Begin with the incredible autobiography of Brother Andrew, God's Smuggler. From 1955 to the present hour, this remarkable man has risked his life smuggling Bibles into countries where Scriptures are outlawed. His report, packed with dangerous adventures and high drama, testifies to God's miraculous provision for those who follow where He leads. Journey also into places still hostile to Christians -- with profiles on courageous champions of the faith. Meet teens and others across the globe who are mercilessly persecuted for their faith, yet display extraordinary joy. Their stories, along with Brother Andrew's, will forever change the way you walk the narrow road.

Fear is ubiquitous but slippery. It has been defined as a purely biological reality, derided as an excuse for cowardice, attacked as a force for social control, and even denigrated as an unnatural condition that has no place in the disenchanted world of enlightened modernity. In these times of institutionalized insecurity and global terror, Facing Fear sheds light on the meaning, diversity, and dynamism of fear in multiple world-historical contexts, and demonstrates how fear universally binds us to particular presents but also to a broad spectrum of memories, stories, and states in the past. From the eighteenth-century Peruvian highlands and the California borderlands to the urban cityscapes of contemporary Russia and India, this book collectively explores the wide range of causes, experiences, and explanations of this protean emotion. The volume contributes to the thriving literature on the history of emotions and destabilizes narratives that have often understood fear in very specific linguistic, cultural, and geographical settings. Rather, by using a comparative, multidisciplinary framework, the book situates fear in more global terms, breaks new ground in the historical and cultural analysis of emotions, and sets out a new agenda for further research. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Alexander Etkind, Lisbeth Haas, Andreas Killen, David Lederer, Melani McAlister, Ronald Schechter, Marla Stone, Ravi Sundaram, and Charles Walker.

"A Taste of Jesus" is an in-depth look at the characteristics that are meant to make up the Christian's life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Bradley explains just how radical and counter-cultural these fruits are when they are grown in fullness. These are the characteristics of the upside-down, backwards Kingdom of Heaven and when we live like we're residents there, we begin to give people a real taste of Jesus, who is living inside of us via the Holy Spirit. This is by no means meant to be an easy book to absorb, for the fruit of the Spirit constantly butts heads with our flesh—but if you feel uncomfortable, maybe that's okay. Embrace it and see what God does. Jamin Bradley is ordained in the Free Methodist Church and is the lead pastor of 1208GREENWOOD in downtown Jackson, MI. He and his wife Jodi have two energetic kids named Beckett and Jericho who love to keep them on their toes. Outside of pastoring and writing, Jamin loves video games, board games, grilling, entertaining guests, and writing, recording and playing music. "If you’re looking for the typical, easy to read, feel-good Christian book—this is not the one. A Taste of Jesus discusses the Fruits of the Spirit through a comprehensive, theological, relevant, thorough, and experiential understanding. Bradley reminds us and challenges us to know and believe that God’s love is unconditional, Jesus’ example is an attainable lifestyle, the Holy Spirit is moving and operating in His entirety, Scripture is relevant and authoritative, and the world–although influential–should never be the final word. I’ve known Pastor Jamin for a while, and what I’ve read in this book is what I have personally witnessed in his day-to-day discipline and ministry. As you pick up this book, have your Bible close by and a friend with whom to read and discuss." -Pastor Steven Hlatky

Readers will discover the remarkable stories of those who have suffered for the cause of Christ throughout the course of history. This volume reveals what inspired the great heroes of faith and drove them to give their all.

There ?s a new way out of addictions, alcoholism, and life-controlling problems. Disappointed and discouraged, many today would abandon A.A., 12 Step programs, treatment, and therapy because of low success rates. But there is a far better way: look to the history, principles, and practices of early A.A. with its documented 75% to 93% success rate among medically incurable alcoholics who really tried. That?s when A.A. did work.Also, look to the history, principles, and practices of the world-wide societies which spawned A.A. ideas and were highly effective?the Salvation Army, the Rescue and Gospel Missions, United Christian Endeavor Society, Young Men?s Christian Association. You will see a common thread. You?ll see it in early A.A. too. And this book will tell you about it. Then, look to the history, principles, and practices of churches, clergy, para-church, Christ-centered, and Christian recovery programs. Look to the histories of healing by religious means. It dates from the Old Testament and follows through to today. When people relied upon the Creator, accepted Christ, called upon God in Jesus? name for cure, and believed, they received. A New Way Out leads to the power of God, the name of Jesus Christ, the love of God and neighbor, and serving others. It applauds the good things in A.A. and 12 Step programs. It respects the good things in religion. It grounds you in the historical elements of recovery by the power of God and then points you to support groups and church armed as you will be with those elements of each that worked in the earliest days, and those that don?t work today.

In Global Visions of Violence, the editors and contributors argue that violence creates a lens, bridge, and method for interdisciplinary collaboration that examines Christianity worldwide in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. By analyzing the myriad ways violence, persecution, and suffering impact Christians and the imagination of Christian identity globally, this interdisciplinary volume integrates the perspectives of ethicists, historians, anthropologists, and ethnographers to generate new conversations. Taken together, the chapters in this book challenge scholarship on Christian growth that has not accounted for violence while analyzing persecution narratives that can wield data toward partisan ends. This allows Global Visions of Violence to push urgent conversations forward, giving voice to projects that illuminate wide and often hidden landscapes that have been shaped by global visions of violence, and seeking solutions that end violence and turn toward the pursuit of justice, peace, and human rights among suffering Christians.

'It was with awe That I beheld Fresh leaves, green leaves, Bright in the sun' When the Japanese haiku master Basho composed The Narrow Road to the Deep North, he was an ardent student of Zen Buddhism, setting off on a series of travels designed to strip away the trappings of the material world and bring spiritual enlightenment. He writes of the seasons changing, the smell of the rain, the brightness of the moon and the beauty of the waterfall, through which he sensed the mysteries of the universe. These writings not only chronicle Basho's travels, but they also capture his vision of eternity in the transient world around him. Translated with an Introduction by Nobuyuki Yuasa