Only you can do what He sent you to do. Throughout the Bible, God sent people like Joseph, Deborah, David, Jesus and Paul to accomplish His purposes on the earth. You, too, were born with a divine and distinct assignment to make a difference. Yet most of us have trouble recognizing what that actually is--let alone living it out day-to-day. Filled with practical insights and tangible takeaways, this book will help you discern how the Lord has uniquely equipped you--and for what purpose. You'll also learn how to master and maximize your gifts and discover how to joyfully carry out His call on your life each and every day. You were created to become a force of change in the lives of others--to reform, transform, ignite hope, solve problems, and bring healing and deliverance. It's time to find and fulfill the reason you are here. "A masterpiece of a book. LaJun and Valora will teach, train and equip you to hear from heaven and do the will of God for your life. This is a must-read."--JOE JOE DAWSON, ROAR Apostolic Network "The insight and strategies you will receive in this book are tools that will change your life."--ANDREW TOWE, author, The Triple Threat Anointing

This book explores the life and spirituality of John Cennick (1718-1755) and argues for a new appreciation of the contradictions and complexities in early evangelicalism. It explores Cennick's evangelistic work in Ireland, his relationship with Count Zinzendorf and the creative tension between the Moravian and Methodist elements of his participation in the eighteenth-century revivals. The chapters draw on extensive unpublished correspondence between Cennick and Zinzendorf, as well as Cennick's unique diary of his first stay in the continental Moravian centres of Marienborn, Herrnhaag and Lindheim. A maverick personality, John Cennick is seen at the centre of some of the principal controversies of the time. The trajectory of his emergence as a prominent figure in the revivals is remarkable in its intensity and hybridity and brings into focus a number of themes in the landscape of early evangelicalism: the eclectic nature of its inspirations, the religious enthusiasm nurtured in Anglican societies, the expansion of the pool of preaching talent, the social tensions unleashed by religious innovations, and the particular nature of the Moravian contribution during the 1740s and 1750s. Offering a major re-evaluation of Cennick's spirituality, the book will be of interest to scholars of evangelical and church history.

Methodism played an important part in the spread of Christianity from its European heartlands to the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. From John Wesley's initial reluctance, via haphazard ventures and over-ambitious targets, a well-organized and supported Wesleyan Society developed. Smaller branches of British Methodism undertook their own foreign missions. This book, together with a companion volume on the 20th century, offers an account of the overseas mission activity of British and Irish Methodists, its roots and fruits. John Pritchard explores many aspects of mission, ranging from Labrador to New Zealand and from Sierra Leone to Sri Lanka, from open air preaching to political engagement, from the isolation of early pioneers to the creation of self-governing churches. Tracing the nineteenth-century missionary work of the Churches with Wesleyan roots which went on to unite in 1932, Pritchard explores the shifting theologies and attitudes of missionaries who crossed cultural and geographical frontiers as well as those at home who sent and supported them. Necessarily selective in the personalities and events it describes, this book offers a comprehensive overview of a world-changing movement - a story packed with heroism, mistakes, achievements, frustrations, arguments, personalities, rascals and saints.

Since the 1990s, an increasing number of young men in Cameroon have aspired to play football as a career and a strategy to migrate abroad. Migration through the sport promises fulfillment of masculine dreams of sports stardom, as well as opportunities to earn a living that have been hollowed out by the country's long economic stalemate. The aspiring footballers are increasingly turning to Pentecostal Christianity, which allows them to challenge common tropes of young men as stubborn and promiscuous, while also offering a moral and bodily regime that promises success despite the odds. Yet the transnational sports market is tough and unpredictable: it demands disciplined young bodies and introduces new forms of uncertainty. This book unpacks young Cameroonians' football dreams, Pentecostal faith, obligations to provide, and desires to migrate to highlight the precarity of masculinity in structurally adjusted Africa and neoliberal capitalism.

