Taking Back God


Book Description

In Taking Back God Leora Tanenbaum recounts the stories of women across the United States, starting with herself, who love their religion but hate their second-class status within it. If you've witnessed the preferential treatment of men in America's houses of worship, you will not be surprised to learn that there is a surge of women in this country rising up and demanding religious equality. More and more, religious women—Christian, Muslim, and Jewish—are declaring that they expect to be treated as equals in the religious sphere. They want the same meaningful spiritual connections enjoyed by their brothers, fathers, husbands, and sons. They embrace the word of God but are critical of their faith's male-oriented theology and liturgy. They reject the conventional interpretations of religious traditions that give women a different—and, to their minds, lesser—status. Rather than abandoning their faith, they are taking it back and making it stronger, transforming religion while maintaining tradition. Tanenbaum relates the experiences of Catholics, evangelical and mainline Protestants, Muslims, and observant Jews. The conflict they face—honoring tradition while expanding it to synchronize with modern values—is ultimately one that all people of faith grapple with today.




Taking America Back for God


Book Description

Why do white Protestants in America embrace a president who seems to violate their basic standards of morality? The answer, Andrew Whitehead and Samuel Perry argue, is "Christian nationalism," the belief that the United States is -- and should be -- a Christian nation. Knowing someone's stance on Christian nationalism, this book shows, tells us more about his or her political beliefs than race, religion, or political party. Drawing on national survey data and interviews with Americans across the political spectrum, Taking America Back for God illustrates the tremendous influence of Christian nationalism on debates about the most contentious issues dominating American public life.




The God Who Riots


Book Description

For thousands of years, religious messages have been used to either uphold the status quo or upend it. And while we are all very familiar with the kind of conservative Christianity that suppresses liberation and justifies oppression, progressive Christians are just as guilty of upholding unjust systems when we prioritize harmony and unity over justice. True justice requires us to choose sides. True justice requires action. When we look at Scripture, we see that the God of the Bible was never neutral. Again and again God chooses the side of the oppressed. Jesus said the Spirit of the Lord anointed him "to let the oppressed go free," and those of us who claim to follow Jesus today must commit to this radical mission of liberation. In The God Who Riots, popular YouTuber and public theologian Damon Garcia uses his frank, tell-it-like-it-is style to connect us with the Jesus who flipped tables in the temple and led an empire-destabilizing movement for liberation. The spirit of this God is embodied in today's protests, riots, and strikes. As we join this struggle for liberation, we are joining the God who riots alongside us, within us, and through us.




When God Talks Back


Book Description

A New York Times Notable Book A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of 2012 A bold approach to understanding the American evangelical experience from an anthropological and psychological perspective by one of the country's most prominent anthropologists. Through a series of intimate, illuminating interviews with various members of the Vineyard, an evangelical church with hundreds of congregations across the country, Tanya Luhrmann leaps into the heart of evangelical faith. Combined with scientific research that studies the effect that intensely practiced prayer can have on the mind, When God Talks Back examines how normal, sensible people—from college students to accountants to housewives, all functioning perfectly well within our society—can attest to having the signs and wonders of the supernatural become as quotidian and as ordinary as laundry. Astute, sensitive, and extraordinarily measured in its approach to the interface between science and religion, Luhrmann's book is sure to generate as much conversation as it will praise.




Crazy for God


Book Description

By the time he was nineteen, Frank Schaeffer's parents, Francis and Edith Schaeffer, had achieved global fame as bestselling evangelical authors and speakers, and Frank had joined his father on the evangelical circuit. He would go on to speak before thousands in arenas around America, publish his own evangelical bestseller, and work with such figures as Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell, and Dr. James Dobson. But all the while Schaeffer felt increasingly alienated, precipitating a crisis of faith that would ultimately lead to his departure—even if it meant losing everything. With honesty, empathy, and humor, Schaeffer delivers “a brave and important book” (Andre Dubus III, author of House of Sand and Fog)—both a fascinating insider's look at the American evangelical movement and a deeply affecting personal odyssey of faith.




