Download or read book The Underground Church written by Robin Meyers and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2020-10-06 with total page 282 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Underground Church proposes that the faithful recapture the spirit of the early church with its emphasis on what Christians do rather than what they believe. Prominent progressive writer, speaker, and minister Robin Meyers proposes that the best way to recapture the spirit of the early Christian church is to recognize that Jesus-following was and must be again subversive in the best sense of the word because the gospel taken seriously turns the world upside down. No matter how the church may organize itself or worship, the defining characteristic of the church of the future will be its Jesus-inspired countercultural witness. Meyers debunks commonly held beliefs about the early church and offers a vision for the future rooted in the past. He proposes that the church of the future must leave doctrinal tribalism behind and seek a unity of mission instead. Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu says of this volume: "Robin Meyers has spoken truth to power, and the church he loves will never be the same."

Download or read book Under the Overpass written by Mike Yankoski and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2009-01-21 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An updated and expanded edition of the gritty, challenging, and utterly captivating portait of the homeless crisis. Ever Wonder What it Would Be Like to Live Homeless? Mike Yankoski did more than just wonder. By his own choice, Mike's life went from upper-middle class plush to scum-of-the-earth repulsive overnight. With only a backpack, a sleeping bag and a guitar, Mike and his traveling companion, Sam, set out to experience life on the streets in six different cities—from Washington D.C. to San Diego— and they put themselves to the test. For more than five months the pair experienced firsthand the extreme pains of hunger, the constant uncertainty and danger of living on the streets, exhaustion, depression, and social rejection—and all of this by their own choice. They wanted to find out if their faith was real, if they could actually be the Christians they said they were apart from the comforts they’d always known…to discover first hand what it means to be homeless in America. What you encounter in these pages will radically alter how you see your world—and may even change your life.

Download or read book The Least Among Us The Lives of Homeless Women in Springfield Illinois written by James Traveler and published by Dorrance Publishing. This book was released on 2021-05-19 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Least Among Us: The Lives of Homeless Women in Springfield, Illinois By: James Traveler In The Least Among Us, James Traveler shares the stories of six homeless women in order "to inject compassion into the numb consciences of those who would write them off." The featured stories are based on interviews with homeless women living on the streets of Springfield, Illinois. The author provides a platform for these women to tell their personal stories while offering a look into "a day in the life of a homeless woman." While this work will appeal to those in sociology or social work, there are vital lessons in empathy to be learned by everyone. The book contains an introduction by Dr. Kay Young McChesney, an Associate Professor of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Springfield. From the Book: After her coffee arrived, I asked Alicia my last question. "You've told me more than once that what you'd really like is for someone to offer you a job. But what about your deepest desires. If you were an architect and could design the life of your dreams, what would it be like?" "I'm still in a time of life where I'm seeking out a man," she said. "I'm still in the game. I still try to be enticing. I want to let my special guy know that I'm still a lady. Right now, I might not look it, but underneath, that's what I am. "I may not have anything material to offer a guy, but I do have ideas, information, and know-how. I can run a household and hold a job to help with the bills. I'd like to have a garden and grow things for our table. And I know how to love. "If I had a guy, I'd make him happy. I'd listen to him, pay attention, understand him, and I'd be patient. If he respected me, I'd respect him and help him prosper." I asked Alicia what she meant by "prosper." "If I loved a guy," she said, "everything he did, everything we did together, would work out and bear fruit."

Download or read book Walk with Me written by Bill Mowry and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2021-03-02 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have we over complicated, over systematized, and over formalized making disciples? When our hearts are changed by Christ, it’s natural that we should want to help others come to know Him too. And while Scripture clearly sets forth how to do so, modern Western society has formalized, professionalized, and systemized disciplemaking to a point that it seems too complicated to practice. What happened to the simple, heart-to-heart ministries of the New Testament? In Walk with Me, you’ll return to the essential biblical practices that help people grow as Christ-followers in simple, slow, and deep ways. Learn how you can connect with your neighbors, coworkers, or anyone you want to reach with the gospel in ways that are relational and Spirit-led. You’ll learn five kingdom principles that will reshape how you can pass on the faith: In heart-to-heart ways By keeping it simple By going slow By building deep By living on mission

Download or read book Jesus Among the Homeless written by Wilma Faye Mathis and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2023-01-24 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jesus Among the Homeless identifies the problem of homelessness and applies strategies based on scriptural principles as a solution. It contains testimonies of seasoned teachers, psychologists, and social workers describing effective strategies for outreaching to the addicted, abused, mentally ill, and homeless. This go-to manual written in simple and clear layman's terms is an invaluable asset for anyone ministering to the homeless.

