I believed the gospel changed people, but I knew it wasn’t changing me. My head was filled with knowledge about God, but my heart was not convinced He even knew my name. How could I live as His child while feeling like a spiritual orphan?" — Ruthie DelkAre you stuck? Craving something but don’t know what? Ruthie Delk shares a clear and concrete way to preach the gospel to yourself. We all need to be reminded of the gospel, the real gospel that brings freedom and life and hope, a gospel that is worth celebrating and sharing. This book will empower you to move from a cycle of resistance, separation, and loneliness to a life of restoration and freedom.

    Stress, disappointment, heartache, hurt–all are part of the human condition. But while pain is unavoidable, misery is optional! The freeing message of You Gotta Keep Dancin’ is that, no matter what your circumstances, you can choose to be joyful. Tim Hansel speaks as one who knows. For the past ten years he has lived with continual physical pain, the result of a climbing mishap in the Sierras. But You Gotta Keep Dancin’ is not just another story of a Christian who had an accident. It is a powerful account of God’s working in one man’s physical and emotional suffering, helping him discover the real meaning of joy. Tim doesn’t treat lightly the difficulties of anyone’s life. In his words, “this book is in no way meant to diminish the awfulness of pain, tragedy, and affliction. I don’t want to ‘celebrate pain,’ but more deeply understand the dignity of what can happen in it, through it, and because of it.” Tim Hansel is the founder of Summit Expedition, a wilderness survival school for individuals seeking deeper experiences with themselves, others, and God. In great demand as a speaker and seminar leader, Tim is also the author of the best-selling When I Relax I Feel Guilty and What Kids Need Most in a Dad. He makes his home in San Dimas, California, with his wife. You have changed my sadness into a joyful dance. Psalm 30:11

    That's what a million people have already found in this clear and reasonable response to the tough challenges to Christianity. This edition, revised by Marie Little in consultation with experts in science and archaeology, provides twenty-first-century information and offers solid ground for those who are willing to search for the truth.

    This free sampler is a curated volume of excerpts from new and classic titles from leading authors in the field, including C. S. Lewis, N. T. Wright, Desmond Tutu, Ann Patchett, Candida Moss, John Dominic Crossan, Father Jonathan Morris, and Thomas H. Groome.The 10 Best Books to Read for Easter: Selections to Inspire, Educate, and Provoke includes:An Introduction from James Martin, SJAnd excerpts from:Together on Retreat by James Martin, SJMere Christianity by C. S. LewisSimply Jesus by N. T. WrightMade for Goodness by Desmond Tutu and Mpho TutuNot Less Than Everything by Catherine Wolff (Editor)The Worthless Servant by Ann PatchettThe Myth of Persecution by Candida MossThe Greatest Prayer by John Dominic CrossanGod Wants You Happy by Father Jonathan MorrisWill There Be Faith? by Thomas H. GroomeThe Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by James Martin, SJ

    The authors describe theological reflection as "the artful discipline of putting our experience into conversation with the heritage of the Christian tradition." Their practical book provides a way for all of us to experience greater meaning in life and a more tangible sense of God's creative presence.

    Hundreds of thousands of "church leavers" have had a mentor and pastor, however, in Michael Spencer, known to blog readers as the Internet Monk. Spencer guided a vast online congregation in its search for a more honest and more immediate practice of Christian faith.Spencer discovered the truth that church officials often miss, which is that many who leave the church do so in an attempt to find Jesus. For years on his blog Spencer showed de-churched readers how to practice their faith without the distractions of religious institutions. Sadly, he died in 2010. But now that his last message is available in Mere Churchianity, you can benefit from the biblical wisdom and compassionate teaching that always have been hallmarks of his ministry.With Mere Churchianity, Spencer's writing will continue to point the disenchanted and dispossessed to a Jesus-shaped spirituality. And along the way, his teachings show how you can find others who will go with you on the journey.

