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How is the one God also three persons? How is Jesus fully God and fully human? Who in the world should we pray to? And why does any of it matter?Steve Dancause offers a succinct and profound investigation into how what we think about God as Trinity matters in our faith, our work, and our love. It matters because the walls of our churches are cracking around us. We can keep patching things up, but it is better to go to the foundation and do the hard digging. With the right foundation, the structure holds, and it stands the test of eternity. And it is only in Jesus, and the Trinity he reveals to us, that we build our lives on solid rock. Let's dig down together.The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God's work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness. Accessible Jesus-centered theology from an Anabaptist perspective Designed for use by individual readers, small groups, and Christian education classes Glossary of terms and discussion and reflection questions in each volumeBooks in series: What Is the Bible and How Do We Understand It? Dennis R. Edwards [Fall 2019]Why Did Jesus Die and What Difference Does It Make? Michele Hershberger [Fall 2019]Why Do We Suffer and Where Is God When We Do? Valerie G. Rempel [Spring 2020]What Is the Trinity and Why Does It Matter? Steve Dancause [Spring 2020]Who Are Our Enemies and How Do We Love Them? Hyung Jin Kim Sun [Summer 2020]What Is God's Mission in the World and How Do We Join It? Juan F. Martínez [Summer 2020]What Is the Church and Why Does It Exist? David Fitch [Fall 2020]What Does Justice Look Like and Why Does God Care about It? Judith and Colin McCartney [Fall 2020]What Is God's Kingdom and What Does Citizenship Look Like? César García [Spring 2021]Who Was Jesus and What Does It Mean to Follow Him? Nancy Elizabeth Bedford [Spring 2021]

Cancer, hurricanes, hunger, suicide: suffering is the most profound challenge to faith that many people will face. Valerie G. Rempel leads readers into a gentle meditation on the many questions surrounding why we suffer. How can God be all-loving and all-powerful? Why don't prayers seem to work? Is pain always redemptive? And what do the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus reveal about suffering? We may not find answers to all our questions, but we can lean into the God big enough to absorb all of them. The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God's work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness. Accessible Jesus-centered theology from an Anabaptist perspectiveDesigned for use by individual readers, small groups, and Christian education classesGlossary of terms and discussion and reflection questions in each volume Books in series: What Is the Bible and How Do We Understand It? Dennis R. Edwards [Fall 2019] Why Did Jesus Die and What Difference Does It Make? Michele Hershberger [Fall 2019] What Is God's Mission in the World and How Do We Join It? Juan F. Martínez [Spring 2020] Why Do We Suffer and Where Is God When We Do? Valerie G. Rempel [Spring 2020] What Is the Trinity and Why Does It Matter? Steve Dancause [Summer 2020] Who Are Our Enemies and How Do We Love Them? Hyung Jin Kim Sun [Summer 2020] What Is the Church and Why Does It Exist? David Fitch [Fall 2020] What Does Justice Look Like and Why Does God Care about It? Judith and Colin McCartney [Fall 2020] What Is God's Kingdom and What Does Citizenship Look Like? César García [Spring 2021] Who Was Jesus and What Does It Mean to Follow Him? Nancy Elizabeth Bedford [Spring 2021]

What is the church? And why does it exist? These are essential questions for those who seek to follow Jesus in community. David Fitch delves into the origins of the church, exploring the identity and calling of the body of Christ in scripture and church history. Learn about the Christian practices that shape the church and how our understandings of church might change in light of the life of the church through the centuries. At a time when the church in the US is losing credibility and cultural privilege, Fitch calls us to embrace historic Anabaptism as a model for thriving as God's people in our own time and place. The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God's work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.

Churches have begun awakening to social and political injustices, often carried out in the name of Christianity. But once awakened, how will we respond?Who Will Be a Witness offers a vision for communities of faith to organize for deliverance and justice in their neighborhoods, states, and nation as an essential part of living out the call of Jesus.Author Drew G. I. Hart provides incisive insights into Scripture and history, along with illuminating personal stories, to help us identify how the witness of the church has become mangled by Christendom, white supremacy, and religious nationalism. Hart provides a wide range of options for congregations seeking to give witness to Jesus' ethic of love for and solidarity with the vulnerable.At a time when many feel disillusioned and distressed, Hart calls the church to action, offering a way forward that is deeply rooted in the life and witness of Jesus. Dr. Hart's testimony is powerful, personal, and profound, serving as a compass that points the church to the future and offers us a path toward meaningful social change and a more faithful witness to the way of Jesus.