Download or read book Gay and Catholic written by Eve Tushnet and published by Ave Maria Press. This book was released on 2014-10-20 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner of a 2015 Catholic Press Award: Gender Issues Category (First Place). In this first book from an openly lesbian and celibate Catholic, widely published writer and blogger Eve Tushnet recounts her spiritual and intellectual journey from liberal atheism to faithful Catholicism and shows how gay Catholics can love and be loved while adhering to Church teaching. Eve Tushnet was among the unlikeliest of converts. The only child of two atheist academics, Tushnet was a typical Yale undergraduate until the day she went out to poke fun at a gathering of philosophical debaters, who happened also to be Catholic. Instead of enjoying mocking what she termed the “zoo animals,” she found herself engaged in intellectual conversation with them and, in a move that surprised even her, she soon converted to Catholicism. Already self-identifying as a lesbian, Tushnet searched for a third way in the seeming two-option system available to gay Catholics: reject Church teaching on homosexuality or reject the truth of your sexuality. Gay and Catholic: Accepting My Sexuality, Finding Community, Living My Faith is the fruit of Tushnet’s searching: what she learned in studying Christian history and theology and her articulation of how gay Catholics can pour their love and need for connection into friendships, community, service, and artistic creation.

Download or read book Walk With Us How The West Wing Changed Our Lives written by Claire Handscombe and published by Claire Handscombe. This book was released on 2016-05-14 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The West Wing premiered in 1999. That's a long time ago. Back then, we were worrying about the Millennium Bug, paying $700 for DVD players, and using pagers. 1999: a century ago. And yet, the show continues to have an impact that is arguably unique. If you live or work in DC, references to it are inescapable. People have walked down the aisle to the theme music. Or they’ve named children, pets, GPS systems, and even an iPhone app after the characters. Or they’ve started Twitter accounts as the characters to continue the storyline and comment on current political events. Or they credit it for closer relationships with their family members or a way out of depression. In this anthology of quotes and essays, contributors from six countries, ranging in age from twenty to seventy years old, tell their West Wing stories.

Download or read book My Walk with God written by Milta Velez and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2007 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Take my life or change it," Milta Velez declared to a God she had just met. With this statement, she challenged God while standing at the altar with a gun in her purse. She grew up in Manhattan at a time when women's liberation was born. She sought her identity in the nightclubs of New York. With five disastrous relationships, she was following in the footsteps of the Samaritan woman when Jesus touched her and saved her life. Tired and desperate, she surrendered to Jesus. During her walk with God, she struggled with the conversion of being a Christian because she didn't believe in miracles, until the day she decided to put Jesus to the test. Her first granted miracle enabled her to purchase her first home without any credit or collateral. Milta soon discovered that anything is possible in the name of Jesus. And that a dreamer in the hands of God can accomplish great things. Milta sets an example of what one can accomplish when one surrenders their hopelessness to God. Today she owns a travel agency, a restaurant, and the property.

Download or read book Grace Can Lead Us Home written by Kevin Nye and published by MennoMedia, Inc.. This book was released on 2022-08-09 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On any given night, more than half a million Americans and Canadians find themselves sleeping on the streets, in shelters, cars, and other places not meant for human habitation. Yet as this crisis continues to grow, it remains one of the least talked about—especially in churches. Even where compassion and empathy exist, the complexities around homelessness can make us feel stuck, overwhelmed, or numb to the existence of unhoused people in our cities and neighborhoods. Reporting back from his work in homeless services, minister and advocate Kevin Nye introduces readers to the Christ he’s met in tents, shelters, and drop-in centers. He demystifies homelessness by journeying into complex issues like affordable housing, mental illness, addiction, and more, while reimagining our theological approach to these matters and educating us on how they intersect with homelessness. This thorough and intimate book shows us that from the margins, Jesus has something to teach us all about grace—something that could change the landscape of homelessness entirely if we’re ready to hear it.

Download or read book The Space Between written by Lorenzo M. Nicodemo and published by FriesenPress. This book was released on 2018-11-26 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Rarely does an inspirational book come along that touches both the heart and the soul while delving deeply into the workings of humanity. The Space Between is a book about life. It challenges the reader to look at life from a different perspective; that life is truly simple and far less complicated if we choose to make it so. Written as a narrative in discussions with his grandchildren, Lorenzo takes you through life from arrival to departure while poignantly challenging many of the human systems we have adopted that serve to keep us enslaved, dependent and hindering us from living life to the fullest. Through discussion and youthful curiosity the characters take you deep inside yourself challenging you to to throw off self imposed shackles and to rediscover your true self. Brimming with insights, parables and astonishing real life experiences the reader is carefully guided from a unique perspective that upends many of the things in life we take for granted. It expertly unravels many of life’s myths and brilliantly demonstrates that life is not a struggle and that we alone are responsible for living a life that is full, rich and overflowing with happiness. This book is a timely, powerful, thought provoking and compelling must read for everyone.

