Some days it feels like a little more sleep, a lot more coffee, and a pat on the back might sustain us. But down deep, we know these things can never fuel our ministries. Positive without being clich, Running on Empty presents the realities of vocational ministry with humor and hope. Author Barbara Bancroft draws from her experience as a missionary woman and pastors wife to demonstrate how the gospel must be our message to ourselves as well as others. Along the way, she confronts the mythic ministry model of Proverbs 31 and other stereotypes and expectations that hinder women from enjoying and displaying the gospel each day. Running on Emptys down-to-earth, humorous writing style reaches out to weary women reluctant to read another book on ministry. Offering more than crisis management tips or how-tos, Running on Empty reorients womens hearts and minds to the joy of belonging to Christ and being a part of his kingdom work. Ideal for small group discussion or personal reflection, Running on Empty stretches beyond burnout prevention strategies all the way to joy and purpose in ministry.

    An important resource for both young and mature Christians, Walking in Victory will help you learn to take Christ at His word and replace the deadly cycle of legalism and sin in your life with his victory and grace.

    Drawing on nearly 40 years of teaching and ministry experience, pastor-scholar Sam Storms answers 25 challenging questions Christians are often too afraid to ask, addressing thorny issues ranging from the eternal destiny of infants to the roles of demons and angels.The robust, thoughtful answers provided in this book offer a helpful alternative to relying on simplistic explanations, and will encourage you in the search for truth and clarity on such tough topics.

    It is not, however, out of reach. The ability to identify the main themes of any passage is a skill you can learn, even as you seek to apply its truth to your own life. Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible guides you on a Scriptural quest for knowledge and understanding. Stories and verse from the Old and New Testaments are woven together and cross-referenced, until the connections are clear and indisputable, like DNA from the Bible. Although the great Biblical themes of Covenant and Kingdom find their fullest expression in Jesus, Covenant goes all the way back to the beginning, when the only thing required was to maintain the "oneness" that God had created. After the Fall, the way was blocked; yet, God built a bridge, in Covenant, back to us. In Jesus, that Covenant was fulfilled, as on the cross, he offered himself as the ultimate blood sacrifice. The Bible is about God, our Father, inviting us to know him in a very real and personal way.Covenant and Kingdom: The DNA of the Bible provides guidance to the path of understanding that it will take to develop, to the fullest, your own individual relationship with God.

    He had staggered into a Boston cop’s apartment, helping himself to the sellable stuff and all the beer in the fridge. The cop came home, found Jim passed out at the kitchen table, beat the hell out of him, and arrested him.But Wahlberg, a 130-pound kid from Dorchester, had learned some things from his life on the street and his first prison sentence. He knew how to survive. And he knew that if he wanted to avoid serving the full sentence, he would have to do something.He did what he was best at: He hustled. He would create the illusion that he was trying to change, that he’d become the model prisoner, not a guy hell-bent on getting out while he was still young enough to drink more, steal more, and do more drugs.He didn’t know, though, that the Catholic priest he was trying to hustle was actually hustling him.The Big Hustle is the story of a redeemed life and a family’s healing. This is the no-holds-barred, unvarnished, and sometimes brutal true story of Jim Wahlberg, the fifth of nine kids growing up in a working-class Irish Catholic neighborhood outside of Boston, hustling for attention any way he could get it, which led him to the biggest hustle of his life. Against all odds he got clean, he got out, and he got the girl. Jim dedicated his new life as a former addict to working with addicts, and for years has spread the word that recovery is possible.But nothing could have prepared him for what came next. His discovery that his own son was an addict threw Jim into a crisis—one that led him deeper into his faith and led to healing he never thought possible. This book is a testament to God’s power and an invitation to all of us to hope in the darkest places.

    Wetherell Johnson, from her overseas mission work to the founding and remarkable growth of Bible Study Fellowship.

    In 1930, the rag-tag riffraff of a railway stop called Las Vegas need a fighting man to shepherd their tiny church after their pastor is murdered. Might David Gold, a washed-up boxer and Bible-school dropout who fights as the Pummelin' Preacher, be the answer to their prayers?At the same time, Luke, a native Alaskan boy, is on a quest to find his father, who has abandoned his family for a beautiful woman his mother vows to kill. Little do mother or son imagine that their journey will take them to a small town in Nevada where demons and angels walk among men.In 2011,Science Cable T.V. producer Tim Faber is determined to prove that mankind has no need of God, while his lover, Joan Reed, strives to regain the faith of her youth. They're bound for Las Vegas to meet with 99-year-old Luke,who holds the key to a mystery they must solve--and answers that will forever change their lives.Hearts Set Free is a coming-of-age story and love story, with strong female characters and historical figures (including Jack Johnson, Georges Lemaitre, and Bugsy Siegel) who interact with an unforgettable fictional cast.

