In Character: The Pulse of a Disciple’s Heart, Gene Wilkes and Norman Blackaby present an array of biblical case studies that illustrate how God shapes us into His likeness and how He can use us to accomplish His plans. You’ll learn how God worked in the lives of Moses, Joshua, Mary and Martha, Hannah, Joseph, Barnabas, Philemon, Ruth, and many others.

Wilkes and Blackaby write: “What determines if a person will live out God’s full potential for his or her life? We believe it is the issue of character. Character is the single most distinguishing aspect of a person’s life. . . . God cares more about chracter than our skills, personality, or intelligence because, biblically, character is a matter of the ‘heart.’”

A free sample of this book is available for download here.

Gene Wilkes has been senior pastor of Legacy Church in Plano, Texas, for more than 20 years. He is a resident fellow with B. H. Carroll Theological Institute in the areas of church leadership and New Testament studies. He also serves as an adjunct professor with Dallas Baptist University in the Graduate School of Leadership. His many books include Character, Jesus on Leadership, My Identity in Christ, and Paul on Leadership.

The event will feature interviews and opportunities to connect with Bible study book authors, Bible study leadership trainers, and other Bible Study leaders. New Hope Publishers’ own author Kathy Howard will be among the special guests.

To attend the online Expo (May 17, 1–5 Central), which is 100% free, visit BibleStudyExpo.com.

Tapping into modern technology, the 4-hour event revolves around 15-minute interviews with authors to be aired over Internet radio. Guests may listen via computer from home, office or car, or on their cell phone from anywhere.

Harnessing women’s ability to multitask, guests are invited to listen to author interviews while attending Facebook and Twitter parties.

Before and after the Expo, guests are encouraged to download up to 6 MP3 training modules, which were developed specifically for Bible study leaders. Topics include: How to Launch a Study, How to Lead Great Discussions, How to Handle the Tough Stuff, Adding Fun to Your Bible Study, and more.

“Bible Study leaders don’t get much attention!” says Expo hostess, Marnie Swedberg. “The Bible Study Expo gives the authors, publishers, and sponsors a chance to applaud what’s being done by these unsung heroes in the trenches every single week. It’s all done online during this fun afternoon set aside to remember them, encourage them, and celebrate what they are doing, while providing them with practical help and a sense of community.”

This year’s guest lineup includes Kathy Howard, Sheila Walsh, Pam Farrel, Babbie Mason, Tammie Head, and about a dozen other authors with recently released Bible study books.

To attend the online Expo, which is 100% free, visit BibleStudyExpo.com. While there, register in the drawings for free Bible study books and begin to connect directly with the Bible Study Expo hostesses and book authors via your favorite social networking sites.

About Kathy Howard

Through her Bible teaching and writing, Kathy Howard helps women live an unshakeable faith. She encourages them to stand firm on our rock-solid God, no matter the circumstances of life.

Kathy has been teaching the Bible for more than 20 years to a varied audience—everyone from middle school students to teen moms to church leaders. She has a master’s degree in Christian education from the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary and served on a church staff in Midland, Texas, for 5 years until her family’s recent move to the Houston area. Kathy has authored 3 Bible studies: Before His Throne, God’s Truth Revealed, and Unshakeable Faith.

Kathy and her husband, Wayne, have 3 children, 2 sons-in-law, and 1 precious grandbaby. Find out about her speaking ministry and get more discipleship tools and leader helps at her Web site, kathyhoward.org.

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope^® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU^®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about New Hope Publishers, visit NewHopeDigital.com.

I’ve never been good at admitting when I’m wrong. My competitiveness and insecurity often fuel my need to always be right, sometimes hurting others in the process.

Realizing this was not a good attitude to have, I decided to fix it by learning to be less wrong and more right. My new goal did not actually fix anything because the root of my problem was pride. Pride told me that if I was right all the time, I would never have to admit that I was wrong.

While studying abroad last semester, I was touring the Colosseum with some friends on a near perfect day inRome. We were trying to decide the best place to take a group photo, so I began looking around for the best lighting. I decided on a spot, but my friend, who is also interested in photography, told me I might want to choose another one because the lighting was actually not very good.

I had woken up a little grumpy that day and snapped at him that I knew what I was doing. I took the picture, and sure enough, it turned out terribly just like he said it would. He had only been trying to give a helpful suggestion, but I let my pride get in the way.

Almost immediately, I apologized to him. I could not believe I had let my pride get in the way of our friendship and enjoying a beautiful day. I’m thankful he’s a pretty forgiving guy, and we are able to laugh about it now.

I know I am not the only one who struggles with pride. While reading Character: The Pulse of a Disciple’s Heart by Norman Blackaby and Gene Wilkes, I was reminded that the Bible is filled with imperfect people just like me whose pride sometimes got in the way of their following God. But, God did not let their pride get in the way of His mission; He rooted out pride to develop godly character in them.

A Lesson from David and Abigail

As I continued to flip through the biblical case studies in Character, my thoughts turned to one story of humility that was not included by the authors. In 1 Samuel 25:1–35, we find the story of David and Abigail, which takes place shortly after the prophet Samuel died. David and his men had protected Nabal’s shepherds and land.

David asked Nabal to receive his men and provide some food for them. Nabal, a wicked man, refused to receive them and insulted David instead, accusing him of being an impostor.

When David received the report of Nabal’s reaction, he grew angry, thirsty for revenge. He gathered up his army and went to attack the males of Nabal’s household.

Abigail was a much wiser woman than her wicked husband. When she got word of what he had done, she knew trouble was coming. With haste, Abigail gathered food and wine and servants to bring to David and his men.

She met up with them on their way to attack her household. Humbling herself, she fell on her face before David and apologized on behalf of her husband’s rude behavior. She reminded David of the Lord’s favor upon his life and told him that the Lord would avenge him. If he tried to avenge himself by his own hands, he would carry the burden with him the rest of his life.

David had two choices. He could listen to Abigail and turn his revenge party around, or he could ignore her and follow through with his plan. The latter would have been easier and less humiliating in the moment. The former would require humility and admitting he was wrong in front of his men.

David listened and recognized that the Lord had sent Abigail to keep him from doing a terrible thing. Letting go of his already wounded pride, he admitted he was wrong and grew because of it.

Repeated Repentance

David knew a thing or two about repentance. He continued to make poor decisions and prideful mistakes after this story; he was not always right but he always repented. He was a man after God’s own heart, and God used him despite his failures.

Just like David, we will make mistakes over and over again. But as we admit we are wrong and repent to the Lord and each other, God will mold our hearts and our character to be more like His.

My story from Rome is just one example of how God can use even the smallest incidents to change us. My prayer is no longer “Lord, make me right,” but “Lord, grow me, even when I’m wrong.”

Rachel Freeny was an intern with WMU’s Product Development Center. She is a rising senior journalism/mass communications major at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. This article is part of our focus this month on character.

In Character: The Pulse of a Disciple’s Heart Norman Blackaby and Gene Wilkes present an array of biblical case studies that illustrate how God shapes us into His likeness and how He can use us to accomplish His plans. You’ll learn how God worked in the lives of Moses, Joshua, Mary and Martha, Hannah, Joseph, Barnabas, Philemon, Ruth, and many others.

Blackaby and Wilkes write: “What determines if a person will live out God’s full potential for his or her life? We believe it is the issue of character. Character is the single most distinguishing aspect of a person’s life. . . . God cares more about chracter than our skills, personality, or intelligence because, biblically, character is a matter of the ‘heart.’”

A free sample of this book is available for download here.

Norman Blackaby teaches in the PhD program for the Graduate School of Leadership at Dallas Baptist University. He holds his own PhD in biblical backgrounds and archeology. Previously, he served as senior pastor at 2 churches, and with his father, Henry, for 6 years as vice-president of Blackaby Ministries International. Norman is coauthor of Called and Accountable (trade and study) and the accompanying 52-week devotional.

