Blogging for God's Glory in a Clickbait World


Book Description

7 Reasons God Hates Listicles See what we did there? We piqued your interest, confused you, and maybe even made you mad. Mad is good; anger provokes a response. Maybe you will tweet your rage. Perhaps you will decry our buffoonery: "The 'seven-reasons-why' structure is a list-article," you'll tell your followers. And just like that, we won the scramble for clicks and attention. But did we steward your attention in a way that honors God? Bloggers publish millions of posts each day, many written by faithful Christians who want to honor God with their words but struggle to know how. Blogging for God's Glory in a Clickbait World guides Christians through the basics of setting up a blog-everything from affiliates and algorithms to widgets and Wordpress-but also how to be a godly landlord of your internet real estate property. If you are a Christian blogger, you likely oscillate between burnout and apathy, with thoughts like "I must post NOW!" and "Who even gives a rip?" If you're at this point, you've likely lost the plot. But you can get back on script. Authors Benjamin Vrbicek and John Beeson explore where the spiritual stamina will come from to serve a small readership faithfully and how to steward attention in a way that honors God in a world that celebrates chasing profit and pageviews. Foreword by Tim Challies, pastor, author, and popular blogger. About the Authors BENJAMIN VRBICEK (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary) is the lead teaching pastor at Community Evangelical Free Church in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Benjamin and his wife, Brooke, have six children. He blogs regularly, is the author of Struggle Against Porn and Don't Just Send a Resume, and has written for Desiring God, The Gospel Coalition, For The Church, 9Marks, and Christianity Today. JOHN BEESON (MDiv, Princeton Theological Seminary) is a copastor at New Life Bible Fellowship in Tucson, Arizona. John and his wife, Angel, have two children. He blogs regularly and has written for The Gospel Coalition and For The Church.




The Wisdom Pyramid


Book Description

We're facing an information overload. With the quick tap of a finger we can access an endless stream of addictive information—sports scores, breaking news, political opinions, streaming TV, the latest Instagram posts, and much more. Accessing information has never been easier—but acquiring wisdom is increasingly difficult. In an effort to help us consume a more balanced, healthy diet of information, Brett McCracken has created the "Wisdom Pyramid." Inspired by the food pyramid model, the Wisdom Pyramid challenges us to increase our intake of enduring, trustworthy sources (like the Bible) while moderating our consumption of less reliable sources (like the Internet and social media). At a time when so much of our daily media diet is toxic and making us spiritually sick, The Wisdom Pyramid suggests that we become healthy and wise when we reorient our lives around God—the foundation of truth and the eternal source of wisdom.




Not Yet Married


Book Description

Life Is Never Mainly About Love and Marriage. So Learn to Live and Date for More. Many of you grew up assuming that marriage would meet all of your needs and unlock God's purposes for you. But God has far more planned for you than your future marriage. Not Yet Married is not about waiting quietly in the corner of the world for God to bring you "the one," but about inspiring you to live and date for more now. If you follow Jesus, the search for a spouse is no longer a pursuit of the perfect person, but a pursuit of more of God. He will likely write a love story for you different than the one you would write for yourself, but that's because he loves you and knows how to write a better story. This book was written to help you find real hope, happiness, and purpose in your not-yet-married life.




Sacred Mundane


Book Description

What if the key to changing your life--and yourself--is already in your hand? So many women struggle with what to do with their daily lives. They feel trapped in everyday drudgery and disappointment, in dull domestic duties, and in mundane jobs they despise. Where is the abundant, purposeful life they were promised? Kari Patterson shows readers the truth: in each unremarkable life lies an opportunity to see, know, love, and be utterly transformed by a God who meets everyone right where they are. Instead of stepping away from real life to find God, Patterson equips women with a six-step practice to move further in and meet Him in the humdrum moments of everyday existence. And when a woman's inner being is truly changed by the sacred, everything in her world changes too--right down to tackling the dirty dishes. Through entertaining narrative, candid real-life stories, Bible study, and practical instruction, Sacred Mundane guides individuals or small groups to discover the beautiful sacredness in the lives they already lead. Women who long to grow in God and make a real difference in the world--no matter how small--will reach eagerly for this book and the radical transformation it offers. "Our daily routine, with its mundane tasks and mindless repetition, is ultimately an offering of worship to God. What a great truth from a great God!" --Ann Byle, author of The Making of a Christian Bestseller and coauthor of Devotions for the Soul Surfer




