You've stumped us all."They didn't see it coming.They would never be the same.You'll find their story...AuthenticPowerfulHumorousMovingInsightfulRivetingYou may even find it intersecting with your own story.John and Joanna Stumbo have been married twenty-eight years--some great, some not so great. They have three grown children--all great. Joanna grew up in Ohio and Florida and a few other places; John in Minnesota and Montana. They have spent their adult lives figuring out what it means to be pastor and wife in churches from Pennsylvania to Oregon. John has a lifetime love for most anything outdoors and athletic. Joanna loves family and home. John never planned on spending seventy-seven days in the hospital. Joanna never had aspirations of being a caregiver. Neither of them ever planned on writing a book such as this. They are both the better for the journey they've been on, confusing though it be.

    There is no one like you on the planet. But your life has a common thread that is true of all people: you are wired for worship. Not just any worship, but for that of your Creator! That’s what this book is about—discovering your purpose and learning how to fulfill it. Geared for teenagers and college students, Wired is designed with pages that teach, challenge, and connect as you dig into Scripture and learn about your created purpose. This interactive student edition of The Air I Breathe includes a thirty-day worship experience as a guided personal journey that discloses the depth of God’s character and how to know Him more intimately. Ideal for use in small groups, an accompanying leader’s guide is also available. Story Behind the Book“I love teenagers. In fact, while writing this, I’m on my way to spend four days with more than 1500 of them at camp! My passion to see young people awaken to a lifestyle of worship that goes far beyond singing songs, coupled with the need for small-group material, stimulated the idea for Wired. I want to equip youth workers with a resource that can be used in small groups, large Bible studies, or Sunday school classes. I pray that Wired will encourage teens everywhere to a lifestyle that reflects God’s greatness to the world.” —Louie Giglio

    

    So argues longtime congregational consultant Peter Steinke in his fourth book, A Door Set Open, as he explores the relationship between the challenges of change and our own responses to new ideas and experiences. Steinke builds on a seldom-explored principle posited by the late Rabbi Edwin Friedman: the 'hostility of the environment' is proportionate to the 'response of the organism.' The key, Steinke says, is not the number or strength of the stressors in the system--anxiety, poor conditions, deteriorating values--but the response of the individual or organization to 'what is there.' Drawing on Bowen system theory and a theology of hope, as well as his experience working with more than two hundred congregations, Steinke makes the case that the church has entered an era of great opportunity. Theologian and sociologist Ernst Troeltsch said the church had closed down the office of eschatology. Steinke reopens it and draws our attention to God's future, to a vision of hope for the people of God. The door is set open for exploration and new creation.

    In a moment of desperation, he cries out for God to show up and surprise him, and over the next year, God doesn't disappoint.In Jesus is Better Than You Imagined, Jonathan shares vulnerable, never-before-shared stories of how he learned to encounter Jesus in unexpected ways. Through a 60-hour vow of silence in a desert monastery, he experiences Jesus in silence. When a friend dies of a rare disease, he sees Jesus in tragedy. Through confronting childhood sexual abuse, Jonathan discovers Jesus in honesty. In an anti-Christian-themed bar, he finds Jesus in sacrilege. And when he's almost kidnapped in Haiti by armed bandits, he experiences Jesus in the impossible.Though Merritt finds himself in places he never dreamed of, he doesn't lose his way. Instead, these experiences force him back to the Bible, where he repeatedly offers fresh, sometimes provocative, interpretations of familiar passages. Along the way, he throws back the covers on the sleepy faith of many Christians, urging them to search for the Holy in their midst.Pointed and poignant by turns, Jonathan helps readers open their hearts to a mysterious God and a faith that sustains, guides, and most importantly, surprises. His fearlessly honest story invites us all to discover the messy mercy and crazy grace of a sometimes startling Savior.

    Perhaps no questions cause more confusion than the ones that arise when you are pulled out of a thriving life of work that benefits the world, only to spend your hours, days, and weeks languishing in bed. It just doesn’t make sense. Why, God? Why would you take away my thriving career when it took me years to get to this point? Why would you take away my ability to serve and help and contribute? In this first book in the Chronic Pain and the Christian Life series, explore what it looks like to live a life of work, service, and rest, even when the pain doesn’t go away.

    “We’re all improvisers,” says MaryAnn McKibben Dana, whether we realize it or not. In this book McKibben Dana blends personal stories, pop culture, and Scripture into a smart, funny, down-to-earth guide to the art of living. Offering concrete spiritual wisdom through seven improv principles, she helps readers become more awake, creative, resilient, and ready to play—even (especially) when life doesn’t go according to plan.

