Take spirituality into the real world. Jesus didn't "become flesh" so we could feel different. He came to this world so we will be different. Often our spirituality seems invisible and mute to a hurting world. Many of us simply internalize faith out of fear, feelings of inadequacy, or choice. A faithful response to discipleship's call, however, is both inward and outward. Through Howell's study, you'll find ways to apply faith to your daily life and make evident your commitment to Christ. By considering all that Jesus did with his hands as a teacher, a healer, and a compassionate servant, Howell challenges readers to be the hands and feet and love of Christ in the world. "Christianity must become something real, tangible, something that pervades all that we are," writes Howell. "It must become something we do. In our culture, for Christianity to have any meaningful future, we must get serious about a genuine lifestyle that is holy without being elitist, engaged with the world without being jaded or self-righteous, active and busy yet prepared to cope with failure." Howell's inspiration for this work comes from a poetic meditation written by Teresa of Avila, a Spanish nun who lived in the 16th century. The poem begins: "Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours." Howell connects these words with the apostle Paul, who wrote in 1 Corinthians 12: "Now you are the body of Christ." Express your faith through action. Be the hands of Christ today to a hurting world.

It is a common misconception that Lutheran theology is inherently antinomian, or unconcerned with Christian ethics. This unfortunate caricature of the doctrine of the Reformation has been furthered by certain strands of Lutheran theology, which reject the third use of the law and the necessity of expounding Christian ethics in preaching. In this book, Jordan Cooper challenges the claim that Lutheranism emphasizes justification at the expense of sanctification, demonstrating that the two kinds of righteousness are a historical Lutheran framework that gives prominence to both salvation by grace and one's duty to serve the neighbor in love. Through an evaluation of Luther's writings, the confessional documents, Lutheran Orthodoxy, and contemporary writers, Cooper demonstrates that an emphasis on the passive nature of one's relationship to God does not diminish or negate the necessity of sanctified living. This is done not by departing from Lutheran teaching, but by delving deeper into historic Lutheran theology as found in the scholastic tradition.

In Hands on the Freedom Plow, fifty-two women--northern and southern, young and old, urban and rural, black, white, and Latina--share their courageous personal stories of working for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) on the front lines of the Civil Rights Movement. The testimonies gathered here present a sweeping personal history of SNCC: early sit-ins, voter registration campaigns, and freedom rides; the 1963 March on Washington, the Mississippi Freedom Summer, and the movements in Alabama and Maryland; and Black Power and antiwar activism. Since the women spent time in the Deep South, many also describe risking their lives through beatings and arrests and witnessing unspeakable violence. These intense stories depict women, many very young, dealing with extreme fear and finding the remarkable strength to survive. The women in SNCC acquired new skills, experienced personal growth, sustained one another, and even had fun in the midst of serious struggle. Readers are privy to their analyses of the Movement, its tactics, strategies, and underlying philosophies. The contributors revisit central debates of the struggle including the role of nonviolence and self-defense, the role of white people in a black-led movement, and the role of women within the Movement and the society at large. Each story reveals how the struggle for social change was formed, supported, and maintained by the women who kept their "hands on the freedom plow." As the editors write in the introduction, "Though the voices are different, they all tell the same story--of women bursting out of constraints, leaving school, leaving their hometowns, meeting new people, talking into the night, laughing, going to jail, being afraid, teaching in Freedom Schools, working in the field, dancing at the Elks Hall, working the WATS line to relay horror story after horror story, telling the press, telling the story, telling the word. And making a difference in this world."

As Christians, we are to love God with all of our being--heart, mind, soul and strength. But many of us tend to overemphasize one aspect or another, and as a result, our faith becomes imbalanced. Some of us have an intellectual faith but lack compassion or spiritual discipline. Others of us have a vibrant, heartfelt relationship with God but lack commitment to truth or doctrine. And many of us overlook translating our faith into service and ministry. In this book ethicist Dennis P. Hollinger presents a holistic, integrative vision for reuniting Christian thought, passion and action. He shows how individuals, churches and movements throughout history have focused on either the head, or the heart or the hands--often to the exclusion of other expressions. But by linking our intellect, emotions and actions, Hollinger points us toward a whole faith for the whole person, where each dimension feeds, nurtures and sustains the others.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Relationship Goals . . . Will you be remembered as a person who claimed to follow God but liked to play it safe? Or as a person who lived your life out on the limb and trusted God enough to live in crazy faith? Noah looked crazy when he started building the ark . . . until it started raining. It was crazy for Moses to lead a nation of people into the desert away from Egypt . . . until the Red Sea parted. It was crazy to believe that a fourteen-year-old virgin would give birth to the Son of God . . . until Mary held Jesus in her arms. There are many things that seem normal or average today that at one point in time seemed absolutely crazy. Smartphones, Wi-Fi, and even the electric light bulb were all groundbreaking, history-making inventions that started out as crazy ideas. Our see-it-to-believe-it generation tends to have a hard time exercising true faith—one that steps out, takes action, and sees mountain-moving results. Many of us would rather play it safe and stand on the sidelines, but it’s crazy faith that helps us see God move and reveals His promises. In Crazy Faith, Pastor Michael Todd shows us how to step out in faith and dive into the purposeful life of trusting God for the impossible. Even if you have to start with baby faith or maybe faith, you can become empowered to let go of your lazy faith, trust God through your hazy faith, and learn to live a lifestyle of crazy faith. With powerful stories of modern-day faith warriors who take their cues from biblical heroes, Michael Todd equips you to • believe for the impossible • choose hope over fear • be alert to the voice of God • cope with loss and doubt • develop a deeper level of trust in God • speak faith-filled declarations • inspire crazy faith in others God’s not looking for somebody to give Him all the reasons why His plans can’t happen. He’s looking for somebody to believe they will happen. In fact, He has so much He wants to do through you. The question is, Are you crazy enough to believe it?

Take spirituality into the real world. Jesus didn't "become flesh" so we could feel different. He came to this world so we will be different. Often our spirituality seems invisible and mute to a hurting world. Many of us simply internalize faith out of fear, feelings of inadequacy, or choice. A faithful response to discipleship's call, however, is both inward and outward. Through Howell's study, you'll find ways to apply faith to your daily life and make evident your commitment to Christ. By considering all that Jesus did with his hands as a teacher, a healer, and a compassionate servant, Howell challenges readers to be the hands and feet and love of Christ in the world. "Christianity must become something real, tangible, something that pervades all that we are," writes Howell. "It must become something we do. In our culture, for Christianity to have any meaningful future, we must get serious about a genuine lifestyle that is holy without being elitist, engaged with the world without being jaded or self-righteous, active and busy yet prepared to cope with failure." Howell's inspiration for this work comes from a poetic meditation written by Teresa of Avila, a Spanish nun who lived in the 16th century. The poem begins: "Christ has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours." Howell connects these words with the apostle Paul, who wrote in 1 Corinthians 12: "Now you are the body of Christ." Express your faith through action. Be the hands of Christ today to a hurting world.