book launch, Christian Church, Christian faith, edir macedo, serving God, TV station,
Tuesday 19th February 2013
Charing Cross Road is likely to be the busiest spot in London on Sunday February 24th as Blackwell’s Bookshop is anticipating its biggest book launch for many years.
The title in question is Nothing to Lose, the first volume of Bishop Edir Macedo’s three-part autobiography. The charismatic churchman is the founder and long time head of the UCKG, and his story has achieved global sales approaching one million copies in just a few weeks of phased launches overseas.
Steve Orchard Blackwell’s store manager said: “I’ve worked here since 1995 and we’ve made a speciality of holding book launches, with two to three events per week at our busiest. This time we are expecting sales to top 13,000, far outperforming other launches which generally sell a few hundred copies.
“To ensure that everyone who wants a copy on launch day is served as quickly and efficiently as possible, our most experienced staff will be on the tills as the store will only be open from 2pm to 6pm.”
UCKG HelpCentre’s head of communications, Paul Hill said: “Since the book launch was announced, we’ve been overwhelmed with interest from our members, their families and friends. People will be coming from all over the country on Sunday, keen to buy the book and be part of its success story.”
In a break with publishing tradition, Bishop Macedo will not be present to autograph copies of his book for purchasers.
However his co-author Douglas Tavolaro, who is Vice President of Journalism at the Brazilian TV station Rede Record, will sign copies along with Bishop Celso Junior who heads the UCKG HelpCentre in the UK. The UCKG HelpCentre is also supporting the launch by providing a team of trained volunteer stewards.
To understand why Nothing to Lose is attracting so much attention, it should be noted that the book is sub-titled ‘Moments of belief that changed my life.’ It contains extensive insights into the Bishop’s life and thinking, although not always in chronological order, and does much to explain how a man from a modest home and large family came to stride the world stage.
Born into the Catholic faith in 1945, Edir Macedo converted to Pentecostal Christianity as a young man. In his early thirties he resigned from a successful civil service career in order to found a church that would reach out to the poorest and most disadvantaged communities in his native Rio de Janeiro.
The book covers aspects of the Bishop’s early life and his development as a preacher, thinker and church leader. His accounts of seminal family and politically influenced events that did much to shape him into the man he is today are particularly interesting.
Now – 35 years later – he heads a global organisation that is comprehensively based on the practical teachings of the Bible and calls its churches HelpCentres. He is as passionate about serving God as he was at the start, despite many vicissitudes and controversy.
ENDS
Note to editors:
UCKG is a Christian church and registered charity that offers a range of practical support activities alongside spiritual support and comfort and welcomes all-comers. It reached the UK in 1995 and has gone from strength to strength, providing support and spreading the Christian faith. There are UCKG HelpCentre branches in England and Wales.
For further information please contact the UCKG HelpCentre Press Officer via e-mail on press@uckgnew.org or direct line 020 7686 6033.