Do you ever think you're forgetting how to talk about God? Or never learned how?Theology is nothing more--and nothing less--than speaking together about God. Still, a lot of us don't know where to start.In Speaking of God, pastor and theologian Anthony Siegrist helps readers recover a basic language around Christian theology. The sweeping epic of Scripture serves as the scaffold for this accessible book. In vivid and even humorous writing, Siegrist introduces us to scholars and pilgrims and traditions that disclose essential truths about God and Jesus Christ, as well as concepts like creation, sin, redemption, the church, and discipleship. By plumbing the works of theologians such as Augustine, Julian of Norwich, Antonia Gonzalez, and Kazoh Kitamori, Siegrist offers readers an introduction to Christian theology throughout the ages, emphasizing common threads of thought and practice across traditions.Learning to talk about God requires courage and humility; this handbook of Christian theology will help you gain both. Join the deepest, longest conversation in the world.

Includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter!Foreword by Derwin Gray, founding pastor of Transformation Church and former NFL player.What if asking Jesus into our hearts is not the heart of the gospel?In By the Way, pastor and author Derek Vreeland reframes everything we've been told about Christianity and what it means to follow Jesus. Discipleship isn't an add-on. Jesus didn't say, Go into all the world and get people saved or Get people to ask me into their hearts. Jesus said, Go therefore and make disciples. Reclaiming discipleship as the heart of the Christian faith means seeing anew the gospel, the cross, the resurrection, transformation, and the community of faith. We learn the ways of Jesus by practicing them, Vreeland says, and in By the Way, he introduces us to the ways of Jesus.Discipleship means joining God's joyful mission of reconciliation on earth, not just saving souls for the afterlife. Following Jesus is more like taking a long walk in the woods than sitting in a classroom. Living by the Way takes practice--and that's the point.

Strong families. Caring communities. The nearly nine in ten youth who join the church. How do the Amish do it?In Amish Voices, Amish writers share news and advice from their communities and reflect on their daily lives, work, and faith. Brad Igou, publisher of Amish Country News, gives readers a behind-the-scenes tour of Amish life by compiling writing from Family Life, a popular monthly magazine that thousands of Amish people read. Learn about how the Amish began and what they value. Hear what they think about technology, happiness, community, obedience, success, and change. Listen in as they discuss shunning and rumspringa and forgiveness. Find out what sustains them in difficult seasons, and how they try to trust God in all things.Why learn about the Amish from outsiders when you can learn from the Amish themselves? And why just learn about them when you can learn from them?

Every day we lose a little bit of something.Career plans wither. Friendships crumble. Our zeal for Jesus wanes. Whether it's the demise of ideals and expectations, belief in the church, a previously healthy relationship, or our image of ourselves: we all experiences losses.So does the God of the resurrection have anything to say to our hurts? Was Christ's resurrection a once-and-done thing, or is there hope for healing and restoration now?In Signs of Life, pastor and writer Stephanie Lobdell leads readers into the grand story of God's saving action and resurrection power. Punctuated with stories of biblical figures such as Sarah, Naaman, Saul, and Anna--who faced ordinary deaths and also God's reviving power --Signs of Life claims Jesus' resurrection matters now. In candid and artful prose, Lobdell shares stories of her own depression, loss of confidence, and disillusionment with the church.Hope isn't cheap, and you can't muscle your way through to joy. There's no sense in pretending everything is fine. Yet through it all, Lobdell claims, God breathes life into what seems beyond redemption. Through it all, the resurrection matters.

