Evangelical Bible study groups are the most prolific type of small group in American society, with more than 30 million Protestants gathering every week for this distinct purpose, meeting in homes, churches, coffee shops, restaurants, and other public and private venues across the country. What happens in these groups? How do they help shape the contours of American Evangelical life? While more public forms of political activism have captured popular and scholarly imaginations, it is in group Bible study that Evangelicals reflect on the details of their faith. Here they become self-conscious religious subjects, sharing the intimate details of life, interrogating beliefs and practices, and articulating their version of Christian identity and culture.

In Words upon the Word, James S. Bielo draws on over nineteen months of ethnographic work with five congregations to better understand why group Bible study matters so much to Evangelicals and for Evangelical culture. Through a close analysis of participants' discourse, Bielo examines the defining themes of group life--from textual interpretation to spiritual intimacy and the rehearsal of witnessing. Bielo's approach allows these Evangelical groups to speak for themselves, illustrating Bible study's uniqueness in Evangelical life as a site of open and critical dialogue. Ultimately, Bielo's ethnography sheds much needed light on the power of group Bible study for the ever-evolving shape of American Evangelicalism.

The secret to fulfilling your dreams is unlocking your identity

If you are uncertain about your life’s purpose or discouraged by life’s monotony, don’t despair! You are about to discover your destiny!

Over the next 90 days, Bishop T.D. Jakes will lead you on an exciting journey of self-discovery, celebration, and fulfillment. His gentle guidance and insight will equip you with practical tools to reach your destiny.

You have been uniquely crafted by God to accomplish His purpose for your life. When you choose to embrace this identity, you will discover the abundant blessings and deep satisfaction that you were created for.

These inspiring daily devotions will empower you to…

- Overcome obstacles to your destiny

- Prepare for destiny-defining moments

- Unlock new realms of meaningful living

- Build a powerful legacy

- Rest confidently in your God-given identity

What are you waiting for? Seize your destiny today!

Brigham Young was a rough-hewn craftsman from New York whose impoverished and obscure life was electrified by the Mormon faith. He trudged around the United States and England to gain converts for Mormonism, spoke in spiritual tongues, married more than fifty women, and eventually transformed a barren desert into his vision of the Kingdom of God. While previous accounts of his life have been distorted by hagiography or polemical expose, John Turner provides a fully realized portrait of a colossal figure in American religion, politics, and westward expansion.

After the 1844 murder of Mormon founder Joseph Smith, Young gathered those Latter-day Saints who would follow him and led them over the Rocky Mountains. In Utah, he styled himself after the patriarchs, judges, and prophets of ancient Israel. As charismatic as he was autocratic, he was viewed by his followers as an indispensable protector and by his opponents as a theocratic, treasonous heretic.

Under his fiery tutelage, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints defended plural marriage, restricted the place of African Americans within the church, fought the U.S. Army in 1857, and obstructed federal efforts to prosecute perpetrators of the Mountain Meadows Massacre. At the same time, Young's tenacity and faith brought tens of thousands of Mormons to the American West, imbued their everyday lives with sacred purpose, and sustained his church against adversity. Turner reveals the complexity of this spiritual prophet, whose commitment made a deep imprint on his church and the American Mountain West."

"This colection brings together two generations of scholarship on many important topics in African-American religious history. . . . A useful and judiciously chosen compilation that should serve well in the classroom."
-- "Religious Studies Review"

"It serves as a smorgasbord of the study of black spirituality."
-- "Black Issues Book Review"

Down by the Riverside provides an expansive introduction to the development of African American religion and theology. Spanning the time of slavery up to the present, the volume moves beyond Protestant Christianity to address a broad diversity of African American religion from Conjure, Orisa, and Black Judaism to Islam, African American Catholicism, and humanism.

This accessible historical overview begins with African religious heritages and traces the transition to various forms of Christianity, as well as the maintenance of African and Islamic traditions in antebellum America. Preeminent contributors include Charles Long, Gayraud Wilmore, Albert Raboteau, Manning Marable, M. Shawn Copeland, Vincent Harding, Mary Sawyer, Toinette Eugene, Anthony Pinn, and C. Eric Lincoln and Lawrence Mamiya. They consider the varieties of religious expression emerging from migration from the rural South to urban areas, African American women's participation in Christian missions, Black religious nationalism, and the development of Black Theology from its nineteenth-century precursors to its formulation by James Cone and later articulations by black feminist and womanist theologians. They also draw on case studies to provide a profile of the Black Christian church today.

