"E. Stanley Jones (1884-1973) was arguably the most widely known and universally admired Christian missionary and evangelist of the twentieth century. Through a lifetime of missionary work in India, Japan, and scores of other nations around the world, he converted thousands of persons to Christ and deeply influenced many more."--BOOK JACKET.

Out of the generation that grew up in the Great Depression and World War II, thousands of young Christians felt called by God to the ends of the earth. Pauline A. Brown, with her husband Ralph, and two other families, went to the Sindh Province in southern Pakistan in 1954 -- their goal, to share God's message love with Muslim Sindhis. This book is not just about North Americans abroad, but about a fellowship of ordinary people crossing cultural and linguistic barriers to take on the extraordinary challenge of establishing the Church in the Sindh desert. Jars of Clay is a story of laughter and tears, of danger and deliverance, of despair and hope, of victory and defeat. Above all, it is a story of perseverance in the face of great odds. The story of how the Church of Jesus Christ, small and fragile as it is, is taking root in the barren desert soil of Sindh in Pakistan, an Islamic Republic, is relevant more than ever in our post 9/11 world.

It's not every day that you get a visit from God. Burning bushes, ladders to heaven, chariots of fire and all that--we look for those stories in the Bible, and we look for them in our lives. When it comes to something as important as what we do with our lives, we think, maybe God owes us a big event. But, as Leroy Barber has learned through his work in inner cities and with young people, that's not usually how it works. More often God calls out to us from everyday misfortunes and all-too-common injustices, and he invites our response--not just a response in the moment, but a recognition that we have a role to play in seeing God's kingdom come, God's will done, on earth as it is in heaven. Through the surprisingly normal stories of the heroes of faith in the Bible, and through Barber's experiences with Mission Year and other ministries, in this book you'll learn what it means to change the world from your own little space in it.

A deeply personal introduction to the biblical theology and spirituality of Opus Dei by the bestselling Catholic author Scott Hahn. To conspiracy theorists, Opus Dei is a highly secretive and powerful international organization. To its members, however, Opus Dei is a spiritual path, a way of incorporating the teachings of Jesus into everyday life. In Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace, Scott Hahn, a member of Opus Dei, describes the organization’s founding, its mission, and its profound influence on his life. Hahn recounts the invaluable part Opus Dei played in his conversion from Evangelical Christianity to Catholicism and explains why its teachings remain at the center of his life. Through stories about his job, his marriage, his role as a parent, and his community activities, Hahn shows how Opus Dei’s spirituality enriches the meaning of daily tasks and transforms ordinary relationships. He offers inspiring insights for reconciling spiritual and material goals, discussing topics ranging from ambition, workaholism, friendship, and sex, to the place of prayer and sacrifice in Christianity today. Engaging and enlightening, Ordinary Work, Extraordinary Grace is at once a moving personal story and an inspiring work of contemporary spirituality.

Jack Jones gives up an ordinary life to answer God's call to move to France as a missionary. Surely God has something amazing planned. Will his extraordinary expectations hinder him as he is faced with the reality of the path he has chosen? As he ministers to a small church in Nantes, Jacques, le predicateur, works hard to fulfill his dream to evangelize all of France, but the journey is full of the potholes and snares of ordinary living. Until it happens. What path will he choose when he is confronted with the biggest trial he has ever faced in ministry?"

‘I wanted to change the world, but I couldn’t find a babysitter.’ School runs, packed lunches, play-dates, date night, nappy changes, homework, football, deadlines, bedtime stories, supermarket runs, peace-keeping, juice and biscuits, park trips, the runs, toddler groups, coffee drinking, mum’s taxi, potty training, kiss-it-better. These are our lives. Like you, we are busy mums who want to follow God. We want to be part of his mission to the world. Perhaps you had big dreams of how you’d make a difference to the world, how you’d change it for the better. But now all you can think about is the next feed. Or perhaps you think mission is only for ‘special Christians’ who are extra holy and know their Bible backwards - and you feel that just ticking off each day on the calendar is an achievement. Wherever you are, whatever you feel, we hope this book will renew your passion to serve God in your own situation. We’d like to share some stories from women who have begun to do just that. And we want to invite you to explore what mission looks like for a normal mum. Because however ordinary we are, we serve an extraordinary God, and he calls us all to be a part of his mission to transform the earth, bring his kingdom, redeem a new humanity and build his church.

Radical. Crazy. Transformative and restless. Every word we read these days seems to suggest there’s a “next-best-thing,” if only we would change our comfortable, compromising lives. In fact, the greatest fear most Christians have is boredom—the sense that they are missing out on the radical life Jesus promised. One thing is certain. No one wants to be “ordinary.” Yet pastor and author Michael Horton believes that our attempts to measure our spiritual growth by our experiences, constantly seeking after the next big breakthrough, have left many Christians disillusioned and disappointed. There’s nothing wrong with an energetic faith; the danger is that we can burn ourselves out on restless anxieties and unrealistic expectations. What’s needed is not another program or a fresh approach to spiritual growth; it’s a renewed appreciation for the commonplace. Far from a call to low expectations and passivity, Horton invites readers to recover their sense of joy in the ordinary. He provides a guide to a sustainable discipleship that happens over the long haul—not a quick fix that leaves readers empty with unfulfilled promises. Convicting and ultimately empowering, Ordinary is not a call to do less; it’s an invitation to experience the elusive joy of the ordinary Christian life.