On the farm there was a pigsty with a barbed wire fence surrounding it. Ernie climbed inside. When a sow charged him, he retreated and cut himself as he ducked under the barbed wire. With blood all over his eye, his mom took him to the nearest medical facility, which was a tuberculosis sanitarium. A doctor there saw the injury was to the eyelid, not the eye. He sewed up the eyelid leaving a small scar. So Ernie was one of the few people in the world who was an outpatient at a tuberculosis sanitarium. It was a busy year for Ernies guardian angel.

Despite shifts in the religious landscape in North America--reflected in the significant increase in those with no religious affiliation and emptier pews across the religious spectrum--there has also been a rise in participation in faith-based grassroots organizations. People of faith are increasingly joining broad-based organizing efforts to seek social change in their communities, regions and country. This unique volume brings together the most current thinking on faith-based organizing from the perspective of theologians, social researchers and practitioners. The current state of faith based organizing is critically presented, as it has evolved from its roots in the mid-twentieth century into a context which raises new questions for its philosophical assumptions, methodology, and very future. This volume serves as a timely resource for those inside the academy as well as religious and organizational leaders wanting to understand and promote faith-based organizing in North America and beyond. Originally published as issue 4 of Volume 6 (2012) of Brill's "International Journal of Public Theology."

In 1943 Peter, a 21-year-old Dutch citizen, faces a choice: forced labour in Germany or go into hiding with the help of the resistance movement. After the war he faces another choice: remain in the Netherlands or emigrate from the war-torn country. Throughout his life Peter's decisions are influenced by his strong family ties and his deep personal faith. Above the Pigsty provides a glimpse into the daily life of one onderduiker (person in hiding) during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands from 1940 to 1945 and for the first year after liberation by the Allied troops....

Whether you have wandered away and lost faith or never embraced real faith in Jesus Christ, this book will bring you new hope. Perhaps, on the other hand, you are praying for loved ones and friends to return or come to faith, this book will inspire you to believe in the god who answers prayer and that "there is always a way back." The casualties of life are everywhere, and deceptions are numerous. Many look back on wrong decisions, hurts, and broken relationships, and the scars and guilt from such things are etched into their hearts, leaving them with regrets that may have haunted them for years. The pull of a world system constantly seeks to take people as far away from God as possible and then leaves them wondering if there is any way back to real faith, peace, and hope. This book will bring you face-to-face with the truth that no matter what has transpired in your life, "there is always a way back." My challenge to you is to be prepared to take the journey this book sets before you and to seriously consider the truth Jesus taught as he told a simple story one day in order to illustrate the heart of his loving heavenly Father who is full of grace and truth and is always waiting to welcome home those who have wandered away. Whatever has transpired in your journey of life, no one is too far away that the grace and forgiveness of God cannot reach and restore. It's time to come home. Your heavenly Father is waiting, and everything is prepared because "there is always a way back." At the back of this book is the added bonus of questions for discussion on each of the nineteen chapters, which can be used in small groups. May you be blessed and encouraged as you read There Is Always a Way Back.