Spiritual Church

Most women in the church don't aspire to "lord" it over men, nor do they want to scramble for position. Instead, they want to be accepted as full participants in God's work, sharing in kingdom tasks in ways that use their gifts appropriately. In Gender Roles and the People of God, author, radio host, and professor at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary Alice Mathews surveys the roles women have played in the Bible and throughout church history, demonstrating both the inspiring contributions of women and the many hurdles that have been placed in their path.

Jim Cymbala—New York Times best-selling author and long-time pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle—has been watching the pressing need for back-to-the-basics spiritual leadership among Christians, and he's seen so many churches come to defeat because so many leaders forget this one truth: Your church is not your church. It's Christ's church. In order for his church to flourish, we have to minister his way.

As a “good Christian,” Karla Kamstra attended church every Sunday, listened to the pastor, and committed to functions and activities. But no amount of participation could shake her growing sense of spiritual unrest. As time went on, she realized that she was doing Christianity on autopilot—going through the motions, but spiritually checked out. She finally understood that the rules of the church were keeping God inside a too-small box, and it was time to let "Him" out. And so Karla embarked upon her sacred journey of deconstruction: healing her religious trauma and reclaiming her spirituality.

If, like many other people, you have questioned whether there is something more to Jesus church than the religious institutions we've inherited after two thousand years, you'll want to read Finding Church. Here is straight talk from a man who has sought authentic New Testament community for more than fifty years and who has discovered it in the most unlikely places.

Arguing from Scripture and history, Dr. Boyd makes a compelling case that whenever the church gets too close to any political or national ideology, it is disastrous for the church and harmful to society. Dr. Boyd contends that the American Evangelical Church has allowed itself to be co-opted by the political right (and some by the political left), and exposes how this is harming the church's unique calling to build the kingdom of God.

Here is a perceptive evaluation of the new “emerging church” movement showing how we must not only interact with a fast-changing culture but also have our vision and practice of ministry shaped by biblical theology with Scripture as the norm.

Do you know why you were created, why you have air in your lungs even now? When most people ask that question they are asking a question about purpose. Purpose is great and it is incredible and affirming that God has a purpose for you, but beyond that thing God wants you to do, why did he create you? I am convinced that reason is sonship, daughterhood. God the Father loved Jesus the Son so emphatically that creation burst into existence as a result.

American Christianity teaches the centrality of the individual: my will, my experiences, my decision, my heart, my work, and my dedication. Yet we couldn't be more unaware that Christ and His saving and comforting work are being lost. Our minds and hearts are captivated in some way by those who often preach the Christian instead of Christ.

Michael McGarry explores the foundation of youth ministry in the Old and New Testaments and brings that together with Church history in a compelling way. This contemplative and well-researched book provides a careful critique of youth ministry along with practical guidance for those serving in ministry.

For many Christians, "church" is defined by attending an occasional Sunday service mired in an audience mentality. Virtually ineffective and having no impact, we have become a cultural Christianity that creates passive believers. Yet the Church is meant for so much more!

In Radical, David Platt’s plea for Christians to take back their faith from the American Dream resonated with readers everywhere, and the book quickly became a New York Times best seller. Now in Radical Together, the author broadens his call, challenging us to unite around a gospel-centered vision.

Our world is divided and fragmented. Even among followers of Christ, God's great story of reconciliation has been crippled because the messengers of that story are unreconciled. But God designed us for so much more. Thankfully, he has hidden incredible lessons in nature to help solve complex human problems. Designed for More draws groundbreaking implications for how to achieve unity and collective movement through new research on a jaw-dropping phenomenon of flocking starlings known as a murmuration.

Embark on a transformative journey where love becomes the bridge, faith lights the path, and mentoring shapes the future. In Reachable, discover the seven keys to building a church that reaches the next generations.

An inside snapshot view of the innovative Seattle church called Mars Hill and its Acts 29 network. This audiobook provides - with a touch of sarcasm and humor - both principles and practices shared from the people actually doing missional church ministry with people often untouched by todays traditional and contemporary churches.

In The Bible Code, best-selling author of The Joshua Code, O. S. Hawkins, takes us from Genesis to Revelation as he illuminates Scripture through the light of Christ. Because all of the Bible, and all of life for that matter, is about Jesus. In Exodus, he is the Passover Lamb. In Deuteronomy, he is the Bread of Life. In Song of Solomon, he is our Bridegroom.

In this second volume of the Called Out of Darkness trilogy, Father Robert Spitzer, S.J., draws together some of the best advice given by Catholic spiritual masters across the ages and brings it into harmony with modern scientific research, offering practical ways to live out the gospel in our busy days. It is a road map to a deeper relationship with the Lord and to authentic transformation through the imitation of Christ. Giving evidence that Jesus established just one Church, with Peter as its head, Spitzer shows that the Catholic Church continues to be fertile ground for conversion.

There is a growing movement among young Christians returning to historic, creedal, and liturgical reflections of Christianity. Filled with stories illustrating the joy young adults have found in these ancient expressions of Christianity, Winfield Bevins introduces practices and principles that help the church engage our postmodern world.

Churches have split and denominations have formed over the issue of church government. While many Christians can explain their church's form of rule or defend it because of its "tried and true" traditions, few people understand their church's administrative customs from a biblical perspective.

How do we effectively confront racial injustice? We need to move beyond talking about racism and start equipping ourselves to fight against it. In this follow-up to the New York Times bestseller The Color of Compromise, Jemar Tisby offers an array of actionable items to confront racism. How to Fight Racism introduces a simple framework—the A.R.C. Of Racial Justice—that teaches listeners to consistently interrogate their own actions and maintain a consistent posture of anti-racist behavior.

What do we do when life lurches out of balance? How can we reconnect to one another and to what's sustaining, when evil and catastrophe seem inescapable? These questions lie at the heart of Stitches, Anne Lamott's follow-up to her New York Times best-selling work, Help, Thanks, Wow. In this audiobook, she explores how we find meaning and peace in these loud and frantic times, where we start again after personal and public devastation, how we recapture wholeness after loss and how we locate our true identities in this frazzled age.