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Do you resonate with aspects of Christianity, but struggle with the coherence of its claims? After having a mystical experience that upended her traditional evangelical beliefs, Heather Hamilton reluctantly found herself in this place. Her seeking led to the most unexpected insights. Returning to Eden is a field guide for the journey that every true spiritual seeker ultimately takes. The highest truths that set us free are hidden in places that most people are not looking. Returning to Eden reexamines the Bible stories of childhood and opens them up as symbolic maps into the inner world. Stories like Jonah and the Whale, the Parting of the Red Sea, Noah's Ark, and the Virgin Birth are illuminated with penetrating depth and intellectual integrity. Faith is no longer a white-knuckled grip on implausible beliefs, but a relaxation into a deep inner knowing. You may be surprised to find yourself reinvigorated and enlightened by stories you thought you knew inside and out. Returning to Eden has the potential to cultivate a renaissance of wonder and curiosity for anyone from the most seasoned Christians to the most committed atheists, and everyone in between.

People's Park in Bloomington, Indiana served as a home away from home for punks, skaters, metalheads, hippies, schizos, homeless vets, and anyone who didn't fit in the mainstream in the summer of '89.None of the kids knew the park was created after the Klan bombed a Black-owned business back in 1969. One witness to that bombing was Electric Fred who listens to radio static on his Walkman and writes conspiracy theories in his notebooks. Fred's rantings about evil forces are easy to dismiss until those warnings start coming true.At its heart, People's Park is a love letter to freaks and weirdos everywhere, and a true '80s coming-of-age bizarro horror novel that reads like Stranger Things with punk rock, skateboards and a dose of mind-bending Sci-Fi.

When R.C. Sproul boiled everything down about church life, he concluded that "in Protestant worship, for the most part, we sit and listen to a sermon." But aren't we justified in asking, why would we devote an ounce of concern to this since there is nothing in the New Testament concerning sermons? The vital question that begs for an answer is, why have we taken scissors and cut 1 Corinthians 14 out of the NT, and substituted for it a "church service" which was unknown to the early believers? Further, why have we not practiced a body meeting lifting up Christ together, and instead constructed a "service" that is fixated on what "the pastor," and often a worship band, do in front of the audience? Don't Be Called Leaders seeks to answer such pivotal questions and bring the focus back to God's eternal purpose in Christ-a house for His Son, the Son in us, the Son among us, and the Son displayed to the world. The religious machine is called with leaders who have muddied the Lord's preoccupation with His anointed. God's words from the Shekinah glory cloud, "This is My beloved Son, hear Him," must be our plumb line. The Lord Jesus is the only Leader to follow.

Kevin Max has been writing poetry since his 20's. He began painting at 55. It started with the notion of art therapy and developed into full-blown obsession. This book is the public document of that work, harkening back to another poetry and painting book of his published in 1994, titled At The Foot Of Heaven. However, at that time, the paintings were done by a friend and local legend, Jimmy Abegg. This time, both the paintings and the poetry sit squarely on Kevin's shoulders for all to see and critique and ponder. The work published here is from the first 4 months of painting, starting in February of 2023; the poetry all within the last 4 years. This book also includes access to 6 exclusive and unreleased music tracks recorded by Kevin Max specifically for this project. The author hopes this book finds a perfect spot nestled on a coffee table or your library vault.

Jesus was marked in His culture as one who hung out with those shunned by religious people. If Jesus walked our streets today, religious leaders would be shocked at the places He frequented, sharing the kingdom of God. Well, happily, Jesus is walking into venues of deep need through persons like Dotty Zens and her team. In Jesus In the Strip Clubs you will share her journey of caring for those caught in the shame and guilt connected to the sex industry. Dotty's ministry reveals the truth of Henri Nouwen's observations about safe people:"When we are free from the need to judge or condemn, we can become safe places for people to meet in vulnerability and take down the walls that separate them. Being deeply rooted in the love of Christ, we cannot help but invite people to love one another. When people realize that we have no hidden agendas or unspoken intentions, that we are not trying to gain any profit for ourselves, then they will know that our only desire is for peace and reconciliation ... Many times this happens even without our planning. Our ministry of reconciliation most often takes place when we ourselves are least aware of it. Our simple, non-judgmental presence does it." (Bread for the Journey, p. 197)

