"We would never give Picasso a paintbrush and only one color of paint, and expect a masterpiece," writes Randy Woodley. "We would not give Beethoven a single piano key and say, 'Play us a concerto.' Yet we limit our Creator in just these ways." Though our Christian experience is often blandly monochromatic, God intends for us to live in dynamic, multihued communities that embody his vibrant creativity. Randy Woodley, a Keetowah Cherokee, casts a biblical, multiethnic vision for people of every nation, tribe and tongue. He carefully unpacks how Christians should think about racial and cultural identity, demonstrating that ethnically diverse communities have always been God's intent for his people. Woodley gives practical insights for how we can relate to one another with sensitivity, contextualize the gospel, combat the subtleties of racism, and honor one another's unique contributions to church and society. Along the way, he reckons with difficult challenges from our racially painful history and offers hope for healing and restoration. With profound wisdom from his own Native American heritage and experience, Woodley's voice adds a distinctive perspective to contemporary discussions of racial reconciliation and multiethnicity. Here is a biblical vision for unity in diversity.

Pastor Mike Mather arrived in Indianapolis thinking that he was going to serve the poor. But after his church's community lost nine young men to violence in a few short months, Mather came to see that the poor didn't need his help-he needed theirs. This is the story of how one church found abundance in a com-munity of material poverty. Viewing people-not programs, finances, or service models-as their most valuable resource moved church members beyond their own walls and out into the streets, where they discovered folks rich in strength, talents, determination, and love. Mather's Having Nothing, Possessing Everything will inspire readers to seek justice in their own local communities and to find abundance and hope all around them.

"It's a balancing act.

If you are a bivocational pastor, you are familiar with the stresses, complications, and unique hurdles that come with bivocational ministry. You have a special calling.

In The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry, Dennis Bickers provides solid advice to help you succeed in your ministry while juggling a full-time job and a family at home. Along with his seasoned insights, you will find true-to-life case studies of challenges bivocational ministers face daily. More than just a guide, this book is a mentor in print and an invaluable resource for anyone balancing part-time ministry with a full-time job."

The topic of immigration is at the center of contemporary politics and, from a scholarly perspective, existing studies have documented that attitudes towards immigration have brought about changes in both partisanship and voting behavior. However, many scholars have missed or misconstrued the role of religion in this transformation, particularly evangelical Protestant Christianity. This book examines the historical and contemporary relationships between religion and immigration politics, with a particularly in-depth analysis of the fault lines within evangelicalism-divisions not only between whites and non-whites, but also the increasingly consequential disconnect between elites and laity within white evangelicalism. The book's empirical analysis relies on original interviews with Christian leaders, data from original church surveys conducted by the authors, and secondary analysis of several national public opinion surveys. It concludes with suggestions for bridging the elite/laity and racial divides. Ruth M. Melkonian-Hoover: (Ph.D., Emory University) is Chair and Professor of Political Science at Gordon College, Massachusetts. She has contributed chapters to Faith in a Pluralist Age (2018) and Is the Good Book Good Enough? (2011). She has published in a wide range of journals including Social Science Quarterly, The Review of Faith & International Affairs, Latin American Perspectives, Political Research Quarterly, Comment, and Capital Commentary. Lyman A. Kellstedt: (Ph.D., University of Illinois) is Professor of Political Science (emeritus) at Wheaton College, Illinois. He has authored or coauthored numerous articles, book chapters, and books in religion and politics, including Religion and the Culture Wars (1996), The Bully Pulpit (1997), and The Oxford Handbook of Religion and American Politics (2009).

This timely book gives a voice to those living with HIV who are too often ignored or misunderstood by the Church and other religious institutions - including those in positions of care who may have thought they were helping but have ended up doing more harm than good. The book exposes and challenges attitudes of institutional blindness and abuse and suggests some positive means of remedy, all of which have been formed and tested with the help of clients at the London HIV Chaplaincy. With its powerful combination of moving personal testimony and honest pastoral reflection, this book will encourage a more informed, sensitive and effective interaction with many who, for whatever reason, feel marginalised by our society and alienated by those who most want to help. As Rowan Williams says in his foreword, 'This book is a proclaiming of the gospel as well as a call to judgement. It is necessary material for the self-examination and self-awareness of any Christian minister or community, if the Church's claim to be what it is supposed to be is not to go on being so hollow for so many who need to hear that their agency and dignity are understood and honoured.'

