Hope Church--its clergy and its people--are quite a congregation, an unforgettable cast of saints and sinners. While serving a heavenly realm, they also have their feet plainly planted in the muck and mire of the real world. Here is an Easter story of ordinary folk caught in the gracious grasp of an extraordinary God. In this rollicking, hilarious, sometimes pathetic, fast-paced, and always entertaining journey through a month of Sundays at Hope Church, we meet a wild cast of characters in...

With I'm Not from Here, popular writer Will Willimon returns to fiction with a story of spiritual discovery set in a Southern town. Will takes us on a Don Quixote-like journey during which young Felix Goforth Luckie learns a great deal about the world, about other people, and about a God who shows up in the oddest places, in the strangest times, and among the unlikeliest people. On a quest to discover himself, Felix is discovered by the grace of God. In homage to Dostoevsky, Cervantes, and...

Preachers around the globe have come to rely on Will Willimon for insight and advice on the craft of preaching. For over a decade, Willimon has published his reflections in the "Five-Minute Preaching Workshop," a quarterly column he writes as editor of Pulpit Resource. Here the best selections from that column have been brought together into a single volume for the first time. Drawing on years of experience, study, and careful observation of the current state of preaching, Willimon offers ...

★ Publishers Weekly starred reviewSeasoned pastor and church leader Will Willimon excels at creating thought-provoking, accessible books for working pastors and seminarians. In Aging, he takes a theologically rich look at numerous aspects of growing old.Drawing on Scripture, literature, current research, and his experiences as an aging adult, Willimon reflects on aging as a spiritual journey. He explores t...

The Peaceable Kingdom Series is a multivolume series that seeks to challenge the pervasive violence assumed necessary in relation to humans, nonhumans, and the larger environment. By calling on the work of ministers, activists, and scholars, we hope to provide an accessible resource that will help Christians reflect on becoming a more faithful and peaceable people. The series editors are Andy Alexis-Baker and Tripp York.For study guides and further resources see http://www.peaceabl...

Watch out. God is on the way.It's not within our own power to make a fresh start. If we're to have a future different from the past, it must come as a gift, something not of our devising. What we need is a God who refuses to be trapped in eternity, a God who not only cares about us but is willing to show up among us and do something with us, here, now.In Heaven and Earth: Advent and the Incarnation, Will Willimon introduces you to the God who does ...

Seasoned pastor and church leader Will Willimon excels at creating thought-provoking, accessible books for working pastors and seminarians. In Aging, he takes a theologically rich look at numerous aspects of growing old.Drawing on Scripture, literature, current research, and his experiences as an aging adult, Willimon reflects on aging as a spiritual journey. He explores the challenging realties as well as the rewarding joys of growing old and shows pastors how to help their congre...

"With the insight of a scholar, the skill of a pastor, and the heart of a parent, Brown invites readers to see these questions in a new light. This book is an invaluable resource for allies seeking to deepen their understanding and for those with questions about the language, ideas, and experiences that are shaping these conversations."—Josh Scott, Pastor, GracePointe Church, Nashville, Tennessee, and author of Cross-ExaminedNo Longer Male and Female provi...

Who's Minding the Story? examines the trajectory of the United Church of Canada since its heyday in the mid-1960s. Jeff Seaton argues that the denomination accepted the criticisms leveled at it by proponents of secular theology in the 1960s and made sweeping changes to its practices, its presentation of the Christian story, and its engagement with the world. Seaton argues that these "adjustments," which continue to exert strong influence in the denomination today--as witnessed in the appro...

For about the last fifteen years of his life, Thomas A. Langford pondered how grace is central to Christian theology. This book records his reflections and provides numerous gems of mature Christian insight. From beginning to end, the book is christologically focused. Grace is not something that God gives us; rather, it is the way God gives us himself. Grace is a person--God present to human beings. Grace is not a gift but rather a giver. Grace is Jesus Christ. The central contribution of ...

Building on a string of Haberer family harrowing encounters, Swimming with the Sharks presents a framework for addressing the sharks among us: those on the other side of the divide in American church life. What is characterized as the separation between blue progressives and red conservatives is shown to be a sellout to a political model and a false witness about the facts and faith on the ground. Believers do see things differently but not in simplistic, binary parties--rather in an overl...

As the western church faces challenges in declining membership and effectiveness due to religious disaffiliation and general discontent with organized religion, innovation must be a central focus within all aspects of ministry in the Christian church. With the focus that the local church must put on innovation, one aspect that will continually be an important factor is how the church understands, interprets, and utilizes failure. Yes, the church must fail! However, the church must not simp...