Fool's Gold

Assaying the gold content of "An Unstoppable Force"

It recently came to my attention that there is what appears to be (at best) a misleading claim on the official Erwin McManus website. http://erwinmcmanus.com/unstoppableforce/

This page claims that the book "An Unstoppable Force" (2001) is a

"Winner of the Gold Medallion Book Award."

I have in my possession a copy of this book and the dust cover clearly shows a gray (not gold) seal inscribed with the words "Finalist - The Gold Medallion Book Award." The cover of my book is exactly the same as the one depicted at Erwin McManus.com and if you look closely, you can see the small banner with the word "Finalist" draped across the gray seal

I've written to the company that grants these awards, Evangelical Christian Publishers Association, http://www.ecpa.org, for clarification on this claim since their website does not list Erwin McManus' "An Unstoppable Force" among it's past Gold Medallion award recipients for the year 2001 nor for any other year.

I will post their response as soon as I receive it.


Yvonne W.


While I wait for the ECPA to respond . . .

Zondervan is the publisher of "An Unstoppable Force." This is what Zondervan had to say about Erwin McManus and his book:

Erwin Raphael McManus
Erwin R. McManus (BA, University of North Carolina; MDiv, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as lead pastor and cultural architect of Mosaic, a diverse, multi-ethnic church based in Los Angeles, California. As founder of Awaken, an entrepreneurial community, Erwin collaborates with a team of dreamers and innovators who specialize in the field of developing and unleashing personal and organizational creativity. A national and international consultant on culture, change, leadership, and creativity, he partners with Bethel Theological Seminary as a futurist and distinguished lecturer. He is the author of the ECPA Silver Medallion Award-winning book, An Unstoppable Force, and Seizing Your Divine Moment, Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul, and The Barbarian Way.

http://www.zondervan.com/Cultures/en-US/Authors/Author.htm?ContributorID=McManusE&QueryStringSite=Zondervan


Readers please note: The ECPA does not have a "silver" medallion category!!!


Yvonne W.




UPDATE:

I have just received a reply from the ECPA:

Dear Yvonne,

In 2002, An Unstoppable Force by Erwin McManus was a finalist in the category of Christian Ministry.

The winner of the category was not this book but the following:

Christian Ministry
Ministering To Twenty-First Century Families
W Publishing Group, A Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc.
Dennis Rainey

Thus, the silver finalist seal is correct.

Thank you for your inquiry.

Sincerely,

Cindy

Cindy Carter

ECPA

Awards, Resources, ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com

ccarter@ecpa.org

9633 South 48th Street, Suite 140

Phoenix, AZ 85044

www.ecpa.org

So, Zondervan was correct in stating that "An Unstoppable Force" was the winner of the ECPA Silver Medallion, even though the ECPA does not specifically mention a "silver" category on its webpages.