Here’s what the Glendale Star and Peoria Times says about The 5 Minute Miracle. This article by editor Carolyn Dryer appeared on December 5, 2008. These two weekly paid subscription newspapers have a combined readership of over 50,000 per week.

Headlines: Star Contributor Publishes Collection of Weekly Columns

Many subscribers of The Glendale Star say it is the first thing they read when they open the newspaper. Others say it is one of the most humorously inspirational columns they have ever read. One fan said last week she just would like to meet the writer.

Pastor Ed Delph now offers what he considers the best columns in his book, “The 5 Minute Miracle-Standing Out By Becoming Outstanding.” It has not made the New York Times best-seller list yet, but it is an opportunity for fans of Delph to purchase in one volume his writings over the past four years.

That is not a small offering. There are 236 pages of humor and education about God’s word and “its meaning in our everyday lives,” as one of the individuals who endorsed his book observed. 

Humble but not shy, Delph attributes the popularity of his writing to his friends and associates around the world. He travels just about every week to parts of the world many of us did not even know existed. Last year as well as this month, he is a speaker at the International Christian Chamber of Commerce Annual Conference. Who would have thought a pastor from the West Valley in Arizona would be asked to speak to an international group of business people?

It is part of a movement, if you will. Delph and other religious leaders sensed there had been a break in the connection between churches and the community. And they are finding ways to mend and strengthen the ties. In his book Delph talks about churches learning to speak the language of the community rather than the language of the church.

“There is a whole new style of church,” Delph writes. “Churches are becoming more aware of peoples’ needs. Churches are reaching beyond their traditional four walls and connecting with the community.”

In the West Valley, area congregants have become visible throughout our communities through service projects. In one instance, Christ’s Church of the Valley congregants numbered more than 1,000 at a Peoria Neighborhood Pride event, tearing down old fences, putting up new ones, pulling weeds, painting houses, repairing roofs.

New Life Community Church is known for its sponsorship of not just chamber of commerce luncheons, but American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life at Peoria Sports Complex, where more than 5,000 people pledge to help cancer research. Church members are actively reaching out to people, one by one.

And one of the easiest ways to reach members of the community is through the pages of local newspapers. But newspaper religious columns can be preachy and stuffy, you say. No more. Not with Delph and his friend in writing, Steve Lingenfelter, senior pastor at New Life Community Church. 

“He (Lingenfelter) challenged me to write this book,” Delph wrote in his acknowledgements. “His heart is for people in the community and it shows in everything he does. What an example to me!”

Delph’s book is endorsed by Walt Kallestad, senior pastor at Community Church of Joy in the West Valley, who wrote, “As a pastor who has for many years embraced the mission of connecting the message of the church with the audience of the community, I heartily recommend to you this book …”

Peoria Vice Mayor Cathy Carlat endorsed Delph’s book by writing, “His newspaper columns shout out the news – contrary to what you may have heard, God is alive and well and living among us. Ed’s contemporary method of setting the record straight beckons us to see God’s power as He moves in our everyday lives.”

“The 5-Minute Miracle” can be purchased directly from Delph by contacting him at his e-mail address, nationstrategy@cs.com. Or, call him at 623-363-9961 and place an order. Cost is $10 plus $2 postage. The book is listed at $16 by the publisher, but Delph is offering the book at a discount for the Christmas season. It’s a perfect gift for yourself, your family, your friends and especially that person who is searching for God. He is setting up a section on his Web site, www.nationstrategy.com, where the book also can be purchased.

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