Tracing humility through Scripture, Dennis Edwards addresses common areas of leadership failure, applies biblical texts on humility to multiethnic ministry and justice work, and issues a compelling challenge to the church. Humility is not a tactic, and it's not just "being nice." It's a revolutionary path to follow the footsteps of Jesus.

In an era when our relationships with our families of origin are more complicated than ever, pastor T. C. Moore shows us how following the way of Jesus can lead us to a new kind of family--a forged family--and to a faith community that rejects hierarchical structures in favor of inclusive and loving friendships that last.

The Prayer is a drawing of the curtain, an invitation to a secret place that is discovered and explored. . . . According to tradition and the testimony of Sufi mystics, The Prayer--or Salat--was first taught by the angels, who themselves practiced it in celestial adoration. The Prayer is God's gift to all humankind, and in this gorgeously illustrated volume, its simple, archetypal practice unfolds like a fragrant, many-petaled flower, joining words and movements into a single luminous event that engages our entire being. These ancient rituals are presented here as a gift for anyone with a heartfelt desire to set aside for a moment the concerns of every day and enter a sacred time and space in which to explore the beckonings of the spirit. The authors take us through the words, movements, and hidden meanings of the Call to Prayer, the Ablutions, The Prayer itself, and the Peaceful Embrace afterwards. Faithful practice lends a sacred rhythm to each day and creates a psychological force that helps us nurture and express a profound inner harmony. This first, marvelously accessible interpretation of The Prayer also offers a compelling introductin to the wisdom and teachings of the beloved contemporary Sufi master Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, who brought new life to this mystical tradition by opening a passage to its deepest, universal realities. It is the loving handiwork of two of Bawa's best-known students, Coleman Barks and Michael Green, who also created The Illuminated Rumi. Like a jewel given extra brilliance by its setting, The Prayer is surrounded by the wisdom and understanding of the thirteenth-century Sufi master Rumi, whose generous poetry has become an essential canon for modern-day seekers in the West. The final gift is the Primeval Kalima, the core practice and most profound teaching of the Sufi, the "open secret" that leads to Divine Luminous Wisdom.

How can we pursue our callings while managing our risk for burnout? Communication and workplace expert Arianna Molloy explores the nature of a healthy calling and the surprising key to unlocking a more sustainable approach, identifying essential practices and disciplines to transform your work, relationships, and life.

Goncalo Ramires, last heir to the most noble house of Portugal, is writing a book on his ancestors in the hope some of the glory will rub off on him. In counter-pointing Goncalo's cowardice with the valor of his ancestors, Queiroz (1845-1900) was identifying him with Portugal itself. Queiroz has been called the Dickens of Portugal.

Manfred Herbst, a middle-aged professor at the Hebrew University, is bored. He is bored with his studies, with the petty squabbles of his academic colleagues, and with his endlessly understanding wife, Henrietta. He spends his days - and often his nights - prowling the streets and alleys of Jerusalem searching for Shira, the beguiling nurse he met at a hospital years ago. Against the backdrop of 1930s Jerusalem - a world on the brink of war - Herbst wages his own war against the encroachment of age as he plunges deeper into fantasies sparked by the free-spirited Shira. Shira, the last novel of Hebrew writer and 1966 Nobel Laureate S.Y. Agnon, was unfinished at the time of his death in 1970. Agnon wrote two very different endings for this novel, both of which are included here, along with an afterword by Robert Alter.