Unoffendable


Book Description

Unoffendable, now revised and updated with two new chapters, gives you a concrete, practical way to live life with less stress. In our easily offended, cancel-culture society, learn how to replace perpetual frustration and anger with refreshing humility and gratitude. It turns out giving up your "right" to be offended can be one of the most freeing, healthy, simplifying, relaxing, refreshing, stress-relieving, encouraging things you can do. It's a radical, provocative idea: We're not entitled to get offended or stay angry. The idea of our own "righteous anger" is a myth. It is the number one problem in our societies today and, as Dallas Willard says, Christians have not been taught out of it. But what if Christians were the most unoffendable people on the planet? In Unoffendable you will find concrete, practical ways to live life with less stress, including: Adjusting your expectations to fit human nature Replacing perpetual anger with refreshing humility and gratitude Embracing forgiveness and beginning to love others in unexpected ways Newly revised with two brand-new chapters on forgiveness and what Hansen has learned since writing his original book, this updated edition of the bestselling book is a must-read for every Christian. In a humorous and conversational style, Unoffendable seeks to lift religious burdens from our backs and allow us to experience the joy of gratitude, perhaps for the first time, every single day of our lives—flourishing the way God intended.




What Is the Mission of the Church?


Book Description

Social justice and mission are hot topics today: there's a wonderful resurgence of motivated Christians passionate about spreading the gospel and caring for the needs of others. But in our zeal to get sharing and serving, many are unclear on gospel and mission. Yes, we are called to spend ourselves for the sake of others, but what is the church's unique priority as it engages the world? DeYoung and Gilbert write to help Christians "articulate and live out their views on the mission of the church in ways that are theologically faithful, exegetically careful, and personally sustainable." Looking at the Bible's teaching on evangelism, social justice, and shalom, they explore the what, why, and how of the church's mission. From defining "mission", to examining key passages on social justice and their application, to setting our efforts in the context of God's rule, DeYoung and Gilbert bring a wise, studied perspective to the missional conversation. Readers in all spheres of ministry will grow in their understanding of the mission of the church and gain a renewed sense of urgency for Jesus' call to preach the Word and make disciples.




Mining for Gold


Book Description

Godly thriving leaders are precious and valuable, but developing those leaders is not easy. Many leaders feel stuck, tired and frustrated in their growth and calling. This can change. In Mining for Gold, pastor and master-coach, Tom Camacho, offers a fresh perspective on how to draw out the best in ourselves and in those around us. Cutting through the complexity and challenges of leadership development, he gives us practical and effective tools to help leaders grow personally and develop those around them. Coaching, through the power of the Holy Spirit, provides the clarity and momentum we need to grow. When we get clarity, everything changes. Coaching helps us better understand our identity in Christ, our God-given wiring, and how we naturally bear the most fruit. There is gold in God’s people, waiting to be discovered. Let’s learn to draw out that treasure and help others flourish in their life and leadership.




Gospel-Centered Discipleship


Book Description

Reflecting on the practice of disciple making in young adult, college, graduate, and local church contexts, Jonathan Dodson has discerned some common pitfalls. For many, discipleship is reduced to a form of religious performance before God. For others, it devolves into spiritual license and a loose adherence to spiritual facts. Both approaches distort biblical motivations for Christian obedience and are in need of reform. By explaining various motivations for discipleship, Dodson charts a biblically faithful, grace-driven alternative. Additionally, he provides a practical model for creating gospel-centered discipleship groups—small, reproducible, missional, gender-specific groups of believers that fight for faith together. This book blends both theology and practice to inspire and equip Christians to effectively fight sin, keep Jesus central, and make gospel-centered discipleship a way of life. Both new and growing Christians will learn to trust the gospel in community as they fight together for holiness as well as how to start gospel-centered community groups in any local church.




Salvation to the Ends of the Earth


Book Description

The saving mission of Jesus constitutes the foundation for Christian mission, and the Christian gospel is its message. This second edition of a classic NSBT volume emphasizes how the Bible presents a continuing narrative of God's mission, providing a robust historical and chronological backbone to the unfolding of the early Christian mission.




Competing Spectacles


Book Description

We live in a world full of shiny distractions, faced with an onslaught of viral media constantly competing for our attention and demanding our affections. These ever-present visual “spectacles” can quickly erode our hearts, making it more difficult than ever to walk through life actively treasuring that which is most important and yet invisible: Jesus Christ. In a journalistic style, Tony Reinke shows us just how distracting these spectacles in our lives have become and calls us to ask critical questions about what we’re focusing on. The book offers us practical steps to redirect our gaze away from the addictive eye candy of the world and onto the Ultimate Spectacle—leading to the joy and rest our souls crave.