In this practical and reflective workbook, readers transform ordinary moments into powerful stories of faith, strengthening their ability to share the good news while inspiring others through the power of sacred storytelling.For many Christians, talking about faith can feel uncomfortable, vulnerable, or even intimidating. Yet stories of faith—whether dramatic or ordinary—have long shaped Christian communities, reminding believers of God's presence in their lives and encouraging them to live with...
A Lenten invitation to discover purpose and love through the Gospel of MarkThe Gospel of Mark begins not with a birth story but with a different sort of beginning: God’s voice from heaven calling Jesus “my Beloved Son.” Empowered by this divine affirmation, Jesus embarks on a mission to bring everyone into a community of loving neighbors, starting with his closest friends and followers and continuing through time and space to include each of us.This Lenten journey through the G...
What does it mean to follow Jesus? This Lent, learn from those who did it first.The commitment to follow Jesus means choosing the way of a disciple every day, in matters both major and mundane. This path is sure to bring challenges, even sacrifices, but the joy to be found makes every step worthwhile. This Lent, learn from the successes and trials of Jesus’s earliest isciples—not only the Twelve, but Mary and Martha, others who stepped into leadership after Jesus’s death, and even the apostle Pa...
Dysvangelical names a theology that is distorted, dysfunctional, and dystopian, twisting the good news of God’s grace into a message of fear, partisanship, and exclusion.In Being Presbyterian in a Dysvangelical America, Ted V. Foote Jr. and P. Alex Thornburg speak directly to Presbyterians who are disillusioned and confused by how Christianity is being misused in American culture. So often, our beliefs as faithful Christians do not line up with the shouted chants and disturbing actions taken by ...
Renowned theologian Reinhold Niebuhr began his career as pastor of Bethel Evangelical Church in Detroit, Michigan, where he served from 1915–1928. Leaves from the Notebook of a Tamed Cynic is Niebuhr's account of the frustrations and joys he experienced during his years at Bethel. Addressed to young ministers, this book provides reflections and insights for those engaged in the challenging yet infinitely rewarding occupation of pastoral ministry.With a foreword from Jonathan Walton on&...
Contemplative disciplines, such as centering prayer and meditation, have been part of Christian life for centuries. They seem hard to practice now, not simply because our distracted and hyperstimulated age makes them difficult but also because they can appear irrelevant to the needs of a fractured and ugly historical moment. Yet these practices are more essential now than ever, claims Wendy Farley. These practices essentially awaken and attune us to the beauty both of the created order and of hu...
Named one of the Top 10 Books of the Year in 2020 by the Academy of Parish Clergy
“Drawing on his own spiritual journey, David Gushee provides an incisive critique of American evangelicalism [and] offers a succinct yet deeply informed guide for post-evangelicals seeking to pursue Christ-honoring lives.” —Kristin Kobes Du Mez, Calvin University
Millions are getting lost in the evangelical maze: inerrancy, indifference to the environment, deterministic Calvinism, purity culture, racism, LGBTQ d...
From the masses of young people spurning organized religion to faithful followers of Jesus, there is a deep hunger across gender, age, socioeconomics, and denominational backgrounds for practical, tangible ways to live a life of love, mercy, and justice in our divided, fragmented world. But where do we start? It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the world's problems, with solutions to violence and poverty and oppression seeming so far out of reach.But you have more power to change the world than you...
Named One of the 50 Best Spiritual Books of 2020 by Spirituality & Practice What is materiality?Jesus practiced materiality when he healed the bodies of the sick, proclaimed Jubilee to the poor, and fed the five thousand. He practiced materiality over materialism. In Materiality as Resistance, Walter Brueggemann defines materiality as the use of the material aspects of the Christian faith, as opposed to materialism, which places possessions and physical comfort over spiritual values. I...
As we make our way into the twenty-first century, many Christians are looking for an expression of discipleship that speaks meaningfully to our time, a faith yearning that is at once personally intimate and relevant and that grows out of and nurtures authentic Christian community.
The Pilgrim’s Compass shepherds readers through a metaphorical pilgrimage to consider one’s life a journey for faith formation. Using this book as a guide to help Christians consider their journey as they walk through ...
Beloved and respected by scholars, preachers, and laity alike, Walter Brueggemann offers penetrating insights on Scripture and prophetic diagnoses of our culture. Instead of maintaining what is safe and routine, A Gospel of Hope encourages readers to embrace the audacity required to live out one’s faith. This must-have volume gathers Brueggemann’s wisdom on topics ranging from anxiety and abundance to partisanship and the role of faith in public life.
Believing peacemaking to be an inherent part of discipleship, Presbyterians have taken many valiant stands for peace throughout our history. However, changing global realities, political and military actions, and new weapons of war have made the world less safe than ever. The church must reconsider how to be faithful peacemakers in this changing reality. The Presbyterian Church recently spent six years reflecting on peacemaking. Building on past policy documents, people at all lev...
