English Church

“I’m deconstructing.” Yet another social-media post announces departure from the Christian faith. The cause could be sex, race, politics, social justice, science, hell - or all of the above. For many, Christianity is becoming implausible, even impossible to believe. While it might be tempting to leave the church in order to find answers, Before You Lose Your Faith argues that church should be the best place to deal with doubts.

Long before his iconic paraphrased Bible translation, The Message, Eugene H. Peterson (1932-2018) faithfully preached for decades to the small congregation of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church in Bel Air, Maryland. As the seasons passed, along with the accompanying fasts and feasts, Peterson faithfully revealed ways to cultivate a robust, authentic life of faith, intimacy, obedience, and joy. Now you can gain new insights into Peterson’s preaching and pastoral life through this collection of his most compelling yet never-before-published sermons.

If churches are the dwelling place of God’s spirit, why are so many built around the strategies of man? Eager for growth, leaders can be lured by entertaining new schemes, forgetting doctrinal truth as their driving force. Churches must humbly lean on the sufficiency of God’s word. How to Build a Healthy Church challenges leaders to evaluate their motivations for ministry and provides examples of healthy, deliberate leadership. This is more than a step-by-step plan to mimic; it’s a biblical blueprint for pastors, elders, and anyone committed to the church’s vitality.

Robert Henderson started to explore the question, "what would the seven mountains of culture look like in a reformed state?" There is much talk in the apostolic and prophetic community about reformation and transformation, but sometimes, we don't have a clear vision of what it would actually look like for these spheres of influence to be modeled, shaped, and impacted by believers who carry the kingdom of God into their everyday places of assignment.

Nine out of 10 churches in America are either declining or growing slower than the communities in which they are located. Stated simply, 90 percent of American churches are losing ground in their communities. Change is not an option; it is an urgent need. We don't change our doctrines and biblical foundations, but we do change our methodologies and approaches for this rapidly changing culture.

Reading the Bible doesn't need to be a difficult journey through strange and bewildering territory. How to Read the Bible Book by Book walks you through the Scriptures like an experienced tour guide, helping you understand each of its 66 books. For each book of the Bible, the authors start with a quick snapshot, then expand the view to help you better understand its message and how it fits into the grand narrative of the Bible. Written by two top evangelical scholars, this survey is designed to get you actually reading the Bible knowledgeably and understanding it accurately.

"Forty-four percent of the American population is convinced that Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead sometime in the next 50 years," writes Sam Harris. "Imagine the consequences if any significant component of the U.S. government actually believed that the world was about to end and that its ending would be glorious. The fact that nearly half of the American population apparently believes this...should be considered a moral and intellectual emergency."

Fatima, Portugal, 1917: The Virgin Mary appears to three peasant children, sharing with them three secrets, two of which are soon revealed to the world. The third secret is sealed away in the Vatican, read only by popes, and not disclosed until the year 2000. When revealed, its quizzical tone and anticlimactic nature leave many faithful wondering if the church has truly unveiled all of the Virgin Mary's words or if a message far more important has been left in the shadows.

A single mother turns up dead at the bottom of the river that runs through town. Earlier in the summer, a vulnerable teenage girl met the same fate. They are not the first women lost to these dark waters, but their deaths disturb the river and its history, dredging up secrets long submerged.

In a lonely village in the Peak District, during the onset of a once-in-a-lifetime snow storm, Constable Ellie Cheetham finds a body. The man, a local ne'er-do-well, appears to have died in a tragic accident: he drank too much and froze to death. But the facts don't add up: the dead man is clutching a knife in one hand, and there's evidence he was hiding from someone. Stranger still, an odd mark has been drawn onto a stone beside his body.

Neil Cole's best-selling book Organic Church described the fastest growing segment of contemporary Christianity - the so-called organic church. Now in this next-step book, he answers questions about how to deal with theological and organizational issues that come up. He talks about issues such has what to do with finances, children, heresy, leader training, and rituals and ordinances. Without the top-down structure of a denomination, even people who are proponents of this small, house-church model worry that they are not doing it right.

From before the creation of our world, God intended to have a people to love forever, enjoying their company as they enjoyed His. Jesus told his disciples that he would build this church, and nothing could destroy it (Matthew 16:18). God has kept his promise. For two thousand years, Christ has continued to preserve His church even when destruction looked likely. Simonetta’s book starts after the death of Jesus’s 12 apostles and continues to today: it’s a fascinating story that helps you know the God who planned it and who is keeping His church for an even more exciting future.

For thousands of years, the prophet Moses was regarded as the sole author of the first five books of the Bible, known as the Pentateuch. According to tradition, Moses was divinely directed to write down foundational events in the history of the world: the creation of humans, the worldwide flood, the laws as they were handed down at Mt. Sinai, and the cycle of Israel’s enslavement and liberation from Egypt. However, these stories—and their frequent discrepancies—provoke questions.

The Catholic Church has a history that spans over 2,000 years, and it began with none other than Jesus Christ himself. At least, that is what modern popes believe. But at first, there was just one church, and there was no division between Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox, and other branches of Christianity. Christians all over the known world were united, and together, they made their spirituality bloom. Their religion took over the lives of villagers, nobles, kings, queens, and even newly arrived pagan armies that came to conquer Europe.

From South America to Europe, from China to Africa to the Wild West, in prisons and in throne rooms, many great Christian women have left a stunning legacy for their successors. These short and moving biographies for young people introduce 50 often unfamiliar champions of the faith: women like Ida Kahn, who opened the first hospital in a Chinese city of 300,000 people; Lady Anne Hamilton, who rode with the Covenanter cavalry at the decisive Battle of Berwick; and Anngrace Taban, who was forced to type secret battle plans for the Sudan People's Liberation Army.

James Carroll weaves together the story of his quest to understand his personal beliefs and his relationship to the Catholic Church with the history of the Church itself. From his first awakening of faith as a boy to his gradual disillusionment as a Catholic, Carroll offers a razor-sharp examination both of himself and of how the Church became an institution that places power and dominance over people through an all-male clergy.

A collection of inspired writings (originally in Greek) about the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, the apostles, and other followers of Jesus Christ. The New Testament is commonly divided into the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, Paul’s epistles, the general epistles, and the book of Revelation. The four Gospels - the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John - are accounts of the life of Christ. The Book of Acts records the history of the Church and the apostles, especially Paul’s missionary travels, after Christ’s death.

In a tiny, dilapidated trailer in northeastern Oregon, a young woman saw a vision of the Virgin Mary in an ordinary landscape painting hanging on her bedroom wall. After being met with skepticism from the local parish, the matter was officially placed "under investigation" by the Catholic diocese. Investigative journalist Randall Sullivan wanted to know how, exactly, one might conduct the official inquiry into such an incident, so he set off to interview theologians, historians, and postulators.

Most leaders start out with passion, a sense of calling, and a focus on building ministry skills. Such things might get some results, but they are not enough to sustain a healthy ministry - or a healthy life. Beyond the vocational capacities every church planter needs, there's a range of capabilities more difficult to measure but even more essential: What veteran church planter Tim Morey calls spiritual competencies. Morey provides here a practical guide to spiritual formation geared to the unique needs of church planters.

We must contend earnestly for the faith for the glory and honor of our savior, the sanctity of his church, and the eternal destinies of those who are being misled.