Social Ministry

Jimmy Creech, a United Methodist pastor in North Carolina, was visited one morning in 1984 by Adam, a longtime parishioner whom he liked and respected. Adam said that he was gay, and that he was leaving The United Methodist Church, which had just pronounced that "self-avowed practicing homosexuals" could not be ordained. He would not be part of a community that excluded him. Creech found himself instinctively supporting Adam, telling him that he was sure that God loved and accepted him as he was.

These ancient words offer a guide for modern Christians wrestling with their privileged place in an unequal and unjust world. The Kenosis Hymn (as this passage quoted by the apostle Paul is known) celebrates Jesus for his willingness to forego the divine glory that he is due, instead humbling himself to serve the oppressed and outcast of his society.

God Breathed will help you understand and courageously doubt the popular dogma that God cannot speak, that the Bible is not only inaccurate but impossible. It will help you break out of the soul-suffocating confines of self-made truth. Within the pages of God's book is the true you, just waiting for you to arrive. God Breathed will help you get there.

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.

Does the near-mythical Ark of the Covenant still exist today? Countless people have thought so, dedicating their lives to finding this holy relic, all to no avail. Now Robert Cornuke, a modern-day adventurer, using the Bible as his guide, thinks he may know the exact location of the Ark. Join Cornuke as he embarks on this exciting and breathtaking adventure.

It was an annus horribilis for Iran's Supreme Leader. The Green Movement had been crushed, but the regime was on edge, anxious lest democratic protests resurge. International sanctions were dragging down the economy while talk of war with the West grew. Hooman Majd was there for all of it. A new father at age fifty, he decided to take his blonde, blue-eyed Midwestern yoga instructor wife Karri and his adorable, only-eats-organic infant son Khash from their hip Brooklyn neighborhood to spend a year in the land of his birth.

Nos anos 1970, os evangélicos representavam apenas 5% dos brasileiros; hoje, são um terço da população adulta do país e, segundo estatísticos, superarão os católicos na próxima década. Mais importante do que a magnitude dos números é o que isto representa: pretos e pardos pobres convertidos ao protestantismo ascendem socialmente, e hoje estão presentes no próprio Estado.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy has delighted millions of fans worldwide in book and movie form. With the theatrical release of the two-part film The Hobbit slated for 2012 and 2013, attention will once again turn to J. R. R. Tolkien's classic works. In a culture where truth is relative and morality is viewed as old-fashioned, we welcome the chance to view the world through hobbit eyes: we have free will, our choices matter, and living a morally heroic life is possible....

There is a war against your children. Every day, kids of all ages are bombarded with the enemy's lies that war against their God-given identities and divine destinies. But when kids speak God’s truth over themselves, their minds are renewed and they become rooted in a healthy, Bible-based identity. In God’s Got This: Power Decrees to Overcome Problems, Step into Purpose, and Receive Promises, notable apostolic leader and prophet Tim Sheets teams up with his daughter, Rachel Shafer, to provide a powerful resource—biblical decrees that kids can speak over themselves in every season of life.

Filled with vivid details and little-known facts, this work of Christian nonfiction literature is filled with inspiration and deep knowledge. It gives the listener a sense of inner peace and spiritual respite as it's being read that is unmatched with any other Christian nonfiction that one may have listened to before. The book is written from the theme of the Social Gospel.

America's two greatest strengths - her liberal democratic culture and her free market economy - have made her a global superpower. But left unchecked, these two strengths can become great cultural weaknesses, sowing selfishness, recklessness, and apathy. In Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society, theologian R. R. Reno argues that America needs a renewal of Christian ideals - ideals that encourage self-sacrifice, responsibility, and solidarity.

I wrote a book on Nine-Eleven, but it's just a little book. If I could tell you anything about the events of September 11th, 2001, it would be in this audiobook. The basic information in this audiobook is enough to warrant a new investigation, in my opinion. Still, this is only a small part of the real battle we face each and every day. What is Truth? Jesus Christ is truth. Nine-Eleven is just another attack by evil forces who seek to rule this world. For a short time evil will reign, but only until Christ returns.

What should Christians think about Donald Trump? His policies, his style, his personal life? Thirty evangelical Christians wrestle with these tough questions. They are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. They don't all agree, but they seek to let Christ be the lord of their political views. They seek to apply biblical standards to difficult debates about our current political situation. Don't listen to this audiobook to find support for your views. Listen to it to be challenged - with facts, reason, and biblical principles.

The world is not as God intends it to be. God's heart is to make things right, and for the world to be just. But complex problems warrant more sustained attention than quick posts on social media. How can we actually make a difference? Activist Mae Elise Cannon takes us beyond the hashtags to serious engagement with real issues. God calls the church to respond substantively to the needs of the poor, the realities of racial inequity, and the mistreatment of women and the marginalized.

Pro-life Christians, take heart: the pro-life message can compete in the marketplace of ideas - provided Christians properly understand and articulate that message. Too many Christians do not understand the essential truths of the pro-life position, making it difficult for them to articulate a biblical worldview on issues like abortion, cloning, and embryo research. The Case for Life provides intellectual grounding for the pro-life convictions that most evangelicals hold.

If you follow the works of best-selling authors Malcolm Gladwell, Faith Popcorn, Daniel Pink, and other trend forecasters, you’ll appreciate learning about over 25 rings of fire that lie ahead for Christians around the world. Len Sweet once again maps the future for the church in this sweeping survey of the 21st century. In the face of eruptive and disruptive culture changes from economics and communications to bioethics and beyond, how do we fight fire with fire, not only catching up to our culture but leading our friends and neighbors toward the feet of Christ?

Beating Guns provides a provocative look at gun violence in America and offers a clarion call to change our hearts regarding one of the most significant moral issues of our time. Best-selling author, speaker, and activist Shane Claiborne and Michael Martin show why Christians should be concerned about gun violence and how they can be part of the solution.

The proclaimed hope of America rings most hollow for Native peoples, people of color, the rural poor, and other communities pressed to the margins. Author Jonathan Walton exposes the cultural myths and misconceptions about America's identity. Focusing on its manipulation of Scripture and the person of Jesus, he redirects us to the true promises found in the gospel. Walton identifies how American ideology and way of life has become a false religion and reveals that orienting our lives around American nationalism is idolatry.

Stephen Asma argues that, like art, religion has direct access to our emotional lives in ways that science does not. No theorist of religion has failed to notice the importance of emotions in spiritual and ritual life, but truly systematic research has only recently delivered concrete data on the neurology, psychology, and anthropology of the emotional systems. This very recent "affective turn" has begun to map out a powerful territory of embodied cognition. Why We Need Religion incorporates new data from these affective sciences into the philosophy of religion.

This is the story of one woman who refused to look away from atrocities on her television screen. Lenya Heitzig allowed her heart to break at the plight of refugees and the deaths of innocent children, and then she begged God for a job to do. In this gritty, passionate story, Lenya details the epic way God answered her prayers - how a spark came to life turning weapons of war into something beautiful. Experience the hope found in a children's playground as you journey with her through the jungles of Burma and the war-torn streets of the Middle East.