NPC

Holy Thursday! (Free Books!)

Week Fourteen of Holy Thursday is here!

1. Every Thursday we'll put up the one and only Holy Thursday post.
2. Be one of the first two people to comment.
3. We'll send the featured book to you. It's that easy.

To get the latest NPC blog posts earlier, add us to Google Reader, Bloglines, Feedburner, or your favorite feed reader.

Breathe | NOOMA 14 by Rob Bell

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Throughout our everyday lives we don’t pay much attention to the way we breathe, do we? But for thousands of years, people have understood that our physical breath is actually a picture of a deeper spiritual reality.

Rob Bell lives with his family in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he’s the founding pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church. He also teaches in a short film format called NOOMA, and his first books are Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith and Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections Between Sexuality and Spirituality.  Don't miss your chance to hear Rob at the National Pastors Convention in February!

Meet Shane Claiborne!

Shane Claiborne, author of The Irresistible Revolution, is a prominent activist and sought after speaker. He is one of the founding members of The Simple Way, a community in inner city Philadelphia that has helped birth and connect radical faith communities around the world. Shane serves on the board of directors for the Christian Community Development Association, and in his down-time is quite a dynamic circus performer.

Hear an interview about his Jesus for President tour by clicking here.

Shane will be a speaker at the National Pastor's Convention in February.

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Holy Thursday! (Free Books!)

Week Thirteen of Holy Thursday is here!

1. Every Thursday we'll put up the one and only Holy Thursday post.
2. Be one of the first two people to comment.
3. We'll send the featured book to you. It's that easy.

To get the latest NPC blog posts earlier, add us to Google Reader, Bloglines, Feedburner, or your favorite feed reader.

Finding Faith – A Search for What is Real by Brian McLaren

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There have been times when you’ve felt that if there isn’t a God, there ought to be.

Swept up in the mystery of the night sky, you’ve felt the closeness of its designer. Nature’s extravagant diversity, unfolding in living color, has made you long to know the artist who dreamed it all up. Imagine what that might be like—to actually know God in a way that fills your heart and whispers tremendous value and purpose to something deep within you.

But how can you experience a being you’re not even sure exists? Religious jargon and games can’t satisfy such a longing. It’s got to be real … or nothing at all.

A Search for What Is Real helps you sort through the questions, objections, and concerns that arise when you consider God not as some theological abstraction, but as someone you can actually connect with … and want to connect with, perhaps more than you know.

Brian D. McLaren is founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, an innovative, nondenominational church in the Baltimore-Washington region. He is the author of several books including A Generous Orthodoxy, A New Kind of Christian, and The Secret Message of Jesus. Don't miss your chance to hear Brian at the National Pastors Convention in February!

Meet James Choung!

James Choung (D.Min., Fuller Theological Seminary) is divisional director and interim area director of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship's San Diego Division. Visit James at his website, http://www.jameschoung.net. James will be speaking at the National Pastor's Convention in February. Don't miss your chance to hear him speak!

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His two seminars include:

The Big Story: Sharing the Gospel in an Increasingly Unchurched Culture
Do we present a gospel that is too small? If our gospel is concerned primarily about the after-life, our unchurched friends will find our message arrogant and irrelevant. This seminar will present a clear, field-tested way to present a larger vision of the gospel -- one closer to what Jesus taught -- in a way that may connect more with our friends who live in an increasingly unchurched culture, while encouraging believers to share a faith that feels more truly like good news.

Developing World-changers: Capturing the Heart of the Next Generation of Leaders
What inspires younger people for leadership in Christian communities? What does it take for rising generations to become effective leaders for the Kingdom?  Drawing from thirteen years of ministry to college students, this seminar will explore the motivations of young people in rising generations, and provide a simple model for leadership development that will be more inspiring and compelling for younger potential leaders.

Give Us a Testimonial!

Have you been to the National Pastor's Convention in recent years? We'd love to hear what you thought of it!

Comment on this blog post with your testimonial about the National Pastor's Convention and receive a FREE DVD of Brenda Salter McNeil's session.

Holy Thursday! (Free Books!)

Week Eleven of Holy Thursday is here!

1. Every Thursday we'll put up the one and only Holy Thursday post.
2. Be one of the first two people to comment.
3. We'll send the featured book to you. It's that easy.

To get the latest NPC blog posts earlier, add us to Google Reader, Bloglines, Feedburner, or your favorite feed reader.

Volunteer Revolution by Bill Hybels

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Bill Hybels makes a clarion call to move beyond volunteer retention to volunteer acquisition.
By attracting, connecting, training, and sustaining volunteers, churches will mobilize people
into places of service that will bring new meaning to their lives and understand why God put
them on planet Earth.

Bill (BA, Trinity College) is the founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois. Willow Creek’s innovative ministries have made it one of the most attended churches in North America. Hybels has authored over 20 books, including Fit to Be Tied and Rediscovering Church (with his wife Lynne), Courageous Leadership, Holy Discontent, and Axiom. Don't miss your chance to hear Bill at the National Pastors Convention in February!

