AUDIENCE: Senior Pastors, Adult Ministry Leaders, Evangelism Directors

A fresh look at the earliest Christian movement reveals what made the new faith so compelling...and what we need to change today to make it so again. Once upon a time there was a version of the Christian faith that was practically irresistible. After all, what could be more so than the gospel that Jesus ushered in? Why, then, isn't it the same with Christianity today? Author and pastor Andy Stanley is deeply concerned with the present-day church and its future. He believes that many of the solutions to our issues can be found by investigating our roots. In Irresistible, Andy chronicles what made the early Jesus Movement so compelling, resilient, and irresistible by answering these questions: What did first-century Christians know that we don't—about God's Word, about their lives, about love? What did they do that we're not doing? What makes Christianity so resistible in today's culture? What needs to change in order to repeat the growth our faith had at its beginning? Many people who leave or disparage the faith cite reasons that have less to do with Jesus than with the conduct of his followers. It's time to hit pause and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and little chance of survival. It's time to embrace the version of faith that initiated—against all human odds—a chain of events resulting in the most significant and extensive cultural transformation the world has ever seen. This is a version of Christianity we must remember and re-embrace if we want to be salt and light in an increasingly savorless and dark world.

Now available in paperback. The inspiring story of how a church showed God's love to a dying culture by building bridges to its neighborhood, community, and world.

Living as an Ordinary RadicalMany of us find ourselves caught somewhere between unbelieving activists and inactive believers. We can write a check to feed starving children or hold signs in the streets and feel like we’ve made a difference without ever encountering the faces of the suffering masses. In this book, Shane Claiborne describes an authentic faith rooted in belief, action, and love, inviting us into a movement of the Spirit that begins inside each of us and extends into a broken world. Shane’s faith led him to dress the wounds of lepers with Mother Teresa, visit families in Iraq amidst bombings, and dump $10,000 in coins and bills on Wall Street to redistribute wealth. Shane lives out this revolution each day in his local neighborhood, an impoverished community in North Philadelphia, by living among the homeless, helping local kids with homework, and “practicing resurrection” in the forgotten places of our world. Shane’s message will comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comfortable . . . but will also invite us into an irresistible revolution. His is a vision for ordinary radicals ready to change the world with little acts of love.

Discover the sheer joy of sharing God's love. Just as a woman in love delights in telling others about her beloved, a woman in love with Jesus finds indescribable joy in introducing others to Him. Yet the very idea of evangelism leaves many feeling inadequate or fearful. In this encouraging devotional, best-selling author Shannon Ethridge points to examples of New Testament believers to show how any woman can confidently share her faith. Through the stories of these early saints, you’ll learn that drawing others to Christ doesn’t have to involve specific steps or persuasive words. In fact, when God’s love fills your heart, it overflows naturally into the lives of those around you and creates in them an irresistible yearning to experience it for themselves. This companion devotional to Completely His directs your gaze into the heart of God through the truths revealed in His love letter, the Bible. Each reading includes introspective questions to help you apply those truths in a personal way, propelling you into a more fulfilling life of passion, purpose, and genuine intimacy with Jesus.

Your organization - business, church, or nonprofit - will experience unprecedented growth when you close the gap between these two game-changing questions: What are we known for? What do we want to be known for? In Know What You're FOR, entrepreneur and thought leader Jeff Henderson makes it clear that if we want to change the world with our products or our mission, then we must shift the focus of our messaging and marketing. Rather than self-promoting, we must transform our organizations to be people-centric. This sounds like a no-brainer, but looking closer shows just how little this is true and how impactful the change would be if it were. Whether you're a business leader, a change advocate, or a movement maker, Know What You're FOR will help you - and your organization - thrive. It's what happens when you create an organization focused on who it is FOR. This is the future. Thriving organizations will be more concerned with becoming raving fans of their customers than they are trying to convince customers to become raving fans of the organization. This isn't theory. Jeff Henderson has experienced it. Working with companies like Chick-fil-A and the Atlanta Braves, then serving as a pastor for 15 years at one of the country's largest and most influential churches, North Point, Jeff knows what success looks like for healthy organizations and healthy lives. With fascinating stories from a host of entrepreneurs and Jeff's remarkable career, Know What You're FOR equips you with a simple strategy and the tools for extraordinary growth. You'll discover how to: Work FOR your current and future customers with a new, effective method Be FOR your team and help your people reach full potential Create a ripple impact by being FOR your community Live and work your best by caring FOR yourself In a hypercritical, cynical world, one that is often known for what it's against, let's be a group of people known for who and what we're FOR. It's a powerful strategy for business. But more importantly, it is a revolutionary way to live.

Deep in the heart of every believer, there is a faint whisper. A call. A prompting. We go about our business and we hear it. We see and interact with lost people each day, and the whisper echoes again: "Share your faith. Tell them about Jesus." But fear, busyness, and lack of tools or motivation silence the whisper. Another day, another year, another life passes and we haven't told anyone about the best thing that ever happened to us -- the life-changing message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Modern-day messages of kindness and acceptance deceive us into thinking we never have to open our mouths and actually share the truth with others in love. And yet the whisper is trying to tell you that you have the key to eternity in your possession. Can you hear it? In Compelled, Dudley Rutherford shares his earnest desire for each and every believer to be equipped and bold with the good news of salvation. He encourages you with inspiring stories of men and women, young and old, who have accepted the irresistible call to share Jesus with everyone they meet. And he provides practical methods to overcome your fears and effectively articulate the message of salvation. Allow these pages to strengthen the gentle nudging in your spirit until it's too loud to ignore -- until you are compelled to tell others about the hope you've found.