Actually, I wrote this for Kay, my wife and the mother of my 2 boys, in 2009, but was reminded of it this week. Let’s encourage Christian mothers to invest deeply in their children for the sake of Christ and His mission to all peoples.  How will you spur on the mothers in your life to the good works Christ has prepared for them?

New Hope Publishers offers a number of resources for mothers and grandmothers. These books, just a sampling of our parenting materials, would make great gifts:

• Face-to-Face with Lois and Eunice: Nurturing Faith in Your Family by Janet Thompson
• Mothers of the Bible Speak to Mothers of Today by Kathi Macias
• Mommy Pick-Me-Ups: Refreshing Stories to Lighten Your Load by Edna Ellison and Linda J. Gilden
• Baby Boot Camp: Basic Training for the First Six Weeks of Motherhood by Rebecca Ingram Powell
• Coach Mom: 7 Strategies for Organizing Your Family into an All-Star Team by Brenna Stull
• A Car Seat in My Convertible? Giving Your Grandkids the Spiritual Ride of Their Lives by Sharon Hoffman
• The Mentoring Mom: 11 Ways to Model Christ for Your Child by Jackie Kendall
• Lady in Waiting for Little Girls: Strengthening the Heart of Your Princess by Jackie Kendall and Dede Kendall

You may also be interested in mother-related articles from Chandra Peele, Norman Blackaby, and Kathi Macias.

I believe character reveals itself as consistent behavior under pressure, and that our actions and words are the clearest indicator of what is in our hearts.

I can tell a friend or coworker that I’m OK with his action, but what I later do and say in response to that act will indicate how I really feel.

If a friend betrays me or tells an untruth about me, it is how I respond to the betrayal and lies that exposes my true character. If the friend who hurt me was a Christian, would he or she see the love of God mirrored in my actions or not?

People watch us when the heat is on. They are curious to see how we act and what we say in tough situations. Why? Because we all know that how we act and what we say in hard times most often exposes who we really are.

In our book, Character: The Pulse of a Disciple’s Heart, Norman Blackaby and I demonstrate through biblical case studies that character is a matter of the heart: it is “the quality of our intimate fellowship with God.” The true nature of this relationship with God reveals itself most clearly when we are tested or challenged.

If Christ reigns in your heart, your actions and words toward those who challenge or even persecute you will expose your relationship with Him. If you have a maturing relationship with God, the fruit of the Holy Spirit, for example, will be evident even in tough times. If your relationship is not full, your response will overflow from a sin-filled, selfish heart.

Paul’s Example

The Apostle Paul exhibited Christ-like character in the face of opposition. Again and again he refused to abandon his relationship with Christ and God’s clear call on his life despite people’s opposition and threats. For example, when he was stoned and dragged out of Lystra and left for dead, he got back up and returned to complete God’s call on his life (Acts 14:19–20). His heart was filled with the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit empowered him to finish what God called him to do.

Paul taught from his personal experience that “affliction produces endurance,” and it is endurance that produces “proven character” (Romans 5:3–4 HCSB). Character proven over time and tested in tough times is what produces hope in those who trust Jesus (Romans 5:5), a hope that never fails.

We observe in Character: “Like a runner training for a marathon, the ‘affliction’ of training produces the endurance necessary to carry the athlete through to the end of the race. That endurance, when maintained, results in proven results race after race.”

Hard times shape character. Hard times also expose character. Conflict and opposition in your life can create a crucible of character development. Character is created by the “yes” and “no” you choose every day in the context of conflict.

What do hard times tell about your character?

Gene Wilkes is the coauthor of Character: The Pulse of a Disciple’s Heart.

Senior pastor of Legacy Church in Plano, Texas, for more than 20 years, he shares his teaching ministry with the community as a resident fellow at B. H. Carroll Theological Institute in the areas of church leadership and New Testament studies. He is an adjunct professor with Dallas Baptist University in the Graduate School of Leadership and has published many books, including Jesus on Leadership.  

Scripture quotations marked (HCSB) are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible © copyright 2000 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

This is not another article about how everything about the church of North America today is wrong. It is not a rant about how things are in decline and must change. Irrelevancy is not inevitable.

However, something like “Jesus, please grow us in wisdom and courage and obedience to be the church among neighbors and nations as You intended” is a great daily prayer. As we pray this prayer, we may have to surrender our tendency to evaluate our Sunday morning experience and church growth strategy based on our preferences. Being the church as Jesus intended has implications far beyond the Sunday gathering and may even rebuke our otherwise antibiblical attempts at church growth.

May I offer 3 foundational suggestions to consider as we evaluate whether we are being the church as Jesus intended.

1. The church is a who not a what.

Of the more that 140 times the church is referred to in the New Testament, not one is a place or an event. The New Testament describes the “church” or the ekklesia as “the called out ones.” We all seem to hold to this philosophy, and yet its reality too often has not translated into our practices.

The church is a bride. She is a body. As Eugene Peterson describes in his book, Practice Resurrection, the church is a “colony of heaven in the country of death.”

Simply put, I believe 2 or more people who follow Jesus together could be an appropriate definition of church.

2. The church must make disciples in daily rhythms.

Have we made the Great Commission something it is not? In the text of Matthew 28:18–20, Jesus does not command His followers to do evangelism, discipleship, and missions. In Jesus’ teachings, in fact, those 3 concepts are not separated.

We have compartmentalized them in order to better manage and control those efforts. Jesus simply commanded His followers to make disciples. And He modeled it for them, hoping they would make disciples as they had been made disciples.

How did He do this?

• Life together.
• Conversation that included teaching.
• Teaching that expected action.
• Action that put the gospel on display in the everyday.
• Presence more than presentation.
• Jesus sowed for “on earth as it is in heaven,” which resulted in followers who lived a kingdom life among those who felt lost and lonely. His disciples were not snatched out and secluded from the hurting, placed in a classroom with fluorescent lights and a curriculum.
• He did not attempt to make His followers learned Christians but rather learners of Himself, with others who might learn of His near love too. 

Jesus made disciples in the midst of daily rhythms. His followers should too.

3. The church must not gather just to worship.

Read this through before you discard it. Yes, Jesus wants us to worship Him. But does that happen only on Sunday mornings? I hope not.

This begs the question then, why do we gather on Sunday morning or at any other set time?

Some quote Hebrews 10 as the necessity for why we must gather, making the default assumption that we gather just to worship. This is not what the text says.

“And let us be concerned about one another in order to promote love and good works, not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24–25, HCSB)

The preacher of the Hebrews sermon challenged his listeners to not forsake gathering so that they (1) might encourage each other through difficulty and (2) promote or stimulate each other toward love and good works (specifically showing off the goodness of God as Jesus taught in Matthew 5:13–16).

Has the worship experience become an idol of the North American church? Has the preaching experience become an idol to the North American pastor?

May we evaluate why it is we are gathering, and then gather to send (John 20:21).

The Bottom Line

With your words, do you convey that the church is people on Christ’s mission together? What prepositions do you use with the word church? If they are in or at or from or to then you may not be speaking of the church as the Scriptures do, since they never use those prepositions with the word.

Do you emphasize that the church is people on Christ’s mission together in daily life? What fills up your schedule? “Church activities” or daily activities in which you are being the church? And are you a worshipper every day, encountering God in daily rhythms among those who feel lost and lonely, so that they might encounter Him, too?

Lord, I pray that these 3 suggestions help spur us to rethink church in hopes of actually being the church as You intended. 

Jason C. Dukes, author of Live Sent, Cartas Vivas, and Beyond My Church, has a passion for equipping the church to make disciples. Raised in New Orleans, he is a Christ follower and a leader, a husband and a father, a learner and a teacher, a servant and a brother. Since 2004, he’s been on an amazing journey cultivating a local church expression in the Orlando, Florida, area: Westpoint Church.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible © copyright 2000 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.

