Parent-child is the default relationship of church to member—the church as parent, the member as child. In this opening chapter, I propose that differentiation from the church is the most important developmental task we face while living on the inside of the edge.

Founder of the largest indigenous Christian church in American history, Joseph Smith published the 584-page Book of Mormon when he was 23 and went on to organize a church, found cities, and attract thousands of followers before his violent death at age 38. Richard Bushman, an esteemed cultural historian and a practicing Mormon, moves beyond the popular stereotype of Smith as a colorful fraud to explore his personality, his relationships with others, and how he received revelations.

In Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus, now expanded with new bonus content, Nabeel Qureshi describes his dramatic journey from Islam to Christianity, complete with friendships, investigations, and supernatural dreams along the way. Providing an intimate window into a loving Muslim home, Qureshi shares how he developed a passion for Islam before discovering, almost against his will, evidence that Jesus rose from the dead and claimed to be God.

A follow up to the profound message of Crazy Love, Pastor Francis Chan offers a compelling invitation to understand, embrace, and follow the Holy Spirit's direction in our lives. "In the name of the Father, the Son, and ... the Holy Spirit." We pray in the name of all three, but how often do we live with an awareness of only the first two?

Millions are satisfied to sit through hour-long, weekly religious services. Millions more have left the church, brokenhearted and cynical. But God is waking up his people - people who will risk everything and sacrifice anything to become the dynamic, powerful church seen in Scripture. We Are Church calls Christ-followers, young and old, to hold fast to their biblical roots while seeking radical change. Scripture promises an exuberant and unstoppable church. That wondrous early church of acts can be our reality today.

Using a comic superhero as an illustration of each heresy, Superheroes Can’t Save You presents a history of the deficient view of Jesus; an investigation of contemporary proponents of that heresy; warnings on how contemporary Christians can unwittingly fall into such bad thinking of Jesus; a biblically faithful correction on who Jesus is; and an explanation of why it is important that we understand who Jesus actually is.

Charles Stanley helps you recognize and begin to live with the guiding presence of the Holy Spirit by challenging you in three parts to look up, within, and ahead. Life abundant - Jesus promised it and we long for it, yet few Christians seem to have it. Blending lively anecdotes, commentary, and teachings from the Bible, Charles Stanley introduces you to the Holy Spirit. He is not an oversized electrical current you just plug into when you need additional help, or a theological concept, but just as real and active as Christ.

Millions of Christians have struggled with how to reconcile God's love and God's judgment: Has God created billions of people over thousands of years only to select a few to go to heaven and everyone else to suffer forever in hell? Is this acceptable to God? How is this "good news"? Author, pastor, and innovative teacher Rob Bell presents a deeply biblical vision for rediscovering a richer, grander, truer, and more spiritually satisfying way of understanding heaven, hell, God, Jesus, salvation, and repentance.

R. T. Kendall invites you to discover what it means to be in the presence of God. In this fresh, new look at God's presence Kendall explores everything from the omnipresence of God to the tangible manifestation of His presence. You will discover why God might at times withhold a sense of His presence while at other times you might experience an acute sense of awe or reverence of God that drives you to your knees in prayer, leads you into spontaneous worship of Him, or brings about healing and other miracles.

When doctors gave him six months to live, John Pontius (author of Visions of Glory) created a blog to leave his testimony with his children. However, thousands of followers of UnBlog My Soul were touched. Share in the journey as Pontius expresses his love and understanding of the gospel in a clear, beautiful way. This audiobook compiles the most compelling blog entries and weaves the narrative of his journey to the veil.

Kevin Myers, the founding pastor of 12Stone Church, a congregation of more than 30,000 active attenders near Atlanta, believes the reason we don't experience a transformed life is that we fail to grow up spiritually. We focus on developing physically, intellectually, emotionally, and financially, yet our faith remains immature and anemic. In this powerful new book, Myers offers a deep yet simple roadmap to a grown-up faith through understanding the whole context of the Bible, developing spiritual intimacy with God, and gratefully embracing holy obedience.

Swindoll disarms the counter-attack of those who do not preach grace-filled living and claim that focusing on grace would fill our churches with wild, undisciplined people with no godliness in evidence. Yes, Swindoll says, teaching and preaching grace is risky. Some may push the limits and misuse their freedom. But grace is the message of the gospel…the good news of salvation. As Christians, we sing about God's amazing grace. We understand that we are saved by grace. Let's learn to live by grace! Discover how in The Grace Awakening.

We’ve all seen the memes that populate the internet: live your truth, follow your heart, you only have one life to live. They sound nice and positive. But what if these slogans are actually lies that unhinge us from reality and leave us anxious and exhausted? Another Gospel? author Alisa Childers invites you to examine modern lies that are disguised as truths in today’s culture. Everyday messages of peace, fulfillment, and empowerment swirl around social media. On the surface, they seem like sentiments of freedom and hope, but in reality, they are deeply deceptive.

This is the story of how Jack Deere learned to hear the voice of God in his life and how you can too. Now a modern classic, Jack wrote Surprised by the Voice of God over twenty-five years ago. Based on that first book, Why I Am Still Surprised by the Voice of God has been entirely rewritten and includes additional thoughts and insights from a lifetime of hearing God speak.

In the Garden, woman was taken out of man to stand by his side and co-reign with him. But Satan's schemes have robbed women and men of their rightful identities, marring and disempowering them. The world aches for God's original partnership to be brought into balance once more—and it can be. Kris Vallotton reveals God's true plan for women, as well as men's role in restoring women to their rightful place. Shedding light on the true meaning of Bible passages about women, he’ll take you on an eye-opening journey to delve deeper into Jesus' revolutionary message regarding women.

