been better. Our score was not that great, but we had a blast. Hanging out with Max is always such a treat.

In less than a month—March 19–22, 2009—the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) will host the first-ever Christian Book Expo (“CBE” for short) in Dallas, Texas. Unlike traditional publishing trade shows, this one will be open to the public. That means YOU can attend.

Activities at the three-day Expo will include workshops, seminars, mini-events and evening programming—all led by authors. In fact, more than 200 authors have agreed to participate, including bestselling authors Max Lucado, Donald Miller, Andy Andrews, Patsy Clairmont, Terri Blackstock, Lee Strobel, Gary Chapman, Stephen Arterburn, J.I. Packer, Don Piper, Mary Manz Simon, Henry Blackaby, Ruth Haley Barton, Stormie Omartian, Colleen Coble, Sheila Walsh and Elizabeth George.