Celebrating the Living Witness of People and Places of the Christian FaithSaints and sanctuaries are critical parts of the Christian experience. We learn from those who have gone before or walk alongside us. When the mission becomes exhausting, we search for havens where we can recover and find the encouragement we need to continue. This issue seeks to celebrate the Christian journey; it considers many people who have traveled in ways we can learn from and the plac...

What Makes a Superhero?Superheroes captivate our cultural imagination. From reading comic books in our childhood bedrooms to watching the latest blockbuster on the silver screen, we long to see the champion defeat the villain and ultimately rescue the world from certain destruction. Though the stories may be fantastical, our desires are not. Our hearts are drawn to superheroes because we want someone to triumph over evil and save the world. This issue of An Unexpec...

Finding Joy in All CircumstancesIn a world chasing happiness, how does one find true joy? In a faith that promises joy as one of its benefits (Galatians 5:22), Christians should have the market cornered on joy, but do we? What is the original meaning of joy and what is the use of it? In this issue, contributors share examples of joy, some hard won and at the end of a trial. We hope these pieces will help you find the definition of joy in your own life.

The imago Dei: Man as God's Image Bearers"Let us make man in our image," so begins the relationship between God and his image bearers, beings made in his own image. What does it mean to be God's image bearer? In this issue on the imago Dei, we explore the ways man reflects God's light.Contributors:Donald W. Catchings, Jr.: "Stained-glass Man," a poem on man's own image.Annie Crawford:...

Planting the Seeds of ImaginationHolly Ordway has established herself as one of the preeminent voices in the field of cultural apologetics. Her ability to engage with the imagination is clearly demonstrated through her own scholarly work, most recently the paradigm-shifting Tolkien's Modern Reading, but her influence was critical in the founding of An Unexpected Journal as well. This collection of essays, poetry, and stories demonstrates her wide-...

Why does God feel so distant so often, and how do I bridge the gap?Does your hunger for God often seem more frustrating than satisfying?Have you sensed a disturbing disparity between God's promises and life's realities?Have you seen God's promises work, but you've stumbled and want to believe again?Award-winning author Philip Yancey articulates the fundamental questions that confront us all: "How do I relate to a God...

With more than 400,000 copies in print, Out of Solitude by Henri J. M. Nouwen offers a timeless reflection on the sacred tension between our longing for quiet communion with God and the unrelenting pull and noise of daily life. Drawing on three pivotal moments in the life of Jesus—his retreat to a lonely place to pray, the feeding of the five thousand, and his promise that, after going away, he would return to them—Nouwen shows how Christ himself turned to solitude to receive the ...

The White Witch, Aslan, fauns and talking beasts, centaurs and epic battles between good and evil -- all these have become a part of our collective imagination through the classic volumes of The Chronicles of Narnia. Over the past half century, children everywhere have escaped into this world and delighted in its wonders and enchantments. Yet what we do know of the man who created Narnia? This biography sheds new light on the making of the original Narnian, C. S. Lewis himself.

Following up her highly acclaimed Girl Meets God, author Lauren F. Winner has written an engrossing reflection of literary grace and spiritual wisdom with S till: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis.As she lives through a failed marriage and the loss of her mother, Winner finds her Christian faith slipping away. Through reading religious works and tomes and being counseled by leaders of the church, she learns she must find the courage to trust in God in order to to find H...

In this classic book,Madeleine L'Engle addresses the questions, What makes art Christian? What does it mean to be a Christian artist? What is the relationship between faith and art? Through L'Engle's beautiful and insightful essay, readers will find themselves called to what the author views as the prime tasks of an artist: to listen, to remain aware, and to respond to creation through one's own art.

Winner of the 2017 Christian Book Award for New AuthorNamed one of the top books of 2016 by John Piper's Desiring God ministryTo experience why the gospel is good news and answer life’s most foundational questions about identity, destiny, and purpose, we must understand what it means to be united to Christ.If you are a Christian, the Bible says that Christ has united his life to yours, that you are now in Christ and Christ is in you. This alm...

The world of J. R. R. Tolkien is filled with strange creatures, elaborately crafted lore, ancient tongues, and magic that exists only in fantasy; yet the lessons taught by hobbits and wizards speak powerfully and practically to our real lives. Courage, valor, trust, pride, greed, and jealousy--these are not fictional virtues. This is the stuff of real life, the Christian life. Professor and author Louis Markos takes us on the road with Tolkien and C. S. Lewis, with looks at selected classi...