Grappling with Faith


Book Description

Based on field research, the cases portray the actual experiences of real social workers. They are drawn from many different fields of practice and from both faith-based and public settings. They portray intertwined and sometimes conflicting client needs and values; social worker values and professional obligations; organizational dilemmas; and dilemmas related to Biblical, theological, and philosophical perspectives. The cases press readers to consider individual and organizational needs, contradictory policy requirements, the limits of professional intervention, value or ethical dilemmas, and the unintended consequences of decisions. They all include a social worker who identifies as a Christian, which will especially resonate with Christian social work students and practitioners."--pub. desc.




Grappling with Your Identity - Clinging to the Rock


Book Description

Grappling with Your Identity, by Lynne Fox, Psy. D. "Do you delight in who you are? I don't mean some sort of abstract feeling that you're probably okay. I mean joy. Most of us never come close to joy, particularly about ourselves. Instead we identify with every ugly thing we do. We think our flaws define us. God disagrees. Practical, thoughtful, on-target, and warmly personal - this book details the journey from shame to joy."




Fearless Faith


Book Description

Identifying a "safety zone" of Christian-sanctified schools, television, radio, and activism, a call to greater action urges Christians to break away from easier practices to reconnect with non-believers, engage in acts of love and compassion, and build a greater dependence on Christ. Original.




Struggling in Good Faith


Book Description

A comprehensive sourcebook telling the story of the religious struggles—and celebrations—for LGBTQI inclusion across the American religious landscape.




Faith of the Unbeliever


Book Description

Martin Robinson helps chart a way through the difficult territory sometimes called modernity and post-modernity. He offers practical ways for Christians to understand and communicate with those who claim to have no faith at all.




Prayer


Book Description

Philip Yancey probes the very heartbeat of our relationship with God: prayer. What is prayer? Does it change God's mind or ours or both? This book is an invitation to communicate with God the Father who invites us into an eternal partnership through prayer. Polls reveal that 90 percent of people pray. Yet prayer, which should be the most nourishing and uplifting time of the believer's day, can also be frustrating, confusing, and fraught with mystery. Writing as a fellow pilgrim, bestselling author of What's So Amazing About Grace? Philip Yancey probes such questions as: Is God listening? What should I pray for? If God knows everything, what's the point of prayer? If my prayers go unanswered, is there something wrong with my faith? Why does God sometimes seem close and sometimes seem far away? How can I make prayer more satisfying? In this powerful classic of spiritual insight and investigation, Yancey tackles the tough questions about the mystery of prayer and, in the process, comes up with a fresh new approach to this timeless topic. "I have learned to pray as a privilege, not a duty," writes Yancey, and he invites you to join him on this all-important journey.




In Search of Deep Faith


Book Description

Follow pastor Jim Belcher and his family as they take a pilgrimage through Europe, seeking substance for their faith in Christianity's historic, civilizational home. What they find, in places like Lewis's Oxford and Bonhoeffer's Germany, are glimpses of another kind of faith—one with power to cut through centuries and pierce our hearts today.




Wrestling with God


Book Description

Then the man said, You shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with humans, and have prevailed. (Gen 32:28) The Bible is full of persons who wrestle with God. As they stumble in their lives, they love and adore their Lord. They also scheme, lie, cheat, steal, quarrel, and fornicate. Abraham, the faith model for Jews, Christians, and Muslims, tells Sarah to lie; Sarah scolds God for ignoring her; Amnon rapes his sister; Judas recognizes Jesus ' unconditional love for him; Mary thinks that by distancing himself from her, Jesus hammered a spike into her breast; Peter's wife crawls into their bed and snuggles up; Jesus ' relatives think he is crazy. In a word, as seekers of God the biblical characters mirror our lives. Like Jacob we limp away from the wrestling match. Kilian McDonnell, OSB, is a monk/theologian of Saint John's Abbey, Collegeville, Minnesota. He is the author of three other books of poetry: Swift, Lord, You Are Not, Yahweh's Other Shoe, and God Drops and Loses Things (Saint John's University Press).




Embraced by God


Book Description

Anyone who hears the dreaded word "chemotherapy" naturally experiences feelings of fear and apprehension. For Steve Givens that one word was the beginning of a new chapter in his life, one that would change him in profound ways. He believes that a brotherhood and sisterhood exists between those who have battled a chronic disease or undergone chemotherapy. They know one another's pain, numbness, and exhaustion. They smile at one another when they meet in the ahllways or while blood is drawn because they can relate and because they know. And here he shares his story with "kin," those who, like him, have no choice but acceptance. He still experiences times of pain, sickness, confusion, and sadness on his journey to wellness, but he also feels renewed and reborn spiritually. Here he reveals that he has chosen the way of faith and God because he knows of no other way that brings peace and gives him a reason to go on. He has opted to embrace his disease and its treatment--but not by himself alone. As he says, "My arms are not big enough or strong enough for the battle." He believes, however, that they arms of God are big enough to encircle him and his disease. This is a beautifully told story of struggle and pain, but ultimately of peace and acceptance, a wonderful resource for all who are facing chronic illness and its treatment.




The Skeletons in God's Closet


Book Description

How can a loving God send people to hell? Isn’t it arrogant to believe Jesus is the only way to God? What is up with holy war in the Old Testament? Many of us fear God has some skeletons in the closet. Hell, judgment, and holy war are hot topics for the Christian faith that have a way of igniting fierce debate far and wide. These hard questions leave many wondering whether God is really good and can truly be trusted. The Skeletons in God's Closet confronts our popular caricatures of these difficult topics with the beauty and power of the real thing. Josh Butler reveals that these subjects are consistent with, rather than contradictory to, the goodness of God. He explores Scripture to reveal the plotlines that make sense of these tough topics in light of God’s goodness. From fresh angles, Josh deals powerfully with such difficult passages as: The Lake of Fire Lazarus and the Rich Man The Slaughter of Canaanites in the Old Testament Ultimately, The Skeletons in God's Close uses our toughest questions to provoke paradigm shifts in how we understand our faith as a whole. It pulls the “skeletons out of God’s closet” to reveal they were never really skeletons at all.