The emergence of the Mormon church is arguably the most radical event in American religious history. How and why did so many Americans flock to this new religion, and why did so many other Americans seek to silence or even destroy that movement? Winner of the MHA Best Book Award by the Mormon History Association Mormonism exploded across America in 1830, and America exploded right back. By 1834, the new religion had been mocked, harassed, and finally expelled from its new settlements in Missouri. Why did this religion generate such anger? And what do these early conflicts say about our struggles with religious liberty today? In No Place for Saints, the first stand-alone history of the Mormon expulsion from Jackson County and the genesis of Mormonism, Adam Jortner chronicles how Latter-day Saints emerged and spread their faith-and how anti-Mormons tried to stop them. Early on, Jortner explains, anti-Mormonism thrived on gossip, conspiracies, and outright fables about what Mormons were up to. Anti-Mormons came to believe Mormons were a threat to democracy, and anyone who claimed revelation from God was an enemy of the people with no rights to citizenship. By 1833, Jackson County's anti-Mormons demanded all Saints leave the county. When Mormons refused-citing the First Amendment-the anti-Mormons attacked their homes, held their leaders at gunpoint, and performed one of America's most egregious acts of religious cleansing. From the beginnings of Mormonism in the 1820s to their expansion and expulsion in 1834, Jortner discusses many of the most prominent issues and events in Mormon history. He touches on the process of revelation, the relationship between magic and LDS practice, the rise of the priesthood, the questions surrounding Mormonism and African Americans, the internal struggles for leadership of the young church, and how American law shaped this American religion. Throughout, No Place for Saints shows how Mormonism-and the violent backlash against it-fundamentally reshaped the American religious and legal landscape. Ultimately, the book is a story of Jacksonian America, of how democracy can fail religious freedom, and a case study in popular politics as America entered a great age of religion and violence.

When many Christians think about the second coming of Jesus, they imagine apocalyptic disaster, fear and terror, and world-collapse.

But what if the second coming was more like a wedding than a catastrophe? If Jesus is returning as the Bridegroom, shouldn’t His Bride—the Church—focus more on deepening their commitment to Him than on comparing global events to last-days timelines?

Burning with passion and zeal for Jesus, and driven by a vision to see the church revived, prophet and bestselling author, Jeremiah Johnson, offers a prophetic plea to the people of God: “Come to the altar! Purify yourselves for the coming Bridegroom!”

In this timely prophetic message, The Altar shows you how to:

• Join the bridal revival that will sweep through the nations
• Cultivate a lovesickness for Jesus Christ and a longing for His return
• Become a burning and shining lamp in this generation
• Tear down the altar of Baal in your city and region

The Bridegroom is coming! Are you ready for the wedding day?

This book provides a comprehensive overview of Protestant Christianity in Korea. It outlines the development of Christianity in Korea before Protestantism, considers the introduction of Protestantism in the late nineteenth century and its widening and profound impact, and goes on to discuss the situation up to the present. Throughout the book emphasises the importance of Protestantism for Korean national life, highlights the key role Protestantism has played in Korea's social, political, and cultural development, including in North Korea whose first leader Kim Il Sung was the son of devout Protestant parents, and demonstrates how Protestantism continues to be a vital force for Korean society overall.

Philip Gorski is a very well-known and highly respected author. His work on Christianity and Democracy is ground breaking and he is a pioneer of the field. The book is incredibly topical and will be of interested to those studying Christianity, religion and politics and evangelicalism. This will be the first academic book to take this approach to the subject area.

