But why have efforts to change the world by Christians so often failed or gone tragically awry? And how might Christians in the 21st century live in ways that have integrity with their traditions and are more truly transformative? In To Change the World, James Davison Hunter offers persuasive—and provocative—answers to these questions.Hunter begins with a penetrating appraisal of the most popular models of world-changing among Christians today, highlighting the ways they are inherently flawed and therefore incapable of generating the change to which they aspire. Because change implies power, all Christian eventually embrace strategies of political engagement. Hunter offers a trenchant critique of the political theologies of the Christian Right and Left and the Neo-Anabaptists, taking on many respected leaders, from Charles Colson to Jim Wallis and Stanley Hauerwas. Hunter argues that all too often these political theologies worsen the very problems they are designed to solve. What is really needed is a different paradigm of Christian engagement with the world, one that Hunter calls "faithful presence"—an ideal of Christian practice that is not only individual but institutional; a model that plays out not only in all relationships but in our work and all spheres of social life. He offers real-life examples, large and small, of what can be accomplished through the practice of "faithful presence." Such practices will be more fruitful, Hunter argues, more exemplary, and more deeply transfiguring than any more overtly ambitious attempts can ever be.Written with keen insight, deep faith, and profound historical grasp, To Change the World will forever change the way Christians view and talk about their role in the modern world.

    It is only for those who want something more out of life, who desire to tap into the divine potential that was placed in them at their creation.You were in God's imagination before you were ever born. All the talent, gifting, and creativity you possess was placed in you by God Himself. Can you imagine the things you could do, the impact you could have on the world, if you tapped into the dreams God has for your life?In Uprising: A Revolution of the Soul, Erwin Raphael McManus boldly invites you to join the revolution. He illuminates the desperate heart cry of every human being?"I want to live!"?and then serves as a guide on a quest to answer that cry.Find your true purpose and destiny in the pursuit of the passion and character of God. Be a part of a revolution that changes a life of imitation and mediocrity into one of passion and character . . . a radical revolt that will forever change the world!

    How God pursues people. How we pursue him. And how he uses us to pursue others.God pursued us when Jesus came into this ruined world as an agent of redemption, asking us to follow him and to become his disciples. Yet, what does Jesus actually mean by disciple? And as his disciples, what is our mission?Pastor Bill Clem masterfully answers these questions, explaining what Jesus meant when he called his followers "disciples," and what he intended when he told us to then make disciples. This helpful guide weaves together Scripture and real-life stories to illustrate the essential elements of Christian discipleship.Whether you've just become a follower of Jesus or you've been one for years, Disciple will help you see that Jesus invites his people to freedom rather than mere rule keeping, and it will give you a relational framework--instead of behavioral prescriptions--for pursuing God.

    In recent years, however, that picture of Jesus has come under widely publicized attack from sources ranging from critical scholars to Internet pundits to popular historians and others. The new portraits of Jesus seem persuasive. You can’t help but wonder … Did Christianity merely copy its beliefs from earlier mythology? Did the church suppress alternate gospels? Did Jesus never die on the cross or rise from the dead for sinners? Is the New Testament hopelessly riddled with errors? New York Times bestselling author Lee Strobel helps you separate truth from media hype, sound scholarship from bias, and fact from speculation. Digging below the surface, this book provides credible, informed answers to today’s most pressing questions about Jesus.

    Keeping quiet is becoming our default position. Yet the world has not changed in one way—it still needs Jesus.Renowned evangelist Becky Pippert draws on decades of conversations about Christianity around the world to call and equip ordinary Christians to share Jesus through their ordinary day-to-day conversations. She shows that by leaning on our extraordinary God, such conversations can, and often do, have extraordinary results. They will transform hearts, transform society, and transform the world!Weaving Bible teaching with compelling stories, Stay Salt is the next generation "Out of the Saltshaker" for this new era. It will give readers the confidence share Jesus like Jesus—relevantly, thoughtfully, and effectively.

    She had been taught that Islam was evil, full of lies and darkness, and that the world would be better without it.Luckily, locals show compassion for this blundering outsider who can't keep her headscarf on or her toddlers from tripping over AK-47s. After the murder of several foreigners forces them to evacuate, the Joneses resettle in nearby Djibouti.Jones recounts, often entertainingly, the personal encounters and growing friendships that gradually dismantle her unspoken fears and prejudices and deepen her appreciation for Islam. Unexpectedly, along the way she also gains a far richer understanding of her own Christian faith. Grouping her stories around the five pillars of Islam - creed, prayer, fasting, giving, and pilgrimage - Jones shows how her Muslim friends' devotion to these pillars leads her to rediscover ancient Christian practices her own religious tradition has lost or neglected.Jones brings the reader along as she reexamines her assumptions about faith and God through the lens of Islam and Somali culture. Are God and Allah the same? What happens when one's ideas about God and the Bible crumble and the only people around are Muslims? What happens is that she discovers that Jesus is more generous, daring, and loving than she ever imagined.

    Here is straight talk from a man who has sought authentic New Testament community for more than fifty years and who has discovered it in the most unlikely places.