As we approach Mother’s Day, it becomes clear that people will have very different reactions to the day depending on their life circumstances. Some will be saddened from the recent loss of a mother or may not have positive memories of their home life or relationship with their mother. Others will bear witness of a godly mother that brought great joy to the home.

Regardless of our past, we can find wonderful encouragement from the godly examples of so many women and mothers in the Bible. These examples can serve as an encouraging reminder of  a godly mother or as a challenge to begin a legacy in your own home.

The Bible is full of helpful examples from the Old Testament stories, such as the care of Moses’ mother in Exodus 2 or Hannah’s dedication to honor God in 1 Samuel, to the New Testament description of Elizabeth as one who was righteous and walked in all of God’s commandments in Luke 1 or the amazing picture of faith and determination of the Syro-Phoenician mother described in Mathew 15.

In a day when mothers bear much responsibility, there is one example that seems particularly relevant: Lois and Eunice. When the Apostle Paul reflected on his companion Timothy’s faith, he did so with the understanding that it was connected to the young man’s grandmother and mother.

“When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5 NIV1984).

This young man had been raised in a home where a genuine faith in God had been lived out. The word “genuine” literally means without hypocrisy. His mother and grandmother had lived out their faith in a consistent manner. It was not simply words or paying lip-service to God, but a faith that “dwelt” in the lives of these 2 women. It is interesting to note that when Timothy’s family is described in the book of Acts, his mother is described as a Christian, but his father is simply referred to as a Greek, indicating he was most likely not a Christian. 

Each day I pass by the home of a wonderful young family that I have known for many years.  They love the Lord and are raising their children actively in the church. The young mother in this home was greatly impacted by her own mother’s faith. I have watched as this young woman’s mother lived out a Christian faith without hypocrisy before her 4 children without the assistance of a Christian husband.

My wife and I have prayed for almost 20 years for her husband to experience the love of God unto salvation. During this time we watched a mother, in whom a deep faith dwelt, impact her kids without the spiritual support of her husband. All 4 of her children are Christians, and 2 serve in ministry.

In our day it is crucial to live out our faith in the marketplace, seeking to be salt and light among the lost. However, it is just as important to be a strong Christian witness within our home. Time and time again the dedicated witness and faithful Christian walk of the mother is the key factor in the children following after God. Do not forget that the biggest investment you may make in eternity and the most valuable legacy you may leave is that of a faithful witness in your family.

Norman Blackaby teaches in the PhD program for the Graduate School of Leadership at Dallas Baptist University. He also teaches Old Testament courses for the university’s Biblical Studies program. Previously, he served as senior pastor at 2 churches, and with his father, Henry, for 6 years as vice-president of Blackaby Ministries International. He is coauthor of Character:The Pulse of a Disciple’s Heart, Called and Accountable: Discovering Your Place in God’s Eternal Purpose and Called and Accountable 52-Week Devotional.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright©1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under heavens: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot.—Ecclesiastes 3:1–2 (NIV)

When I read these verses, the first thought that came to me was—my firstborn. They were twin boys: Chad Preston and Bradley Joe. What had been the excitement of our lives for months was over after hours of an agonizing delivery. Twin A (written on the birth certificate) died before he was born. Twin B died after only a few shallow breaths. I declared in the midst of this difficult circumstance that I never wanted to conceive again. I couldn’t stand the thought of burying another child—but God had a plan.

Three short months later my time to mourn turned into a time to dance! Nine months later, Lindsey Nicole was born. There had never been a sweeter sound than the loud cry as they announced, “It’s a girl!” Within moments she was calm and quiet, safe and loved as she rested against my chest. I was finally a mom!

Twenty-seven months later, 3 days before Christmas, our sweet Holly Noelle was born. She was so tiny that she fit in her daddy’s hand like a football. Joy filled our hearts! Our family was complete.

Oh, wait . . . no it wasn’t!

This past year Lindsey (26) married Bryan. Holly (24) married Caleb. Now, we’re looking forward to grandbabies. I know they’re only newlyweds, but a mama can dream!

The birth of a child is like the seasons of a garden. They sprout up; we love and nurture, teach and discipline them. Then, in the blink of an eye, they uproot and begin to plant a garden of their own. It’s a bittersweet season, but it’s what we hoped for.

God’s Plan for Our Seasons

A time to keep and a time to throw away.—Ecclesiastes 3:6 (NIV)

While cleaning out closets, I stumbled upon an old photo album of Bruce and me when we were dating and another filled with pictures of the girls. Like pushing rewind, the past 31 years flashed through my mind. Seasons come and go, and now it’s just the 2 of us again. But as I praised the Lord for the memories I will keep, I was reminded—no matter what season I’m in, I’ll always be Lindsey and Holly’s mom!

• One of the most precious gifts the Lord has given me is the blessing of 2 beautiful daughters.
• Another is having a beautiful mom who passed on the godly legacy of Church Ladies past.
• Yet another is the promise of heaven where I know I’ll see my boys again.

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord,  “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”—Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)

May the Lord’s Word remind you that no matter what season you’re in—He has a plan!

Happy Mother’s Day Church Lady! Now . . . go call your mother.

Chandra Peele is the author of Church Lady: Freed to Be a Woman of God.

She has been endorsed by pastor and author Max Lucado; Christian contemporary recording artist Natalie Grant; author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean; and many others. Chandra is a dynamic speaker who has a passion for Jesus that is contagious!

Through her ministry, she encourages women to live with peace, hope, and joy while experiencing the true freedom that comes when we step into God’s amazing grace. She and her husband, Bruce, live in Houston, Texas.

Scripture quotations from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Years ago, when I first starting traveling through the poorest regions of the world, I was frequently shocked at how much of the work was being done by women.

One of my first exposures was deep in the sub-Amazon basin where I visited a very poor group of people. I met women who were 4.5 feet tall and weighed less than 100 pounds, yet these women carried sacks of potatoes on their head that weighed nearly 100 pounds. My weight-lifting brother and I struggled to lift the bags, much less carry them for miles like these women were doing.

After years of international development and missions work and travel to more than 70 countries, I have seen this as a consistent pattern. Women do the bulk of the work, not only in the home but also in businesses. It reminds me of the passage in Proverbs 31:10, 13–18 (NIV):

A wife of noble character who can find?
   She is worth far more than rubies.
She selects wool and flax
   and works with eager hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
   bringing her food from afar.
She gets up while it is still night;
   she provides food for her family
   and portions for her female servants.
 She considers a field and buys it;
   out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
She sets about her work vigorously;
   her arms are strong for her tasks.
She sees that her trading is profitable,
   and her lamp does not go out at night.

Photo courtesy of WorldCrafts (Higher Ground, Nepal)

Noble women like this can be seen all over the developing world. Yet, despite their ongoing and multifaceted contributions to society, often they are paradoxically denied opportunities and victimized. In many developing countries, girls are routinely denied educational and other opportunities afforded to their brothers.

On one research trip to an impoverished country, I observed women working very hard. As I interviewed male entrepreneurs and asked them what happened with the profits of their businesses, they pointed with pride to the fact their sons were now in school. I asked about their daughters and got short, curt responses. After my third interview, my translator kindly whispered in my ear, “Don’t ask about daughters again.”

As a husband to a wonderful woman and a father to an amazing daughter, I’m grieved that girls are still treated so poorly. (Of course, my wife still does the bulk of the work in our household but I don’t really want to admit that here.)

My research in 15 countries has demonstrated what numerous other organizations have argued, namely that when male entrepreneurs profit from a business, the profits are not poured back equitably into the development of the family but are frequently squandered or spent selfishly. Women around the world, however, have demonstrated that they are more likely to look out for their children and their families.

As a result, numerous microfinance, fair-trade, and other organizations specifically target women entrepreneurs, realizing their impact will more greatly benefit the society and particularly the most vulnerable in society: girls.

We are given numerous examples of women who worked and were admired in the Bible. Jesus, himself, spent significant time ministering to women and clearly valued them more than the surrounding culture did. Several women played an influential role in supporting His ministry (Luke 8:1–3).

