Preston Gillham

Crossways to Life in Kitchener, Ontario is hosting an evening with the author—that would be, yours truly—this evening in their offices at 79 Weber Street East.

The evening begins at 7:00 PM. CTL’s Executive Director, Ross Gilbert, and I will discuss my book, “No Mercy,” for a few minutes before opening the room up for discussion and Q&A.

If you have not read “No Mercy” yet, books will be available. If you have already read the book, bring it with you. I’ll be happy to sign books and I am anxious to meet you.

Here is the complete contact information:

Crossways to Life
79 Weber Street East
Kitchener, Ontario N2H 1C6
519-742-1900

I hope to see you this evening. Oh! By the way, there is no charge and everyone is welcome. I will guard against giving too much away about “No Mercy.” So, the storyline will be protected if you have not finished reading yet.

Yesterday I was on the set of “100 Huntley Street” discussing “No Mercy” with Jim Cantelon.

Interviews can be dicey deals. If the host hasn’t read the book, looked over the media packet, or isn’t prepared the interview can be a high-speed run down a twisting, unfamiliar road. I’ve had plenty of those experiences—and a few times the interviewer and I have run off the cliff and accomplished nothing more than to fill airtime.

But not yesterday! Jim was not only prepared, he had read “No Mercy” and had dug deep into my biography. It is quite an honor to write something and have the opportunity to discuss it with someone who values the art, work, and message. You will see this in Jim—very noticeably, in fact.

After you have watched this clip, I’d ask that you pray for me please. While I am interactive with Jim, I’m tired, very tired. As you would suspect, life has not slowed down yet after Mom’s passing and the Thanksgiving holiday. I don’t regret the investment of my energy and life in joining my family to care for our folks, but the last months have clearly taken their toll. I need to tend to my health right away.

I want to write more–and I will soon–about my discussions with my Partner in the “No Mercy” project.

But today is not the day. Maybe after I get my head back above water. In the meantime, you can see that the message and story of “No Mercy” is engaging, even though the author is less than a compelling advocate. It was a privilege to sit across the table from Jim, and it was a joy to see that this book meant something special to a man who reviews books nearly every day.

Here is the video clip from “100 Huntley Street.” Here is a link to the “No Mercy” page. And here is a link to purchase the book.

I will be discussing my book, “No Mercy,” live on “100 Huntley Street” Wednesday morning, 9:00 AM Eastern. You can watch online or check out the archive later in the day.

The holiday season is especially difficult after the passing of a loved one. Please continue interceding for Preston and his family as they grieve the loss of their mother.

Preston already wrote an eloquent tribute to Anabel and her life. I could not add to it, instead I would focus our attention on some of the significant developments surrounding No Mercy.

Preston is about to make his first TV appearance in promoting the book. It is notable that the first TV presentation is not on home soil, but in Canada. The two largest Canadian Christian TV networks will hold interviews and will promote the book. Although this is very exciting, there have been many logistical challenges. Shipping books from the US is cost prohibitive, so new printing, distribution and shipping companies had to be located in Canada. Please pray that every single detail comes together, and that Father would protect every link in the chain of production and distribution. Pray for a warm reception of the book on the Canadian market and specifically that ALL inventory would be sold. Pray that US TV stations will pick up Preston as a guest speaker. Most of all pray for the spiritual transformation of Canada and its people. Father loves the Canadian people and for some reason He is choosing Canada as the first market to widely spread No Mercy.

Be blessed as you pray,

Reny Madjarska
Head Prayer Tribeswoman

You pray, you read your Bible. You have a few Scriptures that are “go to” passages. You don’t lose sight of hope, and you don’t give doubt any quarter. You keep a stiff upper lip, set your jaw, grit your teeth, and hold your head up. You believe—believe God, trust God, and are determined to depend upon Him.

Now what?

You step forward, or get up, or claw your way back, or refocus. You strip away anything extraneous, jettison all non essentials (like any provision for your old ways of doing things), and run the race set before you.

Run?

Running can be a sprint, a marathon, a slog, a crawl. It can be a joy, a chore, an effort, an otherworldly demand. You can “hit the wall” when you run, but you can’t stop because then you will not be running.