    Boyd tackles the Bible’s biggest dilemma. The Old Testament God of wrath and violence versus the New Testament God of love and peace—it’s a difference that has troubled Christians since the first century. Now, with the sensitivity of a pastor and the intellect of a theologian, Gregory A. Boyd proposes the “cruciform hermeneutic,” a way to read the Old Testament portraits of God through the lens of Jesus’ crucifixion.In Cross Vision, Boyd follows up on his epic and groundbreaking study, The Crucifixion of the Warrior God. He shows how the death and resurrection of Jesus reframes the troubling violence of the Old Testament, how all of Scripture reveals God’s self-sacrificial love, and, most importantly, how we can follow Jesus’ example of peace.

    He was called and anointed to reign in life, and yet he had to find a way in God to keep form losing it all. In What to Do on the Worst Day of Your Life,Brian Zahnd looks into the life of David to discover a pattern of faith we can apply to overcome life’s daunting obstacles. In David’s story we find a timeless model for how to encounter God’s restorative power in the midst of deep tragedy. Join Brian Zahnd, and see what David did on his worst day. You’ll see David weep but not get bitter. You’ll see him reorient his vision and regain his passion. All along the journey you’ll be reminded that God’s great work in David’s life was not an odd, one-off miracle but a pattern of faith for all who are facing the worst day of their life.

    Simple Evangelism offers practical ways to connect people to God's amazing love. With three decades of outreach leadership, Kevin Harney provides tools that free you to set fear aside and walk boldly into the adventure of evangelism.

    Starting from his first musical endeavors as a child, Neal bears his soul as he recalls the pitfalls, heartaches and temptations along his journey.This hard-hitting, inspirational expose' takes the reader from Neal's club days to the formation of Spock's Beard and from the rigors of musical and personal burnout to the wondrous joy of spiritual fulfillment and purpose. The book spans approximately 230 pages in paperback form, and includes photos from all stages of Neal's life.

    When God puts you in the right place at the right time, you can't help but get blessed!

    Though we know the Bible says to walk in the Spirit, the majority of Christians are illiterate (and even nervous) about how to practically live in His power. The result is lives marred by continued brokenness and ministries plagued by fruitlessness. In contrast, believers from Acts understood the ancient path of the Spirit Walk. That extraordinary power was not just for them, but for us also.Gleaning insights from implementation in dozens of Acts-like movements around the world, Spirit Walk "lifts the hood and shows us the real secret behind apostolic, disciple-multiplying movements" (Neil Cole, author of Organic Church). Whether you need a movement of God in your personal life or in your ministry, this book takes you through the timeless principles of the Bible.The Spirit Walk path has helped thousands of ordinary people shift from a fundamental reliance upon methods and self-helps to the essential reliance upon the Spirit who empowers these. Spirit Walk reminds us of the ancient path and explains it in a practical discipline that you can remember daily.Discover how to start on the journey of being filled again and again by the Spirit. But more importantly, learn how to stay full of the Spirit as you abide in Christ throughout the day, and your life.

    No matter how gifted or fortunate, everyone will experience some level of disappointment in life: difficult classes, jobs, relationships, and losses. But by following basic disciplines anyone can experience accomplishment, freedom, and ease in navigating through life's daily challenges. In this positive, insightful book, Bob Merritt describes a set of universal principles that work for everyone in every stage of life, showing that what we do today determines who we become tomorrow. Anyone who has experienced pain or confusion from lost opportunities, broken relationships, or a nagging sense of emptiness will treasure this book that shows them that the best of life has not passed them by.

    The book is based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in urban, suburban, and rural congregations around the United States. Each chapter introduces specific congregations and their challenges, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on and embracing change as a welcome part of community life. Contents include: The Radical Welcome Journey; Mapping the Way; God of Welcome, God of Grace; With Hearts Wide Open; Getting Real; Facing Our Fears and Embracing the Dream, The Joy in the Struggle.