What happens when two philosophically-minded friends sit down around a firepit to chat about life's biggest topics? Within these pages, you'll find out. In The Bonfire Sessions: The Long Road to Redemption, authors and podcasters Matthew J. Distefano and Michael Machuga give their readers a glimpse into their very real lives, modeling for others what they believe conversation should look like.With rawness and vulnerability, as well as a large dose of salty language, this set of conversations delivers quite a punch. Sometimes funny, sometimes profound, but always honest, the two hosts of The Bonfire Sessions podcast come together to deliver the entire Year Two collection of booklets that will be sure to challenge your heart, soul, and mind. So, pour your favorite drink and fill your long-stemmed pipe, and get ready for some high-quality fellowship.

Drugs & Jesus is the first book of its kind to pioneer a theological framework for people of faith and specifically evangelical Christians to help them engage in the ministry of harm reduction. Drawing from his own ground-breaking efforts to equip faith communities at the epicenter of America's rural opioid crisis, Josh takes readers on a journey of theological and practical transformation that will give them a renewed sense of mission by stirring their compassion for the most vulnerable members of their community.

"Being gay will send you to hell!"This is what Aaron Simnowitz heard all his life growing up in the Evangelical church. From a young age, he knew he was different than the other boys, preferring The Babysitters Club over The Hardy Boys, Rainbow Brite over G.I. Joe, and Zack Morris over Kelly Kapowski. But at 18 years old, when he recognized his sexual attraction to other men, the fear of an everlasting torment in a fiery afterlife set in. From then on, Aaron embarked on a nearly fifteen-year journey with varying gay conversion therapies in an attempt to eradicate his homosexual desires, including a three-month residential stay at the now infamous "Love in Action" program in Memphis, Tennessee.Aaron loved Jesus, believing that "praying the gay away" was possible and that his orientation could be supernaturally charged-but only if he relinquished his rights to his true identity. However, his loyalty to his faith led him down a rabbit hole of immense confusion, emotional instability, perpetual guilt, and self-hatred.Letting Go(d) is a heartbreakingly honest, deeply funny, and courageously unique memoir detailing how Aaron navigated the revolving closet door of his sexuality, led a dramatic double life between his wildly conservative Christian community and his outrageously liberal television profession, and struggled to ultimately come to be at peace with God and living unashamed as a homosexual man.

"Thought provoking and engaging." - Amanda Drake, The Tolkien SocietyThe works of J.R.R. Tolkien are some of literature's most beloved. For decades, scholars, fans, and critics alike have been discussing and debating the professor's Legendarium-much ink has been spilled, many books bound, all offering their unique perspectives.Add The Wisdom of Hobbits to that growing number.In this hopeful yet at times poignant homage, Matthew J. Distefano focuses on everyone's favorite halfling friend: the Hobbit. A charming people, this Shire-based race has captivated, enthralled, and enchanted the hearts and minds of millions. Though not a religious society, the author argues that spiritual truths-love, kindness, generosity, hope, and compassion-can be found within their familiar yet still relevant and didactic tales.So, come and enter a world of adventure and intrigue. Whether it is your first foray into Middle-earth or the Shire is your second home, allow Distefano to inspire you toward discovering your own inner Hobbit.

What does it mean to speak beyond binaries of theism and atheism, conservative and liberal, fact and fiction? Why might a new type of theological imagination, one that defies categories and comparison, with the challenge actual deconstruction offers, be all that is next? Here you will find a compelling read of story and personal journey with strong scholarship and deep theology. Significant and transformational thought that has lived in the ivory tower for too long but made accessible and resonant. Read along as the tables are turned, head toward a horizon with no line, and follow a compass that doesn't point north. Prepare to be beckoned by ghosts and travel a path unknown. Because to go out into the elegant chaos of all that might be waiting for us after Christianity, while still engaging in meaningful faith, is safer than all that might be considered certain. If you have moved past traditional notions of god, beyond mechanisms of belief, and find yourself relentlessly curious about what might be next, this book is for you.

