God Loves The Freaks A Guide To Subculture Ministry

God Loves the Freaks points to a serious issue facing the church today - reaching out to subcultures and those who are considered the freaks of society. The "American Christianity" cult that many churches belong to accepts only members who dress, speak and act exactly the same way. We have somehow turned the church into an elite club where only those who follow man-made cultural rules are welcome. Why is it acceptable for someone to show up in church in traditional Chinese clothing, for instance, but not for someone to have a pink mohawk? The church tries to change the freaks of society, or worse, turns them away at the door. Jesus reached out to those in society who were different, who were outcast - the freaks. Stephen Weese paints a vision of a church living by grace, in unity; without the legalism that divides and causes us to shun others based on outward appearance. God looks at the heart and he loves everyone, including the freaks. If God loves the freaks, shouldn't the church as well?

God Loves the Freaks points to a serious issue facing the church today -- reaching out to subcultures and those who are considered the freaks of society. The "American Christianity" cult that many churches belong to accepts only members who dress, speak and act exactly the same way. We have somehow turned the church into an elite club where only those who follow man-made cultural rules are welcome. Why is it acceptable for someone to show up in church in traditional Chinese clothing, for instance, but not for someone to have a pink mohawk? The church tries to change the freaks of society, or worse, turns them away at the door. Jesus reached out to those in society who were different, who were outcast -- the freaks. Stephen Weese paints a vision of a church living by grace, in unity; without the legalism that divides and causes us to shun others based on outward appearance. God looks at the heart and he loves everyone, including the freaks. If God loves the freaks, shouldn't the church as well?

Insider twentysomething Christian journalist Brett McCracken has grown up in the evangelical Christian subculture and observed the recent shift away from the "stained glass and steeples" old guard of traditional Christianity to a more unorthodox, stylized 21st-century church. This change raises a big issue for the church in our postmodern world: the question of cool. The question is whether or not Christianity can be, should be, or is, in fact, cool. This probing book is about an emerging category of Christians McCracken calls "Christian hipsters"--the unlikely fusion of the American obsessions with worldly "cool" and otherworldly religion--an analysis of what they're about, why they exist, and what it all means for Christianity and the church's relevancy and hipness in today's youth-oriented culture.

In a world of rising tensions between Russia and the United States, the Middle East and Europe, Sunnis and Shiites, Islamism and liberalism, Turkey is at the epicentre. And at the heart of Turkey is its right-wing populist president, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an. Since 2002, Erdo?an has consolidated his hold on domestic politics while using military and diplomatic means to solidify Turkey as a regional power. His crackdown has been brutal and consistent - scores of journalists arrested, academics officially banned from leaving the country, university deans fired and many of the highest-ranking military officers arrested. In some senses, the nefarious and failed 2016 coup has given Erdo?an the licence to make good on his repeated promise to bring order and stability under a 'strongman'. Here, leading Turkish expert Soner Cagaptay will look at Erdo?an's roots in Turkish history, what he believes in and how he has cemented his rule, as well as what this means for the world. The book will also unpick the 'threats' Erdogan has worked to combat - from the liberal Turks to the Gulen movement, from coup plotters to Kurdish nationalists - all of which have culminated in the crisis of modern Turkey.

Exploring the Christian Faith through Japanese Animation Outside of our memory in a forgotten dream, lies a world surrounded by walls. There, in an abandoned dormitory far from town, live the haibane. Not quite human, they hatch from cocoons and grow grey wings. They are set apart. Whether you have a strong interest in Japanese anime, little interest, or none at all, this book will point out the amazing similarities between the fantasy series Haibane Renmei and the story of God's working with mankind. It is unique among Japanese animation stories. It is a story of redemption, salvation, and hope. While not directly a Christian story, the characters and themes found within this series reflect much of God's truth. This book is a journey for the reader showing God's truth can be found even in the most unlikely of places.

This book describes the living-room artifacts, clothing styles, and intellectual proclivities of American classes from top to bottom.

In an effort to understand and articulate the doctrine of Christian salvation in the age of globalization, this book examines drug trade-related violence in Mexico since 2006. It also highlights the challenges that churches in North America face today in an effort to both practice neighborliness and resistance.

Are you rapture ready? As a teenager in the buckle of the Bible Belt, Zack Hunt was convinced the rapture would happen at any moment. Being ready meant never missing church, never sinning, and always listening to Christian radio. But when the rapture didn’t happen, Hunt’s tightly wound faith began to fray. If he had been wrong about the rapture, what else about his faith might not hold water? Part memoir, part tour of the apocalypse, and part call to action, Unraptured traces how the church’s focus on escaping to heaven has it mired in decay. Teetering on the brink of irrelevancy in a world rocked by refugee crises, climate change, war and rumors of war, the church cannot afford to focus on the end times instead of following Jesus in the here and now. Unraptured uses these signs of the times to help readers reorient their understanding of the gospel around loving and caring for the least of these.