Dear God,My book is out and I'm in the dog box. Tom says I've ruined his authority at St Jude's with the bit about his Tom and Jerry underpants and his penchant for Sugar Puffs.The boys say their girlfriends have dropped them like hot cakes and that they'll never leave home with a mother like me who reveals all.And there's a deathly hush from St Jude's congregation who are slowly going into shock as a single copy does the rounds.The only bright light is John...

Like thousands of other kids throughout the United States, Rachael Peterson is the victim of a bully. What's unusual about this story is the uncommon way that she and her parents deal with this all too common situation. Loosely based on a true story, the Peterson family chooses to reach out with love and compassion, rather than acting in anger and vengeance. Lessons are learned, harsh things are exposed and transformations miraculously occur, as a family rides through the storm, coming out...

A wave of new Christian churches are emerging to reach unchurched and dechurched people who live in a culture that is increasingly non-religious and multi-religious. These new forms of church gather and network with people who typically have never been to church. The new faith communities listen to people and go where they are on the journey toward Jesus. They are deeply ecumenical but do not lose their distinctiveness because they learn fresh ways to communicate their identity through dis...

Our church buildings, synagogues, and other religious places – which once stood as beacons of hope and reverence for its community – have become a burden for the organizations who seek to keep them standing. In efforts to patch leaky roofs and paint over years of wear, leaders are putting more and more money each year into property instead of people. The practices we have fallen into to keep a building running are not only demoralizing to the pastoral profession and the mission of the chur...

Drawing on the wisdom gleaned from thriving mega-churches and innovative business leaders while anchoring their vision in the Eucharistic center of Catholic faith, Fr. Michael White and lay associate Tom Corcoran present the compelling and inspiring story to how they brought their parish back to life.Winner of two 2014 Catholic Press Awards: Pastoral Ministry (First Place) and Design and Production (Honorable Mention).Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Re...

It's time to stop asking the old questions about how to do church better and instead ask how churches can more effectively participate in and grow God's kingdom. AND helps Christian leaders recognize the best in different church models and see how to incorporate these values into a cohesive church movement.By the numbers, the American church enjoys the resources to profoundly impact the Kingdom. But despite the rapid growth of these evangelical mo...

“To read Jeanette Winterson is to love her.”—O, the Oprah MagazineThe 40th anniversary edition of a beloved modern classic and pioneering work of autofiction—a funny, poignant exploration of a young girl’s quirky passage into adulthoodWith a new introduction and afterword by the authorJeanette Winterson’s extraordinary career began at the age of twenty-five with the publication of Oranges Are Not the On...

Well organized and readily accessible, The Complete Book of Discipleship pulls together into one convenient, comprehensive volume relevant topics to discipleship such as:Spiritual growthTransformationSpiritual disciplinesDiscipleship in the local church and beyondIndexed for easy reference.

Agatha Christie’s Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are Partners in Crime—or rather partners in crime solving—and must demonstrate their deductive skills in a wide range of confounding cases after agreeing to take over Blunt’s International Detective Agency.Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are restless for adventure, so when they are asked to take over Blunt's International Detective Agency, they leap at the chance.Their first case is a success—the triumpha...

Randy Pope has created a blueprint for pastors and church planters with The Intentional Church. Such an organization must model a dynamic spirit of worship and servanthood that will cause it to become a magnet for people needing help. Part of the blueprint involves having a God-honoring purpose, a faith-oriented commitment, a well-defined mission, biblically-based job descriptions, and more. A relevant resource for pastors and lay persons.

How are we doing? The church, that is. And how are we doing it? Congregations have long measured success by "bodies, budget, and buildings"--a certain record of attendance, the offering plate, and square footage. But the scorecard can't stop there. When it does, the deeper emphasis on accountability, discipleship, and spiritual maturity is lost. Ignoring those details, we see fewer lives transformed, Christian influence wane, and churches thin out--a situation that is all too familiar acro...

Christians are too often guilty of pledging their allegiance tothe influential principalities and powers of this age rather thanto Christ alone. In Holy Subversion, Trevin Wax challengessuch behavior by urging a return to the subversive lifestyle of theearliest Christians. Their proclamation and demonstration that"Jesus is Lord" directly opposed the Caesar worship of theirday.Today, Christians in the West must choose between Jesus and our"Caesars": self, success, money, le...