Somewhere far away in space and time, there is a planet called Purplynd.The beings who inhabit Purplynd and think themselves the most intelligent, are called purple. Purple are like people in every way except a few. But these small differences are the keys to their survival and perhaps our own. An infant is left at a daycare on the edge of the capital city and the past and present begin a battle for the future. Like the baby boy born in that Bethlehem barn, the child is destined to defeat the evil powers in the world but only if he can survive the many threats to his life and find the right mate. But purple are not the only living, thinking parts of the planet and the ancient past enters the present to engage an unfinished battle. Purplynd is the first book of an allegorical trilogy. It is a love story wrapped in a mysterious contest between good and evil. This is a spiritual journey without religion. It is an opportunity to imagine how to destroy evil without corrupting good.

After experiencing an extreme makeover of their faith, Jason and Brandi Elam found themselves wondering if their fear-based parenting methods might need to evolve as well. They reached out to several brilliant friends who had experience parenting through their own faith deconstruction and invited them to write about their journeys. These contributions offer hope and hard-fought wisdom for weary parents desperately trying to forge real connections with their kids before time runs out and the babies fly the nest.

Do you desire more from your faith than what you learned in Sunday School?Do you find yourself asking questions about Christianity and feeling unsatisfied with the answers?UNenlightenment is a theological and philosophical guide to help you deconstruct your faith journey and lead you through reconstructing a belief system that is completely yours. It pulls no punches and asks the hard questions about the beliefs the Church has taught for years. Are you ready to take control of your spiritual journey, understand and deal with doubt, and help transform your faith into something you want to share with others?

The fastest growing religious group in America are the "e;Nones"e;. They experience alienation and frustration with traditional evangelical Christianity and are leaving the pews in large numbers. Some are traumatized by the transition from a rigid religious world view to a more humanistic and open one. They seek out others that experience the same frustrations and are willing to share their stories. For many this is an ongoing stress and problem in their lives due to parental and family pressures. Sometimes they are even persecuted and harassed by their former friends and family. Finding a "e;safe place"e; to learn and grow in a new expression of faith is important for this group.Confessions of a Recovering Evangelical highlights this journey in an intimate and personal way that creates that safe place for others to learn, grieve, grow and emerge into a new, more authentic faith. It is a compassionate, but no-holds barred, conversation about how the Evangelical and Christian Nationalist movement in the U.S. threatens our culture and democracy. It is hopeful, joyful, but also straight-forward in identifying how Evangelical belief and practices harm individuals and society. But ultimately, Confessions of a Recovering Evangelical provides a vision for moving on to a more humanistic and spiritual way of being.

Permanent Smoke, Darrell Epp's fifth collection, uses poetry as a scalpel to dissect our present moment in all its terrors and delights.Gravity and grace duel to the death in a tinkertoy universe. Downsized superheroes moonlight as Uber drivers. There's a light in the black like a knock-knock joke in the palliative care ward, and a love beyond any vocabulary.

Sometimes, when we begin to question our faith or have doubts about our tradition it can feel like we are wandering out into the desert. When we take a step back and honestly evaluate organized religion in the 21st century, many times it doesn't make any sense. The more we cling to it and try to save it, the worse it becomes. In addition, widespread abuse, cover ups and victim-shaming causes some of us to question whether it will ever be right again.Out Into the Desert is an honest survey of Western Christianity, along with Karl and Laura's personal story as they journeyed through 20-plus years of ministry. Let the Forehands be your guide as they examine these questions and more ... Is it okay to take some time off from religion and do this assessment?Are there things we can't see because we're too close?Where else can we find community?Is it possible to thrive outside of organized religion?If Jesus were physically here, would he go to church?

