Church Body

An accessible introduction to the book of Ephesians from New Testament scholar N. T. Wright. Ephesians presents a wide-ranging panorama of the Christian gospel and its implications. It looks backwards toward the creation of the world, and it looks forward to the time when God will be "all in all...

In Jezebel Unhinged Tamura Lomax traces the use of the jezebel trope in the Black church and in Black popular culture, showing how it is pivotal to reinforcing men's cultural and institutional power to discipline and define Black girlhood and womanhood. Drawing on writing by medieval thinkers and travelers, Enlightenment theories of race, the commodification of women's bodies under slavery, and the work of Tyler Perry and Bishop T. D. Jakes, Lomax shows how Black women are written into religious and cultural history as sites of sexual deviation.

Much of the church has forgotten that we worship a disabled God whose wounds survived resurrection, says Amy Kenny. It is time for the church to start treating disabled people as full members of the body of Christ who have much more to offer than a miraculous cure narrative and to learn from their embodied experiences. Written by a disabled Christian, this book shows that the church is missing out on the prophetic witness and blessing of disability.

Rediscover the goodness and beauty of the Body of Christ. The evangelical church is hemorrhaging. Over 40 million Americans have dechurched in the last 25 years alone, and multiple generations have been raised to believe the most spiritual thing they can do is follow God by following their heart...

Beyond a mere introduction to great art, Van Gogh Has a Broken Heart is about loving to learn what art has to teach us about the wonder and struggle of being alive. Did you know that: Vincent van Gogh's attempt to start an artist's colony with Paul Gauguin lasted only nine weeks, ending in his...

When carolers attack, you know retirement isn't going as planned. Mabel Frost thought her biggest Christmas challenge would be untangling lights and surviving her grandchildren's sugar-fueled chaos. Then the charming new choir director started asking very personal questions about everyone's bank accounts. Harold Wimbley, the church's meticulous treasurer, thinks something's fishy about all those "enhanced worship experiences" that cost a fortune. But when Harold turns up dead in the sanctuary, his "natural causes" death feels anything but natural to Mabel. Armed with her leaf blower, a ...

Every era has its challenges, but ours seem to be majoring in anxiety. Bombarded (via screens) by constant global conflicts, rancorous politics, and church scandals, today we endure seemingly endless external stressors. The reasons are easy to find—division in politics and the pews, caring for kids or aging parents, and the rapid impact of social media on our psyches, to name a few. While exploring these origins may hold some benefit, Sara Billups is concerned with right now: How do we live well in the presence of pervasive personal and collective anxiety?

Since a global pandemic abruptly closed places of worship, many Christians have skipped church life, even neglecting virtual services. But this was a trend even before COVID-19. Polarizing issues, including political and racial strife, convinced some people to pull away from the church and one another. Now it’s time to recommit to gathering as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Life in the Body of Christ is a must-listen for every Christian. Every age group in every evangelical church should make it a point to study this book chapter by chapter, look seriously at every suggestion, and meditate on every scripture suggested for that purpose. Curtis Thomas has given us a gift, a stimulus to edifying reflection and action on every pertinent aspect of corporate and individual responsibility and privilege to be pursued in the life of a local church. His suggestions are brief but turgid with biblical insight and healthy church experience.

Brendan Roberts, author of five books and co-author of "Worth the Chase: Finding Love God's Way" challenges the reader to deepen their knowledge of history and deepen their understanding of their faith. Is the Catholic Church really hung up about sex? This book can give you insight into why America actually chose Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. Clinton endorsed abortion up to birth, including partial-birth abortion. Read the philosophy behind such a crazy notion. Also read why the Church is so pro-life and will stand up for the dignity of the helpless. You can discover in-depth the ...

Most discussions on the subject of the Roman Catholic - Eastern Orthodox schism are written by apologists, typically with the agenda to prove that one side is ‘exclusively right.’ Often, these books focus on specific topics such as ‘Peter’s primacy’ and never tackle the underlying issues, such as ecclesiology, or the meaning of words, such as “church” or “primacy.” In this comprehensive, scholarly, yet easy-to-read study, the author cuts through the fog of popular apologetics and lays bare all the facts with unprecedented objectivity. Writing from an Orthodox perspective ...

James Blakely is dead. Murdered in his sleep, he never made it to the other side—and he's pretty sure it's because he’s damned. Now a ghost, James haunts the apartment building where he died, slipping through walls to watch over his sleeping daughter, bantering with the foul-mouthed psychic who’s his only friend, and searching for the redemption that always seems out of reach. When his beloved childhood piano teacher is found murdered, James knows one thing: he may be dead, but he's not done. Determined to solve her killing, he faces all the usual challenges of detective work—plus a...

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER “A smart, wise, often side-splittingly funny master class in seeking God. Any spiritual seeker—from atheist to professional religious—will cherish this bravura tome from one of our great spiritual guides, in the lineage of C. S. Lewis, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton...

Understanding the 33 Doctors of the Catholic Church can require a lot of study. And even so, it is hard to get into the spirit of the teachings from the Doctors. Their lives are as varied as their accomplishments. To learn even a little bit about these unique souls who were chosen to experience and describe for the faithful the depth and interior meaning of the teachings of the Church has profound value. But it also shows the individual grandeur of these great figures in Church history.

Many evangelical churches face the problem of the open "back door"--even as new people arrive, older members are leaving, looking for something else. Combined with this problem is the discipleship deficit, the difficult truth that most evangelicals are not reaching the unchurched at the rates...

Read by the author. May the Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you… We have received the blessing countless times, but what does it mean for the Lord to shine his face upon us in a time when many Christians are disillusioned with their faith, wrestling to reframe their...

The Bible has plenty to say about the human body and clothing in ancient times, but modern translations and socially conditioned assumptions have drifted significantly away from ancient cultures and the intent of the earliest texts. Do you you know what the Bible really says in the original Greek and Hebrew, or have you trusted what you hear? Perhaps it is time to make a detailed exposition of what the Bible has to say about clothing and nakedness for a believer's life. In these pages, journey with me through a comprehensive study of nearly every passage relating directly to the topic so ...

People are leaving the church J.D. Greear pastors. Big givers. Key volunteers. Some of his best leaders and friends. And that’s exactly how he wants it to be. When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, he revealed that the key for reaching the world with the gospel is found in sending...

Every year, millions visit a stunning circuit board city starring gorgeous collections of interconnected rectangular buildings and charming houses in shades of beige, sandy-brown, and other earthy tones. Zoom in a little closer, and one can see the Renaissance-style exterior of its buildings and the exquisite detail captured in the statues mounted on the tops of its palaces and cathedrals.

How do art and faith intersect? How does art help us see our own lives more clearly? What can we understand about God and humanity by looking at the lives of artists? Striving for beauty, art also reveals what is broken. It presents us with the tremendous struggles and longings common to the...