Download or read book I Love Jesus But I Want to Die written by Sarah J. Robinson and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2021-05-11 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Download or read book Failing America s Faithful written by Kathleen Kennedy Townsend and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2007-03-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blending inspirational memoir with a religious and political rebuke of American Christianity, the oldest daughter of Senator Robert F. Kennedy delivers a rousing call to arms for spiritual renewal.

Download or read book The Book of Uncommon Prayer written by Steven Case and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-07-13 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do you need this book? Because there are treasures in tradition. In stark contrast to the common belief that youth workers require nothing less than a light show, smoke machine, and sweaty punk-rock band to reach teenagers' souls, more and more youth have actually been moving toward depth and quiet--and away from fluff and noise. Creeds, candles, silence, and ancient spiritual practices are all gaining understanding and popularity among students who're passionately seeking otherworldly and mysterious fragrances. They're realizing that there are treasures in tradition. The Book of Uncommon Prayer is your tool for unearthing, dusting off, and tapping into these treasures--but in ways that are completely contemporary and, more importantly, completely relevant to students. It's personal. The prayers and worship services inside are written for youth ministry--for students and for youth workers! They tell the from-the-gut truth about what you and your kids face every day--and in language that won't leave anybody scratching their heads. It's practical. These tools are for just about any situation you can think of. Need a prayer for a lock-in? For family? For loving enemies? For final exams? How about a mind-blowing "Dumpster" Christmas service? An eye-opening service for All Hallows Eve? Or the most intense service for Good Friday you've ever experienced? They're all here--along with many other innovative vehicles for bringing your students into communion with God. It's unparalleled. This book is for all denominations. It doesn't matter if you’re mainline or evangelical, Protestant or Catholic; The Book of Uncommon Prayer is geared for all teenagers and youth workers in Jesus' church! There's also an entire section of devotions and prayers written specifically for you, the youth worker, to renew and strengthen you when times are tough. Mysterious. Practical. Treasure-filled. (Yes, uncommon, too!) The Book of Uncommon Prayer is a rich source of God-revealing worship and a one-of-a-kind guide for personal renewal that youth workers, camp counselors, Sunday school teachers, adult volunteers (and even students) will love.

Download or read book My Walk with God written by Mother Elizabeth H. Travers and published by Page Publishing Inc. This book was released on 2022-08-01 with total page 35 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It was about two years ago when the Holy Spirit spoke to me and told me to write this book and title it My Walk with God. This is my personal testimony about my life in Christ. I was reluctant to do so because of my age (at the time, I was eighty-seven years old in the year of 2019). Another blessing was bestowed upon me that same year on November. The Holy Spirit ministered to me to go on an ocean cruise with Bishop T. D. Jakes. I had no mind to go on the cruise, but as I listened to the Holy Spirit, every day it kept coming to me, telling to go on the cruise. And then He specified for me to go alone. I did not understand why I was to go alone, but eventually, I called and registered to go on the cruise. The lady said, “You know, there are women who would like to share rooms. Would you be interested in sharing?” At the time, I remembered that I was supposed to go alone, but I felt in my spirit it would be okay. Of course, I picked the room that I wanted and accepted the roommate, which was a wonderful pastor from Los Angeles, and everything worked out fine. The Holy Spirit knows how to do all things because He knows all things. We are still corresponding with each other. Two years later, I had a revelation of why I went alone, but I will not share. Truly, it was a great blessing. By the way, Bishop Jakes had all Christians on the boat. It was so inspiring and absolutely fantastic. I met so many beautiful people who love the Lord in the body of Christ and am still corresponding with them. By the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, I am attempting to write this book for God’s glory. My prayer is that it will be a blessing to whoever should read it, especially the unsaved population, and, of course, my brothers and sisters in the Lord. We can do all things through Christ. For without Jesus, we are nothing, and we can do nothing without Him.

