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	The Secret Message of Jesus: Uncovering the Truth That Could Change By: Brian McLaren Book Description Brian McLaren, one of TIME magazine's "25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America," is back, this time to lead readers on a journey that will prove to be as unsettling and groundshaking as it is thrilling and life-changing. Unafraid of controversy or the uncomfortable gray areas of life, McLaren's quest is to find the essential message of Jesus' life - even if it overturns our conventional ideas, priorities, and practices.
	Chasing Francis: A Pilgrim's Tale by Ian Morgan Cron Book Description Chase Falson has lost his faith-and he did it right in front of the congregation at his megachurch. Now the elders want him to take some time away: far away. So Chase crosses the Atlantic to visit his uncle, a Franciscan priest, where he encounters the teachings of Francis of Assisi and rediscovers his ancient faith. Follow Chase's spiritual journey in the footsteps of Francis, and then begin one of your own through the pilgrim's guide included in this book. Come discover Francis, the first postmodern Christian.
	The American Church in Crisis By: David T. Olson Book Description Research shows that America's overall population is growing much faster than the church! Confirming hunches and exploding myths, Olson provides insight into how the church must change to reach a new and different world with the gospel. Filled with optimistic and challenging stories; enlightening data; charts; diagrams; work sheets; and discussion questions for motivated ministers and congregations!
	3:16: The Numbers of Hope By: Max Lucado Book Description You find it displayed on billboards and at sports' games. John 3:16. Perhaps the best-known verse in the Bible, its 26 words encapsulate the fundamental truth of Christianity, "For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son ...." In 3:16: The Numbers of Hope, bestselling author Max Lucado delves into this "hope diamond of the Bible" phrase by life-changing phrase. Concluding the study, a 40 day devotional snapshot of Jesus' life, taken from Max's writings, grounds the verse in the greater context of who Jesus was. Whether you're a newcomer to the Bible or a veteran believer, explore the implications of God's parade of hope: He loves. He gave. We believe. We live.
	StrengthsFinder 2.0 By: Tom Rath Book Description DO YOU HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO WHAT YOU DO BEST EVERY DAY? Chances are, you don't. All too often, our natural talents go untapped. From the cradle to the cubicle, we devote more time to fixing our shortcomings than to developing our strengths. To help people uncover their talents, Gallup introduced the first version of its online assessment, StrengthsFinder, in the 2001 management book Now, Discover Your Strengths. The book spent more than five years on the bestseller lists and ignited a global conversation, while StrengthsFinder helped millions to discover their top five talents. In its latest national bestseller, StrengthsFinder 2.0, Gallup unveils the new and improved version of its popular assessment, language of 34 themes, and much more. While you can read this book in one sitting, you'll use it as a reference for decades. Loaded with hundreds of strategies for applying your strengths, this new book and accompanying website will change the way you look at yourself -- and the world around you -- forever.
	Praying in Color: Drawing a New Path to God By: Sybil MacBeth Book Description Maybe you love color. Maybe you hunger to know God better. Maybe you are a visual or kinesthetic learner, a distractable or impatient soul, or a word-weary pray-er. Perhaps you struggle with a short attention span, a restless body, or a tendency to live in your head. This new prayer form can take as little or as much time as you have or want to commit, from 15 minutes to a weekend retreat. "A new prayer form gives God an invitation and a new door to penetrate the locked cells of our hearts and minds," explains Sybil MacBeth. "For many of us, using only words to pray reduces God by the limits of our finite words." Find a new connection with God as you "pray with the right side of your brain."
	Revolutionary Parenting: What the Research Shows Really Works By: George Barna Book Description The Revolution is underway, but in this new era, how can parents make a lasting impact in the spiritual lives of their children? To find the answer, George Barna researched the lives of thriving adult Christians and discovered the essential steps their parents took to shape their spiritual lives in childhood. He also learned surprising truths about which popular parenting tactics just aren't working. Revolutionary Parenting goes beyond youth group and Sunday school and shows parents how to instill in their children a vibrant commitment to Christ.
	Walking Towards Hope: Experiencing Grace in a Time of Brokenness By: Paul M. Beckingham Book Description Paul was a zealous missionary serving God the best way he knew how in the chaos of AIDS-filled Africa. A rescuer of sorts, he would - too soon - need rescuing himself. Without warning, an accident fell upon him like a bolt of lightning from a blue and cloudless sky. Suddenly, all he had come to know about so many things was lost beneath a cloud of crushing personal suffering. Everything in his life was changed forever. How could he begin to make sense of it? How do you "come to terms" with those thieving circumstances that rob you of your very reason for being? How do you make sense of the catastrophic changes that inundate the people of faith? We hold open the Scriptures with all of their love, life, promise and hope in one hand, while attempting, in the other hand, to reconcile our pain and deep despair. To Paul's surprise, his solid training in faith, with those correct and proper theological arguments, offered him scant comfort in his time of brokenness. Instead, to his amazement, God's personal closeness and gracious presence became his lifesaver. In the end, God's warmth and love alone would satisfy his heart. This is a true story. Get ready to shed some tears along the way, but in the end it will leave you gently singing.