If it's good, it must be God. Right? These days the terms good and God seem synonymous. We believe that what's generally accepted as good must be in line with God's will. Generosity, humility, justice - good. Selfishness, arrogance, cruelty - evil. The distinction seems pretty straightforward. But is that all there is to it? This audiobook will do more than ask you to change your behavior. It will empower you to engage with God on a level that will change every aspect of your life.

God without religion? Andrew Farley’s experience as a Christian was first characterized by self-effort as he tried to please God at any cost. His ruthless religion resulted in spiritual fatigue and disillusionment with church. Only then did he discover what relaxing in Jesus means and how enjoying God’s intimate presence can transform everyday life. Using a story-driven format, God without Religion dismantles common religious misconceptions. Pulling no punches, Andrew shows how the truth about these controversial issues can liberate and unify believers....

In this new audiobook, David Platt, author of the New York Times best-selling book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, contends that multitudes of people around the world culturally think they are Christians yet biblically are not followers of Christ.

Know why you believe. Pass on what you've experienced. Many Christians are unsure about what they believe and why. They may wonder if their faith is meaningful and credible. Because of this, they struggle with passing on a relevant Christianity to their families and friends. That’s why Josh McDowell and his son, Sean, have created this comprehensive yet easy-to-understand handbook.

Pastor Todd Wagner invites listeners to experience the adventure, beauty, and fullness of life through the church as God intended. Obligated weekly services of mostly bored adults are not God's vision for His people. Todd illuminates a path for listeners to personally pursue a deeper relationship with God and then purposefully invest in God's design for His church. This book paints the picture of the Father's intention to bring His people into an adventurous life full of authentic relationships, powerful transformation, significance, and meaning.

You wouldn’t climb a mountain or sail the Pacific without first checking out your equipment. Why? Because your very life will depend on how prepared you are to face the obstacles and challenges before you. It’s the same with launching into the great adventure called the Christian life.

A follow up to the profound message of Crazy Love, Pastor Francis Chan offers a compelling invitation to understand, embrace, and follow the Holy Spirit's direction in our lives. "In the name of the Father, the Son, and ... the Holy Spirit." We pray in the name of all three, but how often do we live with an awareness of only the first two?

John the apostle must have thought he had seen everything. Having been with Jesus all the years of his ministry, John witnessed more miracles than he could count, saw more displays of power than he could comprehend, and experienced more love than he could fathom. And one unforgettable morning young John outran Peter to his Savior's empty tomb. Just as Christ took John on a lifelong journey into the depths of His love, He will do the same for you.

Major Ian Thomas, a British theologian and teacher and the founder of Torchbearers Bible Schools, spent seven exhausting years trying to live for Christ when he realized that God actually just wanted to live through him. He offered this extremely simple advice in considering the Christian life: Go where you are sent, stay where you are put, and do what you are asked. With her trademark warmth and keen sense of humor, esteemed Bible study teacher Jill Briscoe follows Major Thomas' example to help listeners learn how to allow God to live through them.

You’ve heard the Christmas story time and again. Perhaps it seems there’s nothing new to discover. Take another look, a closer gaze, at the details that reveal God’s love in the gift of a baby who would forever change the world. Six beloved Christian authors - Max Lucado, John Maxwell, Jack Hayford, Bill Hybels, David Jeremiah, and Rick Warren - share from a unique perspective and help you hear afresh the message God wants to whisper to your heart during this holiday. God loves you. God is with you. God is in every detail of your life.

Caleb Kalenbach is the Lead Pastor at Discovery Church in Simi Valley, CA. Raised in the LGBT community, he was exposed to how some Christians treated the LGBT community, and grew to hate Christians. In high school, he joined a Bible study to disprove the Bible, but ended up following Jesus instead. Later, his parents followed Jesus, too. This is the subject of his first book, Messy Grace - holding on to the truth of God's Word while being filled with grace.

Pastor and speaker Shane Pruitt guides listeners in identifying the Christian cliches we've all heard that are actually unbiblical lies. He then counters with the truths about God as presented in the Bible - truths that bring encouragement and freedom for our lives. God won't give you more than you can handle. Really? Pastor and speaker Shane Pruitt shines a light on this and other Christian cliches that upon further inspection are actually unbiblical lies that keep far too many believers stuck in spiritual immaturity.

What is my purpose in life? What is a good life? Why is there so much wrong with our world? What can I do to help make it right? These are some of the big questions that everyone must answer. And any lasting change in our lives will start with a change to one or more of our answers to these questions. Jesus changed the life of every person he met in the Gospels, through powerful experiences and words that led them to unexpected and transforming answers to their big questions. These conversations can still address our questions and doubts today.

What does it mean to be "crucified with Christ"? During his lifetime, renowned teacher A. W. Tozer was often invited to speak at seminaries, churches and Bible conferences on the topic of the cross and its meaning for the Christian life. Now, in this never-before-published distillation of his best teaching on the subject, you will gain a fresh understanding of the cross’s centrality to your walk of faith in Christ.

Every day is full of struggles. We struggle with time; with truth; with authority; with finding peace, purity, and contentment; with our words, thoughts, and actions - and that's just the beginning! Does God speak to us about these daily tests? Is there hope in the struggle? The answer, of course, is yes - but where God speaks about them may surprise you.