Download or read book My Walk with Christ Jesus written by Obie Sailors III and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2010-10-11 with total page 339 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My Walk with Christ Jesus, the memoir of Obie Sailors III, chronicles the story of his life and journey as a Christian. As a young boy, he lived with his parents, but he encountered strange and unexplained incidents that convinced him that God and Jesus Christ were the most important part of his life. With poignant detail, he talks about the things he has experienced and the hard lessons that he has learned. Along the way, he confides the ups and downs of his life and the many tears he has cried over the years of discovering the true path to living in Gods love. He is sharing his story with the hope that others will recognize themselves in the tale of his life, be comforted, and know that they are not alone. As he learned to live his life as a faithful servant of Christ Jesus, his message to all is that they too can follow that path. No man is an island. No man stands alone.

Download or read book Becoming Whole written by Brian Fikkert and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2019-03-05 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western Civilization is wealthier, but it isn’t happier. We are the richest people ever to walk the face of the earth, but according to research, we aren’t becoming happier. Families and communities are increasingly fragmented, loneliness is skyrocketing, and physical and mental health are on the decline. Our unprecedented wealth doesn’t seem to be doing us much good. Yet, when we try to help poor people at home or abroad, our implicit assumption is that the goal is to help them to become like us. "If they would just do things our way, they’d be fine!" But even when they seem to pursue our path, they too find that the American Dream doesn’t work for them. What if we have the wrong idea altogether? What if the molds we are using to help poor people don’t actually fit any of us? What if the goal isn’t to turn other countries into the United States or to turn America’s impoverished communities into its affluent suburbs? In Becoming Whole (building on the best-selling When Helping Hurts), Brian Fikkert and Kelly M. Kapic look at the true sources of brokenness and poverty and uncover the surprising pathways to human flourishing, for poor and non-poor alike. Exposing the misconceptions of both Western Civilization and the Western church about the nature of God, human beings, and the world, they redefine success and offer new ways of achieving that success. Through biblical insights, scientific research, and practical experience, they show you how the good news of the kingdom of God reshapes our lives and our poverty alleviation ministries, moving everybody involved towards wholeness.

Download or read book Blackchurch Furnace written by Nathan Singer and published by Down & Out Books. This book was released on 2018-01-15 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Blackchurch is not the sort of place where folks are inclined to be up in each other’s business, and strange house guests at a neighbor’s pad are not likely to be noticed, let alone remarked upon. So on a day in early October, when two beat-up-looking crackers, a pregnant teenage whore, and a small, androgynous Japanese woman in a large-brimmed sombrero, sunglasses, and wrapped in a patchwork down comforter came to call on D’antre Philips with heads full of prophetic visions and tales of the apocalypse already in progress, nary an eye was blinked. When the end times do come to Blackchurch, it’ll be a day like any other day. And the next day will be too. Blackchurch Furnace is a scathing satire of faith, family, and all that we hold dear, where the only thing you can believe in are the voices in your own head…and they are every bit as crazy as you are. Praise for BLACKCHURCH FURNACE: “Blackchurch Furnace is one of the most amazing books I’ve ever read. It reads like an underworld testament, groaning with ghost histories, clanking and burning with all the shuffling grandeur of its subject, Cincinnati. It’s haunting, it’s furious, it’s beautiful, it’s a book only Nathan Singer could have written. He’s the kind of writer who’ll just destroy you, in all the right ways.”—Benjamin Whitmer, author of Pike and Cry Father “Similar to author Victor LaValle (The Ecstatic, Slapboxing with Jesus and Big Machine), Nathan Singer is an urban wordsmith that blisters the pages with a language only he can scribe. Blackchurch Furnace is an apocalyptic head-scratching mystery laced with hip-hop, Louisiana metal, 9-11, Afghanistan and Iraq. Characters scour to LA and back to where the story is rooted amongst the struggling class of Ohio with Gothic saviors, saints and prophets searching to redefine what was once moral and just. This book is loud, comical, witty, and comes with a soprano-shriek that screams ‘read me!’”—Frank Bill, author of Crimes in Southern Indiana and Donnybrook “Reading Nathan Singer’s Blackchurch Furnace is like coming across a lost book of the Bible, equal parts profound and profane. Singer’s work has beauty and brutality in a balance no other writer can match. Blackchurch Furnace is a brilliant story of loss and struggle, pushed by an unrelenting momentum and characters of such power, such precision, that their impact will leave a sacred mark on the devout reader.”—Steve Weddle, author of Country Hardball “Blackchurch Furnace is a relentless, visceral, and black-humored ride through America’s alternately pious and depraved id. It turns a keen and tender eye to bars, churches, porn mansions, and boiler rooms. Singer has managed a finger-trap of a story that weaves together realism and apocalypse, heavy metal and children’s books, redemption and the lack thereof.”—Tyler McMahon, author of How the Mistakes Were Made