What if prayer could be simple rather than strenuous?Anxious, results-driven Christians can never pray enough, serve enough, or study enough. But what if God is calling us not to frenzied activity but to a simple spiritual encounter? What if we must merely receive what God has already given us?In Flee, Be Silent, Pray, writer and contemplative retreat leader Ed Cyzewski guides readers out of the anxiety factory of contemporary Christianity and toward a God whose love astounds those quiet long enough to receive it. With helpful guidance into solitude, contemplative prayer, and practices such as lectio divina and the Examen, Cyzewski guides readers toward the Christ whose yoke is easy and whose burden is light.Ready to shed the fear of the false self and the exhaustion of a duty-driven faith? Flee. Be silent. Pray.

Girls and women are transforming the world. Will the church support them?Educating women is the most effective way to combat extreme poverty, slash child mortality rates, and build healthy communities. But first a girl must navigate the minefields of childhood and adolescence. Will she get pregnant or finish her education? Will she be trafficked or taught a trade? Will she be abused by authority figures or equipped for leadership?From Risk to Resilience weaves the stories of young women between the ages of twelve and twenty-one into a tapestry of hope. Author and gender justice advocate Jenny Rae Armstrong illuminates dangers common to women and girls around the world: gender-based violence, child marriage, healthcare gaps, and damaging social attitudes. She also delves into narratives of women in Scripture, examining theologies of oppression that contain and crush women's potential, and theologies of shalom that lift women up.Drawing on resources from the gender justice movement and from heroines of the Bible, Armstrong offers a stirring call to action, with practical ways that churches and individuals can help girls around the globe thrive.

"Opioids claim the lives of 115 people per day. One of them could have been me." When a near-fatal illness led his doctors to prescribe narcotics, media consultant Timothy McMahan King ended up where millions of others have: addicted. Eventually King learned to manage pain without opioids--but not before he began asking profound questions about the spiritual and moral nature of addiction, the companies complicit in creating the opioid epidemic, and the paths toward healing and recovery. We have become a society not only damaged by addiction but fueled by it. In Addiction Nation, King investigates the ways that addiction robs us of freedom and holds us back from being fully human. Through stories, theology, philosophy, and cultural analysis, King examines today''s most common addictions and their destructive consequences. In stark yet intimate prose, he looks not only at the rise of opioid abuse but at policy, pain, virtue, and habit. He also unpacks research showing patterns of addiction to technology, stress, and even political partisanship. Addiction of any kind dims the image of God and corrupts who we were created to be. Addiction Nation nudges us toward healing from the ravages of addiction and draws us toward a spirituality sturdy enough to sate our deepest longings.

What do we do when the church looks nothing like Jesus?Many followers of Jesus feel disillusioned by a broken religion—one that loves political power, promises prosperity, and feeds on fear. We desperately try to rationalize how a loving God can be connected to unloving churches, institutions, and people. We can no longer deny that our version of Christianity is not just imperfect but has been coopted to inflict violence, racism, abuse, hate, and even death. The question before many Christians is no longer how their faith can survive within a secular culture. It’s how their faith can survive Christianity itself.In The Great Reckoning, writer Stephen Mattson writes out of the rubble of the failed American faith called Christendom. Instead of doomsaying or casting aspersions, however, Mattson offers hope for seekers looking for inspiration, solace for Christians fed up with an unsatisfying religion, and clarity for those sifting through the remains. The Great Reckoning is a clear-eyed yet tender critique of where we’ve gone wrong, and a guide away from the culture wars and toward the life of Jesus.Consider this a dispatch from the wreckage of American cultural Christianity, and an ode to the Jesus-looking faith we seek.

Old Order Mennonite author Darla Weaver gives readers a glimpse into the weekly gatherings of her and her mother and sisters.

Natalie Frisk is the curriculum pastor at The Meeting House Church in Toronto, Canada, where she and a team create kids' and youth curricula for ages 0-18 used by churches worldwide. Frisk is a sought-after speaker on topics of youth and children's ministry, spiritual formation, and discipleship, and her work has been published in Canadian Youth Workers Magazine and at the ReKnew and Pangea blogs. Frisk has a master's degree in theological studies from McMaster Divinity College and serves on the board of Be in Christ Church of Canada. She is married to Sam, mom to Erin, and child of God. She loves Jesus, coffee, and samosas.

