Book picks similar to
Eccentric Preachers by Charles Haddon Spurgeon


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Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend


Andy Stanley - 2012
    Andy writes,            “Our goal is to create weekend experiences so compelling and helpful that     even the most skeptical individuals in our community would walk away with      every intention of returning the following week…with a friend!”Later he says,            “I want people to fall in love with the Author of Scripture. And while we can’t            make anyone fall in love, we can certainly arrange a date.”  For the first time, Andy explains his strategy for preaching and programming to “dual audiences”: mature believers and cynical unbelievers. He argues that preaching to dual audiences doesn’t require communicators to “dumb down” the content. According to Stanley, it’s all in the approach.You’ll be introduced to North Point's spiritual formation model: The Five Faith Catalysts. Leaders responsible for ministry programing and production will no doubt love Andy’s discussion of the three essential ingredients for creating irresistible environments.  For pastors willing to tackle the challenge of transitioning a local congregation, Andy includes a section entitled: Becoming Deep and Wide.If your team is more concerned with who you are reaching than who you are keeping, Deep & Wide will be more than a book you read; it will be a resource you come back to over and over!“Couldn't be prouder of my son, Andy. And I couldn't be more excited about the content of this book. I wish a resource like this existed when I was starting out in ministry.”-          Dr. Charles Stanley, Founder, In Touch Ministries“Deep and Wide pulls back the curtain for all of us to see what is required behind the scenes to build a prevailing church.  I was both challenged and inspired by this book.”-          Bill Hybels, author of Just Walk Across the Room“The most common question I get from pastors is, ‘How do I get the people in my church to be open to change?’ From now on my answer will be, ‘Read Deep and Wide by Andy Stanley’.  Thanks Andy.  Great book!”-          Craig Groeschel, Pastor, LifeChurch.TV, author, It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It“No one has given me more practical handles for establishing a focused vision than Andy Stanley. Deep and Wide is a rich resource to help all of us stay intentional about the main thing - building a church that reaches people who are far from God.”-          Steven Furtick, Lead Pastor, Elevation Church

Henry VIII and His Court


Luise Mühlbach - 1867
    King Henry the Eighth of England that day once more pronounced himself the happiest and most enviable man in his kingdom, for to-day he was once more a bridegroom, and Catharine Parr, the youthful widow of Baron Latimer, had the perilous happiness of being selected as the king's sixth consort.

Out of the Comfort Zone


Ray Comfort - 2004
    It will also encourage you and lift your faith as you learn how a celebrated Hollywood actor teamed up with Ray Comfort to bring an amazing message to America.

Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God


Noël Piper - 2005
    NoEl Piper holds up their lives and deeds as examples of what it means to be truly faithful. Learning about these women will challenge readers to make a difference for Christ in their families, in the church, and throughout the world.

A Sketch of the Life and Labors of George Whitefield


J.C. Ryle - 1854
    You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.

A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir


Collin Hansen - 2010
    God-Sized Vision challenges us to pray expectantly to see his work in our own day. God can bring revival again to our community, our country, and our world. Our faith grows stronger when we learn how God worked in the past. The historical stories of worldwide revivals in this book enlarge our hearts and expand our minds as we see God at work in human history with a power that is still available to the faithful today. Here scholars Collin Hansen and John Woodbridge recount the fascinating details of world-changing revivals, beginning with biblical events and continuing through the Reformation, the Great Awakenings, the Welsh and Korean revivals, the East Africa Revival of the 1930s, and more recent revivals in North America and China. What did these revivals have in common? How can we prepare for and expect revival in our own culture? With accessible language and gripping examples, Hansen and Woodbridge explore these questions and more, strengthening our understanding of God s work while deepening our faith in the possibility of revival right where we are."

5 Minutes in Church History: An Introduction to the Stories of God's Faithfulness in the History of the Church


Stephen J. Nichols - 2019
    Stories of triumph, stories of defeat, stories of joy, and stories of sorrow. In this book, Dr. Stephen J. Nichols provides snapshots of the church through the centuries. You’ll meet fascinating saints, travel to curious places, examine precious artifacts, and watch as surprising turns of events unfold. This lively and informative journey not only captures the richness of Christian history, but also reveals a record of God’s providence and faithfulness to His people. It’s a story to encourage, challenge, and even entertain. This is our story—our family history.

