Introducing the writings, literary prowess, cover design and creative picture manipulation of Stephen Shields. Welcome to my world! I make the impossible, possible. Open your hearts, minds, and imaginations. I only require an invitation into your mind in order to take you on a journey into a world of laughter and tears, reality and fantasy, joy and sorrow. For a brief moment in time, nothing else will exist. My aspirations are to leave an imprint of positivity upon your hearts and souls. Y...

Between the cover of this book, readers will be taken on an epic adventure of the imagination. "The Harbingers Inkwell" includes short stories, poetry, comedy, faith, and much more. This book is all-inclusive with a little something for everyone. Characters Bob and Joe have a love/hate relationship that borders on the one-liners of comedy. It reflects the spirit and genre of Abbott and Costello, the Odd Couple, Fred and Barney, and The Three Stooges. They will work their way into readers' ...

About this book: This book has Poetry, Prayers, Philosophies, Short stories and hidden Prophecies. I can write about anything. I place myself in the role of the person or object in order to write an accurate poem or story "through the subject's or object's eyes." It is like role playing. So, instead of acting the part, I write the part, but the part also writes me. This book is a wide variety of works. The poetry ranges from love and sad, too dark, deep and possibly humorous. My favorites ...

A Pew Study reports that only 2% of America's twelve million bloggers claim "religion, spirituality or faith" as their main topic. This leaves a great mission field in cyberspace, say contributors to The New Media Frontier, because the latest forms of communication present so many opportunities to promote the cause of Christ in other topics and fields. Before blindly jumping in, however, Christians need to weigh the possibilities against the consequences, and then proceed with the...

Even the least technical among us are being pressed from all sides by advances in digital technology. We rely upon computers, cell phones, and the Internet for communication, commerce, and entertainment. Yet even though we live in this “instant message” culture, many of us feel disconnected, and we question if all this technology is really good for our souls. In a manner that’s accessible, thoughtful, and biblical, author Tim Challies addresses questions such as: • How has life—and faith—c...

Reggie McNeal's bestseller The Present Future is the definitive work on the "missional movement," i.e., the widespread movement among Protestant churches to be less inwardly focused and more oriented toward the culture and community around them. In that book he asked the tough questions that churches needed to entertain to begin to think about who they are and what they are doing; in Missional Renaissance, he shows them the three significant shifts in their thinking and behavior that they ...

In this provocative book, author, consultant, and church leadership developer Reggie McNeal debunks these and other old assumptions and provides an overall strategy to help church leaders move forward in an entirely different and much more effective way. In The Present Future, McNeal identifies the six most important realities that church leaders must address including: recapturing the spirit of Christianity and replacing "church growth" with a wider vision of kingdom growth; deve...

The gospel is nothing without relationship. And no one gets it like the Google Generation.God came to earth to invite us, personally, into a relationship. And while Christians at times downplay relationships, the social-media generation is completely sold on the idea. In Viral, Leonard Sweet says Christians need to learn about connecting with others from the experts—those who can’t seem to stop texting, IM-ing, tweeting, and updating their Facebook statuse...

Without careful attention, faith-based organizations drift from their founding mission. It's that simple. It will happen.Why do so many organizations wander from their mission, while others remain Mission True? Can drift be prevented?In Mission Drift, HOPE International executives Peter Greer and Chris Horst share the results of their research into Mission True and Mission Untrue organizations and show you how to:● determine whether your or...

Everyday theology is the reflective and practical task of living each day as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. In other words, theology is not just for Sundays, and it's not just for professional theologians. Everyday Theology teaches all Christians how to get the theological lay of the land. It enables them to become more conscious of the culture they inhabit every day so that they can understand how it affects them and how they can affect it. If theology is the ministry of the...

All local churches experience a predictable life cycle of growth and decline. But if a church is on a downward trend, how can it turn around? Taking Your Church to the Next Level explains the impact of age and size on churches and outlines the improvements that must be made at each point for a church to remain fruitful and faithful to its mission. McIntosh deftly describes the cycles of fruitfulness and the importance of continual improvement to diminish destructive forces that ke...

From an international church starter and pastor, a resource guide for anyone organizing a congregation as part of the organic church movement.Neil Cole's best-selling book Organic Church described the fastest growing segment of contemporary Christianity—the so-called organic church. Now in this next-step book, he answers questions about how to deal with theological and organizational issues that come up. He talks about issues such has what to do with finan...