As followers of Christ, we have a unique opportunity to look at the example of our Lord and the current reality of the poor around the world and become supporters (financially and in advocacy) of working women around the world. Through them, we are all bettered, and the poorest and most vulnerable have a chance to go from surviving to thriving.

Mark Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

Scripture quotation from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

True prayer is when God’s heart is expressed through your words. True prayer is when God’s words are in your mouth.

How do God’s words get in your mouth? First, God’s desires must be in your heart. “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34 NIV1984). “A wise man’s heart guides his mouth” (Proverbs 16:23 NIV1984).

Powerful praying is not a matter of knowing the right words to say, rather it is having a heart that is at God’s disposal—open to hear His every sigh and whisper and to echo it in prayer. As God molds your heart so that it matches His, your heart overflows in prayer. What God has spoken in your innermost being guides your lips in prayer.

He is your Prayer Teacher. He is transforming your life, shaping your heart. The end result of this intense training is what the Scripture calls “an instructed tongue.” “The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue” (Isaiah 50:4 NIV1984).

In Destined for the Throne, Paul Billheimer writes, “The content of all true prayer originates in the heart of God.” When we are truly praying, we are speaking out the heart of God. Prayer in its highest form occurs when the words I articulate, with my mouth or in mind, are merely the containers for God’s thoughts and desires. When, like Elijah, the word of the Lord from my mouth is truth, then I am truly praying.

In your praying experience, how much time have you devoted to making yourself open for God to express Himself to you? Are you willing to give as much passion to hearing God as you give to trying to win God over? Are you willing to let Him share your prayers?

This article is excerpted from Live a Praying Life! by Jennifer Kennedy Dean.

Today, May 3, 2012, is the National Day of Prayer. NewHopeDigital.com encourages our audience to take time to pray for the US, its leaders, and its people.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation. Her book, Heart’s Cry: Principles of Prayer, is a National Day of Prayer selection.

Among her latest releases are Life Unhindered!, Altar’d, and The Power of Small.

Free mobile app at http://www.techrepublic.com/software/praying-life-live-10-mobile/2497525.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

 I didn’t imagine the Lord would bring someone like John, a combination of marketer, thinker, theologian, educator, and above all, pastor. His heart and energy are evident in the fact that he and his wife adopted a baby girl after they had grandchildren! And if this isn’t enough, he loves to laugh—that has to be a requirement around here. (I would think anyone with grandchildren who adopts a baby would have to be able to laugh!)

 John is married to his high school sweetheart, Ann. They have three adult sons, two daughters-in-law, and four grandchildren. They are also the proud adoptive parents of Addie Beth, a 23 month old baby girl.

Joining the New Hope team has returned John to his roots. Growing up in the family printing business, he learned all things ink and paper: sales to concept to design to production to delivery. For John, clearly communicating the gospel through print and digital media is crucial to fulfilling the Great Commission and the Great Commandment. Helping churches get on mission is his passion.

 In addition to his sales and marketing experience, John has served as both a pastor and educator. He has served churches in Florida, Alabama, Kentucky, and Mississippi. He is a graduate of The Baptist College of Florida (B.A.), and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div., Th.M., and Ph.D.).

 God’s plans are always better than ours. He has proven this again and again. We are indeed grateful that John has joined the New Hope team.

When you think of prayer, do you associate it with pleasure?

Too often we pray when we are in trouble, in pain, or when we need something. A sign that you are maturing in your faith is when you desire to be in the presence of the Lord just to be with Him, to ask what is on His heart, or just to rest in His arms in peace and delight.

Isaiah 56:6–7 says, “Every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath and holds fast My covenant, even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer.”

When we obey God, He gives us the pure joy of being in His presence. God created us for fellowship with Him, and the more we get to know Him and grow in our relationship with Him, the more we will spend time with Him just for the pleasure of His company and the joy of working with Him. It is good for us to seek His face to adore Him, not just use prayer to ask for what we want.

God is so loving and generous, though, that we cannot imagine all that He intends to give us (see Ephesians 3:20). “How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! And the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings. They drink their fill of the abundance of Your house; and You give them to drink of the river of Your delights” (Psalm 36:7–8).

This article was adapted from Prayer 101: What Every Intercessor Needs to Know by Elaine Helms. NewHopeDigital.com encourages our audience to set aside time tomorrow, May 3, 2012, to pray, particularly for the US and its leaders.

Elaine Helms served Southern Baptists for 10 years as the national prayer coordinator at the North American Mission Board. She continues in retirement to facilitate the annual meeting of SBC national and state convention prayer leaders.

She is a member of the National Prayer Committee. Her books on prayer and church prayer ministry are being used in churches across the US, Canada, and Australia. She continues to speak in retreats, conferences, and state convention meetings, as well as consulting with individual churches. www.ChurchPrayerMinistries.org

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

Character: The Pulse of a Disciple’s Heart.

Norman Blackaby and Gene Wilkes examine the most important issue in leadership—character—by presenting a diverse set of biblical case studies. See how God developed character and how character made a difference in the lives of men and women from the Old and New Testaments. Each fascinating case study concludes with “A Challenge for Our Day” and “Further Study” section.

Opportunities for personal application abound; the authors passionately lead readers to consider why character matters in their own lives and how God can use them to fulfill His sovereign purposes in the world today.

Norman Blackaby teaches in the PhD program for the Graduate School of Leadership at Dallas Baptist University. He also teaches Old Testament courses for the university’s Biblical Studies program. Previously, he served as senior pastor at 2 churches, and with his father, Henry, for 6 years as vice-president of Blackaby Ministries International. He is coauthor of Called and Accountable: Discovering Your Place in God’s Eternal Purpose and Called and Accountable 52-Week Devotional.

Gene Wilkes has been senior pastor of Legacy Church in Plano, Texas, for more than 20 years. He shares his teaching ministry with Legacy and the community as a resident fellow at B. H. Carroll Theological Institute in the areas of church leadership and New Testament studies. He is an adjunct professor with Dallas Baptist Universityin the Graduate School of Leadership and has published many books, including Jesus on Leadership.

Twelve days traveling old Route 66—the land of iconic motor court motels, remnants of old roadside attractions, and 2,500 miles of open road. It’s a road trip I’ll never forget.

I packed up the rental car, picked up my girlfriend, and we hit the road looking for adventure. We found it. From April 12–24, we drove through dust storms in Texas, across more than a thousand miles of desert, maneuvered our way onto a 1930s unpaved section of old Route 66, painted Scripture at Cadillac Ranch in Texas, and we rode a 1940s train to the Grand Canyon. 

We found adventure everywhere from the road to the rest stops. We slept in a teepee, a caboose, a 1930s motor court, and the 1920s hotel that housed the stars as they filmed Westerns. We stopped to walk the now-empty grounds and photograph the remains of roadside attractions that once beckoned people with promises of the biggest, the best, or just the most. It’s a fun place out there on the old road where it’s more about adventure than the destination.

While the old motels, ruins, and miles of history were all fascinating, it was the people who grabbed hold of my heart. We talked, laughed, listened, and shared. Their faces are still in my heart, and I pray they will remain there.

• There’s the young, Navajo woman with a name that means brave and the California couple who are traveling across America on the back roads.
• I listened to the stories of a 6th-generation Louisianan who now makes his home in an eclectic artist community in New Mexico.
• I hugged a young girl who’s homeless but proud. I asked her about Jesus, and I pray that He is keeping her safe tonight.
• I visited with a champion washtub player who won’t likely see another winter.
• I chatted with a former astronaut’s wife and met more new girlfriends than I thought possible.

Connecting.

That’s what Route 66 now means to me. It’s forgoing the high-speed interstate for the slower paced byway. It’s about the connections we make when we slow down and take time to engage with the people God places in front of us. 

God calls us to an adventure in faith. We (and this is me too!) get so caught up in figuring out God’s will for our lives that we miss the Route 66 adventure God has for us.

