A practical program for developing a deeper, more authentic relationship with God Written for anyone who wants to develop a deeper more meaningful relationship with God, Mansions of the Heart offers a step-by-step guide through a spiritual formation road map based on Teresa of Avila's Seven Mansions. The book includes a Mapping Tool that will help you discern your place on your spiritual journey and offers church leaders a process for helping church members to grow into spiritual maturity. Contains a spiritual program based on the writings of Teresa of Avila, one of Christianity's most profound and beloved mystical teachers Offers a complete, step-by-step program for spiritual growth Includes information for leading others in their spiritual journeys Appropriate for all kinds of Christians
Combining personal stories and sound scholarship, Paul Alexander, a young scholar with a Pentecostal background, examines the phenomenal worldwide success of Pentecostalism. While most other works on the subject are either for academics or believers, this book speaks to a broader audience. Interweaving stories of his own and his family's experiences with an account of Pentecostalism's history and tenets, Alexander provides a unique and accessible perspective on the movement.
From Kent M. Keith, the author of the internationally acclaimed Paradoxical Commandments, comes a remarkable book about faith. In Have Faith Anyway, Keith explores the meaning of his eleventh commandment: The world is full of violence, injustice, starvation, disease, and environmental destruction. Have faith anyway. Like the other paradoxical commandments, this one focuses on the fundamental values we have in common as human beings.
"Boyett's witty, weird, and sometimes even wise Pocket Guides are proof that the best things do come in small packages." —Daniel Radosh, author, Rapture Ready! We name our cities, hospitals, and churches after them. We flock to shrines bearing their remains. We ask for their help when we lose our keys. Who are these saints, what made them so holy, and what in the world are those birds doing on St. Francis's shoulder? Jason Boyett's Pocket Guide to Sainthood takes an intriguing and unflinching look at the fascinating—and fascinatingly weird—lives of the saints. Whether you are a Catholic desperately needing a patron, or a Protestant trying to identify your cabbie's bobblehead, this may be as close as you ever come to true holiness. Make the most of it by learning How St. Denis delivered his best sermon while holding his own decapitated head Why both hair shirts and nakedness are mainstays of saintly fashion Which saints are the patrons of bowel disorders, serial killers, and other useful categories What is involved in the canonization process, should you get so lucky?or martyred With Pocket Guide to Sainthood, virtue just got a whole lot more entertaining.
A new way for Christians to think about sexuality Author Miguel De La Torre, a well-respected ethicist and professor known for his innovative readings of Christian doctrine, rejects both the liberal and conservative prejudices about sex. He instead develops an ethic that is liberative yet grounded soundly in the Bible; a sexuality that celebrates God’s gift of great sex by fostering intimacy, vulnerability and openness between loving partners. In A Lily Among the Thorns, De La Torre examines the Bible, current events, history and our culture-at-large to show how and why racism, sexism, and classism have distorted Christianity’s central teachings about sexuality. The author shows how the church’s traditionally negative attitudes toward sex in general—and toward women, people of color, and gays in particular—have made it difficult, if not impossible, to create a biblically based and just sexual ethic. But when the Bible is read from the viewpoint of those who have been marginalized in our society, preconceived notions about Christianity and sex get turned on their heads. Taking on hot-button topics such as pornography, homosexuality, prostitution, and celibacy, the author examines how “reading from the margins” provides a liberating approach to dealing with issues of sexuality.
An insightful and practical guide for developing relational leadership skills and engaging new paradigms of influence Relational Intelligence reveals how leaders can become smarter in the way they conduct their relationships, and as a result, catalyze their impact. This book unwraps the hidden power of a relational genius and the practical pursuits that contribute to increasing one's relational quotient (RQ). Steve Saccone offers thought-provoking and compelling pathways into understanding the synergistic effect of relational intelligence, mission, and influence. He demonstrates how critical the art of relational intelligence is for leaders who desire to better serve those they lead, as well as the organizations and communities they love. Offers practical wisdom, engaging anecdotes, and compelling stories that show leaders how to develop relational intelligence Delineates the essential skills that make leaders relationally intelligent Unwraps six roles of a relational genius and how these transform our approaches to influence Includes Foreword by Erwin Raphael McManus A new book in the popular Leadership Network Series The author reveals how to increase one's awareness of the nuances in relational dynamics and suggests ways to help navigate relationships more intelligently and productively.
"Fearless, deep, and snarky. And did I mention funny? Oh my goodness this guy is funny." —Dean Nelson, author, God Hides in Plain Sight, and director, Writer's Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Where do we go when we die? Will we have personal chats with God on fluffy clouds? What are the odds I will be devoured by a demon? Life's deepest mysteries question what happens when life is over. With Pocket Guide to the Afterlife, Jason Boyett becomes your tour guide to the Great Beyond. From the profound to the profane, from the light at the end of the tunnel to your ascension to the celestial void, here's everything you need to know this side of the everlasting Unknown, including What to expect upon arrival in destinations like Heaven, Purgatory, and the Chinvat Bridge Whether your understanding of the Christian Hell comes from the Bible or from an Italian poet Which dream scenarios you'll want to avoid because they predict your impending demise Why defibrillators are so important when it comes to having near-death experiences Pondering your eventual demise has never been so much fun.
In this powerful book, Carol Ochs shows us how to develop a personal theology by examining our life stories, learning to recognize God at work in them, and bringing them into conversation with Torah. Using timeless biblical texts as lenses to see the present, she helps us understand who we are and who God is for us by exploring the tightly interwoven basic elements of our lives–our love, suffering, work, bodies, prayer, community, and experiences of death. Through the process of seeing our experiences in relation to Biblical stories, we begin to recognize our lives as part of the ongoing story of the Jewish people–as Torah. This insight allows us to see these experiences as meaningful, not accidental, and opens us to recognizing God's power in and through all that happens to us. Rather than a collection of random events, our lives are part of the Jewish people's ongoing adventure. Armed with our personally shaped theology, we can face this adventure of living in the vanguard of history with awareness and confidence.
Through personal stories, proven experience and a thorough analysis of the biblical text, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church illustrates both the biblical mandate for the multi-ethnic church as well as the seven core commitments required to bring it about. Mark DeYmaz, pastor of one of the most proven multi-ethnic churches in the country, writes both from his experience and his extensive study of how to plant, grow, and encourage more ethnically diverse churches. He argues that the «homogenous unit principle» will soon become irrelevant and that the most effective way to spread the Gospel in an increasingly diverse world is through strong and vital multi-ethnic churches.
Si el universo tiene un sentido, una armonía o una finalidad, entonces está claro que los hombres -y con ellos los animales y las plantas, que ocupan sólo un fragmento infinitesimal de este universo- no son necesariamente las únicas criaturas que habitan en él. Sería perfectamente lógico que, junto a ellos, existieran otras criaturas, habitando mundos diversos y paralelos, que huirían de la lógica con que estamos obligados a conducir nuestra vida en la tierra. En esta dimensión se ubicarían los ángeles, figuras siempre presentes en las distintas creencias, representadas con imágenes diferentes. En este libro pondremos al descubierto todo lo que hay que saber sobre estos maravillosos seres: jerarquía; papel en las distintas religiones, en la cultura y en el arte; diferentes maneras de contactar con ellos.