Rather than looking at Jesus -- the popular conception of the "historical Jesus" -- John Baggett contends that we should instead look with Jesus at the realities of God and neighbor as he perceived them. Baggett incorporates the witness of the key human relationships of Jesus, looking at why those earliest believers and friends considered him divine. Baggett then asks how Christ's transcendence can ultimately translate to significance for life and faith in today's story.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of the world’s most influential spiritual thinkers, a long-awaited book exploring what it means that Jesus was called “Christ,” and how this forgotten truth can restore hope and meaning to our lives. “Anyone who strives to put their faith into action will find encouragement and inspiration in the pages of this book.”—Melinda Gates In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Is the word simply Jesus’s last name? Too often, Rohr writes, our understandings have been limited by culture, religious debate, and the human tendency to put ourselves at the center. Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. “God loves things by becoming them,” he writes, and Jesus’s life was meant to declare that humanity has never been separate from God—except by its own negative choice. When we recover this fundamental truth, faith becomes less about proving Jesus was God, and more about learning to recognize the Creator’s presence all around us, and in everyone we meet. Thought-provoking, practical, and full of deep hope and vision, The Universal Christ is a landmark book from one of our most beloved spiritual writers, and an invitation to contemplate how God liberates and loves all that is.

Why were sinners so attracted to Jesus yet repelled by the religious? It had everything to do with the heart of Jesus. They sensed that Jesus was for them--not against them. When broken, sinful people feel repelled by Christians, we must assess whether our hearts reveal the heart of God or reflect the heart of the Pharisees. Through this engaging study of Jesus's encounters with imperfect people, combined with real-life stories of ordinary people having Christlike impact, readers will learn how to show unshockable love toward those around them.

This beautifully written half-memoir, half-essay, explores the realities of Papa God’s love for you, your identity as His beloved child and heirs, and the transformation of your vision of yourself, others, and world events that this revelation of your place in the divine family brings. Poignant personal reflections are woven artfully with metaphors, personal stories, and an eclectic smattering of quotes and movie references. You, too, are invited to reflect and discover your own divine encounter. You will learn how to see through Heaven’s eyes—through the Father’s eyes—and that look of love will transform everything, including: God. Yourself. Other people. Your family. Your enemies. The end times. Seeing Through Heaven’s Eyes is powerfully presented and will bless and free you to experience a deeper relationship with Father God.

LifeWay Research shows that up to 78 percent of Christians do not regularly evangelize. This can change. This will change. 1X Evangelism introduces a church-wide strategy designed to help Christians reengage in personal evangelism. Most Christians believe evangelism should increase, yet more and more believers are disengaging from evangelism. Traditional church evangelism methods are no longer as effective. 1X Evangelism introduces a new approach: church-wide personal evangelism strategy. Unlike a program, 1X is a highly flexible strategy designed for small churches, yet adaptable to churches of any size. In 1X Evangelism, Dr. John Rothra uniquely combines church invitations, personal evangelism, and small groups into a church-wide personal evangelism strategy inspired by previous visionaries.

Following World War II, the United States enjoyed unprecedented propsperity as the post war economy exploded. While Americans pondered affluence, U.S. Franciscans focused on the forgotten members of U.S. society, those who had been left out or left behind. Seeing Jesus in the Eyes of the Oppressed tells the story of eight Franciscans and their communities who struggled to create a more just and equitable society. Through eight mini-biographies, Paul T. Murray, emeritus professor at Siena College, explores Franciscan efforts to establish racial and economic justice and to promote peace and nonviolence: Father Nathaniel Machesky led the battle for civil rights in Greenwood, MS; Sister Antona Ebo was the lone African American Sister at the Selma march; Brother Booker Ashe worked for interracial justice and Black pride in Milwaukee; Sister Thea Bowman celebrated Black gifts to the U.S. Church and worked toward an expression of the faith that was ""authentically Black and truly Catholic;"" Father Alan McCoy pushed his community and the Church in the United States to greater engagement with Social Justice; Sister Pat Drydyk worked with Cesar Chavez for justice for the farmworkers; Father Joseph Nangle brought solidarity with Latin America to the fore in the U.S. Church, and Father Louis Vitale used civil disobedience to oppose nuclear proliferation, while serving the poor and homeless. In all, the book emphasizes the passion and struggle of Franciscans in the United States to create a more just world within society and within the Church.