The Lord is placing wondrous sights before you. Are you missing them because your focus is on the destination rather than on the adventure in daily living?

Pull back, slow down, and ask God to show you the adventure in every one of your days. . . or rather, every minute within your day.

Ask the Lord to show you His will in everything you do from the simplest to the most challenging. God is right there—He wants us to experience abundant life in Him—but we can’t do that if we’re racing down the interstate and refuse to pull onto the road less traveled.

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures. When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her first release from New Hope Publishers is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

Title: Field of Souls

© 2012 by David Dinkins

Artist’s description: I was inspired by text from the book Upside-Down Leadership where it compares a leader to a bee. Often Christian leaders are so focused on doing their assigned work that they aren’t even aware of the potential daily (and eternal) impact they make; they are so close to their work that they cannot see the huge effect they are having not only on individuals but their families, friends, communities, and even themselves.

Question: Have you taken the time to appreciate the effect your ministry is having on not just the world, but yourself?

Contact: Email David Dinkins at stanlee314@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1041782715).

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

A free download of chapter 1 of Upside-Down Leadership is available here.

Listen as Wanda S. Lee shares about issues facing the church today and about a memorable experience she had in Sarajevo.

For more stories, please read The Story Lives On. In her latest book, Wanda Lee, executive director of national WMU^®, provides story after story of individuals and groups, both past and present, who are having impact for Christ in places of human hopelessness.

A free teaching guide is available for this book. 

Paperback and ebook versions of The Story Lives On: God’s Power Throughout Generations can be purchased.

Wanda Lee‘s passion for engaging others to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God is evident in her writing, speaking, and dynamic leadership as executive director of national WMU^® since 2000. WMU is responsible for helping to develop indigenous missions ministries in 47 countries. Wanda and her husband, Larry Lee, reside in Birmingham, Alabama.

An additional podcast with Wanda Lee for The Story Lives On can be found here.

I have been doing a lot of thinking about leadership, in a kind of inverted way, during the last 2 years.

In my reading, I have met a number of real friends: upside-down people who have influenced others, sort of “unleaders.” I don’t agree with all of them on every point. I just think they point to a different way of approaching things. Here they are:

5. Edward Judson. I doubt that many people have read about Edward Judson these days. I came across him while reading Rosalie Hunt’s book, Bless God and Take Courage: The Judson History and Legacy. Christian students of missions certainly know his father, Adoniram Judson. But Edward is not as commonly remembered.

Edward Judson was a successful urban pastor in Manhattan, with a heart for the immigrants to the city. He had a profound understanding of his father, who in his missions work was hung upside down in chains every night in a Burmese prison long before. Adoniram also often felt waves of discouragement considering the apparent lack of fruit in his endeavors. 

Reflecting on his father at a missions conference, Edward Judson made this remarkable comment: “It is the little things we get by hot chase. The great things come to us, as it were, around a corner, when we are looking for something else.” 

4. Clarence Jordan. I can’t help but love this man who saw his Christian community in Georgia shrink to himself and one other couple. When he died, he had to be brought into town in a station wagon, because no official would come out and declare him dead. 

Jordan did not live to see the birth of Habitat for Humanity, which came from his discussions, or the rebirth of his own community of faith.    

3. The Old Fellow. “The Old Fellow” is one translation for the name Lao Tzu. A figure in China perhaps 6 centuries before Christ, this person seems to be from a different world than our leadership environment today. His thoughts helped prompt me to approach the issues in another way. Here is one of my favorite comments of his: “Those who would take over the earth / And shape it to their will / Never, I notice, succeed.”

2. Abraham Lincoln. It’s hard not to admire the mixture of purpose and self-deprecating humility in this man. When charged with being two-faced, Lincoln said, “If I had another face, do you think I’d wear this one?” As we think about discerning what is happening in difficult times, I think that Lincoln’s second inaugural address, as short as it is, is still one of the most remarkable speeches of all time.  

1. Gertrude “Biddy” Chambers. Her husband was Oswald Chambers, who kept making seemingly odd career hoices. Oswald Chambers eventually died at the age of 43, worn out in Egypt.

He says so much that sounds like the unleader: “I never see my way. I know God Who guides so I fear nothing. I have never farseeing plans, only confident trust.” 

Yet we would probably not know about him if it were not for his resourceful mate, who labored after his death for 30 years, editing and publishing his works. Even though she was the one who made it happen, in Oswald’s influential unleader book, My Utmost for His Highest, she only signed her initials in the foreword.

I think of all the people who, without her tenacity, would not have been blessed by her husband’s writing. It gives one pause to wonder at the strangeness of our world.

Taylor Field is pastor of Graffiti Church in New York City. For more on unleaders, upside-down people, and unleadership, you’ll want to read his book, Upside-Down Leadership: Rethinking Influence and Success. Follow Taylor’s blog at thestairwaytonowhere.com.

Why do our stories matter? As Christians, our stories matter because they testify to God’s redemptive power.

In The Story Lives On, Wanda Lee, executive director of national WMU^®, provides story after story of individuals and groups, both past and present, who are having impact for Christ in places of human hopelessness.

A free teaching guide is available for this book. 

Paperback and ebook versions of The Story Lives On: God’s Power Throughout Generations can be purchased.

Wanda Lee’s passion for engaging others to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God is evident in her writing, speaking, and dynamic leadership as executive director of national WMU^® since 2000. WMU is responsible for helping to develop indigenous missions ministries in 47 countries. Wanda and her husband, Larry Lee, reside in Birmingham, Alabama.

New Hope author Joyce A. Mitchell has developed a free group teaching guide for The Story Lives On, the 2012–13 WMU^® emphasis book by Wanda S. Lee.

Download it here now free. You’ll find great ideas for guided, interactive activities to explore this book as a group.

Start by reading Wanda Lee’s article, “Telling the Story of Jesus Throughout Generations.” And watch NewHopeDigital.com for upcoming podcasts with the author coming very soon.

Today, April 23, she leaves beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico, on her way to the famous Blue Swallow Motel in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Tonight she plans to be livestreaming from there at 8 Central, 9 Eastern. Don’t miss an amazing New Mexico sunset! 

Join Mary in person or check out her blog, Facebook page (MaryRSnyder), and Twitter account (@MaryRSnyder). An earlier podcast was also recorded from Arizona during the Great Girlfriend Adventure. Mary’s journey finishes (for now) tomorrow, April 24.

Mary R. Snyder is the author of God, Grace, and Girlfriends: Adventures in Faith and Friendship, available in paperback and ebook format. She will be writing a Voices column for NewHopeDigital.com about the trip later this month too.

So why did I wait so long to write my editor’s column this month?

I waited because I want to highlight for our audience an important package of content related to one of our newest releases, Upside-Down Leadership: Rethinking Influence and Success (available in both print and ebook format).

In Upside-Down Leadership, New York City pastor Taylor Field shares insights into life and ministry gleaned from 25 years of working with the down-and-out and up-and-coming in Manhattan. With chapter titles like “Make No Plans,” “Get Off the Cutting Edge,” “Become a Nobody,” and “Embrace Shame,” you know his take is not the traditional approach to leadership books. He talks about unleadership and antiprinciples, and his bio refers not to a large congregation or speaking before huge crowds but rather to hanging out with underachievers.

To accompany the book, NewHopeDigital.com offers a free small-group study guide (written by Taylor’s wife, Susan) and 3 podcasts with Taylor (look under “Taylor.”) Why not read and study Upside-Down Leadership as a small group, book club, or discipleship class? Why not invite some spiritual seekers to explore with you?

Take a week or 10 weeks to go through the material. Go at your own pace, use the guide, study the Scripture verses presented in the book, listen to the podcasts as a group, and wrestle with concepts of leadership. You may find your thinking turned upside down, or maybe right side up.