    That’s one way to describe Peter. Here’s another: poor, uneducated, quick-tempered, and full of doubts and fears. Doesn’t even sound like the same man. And that’s the point of Simon Peter, a new book and six-week adult Bible study by Adam Hamilton. Peter was just an ordinary guy who heard and followed God’s extraordinary call. Discover how you, too, have special gifts, talents, and abilities that God can use to make a difference today. In addition to the Leader Guide and DVD components for adult studies, corresponding youth and children’s resources, sold separately, can be used to create a churchwide study.Chapters Include: The Call of the Fisherman Walking with Jesus in the Storm Bedrock or Stumbling Block? “I Will Not Deny You” From Cowardice to Courage The Rest of the Story

    This is not just an intellectual conviction, he contends, but a more profound kind of knowing that only true faith can provide.Combining Enns’ reflections of his own spiritual journey with an examination of Scripture, The Sin of Certainty models an acceptance of mystery and paradox that all believers can follow and why God prefers this path because it is only this way by which we can become mature disciples who truly trust God. It gives Christians who have known only the demand for certainty permission to view faith on their own flawed, uncertain, yet heartfelt, terms.

    But grace can.You already know because you’ve tried: repeated attempts to earn God’s love and approval get you nowhere and leave you exhausted. When performance taints our relationship with him, the Christian life can turn into an unholy hustle. It was never meant to be like this.In Saving the Saved, Pastor Bryan Loritts reveals the astonishing truth that God doesn’t want your spiritual scorekeeping. He simply wants your surrender. The punchline of the gospel of Matthew is just that—a message of grace and performance-free love to do-good, try-harder Jews who thought they had to earn their way into God’s favor. It’s an ancient message, yet it can be a lifeline to us today as we live in a world of performance metrics. Just as Matthew wrote to the Jews in his gospel, we were never meant to flounder under the pressures and anxieties of show Christianity. Make no mistake: we are called to live in obedience, but Jesus wants us to save us from the illusion that our actions can ever earn God’s acceptance of us.In Pastor Bryan’s relevant, uncompromising style, Saving the Saved proclaims the good news that once the pressure is off to perform, we are free to abide. Beyond the man-made rules and the red tape, there is a God who knows you by name. Come and meet him as you’ve never known him before.

    Benedict has for centuries been the guide of religious communities. St. Benedict's rules of obedience, humility, and contemplation are not only prerequisites for formal religious societies, they also provide an invaluable model for anyone desiring to live more simply. While they presuppose a certain detachment from the world, they provide guidance and inspiration for anyone seeking peace and fulfillment in their home and work communities. As prepared by the Benedictine monk and priest Timothy Fry, this translation of The Rule of St. Benedict can be a life-transforming book. With a new Preface by Thomas Moore, author of The Care of the Soul."God is our home but many of us have strayed from our native land. The venerable authors of these Spiritual Classics are expert guides--may we follow their directions home."--Archbishop Desmond Tutu

    When they are rescued from slavery in Egypt, God sends them into the desert, where they wander for a generation. Jesus and his disciples wander from town to town. In fact, some of God's most important truths are imparted to people with dusty feet as they travel on the road. With his trademark thoughtful introspection, A. J. Swoboda boldly suggests that wandering is not an absence of faith but a central component of faith. In "The Dusty Ones," " "he leads the restless, the frustrated, and the curious on a spiritual journey to uncover the answers to questions like - Do I wander because I'm failing or because God has left me?- Is the desert something I can overcome?- Why is God sometimes "hidden" in the Bible?- What do I do when the end seems nowhere in sight? This compassionate and contemplative book offers hope and peace to Christians and seekers alike as they make their way down the winding road of faith.

    This book is for them.With American evangelicals having more political influence today than ever before, this book is especially important. The opening chapters establish the foundational biblical principles that are relevant to our lives as Christian citizens no matter the topic. Author Steve Monsma next highlights crucial global issues in which believers are called to live out their faith. Forgoing ready-made answers, Monsma encourages a reflective, thoroughly biblical response via a lively writing style. His book will equip all believers to make godly, humanitarian choices rather than purely political ones.A DVD featuring a 10 minute introduction to each chapter of this book is available from Crossway at www.crossway.org or from the Henry Institute for the Study of Christianity and Politics at www.calvin.edu/henry. It is ideal for use in classes and discussion groups.

    But what they deliver is fleeting.Jesus knew about this quest. He came to show us that peace is possible in this life, not just the next one. Yet Christianity, the very religion that claims Jesus as its own, has often built the biggest barriers to him and the life he promised. Celebrated speaker and pastor Shane Hipps revives the faith with a fresh and persuasive understanding of the message of Jesus. The shocking truth is that Jesus proclaimed "eternal life" as a present reality that dwells within each of us. A transformative breakthrough, this book goes beyond "religion" or "spirituality" and cuts to the heart of our humanity and existence. It's about realizing that we already possess what we are searching for, and that the Heaven we long for isn't just a gift when we die, but a gift while we live.

    Yet, perhaps only rarely do they grasp the implications of the theology embedded in these practices or in the liturgies of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which has shaped Episcopalians in this country with its emphasis on baptismal spirituality and the centrality of the Eucharist. Julia Gatta wants to change that with her book, Life in Christ.Applying her years of experience as pastor and spiritual director combined with her study of the spiritual wisdom of the past, she explores common Christian practices and their underlying theology through an Episcopal lens. In the tradition of Esther de Waal, Martin Smith, and Martin Thornton, with particular reference to scripture, The Book of Common Prayer, and the wisdom of the Christian spiritual tradition, she illuminates methods readers may already be practicing and provides insight and guidance to ones that may be new to them.