Showing titles in Social Issues

The church needs a new perspective on its responsibility for the deep racial brokenness at the heart of American culture. This book makes a compelling historical and theological case for the church's obligation to provide reparations for the oppression of African Americans. Duke Kwon and Gregory Thompson articulate the church's responsibility for its promotion and preservation of white supremacy throughout history, investigate the Bible's call to repent and make restitution, and offer concrete examples of the work of reparation at the local level.

America's problem with race has deep roots, with the country's foundation tied to the near extermination of one race of people and the enslavement of another. Racism is truly our nation's original sin. "It's time we right this unacceptable wrong", says best-selling author and leading Christian activist Jim Wallis. Fifty years ago, Wallis was driven away from his faith by a white church that considered dealing with racism to be taboo.

A Bigger Table invites listeners to envision a church that is big enough for everyone, by holding up a mirror to the modern church and speaking clearly on issues at the heart of the Christian community: LGBT inclusion, gender equality, racial tensions, global concerns, and theological shifts. John Pavlovitz shares moving personal stories, his careful observations as a pastor, and his understanding of the ancient stories of Jesus to set the table for a new, positive, more loving conversation on these and other important matters of faith.

In Culture Shock, bestselling author, pastor, and radio personality Chip Ingram shows listeners how they can bring light rather than heat to the most controversial and divisive issues of our day. Covering topics such as right and wrong, sex, homosexuality, abortion, politics, and the environment, Culture Shock is every engaged believer's must-have guidebook to replacing reactionary hate with revolutionary love.

Recovering Our Sanity is not another self-help book about how to beat your daily fears for a better life. It's a book that will show you the gravity and glory of a God who's worthy of our fear. It’s a book that will reveal how these two biblical phrases - Fear God and Do Not Be Afraid - are not contradictory but actually one coherent message.

Evangelical elites and the progressive media complex want you to think that Christian nationalism is hopelessly racist, bigoted, and an idol for right-wing Christians. Is Christian nationalism the golden calf of the religious right—or is it the only way forward?

Do you feel trapped in the machine of excess? Jen Hatmaker was. Her friends were. And some might say that our culture is. Jen once considered herself unmotivated by the lure of prosperity, but upon being called "rich" by an undeniably poor child, evidence to the contrary mounted, and a social experiment turned spiritual journey was born. 7 is the true story of how Jen took seven months, identified seven areas of excess, and made seven simple choices to fight back against the modern-day diseases of greed, materialism, and overindulgence.

What is transgender and gender fluidity? What does God's word actually say about these issues? How can the gospel be good news for someone experiencing gender dysphoria? How should churches respond? This warm, faithful, and careful book helps Christians understand what the Bible says about gender identity. It will help us to engage lovingly, thoughtfully, and faithfully with one of the most explosive cultural discussions of our day. If you want to learn more and love better, and are open to considering what God has to say about sex and gender, this hope-filled book is for you.

The adventurous and gifted Samson—whose story is told in four chapters of the book of Judges—never had the intention of fighting against God. He was just a fun-loving guy looking for a good time. Like so many strong men today, he didn’t think his sin was any big deal. But it's clear as you hear his story that the older he got, the more sin held him in its grip. The Samson Syndrome is a set of twelve tendencies or challenges that strong men will always face.

Many people want to offer love and support to their LGBTQ friends and neighbors, but aren't sure how. Bird’s unique position as a gay Latter-day Saint has given him valuable insight. In this audiobook, he authentically details the blessings and challenges faced by gay members of the church, and provides listeners with the perspective, understanding, and tools they need to more effectively minister to those who identity as LGBTQ.

A diagnosis of dementia in a loved one can be both frightening and frustrating. Only a biblical foundation fuels a Christian response that both honors the patient and glorifies God. Drawing on years of professional experience working with Alzheimer's patients, Dr. John Dunlop wants to transform the way we think about dementia.

What Brian McLaren sets forth in this provocative, unsettling work is a "form of Christian faith that is holistic, integral, balanced, that offers good news for both the living and the dying, that speaks of God's grace at work both in this life and the life to come, both to individuals and to societies and the planet as a whole."

Toxic Charity provides proven new models for charitable groups who want to help - not sabotage - those whom they desire to serve. Lupton, the founder of FCS Urban Ministries (Focused Community Strategies) in Atlanta, the voice of the Urban Perspectives newsletter, and the author of Compassion, Justice and the Christian Life, has been at the forefront of urban ministry activism for 40 years. His groundbreaking Toxic Charity shows us how to start serving needy and impoverished members of our communities in a way that will lead to lasting, real-world change.

Many bemoan the decay of culture. But we all have a responsibility to care for culture, to nurture it in ways that help people thrive. In Culture Care artist Makoto Fujimura issues a call to cultural stewardship, in which we become generative and feed our culture's soul with beauty, creativity, and generosity. We serve others as cultural custodians of the future. This is a book for artists, but artists come in many forms.

More people are LGBT than ever before—including in the churches. Gay acceptance is now an issue in historically conservative congregations. Christians must face the Biblical and pastoral implications. How does the Gospel answer the gay challenge to the church? In this challenging and helpful book, Presbyterian Pastor Shawn Mathis calls the church to take this moral crisis head-on. He faces hard facts that many Christians are afraid to face.

Homosexuality is one of the most hotly debated topics in the evangelical church today. In Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church four contributors, two defending a traditional view and two defending an affirming view, address not only biblical and theological questions, but also the pressing pastoral questions for the church.

Sabrina and her new husband were both widowed when their families blended, so grieving was expected. They recognized the losses suffered in their families would take time to heal. What they have since learned is that every blended family experiences grieving―whether you are widowed or divorced. And the process usually takes longer than expected. Sabrina vulnerably shares her personal experiences and struggles, revealing her mistakes and fears that she had early on in her new marriage and with her new family.

To the early Christians, hospitality was central to the gospel mission. This hospitality did not consist of entertaining neighbors, but welcoming the stranger, especially those who could not return the favor. Yet despite urgent need, hospitality has fallen by the wayside. Christine Pohl’s classic work, Making Room, first spoke to this issue in 1999. And it is just as relevant today, with the refugee crisis, the rise in homelessness, and growing loneliness and isolation.

Known as artificial intelligence, experts warn that the technology comes with great benefits, but also with great warnings. What will we sacrifice for the benefits of this new world? Will we sacrifice our jobs and human relationships for robots? Will we allow machines to read our minds and sacrifice privacy for the benefit of crime reduction? Will we merge with machines and manipulate our genes and DNA to obtain longevity?

It’s no secret: Today’s men face a dilemma. Our culture tells them that their instincts are either toxic or salvific. Men are left with only two options: deconstruct and forfeit masculine identity or embrace it with wild abandon. They’re left to decide between ignoring their instincts or indulging them. Neither approach helps them actually understand their own masculine experiences nor how those experiences can lead them to become better men of God.