Think of running as started, moving, in motion, directed—and therefore, gathering no moss; shaking off the dust; clearing your head; immersed in the momentum of movement. The only expectation is movement.

What now? That first step: taking it. This is also called faith.

What if your faith is wounded, discouraged, questioned, daunted, or otherwise seemingly overwhelmed? What now?

Ah, that is trust.

We can all use an example of how to take the next step, how to believe, and when belief is questionable, how to trust. Here’s a story that will do just that.

It’s been on my mind since 4 a.m. to ask you to pray for Preston’s protection, for his precious Di, siblings, their spouses and kids. Most of all pray for Preston’s parents who have served the body of Christ for many decades but are now dealing with old age and all the challenges that come along. Preston is honoring his parents, expending most of his time and energy to serve them and Father is so pleased with him. The Lord commanded us to honor our mothers and fathers because he knew that at some point that honor will come at a great deal of cost to us.

Just as Bill and Anabel were given an assignment to pour into the Body of Christ truths about Father’s love and grace, so is Preston. His, however, is a prophetic assignment under a writer’s mantle. He is dispelling lies about Father through language and imagery that speak to this generation. As such his calling is life-giving to the Body and infuriating to Satan. Satan spares no effort to cause diversion, distraction and despair. Granted, Father is neither surprised, nor distant, nor powerless to intervene and open Preston’s schedule so that he writes the sequel of No Mercy and keeps up his blog. But our Heavenly Daddy has set a natural order in motion and for the majority of our lives we and our families are subject to it. So we walk it out. We walk it out in fellowship with Him, in a constant conversation and a relationship. Yet, in the midst of the natural order, we need to ask Daddy for supernatural intervention, breakthrough of the confines of the physical and manifestation of the miraculous. Father loves to give lavish gifts to His children. He is not a stingy miracle worker. He does not ration out His blessings. They are endless. So is his love, grace, patience. So, please ask boldly for Preston and his family, for provision, protection and help in every way, and, for the expansion of No Mercy’s reach above and beyond what we have imagined. Do not miss to ask for yourself as well. Above and beyond.

Be blessed as you pray boldly,

Reny Madjarska
Head Prayer Tribeswoman

For five or six years I have worked with Barbados Grace Fellowship, developing their ministry model and outreach to the island community. When I am on the island, I stay with dear friends, which is where I am now, working from the veranda during a tropical rain shower.

Nanny is originally from St. Vincent, a volcanic island to the West. Of course, Nanny is not really her name, but that is what my friends call her, primarily because that’s what their children know her as.

I watched Nanny prepare dinner yesterday morning in hopes I could emulate what she did when I get home. There was a recipe that Nanny followed in large part, but the large part is not the hard part, nor the really good part. I lost track after a while, gave up, and decided to look forward to dinner.

Dinner was wonderful.

When Nanny arrived this morning, we did our customary swapping of places in the kitchen as she cleaned up from the book discussion for “No Mercy” and I made coffee. I told her dinner last night was superior.

Nanny said she knew it would be okay (a favorite, island cliché) because she had prayed on the bus, prayed over the recipe, and prayed over her preparation. She said, “I knew Father was cooking through me. It was okay.”

As I conclude my writing, Nanny is alternating between singing and whistling, “Higher Ground.”

Here is another story—a longer one—about a man who trusted God to live through him even though it seemed irrational, unlikely, and unwarranted.

Some people say my book, “No Mercy,” is outside the box.

I disagree. Oh, sure. I published it unconventionally, and I speak to issues that are not often revealed in nice company, but I had no intention of writing a book that is not relevant.

The concept of “No Mercy” is revolutionary, granted. And the literary style is outside the norm, but the story of Henry “Hank” Henderson is not uncommon. He is a normal person, living a fairly normal life, who encounters the revolutionary God of heaven.

And some say, “That’s odd: a revolutionary God. It’s outside the box. Abnormal, really.” No it’s not! That God cares, persists, and pursues is what He does, and has done, since He created mankind.

Had I written a book that was outside the box, then the concept of God I presented would have been remote, removed, indifferent, and irrelevant. I didn’t write a fantasy! I wrote about real life and a real-time, interactive God utilizing the literary elements of fiction and allegory.