This thematic history of the unfolding of religious life in AfricanAmerica provides a window onto a rich array of African American people, practices, and theological positions.

Why did 81 percent of white evangelicals vote for Donald Trump in 2016? And what does this tell us about the relationship between Christianity and democracy in the United States? American Babylon places our present political moment against a deep historical backdrop. In Part I the author traces the development of democratic institutions from Ancient Greece through to the American Revolution and of Christian political theology from Augustine to Falwell. Part II charts the decline of democratic governance within American churches; explains the capture of evangelical Christianity by the Republican Party; and denounces the fateful embrace between white Christian nationalists and right-wing populists that culminated in Trump's victory. An accessible and timely book, American Babylon is essential reading for those concerned with the vexed relationship of religion and politics in the United States, including students and scholars in the fields of divinity, history, political science, religious studies, and sociology.

Evangelicalism, an inter-denominational religious movement that has grown to become one of the most pervasive expressions of world Christianity in the early twenty-first century, had its origins in the religious revivals led by George Whitefield, John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards in the middle decades of the eighteenth century. With its stress on the Bible, the cross of Christ, conversion and the urgency of mission, it quickly spread throughout the Atlantic world and then became a global phenomenon. Over the past three decades evangelicalism has become the focus of considerable historical research. This research companion brings together a team of leading scholars writing broad-ranging chapters on key themes in the history of evangelicalism. It provides an authoritative and state-of-the-art review of current scholarship, and maps the territory for future research. Primary attention is paid to English-speaking evangelicalism, but the volume is transnational in its scope. Arranged thematically, chapters assess evangelicalism and the Bible, the atonement, spirituality, revivals and revivalism, worldwide mission in the Atlantic North and the Global South, eschatology, race, gender, culture and the arts, money and business, interactions with Roman Catholicism, Eastern Christianity, and Islam, and globalization. It demonstrates evangelicalism's multiple and contested identities in different ages and contexts. The historical and thematic approach of this research companion makes it an invaluable resource for scholars and students alike worldwide.

Accessible Guide from Bestselling Author
for Embracing the Prophetic Calling
Internationally respected prophet and bestselling author James W. Goll offers a readable, practical approach to the prophetic gifting. Centered around a unique, hands-on 21-day guide, he helps believers develop the intimacy with God essential to hearing his voice clearly and correctly--and then proclaiming his words faithfully.
Through illustrations from his own life and those of John, Daniel, and Ezekiel, Goll exposes common misconceptions, the successes and failures of gifted people throughout church history, and wisdom from the trenches of the prophetic. Devotional prayers and reflection questions follow each chapter. A must-have resource for those in prophetic ministry and all who work with them.

Is Heaven on Earth Really Possible?

When we struggle with defeat and discouragement, the Holy Spirit is the key to victory and peace. Best-selling author Dr. Myles Munroe shows how to bring order to the chaos in your life, receive God’s power to heal and deliver, fulfill your true purpose with joy, be a leader in your sphere of influence, and be part of God’s government on earth. We have access to the unseen world of the Spirit and can bring heavenly influence to earth. When you receive God’s Spirit into your life, you will find that His gifts are your birthright. Receive the fullness of God’s Spirit and start living in the spiritual power that God has promised you. “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7 NKJV).

