What is a mystic? Bruce Epperly defines mystics as people who see holiness in everyday life. We can be mystics without leaving our families, disengaging from daily responsibilities, becoming a priest, or joining a monastic order. Epperly shows how we can experience the living God in the midst of daily life and never again take everyday events for granted. Bruce Epperly introduces readers to 12 individuals or groups of mystics through the ages: St. Francis of Assisi, the desert mothers and fat...

How do you prepare for Pentecost? As followers of Christ, we are invited to become Easter people filled with the Holy Spirit. The Resurrection is the center of the Christian faith. Without it there would be no Christian story, Christian church, or Christian way of life. Did you know that the Christian calendar sets aside a season of 50 days between Easter and Pentecost? The Easter season, sometimes called Eastertide, includes our Lord's ascension and leads to the Day of Pentecost, when Christ...

Where is God when we are hurting or in despair? How can we find hope even when we feel hopeless? Pain, struggle, and despair are part of life, and they test our character as God's people. John Wimmer approaches these challenges to our faith realistically and thoughtfully. He does not offer easy answers or platitudes like "Everything happens for a reason." We can't always understand or control many things that happen to us, but we can choose how we respond to our circumstances. Wimmer encourag...

Drawing on the roots of early Methodists, Philip Meadows urges readers to use the act of "remembering their baptism" to connect themselves to their own discipleship and mission. This will result in the daily shaping of their Christian lives by personal and corporate spiritual discipline, which is itself decidedly baptismal in character. When church communities of every size remember their baptism, they hold one another accountable for the life of disciplined discipleship and everyday witness....

Many small membership churches today are faced with the sobering reality of attendance loss and overall decline. This resource provides a guide to help you find hope, alternatives, and the possibility of a new beginning. Included are tools to help you measure your church's vitality, evaluate the results, and diagnose your church's condition, along with several options for treatment plans as you seek to faithfully serve your community. Remember that we can choose our story. If we believe in ou...

This handbook encourages short-term mission volunteers to reflect on the reasons why they engage in mission and how they plan and prepare to be more intentional. It helps volunteers shape the stories of their mission experiences in a way that enhances their personal and spiritual journeys. This is the Participant's Book. The Leader's Guide, God's Mission, Our Journey, can be found here.

This handbook encourages short-term mission volunteers to reflect on the reasons why they engage in mission and how they plan and prepare to be more intentional. It helps volunteers shape the stories of their mission experiences in a way that enhances their personal and spiritual journeys. This is the Participant's Book. The Leader's Guide, God's Mission, Our Journey, can be found here.

Where is God when we are hurting or in despair? How can we find hope even when we feel hopeless? Pain, struggle, and despair are part of life, and they test our character as God's people. John Wimmer approaches these challenges to our faith realistically and thoughtfully. He does not offer easy answers or platitudes like "Everything happens for a reason." We can't always understand or control many things that happen to us, but we can choose how we respond to our circumstances. Wimmer encourag...

Cities across the world celebrate Mardi Gras with colorful parades and over-the-top parties. Then Ash Wednesday arrives … Sigh. Lent has begun. You hear about devout friends giving up seemingly innocent things like chocolate or stressing out as they try to live a more perfect life during six grueling weeks—for reasons you don't completely understand. Sermons about penitence are preached, and guilt soaks the congregation. Sound like a good time?! It's time to rethink Lent. Or at least see it f...