Reclaiming Hope

Now with a new afterword from the author. "An important and extremely timely book...Get it, read it, and talk to others about it." --Timothy Keller In this unvarnished account of faith inside the world’s most powerful office, Michael Wear provides unprecedented insight into the highs and lows of working as a Christian in government. Reclaiming Hope is an insider’s view of the most controversial episodes of the Obama administration, from the president’s change of position on gay marriage and the transformation of religious freedom into a partisan idea, to the administration’s failure to find common ground on abortion and the bitter controversy over who would give the benediction at the 2012 inauguration. The book is also a passionate call for faith in the public square, particularly for Christians to see politics as a means of loving one’s neighbor and of pursuing justice for all. Engrossing, illuminating, and at time provocative, Reclaiming Hope changes the way we think about the relationship of politics and faith. "A pre-Trump book with serious questions for our politics in the age of Trump...More necessary than ever before." -- Sojourners "Should be read by Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives, and all who are concerned by the state of our politics.” --Kirsten Powers, USA Today columnist and CNN political analyst "Reclaiming Hope will certainly give you a fresh perspective on politics--but, more importantly, it may also give you a fresh perspective on faith.”--Andy Stanley, senior pastor of North Point Ministries "An important and extremely timely book...Get it, read it, and talk to others about it." --Timothy Keller, author of Reason for God "An important contribution in this age of religious and political polarization." --J.D. Vance, author of Hillbilly Elegy "A lifeline for these times." --Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand Gifts and The Broken Way “We can hope, and this book can help us.” --Russell Moore, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Barack Obama’s lucid vision of America’s place in the world and call for a new kind of politics that builds upon our shared understandings as Americans, based on his years in the Senate “In our lowdown, dispiriting era, Obama’s talent for proposing humane, sensible solutions with uplifting, elegant prose does fill one with hope.”—Michael Kazin, The Washington Post In July 2004, four years before his presidency, Barack Obama electrified the Democratic National Convention with an address that spoke to Americans across the political spectrum. One phrase in particular anchored itself in listeners’ minds, a reminder that for all the discord and struggle to be found in our history as a nation, we have always been guided by a dogged optimism in the future, or what Obama called “the audacity of hope.” The Audacity of Hope is Barack Obama’s call for a different brand of politics—a politics for those weary of bitter partisanship and alienated by the “endless clash of armies” we see in congress and on the campaign trail; a politics rooted in the faith, inclusiveness, and nobility of spirit at the heart of “our improbable experiment in democracy.” He explores those forces—from the fear of losing to the perpetual need to raise money to the power of the media—that can stifle even the best-intentioned politician. He also writes, with surprising intimacy and self-deprecating humor, about settling in as a senator, seeking to balance the demands of public service and family life, and his own deepening religious commitment. At the heart of this book is Barack Obama’s vision of how we can move beyond our divisions to tackle concrete problems. He examines the growing economic insecurity of American families, the racial and religious tensions within the body politic, and the transnational threats—from terrorism to pandemic—that gather beyond our shores. And he grapples with the role that faith plays in a democracy—where it is vital and where it must never intrude. Underlying his stories is a vigorous search for connection: the foundation for a radically hopeful political consensus. Only by returning to the principles that gave birth to our Constitution, Obama says, can Americans repair a political process that is broken, and restore to working order a government that has fallen dangerously out of touch with millions of ordinary Americans. Those Americans are out there, he writes—“waiting for Republicans and Democrats to catch up with them.”

Based on the book by the same title, the Reclaiming Youth at Risk video workshop takes viewers inside two schools and two residential treatment centers that have experienced great success in creating environments that allow young people to transfrom crisis into opportunity and failure into success.

Hope and Healing in Urban Education proposes a new movement of healing justice to repair the damage done by the erosion of hope resulting from structural violence in urban communities. Drawing on ethnographic case studies from around the country, this book chronicles how teacher activists employ healing strategies in stressed schools and community organizations, and work to reverse negative impacts on academic achievement and civic engagement, supporting their students to become powerful civic actors. The book argues that healing a community is a form of political action, and emphasizes the need to place healing and hope at the center of our educational and political strategies. At once a bold, revealing, and nuanced look at troubled urban communities as well as the teacher activists and community members working to reverse the damage done by generations of oppression, Hope and Healing in Urban Education examines how social change can be enacted from within to restore a sense of hope to besieged communities and counteract the effects of poverty, violence, and hopelessness.

The 'death of tragedy' in the modern era has been proposed and debated in recent years, largely in terms of literature and western culture in general. Today, any catastrophe or misadventure is likely to be labeled a 'tragedy', without any inference of a larger, transcendent horizon or providential design that the word once conveyed. This book offers new perspectives on the idea of the 'death of tragedy', taking England and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in particular as a case study. Chapters focus on the origins of tragedy in ancient Greece, gospel and tragedy, the beginnings of the Quaker movement in seventeenth-century England, apocalyptic versus secularized experiences of time, Edwardian Quaker triumphalism, the search for English identity in postcolonial Britain, liberal Quakerism at the end of the twentieth century, and the promise and dilemma of postmodernity. The different disciplinary perspectives of the contributing authors bring literature, history, theology and sociology into a creative and revealing conversation. A Foreword by Richard Fenn introduces the book with an original and provocative meditation on tragedy and time.

Chris I used to think vampires were extinct, but it turns out, they're merely hiding. When my pack stayed with some vamps a while back, I couldn't believe how prickly and rude they all were... all but one: Dregan. I met him and my wolf went crazy, wanting to be close, wanting to rub up on him, wanting to bite him. It makes no sense. Vampire blood and shifter blood don't mix. In fact, I'd never survive if I ever get a taste of what I so desperately desire. But I can't get that vampire out of my head, even weeks and months after we left him. Dregan When a little wolf caught my attention, I was surprised but intrigued. The more time he spent in my den, the more I wanted him to stay close. This little innocent wolf was driving me mad, making me want a little taste. But there's a reason my den has been hiding for hundreds of years, and no matter how badly I crave that little wolf, I can't have him. I couldn't risk him getting hurt just to satisfy my needs, so I let him go. Though, nothing I do will make me forget how good he smelled, how delicious I know his blood would taste. With something cruel and dark hunting Dregan and with Chris's pack hiding from an evil force, will they ever be able to come together and help one another? Or will they let the evils of the world overtake them and let fear overshadow their desires? ***Keeping Them Unseen is the third book in the Reclaiming Hope series. Each book in the series will feature a different couple, but it's recommended that you read the books in order because you will get more enjoyment out of the story. It's a paranormal shifter romance between two men and is intended for Adults Only.***

The most popular source of theological hope for American Christians is that of Jurgen Moltmann. Preachers, teachers, and lay people reflect Moltmann's influence, with their hope in a this-worldly eschatology and a suffering God. However, an exclusive reliance on that hope deprives the church of crucial resources in the face of global economic, environmental, and military crises. This book explores Moltmannian hope and considers its costs before looking elsewhere for additional contributions, from Thomas Aquinas's theological virtue of hope to nihilism and beyond, in order to encourage the church to sustain and practice hope in Jesus Christ, our only hope.

Get an authentic view of academic underachievement, apathy, and rage among America’s Black and Hispanic youth. Through a deeper understanding of the cultural backgrounds of these students, you’ll learn powerful strategies to deal with discipline problems, as well as strategies for keeping parents involved. Become an empowered Merchant of Hope armed with positive strategies for reaching these students.