Chasing Belief

Every day the sun rises and the sun sets. The inconceivably immense cosmos goes on without stopping, taking no notice of our life, our death, or our quest for meaningfulness. Humans have always “chased belief,” sought meaning in the world transcendent to the personal and particular, amid the ambiguous mixture of beauty and horror all around us. But the traditional symbols and concepts—the narrative roadmaps that once sustained and directed belief—have changed and are increasingly seen as meaningless, divorced from the reality of the physical world in which we live, especially in the West and for many within Western Christianity. It is time to create new, transformed concepts for those moral and ethical religious teachings compatible with our modern self-understanding. We need “new wineskins” that remain faithful to important traditions but also find a basis beyond the personal and preferential, a transcendent perspective that thinks and believes both scientifically and religiously, as we “chase belief.” Chasing Belief challenges traditional models and thought patterns of religious language and ideas to plant the seeds of a new transformative spirituality that gives meaning and hope to the life we share on this mote in the cosmic sea.

Secret Service Agent Christian Ware's no-strings-attached affair with her boss is no longer working for her. Although she now has a life that most would envy, she's not happy. But her life takes a sudden, unexpected turn when she starts a new assignment--protecting Steven Stokes, a well-known Black minister who's also a Democratic presidential candidate. Determined to turn a new leaf and establish a relationship with God, Christian goes to Atlanta, where the Stokes's campaign is based. But when she finds herself falling for the Reverend's sexy son, Christian is confronted with a tough choice and must turn to a greater power to see her through this latest challenge. . .

Maybe you’ve never asked the question out loud, but you’ve wondered. You do the things that look good on paper: read your Bible, pray, attend study groups and go to church on Sundays. But you aren’t convinced you really know Him. Angie Smith understands, because she had run circles around the same paths searching for Him, frustrated at her lack of progress. And she probably would have continued to do so had it not been for one realization that changed everything. She wasn’t following God; she was trying to catch up with Him. And without realizing it, you may be as well. It’s a distinction that affects every aspect of our lives with Christ, and it begins with learning where we’ve relied more on man’s explanation of God than God Himself. So many requirements, so many rules, and so much guilt where there is supposed to be freedom. It’s the reason you wonder if you’ve measured up, and the nagging voice that tells you you’re a failure as a Christian. Three simple words changed everything for Angie, and she believes they can do the same for you. Stop chasing God.

Our journey through life is like traveling by train. We live life station-to-station, trying to pick the right train to board. While traveling the railways of life, Matthew Chance learned to navigate his way through some gracious guidance and some bad mistakes. Once a devout, humble, discerning youth, he turned to all forms of prodigality in teenage rebellion. As he awakened to his senses, he was about to graduate high school. By the grace of God and a family whose hope for him never faded, he now attends Baylor University. These revelations have released him to see Philippians 4:13 become a reality: we can truly do all things through Christ who gives us strength. His life has been radically transformed by the concepts he learned through the revelations in this book.

The most sacred journey we will ever take is to seek and then live our own dreams. We always have had dreams. Children freely dream and joyfully create and explore them. We tell children that if They Dream It---They Can Do It! Now it is our turn to show that same faith and trust. If we are Dreaming It- We can Do It! Each dream, whether small, medium or large has the power to enrich our lives and gift us with joy. So why not Do It? This book is about that spiritual journey. First, we must be ready to Dream again. We have to be open to the process and the steps involved. We need to be Open to the idea that this will work for us. Then, we take the next step. We need to become willing to understand the process of Dream Weaving, Dream Catching, Dream Chasing and finally Dream Doing. The third step is to become able to manifest our personal Dreams. This step is about living in our world and understanding what we need to do to walk through our fear and get it done. Dream Do or Dream Destroy: The choice is ultimately yours. Here’s Praying that you choose to Dream Do! Happy Journey.

Pulitzer Prize in General Nonfiction finalist Winner of the 2014 National Book Award in nonfiction. An Economist Best Book of 2014. A vibrant, colorful, and revelatory inner history of China during a moment of profound transformation From abroad, we often see China as a caricature: a nation of pragmatic plutocrats and ruthlessly dedicated students destined to rule the global economy-or an addled Goliath, riddled with corruption and on the edge of stagnation. What we don't see is how both powerful and ordinary people are remaking their lives as their country dramatically changes. As the Beijing correspondent for The New Yorker, Evan Osnos was on the ground in China for years, witness to profound political, economic, and cultural upheaval. In Age of Ambition, he describes the greatest collision taking place in that country: the clash between the rise of the individual and the Communist Party's struggle to retain control. He asks probing questions: Why does a government with more success lifting people from poverty than any civilization in history choose to put strict restraints on freedom of expression? Why do millions of young Chinese professionals-fluent in English and devoted to Western pop culture-consider themselves "angry youth," dedicated to resisting the West's influence? How are Chinese from all strata finding meaning after two decades of the relentless pursuit of wealth? Writing with great narrative verve and a keen sense of irony, Osnos follows the moving stories of everyday people and reveals life in the new China to be a battleground between aspiration and authoritarianism, in which only one can prevail.

Focusing on ten islands through the Caribbean, this ethnography examines how charismatic religious leaders develop creative transnational religious networking strategies that help spread the movement and increase its potential to become a greater force in shaping the future in the English-speaking Caribbean. The large and explosive global Charismatic movement spread in powerful ways in the small and tranquil English-speaking Caribbean. It is here in the deep Caribbean world of demonic possessions, spiritual demons, and supernatural healers where the Charismatic movement continues to shape a resilient culture. Placing the Charismatic movement in the realm of culture provides some highly surprising findings that reveal the potential of a religious movement and its ability for change in a late-modern social world.

There is nothing more important in this life or the one to come than an intimate connection with Jesus. Unfortunately, we have thousands of voices distracting us, and all too often we listen to them. We confuse proximity to God with intimacy with God and are content with a Christian-branded life yet miss out on what we were created for: knowing God intimately. Sharing the touching story of a demon-possessed man who had every reason to run the other way when he encountered Jesus, Heath Adamson shows us how spiritual hunger can overcome our hopelessness, our shame, and our excuses. He encourages us to pursue God regardless of where we've been or where we are, seeing our salvation as a doorway. Once we walk through it, we can discover the love of God in a tangible way. This book is for anyone who longs for a deeper connection to God, who has felt far from peace and hope, and who needs the assurance that God is both interested in who they are and accepts them.