Between Heaven and Hollywood: Chasing Your God-Given Dream


David A.R. White - 2016
    This story of perseverance will assure you that your dreams aren’t frivolous. They might be the most important part of your life. White has starred in more than twenty-five movies and produced forty films, including the blockbuster God’s Not Dead. He serves as a Managing Partner of Pure Flix, the largest faith-based movie studio in the world. With his signature wit and sidesplitting hilarity, David’s story of faithfulness, grounded in the biblical truth that no dream is too big for God, will inspire you to relentlessly pursue your dreams, and in the process, bring the reality of God’s kingdom a little closer to the here and now. God has planted a dream in your heart that is both unique to you and essential to the world. White reminds us that there is no one too common, too uneducated, too poor, too inexperienced, or too broken that he or she cannot be used by God.

Exodus for You


Tim Chester - 2016
     With his trademark Christ-centered clarity, Tim Chester walks readers through Exodus, making its great themes thrillingly clear to those new to the book, and unearthing wonderful new surprises for those familiar with it. You can read through this book as a normal book]] work through it as part of your daily Bible-reading routine using the questions for reflection at the end of each chapter]] or use it to help you teach this letter, whether in small groups or from the pulpit.

God is Red: The Secret Story of How Christianity Survived and Flourished in Communist China


Liao Yiwu - 2011
    In fact, he’d been taught that religion was evil, and that those who believed in it were deluded, cultists, or imperialist spies. But as a writer whose work has been banned in China and has even landed him in jail, Liao felt a kinship with Chinese Christians in their unwavering commitment to the freedom of expression and to finding meaning in a tumultuous society. Unwilling to let his nation lose memory of its past or deny its present, Liao set out to document the untold stories of brave believers whose totalitarian government could not break their faith in God, including: * The over-100-year-old nun who persevered in spite of beatings, famine, and decades of physical labor, and still fights for the rightful return of church land seized by the government* The surgeon who gave up a lucrative Communist hospital administrator position to treat villagers for free in the remote, mountainous regions of southwestern China* The Protestant minister, now memorialized in London’s Westminster Abbey, who was executed during the Cultural Revolution as “an incorrigible counterrevolutionary” This ultimately triumphant tale of a vibrant church thriving against all odds serves as both a powerful conversation about politics and spirituality and a moving tribute to China’s valiant shepherds of faith, who prove that a totalitarian government cannot control what is in people’s hearts.

God's Generals: The Revivalists


Roberts Liardon - 2008
    Follow the faith journeys and lives of the great generals of God, including:George Whitefield, whose dramatic flair and passionate preaching needed no modern conveniences like microphones to reach crowds of more than sixty thousand people.Charles Finney, the skeptical lawyer-turned-evangelist whose ministry was marked by deep prayer and divine healing.William and Catherine Booth, who gave food to the hungry, fought to free those trapped in sex trafficking, and founded the Salvation Army, now the largest charitable organization in the world.Billy Graham, counselor and confidant of eleven U.S. presidents, who preached God’s unconditional love and saving grace to millions.Liardon goes beyond history, drawing crucial life application and inspiration from the lives of these mighty warriors so that you can learn how to:              Fulfill God’s call on your lifeDiscern the voice of God to follow His guidanceBe led by the Spirit of GodLet these revivalists inspire your life and revitalize your ministry!