Why? Because I hope Hank’s life-story sparks a revolution in our life-stories.

There are two types of revolutions: a) those fueled from outside, and b) those fueled from inside. “No Mercy” is the latter. Hank is like you and me. While fictional, he is not hypothetical. And, God is not distant. He is relevant. He is not outside the box. He is inside the box where we live. If God was outside the box, He never would have incarnated Himself. Like TR described, God is in the arena. He is active on the channel as my friend, Lamar, says. He is present and accounted for.

I’m hearing from two types of readers. The fist group encounter Hank, identify with him, generalize from his experience in “No Mercy” to their own lives, and emerge alongside him three-hundred pages later transformed. The other group appears to be afraid—scared that if they identify with Hank, their lives will be revolutionized like his. They seem fearful about transformation—as though it will take them to a place that is not OK.

Here is a thought about fear.

In the meantime, Hank’s story (i.e., “No Mercy”) is intended to instigate change through personal identification.

Revolutions are not driven purely by intellectual ascent, but by passionate identification, and collaboration resulting in true transformation from inside the box—inside the box of life.

When Satan can’t get you to abandon the pursuit of what God has put in your heart, he will throw enough at you to distract you and consume your time.

This is what is occurring with the advancement of No Mercy. Satan cannot do anything about us praying, people’s lives been changed, and the No Mercy team working hard. But he is doing his darn best to slow us down before the next step. He is bringing technological, personal and professional glitches of mass proportions in order to consume our time.

The Kindle designer ran into one of those glitches and gave up. So, we need a new Kindle expert. Please pray for an excellent professional who would either volunteer their time or fit in a shoe string budget. We are believing Father that the Kindle version will be available to the Christmas shoppers.

The Lord has provided a wonderful audio developer, Abe, who is ready to work on an audio version of No Mercy. Please pray that Preston would be able to prepare and record the book without distractions. Pray as Preston invests very significant amounts of time in caring for his parents.

Finally, a magnificent answer to your prayers is an upcoming interview and publicity campaign on one (or two) of the largest Christian TV stations in Canada. There is much preparation to be done. Please pray that nothing stands in the way of the campaign and that it yields more book readers and partnerships.

Be blessed as you pray and stay focused on what God’s put in your heart,

Reny Madjarska
Head Prayer Tribeswoman

Everyone needs private space, but leaders realize their private lives shrink as their responsibility increases. This is a burden of leadership—but it is also a privilege.

Leaders live in fishbowls. Good leaders understand this and use this transparency to their benefit and others’ good.

A friend of mine who runs a large company tells me he takes note of when he coughs during a meeting. Some would say he is obsessed. I would say he is a leader who comprehends the weight of leadership.

People are watching. They are looking for clues and indicators, anything that will help them feel secure, aware, confident, and informed.

Leadership is a privilege. It is a humbling honor to know people manage their lives by gauging theirs by yours.

Leaders cannot lead private lives in the same way the rest of us do. They are on display, whether they like it or not. Their lives are a barometer and field guide.

This means leaders must be deeply rooted in something greater than themselves.

Leaders who are selfish and self-centered, miscue. Leaders who are not anchored, drift. Leaders who believe their lives are private, behave irresponsibly. And the people who follow suffer.

But the leader who is anchored, the leader who is self-assured, and the leader who is self-aware has the opportunity to lead people well. Of course, this begs the question: Anchored to what? Self-assured about what? Self-aware in what way?

Scripture says about Believers that our souls are anchored in Christ. It says we are confident in Him. It declares that our identity is secure in His identity. These are fundamental truths for every follower of Christ.

Relating this to leadership, if a leader is organized and focused spiritually, then the foundation is laid to be transparent—deliberately; to put his life and leadership on the table for examination. Like Paul (and Jesus) say, “Imitate me.” Every one of us—including leaders—needs to be led in some way.

Leadership that begins with that transparency embraces the burden and beauty of leadership knowing that those who follow will do so with a sense of security.

We all imitate. Leaders have the opportunity to demonstrate what others will emulate.

Here is a transparent look into a leader’s life. He has gone to the trouble to write his experience down for our observation and imitation.