Social Ministry

Belinda Bauman was living a comfortable life as a wife, mother, and nonprofit leader - but her soul was checked out. Then she met Esperance. An assault survivor living in one of the poorest, most dangerous countries in the world, Esperance and other Congolese women shared their harrowing stories with Belinda. Their vulnerability set Belinda on a path of embracing empathy. If Esperance could love in the face of so much pain, maybe there is hope for the world, too.

A cautionary look at 10 dangerously appealing half-truths. Not long ago, I came across a list of 10 principles set forth by proponents of progressive Christianity. They are, in effect, a new 10 commandments. What’s striking is that they are far less about God revealing his desires and far more about man expressing his own - less Moses, more Oprah. Yet each of these commandments is partially true. Indeed, that is what makes this list, and progressive Christianity as a whole, so challenging.

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.

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.

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 #MeToo movement has revealed sexual abuse and assault in every sphere of society, including the church. But victims are routinely ignored by fellow Christians who deny their accounts and fail to bring accountability to the perpetrators. All too often, churches have been complicit in protecting abusers, reinforcing patriarchal power dynamics, and creating cultures of secrecy, shame, and silence.

For the past 50 years, Wendell Berry has been helping seekers chart a return to the practice of being creatures. Through his essays, poetry, and fiction, Berry has repeatedly drawn our attention to the ways in which our lives are gifts in a whole economy of gifts. Berry presents us with the sort of coherent vision for the lived moral and spiritual life that we need now. His work helps us remember our givenness and embrace our life as creatures.

America's two greatest strengths - her liberal democratic culture and her free market economy - have made her a global superpower. But left unchecked, these two strengths can become great cultural weaknesses, sowing selfishness, recklessness, and apathy. In Resurrecting the Idea of a Christian Society, theologian R. R. Reno argues that America needs a renewal of Christian ideals - ideals that encourage self-sacrifice, responsibility, and solidarity.

In today's complex world, parenting a girl is harder than ever. It takes more than love. It takes insight into the things that make your daughter tick as she grows from childhood to young adulthood. Spiced with stories, humor, and much reassurance, Raising Girls will help you encourage your daughter, challenge her, love her, and help her discover who God is creating her to be.

Based on research from more than 10,000 surveys from children and parents of divorce, Collateral Damage presents parents with an overview of the impact that divorce has on their children and offers ways to better serve their needs at this critical time.

The future is now. Philip Jenkins has chronicled how the next Christendom has shifted away from the Western church toward the global South and East. Likewise, changing demographics mean that North American society will accelerate its diversity in terms of race, ethnicity and culture. But evangelicalism has long been held captive by its predominantly white cultural identity and history. In this book professor and pastor Soong-Chan Rah calls the North American church to escape its captivity to Western cultural trappings and to embrace a new evangelicalism that is diverse and multiethnic.

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.

Is it possible to be both a Catholic and a feminist? Claire Swinarski, writer and creator of The Catholic Feminist podcast, believes it is: "I'm a feminist for the same reason I'm bold and honest and sometimes ragey: because Jesus was all of those things." In Girl, Arise!, Swinarski reconciles the two identities by demonstrating the strength and abilities women have to share with the Body of Christ, the importance of women throughout the history of the faith, and how the love you experience through Christ and the Church can change you and the world around you.

What should Christians think about Donald Trump? His policies, his style, his personal life? Thirty evangelical Christians wrestle with these tough questions. They are Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. They don't all agree, but they seek to let Christ be the lord of their political views. They seek to apply biblical standards to difficult debates about our current political situation. Don't listen to this audiobook to find support for your views. Listen to it to be challenged - with facts, reason, and biblical principles.

If you follow the works of best-selling authors Malcolm Gladwell, Faith Popcorn, Daniel Pink, and other trend forecasters, you’ll appreciate learning about over 25 rings of fire that lie ahead for Christians around the world. Len Sweet once again maps the future for the church in this sweeping survey of the 21st century. In the face of eruptive and disruptive culture changes from economics and communications to bioethics and beyond, how do we fight fire with fire, not only catching up to our culture but leading our friends and neighbors toward the feet of Christ?

Who you really are as an individual is exactly what delights God and what the world needs. Lynne Hybels knows. Sharing from her personal journey, she reveals the tremendous importance of resisting the forces that would shape you into something otherand lessthan who God made you to be.

What is the relationship between charity and knowledge in the theology of Thomas Aquinas? Did Aquinas in his mature thought portray charity's act as antecedent to and independent of practical reasoning? Did he view charity's motion as rendering us morally good before God, apart from whether or not we do what is right in our actions? A dominant stream in contemporary Catholic ethics holds for precisely such a concept of charity, and many recent commentators on Aquinas maintain that this is his position as well.

It's designed to help you avoid the difficulties a lot of new writers fall into. He'll tell you how passion, perseverance, and a lot of love poured into any work can bring forth excellent results. You'll hear about how it's possible to overcome obstacles that may appear in your path with the help and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Eight great chapters that reveal where we are in the last days. Chapter One: "America: Too Young to Die" by Chuck Missler: Chuck outlines a few potential worst-case scenarios the USA may be facing in the future. Chapter Two: "Steeling Your Body" by David Fowler: Unfortunately, we live in a society that includes a lot of fruitcakes. And all people, Christians included, need to know the basics of personal safety for those "what if" situations.

Pastor John Pavlovitz has become a voice and a beacon of hope for progressives around the world. His popular and beloved blog, Stuff That Needs to Be Said, offers almost daily inspiration and insight into the state of affairs in the world and expertly captures the emotional zeitgeist; the angst, rage, fear, and despair that are the “new normal” for so many people. In the face of the hand-wringing helplessness we often feel, John offers the antidote: a practical and inspirational guide to transforming your burdens into dreams and your outrage into activism.