It's A God Thing: When Miracles Happen to Everyday People


Don Jacobson - 2014
    From angel appearances in hospital rooms to a mother saved from a would-be assailant in Hyde Park, from a young autistic girl becoming a beautiful ballerina overnight to a young backpacker who walked away from a terrorist attack, It’s a God Thing presents some of the most amazing stories of God’s hand on our lives.Be motivated as never before to look for and witness the incredible ways that God is interacting in your life and the lives of those around you.“With their new book, It’s a God Thing, I believe K-LOVE and my friend Don Jacobson will call friends of Jesus everywhere to look for His capers around the world! Do you know why God involves Himself in our lives? Because God is love and love does!” —Bob Goff, author of the New York Times bestseller Love Does“Every day we all are faced with stress, situations we can’t control and often the fear that we really are all alone. . . . These stories give us courage in times of peril and strengthen us when we feel helpless.”—TobyMac, top Christian artist and Grammy Award winner“In It’s a God Thing true servants of God share how their lives were transformed when their understanding became the Father’s. What a blessing to be a child of the King!” —Missy Robertson, star of Duck Dynasty“There is so much going on around us that we never see. Life is all about perspective, and when that lines up with the hand of God, it is remarkable to witness. This book and collection of stories from my friends at K-LOVE will inspire and encourage you greatly!” —Andy Andrews, New York Times best-selling author, The Noticer and The Traveler’s Gift“Sometimes I’m guilty of looking so hard for God that I miss Him right in front of me. May we all be reminded through It’s a God Thing that some of the simplest moments in life can quite possibly be some of God’s greatest miracles.”—Bart Millard, lead singer of MercyMe“Nothing astonished people in the New Testament more than watching Jesus perform a miracle right before their eyes—and nothing inspires us today more than hearing He did it again! My good friend Don Jacobson, publisher of The Prayer of Jabez, has once again launched the perfect message for today—don’t miss it!”—Bruce Wilkinson, author, The Prayer of Jabez“There is nothing better than hearing others talk about the ways that God has intervened in their lives. Miracles happen every day all around the world. These stories are incredible.”—Robert D. Smith, author, 20,000 Days and Counting“God doesn’t need for us to be aware of the miracles He’s performing, but they’re happening every day! It’s a God Thing, a new book from K-LOVE, is a powerful vehicle to tell the story of a number of those miracles.”—Brandon Heath, 2008 New Artist of the Year Dove Award winner

Florence Nightingale: A Life Inspired


Lynn M. Hamilton - 2015
    She could have sailed home to England and comfortably dined out on her fame for the remainder of her long days. Instead, she conducted a ruthless post-mortem on every moment of her wartime service and found herself entirely wanting. She did not try to hide her mistakes; instead, she sought to broadcast them so that everyone would understand what happens in unsanitary medical facilities. She could well have slid into self-pity and inertia, yet she spent the next several decades campaigning for reforms. One hundred and fifty years ago, the respect we now have for nurses and the intense training that nurses must undergo was nothing but a seed in Florence Nightingale's imagination. If we believe that nurses are some of the most respectable and hardworking people in our community, we owe that belief to Florence Nightingale. But she never took the credit. As an old woman of seventy-seven, she deflected all her accomplishments onto God with the words, "How inefficient I was in the Crimea! Yet He has raised up Trained Nursing from it!"

To Live Is Christ to Die Is Gain


Matt Chandler - 2013
    While many give their lives to Jesus, few then go on to live a life of truly vibrant faith. In this disruptively inspiring book, Chandler offers tangible ways to develop a faith of pursuing, chasing, knowing, and loving Jesus. Because if we clean up our lives but don't get Jesus, we've lost! So let the goal be Him. To live is Christ, to die is gain—this is the message of the letter. Therefore, our lives should be lived to Him, through Him, for Him, with Him, about Him—everything should be about Jesus.

How NOT to be a Football Millionaire - Keith Gillespie My Autobiography


Keith Gillespie - 2013
    And lost a lot.One afternoon he added up how much he had squandered during the course of his professional career. It made for uncomfortable reading...Manchester United £60,000Newcastle United £1,102,000Blackburn Rovers £3,510,000Leicester City £1,050,000Sheffield United £670,000Bradford City £15,000 Glentoran £43,875Total (plus extras) £7,215,875That day seemed a world away from 1993 when he burst on to the scene as a fresh-faced young star with Manchester United. A dark-haired lad from the streets of Northern Ireland with a God-given talent, he was dubbed the new George Best.One of the famous Fergie fledglings, he made his debut aged just 17 before moving on to Kevin Keegan’s Newcastle where he came so close to landing a Premiership title winner’s medal. International caps piled up too. It was a thrilling adventure. Flying down the wing and sharing pitches and dressing rooms with legends, but behind the success and glamour, it was a different story.Like Best, Gillespie had a talent for self-destruction. He liked a drink and there were women but they weren’t causing a big problem – it was keeping hold of the millions he had earned from the game that ultimately proved his downfall.It wasn’t just about gambling. A nightmare ordeal during a training break in La Manga landed him in jail for a crime he did not commit. Then, in 2010, Gillespie became headline news again when a series of flawed business deals saw him declared bankrupt.How Not To Be A Football Millionaire is one of the most honest autobiographies you will read, about a player who lived the football life to the full.It tells a fascinating and moving human story of the darker side of the glory game. About winning and losing, fortune and fate, hope and heartache... About having the world at your feet and being left to ask yourself: ‘Where did it all go wrong?