Religion Community

Pilgrimage is a sacred tradition that has existed around the world for centuries. Every year, more than 100 million devotees from different cultures and faiths embark on journeys to such holy sites as Santiago de Compostela, Mecca, and Banaras. For some, making a pilgrimage is a spiritual act, while for others it is a secular experience of personal restoration. And yet there has never existed a tradition of pilgrimage within the US. Cultural geographer James E. Mills makes a compelling case for the creation of a network of American pilgrimage routes to heal societal divisions....

While the Jewish mainstream still argues about homosexuality, transgender and gender-variant people have emerged as a distinct Jewish population and as a new chorus of voices. Inspired and nurtured by the successes of the feminist and LGBT movements in the Jewish world, Jews who identify with the “T” now sit in the congregation, marry under the chuppah, and create Jewish families. Balancing on the Mechitza offers a multifaceted portrait of this increasingly visible community.

Thomas York challenges evangelical doctrines on homosexuality and advocates for a more humane, Jesus centered approach to sexual and gender identity. This study includes an analysis of ethical concepts in the New Testament by frequency of use and an examination of biblical passages and theological arguments often cited in relation to homosexuality and the church.

In the United States, to be a Black American is to be a Black Christian. And there’s something to this assumption in that the vast majority of African Americans are Christian. However, in recent years a growing number of African Americans have said they claim no particular religious affiliation—they are Black “nones.” And of these Black “nones,” the most public and vocal are those who claim to be humanists.

When Lynda MacGibbon moved from a small city in eastern Canada to a high-rise apartment in Toronto, she decided to follow Jesus' famous commandment to "love your neighbor" a bit more literally. In the past, she would have looked first for friends at her new job or her new church. This time, though, she decided to look for friends among the strangers who shared her apartment building - her actual neighbors in her new "vertical neighborhood".

Representing the Universal Conscious Community, 52 authors have co-created the "Unfolding Journeys: Ways to Connect" book. Some of them are established writers, and for the others, it's a debut. Still, all have a few things in common—love for writing, the ability to reflect on their transformational journeys and willingness to share learnings along the way. The journey towards inner peace is unique for everyone. For some, it's a smooth road while for others, it's a bumpy, frightening ride.

In the Bible, God set Ezekiel down in the middle of a valley full of bones. If reviewed on a travel website, that valley wouldn’t get more than a single star. But many of us don’t stop at a visit. We pitch a tent and buy a tract of that desolate land for ourselves—before passing it on to our children and grandchildren. Generations become mired in the valley of dry bones.

Disobedience. It’s normal, right? For hundreds of years, the Church has struggled with how to overcome sin in the Christian life. We know that the cross takes care of our past sins at salvation and assures us life after death. But what do we do with the time in between? In Dead and Alive, Jim Wilson discusses the neglected requirement of obedience and explains God’s provision for it from Scripture. May the thoughts in it lead you into a victorious, obedient life in Christ.

This is the turbulent story of Naomi Parker, a courageous young woman who valiantly overcomes a series of devastating life experiences. She harbors a looming secret that dominates her thinking and negatively impacts her decision making. It infects her ability to process information and is compounded by a learning disability.

Today, many of us have lost our appreciation of the beauty of covenant theology and covenant community, and this has had dire consequences for us, resulting in misunderstandings of theology and individualism and isolationism in the church. Author Sarah Ivill believes that a key solution to this problem is a robust understanding of covenant theology, which will deepen our knowledge of Scripture and enable us to truly serve our sisters by pointing them to Christ.

An effective new voice in the contemporary church movement shares important lessons from his failures and successes in building a community that reaches out with maximum impact within an emerging culture. Over the past decade, Mike Tatlock has been on a journey to examine the life of Jesus with a view to developing a church that truly makes a difference. His hard-won lessons have shaped a ministry philosophy that is connecting people in community to engage the world around them.

Have you ever felt like life was finally going well, when suddenly life decides to throw you a curve ball? Life will knock you down when you least expect it. The important thing is not how or why we got knocked down, the important thing is how will we respond? In her early 40's, Nadine found herself to be a newly successful entrepreneur...and simultaneously...the mother of a heroin addict. She used this situation to create an out-of- the-box therapeutic travel recovery project which later evolved into establishing a nonprofit serving those choosing to live a lifestyle of recovery.

Insist that Christ is Lord, and you divide the world. While most societies acknowledge God in some way or another, Christ as Lord is not so universally honored. For Christians, this matter should be settled. Christ is Lord and Savior - but many Christians have little or no idea of the meaning of this simple statement or its implications for our day-to-day lives. Sixty years after its first publication, the message of The Lordship of Jesus Christ is still needed.

Todd Wilson’s church was devoted to the gospel and had long aspired to be the kind of city on a hill Jesus talks about in the Sermon on the Mount. They wanted their hurting neighbors to see the light of Christ and be drawn to meet Jesus, and they found the answers they were looking for in Titus. In that often-overlooked book of the Bible, they discovered a call to be zealous for good works. Zealous for Good Works is an exposition of Titus with a particular focus on mobilizing the church towards acting in kindness and goodness toward her neighbors.

We all have "weeping years", seasons where the trials seem to come one after another. For Ashleigh and her husband, their weeping years included miscarriage, multiple job losses, feelings of betrayal, panic attacks, anti-depressants, cross-country moves, and even suicidal thoughts. Loss is a constant of life, but the intensity of those years changed Ashleigh, altering how she understood and responded to grief. This book tells her story.

This is a powerful collection of poems, calling out to contemplatives and interfaith grandmothers, church members, artists, athletes, patients, and all manner of humans desiring to sense the sacred in the many textures of life.

Imagine your family an image of God and your home a taste of heaven... Heaven in Your Home Letters and Guide has everything you need to lead your loved ones toward happiness and give them the very best things in life! Did you know that the family is a communion of persons in the image of the Holy Trinity? Starting with this scriptural insight and drawing from the riches of the Catholic faith, learn how your family can become an ever more radiant image of God by deepening your communion throughout the five levels of family life.

Community. It's a word we often hear, but what does it really mean? And why is it so important to your spiritual life? Because you can’t grow spiritually unless you’re connected relationally. God designed us that way. He wants to use other people to grow us and he wants to use us to grow other people. In this 8-session audio Bible study, specifically designed for launching new small groups well, you’ll explore how building deep relationships with the people in your small group and serving in the larger community around you will grow your faith.

In this collection of short meditations, Heather Torosyan explores the theme of joy in Scripture and discusses how it applies to our daily lives. This is not an academic treatise, but a study meant to encourage the listener so you also may be filled with inexpressible, overflowing joy.

Everyone needs advice, and everyone gives advice. In a world of dysfunctional families, churches, and societies, professional counseling is in great demand as a solution to our problems. The weak link in this solution is the inability to determine a counselor’s qualifications apart from his professional accreditation. Academics can give you knowledge, but no learning or books can give you wisdom. There are no graduate degrees in love or compassion. You cannot get a PhD in virtue. However, these things are available to everyone freely through Christ.