Many people have questions about Scripture they are too afraid to ask. Are all the stories of the Bible true? What about all the books that got left out? What do we make of all that violence? What do we do when biblical authors seem to disagree? And what if we encounter situations the Bible doesn't address? Drawing from the best of contemporary biblical scholarship and the ancient well of Christian tradition, scholar and preacher Meghan Larissa Good helps readers consider why the Bible matters. Known for presenting complex theological ideas in accessible, engaging ways, Good delves into issues like biblical authority, literary genre, and Christ-centered hermeneutics, and calls readers beyond either knee-jerk biblicism, on the one hand, or skeptical disregard on the other. Instead, The Bible Unwrapped invites readers to faithful reading, communal discernment, and deep and transformative wonder about Scripture. Join an honest conversation about the Bible that is spiritually alive and intellectually credible. Read the ancient story of God in the world. You may even learn to love it.

In churches and kitchens and neighborhood centers across the world, communities of Jesus-followers are crafting a vision of radical service, simple living, and commitment to peace. Many are finding a home in a Christian tradition almost five centuries old: Anabaptism. Who are the Anabaptists? What do they believe? Where did they come from? What makes them different from other Christians? And can you become an Anabaptist without leaving your own church? Follow Stuart Murray as he peels back the layers to reveal the core convictions of Anabaptist Christianity, a way of following Jesus that challenges, disturbs, and inspires. Glimpse an alternative to nationalistic, materialistic, individualistic Christian faith. If you are seeking a community of authentic discipleship, heartfelt worship, sacrificial service, and radical peacemaking, consider this your invitation. Key Points: Voices and stories from North America and the global church Updated and expanded definition and discussion of Christendom Updated resource section

Is nonviolence irresponsible? Is peacemaking naïve? From one of the most respected and prophetic voices in Christianity today comes Speak Your Peace. Ronald J. Sider, author of the influential Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, plumbs Scripture, building a persuasive case that Jesus meant what he said when he commanded us to love our enemies. With candor and logic, Sider takes on enduring questions about violence and nonviolence, showing how the contemporary church in a warring world has largely set aside Jesus' call to love our enemies and traded its birthright in Christ for a stew of nationalism and militarism. But ignoring what Jesus said about killing is a huge theological mistake. Returning us to the inescapable call of the Son of God, Sider reminds the church of its true vocation in a world of hatred and war.

Why did Jesus die? And how does his death change us and our world? These questions stand at the center of our faith. But that doesn't mean they are simple or straightforward.Michele Hershberger helps us peer deeply into the meaning of the cross by sifting through Scripture and the life of Christ. Learn about theological concepts like sin, salvation, and atonement. Find out how Christians across the centuries have thought about Jesus' death. Discover how Jesus' life, crucifixion, and resurrection change everything.The Jesus Way series delves into big questions about God's work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.Books in series: What Is the Bible and How Do We Understand It? Dennis R. Edwards [Fall 2019]Why Did Jesus Die and What Difference Does It Make? Michele Hershberger [Fall 2019]Why Do We Suffer and Where Is God When We Do? Valerie G. Rempel [Spring 2020]What Is the Trinity and Why Does It Matter? Steve Dancause [Spring 2020]Who Are Our Enemies and How Do We Love Them? Hyung Jin Kim Sun [Summer 2020]What Is God's Mission in the World and How Do We Join It? Juan F. Martínez [Summer 2020]What Is the Church and Why Does It Exist? David Fitch [Fall 2020]What Does Justice Look Like and Why Does God Care about It? Judith and Colin McCartney [Fall 2020]What Is God's Kingdom and What Does Citizenship Look Like? César García [Spring 2021]Who Was Jesus and What Does It Mean to Follow Him? Nancy Elizabeth Bedford [Spring 2021]

