Follow The New Way

An incisive look at Hmong religion in the United States, where resettled refugees found creative ways to maintain their traditions, even as Christian organizations deputized by the government were granted an outsized influence on the refugees’ new lives. Every year, members of the Hmong Christian Church of God in Minneapolis gather for a cherished Thanksgiving celebration. But this Thanksgiving takes place in the spring, in remembrance of the turbulent days in May 1975 when thousands of Laotians were evacuated for resettlement in the United States. For many Hmong, passage to America was also a spiritual crossing. As they found novel approaches to living, they also embraced Christianity—called kev cai tshiab, “the new way”—as a means of navigating their complex spiritual landscapes. Melissa May Borja explores how this religious change happened and what it has meant for Hmong culture. American resettlement policies unintentionally deprived Hmong of the resources necessary for their time-honored rituals, in part because these practices, blending animism, ancestor worship, and shamanism, challenged many Christian-centric definitions of religion. At the same time, because the government delegated much of the resettlement work to Christian organizations, refugees developed close and dependent relationships with Christian groups. Ultimately the Hmong embraced Christianity on their own terms, adjusting to American spiritual life while finding opportunities to preserve their customs. Follow the New Way illustrates America’s wavering commitments to pluralism and secularism, offering a much-needed investigation into the public work done by religious institutions with the blessing of the state. But in the creation of a Christian-inflected Hmong American animism we see the resilience of tradition—how it deepens under transformative conditions.

God calls his people to faithfully follow Jesus in a new way--to study him, walk with him, and let him live through them. In this engaging book, award-winning recording artist and producer Peacock-Ashworth invites readers to discover the new way and to start living it.

With 70% of change projects not meeting management expectations, can we conclude that the current way of doing change management works well (or even works at all)? Do we need a New Way to make organizational change happen? Yes, it is time. This book identifies ten new ways that can be used to make change management more effectively and efficiently. One of the ten ways is the use of the theater metaphor. If you want to change a play, you must start by selecting and communicating a new script to your theater company. If you want to change an organization, you must start by communicating to organization members a new vision of where the organization needs to be at some future time. If you want to change the play, you must put actors under contract for the new play and rehearse them until they can perform their roles perfectly. If you want to change an organization, workers must be under agreement to perform to new job descriptions and goals and be trained in new work processes and new technology. And so it goes Using your life-long familiarity with the idea of a "play, you will be able to make organizational change happen flawlessly. This book will show you how to excel at leading change, from either a management position or from an assignment as a change professional. This book is designed to put managers and change professionals "on the same page for leading change, using simple practical ideas and metaphors, backed by proven bodies of knowledge from management, the behavioral sciences and the theater. "You dont have to be afraid of change any longer! Dutchs work offers entertaining and simple solutions that will help you move swiftly and efficiently through the growing pains of organizational change. Ken Blanchard, author of The Secret and The One Minute Manager.

You exercise. You eat right. You make good choices—the stairs instead of the elevator. You are pursuing wellness. Is it possible, though, that in your pursuit to achieve wellness you are ignoring the one area of your life that needs the most daily exercise? Just like physical wellness requires commitment, a training regimen, good choices, and constant pursuit, spiritual wellness does too. In A New Way of Living, you'll discover a practical spiritual training program that can be successfully embraced and followed. Using nine simple verses, author, preacher, runner, and cyclist Gene Wilkes paints the picture of how to pursue spiritual wellness. Using carefully interpreted messages from the Beatitudes, you'll have an understanding of the people, the characteristics, and the promises that Jesus addressed. With that understanding, Wilkes then helps you develop your simple Beatitude exercise regimen. Each chapter in A New Way of Living includes reflection questions as part of a takeaway section as well as a small-group discussion guide and three-week devotional for digital online use. The book also contains photos characteristic of metaphors used in the book as well as other ancillary items.

This is a book about Leadership – one of the most talked about and dissected concepts in today's world. While there are many books and authorities on leadership on the market today, a gap exists in perspective. Where most books address leadership from a one or two generational perspectives or are focused either on entrepreneurs or corporate executives, this book intends to bridge that gap and offer leaders, as well as aspiring leaders, the information and tools they need to transform their own lives and their organizations – regardless of the industry.

“Following the Way in Cana of Galilee” is Book #4 of “The New Way Series.” It is based on the first century manuscript “Acts of the Apostles” written by Luke. The first century was a turbulent time of history. Society was changing primarily because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. After His resurrection, there was no Bible to follow, and various groups broke away and began to practice their own beliefs based primarily on tradition. In this book, characters from the previous books continue to grow and mature. Their faith is tested by troubles and hardships. They encounter radical teachings that rock them to the core of their beings. We see God calling some of them to leave Cana in order to share the New Way with others — some sacrificially choosing to remain single and traveling to unknown lands, giving up the comforts of home. Jesus said He was the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Come and see how following the Way impacted these young adults in “Following the Way in Cana of Galilee.” Watch as they boldly follow the Way by loving people that were considered their worst enemies — the Romans who ruled their homeland. Watch them follow, sometimes reluctantly, but ultimately triumphantly, where the Way led them. I hope you will look forward to meeting some new characters and hearing the story of the New Way impacting Capernaum, a much larger city in Galilee almost 90 miles north of Jerusalem. Book #5 of “The New Way Series” is entitled “Searching for Answers in Capernaum.”

Follow the Way is about how the virtues of humility, gratitude, and simplicity impact prayer and a relationship with God. We learn these virtues from the life of Jesus. Like the dust Jesus kicked up stuck to the sweaty disciples as they followed close behind, our habits and practices of listening, being, and seeing stick on those following us. Humility teaches us to listen. A relationship cannot be a one-sided conversation—humility reminds us to quiet our own voice enough to recognize the voice of God in our lives. Gratitude teaches us to be present. A relationship cannot be based solely on the past or the future—we need to recognize God in the present, in ordinary moments of life. Simplicity teaches us to see. A relationship cannot have clarity without each understanding the other—we need to clear out the noise and interference in order to recognize God’s will and plan for our life. Humility, gratitude, and simplicity empower us to pray intimately and experience an intimate relationship where we truly know God, not just stuff about God.