This is a book for folks whose commitment to Jesus has put them at odds with American evangelicalism. —Shane Claiborne
So many Americans today love their faith but have found their church doesn’t love them back. They then leave, seeking community elsewhere. Of all those personal stories, few have ever been told by someone so far inside the powerful places of white evangelical Christianity.In this provocative tell-all, David Gushee opens the door to the frictions and schisms of evangelicalism,...
In this unique volume, father-and-son team Walter and John Brueggemann take a close look at our fractured American society and suggest ways for improvement. Using six themes identified by some scholars as the moral foundations of society—care, fairness, liberty, loyalty, authority, and sanctity—they examine the unsustainable patterns of our contemporary society and reveal how those patterns played out in the ancient world of the Old Testament. Brueggemann and Brueggeman...
This collection of inspirational writings from Dietrich Bonhoeffer is drawn from his many works and presented here as a series of daily meditations to last throughout the year. Organized under monthly themes, these prayers, sermons, meditations, letters, and notes offer readers a new glimpse at how Bonhoeffer understood the meaning of faith and discipleship. Featuring selections from classic works such as The Cost of Discipleship and Letters and Papers from Prison, this set of wri...
The key to happiness is being rich, successful, and beautiful, right? Martin Thielen, best-selling author of What's the Least I Can Believe and Still Be a Christian?, insists that this is far from the truth. Happiness, Thielen argues, does not come from external factors like getting a job promotion or finally reaching your goal weight. Rather, happiness is an inside job.In brief, easy-to-read chapters, Thielen offers ten traits of happy and fulfilled people. Using psychological res...
Now available in enlarged print, Soul Feast has equipped and inspired tens of thousands of readers to lead a spiritual life. Marjorie Thompson offers a framework for understanding the spiritual disciplines and provides instruction for developing and nurturing those practices. Many new additions, including a new chapter on keeping the sabbath, make this newly revised edition of Soul Feast a must-have for individual reflection and group study.
Modern humanity has accepted a truncated, impoverished definition of life. Focusing solely on material realities, we have forgotten that joy, purpose, and meaning come from a life that is both immersed in the temporal and alive to the transcendent. We have, in other words, ceased to live in God.In this book, renowned theologian Jürgen Moltmann shows us what that life of joy and purpose looks like. Describing how we came to live in a world devoid of the ultimate, he charts a way bac...
"The next revival must be an awakening in the intellect of Christians ready to mark the life of the church and of the broader society with a thoughtful faith."Thoughtful Christianity provides a guide to Christian faith that honors tradition while embracing modern thought and valuing critical reflection. Daniel examines the extreme polarization of Christianity in the last century and argues that American Christians are in need of an awakening of the mind. He suggests a way of life ...
In this volume, the fourth in the Heart of Christian Faith series, Alister E. McGrath looks at the Holy Spirit, human nature, the doctrine of grace, and the place of the church in the Christian life. Full of stories and helpful illustrations, these easy-to-read devotional books offer spiritual consideration of the difference that our belief in God makes to the way in which we think about ourselves and the world. With one volume remaining, McGrath's series will define "mere Christia...
In this book, the third in the Heart of Christian Faith series, Alister E. McGrath provides an exploration of how we can best understand Jesus Christ using analogies, illustrations, and stories. This short, accessible guide also provides a pastoral and spiritual consideration of the difference that our belief in God makes to the way in which we think about ourselves and our world. With future volumes to examine other core Christian principles, McGrath's new series will define "me...
First released in 1995, this spiritual classic continues to be a bestseller, as thousands each year accept Marjorie Thompson's invitation to the Christian spiritual life. Offering a framework for understanding the spiritual disciplines and instruction for developing and nurturing those practices, Soul Feast continues to be a favorite for individual reflection and group study. In addition to new forewords from the esteemed Barbara Brown Taylor and Henri J. M. Nouwen, this revised ed...
In this book, the second in the Heart of Christian Faith series, Alister E. McGrath provides an exploration of how we can best understand God using analogies, illustrations, and stories. This short, accessible guide also provides a pastoral and spiritual consideration of the difference that our belief in God makes to the way in which we think about ourselves and our world. With future volumes to examine other core Christian principles, McGrath's new series will define "mere Christi...
If you think the only logical response to bad Christianity is to leave Christianity completely, this book is for you. In an effort to help those who've been hurt by or turned off by negative religion, Martin Thielen explains that there is an alternative to abandoning religion: good religion. Thielen uses personal stories to illustrate the dangers of religion that is judgmental, anti-intellectual, and legalistic. While addressing the growth of the new atheism movement and the "Nones" (people that...
This leader's guide for Martin Thielen's The Answer to Bad Religion is Not No Religion provides everything needed to facilitate six weekly sessions and provide options based on the needs of your group.About the Main BookIf you think the only logical response to bad Christianity is to leave Christianity completely, this book is for you. In an effort to help those who've been hurt by or turned off by negative religion, Martin Thielen explains that there is an alternative to abandoning religion: go...