The Insanity of God


Book Description

An amazing story of a missionary couple's journey into the toughest places on earth is combined with stories about remarkable people of faith they encountered to challenge and inspire those curious about the sufficiency of God.




Take Back Your Temple Member Guide


Book Description

Want to start a Christian weight loss program at your church? The Take Back Your Temple Member Guide gives your support group the wisdom they need to reach their ideal weight and maintain it for life. Includes Christian health scriptures for motivation, delicious recipes, and a survival plan for handling common weight loss barriers like emotional eating, bottomless food pits, and more.




I Love You to God and Back


Book Description

Show your precious little ones how much you love them . . . with every bedtime prayer. Everyone loves a sweet bedtime story---and this one has the added bonus of teaching children a lifestyle of healthy prayer.




God, What's Taking So Long


Book Description

Ever prayed for something and it felt like you got a busy signal? Does it seem like Gods using the Pony Express instead of FedEx to answer your prayers? Youre not alone. Many of us have a hard time understanding Gods timing. If youre tired of waiting, frustrated and feel like youre at the end of your rope then this new release by Erik Lawson is just what you need. Youll get the inside scoop on what to do when you are waiting on God, and how, at times, to even help speed up the process!




How to Reign in Life!


Book Description

The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute. (Proverbs 12:24 KJV) This scripture is the foundation for this book. The Word tells us to meditate on God's Word and we can make our way prosperous. I like the way the Message Bible of Joshua 1:8-9 reads; "Don't get off track, either left or right, so as to make sure you get to where you're going. And don't for a minute let this Book of The Revelation be out of mind. Ponder and meditate on it day and night, making sure you practice everything written in it. Then you'll get where you're going; then you'll succeed. Haven't I commanded you? Strength! Courage! Don't be timid; don't get discouraged. GOD, your God, is with you every step you take." When I meditated on Proverbs 12:24, I found seven life changing principles that I learned and continue to incorporate in my life that allow me to reign in areas that I would not in my wildest dreams truly believe that I could! God has given us everything we need to succeed, everything we need to reign in life. Just like a father gives his child his blessing, our Father, God has given us "The Blessing" to reign in life. It is up to us to take that blessing, that empowerment, that anointing and utilize it in every arena of our lives. We are going to learn how to take the Word of God and incorporate it in our lives and reap the benefits of meditating and doing the Word, because the bible also tells us that we need to hear as well as do the Word to receive the promises of the Word. Don't fool yourself into thinking that you are a listener when you are anything but, letting the Word go in one ear and out the other. Act on what you hear! Those who hear and don't act are like those who glance in the mirror, walk away and two minutes later have no idea who they are, what they look like. (James 1:22-24 MSG) This is not going to be us! Once we hear the Word on how to reign in life, we will act upon it with force, eagerness, persistence and diligence and see God manifest Himself in our lives like never before! So we will begin by breaking down our foundation scripture which is Proverbs 12:24a the hand of the diligent shall bear rule. We will dissect it into small enough pieces that we can digest it and nourish our spirits and our souls and began to see our lives change, because we utilized the principles that we will be discussing in this book. Now let's look at some definitions: The word Hand in the Hebrew means power, direction, work, ministry, service and state. Diligent in Hebrew means active, incisive, determination and eager. Bear Rule in Hebrew means to rule, reign, have power, governor and that everything is subject to you. Now let's incorporate our definitions of these words into our scripture and it would read: The power, direction, work, ministry, service, state of the active, incisive, determined and eager shall rule, reign, have power, be governor and everything is subject to them! Now, I took it a step further and looked up the Hebrew definition of these words in the American Heritage Dictionary and I came up with an even more detailed description of this particular scripture. I will call this Shelita's amplified version of Proverbs 12:24a: The power, the direction, the work, the ministry, the service and the state of the active and those who have the ability or quality to cut or separate the superficial part of anything, able to make a decision of a question in the mind, have firm resolution; settled purpose, absolute direction to a certain end and are excited by ardent desire in the pursuit of any object will rule, reign, have control, have power, be director, administrator, chief, head and have everything subject to them! Amen! Now that's what I'm talking about! This is what I want for my life and I know you do as well because you are reading this book, so let's get started.