The opposite of faith is not doubt, it's certainty.We cannot talk about God with any degree of certainty, because God is, by definition, a Being who transcends imagination, expectation and comprehension. What we know is this: there is more of God to know than any of us will ever fully know in this life. So, let's begin by embracing the mystery of Christ to discover the endlessly unfolding beauty of uncertainty.

When one of the great living mystics, Father Richard Rohr, writes, "All great spirituality is somehow about letting go," do we just skim by this and catalogue it as another great quotable by a prolific author?Or, do we dare to allow this truth to utterly change our relationship with God, humanity, and reality itself? Can we feel the truth of this statement resonate in the center of our being so powerfully, that we are almost forced to ask the natural question that follows:How?How is each life altering step of the great spiritual journey somehow about letting go?Well, this book is the answer to that question.Each chapter focuses on a specific topic, and names the unique challenges of it and the ways we get stuck within it. Then, shows how some form of letting go is always required in order to do that specific thing well, to sustain joy and peace while doing it, and to become more free as a result of it.My dream is that everyone who reads this will open up to the possibility that to engage everything from the concrete to the cosmic, from joy to justice, and from the tiniest arguments with your partner to the most monumental social tragedies of our time without losing our joy, we have to learn how to let go.

What if Jesus didn''t die to save us from God?The doctrine of Penal Substitutionary Atonement is not the Gospel. It''s a theory that originated in the 1500s under John Calvin. The damage done by this teaching is still being felt today. It''s time to abandon this toxic theology in favor of a Christ-centered view of the cross that sets us free from sin and unveils a God of love who would rather die than live without us. 

Many think that the phrase "e;body of Christ"e; is just a picture or a metaphor, but in fact it is a reality. Believers are the body of Christ on earth. The ministry of Jesus has continued through His people since the Day of Pentecost in 30 A.D. Frank Viola pinpoints this truth that is revolutionary, but became buried underneath human traditions. What had taken place [on the Day of Pentecost]? The body of Christ was born on the earth. But what does that mean? It means this: The literal body of Jesus Christ had returned to earth. It expanded; God now had a family. Jesus Christ in heaven had dispensed Himself into His body on earth. He returned to earth in the form of His body, the church, and His species was reintroduced to the planet. In the eyes of God, the Church is nothing more and nothing less than Jesus Christ on earth. (From Eternity to Here) In We Are Christ On Earth, Jon opens up a number of crucial implications flowing out of "e;Christ in us, the hope of glory."e; He presents perspectives that liberate the people of God to express and serve Jesus in endless ways. Perhaps we will better understand why Jesus said to Saul, "e;Why do you persecute Me?"e; when he was arresting and hurting believers.

What if Jesus was serious about loving our enemies?For too long, those who carry the name "e;Christian"e; have ignored the Christlike path of enemy-love and creative nonviolence. For many of us, the Second Amendment has become more important than the Sermon on the Mount. It's time we begin to walk the path of peace marked out for us by the Prince of Peace and learn to study war no more.

Niq Ruud lied saying he couldn't smell for nearly a decade. He lived in his car during college to afford tuition. He got lost in a blizzard during his first mountaineering trip, then learned to ski a few months later while climbing Mount Rainier. He saved his little sister from a kidnapper by leaping from a plum tree with a Nerf toy while they were children. And it is with wit and a scholar's touch that he uses these and many other stories to wrestle with the question: What if the deity you grew up learning about in church doesn't exist? For while the God of the Christian tradition is often said to be good, that same God doesn't seem to shy away from endorsing genocide, homophobia, racism, sexism, or eternal damnation; leading many persons of faith to justify violence and oppressive behaviors for thousands of years. But in this book, Ruud works readers into the supposition that God desires none of those things. And, on the contrary, with a theology that pushes the boundaries of God much larger than we might ever imagine, he argues that the only god who can truly be good is a God of other-centered, self-sacrificial love. The implications as to what a God of only love means, for everything, are vast-because everything changes when we see God as nothing more and nothing less than love.