This book examines the contributions, both intentional and unintentional, of Nigerian Pentecostal churches and NGOs to development, studying their development practices broadly in relation to the intersecting spheres of politics, economics, health, education, human rights, and peacebuilding. In sub-Saharan Africa, Pentecostalism is fast becoming the dominant expression of Christianity, but while the growth and civic engagement of these churches has been well documented, their role in development has received less attention. The Nigerian Pentecostal landscape is one of the most vibrant in Africa. Churches are increasingly assuming more prominent roles as they seek to address the social and moral ills of contemporary society, often in fierce competition with Islam for dominance in Nigerian public space. Some scholars suggest that the combination of an enchanted worldview, an emphasis on miracles and prosperity teaching, and a preoccupation with evangelism discourages effective political engagement and militates against development. However, Nigerian Pentecostalism and Development argues that there is an emerging movement within contemporary Nigerian Pentecostalism which is becoming increasingly active in development practices. This book goes on to explore the increasingly transnational approach that churches take, often seeking to build multicultural congregations around the globe, for instance in Britain and the United States. Nigerian Pentecostalism and Development: Spirit, Power, and Transformation will be of considerable interest to scholars and students concerned with the intersection between religion and development, and to development practitioners and policy-makers working in the region.

Every year an estimated 600,000 U.S. Latinos convert from Catholicism to Protestantism. Today, 12.5 million Latinos self-identify as Protestant--a population larger than all U.S. Jews and Muslims combined. Spearheading this spiritual transformation is the Pentecostal movement and Assemblies of God, which is the destination for one out of four converts. In a deeply researched social and cultural history, Gaston Espinosa uncovers the roots of this remarkable turn and the Latino AG's growing leadership nationwide. Latino Pentecostals in America traces the Latino AG back to the Azusa Street Revivals in Los Angeles and Apostolic Faith Revivals in Houston from 1906 to 1909. Espinosa describes the uphill struggles for indigenous leadership, racial equality, women in the ministry, social and political activism, and immigration reform. His analysis of their independent political views and voting patterns from 1996 to 2012 challenges the stereotypes that they are all apolitical, right-wing, or politically marginal. Their outspoken commitment to an active faith has led a new generation of leaders to blend righteousness and justice, by which they mean the reconciling message of Billy Graham and the social transformation of Martin Luther King Jr. Latino AG leaders and their 2,400 churches across the nation represent a new and growing force in denominational, Evangelical, and presidential politics. This eye-opening study explains why this group of working-class Latinos once called "the Silent Pentecostals" is silent no more. By giving voice to their untold story, Espinosa enriches our understanding of the diversity of Latino religion, Evangelicalism, and American culture.

More than fifty years ago, a reporter for Guideposts magazine set out to gather information about a strange new occurrence happening all over the country. John Sherrill, a skeptic when it came to speaking in tongues and the baptism with the Holy Spirit, was determined to retain his objectivity while digging out the facts. What he found would change his life. With more than 2.5 million copies sold, this classic work is the story of one man's journey from skepticism to a life-changing relationship with God. Filled with historical and biblical accounts of speaking in tongues, this is also the deeply personal and moving story of how you, too, can walk in the power of the Spirit day by day. Now includes a new epilogue and update on how to lean on the Holy Spirit for unity in an increasingly divisive world.

When you agree with the marvelous promises given in the Word of God, you will begin to reap God's gifts of love, joy, peace, health, and favor. When you speak those promises out loud and into the lives of others, your words can work wonders. Now, E. W. Kenyon and Don Gossett join forces to build our faith, offering timeless wisdom and challenging us to live a bolder life for God. Through His power, believers should be able to overcome adversity and sin in such areas as finances, health, marriage and other relationships, and emotions. There is power in the blood of Jesus to defeat anything and everything the enemy brings against you! You, too, can speak words of life into those who are lost, suffering, and needy. Let your compassion flow. The bolder your faith words are, the greater your results will be.

Prayer is not a practice or a ritual. It is a place.

A secret place in the Spirit. A place of divine encounters with our heavenly Father where we express our love for Him and enter the dimensions of His glory and power. Where we welcome His presence, receive His revelation and guidance for our life, and are empowered to serve His purposes on earth while experiencing the outpouring of His grace through miracles, healings, deliverances, and salvations. With a scriptural foundation, the conviction of personal experience, and the evidence of many testimonies, Guillermo Maldonado passionately reveals how to enter this place in the Spirit so we, as the body of Christ, can become “a house of prayer.” Discover the joy of two-way communication with the Father. Learn not only to hear His voice but to listen and act on what He is saying to you. See how to build momentum in your prayer life, creating a spiritual atmosphere in which God moves powerfully on behalf of His people. Discover essential keys for breakthrough--and how to have all your prayers answered according to God's will and Word. There has never been a more vital time to find our place in prayer. We are in a period of increased opposition from the enemy as we draw closer to the day of Christ’s return. This requires us to attain a higher level of spiritual power and authority, which can only come through breakthrough prayer that ushers us into God’s presence. Nothing else will prepare us to meet the challenges that are coming our way. Nothing else will prepare us for the second coming of Christ. Now is the time to be spiritually vigilant! Now is the time to watch and pray!