I’ve been blessed by getting to know Taylor a little bit. His authenticity is obvious, his concern for others is clear, and he’s proven himself a thoughtful writer with a knack for picking powerful illustrations. Any Christian leader, minister, or servant would be wise to consider what he has to say.

Chapter 1 is available for free download here. Bonus: read “Beginning the Journey to Unleadership.”

Other content from New Hope Digital this month:

• The Story Lives On by Wanda S. Lee, national WMU executive director, releases this month. Look for podcasts and a study guide too.
• Dillon Burroughs writes on real hunger and real thirst in “Hunger Is No Game.”
• Updates from Mary R. Snyder during her Great Girlfriend Adventure, a tour of historic Route 66 (Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona)

Randy Bishop is the editor of NewHopeDigital.com.

He is also on a journey to unleadership. Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all” (Mark 9:35 NIV1984). This is not easy to apply, but we do have a perfect example from which to learn and a perfect helper at work inside us.

Spiritual maturity may seem unattainable, something that only a few “saints” acquire. Still, many Christians earnestly want to go beyond the basics of Christianity and enjoy a courageous, vibrant faith.

Deeper Still is a six-week interactive Bible study for believers who seek to be a “deeper still Christian.” The author explores biblical principles and models for recognizing the path to maturity and moving toward a closer walk with God. Believers who desire to grow in the areas of wisdom and holiness—to live each day in the becoming, as well as the doing of the Christian life will be challenged to go beyond the basics of Christianity to explore the biblical evidence of spiritual maturity in the Christian life.

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • ChristianBook.com • WMUStore.com
Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693333
ISBN: 1596693333
Item #: N124140
 

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: July 2006

Category: Bible Study
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 6 X 9 Inches
Page Count: 240
Pack Qty: 36

Mary made a faith pit stop at the Wigwam Motel in Holbrook, AZ.

Author, speaker, and adventurer Mary R. Snyder gives us an update from her Great Girlfriend Adventure, a tour of historic Route 66, which began on April 12 in Oklahoma. She’s been through Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona. Today, April 19, she leaves Pinetop, Arizona, makes a stop on the corner in Winslow, and ends up in Williams.

Tonight she plans to stay at the Canyon Motel in a caboose. Don’t miss her livestreaming from there tonight at 8 Central, 9 Eastern.

Mary Snyderis the author of God, Grace, and Girlfriends: Adventures in Faith and Friendship, available in paperback and ebook format. If you can join Mary this weekend in Arizona (Williams, Gallup) or New Mexico (Santa Fe), please do.

For more information and to follow Mary’s trip, check out her blog, Facebook page (MaryRSnyder), and Twitter account (@MaryRSnyder).

New Hope Digital also plans a closing podcast with Mary for Monday, April 23, as well. She will be writing a Voices column about the trip later this month too.

Misconception #4: Prayer is the means of cajoling God into releasing His carefully hoarded riches.

What makes prayer work the way God says it will work? How can we experience the power in prayer that Scripture promises? 

In this series, we have been exploring the myths that have crept into our prayer theology, robbing prayer of its full potential to release the power and provision of God in our lives. We have looked at 3 myths: (1) Some pray as if prayer is the way to get “things” from God; (2) Some pray as if prayer will give God new information or inspire in Him new ideas; and (3) Some pray as if God sometimes forgets or tries to renege on His promises and is depending on pray-ers to remind Him of them. Today we add a fourth. Some pray as if prayer is the means of cajoling God into releasing His carefully hoarded riches.

“Prayer is not overcoming God’s reluctance, but laying hold of God’s willingness” (Martin Luther). God offers us His resources. He invites us to take His gifts. He does not have to be convinced to let go of His blessings. His Word says that He lavishes on us the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:8) and that He lavishes His love on us (1 John 3:1). He is extravagant in His gifts. He pours them out. He showers us with them. He doesn’t trickle them out or sprinkle them on us. Scripture never uses language that would portray God as stingy or hesitant to give. Instead we read that He “richly blesses all who call on him” (Romans 10:12 NIV1984)*.

When we pray as if we are trying to wrestle goodness from God’s grasp, we expend spiritual energy needlessly trying to convince God of something of which He is already convinced. Giving you every good thing gives Him joy; it delights Him. Jesus assures us with these words: “‘Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom’” (Luke 12:32; author’s emphasis). He has set His heart on you.

In prayer we are cooperating with God. We are not working to try to persuade Him. God does not need to be cajoled into wanting the best for you and for the ones you love. Rather, we are yielding to Him, letting our hearts be pliable and moldable so that He can recreate His own desires in us.

“Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalm 37:4). The word translated “delight” in this statement is a Hebrew word that means soft or pliable. To delight in the Lord means to be molded by Him. To be compliant to His desires. To be open and available to His transforming presence. When He has access to your malleable heart, He can shape it to match His. He can imprint His desires on your yielded heart. When you pray the desires of your heart, your prayer is the expression of His desires.

“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us.  And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him” (1 John 5:14–15).

The primary focus of prayer is God’s heart. His heart’s desires are all for your benefit and for your good. He does not need to be convinced to love you and will the best for you.

So, turn your attention from trying to persuade Him and, instead, allow yourself to be persuaded by Him. Move from working to get Him to yield to your requests and, instead, yield your heart to Him. Allow Him to make your heart the repository of His desires.

This is the fourth in an occasional series on misconceptions about prayer. Adapted from Live a Praying Life by Jennifer Kennedy Dean. A Live a Praying Life journal and trade book are also available, as well as a leader’s kit (DVD).

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation. Among her latest releases are Altar’d and The Power of Small.

Free mobile app at http://www.techrepublic.com/software/praying-life-live-10-mobile/2497525.

*All Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Listen to previous New Hope Digital podcasts here (search by “Taylor”). Sign up via iTunes.

Taylor Field’s latest release is Upside-Down Leadership: Rethinking Influence and Success. In this book, Field challenges readers to flip conventional thinking on leadership upside down. He offers 10 principles, or antiprinciples, of his own along with a strong dose of fresh perspectives from the lives of biblical persons, great missionaries, other historic servant leaders, and contemporary witnesses. Chapter titles include: “Forget Results,” “Associate with Losers,” and “Become a Nobody.”

Upside-Down Leadership is available in paperback and ebook format. Download chapter 1 for free here.

A free book club and small-group guide is available here now.

Follow Taylor Field’s new blog at thestairwaytonowhere.com. And follow Graffiti on Facebook.

Taylor Field pastors a church that welcomes about 100 people on Sundays to the same storefront location, after 25 years (graffitichurch.org). Weekdays, Taylor frequently works with people some might label underachievers. He knows few influencers and has goals other than career advancement, a new church site, his books on the New York Times best-seller list, or a jam-packed speaking schedule. Taylor serves with Graffiti Community Ministries in the Lower East Side (Manhattan) in New York City.

by Taylor Field

A long time ago, we were starting a church in a storefront in New York City. A shy, quiet man kind of drifted into our group, and he attended consistently. He told us about his life and about his misspent youth.

He told us what bridge he used to sleep under in Central Park. My wife and I didn’t really know what we were doing, and he volunteered to teach a small group, kind of a Sunday School class, to go along with the worship time.

I thought this was great. Why not? We were raising up leaders, training them on the job, and he was our first attempt.

I will never forget our first small-group meeting. Poor Scott was shier than I had imagined, and he labored to get out the points. His voice faltered. He waited a long time between sentences.

I writhed in my seat in embarrassment at his slowness. He would laboriously read out a question.  A long, long silence ensued. Every second was torture for me as I squirmed in my seat. I couldn’t stand the tempo, and I longed to fill the room with my theological and practical brilliance.

The minutes dragged on. I was so ashamed I had hosted this little event with this little group.  He looked at his watch when he was done. The hour-long class had only lasted 10 minutes. It felt like a century to me.

Now here is the part that struck me. People would come to his group—people that would come to nothing else we did. They seemed to be drawn to his frailty. He would ask a question, and after an endless silence, someone would finally speak out of their hurt and their shame. The words weren’t sparkling or faultless, but they were real.