	A Work of Heart : Understanding How God Shapes Spiritual Leaders By: Reggie McNeal Book Description All the ministry skills and "how to's" on earth will not carry a pastor through a case of "heart failure." Here McNeal identifies the influences God used to shape the hearts of biblical leaders---culture, call, community, communion, conflict, and commonplace---and shows how those same strengths can guide and revive the hearts of religious leaders today
	Facing Your Giants: The God Who Made a Miracle Out of David Stands Ready to Make One Out of You By: Max Lucado Book Description Giants. We must face them. Yet, we need not face them alone. This profound look at the life of David digs deeply into the defeats he suffered, and the victories he won, as he faced the giants in his life. When David focused on God, giants tumbled. But when David focused on giants...he stumbled. Goliaths still roam in our world. Debt. Disaster. Dialysis. Divorce. Deceit. Disease. Depression. These super-sized challenges swagger and strut into our lives, pilfering our sleep, embezzling our peace and robbing us of our joy. And while these giants try to dominate our lives, we know what to do! We've learned what David learned, and we do what David did. We become God focused. We pick up five stones. We make five decisions. And we take a swing.
	Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens By: Neil Cole Book Description Churches have tried all kinds of ways to attract new and younger members - revised vision statements, hipper worship, contemporary music, livelier sermons, bigger and better auditoriums. But there are still so many people who aren't being reached, who don't want to come to church. And the truth is that attendance at church on Sundays does not necessarily transform lives; God's presence in our hearts is what changes us. Leaders and laypeople everywhere are realizing that they need new and more powerful ways to help them spread God's Word. According to international church starter and pastor Neil Cole, if we want to connect with young people and those who are not coming to church, we must go where people congregate. Cole shows readers how to plant the seeds of the Kingdom of God in the places where life happens and where culture is formed - restaurants, bars, coffeehouses, parks, locker rooms, and neighborhoods. Organic Church offers a hands-on guide for demystifying this new model of church and shows the practical aspects of implementing it.
	The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical By: Shane Claiborne Book Description: During college, a professor remarked, "Being a Christian is about choosing Jesus and deciding to do something incredibly daring with your life." Taking up that challenge, Shane's faith led him to dress the wounds of lepers with Mother Teresa, visit families in Iraq amidst bombings, and dump $10,000 on Wall Street to redistribute wealth. In The Irresistible Revolution, you'll be challenged by a radical Christianity passionate for peace, social justice, and alleviating the suffering found in the local neighborhood and distant reaches of the world. Live out your faith with little acts of radical love as you join the movement of God's Spirit into a broken world.
	Divine Nobodies: Shedding Religion to Find God (and the unlikely people who help you) By: Jim Palmer Book Description What does a Hip-Hop artist, Waffle House waitress, tire salesman, and disabled girl have to do with discovering spiritual truth? What if embracing authentic Christianity is a journey of unlearning? Welcome to Jim Palmer's world! Don Miller meets Anne Lamott meets Brian McLaren in this tale of shedding religion and plunging into uncharted depths of knowing God. Jim Palmer, emergent pastor, shares his compelling off-road spiritual journey and the unsuspecting people who became his guides.
	Be the Change: Your Guide to Freeing Slaves and Changing the World By: Zach Hunter Book Description Most people think the average teenager isn't capable of much beyond hanging with their friends and wasting time. But Zach Hunter isn't your average teenager. And he's hoping to show you that you're not either. Zach has been trying to end slavery around the globe. Most people (maybe even you) think that slavery has been over for a long time. But sadly, there are more people bound in slavery now than at any of the times we read about in our history books. Now Zach is working to end slavery and free the men, women, and children who are being held against their will. He's even found some friends in the fight, including Jon Foreman of Switchfoot and Leeland Mooring of Leeland. Just look around the world and on the news and you'll find that there are plenty of things wrong with our planet--homelessness, hunger, global warming, AIDS...the list goes on and on. And we usually look at these problems and decide they're too big for us to do anything about. But Zach is proving that one person can make a difference. And in his book, he'll reveal the elements needed to make amazing changes in your world. In the end, he hopes you'll find the thing you're passionate about--and start making changes!
	The Price of Privilege: How Parental Pressure and Material Advantage Are Creating a Generation of Disconnected and Unhappy Kids By: Madeline Levine Book Description Wealth - it which opens the doors of opportunity, travel, comfort and endless resources! Wealth - may be also be contributing to depressed, anxious, angry and bored teenagers. New studies are showing that consumerism too often substitutes for the sorts of struggles that produce thoughtful, content people. If objects satisfy people, then they never get around to working on deeper issues (dealing with failure, identifying strengths and weaknesses, giving to others, and developing a sense of self). The teen years are supposed to be a time for character building and by avoiding this hard work with the distraction of consumer toys, it can produce, Levine believes, adults who are ill-equipped for work, relationships and happiness. She is particularly useful when explaining common parenting dilemmas, like the difference between being intrusive and being involved, between laying down rules and encouraging autonomy. This is a must read for all parents raising kids in America!