Books & Articles

Sensible Shoes
A Story About The Spiritual Journey

Four Strangers, One Retreat Center, A Story of Transformation

Sharon Garlough Brown tells the moving story of four strangers as they embark together on a journey ofspiritual formation:

Hannah, a pastor who doesn't realize how exhausted she is.

Meg, a widow and recent empty-nester who is haunted by her past.

Mara, a woman who has experienced a lifetime of rejection and is now trying to navigatea difficult marriage.

Charissa, a hard-working graduate student who wants to get things right.

You're invited to join these four women as they reluctantly arrive at a retreat center and find themselves drawn out of their separate storiesof isolation and struggle and into a collective journey of spiritual practice, mutual support and personal revelation.

Along the way, readers will find:

• Key spiritual practices that they can take into their own lives,
• A castof characters that any reader can find themselves in, and
• Tangible support for the deeper life with God.

If you want to travel this journey with others, you will find a group study guide and book club resources at www.sensibleshoesclub.com.

Find Sensible Shoes here.

Why Did God Do That?

If God is good, then why did he do that?

Violent wars, harsh laws, pronounced judgments. Christianity proclaims God’s goodness, yet the Bible is filled with passages that seem to paint a different picture. On the surface, such depictions can hinder our confidence in God’s goodness. But when we’re willing to look deeper, we discover a consistent purpose behind everything God does—and that he is greater than we could ever imagine.

Alongside bestselling author Josh McDowell, Matthew Tingblad invites you to discover how a good God has good reasons for his challenging actions in the Bible. Throughout, you will uncover the reality of God’s consistent motives and purposes: holiness, justice, and radical mercy.

Whether you have your own questions about God or are ministering to those who do, Matthew and Josh will guide you through these difficult passages and ideas, all the while pointing to God’s power and redeeming love. Find confidence and joy in discovering that God is good—always good—even in the passages of Scripture that appear to convey otherwise.

Find Why Did God Do That? here.

The God I Never Knew

Many people find the Holy Spirit mysterious and confounding. Why is the third person in the Godhead—the one Jesus said would be the believer’s ultimate source of truth and comfort—the source of such confusion?

In The God I Never Knew, Robert Morris clearly explains that the Holy Spirit’s chief desire is for relationship—to offer us the encouragement and guidance of a trusted friend. This insightful and biblically-based book—including a small group study guide—moves beyond theological jargon, religious tradition, and cultural misconceptions to clarify what the Holy Spirit promises to do in your life:

· Dwell within you
· Be your helper
· Guide you into all truth
· Comfort you
·Pray for you
· Show you things to come
· Never leave you

Find The God I Never Knew here.

With Burning Hearts

In With Burning Hearts Henri Nouwen seeks a fuller understanding of the Eucharist through the story of the disciples on their way to Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35). Like these disciples we, too, come together in our brokenness before God, hear the Word and the profession of faith, and recognize Jesus in the breaking of the bread. From mourning to discernment, from invitation to intimacy, and from community to the charge to go forth and witness: With Burning Hearts calls us to experience all of this journey, to know that what we celebrate and what we are called to live are one and the same.

Find With Burning Hearts on Amazon.

Breathing Under Water: Spirituality And The Twelve Steps

Go beyond the title of this book by Richard Rohr, which I feel is confusing. We are all aware of the power of the Twelve Steps. What we may not appreciate is the intimate connection between the Twelve Steps and profound spirituality. This book is important to me because it opens a door to a wondrous world of new understanding of God's radical love and how to accept this love in our humanity.

Find Breathing Under Water on Amazon. Unfortunately, it is available only on paperback.

Hiding In Plain Sight: The Lost Doctrine Of Sin

"Let me start by observing, and this is sort of Christian Theology 101, that first and foremost, sin is not best defined as specific acts of moral transgression—say, committing adultery, or embezzling from a charity, lying to get your way, and so on. Those are indeed what we might call sins, but they are not sin itself.

"Rather in the first instance, theologically speaking, sin is a condition under which human lives exist. Sin is a way of describing the fact that there is a fundamental flaw in the human system and is an explanation for why that system keeps throwing up errors. The doctrine of sin is a way of saying that reality is like a lens with a subtle but pervasive flaw, such that everything that goes through it gets distorted—plans go wrong, communications fail, good intentions decay and corrupt—and of describing the fact that, in so many things that happen, there is this slight tilt towards the perverse and the cruel. In other words, it is a description of the fact that there is a fundamental bias against flourishing that appears to be written into our hearts. So, we have to think of sin as a condition. It is like gravity, only it causes enormous suffering."

Article by Dr. Simeon Zahl. Read the full article here.