Social Ministry

Renew your imagination for what family life can be. Many of us feel overwhelmed about the prospect of raising children in our high-performance, rapid-pace culture. Reflecting on difficulties from our own families of origin can increase our doubt and insecurity about being a good parent. Positive examples of family life can seem few and far between. Mark and Lisa Scandrette understand these challenges, and in Belonging and Becoming they cast a compelling vision of what the family can be.

When most of us hear the word "Auschwitz" it immediately invokes black and white, grainy footage of living skeletons, gas chambers and inhuman brutality of a level never seen since. But the thing that most people do not realize is that before the town of Auschwitz was used as a death camp, it was one of the most posh and cosmopolitan towns in all of Austria. It was a prosperous Jewish enclave known rather fondly as "Little Jerusalem".

There is no more room in our lives. Yet every new day brings more commitments demanding to be squeezed in. Overcoming Overload helps frenzied men and women weed out wrong ideas about life and rediscover God's essential principles of balanced living. This biblical way of life promises rest, satisfaction, and contentment amid daily responsibilities. Leave the overwhelmed life, and discover the abundant life!

Is real friendship too risky? We live in a world where real friendship is hard to find. Suspicious of others and insecure about ourselves, we retreat into the safety of our small, self-made digital worlds. Tragically, even the church can become a place that reinforces this isolation. Jesus models a much richer vision of friendship. Scott Sauls, pastor and teacher, invites you to see the breadth of Christ's love in this audiobook, Befriend.

From Gene Robinson, the Bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church, the first openly gay person elected (in 2003) to the historic episcopate and the world's leading religious spokesperson for gay rights and gay marriage, comes a groundbreaking book that lovingly and persuasively makes the case for same-sex marriage. It establishes a commonsense, reasoned, religious argument, made by someone who holds the religious text of the Bible to be holy and sacred.

Strange rumors reached the ears of the people of Jerusalem and the surrounding country. It was reported that a new prophet had appeared in the valley of the lower Jordan, and in the wilderness of Northern Judea, preaching startling doctrines.

When you possess a confident outlook, you perform at your highest level. When you believe in yourself, the people you rely on, and something ultimately greater than yourself, you will be able to do what you once thought was impossible. Confidence is a function of lifestyle, driven by a guiding set of principles. Listen to this audiobook and discover what Tim learned from his grandmother Billye - concepts handed down from the masters of motivation.

So much is at stake in the abortion debate. If pro-choicers are right, precious freedoms are in jeopardy. If pro-lifers are right, innocent children are being robbed of their most basic freedom life. Though bumpersticker slogans prevail, the facts are rarely presented. We need clear and credible answers to the central questions of the abortion debate.

While many denominations claim to be growing, the largest group in American religious life is the disillusioned - people who have been involved in the church yet see few similarities between the church's life and the person of Jesus. In the midst of elaborate programming, professional worship teams, and political crusades, they ask, "Is this really what Jesus called us to do?" While the church has dismissed these people as uncommitted and lacking in faith, perhaps the opposite is true. Their commitment to authentic spirituality over institutional idolatry might be the very corrective the church needs.

Turn on a cable news show or pick up any news magazine, and you get the impression that Christian America is on its last leg. The once dominant faith is now facing rapidly declining church attendance, waning political influence, and an abysmal public perception. More than 76% of Americans self-identify as Christians, but many today are ashamed to carry the label. While many Christians are bemoaning their faith’s decline, Gabe Lyons is optimistic that Christianity’s best days are yet to come.

Phillip E. Johnson pries the lid off public debate about questions of ultimate concern - questions often suppressed by our society’s intellectual elite. Moving far beyond matters of creation and evolution, Johnson outlines the questions we all ought to be asking about the meaning of human history, the limits of scientific inquiry, religion and education in a pluralistic society, truth, liberty and moral choices, and God and his word, Jesus Christ.

As the pressures of health warnings, economic turmoil, and partisan politics continue to rise, the influence of gospel-focused Christians seems to be waning. In the public square and popular opinion, we are losing our voice right when it’s needed most for Christ’s glory and the common good. But there’s another story unfolding too - if you know where to look. In Gospelbound, Collin Hansen and Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra counter these growing fears with a robust message of resolute hope for anyone hungry for good news.

We all have choices to make every day, even the youngest children. The choices we make play a large part in forming who we grow to be as adults. For kids, those choices can include whether to be obedient or disobedient, to share or be selfish, to have a good attitude or not, and more. John Ortberg addresses the ability to choose in a whimsical way by inviting children to use their "magnificent chooser" that God gave them to make right choices daily.

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.

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.

How did The Simpsons, one of the most popular television shows in history, go from being attacked by many religious leaders for its lack of family values to being called one of the most theologically relevant programs in prime time? Religion journalist Mark Pinsky explores the individual characters, interviews several of the show's writers and producers, and concludes with a theological discussion.

More people live in cities now than at any other time in human history, presenting a historic opportunity for Christians to influence the majority of the world. Unfortunately, most Christian literature about the city focuses solely on its problems (crime, homelessness, etc.), rather than providing a comprehensive analysis of the city that informs, instructs, and inspires. Using sociological research and data, urban pastors Justin Buzzard and Stephen Um lay out the vision and rationale for church planting, cultural engagement, and missionary impulses in our world’s cities as they provide a solid foundation for motivation.

Dorian Lynskey investiga las influencias que confluyeron en la escritura de 1984, desde las experiencias de Orwell en la Guerra Civil española y en el Londres de la guerra hasta su fascinación por la ficción utópica y distópica. Lynskey explora el fenómeno en que se convirtió la novela cuando se publicó por primera vez en 1949 y las formas cambiantes en que se ha leído desde entonces, revelando cómo la historia puede orientar a la ficción y cómo la ficción puede influir en la historia.

Like the ancient Israelites, the African American community has survived a 400-year collective trauma. What will it take for them to reach the promised land that King foresaw - to be truly free at last? In this classic historical and cultural study, Carl Ellis offers an in-depth assessment of the state of African American freedom and dignity. Stressing how important it is for African Americans to reflect on their roots, he traces the growth of Black consciousness from the days of slavery to the 1990s, noting especially the contributions of King and Malcolm X.

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.