How did America's white evangelicals, from often progressive history, come to right-wing populism? Addressing populism requires understanding how its historico-cultural roots ground present politics. How have the very qualities that contributed much to American vibrancy-an anti-authoritarian government-wariness and energetic community-building-turned, under conditions of distress, to defensive, us-them worldviews? Readers will gain an understanding of populism and of the socio-political and religious history from which populism draws its us-them policies and worldview. The book ponders the tragic cast of the white evangelical story: (i) the distorting effects of economic and way-of-life duress on the understanding of history and present circumstances and (ii) the tragedy of choosing us-them solutions to duress that won't relieve it, leaving the duress in place. Readers will trace the trajectory from economic, status loss, and way-of-life duresses to solutions in populist, us-them binaries. They will explore the robust white evangelical contribution to civil society but also to racism, xenophobia, and sexism. White evangelicals not in the ranks of the right-their worldview and activism-are discussed in a final chapter. This book is valuable reading for students of political and social sciences as well as anyone interested in US politics.

In the last fifty years, religion in America has changed dramatically, and Mainline Protestantism is following suit. This book reveals a fundamental transformation taking place in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The ELCA is looking to postdenominational Christianity for inspiration on how to attract people to the pews, but is at the same time intent on preserving its confessional, liturgical tradition as much as possible in late modernity. As American religion grows increasingly experiential and individualistic, the ELCA is caught between its church heritage and a highly innovative culture that demands participative structures and a personal relationship with the divine. In the midst of this tension, the ELCA is deflating its church hierarchy and encouraging people to become involved in congregations on their own terms, while it continues to celebrate its confessional, liturgical identity. But can this balance between individual and institution be upheld in the long run? Or will the democratization and pluralization of the faith ultimately undermine the church? This book explores how the ELCA attempts to resist the forces of Americanization in late modernity even as it slowly but surely comes to resemble mainstream American religion more and more.

Travel "diaries" of Bishop George Bell from 1933 to 1939 provide insights into the crisis of German Protestantism in those years. Throughout the middle years of the twentieth century George Bell, bishop of Chichester 1929-57, was deeply involved in the ecumenical movement and the political life of Europe. His sustained commitment to German affairs was demonstrated by his ten visits to Germany, between 1928 and 1957. They are documented in extensive travel "diaries", some of them purely personal and others circulated confidentially to fellow church leaders at the time. Together with other related sources, they provide extraordinary insights into the struggles of the German churches during and after the Third Reich. Equally, they demonstrate the profound difficulties which English Christians faced in coming toterms with a very different Protestant Christianity, and a disturbingly violent political culture. ANDREW CHANDLER teaches in the Department of History at the University of Birmingham.

For 175 years, the prevailing image of Elias Hicks has been a false one. His opponents in the Religious Society of Friends have successfully misrepresented him as denying Christ and the scriptures. In his last year of life, Hicks reluctantly penned a reply to these charges, recounting in his journal how God had ordered his life. But the published Journal was edited into a bland portrayal of one of the most dynamic figures in Quaker history. Paul Buckley has meticulously compiled a new edition of The Journal of Elias Hicks from the original manuscripts - most in Hicks' own handwriting - that restores more than 100 pages of missing material.

What did it mean to be a Covenanter? From its first subscription in 1638, the National Covenant was an aspect of life that communities across Scotland encountered on a daily basis. However, how contemporaries understood its significance remains unclear. This edited collection assesses how people interacted with the National Covenant's infamously ambiguous text, the political and religious changes that it provoked, and the legacy that it left behind. This volume contains eleven chapters divided between three themes that reveal the complex processes behind Covenanting: the act of swearing and subscribing the Covenants; the process of self fashioning and identity formation, and, finally, the various acts of remembering and memorialising the history of the National Covenant. The collection reveals different narratives of what it meant to be a Covenanter rather than one, uniform, and unchanging idea. The National Covenant forced contortions in Scottish identities, memories, and attitudes and remained susceptible to changes in the political context. Its impact was dependent upon individual circumstances. The volume's chapters contend that domestic understanding of the National Covenant was far more nuanced, and the conversations very different, from those occurring in a wider British or Irish context. Those who we now call 'Covenanters' were guided by very different expectations and understandings of what the Covenant represented. The rules that governed this interplay were based on local circumstances and long-standing pressures that could be fuelled by short-term expediency. Above all, the nature of Covenanting was volatile. Chapters in this volume are based on extensive archival research of local material that provide a view into the complex, and often highly personalised, ways people understood the act or memory of Covenanting. The chapters explore the religious, political, and social responses to the National Covenant through its creation in 1638, the Cromwellian invasion of 1650 and the Restoration of monarchy in 1660.

