Raising Up A Testimony

During his first seven years ministering to a suburban Houston congregation (2003-9), Matt Soper wrote a weekly essay commenting on current events, culture and the Christian faith. These essays touched on some of the most dramatic events and pressings issues of that decade, such as the capture of Saddam Hussein, the Abu Ghraib prison debacle, Hurricane Katrina, the fallout from the Danish cartoons of Muhammed, the Enron implosion, sports steroid scandals, the same-sex marriage debate, Barack Obama's historic election, and the 2007-8 recession. They also addressed more prosaic but always challenging issues and events in the life of regular people striving to live faithfully as part of an American congregation of Christians. The essays were written in real time as events unfolded, and they chronicle a preacher attempting to lead a community of Christians in thoughtfully engaging the world through eyes of courageous, rigorous and hopeful faith. Dr. Matt Soper was born and raised in New Orleans, LA. He earned bachelor's degrees in Business from Rhodes College and Biblical Studies from Austin Graduate School of Theology, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Ministry from Abilene Christian University. He has served churches in New Milford, CT, Los Angeles, CA and Houston, TX. He is currently the Senior Minister of the West Houston Church of Christ. He and his wife, Angela, have two daughters.

How does a boy learn to be a man? A man learns masculinity primarily from his father. But generations of boys who grow up without caring fathers or male mentors to emulate are left to guess what "men" are really like. They rely on cultural icons--larger-than-life images--as models of masculinity. As a result, they grow up mirroring overblown myths of manhood. Obsessed with being "man enough," they become philanderers, controllers, and competitors--constantly overcompensating for their loss of a true role model, yet sorely unprepared for family life. In Man Enough, psychiatrist and family therapist Frank Pittman explores what it is like to grow up male today. With great poignancy, humor, and candor, he weaves together case studies from his practice, examples from literature and films, plus personal vignettes from his own experiences as a father to examine these hyper-masculine men and to illustrate how they developed and how they can change. Dr. Pittman asserts that men can move past proving their masculinity and start practicing it by striving with the other guys rather than against them, achieving equality and intimacy with their mates--and by fathering. A man raises himself as he raises children and learns to understand and forgive his parents as he becomes one. An important book for men and women, Man Enough offers a new approach to issues of commitment, caring and control and creates a positive model for the fathers of tomorrow's men.

How many souls have you won to Christ? How many are still walking with the Lord? All, some, a few? The facts are: Evangelical success is at an all-time low. We’re producing more backsliders than true converts. The fall-away rate—from large crusades to local churches—is between 80 to 90 percent. Why are so many unbelievers turning away from the message of the gospel? Doesn’t the Bible tell us how to bring sinners to true repentance? If so, where have we missed it? The answer may surprise you. One hundred years ago, Satan buried the crucial key needed to unlock the unbeliever’s heart. Now Ray Comfort boldly breaks away from modern tradition and calls for a return to biblical evangelism. If you’re experiencing evangelical frustration over lost souls, unrepentant sinners, and backslidden “believers,” then look no further. This radical approach could be the missing dimension needed to win our generation to Christ.

If God is in control of everything, can Christians sit back and not bother to evangelize? Or does active evangelism imply that God is not really sovereign at all? J. I. Packer shows in this new edition to the popular IVP Classics how both of these attitudes are false. In a careful review of the biblical evidence, he shows how a right understanding of God's sovereignty is not so much a barrier to evangelism as an incentive and powerful support for it. With over 100,000 copies in print, Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God is truly a classic that should be read by every Christian.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1970, volume 3, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee from October 18 through December 1970. From the middle of October until the end of the year, Brother Lee was in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The contents of this volume are divided into eight sections, as follows: 1. Twenty-four messages given in Hong Kong in October and November. These messages were edited from audio recordings together with the notes taken by Brother K. H. Weigh and were previously published in Chinese as a book entitled The Church Life in Spirit and Truthfulness. They are included in this volume under the same title. 2. Eight messages given in Hong Kong on October 18 through November 14. They were compiled and edited from audio recordings together with the notes of Brother K. H. Weigh and are included in this volume under the title The Proper Attitude When Facing Turmoils. 3. A message given in Hong Kong on an unknown date in 1970. In 1971 this message was published in Chinese with some added material by the Taiwan Gospel Book Room under the title Concerning the Person of Christ. Later, a booklet by the same title was published in English. The English edition is included in this volume. 4. A message given in Hong Kong on an unknown date in 1970. It was previously published in Chinese under the title Concerning the Triune God--the Father, the Son, and the Spirit and was later published in English under the same title. The English edition of the booklet is included in this section. 5. Seventeen messages given in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in November and December. The first fourteen messages were originally published in Chinese in The Ministry of the Word magazine in January through August 1971. The entire series of seventeen messages was published in Chinese and English as a book entitled Being Delivered from Religious Rituals and Walking according to the Spirit and is included in this volume under the same title. 6. Four messages given in Taichung, Taiwan, on December 9 through 11. These messages were previously published in Chinese and English under the title The Ministry of the New Covenant and the Spirit. The contents of the published book are included in this volume. 7. Fourteen messages given in Taipei and Kaohsiung, Taiwan, in December. They were originally published in Chinese in The Ministry of the Word magazine in March through December 1971 and were also published as a book entitled Taking Christ as Our Person for the Church Life. They were subsequently published in English in a book under the same title and are included in this volume. 8. Three messages given in Taipei, Taiwan, from December 3 through 5. These messages are included in this volume under the title An Explanation of a Few Truths.

The Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1955, volume 4, contains messages given by Brother Witness Lee in September through November 1955. Historical information concerning Brother Lee's travels and the content of his ministry in 1955 can be found in the general preface that appears at the beginning of volume 1 in this set. The contents of this volume are divided into ten sections, as follows: 1. Twenty messages given in Hong Kong on September 21 through October 2. These messages are included in this volume under the title The Mingling of God and Man and the Principle of Resurrection. 2. Three messages given in Hong Kong in September. These messages are included in this volume under the title Fellowship with Saints in Southeast Asia. 3. Twenty-one messages given in Hong Kong in October and November. These messages were previously published in a book entitled Further Talks on the Knowledge of Life and are included in this volume under the same title. 4. Ten messages given in Hong Kong on October 3 through 18. These messages are included in this volume under the title A Record of a Bible Study on Romans and 1 and 2 Corinthians. 5. Seven messages given in Hong Kong in October and November. These messages are included in this volume under the title A Bird's-eye View of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians. 6. Seventeen messages given in Hong Kong on October 3 through November 3. These messages are included in this volume under the title Concerning How to Work for the Lord. 7. A message given in Hong Kong on October 8. This message is included in this volume under the title Concerning How to Meet. 8. A message given in Hong Kong on October 10. This message is included in this volume under the title Concerning How to Cultivate One's Character. 9. A talk with Brother K. H. Weigh in Hong Kong on October 16. This talk is included in this volume under the title Knowing Christ as Life and Seeing the Light concerning the Tree of Life. 10. Three messages given in Hong Kong on October 19 through 25. These messages are included in this volume under the title Concerning the Practice Needed in the Meetings.