1. Every Thursday we'll put up the one and only Holy Thursday post.
2. Be one of the first two people to comment.
3. We'll send the featured book to you. It's that easy.

To get the latest NPC blog posts earlier, add us to Google Reader, Bloglines, Feedburner, or your favorite feed reader.

Two Days Left to SAVE!

SAVE $120 WHEN YOU REGISTER BY FRIDAY (AUGUST 15)!!!

You're always on the go, studying, taking late-night phone calls, or preparing a sermon. Perhaps it's time you set aside a little time to just breathe. Join us for the National Pastor's Convention in beautiful San Diego, California. It'sthe perfect opportunity to NOURISH your soul, ENGAGE your mind, and CONNECT in meaningful conversation with people from across the country. Enjoy an excellent line-up of pastors, speakers, comedians, and talented musicians. Take part in general sessions, critical concern courses, late-night options, and over 60 workshops. Or, if you prefer, just relax and take in all the beauty God has created.

Register NOW!

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New Material!

Making the World Human Again by Alex McManus

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Why did Jesus come into the world? Author Alex McManus re-thinks that seemingly simple question and provides an answer sure to get people talking. According to McManus, contrary to popular opinion, Jesus Christ came neither to teach Christianity nor to establish the Christian religion. The goal of the life and teaching of Jesus is not to make the Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, or Jew a Christian. Neither did Jesus come with the goal of showing us how to be Christians. What Jesus wants for all people—whether religious or secular, Republican or Democrat, liberal or conservative—is that they turn away from destructive, non-life-giving systems and join him on the quest to find their humanity again. This new book appeals to:
• Young Christians who seek “edgier” reading and discussions
• Evangelical Christians who see holes in the message of today’s church
• Those outside traditional evangelicalism (Catholic, Eastern Orthodox)
• Non-Christian “seekers” with questions about God
• Those of other religions who won’t see McManus’s message as a threat to their faith

Alex McManus will be at the National Pastor's Convention in February. Don't miss your chance to hear him speak!

Meet John Burke!

John Burke and his wife, Kathy, founded Gateway Church in Austin, Texas, in 1998. Since then, Gateway has grown to over 3,000 people, 70 percent of whom are in their twenties and thirties, and consists mostly of unchurched people who began actively following Christ at Gateway. Burke is also the author of No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come-as-You-Are Culture in the Church. Click here to hear a sample of his book.

John will be a speaker at the National Pastor's Convention in February. Don't miss your chance to hear him speak!

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John's two seminar at the NPC are:

No Perfect People Allowed: Creating a Come-As-You-Are Culture in Your Church
Barna and other demographers warn of the coming death of the church in America unless we reach emerging generations. But what does it really take? Just as many seeker churches have been accused of only entertaining, emerging church models can fall into the same trap. It’s not candles, but community; not art, but attitude; nor liturgy, but love that breaks down barriers to faith. God can still use his local church to help thousands find faith and become his Body. Through real stories of postmoderns overcoming barriers to faith, explore whether your unseen church culture is your greatest ally or your worst enemy.

Soul Revolution: How Imperfect People Become All God Intended
We’ve heard it all before. The promises for a better life get tiresome after awhile, because we know they don’t deliver. However, they do touch on a profound and inescapable truth: We were created to live our life out of a rewarding, richly textured relationship with God and others. Just like you, the members of your church have a deep longing to experience that kind of life. But how? In this seminar John Burke will explain how you can lead your congregation to live this out - practical ways for everyone to stay connected to God and to impact those around them.

Holy Thursday! Free Books!

Week Eleven of Holy Thursday is here!

1. Every Thursday we'll put up the one and only Holy Thursday post.
2. Be one of the first FOUR people to comment.
3. We'll send the featured book to you. It's that easy.

To get the latest NPC blog posts earlier, add us to Google Reader, Bloglines, Feedburner, or your favorite feed reader.

A Friendly Dialogue Between an Atheist and a Christian
By Luis Palau and Zhao Qizheng

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Understand China through the eyes of a renowned Chinese diplomat's conversations with Luis Palau, American Evangelist.

In A Friendly Dialogue between an Atheist and a Christian, Luis Palau, representing the Christian faith, and Zhao Qizheng, representing atheism, present a composite of recorded dialogues held in China in 2005 between them.

Through these dialogues, readers are provided insight into the current struggles atheists have regarding the truth claims of the Christian faith.

Topics discussed include philosophy, history, religion, the Bible, creation, atheism, Confucianism, politics, ethics, Chinese and Western cultures, and the relevance of Jesus Christ to society.

Through the engaging dialogue between Luis Palau and Zhao Qizheng, many of the stereotypes and misinformation concerning the Chinese culture are exposed, revealing a nation in which the Bible is published and new churches are being built. By avoiding the use of complicated theological language, these discussions express the concerns of both Christians and atheists in a clear, meaningful, and respectful way.

A Friendly Dialogue between an Atheist and a Christian is a must read for anyone interested in gaining a greater appreciation of the oriental world of China and how the Christian faith is being received within that context.

* * * Don't miss out on this great read! It's the only book of faith allowed for sale in the Olympic Village at the 2008 Olympics! * * * READ MORE