FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Pamela McClure,
615.595.8321
pamela@mmpublicrelations.com
Jana
Muntsinger, 615.376.9442
jana@mmpublicrelations.com
Pastor and Best-selling Author Max Lucado Responds To
Emotions Gripping Americans: Fear, Grief, Worry,
Hopelessness
Recent Book Offers Encouragement for Uncertain Times
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE—America has been
plunged into a time of grief and fear that could not have been anticipated just
days ago. Terrorist attacks and
airplane hijackings have left the nation feeling vulnerable, fearful and
grieving deeply. And as millions are
looking for answers, a respected pastor speaks peace and comfort from the
Twenty-third Psalm to those hurting across the nation. In Traveling
Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear ($21.99;
hardcover, W Publishing Group), Max Lucado, a pastor and author with more than
25 million books in print, addresses the issues Americans are dealing with
today: worry, hopelessness, death and doubt.
“We are shocked by the events of this
week,” comments Mark Sweeney, publisher at the W Publishing Group. “When we began shipping copies of Traveling
Light last week, we hoped its focus on the Twenty-third Psalm would provide
words of inspiration and encouragement to readers. We had no idea how desperately needed these words would be just a
few short days later.”
As individuals and churches pray for a
nation upended by terrorism, Max Lucado’s recent release points to the
Twenty-third Psalm, the same scripture President Bush quoted in his remarks to
the nation on the day of the terrorist attacks. Lucado explains why he believes this piece of scripture seems to
be front of mind for so many. “This beloved psalm has for centuries been recited
by those facing mortality and grief and loss.
It offers comfort as few other words have done throughout human
history. And these words have been no
more appropriate than now.”
Recent events only enhance the value
of Lucado’s reminder. He encourages
Americans to lay down their burdens of fear, grief and uncertainty—and points
them to the wisdom of the Twenty-third Psalm for authentic comfort and
hope. In his latest book, Traveling
Light, Lucado identifies specific burdens humankind labors under and which
God desires to remove. Some of the
burdens he addresses include:
•
The burden of weariness:
He makes me lie down in green pastures
•
The burden of worry:
He leads me beside still waters
•
The burden of hopelessness:
He restores my soul
•
The burden of guilt:
He guides me in paths of righteousness
•
The burden of the grave: Though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death
•
The burden of fear:
I will fear no evil
•
The burden of loneliness:
You are with me
•
The burden of doubt:
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life
•
The burden of homesickness:
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
--more--
Lucado
Responds to Emotions/page two
Lucado
points out that a weak or small god will not do as we try to unload the burdens
of modern-day life. “If your god is a
genie in a bottle,” Lucado points out, “then you are greater than he is. He
comes and goes at your command. A god who looks nice but does little.” Instead, Lucado encourages his readers to
recognize God as a loving, strong deity who is consumed with love for his
children.
The multi-city book tour planned for
the book’s launch is being completely re-thought in light of the recent
terrorist attacks. “We want to allow
Max the opportunity to respond from a pastor’s heart,” explains Allen Arnold,
Senior VP Marketing for W Publishing Group.
“We are re-thinking the entire tour schedule to make room for public
prayer and encouragement sessions which are so needed.” The tour, which includes stops in New York
City, NY; Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; Orlando, FL; Birmingham, AL; and San
Antonio, TX; begins October 1. “We have
created a prayer guide, based on the Twenty-third Psalm, to be distributed at
no cost. Thousands of copies will be
available in each city Max visits, and we’ll also make it available
online. It’s our desire to direct as
many people as possible back to this Psalm of comfort.”
The publisher will support the tour
with a full-page ad in USA Today (September 28), along with local radio and newspaper
ads in each tour city. In addition, a national marketing campaign for
the book includes retail merchandising kits, trade and consumer print
advertising, a Traveling Light poster;
a consumer website (www.maxlucado.com), as well as a national
publicity campaign.
Traveling
Light
began shipping September 4 and will arrive in bookstores later this month
alongside companion products, which include a hardcover Traveling Light
devotional journal, a Spanish paperback edition and an audio version recorded
by the author. An original Traveling
Light music project is in the works for a nationwide February 5, 2002
release. Numerous foreign language
editions are being translated; Lucado’s works are already published in almost
two dozen languages.
During the past fifteen years, Lucado
has become recognized for what USA Today called
“his chatty, easy-to-read style.” With
more than 25 million books in print, Lucado is nothing short of a publishing
phenomenon. He is the first author to
win three *ECPA Book of the Year awards and at least one of his books has
appeared on an ECPA bestseller list every month since July 1990. Lucado set a record with 11 of his 12
published works on an ECPA bestseller list at once in 1994. Max Lucado, his
wife Denalyn and their three daughters reside in San Antonio, Texas, where he
serves as a minister at Oak Hills Church of Christ.
# # #
September 11, 2001
*ECPA=Evangelical
Christian Publishers Association
Traveling Light:
Releasing
the Burdens You Were Never Intended to Bear
By Max Lucado
W Publishing Group
Ship date: September 2001
$21.99 Hardcover
ISBN #: 0-8499-1297-0