People are the best and worst thing about the human life.Jen Hatmaker knows this all too well, and so she reveals how to practice kindness, grace, truthfulness, vision, and love to ourselves and those around us. By doing this, For the Love leads our generation to reimagine Jesus' grace as a way of life, and it does it in a funny yet profound manner that Christian readers will love. Along the way, Hatmaker shows readers how to reclaim their prophetic voices and become Good News again to a hurting, polarized world.

    Galli pays special attention to themes and topics of concern for contemporary evangelicals, who may need Barth’s acute critique as much as early-twentieth-century liberals did—and for surprisingly similar reasons.

    Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandpile at Sunday School. These are the things I learned:Share everything.Play fair.Don't hit people.Put things back where you found them.Clean up your own mess.Don't take things that aren't yours.Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody.Wash your hands before you eat.Flush.Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you.Live a balanced life.Take a nap every afternoon.When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together.From the Trade Paperback edition.

    In his personal, intimate, engaging, humorous style, Altrogge takes us on a journey through God's word, bringing us into close contact with the God of sharp edges and brilliant light. Altrogge introduces afresh to the untamable God of the Bible.

    Confirmands—or anyone hiking the trails of life's adventures and challenges—will want to pack this handy illustrated field guide to Lutheran theology and culture. This enjoyable, easy-to-read, reliable, all-in-one collection helps you understand the essential information about our theology, culture and Lutheran way of life. Organized by Church Stuff, Everyday Stuff and Bible Stuff with how-to's like "How to Forgive Someone" and lists like "The Top-10 Bible Villains." Encapsulates essential principles of the Christian life, making many of the complexities of our religious tradition accessible for contemporary seekers.

    An in-depth look at the history of one of the Vineyard, one of the fastest growing church movements in the last twenty years.

    Using biblical passages, poetry, and excerpts from her journal, Wiederkehr provides meditative ideas and prayers as "postures" for realizing and approaching the holy in our daily lives.These reflections and prayers, then, have grown out of a daily listening to God in the changing seasons of my spiritual life, "writes the author. "These reflections have grown out of my conviction that our God is not some Almighty Being beyond us, but a Mystery within."

    (Moroni 7:44.) Why is meekness such an important requirement for salvation? What does it mean to be meek? How can we attain meekness? In Meek and Lowly, Elder Neal A. Maxwell of the Council of the Twelve Apostles, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, discusses this critical-but often misunderstood-principle. "The rigorous requirements of Christian discipleship are clearly unattainable without meekness," he writes. "In fact, meekness is needed in order to be spiritually successful, whether in matters of the intellect, in the management of power, in the dissolution of personal pride, or in coping with the challenges of daily life." The first step, Elder Maxwell claims, is to take upon us the Savior's yoke and to learn about Him and His teachings. Other requirements are to develop humbleness of mind; to be humble in our dealings with others, particularly those whom we lead; and to overcome the deadly sin of pride. Elder Maxwell also explains the relation between meekness and the grace of God, the blessings that come through being meek, and the examples of meekness found in the lives of prophets both ancient and modern. "Meekness, though lowly, has its own quiet majesty," he concludes, for "by being yoked to Jesus and His gospel, we are drawn closer to Him. Proximity only increases our meekness."

    What does this look like for us today? How can we be the kind of church member who makes a real difference?This engaging book by Tony Merida explores what church is, why being part of it is exciting, and why it's worthy of our love and commitment. He sets out eight privileges and responsibilities of a church member: to belong, to welcome, to gather, to care, to serve, to honor, to witness and to send.As we see how wonderful it is to belong to God's family and be a part of his amazing witness to both the earthly and the heavenly realms, we'll grow in our love for and commitment to our local church.This is a great book for every churchgoer to read, whether they're new or have been attending for some time but need re-energizing with God's vision for the local church.With discussion guides at the end of each chapter and video introductions, Love Your Church is also a great resource for small groups.

    Like Polaroids framing the years of a troubadour and family man afflicted with an excess of self-awareness, these are stories without any clear good guys or bad guys. Instead, in each of these vignettes, you will find dysfunctional humans trying to do their best and bouncing off each other in the process.

    He heard the gospel at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting, at which he wasn’t even supposed to be, and he gave his life to Christ.  Two words changed Cooper’s life: But God.These two words can change every single person’s life— But God.  Each word is only three letters long. The phrase is short, but the implications are huge. The path may look bleak, dim, and hopeless…but GOD changes everything…We’ve all sinned - whether it is sex outside of marriage, a bitter heart, alcohol or drug abuse, cheating, or lying.  Maybe you’re at a place in your life where it just feels like things are falling apart.  Perhaps you’re portraying one thing on the outside and living something else on the inside. Maybe you are simply going through the motions of a life that’s not quite what you hoped it would be.  These moments drag us down - leaving us feeling hopeless and lost. You need something to happen in your life to change. You need a But God… moment.The But God moments are when God comes in and offers a new path and hope for our lives.  These moments occur when we are at are lowest, and turn our down-trodden worlds around for the better.  It is up to us to recognize and seize these moments when they occur and follow the renewed path God offers.

    But how do you share it without scaring them away or offending them? For most Christians, “evangelism” is an intimidating word that suggests handing out tracts to strangers or doing other awkward things.             But what if there was a more organic, more authentic way to share your faith with your friends, neighbors, and coworkers?             Dave and Jon Ferguson have found five simple, straightforward practices that will allow any believer to do just that. And by consistently living them out, you can affect not just individual lives but your entire neighborhood and community—one person at a time.

    Benjamin L. Merkle grounds this study about church elders in the Word of God as he clearly and succinctly informs laypeople of the scriptural qualifications and responsibilities of elders and deacons. Then he implores lay men and women to vote wisely concerning church leadership. Why Elders?assumes the voice of the curious church member who reads the Bible with an eye focused on the early church's organizational structure and asks, "Why did they do it the way they did?" and "How can we follow Scripture's prescription for leadership?"

    She is barely an adult when the trials of motherhood and marriage put her on an unexpected collision course with Jesus. After finding her faith at a suburban megachurch, Jamie trades in the easy life on the cul-de-sac for the green fields of Costa Rica. There, along with her family, she earnestly hopes to serve God and change lives. But faced with a yawning culture gap and persistent shortcomings in herself and her fellow workers, she soon loses confidence in the missionary enterprise and falls into a funk of cynicism and despair.

Nearly paralyzed by depression, yet still wanting to make a difference, she decides to tell the whole, disenchanted truth: Missionaries suck and our work makes no sense at all! From her sofa in Central America, she launches a renegade blog, Jamie the Very Worst Missionary, and against all odds wins a large and passionate following. Which leads her to see that maybe a "bad" missionary--awkward, doubtful, and vocal—is exactly what the world and the throngs of American do-gooders need.