Scholars have often read the book of Revelation in a way that attempts to ascertain which Old Testament book it most resembles. Instead, we should read it as a combined and imitative text which actively engages the audience through signalling to multiple texts and multiple textual experiences: in short, it is an act of pastiche. Fletcher analyses the methods used to approach Revelation's relationship with Old Testament texts and shows that, although there is literature on Revelation's imitative and multi-vocal nature, these aspects of the text have not yet been explored in sufficient depth. Fletcher's analysis also incorporates an examination of Greco-Roman imitation and combination before providing a better way to understand the nature of the book of Revelation, as pastiche. Fletcher builds her case on four comparative case studies and uses a test case to ascertain how completely they fit with this assessment. These insights are then used to clarify how reading Revelation as imitative and combined pastiche can challenge previous scholarly assumptions, transforming the way we approach the text.

Pastor and author Michael P. Fletcher asserts that a leadership pipeline can't be bought, rather it has to be built from the ground up. Fletcher guides the reader on how to build better leaders faster by creating a leadership development culture in your church or organization.

The key to continued success in any church or organization is a steady stream of healthy, growing leaders; but not just any leaders-leaders who carry the culture and embody its core values. But where can you find leaders like this?

Author and leadership consultant Michael Fletcher says these types of leaders can't simply be "bought" nor can they be hired off of someone else's "assembly line." These types of leaders have to be built through a leadership pipeline.

A good leadership pipeline will help articulate the values of the church or organization and define the process required to move forward in it. However, to develop leaders at every level in the organization, to create an environment that attracts potential leaders, and to build better leaders faster, an organization needs more than a pipeline-it will need a culture that develops leaders organically.

The Companion to the New Testament offers intelligent enrichment for encounters with the New Testament. Covering both historical-critical approaches and the history of interpretation, it provides a launchpad for students wrestling with some of the complex debates and concerns presented by the canon. Contributors include: Joan Taylor, Sarah Rollens,Philip Tite, Ward Blanton, Minna Shkul, Wan Wei Hsien, Brittany E. Wilson

Scholars have often read the book of Revelation in a way that attempts to ascertain which Old Testament book it most resembles. Instead, we should read it as a combined and imitative text which actively engages the audience through signalling to multiple texts and multiple textual experiences: in short, it is an act of pastiche. Fletcher analyses the methods used to approach Revelation's relationship with Old Testament texts and shows that, although there is literature on Revelation's imitative and multi-vocal nature, these aspects of the text have not yet been explored in sufficient depth. Fletcher's analysis also incorporates an examination of Greco-Roman imitation and combination before providing a better way to understand the nature of the book of Revelation, as pastiche. Fletcher builds her case on four comparative case studies and uses a test case to ascertain how completely they fit with this assessment. These insights are then used to clarify how reading Revelation as imitative and combined pastiche can challenge previous scholarly assumptions, transforming the way we approach the text.

Random Collection of the 500 craziest and most humorous Facebook and twitter status updates ever posted

There is no more powerful, detested, misunderstood African American in our public life than Clarence Thomas. "Supreme Discomfort: The Divided Soul of Clarence Thomas" is a haunting portrait of an isolated and complex man, savagely reviled by much of the black community, not entirely comfortable in white society, internally wounded by his passage from a broken family and rural poverty in Georgia, to elite educational institutions, to the pinnacle of judicial power. His staunchly conservative positions on crime, abortion, and, especially, affirmative action have exposed him to charges of heartlessness and hypocrisy, in that he is himself the product of a broken home who manifestly benefited from racially conscious admissions policies.
"Supreme Discomfort" is a superbly researched and reported work that features testimony from friends and foes alike who have never spoken in public about Thomas before--including a candid conversation with his fellow justice and ideological ally, Antonin Scalia. It offers a long-overdue window into a man who straddles two different worlds and is uneasy in both--and whose divided personality and conservative political philosophy will deeply influence American life for years to come.