Messy, raw, and real aren't the words most of us use when we say what's good about our churches. But what if they were? Author Lee Schott found out, serving a beautiful church inside the Iowa women's prison. A lifelong church person, she discovered more church, and greater faithfulness, in this most unlikely setting, with room for people the church has often overlooked. She shares the lessons she has learned there, with the hope that church leaders outside of prison might be inspired, equipped, and encouraged to loosen the fetters that keep our churches so closed off. We'll explore church characterized by honest relationship, protection of the vulnerable, radical welcome, and healthy boundaries. Practical application for the local church context and discussion questions for group study are included throughout. ""A renewed concern for imprisoned persons often marks times of religious revival. While Lee Schott's fine book is about a church within a women's prison, the subject is the church itself. It is a plea for congregations to move beyond an assembly of the most respectable to make room for those on the edges of respectability for whom Jesus had such an open heart."" --Lovett H. Weems, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Church Leadership, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC ""Lee's intimate conversations from 'the Well' give this writing real emotional depth and become the background for challenging questions for the church. A must read and practical process that can be implemented by a committed group of church leaders. The ministry of 'the Well' has the power to transform the ministry of the church everywhere. But beware, church growth may take on a totally different meaning."" --Bill Selby, President, Center for Pastoral Effectiveness of the Rockies ""In my forty years living at the intersection of the church and the criminal justice system, few people have taught me as much as Lee Roorda Schott. The lessons range from the distinct issues facing women in prison to the challenge of forming community in a correctional institution. But no greater lesson have I learned from her than this--and it is the central thesis of this book--that the church exists behind the prison walls, and that any theology of prison ministry that is totally missional falls short of the truth. Incarcerated people are more than just objects of outreach. They are the church, and no ecclesiology is fully orbed without them. Foolish Church makes this point clearly and thoughtfully, humanizing and giving voice to our sisters invisible to the rest of the church. Foolish Church is now required reading in my classes."" --Harold Dean Trulear, Associate Professor of Applied Theology, Howard University School of Divinity Lee Roorda Schott is a United Methodist elder and pastor of Women at the Well, a church inside the women's prison in Mitchellville, Iowa. She is a graduate of Saint Paul School of Theology and Harvard Law School and worked as a lawyer for fifteen years before becoming a pastor. She is the author of Job, in the Immersion Bible Study series (2011).

Messy, raw, and real aren’t the words most of us use when we say what’s good about our churches. But what if they were? Author Lee Schott found out, serving a beautiful church inside the Iowa women’s prison. A lifelong church person, she discovered more church, and greater faithfulness, in this most unlikely setting, with room for people the church has often overlooked. She shares the lessons she has learned there, with the hope that church leaders outside of prison might be inspired, equipped, and encouraged to loosen the fetters that keep our churches so closed off. We’ll explore church characterized by honest relationship, protection of the vulnerable, radical welcome, and healthy boundaries. Practical application for the local church context and discussion questions for group study are included throughout.

An early reader of Foolish Church, a layperson, stood up in front of her church and said, “Every church person needs to read this, because we will learn a lot to help us as a church!” She grasped the point of the book: it’s about helping us do church differently. If you’re foolish enough to want to try what Lee shares in Foolish Church, this fools’ manual will help you do so. It offers book and Bible reflections for each chapter, along with practice suggestions that will help you and your church practice being more authentic, more relevant, and more open. You’ll be invited to connect with others, using the hashtag #foolishchurch on social media, so that we all might learn together. C’mon, all you church fools! We’ve got work to do.

Our world is changing dramatically, yet many Christians still rely on cookie-cutter approaches to evangelism and apologetics. In his magnum opus, Os Guinness presents the art and power of creative persuasion—the ability to talk to people who are closed to what we are saying. Discover afresh the persuasive power of Christian witness.

Shares uplifting advice about the virtues of forgiveness, offering strategic and biblically based advice on how to achieve peace and personal fulfillment by letting go of past wrongs.

In the eyes of the world, Jesus was a fool. He did not abide by the rules of his day; the people he associated with were shunned by society; his Sermon on the Mount reads likea primer on being left behind, stepped on, and ignored. In order for us to truly be the people Jesus wants us to be, we too must learn to become "foolish." Becoming a Christian is not a magical enterprise by which we are automatically transformed into better people. We must train to become who God intends us to be. In The Importance of Being Foolish, bestselling Christian author Brennan Manning teaches us how to think like Jesus. By reorienting our lives according to the gospel we may appear to be fools in the eyes of the world, but Manning reveals that this is exactly what Jesus wants. In a powerful exploration of the mind of Christ, Manning reveals how our obsession with security, pleasure, and power prevents us from living rich and meaningful lives. Our endless struggle to acquire money, good feelings, and prestige yields a rich harvest of worry, frustration, and resentment. Manning explores what Christ's mind was truly focused on: finding the Father, compassion for others, a heart of forgiveness, and the work of the kingdom. Coming from the gentle yet compelling voice of Brennan Manning, The Importance of Being Foolish is a refreshing reminder of the radical call of Jesus and the transforming love of God.