A down-to-earth guide for families wanting to practice their faith at home and live out their values in the world.Followers of Jesus know that when we serve people in need as he would, it’s as if we are serving Jesus himself. Like Jesus says in Matthew 25:40, "Just as you did it to one of the least of these . . . you did it to me.” Feeding the hungry, caring for the poor, working to make the world a better place for everyone—we know these are essential parts of living out our faith. But when we’...
A 2024 Foreword INDIES Award FinalistMany people are aware of the injustices Black Americans have suffered over the centuries but feel powerless when it comes to repairing the harm done.The inequality remains even after laws and policies have been corrected. Calculating and implementing financial reparations will require large-scale government action, which can feel out of reach or overwhelming for the average person. Robert Turner provides an accessible guide for individuals and groups wanting ...
Joyful and daunting opportunities to live into God's dream of justice and beloved community are compelling and available. Hope, says Luther Smith Jr., is essential to the needed personal and social transformations that prepare us for such sacred opportunities. Yet genuine hope is often confused as merely wish fulfillment, optimism, or perceiving better tomorrows. In Hope Is Here! Smith describes how we truly perceive and join "the work of hope" enlivening us to a life that is oriented toward imm...
"In 30 short chapters, Peters takes us through some of Jesus’ parables, Jesus’ encounters with people seeking his help, Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection. Reclaiming that core message can be as powerful today in helping people find hope and resilience as it was 2,000 years ago, David tells us. I agree. This is a must-have volume for pastors, small-group leaders, chaplains and anyone who cares about the lives within their families, their local congregations and their surrounding communities." –...
This collection of prayers by noted Hebrew Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann can be used in both public worship and private devotion. These prayers run the gamut from particular days in the church year to special moments in the lives of worshiping communities to events playing out on the world stage. In all cases, the prayers spur us toward acts of justice and peacemaking and call on God to heal and restore God’s hurting and broken people.
The United States is suffering through a season of social and political division unseen since the Civil War. Unrest over long-standing social (especially racial) injustices are confronting new, antidemocratic perspectives and practices. So much is at stake. Will this country fulfill or abandon its historic commitment to equality and civil liberties? Can a nation so divided come together again? These questions cut to the core of the beliefs articulated by Christian communities. How can we as peop...
2023 Winner of the Wilbur Award for Book of the YearBlack Americans’ resilience during centuries of racially motivated violence is beyond remarkable. But continuing to endure this harm allows for generations of trauma to fester and grow. Healing has to be the priority going forward. For decades, Tracey Michae’l Lewis-Giggetts clung to her upbringing in the church, believing that racial reconciliation would come through faith and discipline, being respectable, and doing what’s right. But when her...
Armed with only six passages in the Bible—often known as the “Clobber Passages”—the conservative Christian position has been one that stands against the full inclusion of our LGBTQ siblings. UnClobber reexamines each of those frequently quoted passages of Scripture, alternating with author Colby Martin’s own story of being fired from an evangelical megachurch when they discovered his stance on sexuality. UnClobber reexamines what the Bible says (and does not say) about homosexuali...
As the cultural conversation around race, gender, and sexuality has evolved, straight, white men are becoming increasingly aware of their privilege. But many may be left thinking, “OK, what am I supposed to do about it?” “We need a way forward beyond feelings of guilt, overwhelmingness, anger, and denial.” “We are looking for transformative guidance that helps us be the good guys we want to be.” Straight, white, male pastor Chris Furr offers a guide to deconstructing that privilege in Straight W...
A “Be-It-Yourself” Guide to Anti-racism for Churches and Church Leaders Whether you have been an ally for years or just recently opened your eyes to racial injustice, guiding your predominantly white church toward anti-racism is a daunting task. Where do you even begin? White churches especially feel an urgency to respond but at the same time suffer a sense of overwhelmingness and futility, as if no one action, sermon series, or service project will solve the problem of racism in America. And ...
"Robertson’s words may pry open the hearts of those who have been closed to this conversation because they don’t see themselves as privileged. He makes it clear that privilege is morally neutral, not negative. It’s what we do with our privilege that matters…" – The Christian Century
"Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself . . .' - Philippians 2:5–7a
These anci...
Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible.
Imagine for a moment what the world might look like if we as people of faith, morality, and conscience actually aspired to this mantra.