Sometimes Being a Super-Christian May Not Be that Super

I began to realize these people weren’t so drawn to us super-Christians, who had an answer for everything and couldn’t allow for a moment of dreaded dead time.

It was hard for me to accept that in this circumstance, Scott was a much better leader than I was, with all my training and quick knowledge. Something powerful happened in the group. God’s Spirit would move. He would help flickering lights and bent reeds begin to recover as they spoke —or as they were silent. When I sat in on the group, I would get quiet, sort of shy myself.

Scott acted in a manner opposite to what I thought would influence people. He was an unleader.

This experience spurred me to begin reading the Bible in a different way. When Paul was on the ropes in the Book of Second Corinthians because he was not such a powerful speaker, why did he brag about having to escape in a basket? Since he was responding to “super-spiritual” people, why did he tell them about a time when God didn’t answer prayer, even when he prayed 3 times? Why does he make the odd, unleaderly statement that when he is weak, then he is strong?

I had started a journey to learn about unleadership.

Taylor Field frequently works with people some might label underachievers. He knows few influencers and has goals other than career advancement, a new church site, his books on the New York Times best-seller list, or a jam-paced speaking schedule. Taylor serves with Graffiti Community Ministries in Manhattan, New York City.

You may be interested in the book club/small-group guide for Upside-Down Leadership. Or you can listen to Taylor discuss these topics on the New Hope Digital podcast (search alphabetically, by “Taylor”).

Follow Taylor’s blog at thestairwaytonowhere.com.

Taylor Field’s latest release is Upside-Down Leadership: Rethinking Influence and Success. In this book Field challenges readers to flip conventional thinking on leadership upside down. He offers 10 principles, or antiprinciples, of his own along with a strong dose of fresh perspectives from the lives of biblical persons, great missionaries, other historic servant leaders, and contemporary witnesses. Chapter titles include: “Forget Results,” “Associate with Losers,” and “Become a Nobody.”

Upside-Down Leadership is available in paperback and ebook format. Download chapter 1 for free here.

A free book club and small-group guide is available here now.

Follow Taylor Field’s new blog at thestairwaytonowhere.com. And follow Graffiti on Facebook.

Taylor Field pastors a church that welcomes about 100 people on Sundays to the same storefront location, after 25 years (graffitichurch.org). Weekdays, Taylor frequently works with people some might label underachievers. He knows few influencers and has goals other than career advancement, a new church site, his books on the New York Times best-seller list, or a jam-packed speaking schedule. Taylor serves with Graffiti Community Ministries in the Lower East Side (Manhattan) in New York City.

All leaders aspire to influence and success. But what do these words mean? When the traditional definitions are considered alongside the portrait of the life of Jesus expressed in the Gospels, their meaning takes on a different tone.

Upside-Down Leadership: Rethinking Influence and Success can help you and the leaders and potential leaders around you begin to understand Jesus’ “upside-down” way of dealing with authority and power structures.

In addition, the book provides a gallery of more than 30 of the world’s leaders whose lives don’t/didn’t fit the mold. It is a challenging exercise for any book club, small group, or Bible study group to think through the differences between what the world values in leadership and what God values.

Note to group leaders (or unleaders): The book is meant to be a bit light-hearted, but has a serious core.  When leading a group discussion, remember not to take yourself too seriously, but don’t forget that there is an important message here about looking beyond our contemporary culture to discover God’s timeless and unconventional leadership principles.

Download the free book club and small-group guide here now.

Upside-Down Leadership is available as a paperback and ebook. Chapter 1 is available for free download here.

Taylor Field’s latest book is Upside-Down Leadership: Rethinking Influence and Success. In this fascinating study, Field creatively challenges readers to flip conventional thinking on leadership upside down. He offers 10 principles, or antiprinciples, of his own and provides diverse illustrations from the lives and writings of biblical persons, great missionaries, other historic servant leaders, and contemporary witnesses. Chapter titles include: “Forget Results,” “Associate with Losers,” “Get Off the Cutting Edge,” and “Become a Nobody.”

Upside-Down Leadership is available in paperback and ebook format. Download the first chapter free here.

Follow Taylor Field’s new blog at thestairwaytonowhere.com. Check out what’s going on at Graffiti on Facebook.

Taylor Field pastors a church that welcomes about 100 people on Sundays to the same storefront location, after 25 years (graffitichurch.org). Weekdays, Taylor frequently works with people some might label underachievers. He knows few influencers and has goals other than career advancement, a new church site, his books on the New York Times best-seller list, or a jam-packed speaking schedule. Taylor serves with Graffiti Community Ministries in the Lower East Side (Manhattan) in New York City.

This past year as I began the journey of writing The Story Lives On, I had many conversations with missions leaders who well know the story of WMU^® and our early missions history.

Reflecting on those conversations I was reminded of nineteenth-century women like Lottie Moon, Ann Judson, Henrietta Hall Shuck, and others who faced tremendous barriers in sharing the gospel and also met challenges in their role as women leaders during their generation. But telling the story of Jesus was more important than any obstacles they faced. They shared boldly and their example inspires us to do the same.

Likewise, numerous twentieth-century leaders opened additional avenues for missions service. These include Wana Ann and Giles Fort, who served as medical missions pioneers in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and Mary Saunders, a nurse in Africa stayed the course in times of tribal wars. Their unique contributions to the missions story are important to tell as we seek God’s direction for the future.

New Stories Being Written

Today, there are many incredible servants finding new avenues to tell the story of Jesus. Missionaries like Ginger Smith and Kay Bennett working with homeless women and children in New Orleans and Houston while also leading the charge against human trafficking in our country. Professional people like warden Burl Cain at Angola Prison in Louisiana. And others like Taylor and Susan Field ministering in inner-city New York. They offer us glimpses of how we can tell God’s story in the midst of life’s most difficult circumstances.

It has been my privilege to collect these stories and more while sharing some of my own story in this new book. The experience of Peter and John in Acts 4:20 challenged me to examine my own life and rediscover my passion for sharing the story of Jesus. After being imprisoned and beaten for telling the story of Jesus they responded to threats of further persecution with this answer: ‘“We cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.’” (NIV 1984)

Their encounters with Jesus had been so dramatic nothing could stop them from telling what they had experienced. As I reflect on the times in my life where God has been so present and so clearly directed the outcome of various life experiences, I need to be as bold as Peter and John and speak about what I have seen and heard. I hope through reading these stories of faith and commitment you also might renew your commitment to tell the story of Jesus with great joy to all you meet!

Wanda S. Lee’s passion for engaging others to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God is evident in her writing, speaking, and dynamic leadership as executive director of national WMU (Woman’s Missionary Union) since 2000. Wanda and husband, Larry Lee, reside in Birmingham, Alabama. 

 Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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Rooted in Acts 4:12–20, The Story Lives On vividly portrays what has been seen and heard of God’s redemptive power through authentic stories of:

• Radical overcoming through Jesus Christ—across groups and cultures
• Victories in the battle against human exploitation, including trafficking
• Passion for the Great Commission throughout generations

Wanda Lee hammers out a biblical response to human suffering, reports on the present passion of Christian leaders and laypersons, records past victories, and ignites continuing commitment to missions to “the least.”

Wanda Lee‘s passion for engaging others to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God is evident in her writing, speaking, and dynamic leadership of national Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU). Lee’s books, monthly magazine column (Mosaic), extensive speaking schedule, and travel allow her to encourage and challenge diverse audiences around the world. She has experience as an international missionary, registered nurse, executive, and pastor’s wife. Wanda and her husband, Larry, reside in Birimingham, Alabama.

