Social Ministry

In 1939 Rev. Waitstill Sharp, a young Unitarian minister, and his wife, Martha, a social worker, accepted a mission from the American Unitarian Association: They were to leave their home and young children in Wellesley, Massachusetts, and travel to Prague, Czechoslovakia, to help address the mounting refugee crisis. Armed with only $40,000, the Sharps quickly learned the art of spy craft and covertly sheltered political dissidents and Jews and helped them escape the Nazis.

Tani Adewumi didn’t know what Boko Haram was or why they had threatened his family. All he knew was that when his parents told him the family was going to America, Tani thought it was the start of a great adventure rather than an escape. In truth, his family’s journey to the United States was nothing short of miraculous - and the miracles were just beginning.

On a daily basis, author and LGBTQ advocate Amber Cantorna receives emails asking the same question: How does one reconcile their sexuality with their faith? Depression, despair, and thoughts of suicide often haunt LGBTQ Christians as they feel unable to imagine the possibility of living a happy, fulfilling life as an LGBTQ person of faith.

As a child, Sheila Wise Rowe was bused across town to a majority white school, and she experienced the racist lie that one group is superior to all others. We experience ongoing racial trauma as this lie is perpetuated by the action or inaction of the government, media, viral videos, churches, and within families of origin. In contrast, scripture declares that we are all fearfully and wonderfully made.

Dan Strange encourages Christians to engage with everything they watch, to read and play in a positive and discerning way. He also teaches Christians how to think and speak about culture in a way that plugs in to a bigger and better reality - the story of King Jesus, and his cosmic plan for the world. It's possible to watch TV and read novels and play video games in a way that actually feeds our faith, rather than withers it. It's even possible for you - yes, you - to be that person who starts off talking to a mate about last night's football and ends up talking about Jesus.

Christian organizations have come to be known mostly for what we're against. And all too often, that includes being against each other. But amid growing distrust of religious institutions, Christ-centered nonprofits have a unique opportunity to link arms and collectively pursue a calling higher than any one organization's agenda. Rooting for Rivals reveals how your ministry can multiply its impact by cooperating rather than competing with others, modeling Christlike love and generosity in the process.

In Boundaries in Marriage, Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, counselors and authors of the New York Times bestseller Boundaries, will show you how healthy marriages are marriages with boundaries. They promote love by protecting individuals.

By 2005, porn had reached epidemic proportions and affected almost everyone. This book is about Craig Gross, a young pastor helping those inside the world of porn, and the stories, insights, and secrets he's learning on his journey.

Beatrice Bruteau was a philosopher whose vision of life was an inspiration to some of the most influential thinkers of our time. In Radical Optimism she shines new light on the deepest truth we can know about ourselves: each of us is one with God, here and now. She helps us to understand what this really means, to know the happiness it brings, and to cultivate a contemplative consciousness. This book is both enlightening and immensely practical.

The true-life story of the woman whose life sentence for nonviolent drug trafficking was commuted by President Donald Trump thanks to the efforts of Kim Kardashian West - an inspiring memoir of faith, hope, mercy, and gratitude.

Many today object to Christianity as a White, male-dominated religion that oppresses women and people of color. More than a White Man’s Religion not only debunks the mischaracterization of Christianity, but also shows how the gospel can inspire positive change desperately needed in our modern culture.

We live in a world that has become secularized, marked by ideology and partisanship. In such a world, how are we supposed to know what is right and wrong? As Christians, how are we supposed to approach the social issues of our day? With conflicting voices surrounding us, how can we hear and know the voice of Jesus Christ and receive His teachings? As Christians, we seek to live the way of the Lord Jesus, but that’s easier said than done. Sanctify Them in Truth by Fr. Jeffrey Kirby, STD is an approachable, easy-to-listen guide on eight of our most pressing social issues.

What can we learn from faith-filled brothers and sisters around the world? How can we pray for them? And what do their remarkable stories teach us about a God whose light shines in a dark world? I Am N reminds us that we are each “N”—as radical Muslims in Iraq identify followers of Jesus the Nazarene. Wherever we live, we have camaraderie with those who are persecuted.

As a follow-up to her best-selling The Diva Principle, Michelle McKinney Hammond serves up another rich treasure of intimate details on how to get and keep a victorious attitude. Exceptional excellence and personal victory begins with the right attitude, one that is entrenched in divine wisdom.

Celebrity—defined as social power without proximity—has led to abuses of power, the cultivation of persona, and a fixation on profits. In light of the fall of famous Christian leaders in recent years, the time has come for the church to reexamine its relationship to celebrity. Award-winning journalist Katelyn Beaty explores the ways fame has reshaped the American church, explains how and why celebrity is woven into the fabric of the evangelical movement, and identifies many ways fame has gone awry in recent years.

In Mother to Son, Jasmine Holmes shares a series of powerful letters to her young son. These are about her journey as an African American Christian and what she wants her son to know as he grows and approaches the world as a Black man. Holmes deals head-on with issues ranging from discipleship and marriage to biblical justice. She invites us to listen as she reminds Wynn that his identity is firmly planted in the person and work of Jesus Christ, even when the topic is one as emotionally charged as race in America.

As working moms on opposite ends of the political spectrum and hosts of a fast-growing politics podcast, Holland and Silvers have learned how to practice engaging conversation while disagreeing. In this audiobook, they share principles on how to give grace and be vulnerable when discussing issues that affect families, churches, the country, and the world. They provide practical tools to move past frustration and into productive dialogue, emphasizing that faith should inform the way people engage more than it does the outcome of that engagement.

In Patrick Morley's true sequel to The Man in the Mirror a man is taken beyond the day-to-day problems he faces and is confronted with seven major seasons of life that can make him or break him. Includes a leader's guide for small groups. Formerly titled The Seven Seasons of a Man's Life.

What would charity look like if we, instead, measured it by its ability to alleviate poverty and needs? That is the question at the heart of Charity Detox. Drawing on his many decades of experience, Lupton outlines how to structure programs that actually improve the quality of life of the poor and disenfranchised. He introduces many strategies that are revolutionizing what we do with our charity dollars, and offers numerous examples of organizations that have successfully adopted these groundbreaking new models.

The American church faces a discipleship crisis. Instead of following the values of Jesus, many Christians are chasing after what our culture prizes: power, money, and political influence. In Your Jesus Is Too American, Baptist pastor Steve Bezner invites Christians to rediscover what Jesus treasured and incorporate those kingdom values into the church's witness. Bezner shows that Jesus's vision of discipleship points the way toward a different way of being in the world.