What if we were fully burdened to create a world that was more loving and equitable than when we arrived? What if we invited one another to share in wide-open, fearless, spiritual communities truly marked by compassion and interdependence? What if we daily challenged ourselves to live a faith that simply made us better humans? ...
She gave up everything: her home, her possessions, even her real name. She called herself Peace Pilgrim, put on her sneakers, and started off on her quest to walk thousands of miles all around America. Step by step, mile after mile, Peace Pilgrim traveled tirelessly, inviting everyone she met to consider a world where each person and each nation chooses peace.
This true story about a little-known woman who sacrificed everything for her convictions inspires us to step out for what we believe in...
The first biography of its kind about Desmond Tutu, this book introduces readers to Tutu’s spiritual life and examines how it shaped his commitment to restorative justice and reconciliation.
Desmond Tutu was a pivotal leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and remains a beloved and important emblem of peace and justice around the world. Even those who do not know the major events of Tutu’s life—receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, serving as the first black archbishop of Cap...
The first biography of its kind about Desmond Tutu, this book introduces readers to Tutu’s spiritual life and examines how it shaped his commitment to restorative justice and reconciliation.
Desmond Tutu was a pivotal leader of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa and remains a beloved and important emblem of peace and justice around the world. Even those who do not know the major events of Tutu’s life—receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, serving as the first black archbishop of Cap...
Recent events in the United States have demonstrated the urgent need not only to discuss issues of racism in this country but to move toward meaningful antiracist work. Protestors in the street demand demonstrable change, and around the country, pastors, congregations, and other concerned Christians are looking for ways to clarify terms and issues around racism and discern how to respond.
Originally published in 2016 as Race in a Post-Obama America, this updated edition offers contributions fro...
A decade ago, Walter Brueggemann called the church to journey together for the good of our community through neighborliness, covenanting, and reconstruction. He distilled this challenge to its most basic issues: Where is the church going? What is its role in contemporary society? What lessons does it have to offer a world enmeshed in turbulent times?
Published originally in 2010, Journey to the Common Good spoke to an era defined in large part by America’s efforts to rebuild from an age of terr...
A Bigger Table invites readers to envision a church that is big enough for everyone, by holding up a mirror to the modern church and speaking clearly on issues at the heart of the Christian community: LGBT inclusion, gender equality, racial tensions, global concerns, and theological shifts. John Pavlovitz shares moving personal stories, his careful observations as a pastor, and his understanding of the ancient stories of Jesus to set the table for a new, positive, more loving conversation on the...
Howard Thurman was famously known as one of the towering giants of American religion in the twentieth century. His writings have influenced some of the most important religious and political figures of the last century, from Martin Luther King to Barack Obama. Theologians such as James Cone and Cornel West regularly signal their indebtedness to him. He was a mystic, a preacher, an educator, a theologian, and much more. It is impossible to understand the African American church today without an a...
Winner of the 2020 Goddard Riverside CBC Youth Book Prize for Social Justice2021 Winner of the Wilbur Award for Children's Book of the Year
A Top Ten Selection of the 2021 In the Margins Book AwardsA Texas Institute of Letters 2021 Finalist for Best Picture Book A Picture Book Discovery Prize Winner for the 2020 Writers' League of Texas Book Awards“Dad, what happened?”“Why are they shooting?” “What is this vigil for?”
The shootings keep coming, and so do Jeremiah’s questions. Dad doesn’t h...
Crocodile is tired, scared, and hopeful as he searches for his new home.
Everything will be better where I’m going! he thinks. But where is that?
Crocodile’s Crossing: A Search for Home introduces children to the complex topic of immigration. Featuring bright artwork packed with playful details, this thoughtful tale sensitively portrays the challenges faced by refugees and other newcomers. A downloadable discussion and activity guide is available at flyawaybooks.com/resources.
Jesus is not white. Jesus is not American. Jesus does not want to make America great. While many of us grew up looking at gleaming portraits of Jesus with blond, flowing hair and hearing sermons reaffirming that we have the answers to save a fallen world, the real Jesus—a Middle Eastern Jew preaching radical, humble, self-emptying love—calls us to a different life. As we see oppression and hate run rampant in our nation, it’s as if Christianity has lost sight of the red letters altogether. Sheri...
