Mcchurched

In McChurched, Stan Moody tells us of the ?Thousand Points of Light,? a vision that could be bursting from candles of faith flickering from the church for all to see. Moody reflects how little light and how much darkness is being displayed in the influence of this new moralistic wave.Nevertheless, Moody has long believed in a Church in Exile?a community of faithful believers no longer at home in McChurch. Moody calls us to dis-arm?from arms of fear, defense and destruction?to arms of faith. Moody?s message is that in every community in today?s America there are ?A Thousand Tongues of Praise.? He offers this for their encouragement. ?We?ve ordered from the value menu and gorged on the extra-sized full-meal combos. The body of Christ is now bloated, lethargic and spiritually malnourished. Dr. Moody?s McChurched calls the Bride of Christ (the church) back to the lush banquet table overflowing with the fruit of the Spirit. This book is long overdue and should be devoured by all who hunger and thirst after righteousness. Come let us dine.? Karen Horst Cobb ??The Christian Right, having tired of trusting in the power of God to change hearts and nations, intends to override the transcendence of God over the State and replace it with the transcendence of the State over the church.? So says Stan Moody. His McChurched is an accurate refutation of the myth that the U.S. was ?founded on Christian principles? and a vivid demonstration of the basic emptiness of what passes for Christianity these days. At a time of intense debate about the role of religion in public life, Moody?s book could not be more timely.?H. R. Coursen

Young, who leads one of the ten largest churches in the United States, and his ministry team teach the importance of creativity among visionaries and those who benefit from it, detailing how creative pastors, ministries, and churches are made.

For much of American history, evangelicalism was aligned with progressive political causes. Nineteenth-century evangelicals fought for the abolition of slavery, universal suffrage, and public education. But contemporary conservative activists have defaulted on this majestic legacy, embracing instead an agenda virtually indistinguishable from the Republican Party platform. Abortion, gay marriage, intelligent design -- the Religious Right is fighting, and winning, some of the most important political battles of the twenty-first century. How has evangelical Christianity become so entrenched in partisan politics? Randall Balmer is both an evangelical Christian and a historian of American religion. Struggling to reconcile the contemporary state of evangelical faith in America with its proud tradition of progressivism, Balmer has headed to the frontlines of some of the most powerful and controversial organizations tied to the Religious Right. With a skillful combination of grassroots organization, ideological conviction, and media savvy, the leaders of the movement have mobilized millions of American evangelical Christians behind George W. Bush's hard-right political agenda. Deftly combining ethnographic research, theological reflections, and historical context, Balmer laments the trivialization of Christianity -- and offers a rallying cry for liberal Christians to reclaim the noble traditions of their faith.

In the 2004 election, 80 percent of those who claimed "moral values" was the most important issue affecting their vote cast their ballots for Bush, as did 63 percent of frequent churchgoers. Since then, the Religious Right has continued to cement an association between "Christian" and "moral" values and conservative policies. Getting On Message challenges this association from the very heart of the Christian tradition. These readable and incisive essays use biblical framing to discern the personal and social ethics that truly embody Christian values in the contemporary world. Marilynne Robinson discusses the link between personal holiness and a generous spirit. Garret Keizer looks at the growing wealth/class divide from a Christian perspective. Rev. Heidi Neumark examines hospitality as a core Christian value. Rev. Chloe Breyer explores a justice criterion for women's decisions on abortion. Rev. Bill Sinkford asks what really constitutes a God-approved marriage and family. Getting On Message is a book for clergy, for politically active people of faith, and for progressive organizers and strategists who want to learn how to talk to religious believers about the values they share.

“An unforgettable look at the peculiar horrors and humiliations involved in solitary confinement” from the prisoners who have survived it (New York Review of Books). On any given day, the United States holds more than eighty-thousand people in solitary confinement, a punishment that—beyond fifteen days—has been denounced as a form of cruel and degrading treatment by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture. Now, in a book that will add a startling new dimension to the debates around human rights and prison reform, former and current prisoners describe the devastating effects of isolation on their minds and bodies, the solidarity expressed between individuals who live side by side for years without ever meeting one another face to face, the ever-present specters of madness and suicide, and the struggle to maintain hope and humanity. As Chelsea Manning wrote from her own solitary confinement cell, “The personal accounts by prisoners are some of the most disturbing that I have ever read.” These firsthand accounts are supplemented by the writing of noted experts, exploring the psychological, legal, ethical, and political dimensions of solitary confinement. “Do we really think it makes sense to lock so many people alone in tiny cells for twenty-three hours a day, for months, sometimes for years at a time? That is not going to make us safer. That’s not going to make us stronger.” —President Barack Obama “Elegant but harrowing.” —San Francisco Chronicle “A potent cry of anguish from men and women buried way down in the hole.” —Kirkus Reviews

Have We Traded the Power of the Gospel for the American Dream? God is calling His children to live authentic, relevant lives, where the power of the Gospel, the peace, security, wisdom, direction, and joy of a life transformed, become a living witness to those around us. But what happens when we sometimes subtly, even unknowingly, exchange the truth of the Gospel for a pursuit of the American Dream? We like to dress up our desires with Bible verses and Christian sayings, but somewhere along the way, we find ourselves pursuing something other than God's Kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. This book provides a wake-up call to devoted Christ-followers to return to the simplicity of the Good News, the saving, transforming power of God to change a life for eternity. Whether you fall on the political left or right, consider yourself conservative or liberal, focus more on grace or works, this book is written to both encourage and challenge you, to stir your soul and perhaps ruffle your feathers. In the end, this is a message that will point you towards spiritual renewal!

In 1961, young, black, eighth-grade dropout Wilbert Rideau despaired of his small-town future in the segregated deep south of America. He set out to rob the local bank and after a bungled robbery he killed the bank teller, a fifty-year-old white female. He was arrested and gave a full confession. When we meet Rideau he has just been sentenced to death row, from where he embarks on an extraordinary journey. He is imprisoned at Angola, the most violent prison in America, where brutality, sexual slavery and local politics confine prisoners in ways that bars alone cannot. Yet Rideau breaks through all this and finds hope and meaning, becoming editor of the prison magazine, going on to win national journalism awards. Full of gritty realism and potent in its evocation of a life condemned, Rideau goes far beyond the traditional prison memoir and reveals an emotionally wrought and magical conclusion to his forty-four years in prison.