"e;Don't be a dick."e; In today's world, these four words can be the key to making our existence a kinder, more loving place. Within the pages of this book lives 69 practical ways of helping out your fellow human being. Between advice on how to not be a dick to your family and friends, to how to not be a dick to people online, this little hurricane of a page turner covers it all. By the end of it, you'll be returning your shopping carts, cleaning your sweat off the gym equipment, and getting consent prior to any sexual encounter like a boss. Read Don't Be a Dick, put the advice into practice, and I guarantee you'll see your life and the lives of those around you improve.* (*Results not guaranteed.)

If God cannot control free creatures, then how did the biblical authors interact with God's revelation to produce the biblical text?God Speaks begins by exploring and asserting a number of problematic issues facing popular notions of Inspiration today. Gordon then begins to offer an interdisciplinary solution utilizing Thomas Jay Oord's theology of Essential Kenosis and revealing how it provides a better theological basis for developing a doctrine of Biblical Inspiration. If God cannot control the biblical authors, then what they produce as the biblical text is not revelation in and of itself, but a contextualized human response to that revelation. With the rising popularity of Essential Kenosis, the dismantling of popular notions of inspiration through historical criticism, and a reclaiming of the interpretative methods of the early church, God Speaks puts forth a doctrine of inspiration and revelation that better accounts for these realities while more faithfully securing our allegiance to Christ.

We always have a choice. We can resist the darkness, cowering and suffering, avoiding and reviling. Or we can embrace it. Because, my friends, many exceptional and meaningful things happen in the dark.There are unfathomable experiences in this life that attempt to take us out; that torment us with our too-much-ness and our not-enough-ness. These raw words are guidance for spiritual mavericks who are done with fitting in, and are ready to live authentically. Even if you've always played the game, or you haven't and you've been punished, corrected, and sanitized by others for being real, you can find joy in the mess, and live free from the social gauntlet.Certainty is an immaturely constructed sentiment or stance that allows humans to bypass or mitigate discomfort. It's an illusion that helps us feel safe. So, I cannot promise you certain outcomes. All I can do is share my own stories and hope that this witty and vulnerable book will leave you ...... feeling encouraged to love the parts of yourself that have been labeled "e;hard to love."e;... with increased confidence in and appreciation for who you were made to be.... with a sense of solidarity that you are not alone in your story.... more able to hold space for yourself and your people in times of joy and loss.... with tips for navigating the process of growing in self-awareness and wholeness.... better prepared to resist social pressure and embrace what it means to be fully human.

You've heard the horror stories about drug addiction. Your eyes glaze over with half-hearted interest when you see the stats surrounding the "e;opioid crisis."e; You know you should care that 130 people are dying of accidental overdose every day in America, yet you just can't seem to muster the compassion.Substance use disorder may be a vague abstraction to most of us, but our friends and family are not. Our sons and daughters aren't "e;junkies"e; who deserve to be written off by society. They are human beings whose lives are filled with meaning and potential.Joshua Lawson has worked as an organizer, pastor, and ally to people who use drugs in central Appalachia for the past three years. The Face of Addiction tells the stories of twelve people he met when he first began "e;getting close"e; to the things that matter in his community.There's the woman whose husband succumbed to an overdose even though she was sure he'd finally beaten it. The man who found a reason for recovery in his daughter's letter to Santa. The city councilman whose perspective finally changed after years of family turmoil. What's more, two of the people featured here have died since giving their interview. That's how important it is for you to hear what they have to say.So much heartache and loss. So much joy and redemption. So much humanity. This is the face of addiction.

What happens when you deconstruct your faith? Aside from all the theological messiness it brings, deconstruction brings with it a lot of personal trauma. Friends and family often distance themselves. Your church sometimes removes you from the pews. And often, you are left with nothing more than rubble where a seemingly unmovable building once stood.Enter Michelle Collins' debut book, Into the Gray: The Mental and Emotional Aftermath of Spiritual Deconstruction. Far from a "e;how-to"e; guide, this book is much more "e;pastoral"e; in that it allows the reader to check in with a fellow spiritual sojourner so that, by the end of its pages, they can say "e;me too."e;