Faith-Based Solutions to Caring for the Earth Climate change is a confusing and polarizing issue. It may also prove to be the most daunting challenge of this century because children, the elderly, and the poor will be the first to feel its effects. The issue is all over the news, but what is seldom heard is a conservative, evangelical perspective. Connecting the dots between science and faith, this book explores the climate debate and how Christians can take the lead in caring for God's creation. The authors answer top questions such as "What's really happening?" and "Who can we trust?" and discuss stewarding the earth in light of evangelical values. "Acting on climate change is not about political agendas," they say. "It's about our kids. It's about being a disciple of Jesus Christ." Capping off this empowering book are practical, simple ideas for improving our environment and helping our families and those around us.

In the first half of the twentieth century, supporters of the eugenics movement offered an image of a racially transformed America by curtailing the reproduction of "unfit" members of society. Through institutionalization, compulsory sterilization, the restriction of immigration and marriages, and other methods, eugenicists promised to improve the population - a policy agenda that was embraced by many leading intellectuals and public figures. But Catholic activists and thinkers across the United States opposed many of these measures, asserting that "every man, even a lunatic, is an image of God, not a mere animal." In "An Image of God", Sharon M. Leon examines the efforts of American Catholics to thwart eugenic policies, illuminating the ways in which Catholic thought transformed the public conversation about individual rights, the role of the state, and the intersections of race, community, and family. Through an examination of the broader questions raised in this debate, Leon casts new light on major issues that remain central in American political life today: the institution of marriage, the role of government, and the separation of church and state. This is essential reading in the history of religion, science, politics, and human rights.

Writer Tony Reinke identifies twelve potent ways our smartphones have changed our lives-for good and ill-and calls us to develop healthy habits for life in the digital age.

Just in time for the release of Amazing Grace, the movie about the life of William Wilberforce. This edition of his classic book from 1797, Real Christianity, is paraphrased in modern language and made more accessible to contemporary readers. This is the book that helped abolish the slave trade in the United Kingdom and called Christians to live a more authentic life of faith more than two hundred years ago. The timeless truths it contains will speak to readers in fresh ways today. Christians who eschew cultural Christianity in favor of a real faith in Christ, will find the principles here thought-provoking and applicable. The social justice orientation will appeal to readers of Jim Wallis, Os Guinness, Charles Colson, Shane Claiborne, John Perkins, Bono, and Nancy Pearcey. Readers will also find the book is a good litmus test of the authenticity of their own faith.

A REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 'An example of how one woman can change the world by telling the truth about her life with unflinching, relentless courage' GLENNON DOYLE Austin Channing Brown's first encounter with racism in America came at age seven, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools and neighbourhoods, Austin 'had to learn what it means to love Blackness,' a journey that led to her becoming a writer, speaker and expert helping organisations practice genuine inclusion. In this bestselling memoir, she writes beautifully and powerfully about her journey to self-worth and how we can all contribute to racial justice. 'A leading new voice on racial justice' LAYLA F SAAD, author of ME AND WHITE SUPREMACY 'Most people say, "that books has legs"; I measure the impact of a book by how often I throw it across the room. [Austin's book] has serious wings. It broke me open' BRENE BROWN 'A deeply personal celebration of blackness that simultaneously sheds new light on racial injustice and inequality while offering hope for a better future' SHONDALAND

During the last three decades of the twentieth century, evangelical leaders and conservative politicians developed a political agenda that thrust "family values" onto the nation's consciousness. Ministers, legislators, and laypeople came together to fight abortion, gay rights, and major feminist objectives. They supported private Christian schools, home schooling, and a strong military. Family values leaders like Jerry Falwell, Phyllis Schlafly, Anita Bryant, and James Dobson became increasingly supportive of the Republican Party, which accommodated the language of family values in its platforms and campaigns. The family values agenda created a bond between evangelicalism and political conservatism. Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right chronicles how the family values agenda became so powerful in American political life and why it appealed to conservative evangelical Christians. Conservative evangelicals saw traditional gender norms as crucial in cultivating morality. They thought these gender norms would reaffirm the importance of clear lines of authority that the social revolutions of the 1960s had undermined. In the 1970s and 1980s, then, evangelicals founded Christian academies and developed homeschooling curricula that put conservative ideas about gender and authority front and center. Campaigns against abortion and feminism coalesced around a belief that God created women as wives and mothers-a belief that conservative evangelicals thought feminists and pro-choice advocates threatened. Likewise, Christian right leaders championed a particular vision of masculinity in their campaigns against gay rights and nuclear disarmament. Movements like the Promise Keepers called men to take responsibility for leading their families. Christian right political campaigns and pro-family organizations drew on conservative evangelical beliefs about men, women, children, and authority. These beliefs-known collectively as family values-became the most important religious agenda in late twentieth-century American politics.