    But it's not cheap—true grace compels us to change. That’s where holiness comes in.Beloved writer, speaker, and bestselling coauthor of Wild and Free Jess Connolly will be the first to admit that not long ago, like many women, she grasped grace but she had forgotten holiness. Dance, Stand, Run charts her discovery that holiness was never meant to be a shaming reminder of what we “should” be doing, but rather a profound privilege of becoming more like Christ. That’s when we start to change the world, rather than being changed by it.Dance, Stand, Run is an invitation to the daughters of God to step into the movements of abundant life: dancing in grace, standing firm in holiness, and running on mission. Through story and study, Jess casts a fresh vision for how to live into your identity as a holy daughter of God, how to break free of cheap grace and empty rule-keeping, and finally, how to live out your holy influence with confidence before a watching world. Spoiler alert: it’s a beautiful thing.For anyone longing to take their place in what God is doing in the world, Dance, Stand, Run will rally your strength, refresh your purpose, and energize your faith in a God who calls us to be like Him.

    Politics, marriage, sexuality, religious freedom--with an ever-growing list of contentious issues, believers find it harder than ever to hold on to their convictions while treating their friends, neighbors, coworkers, and even family members who disagree with respect and compassion. This isn't just a problem that affects individual Christians; if left unaddressed, the growing gap between the faithful and society's tolerance for public faith will have lasting consequences for the church in America. Now the bestselling authors of "unChristian" turn their data-driven insights toward the thorny question of how Christians talk with people they know and love about the most toxic issues of our day. They help today's disciples understand what they believe and why, and how to keep believing it without being judgmental and defensive. Readers will discover the most significant trends that offer both obstacles and opportunities to God's people, and how not only to challenge culture but to create and renew it for the common good. Perhaps most importantly, David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons invite fellow Christians to understand the heart behind opposing views and show them how to be loving, life-giving friends despite profound differences. This will be the go-to book for young adult and older believers who don't want to hide from culture but to engage and restore it.

    The problem with these libraries is that they contain books that are generally written by professionals for their peers. Where the Hell Is God? combines the best of the professional's insights with the author's own experience and insights to speculate on how believers can make sense of their Christian faith when experiencing tragedy and suffering. Starting with a very personal story of the author's sister being left a quadriplegic from a car accident twenty years ago, Where the Hell Is God? gently leads the reader through some "take-home" messages that are sane, sound, and practical. Among these messages are: God does not directly send pain, suffering, and disease. God does not punish us; God does not send accidents to teach us things, though we can learn from them; and God does not will earthquakes, floods, droughts, or other natural disasters. This concise, accessible, and experience-based book will help people who are suffering as well as those who minister to them and their families.

    As people made in the image of God, we are entrusted to look after what he has created: to share in God’s joy and ingenuity in making a difference for good. Ruth Valerio imaginatively draws on the Days of Creation (Genesis 1) as she relates themes of light, water, land, the seasons, other creatures, humankind, Sabbath rest and resurrection hope to matters of environmental, ethical and social concern.Foundational to Saying Yes to Life is what it means to be human and, in particular, to be a follower of Jesus. Voices from around the world are heard throughout, and each chapter ends with discussion questions and a prayer to aid action and contemplation. e

    . . I want to belong, but I do not know how." There was a time when being a part of a church was not a decision you made but a reality you inhabited. But today belonging to the church has become a lost art, especially for millennials whose church experience is often summed up in one word: none. Erin Lane's church experience might be better described in two words: "It's complicated." Having grown up in a church, she has an appreciation for liturgy and covenant community. Having graduated from divinity school and taken a job in spiritual formation, she appreciates the structured, shared pursuit of theological and spiritual integrity. Having married a pastor, she sort of had church coming. Yet she wasn't always sure how to belong. With earnest persistence, Erin practiced the hard (and often surprising) lessons of community. Her story is an invitation to reclaim God's promise of inclusion and live like we belong to one another.

    Rather, the growth of Christianity in Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia is eclipsing that of the Western church. In the third millennium of the Christian era, Christian mission is truly global, with missionaries from all places going to all peoples. Veteran missiologist Samuel Escobar presents this introduction to Christian mission today. He explores the new realities of our globalized world and assesses the context of a changing mission field that is simultaneously secular and syncretistic. He also sets forth a thoroughly biblical theology of missions, considering how God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are at work around the world, with implications for how Christians are to go about the task of global mission.