English Church

Early Christianity was subversive and dangerous - dangerous for Christians, and a threat to the keepers of the old order. Most of all Christianity was countercultural. But what about contemporary American Christianity? Is it the countercultural way of Jesus or merely a religious endorsement of Americanism? In his provocative audiobook, Postcards From Babylon, Brian Zahnd challenges the listener to see and embrace a daring Jesus-centered Christianity that can again turn the world upside down.

A thoughtful exploration of the intersection of faith and politics, Exiles asks: What if we considered ourselves “exiles in Babylon” and turned to Scripture, not political parties, to shape our most passionate values?

Nearly 40 years ago, Ralph Martin's best-selling A Crisis of Truth exposed the damaging trends in Catholic teaching and preaching that, combined with attacks from secular society, threatened the mission and life of the Catholic Church. While much has been done to counter false teaching over the last four decades, today the church faces even more insidious threats from outside and within. In A Church in Crisis: Pathways Forward, Martin offers a detailed look at the growing hostility to the Catholic Church and its teaching.

With the threat of the Third Reich looming, Eleanor Roosevelt employs the history of human rights to establish the idea that at the core of democracy is a spiritual responsibility to other citizens. Roosevelt then calls on all Americans, especially the youth, to prioritize the well-being of others and have faith that their fellow citizens will protect them in return. She defines this trust between people as a trait of true democracy. Roosevelt advances an optimistic model for the democracy of the future, and although we've taken some steps in the direction of her vision, it's still a long way from reality.

In The Priesthood Power of Women, author Barbara Morgan Gardner explores teachings of the living prophets and scriptures to increase our understanding of God's power as it operates in the temple, the Church, and the family. Her well-documented research demonstrates that women have more authority and power in all those settings than they may have previously supposed.

Western civilization and the Christian church stand at a moment of great danger. Facing them both is a hurricane-force battle of ideas that will determine the future of Western civilization and the soul of the Christian church. The forces arrayed against the West and the church are destructive ideologies, policies, and worldviews deeply established among intellectual elites, the political class, and our schools. More menacingly, these forces have also invaded the Christian church.

As a “good Christian,” Karla Kamstra attended church every Sunday, listened to the pastor, and committed to functions and activities. But no amount of participation could shake her growing sense of spiritual unrest. As time went on, she realized that she was doing Christianity on autopilot—going through the motions, but spiritually checked out. She finally understood that the rules of the church were keeping God inside a too-small box, and it was time to let "Him" out. And so Karla embarked upon her sacred journey of deconstruction: healing her religious trauma and reclaiming her spirituality.

On the Cold Valley Indian Reservation, in the shadow of Pale Peak, Onwe Lopez struggles with the past as much as the present. By day, he watches his people abandon the Old Way as they flock to the local church. By night, he dreams of his childhood friend Akántha, who vanished from the rez decades prior. Then, catastrophe strikes: a horrific accident brings a stranger to town with stories of unfathomable death. A ghastly figure wanders the night, peering into houses and terrorizing a tribal elder. Hideous whispers emanate from the nearby caves, beckoning Onwe inside.

Church planting and revitalization is a unique ministry. Filled with its own challenges, pastors and church leaders have often struggled in their labors. Thankfully, the apostle Paul imparted his wisdom to his young disciple Titus through a brief, power-packed letter full of encouragement and instruction. In like manner, this collection of writings from seasoned pastors, planters, and church revitalizers contains hundreds of years of combined wisdom and experience. Dear Titus serves as a helpful companion for any church planter or leader at any stage of their ministry.

Every local church should be engaged with global missions, even if most individuals in the church aren't called to go overseas. But what does this engagement actually look like? How can local churches train, send, and support missionaries well? Unpacking principles from the Bible and applying them in the context of real life in a local church, this short guide is filled with practical steps and advice for supporting missionaries, forming international partnerships, sending short-term teams, and engaging with the nations here at home.

Racism is not about hate and ignorance. It's about greed. And it always has been. Black Christian historian Malcolm Foley explores this idea in The Anti-Greed Gospel, showing how the desire for power and money—what some call "racial capitalism"—causes violence and exploitation. Foley reviews the history of racial violence in the United States and connects the killings of modern-day Black Americans to the history of lynching in America.

If anyone will piously and soberly consider the sermon which our Lord Jesus Christ spoke on the mount, as we read it in the Gospel according to Matthew, I think that he will find in it, so far as regards the highest morals, a perfect standard of the Christian life. And this, we do not rashly venture to promise, but gather it from the very words of the Lord himself.

Philip Yancey, whose explorations of faith have made him a guide for millions, feels no need to defend the church. Yancey acknowledges that many spiritual seekers find few answers and little solace in the institutional church. How did Yancey manage to survive spiritually despite early encounters with a racist, legalistic church that he now views as almost cultic? In this, his most soul-searching book yet, he probes that very question.

A trillion years from now, your child will be either in heaven or in hell. And this is only the beginning of eternity. In light of this eternal perspective, the time is now, dear parent, to raise your child to live entirely for Christ and his church. The time is now to train your child in the Four Last Things, the spiritual life, the virtues of piety and humility, and the school of Calvary while shielding him from the errors of modernism, Protestantism, and much more.

Churches are losing both members and vitality as increasing numbers of young people disengage. Based on groundbreaking research with over 250 of the nation's leading congregations, Growing Young provides a strategy any church can use to involve and retain teenagers and young adults. It profiles innovative churches that are engaging 15- to 29-year-olds and as a result are growing - spiritually, emotionally, missionally, and numerically.

You are invited to witness the enormous power of the early church when it connected to the ultimate power. Then you are invited to request and experience it for yourself. You will again witness the enormous power of the early church as you listen to The Acts of the Apostles, a remarkable commentary on the book of Acts. Then you are invited to request it and experience it for yourself and your church.

John Wimber is not only revered as the founder of the Vineyard movement but is renowned for his unique ability to capture truth in pithy little phrases. This inspirational collection of memorable remarks, each placed in its historical context, offers astute observations on essential principles while also capturing and preserving the story and identity of a miraculous work of God.

Undefeated galactic heavyweight champion Korak the Cutter has defeated all challengers, destroying everyone in his path, but the wins aren’t as easy as they used to be. After a decade of perfect fighting, his age is catching up with him. For a Quyth Warrior, that means he’s slowing down, and speed is the name of the game in mixed martial arts.

Hours later, the man’s cold body lies in the city mortuary, alongside the woman he couldn’t save. And his sister, unconventional nurse Gemma Tate, tracks down troubled police inspector Sebastian Bell to unravel the truth. Sebastian has enough pressure to solve the murder of an aristocratic heiress without Gemma meddling in his case. But the cryptic sentences she brings him from her brother’s notebook could be a crucial lead. If only they knew what “milky way” meant.

“Don’t ask too many questions. Just go with the flow.” This is the mantra of legalistic religion. It leaves many of us wallowing in confusion as we still have burning questions about our faith. Sometimes, these questions almost seem off-limits: Is there actually an unforgivable sin? Can we lose our salvation? Is masturbation always a sin? Am I really supposed to give 10 percent of my income to the church? Is divorce and remarriage wrong for a Christian?