Indonesia is home to the oldest Mennonite community outside of Europe and North America. Author John D. Roth traces the 170-year history of Mennonites in Indonesia alongside the larger cultural and...
Engage conflict to strengthen connections and build understanding.
Conflict is inevitable. But rather than approaching conflicts as threats or problems to be solved, what if we could see our disagreements as opportunities for personal growth? Could our differences push us toward developing healthier relationships and communities? In The Space Between Us, facilitator and mediator Betty Pries gently guides readers toward seeing discord as an opportunity for positive change and a way to build resilience. Rooted in the conviction that conflict can strengthen our relationships and deepen our self-knowledge, Pries offers practical skills for engaging conflict and casts a vision for a more joy-filled future.
To get here, Pries plumbs the depth of both conflict theory and contemplative spirituality, proposing a vision for engaging conflict in new and life-giving ways. Rooted in Christian practices of mindfulness, connecting with our most authentic selves, and deep listening to...
Sexualized Violence, the Bible, and Standing with Survivors
by Susannah Larry
$17.99 / CAD $23.93
ISBN: 9781513808178
Pub Date: 08/03/2021
#MeToo. #ChurchToo. #GodToo?
What if survivors of sexualized violence experience the Bible as a powerful spiritual resource rather than an oppressive tool in the hands of those seeking to dismiss or justify abuse? Bible scholar Susannah Larry leads fellow survivors and those who care for them in a journey toward reclaiming the Bible amid the trauma of sexualized violence.
Leaving Silence: Sexualized Violence, the Bible, and Standing with Survivors is an unflinching examination of sexualized violence in the Bible and the God who stands steadfastly with survivors. Larry addresses biblical experiences of coercion, familial betrayal, and self-blame while also illuminating God’s constant care and concern.
By centering the experiences of survivors in Scripture, Larry opens new insights into some of the Bible’s most difficult texts and releases its ancient stories to serve as a powerful healing witness to the God who has shared in the...
Around the world a movement is growing. People are waking up to the spiritual beauty of the teachings of Jesus while rejecting the many ugly aspects of the religion that bears his name. If you are among those who are disappointed with religion yet are still strangely pulled toward spirituality, author Bruxy Cavey will help you make sense of it all. Join Bruxy Cavey in an exploration of how twenty-first-century people can live into the subversive spirituality of a first-century radical and discover what the Bible claims is the world God originally intended and still desires: a world without religion.
The End of Religion Study Guide will help you and your group unpack Cavey’s teachings in The End of Religion to help you understand, discuss, and live into the subversive spirituality of Jesus.
Does Jesus’ call to love our enemies mean that we should remain silent in the face of injustice?
Jesus called us to love our enemies. But to befriend an enemy, we first have to acknowledge their existence, understand who they are, and recognize the ways they are acting in opposition to God’s good news. In How to Have an Enemy: Righteous Anger and the Work of Peace, Melissa Florer-Bixler looks closely at what the Bible says about enemies—who they are, what they do, and how Jesus and his followers responded to them. The result is a theology that allows us to name our enemies as a form of truth-telling about ourselves, our communities, and the histories in which our lives are embedded. Only then can we grapple with the power of the acts of destruction carried out by our enemies, and invite them to lay down their enmity,...
Longing for permission to be real about your own needs and struggles? Permission granted.
As good Christian moms, we’re not supposed to ask for much. Jesus meets all our needs and we’re the light of the world to everybody else, right? Wrong. Shari Zook appeared to be an overachieving supermom who deftly supported her pastor-husband and their congregation, looked after their children, and cared for foster children through the ups and downs of placements. But inside, her world was growing increasingly desperate as she struggled with the grief of miscarriage, parenting a difficult child, and spiraling depression. In her darkest hour, Zook let go of her need to appear super-human and reached out to receive God’s unfolding grace. With humor and artistry, Peanut Butter and Dragon Wings gives us permission to step out from behind the appearance of rose-filtered perfection and embrace the authenticity...
Following Jesus in Dismantling the Doctrine of Discovery
by Sarah Augustine
$16.99 / CAD $22.60
ISBN: 9781513808291
Pub Date: 06/22/2021
White settlers saw land for the taking. They failed to consider the perspective of the people already here.
In The Land Is Not Empty, author Sarah Augustine unpacks the harm of the Doctrine of Discovery—a set of laws rooted in the fifteenth century that gave Christian governments the moral and legal right to seize lands they “discovered” despite those lands already being populated by indigenous peoples. Legitimized by the church and justified by a misreading of Scripture, the Doctrine of Discovery says a land can be considered “empty” and therefore free for the taking if inhabited by “heathens, pagans, and infidels.”
In this prophetic book, Augustine, a Pueblo woman, reframes the colonization of North America as she investigates ways that the Doctrine of Discovery continues to devastate indigenous cultures, and even the planet itself, as it justifies exploitation of both natural resources and people. This is...
Do you feel like God is angry at you? Or at least disappointed?
Our view of God shapes our minds, behavior, and relationships. What happens when we view God as a furious, frustrated deity? What changes when we glimpse a God who looks like Jesus?
Building upon personal experience, biblical study, and recent discoveries in neuroscience, pastor and ministry coach Colin McCartney warns of the dangers of viewing God as a judgmental, angry dictator. Such a negative view of God poisons the mind and produces alienation from God and others. In its place, McCartney lays out a strong case, rooted in Scripture, for a more accurate image of a God that is Love. Healing from distorted images of God is one of the primary tasks of the maturing Christian, and McCartney gently leads readers on this healing journey. He also refuses to shy away from difficult...
Dear White Peacemakers is a breakup letter to division, a love letter to God’s beloved community, and an eviction notice to the violent powers that have sustained racism for centuries.
Race is one of the hardest topics to discuss in America. Many white Christians avoid talking about it altogether. But a commitment to peacemaking requires white people to step out of their comfort and privilege and into the work of anti-racism. Dear White Peacemakers is an invitation to white Christians to come to the table and join this hard work and holy calling. Rooted in the life, ministry, and teachings of Jesus, this book is a challenging call to transform white shame, fragility, saviorism, and privilege, in order to work together to build the Beloved Community as anti-racism peacemakers.
Written in the wake of George Floyd’s death, Dear White Peacemakers draws on the Sermon...
Activate Your Congregation to Spark Lasting Change
by Glen Guyton
$16.99 / CAD $22.60
ISBN: 9781513808079
Pub Date: 05/18/2021
Every church wants to make a lasting difference. Light the spark in your congregation.
More and more people are moving away from the church—not because they lack faith in God but because the church is no longer relevant to their lives. The church, not God, is the problem. In Reawakened, Glen Guyton explores eight keys to developing the abilities of congregations to bring healing and hope to their communities. These eight keys give voice to the most urgent needs of a community and offer practical suggestions for how churches can spark holistic and lasting differences in their communities.
Built on a solid biblical framework, Rewakened positions churches as catalysts for transformative mission and change. Filled with stories from successful ministries that are actively engaging their communities, Reawakened helps Christians ask the big questions about God’s ongoing work in the world.