    These twelve central affirmative principles of Christian faith are built on the three great loves that the Bible reveals: love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self. They reflect commitments to environmental stewardship, social justice, and artistic expression as well as openness to other faiths. Transcending theological and culture wars, inclusive and generous in spirit and practice, these principles ask believers and seekers alike to affirm their Christian faith in a fresh way.

    BUILD YOUR LIFE AROUND IT. In an age of distraction, everyone is looking for something that gives purpose and perspective on life. Jesus says it's the kingdom of God. But the kingdom is not just another religious idea. Rather, God's loving reign brings clarity and coherence to all of life - identity, work, play, relationships, justice, character - in a way that is profound and practical. Seek First brings theology to the streets, giving a vision for the kingdom that will truly change your life."Treat presents the message of the kingdom in a way that gives us a grander vision for life, whether in the workplace or on the basketball court." - CHRIS BROUSSARD, NBA analyst and sports broadcaster"Few books do as good a job as this one in showing us how giving up everything for Christ and his kingdom is the pathway to our greatest gain. Seek First is a gem!" - SCOTT SAULS, author and senior pastor, Christ Presbyterian Church"With insight and passion Treat reveals why we ought to reorient our lives and reprioritize our loves . . . practical and powerful." - MARIELLE WAKIM, editor, Los Angeles magazine"A prophetic and urgent note to the generations . . . a clearly written and much-needed book!" - KEVIN J. VANHOOZER, professor, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

    Now, using this simple method you'll learn the best way to put this important discipline to use for maximum spiritual benefit.

    Tozer, Book One Warren Wiersbe compiles a fantastic amount of writings to show us once again that Tozer had a gift from God.This collection of 52 favorite chapters represent the major themes from the works of A.W. Tozer. Each chapter offers what Tozer has come to be known for: incredible insight, deep conviction, and high praise of God.From Let My People Go to The Pursuit of God, Tozer's books were always written after long hours of meditation and prayer. Perhaps this explains their wide circulation and lasting influence.A.W. Tozer once said, "I guess my philosophy is this: Everything is wrong until God sets it right." Enjoy this collection of writings from a man who scarcely, if ever, stated a truth he didn't glean from God.

    When he and his wife lost their adored little girl, his trust in God turned to bitter anger. As he and his wife struggled to save their marriage and his faith, they discovered that home is more than just rooms and a roof. Home is a place where people are sometimes wounded or betrayed. Home is also where God is strong in the broken places. Woodlief takes readers through his house, room by room, showing that home is: • Where we cry out to God as we seek him in the small things • Where the sacred and the mundane meet • The place that makes us better than we could ever be on our own • More than the place where we eat and sleep…it is where we learn grace Woodlief’s heart-touching stories leavened with humor will appeal to a wide audience, especially those trying to reconcile the idea of a loving God in a broken world.

    He explains Matthew's challenge to let go of the conventional wisdom that comes with contemporary American culture. Each of seven talks brings us closer to the heart of the Sermon. Rohr contrasts conventional wisdom with the wisdom of Christ and draws the listener into the Kingdom of God, the end of the world and the experience of enlightenment. He explains that each generation lives in end times, that the Kingdom is for those willing to let go of all cultural idolatry (past and present) and that those who live in reality travel a path of life which unfolds into freedom. This series is a powerful call to follow Jesus Christ in the commandments of the New Testament. Talk 1: Awakening the Heart: Recognizing Cultural Idolatry Talk 2: Voices of the World: Social Institutions Talk 3: Table Fellowship: Alfalfa Sprouts and Gravy Talk 4: Matthew's Gospel: Charter for a New World Order Talk 5: Transformation: Jumping Off the Tower Talk 6: The Sermon and Conventional Wisdom Talk 7: Love and Power, Power and Love

    Unflinchingly honest yet unfailingly hopeful, Rev. Sarah is a genre unto herself. You've never had this much fun going to church

    But what if God's perspective on success was radically different than our own? What if the things we seek to avoid--pain, suffering, weakness, insecurity--were the very things he used to mold us into his image? With insights born from his own difficult journey, Clayton King offers readers a truly liberating understanding of weakness and suffering--not as God's punishment, but as his pruning. Revealing the God who is a companion in our most difficult seasons, King shows us that when we are in Christ, our deepest pain becomes the source of our greatest power, and our times of testing become our strongest testimony. Anyone who struggles to make sense of seemingly hopeless situations will find in this book not only hope for a brighter future but purpose in their imperfect present.