When approaching the most public disagreement over predestination in the eighteenth century, the 'Free Grace' controversy between John Wesley and George Whitefield, the tendency can be to simply review the event as a row over the same old issues. This assumption pervades much of the scholarly literature that deals with early Methodism. Moreover, much of that same literature addresses the dispute from John Wesley's vantage point, often harbouring a bias towards his Evangelical Arminianism. Yet the question must be asked: was there more to the 'Free Grace' controversy than a simple rehashing of old arguments? This book answers this complex question by setting out the definitive account of the 'Free Grace' controversy in first decade of the Evangelical Revival (1739-49). Centred around the key players in the fracas, John Wesley and George Whitefield, it is a close analysis of the way in which the doctrine of predestination was instrumental in differentiating the early Methodist societies from one another. It recounts the controversy through the lens of doctrinal analysis and from two distinct perspectives: the propositional content of a given doctrine and how that doctrine exerts formative pressure upon the assenting individual(s). What emerges from this study is a clearer picture of the formative years of early Methodism and the vital role that doctrinal pronouncement played in giving a shape to early Methodist identity. It will, therefore, be of great interest to scholars of Methodism, Evangelicalism, Theology and Church History.

Rodney Hogue didn’t believe that believers could be oppressed by demons…

But one day, the Holy Spirit revealed that he was being oppressed by a demonic
spirit. In disgust, Rodney commanded the demon to leave in Jesus’ name. To his
surprise, it did! Since then, he’s been driven by a passion to see others set free from
spiritual strongholds, and brought into a powerful encounter with the love, freedom,
and healing of Jesus!

Today, Hogue teaches that the first step to deliverance is exposing the works of
darkness. All too often, a demonic presence is overlooked as merely a bad habit or
something that “runs in the family.” Unless we recognize the enemy’s stealth tactics,
we will fail to confront the true issue and continue to experience demonic torment.

In Liberated, Hogue offers powerful tools for discerning and defeating the enemy’s
work through the Holy Spirit’s power.

Discover how to:

• Operate in your spiritual jurisdiction of authority when confronting demons.
• Recognize signs and symptoms of demonic oppression.
• Identify and close any open doors granting demons access to your life.
• Confidently deal with evil spirits when they manifest.
• Step-by-step, minister deliverance for yourself and others.
• Rebuild broken areas of life after receiving inner healing and deliverance.

When strongholds are exposed, freedom comes and healing can begin!

Exploring the response of evangelicals to the collapse of 'Greater Christian Britain' in Australia in the long 1960s, this book provides a new religious perspective to the end of empire and a fresh national perspective to the end of Christendom. In the turbulent 1960s, two foundations of the Western world rapidly and unexpectedly collapsed. 'Christendom', marked by the dominance of discursive Christianity in public culture, and 'Greater Britain', the powerful sentimental and strategic union of Britain and its settler societies, disappeared from the collective mental map with startling speed. To illuminate these contemporaneous global shifts, this book takes as a case study the response of Australian evangelical Christian leaders to the cultural and religious crises encountered between 1959 and 1979. Far from being a narrow national study, this book places its case studies in the context of the latest North American and European scholarship on secularisation, imperialism and evangelicalism. Drawing on a wide range of archival sources, it examines critical figures such as Billy Graham, Fred Nile and Hans Mol, as well as issues of empire, counter-cultural movements and racial and national identity. This study will be of particular interest to any scholar of Evangelicalism in the twentieth century. It will also be a useful resource for academics looking into the wider impacts of the decline of Christianity and the British Empire in Western civilisation.