Death in a Church of Life


Book Description

This deeply insightful ethnography explores the healing power of caring and intimacy in a small, closely bonded Apostolic congregation during Botswana’s HIV/AIDS pandemic. Death in a Church of Life paints a vivid picture of how members of the Baitshepi Church make strenuous efforts to sustain loving relationships amid widespread illness and death. Over the course of long-term fieldwork, Frederick Klaits discovered Baitshepi’s distinctly maternal ethos and the "spiritual" kinship embodied in the church’s nurturing fellowship practice. Klaits shows that for Baitshepi members, Christian faith is a form of moral passion that counters practices of divination and witchcraft with redemptive hymn singing, prayer, and the use of therapeutic substances. An online audio annex makes available examples of the church members’ preaching and song.




Death of the Church


Book Description

Our culture is changing at a dizzying rate. But the church seems to be left behind, caught in subcultural backwaters that have little or no impact on mainstream society. Based on the quantitative research of his group, Percept, Regele analyzes the forces in our culture and discusses how the church can fulfill its mission in the face of them.




One Minute After You Die


Book Description

One minute after you die, you will either be elated or terrified-and it will be too late to reroute your travel plans. When you slip behind the parted curtain, your life will not be over. Rather, it will be just beginning-in a place of unimaginable bliss or indescribable gloom. One Minute After You Die opens a window on eternity with a simple and moving explanation of what the Bible teaches about death. Bestselling author Erwin Lutzer urges readers to study what the Bible says on this critical subject, bringing a biblical and pastoral perspective to such issues as: Channeling, reincarnation, and near-death experiences, What heaven will be like The justice of eternal punishment The death of a child Trusting in God's providence Preparing for your own final moment




Love & Death


Book Description

Nearing his final days, a beloved Unitarian minister meditates on life, love, and death: “The goal is to live in such a way that our lives will prove worth dying for.” On a February day in 2008, Forrest Church sent a letter to the members of his congregation, informing them that he had terminal cancer; his life would now be measured in months, not years. He went on to promise that he would sum up his thoughts on the topics that had been so pervasive in his work—love and death—in a final book. Church has been justly celebrated as a writer of American history, but his works of spiritual guidance have been especially valued for their insight and inspiration. As a minister, Church defined religion as "our human response to the dual reality of being alive and having to die." The goal of life, he tells us "is to live in such a way that our lives will prove worth dying for." Love & Death is imbued with ideas and exemplars for achieving that goal, and the stories he offers—all drawn from his own experiences and from the lives of his friends, family, and parishioners—are both engrossing and enlightening. Forrest Church's final work may be his most lasting gift to his readers.




The Case for Heaven


Book Description

Bestselling and award-winning author Lee Strobel interviews experts about the evidence for the afterlife and offers credible answers to the most provocative questions about what happens when we die, near-death experiences, heaven, and hell. We all want to know what awaits us on the other side of death, but is there any reliable evidence that there is life after death? Investigative author Lee Strobel offers a lively and compelling study into one of the most provocative topics of our day. Through fascinating conversations with respected scholars and experts--a neuroscientist from Cambridge University, a researcher who analyzed a thousand accounts of near-death experiences, and an atheist-turned-Christian-philosopher--Strobel offers compelling reasons for why death is not the end of our existence but a transition to an exciting world to come. Looking at biblical accounts, Strobel unfolds what awaits us after we take our last breath and answers questions like: Is there an afterlife? What is heaven like? How will we spend our time there? And what does it mean to see God face to face? With a balanced approach, Strobel examines the alternative of Hell and the logic of damnation, and gives a careful look at reincarnation, universalism, the exclusivity claims of Christ, and other issues related to the topic of life after death. With vulnerability, Strobel shares the experience of how he nearly died years ago and how the reality of death can shape our lives and faith. Follow Strobel on this journey of discovery of the entirely credible, believable, and exhilarating life to come.




The Unstuck Church


Book Description

Acclaimed church leader, blogger, founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, Tony Morgan unpacks the lifecycle of a typical church, identifies characteristics of each phase, and provides practical next steps a church can take to move towards sustained health. Think about your church for a moment. Is it growing? Is it diminishing? Is it somewhere in between? Acclaimed church leader, blogger, and founder and chief strategic officer of The Unstuck Group, Tony Morgan has identified the seven stages of a church's lifecycle that range from the hopeful and optimistic days of launch, to the stagnating last stages of life support. Regardless of the stage in which you find your church, it carries with it the world's greatest mission—to "go and make disciples of all the nations . . ." With eternity at stake the Church should be doing most everything within its power to see lives changed forever. The Church should strive for the pinnacle of the lifecycle, where they are continually making new disciples and experiencing what Morgan refers to as "sustained health." In The Unstuck Church, Morgan unpacks each phase of the church lifecycle, and offers specific and strategic next steps the church leader can take to find it's way to sustained health . . . and finally become unstuck. The Unstuck Church is a call for honest an assessment of where your church sits on the lifecycle, and a challenge to move beyond it.




Naming the Silences


Book Description




Death by Church


Book Description

Examining how materialism and consumerism have made their way into the church, a teaching pastor and author of Jesus of Suburbia reveals how Christians can more effectively demonstrate Christ's presence and how the church can cooperate with Jesus in the world in which they live. Original.




Autopsy of a Deceased Church


Book Description

Best-selling author of Simple Church and the runaway hit I am a Church Member, Thom Rainer uses his twenty-five years of experience helping churches grow and reverse the trends of decline to expose twelve lessons on how to keep your church alive!




Imagine Heaven


Book Description

It's obvious from the bookshelves and the big screen that heaven is on everyone's mind. All of us long to know what life after death will be like. Bestselling author John Burke is no exception. For decades, he has been studying accounts of people who have had near-death experiences (NDEs). While not every detail of individual NDEs correlate with Scripture, Burke shows how the common experiences shared by thousands of survivors clearly point to the God of the Bible and the exhilarating picture of heaven he promises. Imagine Heaven is an inspirational journey through the Bible's picture of heaven, colored in with the real-life stories of heaven's wonders. Burke compares gripping stories of NDEs to what Scripture says about our biggest questions of heaven: Will I be myself? Will I see friends and loved ones? What will it look like? What is God like? What will we do forever? What about children and pets? This book will propel readers into an experience that will forever change their view of the life to come and the way they live life today. It also tackles the tough questions of heavenly reward and hellish NDEs. Anyone interested in NDEs or longing to imagine heaven more clearly will enjoy this fascinating and hope-filled book.