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Guest Blog
- We want to hear from you!One of our goals is to connect church leaders in meaningful conversation, both at NPC and before. If you would like to guest blog, please contact us at npcinfo@zondervan.com.
New Material
September 12, 2008
August 12, 2008
New Material!
Making the World Human Again by Alex McManus
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!
August 05, 2008
Coming November 2008!
The Blue Parakeet by Scot McKnight
“Why Can’t I Just Be a Christian?”
Parakeets make delightful pets but they can’t be tamed. The Bible, Scot McKnight contends, also can’t be tamed though many have tried. Both conservatives and liberals have tamed the Bible and McKnight calls us to untame the Bible and let it be what it is.
McKnight’s The Blue Parakeet has emerged at the perfect time to cool the flames of a world on fire with contention and controversy. It calls Christians to a way to read the Bible that leads beyond old debates and denominational battles. It calls Christians to stop taming the Bible and to let it speak anew for a new generation.
In his books The Jesus Creed and Embracing Grace Scot McKnight established himself as one of America’s finest Christian thinkers, an author to be reckoned with.
In The Blue Parakeet, McKnight again touches the hearts and minds of today’s Christians, this time challenging them to rethink how to read the Bible, not just to puzzle it together into some systematic theology but to see it as a Story that we re summoned to enter and to carry forward in our day.
He calls his bold new approach to the Bible the “Third Way,” a path that walks confidently—and joyfully—between theological extremes.
The Third Way is rooted in the Bible as Story, in the Bible as God’s Word to which we listen, in the Bible as revealing a life that we can apply anew in our day.
In his own inimitable style, McKnight sets traditional and liberal Christianity on its ear, leaving readers equipped, encouraged, and emboldened to be the people of faith they long to be.
The Blue Parakeet is an engaging, warm narrative that is both deeply reasoned and spiritually sound … a book that will appeal to millions of disenfranchised Christians who will be drawn to it because of its refreshing—and liberating—new approach to reading the Bible.
Scot McKnight is a widely-recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. He is the Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University. A popular and witty speaker, Dr. McKnight is the author of more than twenty books. He will be speaking is the National Pastor's Convention in San Diego from February 10-13, 2009. Don't miss your chance to hear him speak!
July 29, 2008
New Material (Win a Book)!
Read Ruth Haley Barton's book before you hear her at NPC 2009!
Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership by Ruth Haley Barton
I’m tired of helping others enjoy God."
- "I just want to enjoy God for myself." With this painful admission, Ruth Haley Barton invites us to an honest exploration of what happens when spiritual leaders lose track of their souls. Weaving together contemporary illustrations with penetrating insight from the life of Moses, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership explores topics such as:
- responding to the dynamics of calling
- facing the loneliness of leadership
- leading from your authentic self
- cultivating spiritual community
- reenvisioning the promised land
- discerning God's will together
Each chapter includes a spiritual practice to ensure your soul gets the nourishment it needs. Forging and maintaining a life-giving connection with God is the best choice you can make for yourself and for those you lead.
Want to read this book? Be the first one to make a comment and we'll send it to you for FREE!
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July 22, 2008
New Book Coming Soon!
Sin Boldy by Cathleen Falsani Coming August 2008!
Justice is getting what you deserve. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. And grace is getting what you absolutely don't deserve.
Award-winning author and columnist Cathleen Falsani says, “People regularly ask me why I believe in God. The simple answer … is grace.” In Sin Boldly: A Field Guide to Grace, Falsani explores the meaning and experience of grace through story and song, quotes and photos.
Falsani says, “Grace makes no sense to our human minds. We're hardwired to seek justice, or our limited idea of what that means, and occasionally dole out mercy. Grace is another story.” Sin Boldly is an uplifting, multifaceted, and thought-provoking look at what makes grace so amazing.
Cathleen Falsani is an award-winning religion columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. She attended Wheaton College and holds masters degrees in journalism and theology. She lives in the Chicago area with her husband and fellow journalist, Maurice Possley. She will also be a speaker at the 2009 National Pastor's Convention.
