English Church

If the church is going to use the Bible to decide whether divorce is legitimate in certain cases and whether divorced couples have the right to remarry with the approval and blessing of God’s people, then the Bible must be studied without prejudice toward a particular answer. The author examines the relevant passages in both the Old and New Testaments so that his listeners can consider the many issues and interpretations that arise in trying to establish a consistently biblical position.

A tried-and-true classic in dynamic ministry growth, church building, and discipleship momentum. From professional church-planters Dave and Jon Ferguson comes the anchor book in the Exponential Series - envisioning new and practical methods of building churches, communities, and organizations on the cornerstone of Christ. Exponential lays out a concise and effective reproducing strategy, giving practical steps and case studies as you follow the growth of a church movement through four mains stages.

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers—a stranger who claims to live in her apartment. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing. In its place is a bloodstained knife. Her hands are covered in scribbled messages, like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE. Two years ago, Liv was thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers.

Leadership is hard. Pastoring through divisive times is even harder. How do we lead well when criticized? How do we keep loving the church when hurt by her? What does it look like to remain committed to the gospel in cultural division? Seasoned pastor Jonathan Dodson comes alongside struggling pastors and ministry leaders to guide them into the comfort of Christ. But he doesn’t stop there. Full of wisdom drawn from 2 Timothy, this book will equip you to lead the church with grace, charity, and spiritual power through divisive times.

As an outspoken, conservative Christian leader, Pastor John Hagee heats up the debate about the intersection of American politics, Iran’s evil intent, Israel’s heritage, the Mayan Prophecy for 2012, and the end of the world. Carefully documented facts and powerful biblical teaching are the basis for the provocative claims and predictions outlined in this riveting book.

The Ancient Church Fathers reveals the disciples of the 12 apostles and what they taught, from their own writings. It documents that the same doctrine was faithfully transmitted to their descendants in the first few centuries. It also describes where, when, and by whom, the doctrines began to change.

Profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal, Iranian-born scholar Vali Nasr has become one of America's leading commentators on current events in the Middle East, admired and welcomed by both media and government for his "concise and coherent" analysis (Wall Street Journal). In this "smart, clear and timely" book (Washington Post), Nasr brilliantly dissects the political and theological antagonisms within Islam. He provides a unique and objective understanding of the 1,400-year bitter struggle between Shias and Sunnis, and sheds crucial light on its modern-day consequences—from the nuclear posturing of Iran's President Ahmadinejad to the recent U.S.-enabled shift toward Shia power in Iraq and Hezbollah's continued dominance in Lebanon.

Who is Jesus? And why does the church He started matter today? The answers to these questions are practical, profound, and liberating - and also inextricably connected. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you love people; and the more you love people, the more you become like Jesus. Drawing on biblical teaching and over 45 years of ministry experience, Pastor Mel Mullen brings clear, practical understanding to Jesus’ message and the community of Jesus-followers we call the church.

Does what we believe about how people become Christians change how the church does evangelism? In this concise book, Michael Lawrence explains the doctrine of conversion and helps us consider the relationship between what we believe about how people are saved and our approach to sharing the gospel in the context of the local church.

The religious right taught America to misread the Bible. Christians have misused Scripture to consolidate power, stoke fears, and defend against enemies. But people who have been hurt by the attacks of Christian nationalism can help us rediscover God's vision for faith in public life. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove explores how religious culture wars have misrepresented Christianity at the expense of the poor, and how listening to marginalized communities can help us hear God's call to love and justice in the world.

In The Path to Being a Pastor, Bobby Jamieson explains why it’s better to emphasize “aspiration” over “calling” as men pursue the office of elder and encourages listeners to make sure they are pastorally gifted before considering the role. He shares from his own 11-year experience preparing to be a pastor by walking potential leaders through different stages of ministry training.

The last thing Alice expects to see at her husband’s graveside on his birthday is a giant, talking frog. On closer inspection, it’s a grown man dressed as Kermit. Turns out Alice’s husband is buried next to Ben’s older brother Harry, who—as a parting practical joke in his will—insisted that Ben visit his grave each year, on this specific day, dressed in an as-yet-undisclosed pageant of embarrassing fancy dress.

Understanding Judaism—and the way in which Judaism and Christianity became separate religions—is essential for a rich and holistic Christian identity. As a follower of Jesus who was raised in a Jewish home and who continues to live a Jewish life, Jennifer Rosner has seen firsthand how a Christian faith can become impoverished when divorced from its Jewish roots. Finding Messiah follows Rosner's own journey in rediscovering the role of Judaism and God's covenant with Israel in Christian life and practice.

Paul is second only to Jesus as the most important person in the birth of Christianity, and yet he continues to be controversial, even among Christians. How could the letters of Paul be used both to inspire radical grace and to endorse systems of oppression - condoning slavery, subordinating women, condemning homosexual behavior? Borg and Crossan use the best of biblical and historical scholarship to explain the reasons for Paul's mixed reputation and reveal to us what scholars have known for decades: The later letters of Paul were created by the early church to dilute Paul's message.

When Bonnie Graham arrives at her boyfriend’s apartment in London, she is horrified to discover a dead body in a pool of blood on the floor. But she doesn’t call the police. Bonnie hides the corpse and then carefully wipes away any evidence she was ever there. Bonnie is a music teacher who spent a long, hot summer in London rehearsing with a band to play at a friend’s wedding. It was supposed to be fun, but the band members find the complicated knots of their friendships - some old, some new - unraveling as the days themselves unwind.

Parents of any age or at any stage can cultivate the same virtues in prayer that Saint Monica discovered during her long wait for God's answer for her child. This devotion includes eighteen contemporary reflections, meditations taken from the writings of Saint Augustine, and prayers adapted from the liturgy and other ancient sources.

The Color of Compromise takes listeners on a historical journey: from America's early colonial days through slavery and the Civil War, covering the tragedy of Jim Crow laws and the victories of the Civil Rights era, to today's Black Lives Matter movement. Author Jemar Tisby reveals the obvious - and the far more subtle - ways the American church has compromised what the Bible teaches about human dignity and equality.

"I thought the nation was coming to an end", wrote Khushwant Singh, looking back on the violence of Partition that he was witness to over half a century ago. He believed then that he had seen the worst that India could do to herself. But after the violence in Gujarat in 2002, he felt that the worst, perhaps, is still to come. Analysing the anti-Sikh riots of 1984, the burning of Graham Staines and his children, the targeted killings by terrorists in Punjab and Kashmir, Singh confronts the absolute corruption of religion that has made us among the most brutal people on earth.

Four hikers enter the mountains. Only two return. But is it tragedy? Or treachery?

With a round, open face and a penchant for tall tales, Matteo de Lorenzo resembled everyone's kindly uncle. But Uncle Marty, as he was known throughout the Genovese crime family, was one of the New York mob's top earners throughout the 1960s and '70s, the mastermind of a billion-dollar trade in stolen and counterfeit securities.