Christian Women and Modern China presents a social history of women pioneers in Chinese Protestantism from the 1880s to the 2010s. The author interrupts a hegemonic framework of historical narratives by exploring formal institutions and rules as well as social networks and social norms that shape the lived experiences of women. This book achieves a more nuanced understanding about the interplays of Christianity, gender, power and modern Chinese history. It reintroduces Chinese Christian women pioneers not only to women's history and the history of Chinese Christianity, but also to the history of global Christian mission and the global history of many modern professions, such as medicine, education, literature, music, charity, journalism, and literature.

Benjamin Hoadly, Bishop successively of Bangor, Hereford, Salisbury and Winchester, was the most controversial English churchman of the eighteenth century, and he has unjustly gained the reputation of a negligent and political bishop. His sermon on the nature of Christ's kingdom sparked the Bangorian controversy, which raged from 1717 to 1720 and generated hundreds of books, tracts and sermons, while his commitment to the Whigs and the cause of toleration for Dissenters earned him the antagonism of many contemporary and later churchmen. In this powerfully revisionist study, Hoadly emerges as a dedicated and conscientious bishop with strong and progressive principles. His commitment to the ideology of the Revolution of 1688 and to the comprehension of Dissenters into the Church of England are revealed as the principal motives for his work as a preacher, author and bishop. Gibson also shows how Hoadly's stout defence of rationalism made him a contributor to the English Enlightenment, while his commitment to civil liberties made him a progenitor of the American Revolution. Above all, however, the goal of reuniting of English Protestants remained the heart of Hoadly's legacy.

The nature of evangelical identity in Britain is both a perennial issue and an urgent one. This is especially the case because evangelical Christianity has, throughout its history, been characterised by a remarkable degree of dynamism and diversity. These essays, by a distinguished list of contributors, explore the issue of evangelical identity and the nature of evangelical diversity by investigating the interactions of evangelicalism with national and denominational identities, race and gender, and its expression in spirituality and culture from the evangelical revivals of the eighteenth century to evangelical churches and movements of the present.

This book offers a detailed analysis of one of the key episodes of twentieth-century ecumenism, focusing on the efforts made to reconcile the Church of England and the Methodist Church of Great Britain in the years since the First World War. Drawing on newly available archives as well as on a broad range of historical, theological, and liturgical expertise, the contributions explore what was attempted, why success proved elusive, and how the quest for unity was reconfigured into the twenty-first century. The volume sets contemporary ecumenical ambitions in historical context, explains the origins, course, and aftermath of the Anglican-Methodist 'Conversations' of 1955-72, retrieves their enduring global legacy, and explores the fraught nature of the ecumenical quest. It will be of key interest to scholars with an interest in ecumenism, Methodist studies, and church history.

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.

The John Coltrane Church began in 1965, when Franzo and Marina King attended a performance of the John Coltrane Quartet at San Francisco's Jazz Workshop and saw a vision of the Holy Ghost as Coltrane took the bandstand. Celebrating the spirituality of the late jazz innovator and his music, the storefront church emerged during the demise of black-owned jazz clubs in San Francisco, and at a time of growing disillusionment with counter-culture spirituality following the 1978 Jonestown tragedy. The ideology of the church was refined through alliances with the Black Panther Party, Alice Coltrane, the African Orthodox Church and the Nation of Islam. For 50 years, the church has - in the name of its patron saint, John Coltrane - effectively fought redevelopment, environmental racism, police brutality, mortgage foreclosures, religious intolerance, gender disparity and the corporatization of jazz. This critical history is the first book-length treatment of the evolution, beliefs and practices of an extraordinary African-American church and community institution.