Social Ministry

Modern man has a problem with knowledge. He cannot accept God's word about the world or anything else, so anything that points to God must be called into question. Man, once he makes himself ultimate, is unable to know anything but himself. Because of this impasse, modern thinking has become progressively pragmatic. This book will lead the listener to understand that this problem of knowledge underlies the isolation and self-torment of modern man.

After a dramatic election amid a raging pandemic, racial violence, economic collapse, and historic national divisions that have threatened our democracy, Joe Biden succeeds Donald Trump as the 46th president of the United States. For Catholics, this is a momentous occasion in US public life, as he is the second Catholic to be elected to the nation’s highest office, joining John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

In arguably one of the most divisive and polarizing eras, evangelicals are faced with a profound crisis of confidence. It is a crisis that has many dimensions - political, biblical, and theological - as well as a crisis of spiritual formation and discipleship. What ultimately is at the root of this crisis? Mark Galli encourages us to turn our attention away from the politics of the moment, the social issues being discussed online, and the debate du jour among Christians. He asks us instead to take a long and hard look at what’s missing in our spirituality.

Throughout her nearly 40 years in ministry, Heidi Neumark has strived to make the communities she was part of sanctuaries amid the turmoils of life. Now, with the social and political upheaval of the years since Donald Trump was elected president, Neumark believes the true Christian calling is to live out a counterpoint to today’s prevailing spirits of exclusion and hatred. Using her own bilingual, multicultural congregation as a model, she moves through the seasons of the church calendar to reflect on what it looks like to live out essential Christian convictions.

[Un]Intentional shows how our obsession with screens often takes us - unintentionally - to places we regret. It reveals the way many apps, games, and videos are designed to entice us to make decisions and form harmful habits that profit the creators at our expense.

Our nation faces perilous times economic uncertainty, natural disasters, terrorist threats, and an overall spiritual and moral decline. To withstand these storms and keep our nation from falling, we must have a solid foundation for the next generation to build upon. Orphaned by the loss of natural and spiritual leadership, an entire generation is searching for something real to hang onto during life's storms. By demonstrating the love and nature of our Heavenly Father, the people of God can bring hope to a fatherless generation, setting them upon the rock foundation of Christ.

Charlie Dates, Romell Williams, George Parks, Jr., Terry D. Streeter and a cast of pastors and preaching professors collaborate to demonstrate the power of exposition in the cradle of the Black pulpit. The contributors in this volume give examples of African American biblical exposition in every section of the Old Testament and New Testament. They also explain how to preach from narrative, poetical, prophetic, epistolary, and apocalyptic genres throughout the Scriptures.

For the last several decades, Western churches have focused the bulk of their resources on the early stages of discipleship - children’s Sunday school, youth group, college ministry. While these are all important, we have neglected the spiritual growth of those in the second half of life. In fact, an outside observer might think that after the growth of the college years, the goal is simply to coast through the rest of your Christian life.

When a tragic drowning accident leaves 15-year-old Jacob in a coma, the faith of his family and community is shaken. Medical experts used phrases like persistent vegetative state and said Jacob would never wake up. Without sugar-coating the realities of pain and suffering, Parting the Waters presents the heart-warming, true story of what can happen when a community rallies around one wounded family.

In Thou Shalt Not Be a Jerk: A Christian’s Guide to Engaging Politics, Cho encourages listeners to remember that hope arrived—not in a politician, system, or great nation—but in the person of Jesus Christ.

"Make America Great Again" has quickly become one of the most divisive phrases in our nation. It most certainly begs the questions when was America great, what things made it great, and what things need to be done to restore its greatness? The answers to the questions above have driven me back to study the Founding Fathers' vision of America and what they set out to achieve. I am a born-again Christian. This audiobook is written for those who profess the lordship of Jesus Christ and acknowledge the inerrant doctrinal authority of the Bible.

Fears. Faults. Failures. Frailties. Every woman at some point wonders, "Do I have to get past all my weaknesses before God can use me?" Wendy Pope is happy to tell listeners: No! You don’t have to overcome, correct, rise above, or get strong before you are qualified to be part of God’s plan. He can use you right now. You are a worthwhile possibility. In Hidden Potential, listeners see that they can be faithful, even in fear; included in God’s plans, even in weaknesses; worth something, even in failure; and valuable, even in pain.

God in the White House explores the paradox of Americans' expectation that presidents should simultaneously trumpet their religious views and relationship to God while supporting the separation of church and state. Balmer tells the story of the politicization of religion in the last half of the 20th century, as well as the "religionization" of our politics. He reflects on the implications of this shift, which have reverberated in both our religious and political worlds, and offers a new lens through which to see not only these extraordinary individuals, but also our current political situation.

Jarrett Stevens has been helping people find language for prayer over the course of a few decades. He's discovered along the way that prayer is more straightforward than we make it out to be. With helpful starting practices to make prayer a more natural rhythm for your life, Jarrett helps you to find your voice when words of prayer are hard to come by, to settle into the silence when God seems quiet, and to bring all your cares and celebrations to God because He longs to walk with you in and through them.

With so many people around the globe migrating, how should Christians and the church respond? Leading Latino-American biblical scholar M. Daniel Carroll R. helps listeners understand what the Bible says about immigration, offering accessible, nuanced, and sympathetic guidance for the church. After two successful editions of Christians at the Border, and having talked and written about immigration over the past decade, Carroll has sharpened his focus and refined his argument to make sure we hear clearly what the Bible says about one of the most pressing issues of our day.

Financial crisis, political crisis, environmental crisis - the list goes on. We’re confronted with calamity every time we read the headlines. But behind each of these lurks another kind of crisis, one we find harder to define: a moral crisis. In this wise and practical audiobook, Pastor Jonathan Dodson takes us back to the Beatitudes, the centerpiece of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. Dodson examines each of the Beatitudes in the context of the new morality that buffets our society today, presenting a compelling portrait of the truly good life, both personal and social.

In this provocative new contribution to public theology, world-renowned theologian Miroslav Volf (named "America's New Public Intellectual" by Scot McKnight on his Jesus Creed blog) and Matthew Croasmun explain that the intellectual tools needed to rescue us from our present malaise and meet our new cultural challenge are the tools of theology. A renewal of theology is crucial to help us articulate compelling visions of the good life, find our way through the maze of contested questions of value, and answer the fundamental question of what makes life worth living.

Brandon O’Brien writes about his life growing up in rural America, young adulthood in the suburbs, and midlife in Manhattan. Through personal stories, humor, and reflection he looks at how the place we grow up shapes our lives, beliefs, and faith.

Today's children and teens are growing up more anxious, depressed, and fearful than previous generations. But if we help this generation, often called "Gen Z", to discover true God-confidence, instead of chasing the illusive self-confidence, we can empower them to embrace their uniqueness and find their purpose, passion, and peace as they grow into humble, compassionate, and resilient young people. Cyndie Claypool de Neve, an associate marriage and family therapist, shares her personal journey from feeling anxious and suicidal to learning God-confidence.

In By the Way, pastor and author Derek Vreeland reframes everything we've been told about Christianity and what it means to follow Jesus. Discipleship isn't an add-on. Discipleship means joining God's joyful mission of reconciliation on earth, not just saving souls for the afterlife. Following Jesus is more like taking a long walk in the woods than sitting in a classroom. Living by the way takes practice-and that's the point.