Reading the Bible is one thing. Understanding how the Bible came to be and how it can guide our faith and life? That's quite another. Dennis R. Edwards offers a succinct and profound investigation of Scripture. By holding up Jesus as the interpretive key and inviting us to read the Bible with the marginalized, Edwards challenges us to a Christ-centered approach to hermeneutics. What does it mean to read the Bible with Jesus at the center? How does Scripture illuminate the work of God in the world? Edwards shines light on contemporary debates about the Bible and calls us to faithful, loving interpretations and applications of the Word of God. The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God's work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness. Accessible Jesus-centered theology from an Anabaptist perspectiveDesigned for use by individual readers, small groups, and Christian education classesGlossary of terms, illustrations, and discussion and reflection questions in each volume Books in series: What Is the Bible and How Do We Understand It? Dennis R. Edwards [Fall 2019] Why Did Jesus Die and What Difference Does It Make? Michele Hershberger [Fall 2019] Why Do We Suffer and Where Is God When We Do? Valerie G. Rempel [Spring 2020] What Is the Trinity and Why Does It Matter? Steve Dancause [Spring 2020] Who Are Our Enemies and How Do We Love Them? Hyung Jin Kim Sun [Summer 2020] What Is God's Mission in the World and How Do We Join It? Juan F. Martínez [Summer 2020] What Is the Church and Why Does It Exist? David Fitch [Fall 2020] What Does Justice Look Like and Why Does God Care about It? Judith and Colin McCartney [Fall 2020] What Is God's Kingdom and What Does Citizenship Look Like? César García [Spring 2021] Who Was Jesus and What Does It Mean to Follow Him? Nancy Elizabeth Bedford [Spring 2021]

Just come on over. Many people today feel lonely, isolated, and disconnected from God and others. We crave authentic community, but we have no idea where to start. We'd be glad to cultivate friendships; but honestly, who's got the time?In Invited, writer Leslie Verner says real hospitality is not having a Pinterest-perfect table or well-appointed living room. True hospitality is not clean, comfortable, or controlled. It is an invitation to enter a sacred space together with friends and strangers. Through vivid accounts from her life and travels in Uganda, China, and Tajikistan, and stories of visiting congregations in the United States, Verner shares stories of life around the table and how hospitality is at the heart of Christian community. What if we in the West learned about hospitality from people around the globe? What if our homes became laboratories of belonging?  Invited will empower you to open your home, get to know your neighbors, and prioritize people over tasks. Holy hospitality requires more of Jesus and less of us. It leads not only to loving the stranger but to becoming the stranger. Welcome to a new kind of hospitality.

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One hundred people die from gun violence every day in the United States. Some fifty children and teens are shot each day. There are 40,000 gun-related deaths every year in our nation. Yet many Christians say gun violence shouldn't be talked about in church. In Collateral Damage, pastor and activist James E. Atwood issues an urgent call to action to Christians to work together to stop gun violence. An avid hunter for many years, Atwood tallies the tragic and far-reaching costs that accrue in a country with more guns than people. A generalized fear and loss of trust. Suicides and homicides. Trauma for children in neighborhoods plagued by gun violence and in schools with frequent lockdown drills. A toxic machismo that shapes our boys and men in unhealthy ways. Economic costs that exceed $229 billion per year. Atwood also considers the deeper story of racism, inequality, and mass incarceration in which the conversation about gun violence is lodged. Gun violence has been called the theological emergency of our time. The church has a moral and spiritual obligation to side with life against death. Will we rise to the occasion?

Not long ago, most white American Christians believed that Jesus blessed slavery. God wasn't bothered by Jim Crow. Baby Jesus had white skin. Meet Plantation Jesus: a god who is comfortable with bigotry, and an idol that distorts the message of the real Savior. That false image of God is dead, right? Wrong, argue the authors of Plantation Jesus, an authoritative new book on one of the most urgent issues of our day. Through their shared passion for Jesus Christ and with an unblinking look at history, church, and pop culture, authors Skot Welch and Rick Wilson detail the manifold ways that racism damages the church's witness. Together Welch and Wilson take on common responses by white Christians to racial injustice, such as "I never owned a slave," "I don't see color; only people," and "We just need to get over it and move on." Together they call out the church's denials and dodges and evasions of race, and they invite readers to encounter the Christ of the disenfranchised. With practical resources and Spirit-filled stories, Plantation Jesus nudges readers to learn the history, acknowledge the injury, and face the truth. Only then can the church lead the way toward true reconciliation. Only then can the legacy of Plantation Jesus be replaced with the true way of Jesus Christ.