Wanda Lee, directora ejecutiva de la Woman’s Missionary Union^® (Unión Femenil Misionera), la organización más grande del mundo de laicos partícipes de misiones, presenta una narración detallada e íntima sobre los individuos y grupos radicales que tienen un impacto para Cristo en lugares de desesperanza y explotación. Como directora ejecutiva y antes misionera y enfermera, Lee desarrolla una respuesta bíblica al sufrimiento humano. Al informar sobre la pasión actual de líderes y laicos creyentes y recordar las victorias del pasado, este libro encenderá el compromiso continuo a las misiones al más pequeño. Usando Hechos 4:12–20 como base, Lee da testimonio auténtico a lo que ella y otros han visto y oído sobre el poder redentor de Dios: superación radical mediante Cristo Jesús, en toda audiencia y cultura; victoria liberadora en la batalla contra la explotación humana; testigos de la redención que aviven el fuego de pasión por la Gran Comisión durante toda generación.

Wanda S. Lee

La pasión de Wanda Lee para atraer a otras personas a comprender e involucrarse radicalmente en la misión de Dios es evidente en los escritos, en las conferencias y en el liderazgo dinámico como directora ejecutiva de Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU^®) desde 2000. WMU es responsable de ayudar a desarrollar ministerios misioneros indígenas en 47 países. Los libros, el artículo mensual para revistas, el horario extensivo de conferencias y los viajes permiten que Lee anime y desafíe a audiencias diversas. Dinámica y enfocada, ella misma, mientras anima a otros individuos, ha tenido un estilo de vida misionero en los niveles de la iglesia y de la asociación, como presidenta de la WMU de Georgia y también en el campo misionero. Trae historias ricas y convincentes de haber servido como misionera internacional, enfermera certificada, ejecutiva y esposa de pastor. Ella y su esposo, Larry Lee, viven en Birmingham, Alabama, y tienen dos hijos adultos y dos nietos pequeños.

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Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693509
ISBN: 1596693500
Item #: N124103

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: 10 de Mayo de 2012

Category: Christian Living, Missions, Spanish
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 5.5 X 8.5 Inches
Page Count: 192
Pack Qty: 36

Jesus’ death on the Cross, by itself, is not sufficient to provide the abundant and eternal life God has promised us.

Does that statement shock you? The Apostle Paul made it very clear to the Corinthian Christians:

And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.—1 Corinthians 15:17–19 (NLT)

Peter also knew that our eternal hope depended on the Resurrection of Christ:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you.—1 Peter 1:3–4 (NIV1984)

So why do we so often leave out the Resurrection when we share the good news of Jesus? We don’t forget to talk about the Cross. And yes, praise God, the death of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary provided the payment that my sins—and yours—had earned.

Our sins deserved the death penalty. Our sins brought us spiritual death and separation from our holy God. But Jesus Christ took that penalty on Himself. The perfect God came to us as a baby, lived a sinless life, and was executed so we could have forgiveness. But that is only part of the gospel message.

 5 Important Truths

Paul would not leave out or minimize the Resurrection. He knew that without it the gospel was incomplete. In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul succinctly expresses the good news. He boils down the message to its most important components.

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.—1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (NIV1984)

Yes, Jesus’ death paid the price of our sin, but His Resurrection provides our hope for life—both now and eternally. Don’t miss these important truths:

• The Resurrection proves that everything He said and did on earth was true (see John 14:20).
• The Resurrection defeated death! That victory was His and ours! (see Romans 6:9)
• The Resurrection provides us with new life in God (see Romans 6:10; Colossians 3:1).
• The Resurrection guarantees our own physical resurrection in the future (see Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 15:20–21).
• The Resurrection gives us power for this life (see Philippians 3:10; Romans 8:11).

Have you forgotten about the Resurrection? It is the power of God for those who believe! Because Christ has been raised, we will be raised!

Believers, we have the same power living in us that raised Christ from the dead! Let’s shout it out this Sunday!

Kathy Howard, www.kathyhoward.org, has authored 3 Bible studies, Before His Throne, God’s Truth Revealed, and Unshakeable Faith. She and her husband now live in Houston, Texas.

You may be interested in her articles, “Shaky Times Need an Unshakeable Faith,” “The 100-Year Old Church Lady,” and “Embrace the ‘Crazy’ Wisdom of God.” Listen to a podcast with Kathy here.

Scripture marked (NIV1984) taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Loss is a four-letter word that grips our hearts and gridlocks our lives. Grief can hold us captive until we surrender it to God. How do we find the necessary grace to journey through the mourning process?

Juxtaposed to the outpouring of her mother’s words about grief, the author shares her parallel journey from the emotional abyss of grief after becoming an adult orphan. With candor, the author shares her own emotions experienced along the spectrum of loss after her parents’ deaths: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance—adding interactive options for readers.

Five sections cover these common emotions and provide:

• comfort Scripture lists

• counsel sections from grief experts

• chronicling sections with detailed helps

• tangible handles on dealing with grief during holidays, capturing loved ones’ legacy, and more

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Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693432
ISBN: 1596693436
Item #: N124148

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: July 3, 2012

Category: Christian Living
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 5.5 X 8.5 Inches
Page Count: 192
Pack Qty: 36

Many second-generation believers struggle to develop authentic faith. Is it the parenting, the church, the systems? Or could it be that a background in the church provides its own unique set of struggles?

Written from a confessed churchaholic—now an author, pastor, and father—REAL pulls open the curtains and offers an introspective look at what the Bible says to those who’ve grown up in the faith, answering the questions we’ve long been afraid to voice. Why do I desire to sin? What’s the secret to lasting intimacy with God? REAL offers second-generation Christians a lifeline to personal intimacy with God, a biblical mandate to take ownership of their faith, and grace-based tips on continuing a legacy of faith.

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Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693418
ISBN: 159669341X
Item #: N124146

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: June 6, 2012

Category: Christian Living
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 5.5 X 8.5 Inches
Page Count: 192
Pack Qty: 36

The recent popularity of The Hunger Games has quickly catapulted the word hunger into the forefront of our contemporary culture. But a quick look at our surrounding world reveals hunger is no game.

Thousands of people will die today as a result of insufficient food and water.

And tomorrow.

And the next day.

The thought discourages us. What can we do?

The first step is to realize this: I cannot do everything, but I can do something.

What is the “something” you can do? Maybe it’s cleaning out the pantry to donate food to a local charity. Perhaps you have the ability to sponsor a child through a humanitarian organization. Some have hosted a garage sale and donated the earnings to serving the poor. God has uniquely gifted you to respond to hunger in a way that can make a life-changing difference.

As a writer, one way God has allowed me to help is through the books Thirst No More and Hunger No More. A portion of proceeds from Thirst No More, a 1-year devotional experience through the Gospels, is being donated to Living Water International to support clean water access in Haiti. I can’t provide clean water to everyone who needs it, but I can help provide water for someone.

Hunger No More is a 1-year devotional journey through the Book of Psalms (to be released September 2012). A portion of proceeds from Hunger No More will be donated to WorldCrafts, one of the nation’s leading Christian fair-trade organizations. How does fair trade feed the hungry? By developing sustainable businesses among the world’s impoverished people, WorldCrafts helps men and women provide food for their families. Every purchase matters because every purchase offers life-altering opportunity, hope, and dignity to those in great need.

If you’re looking for an easy way to help “do something” about the needs of those who hunger and thirst in our world, you can begin by purchasing a copy of one of these books. But once you do, don’t stop there. Continue to seek additional ways to alleviate hunger in your community and beyond. Remember, when we serve the least of these we are ultimately serving Christ Himself (Matthew 25:40).

Dillon Burroughs is the author of more than 30 books, including Not in My Town (coauthored with Charles Powell) and Thirst No More from New Hope Publishers. Find out more at ThirstNoMoreBook.com or DillonBurroughs.org.

Hunger No More (September 2012) is available for preorder at Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

A 1-Year Devotional Journey Through the Psalms

Do you hunger for God and the things of God? Do you long to experience a deep relationship with Him each day in your walk? Hunger No More is a 365-day journey through the Psalms, written to help you reflect on the relational aspects of your divine Creator. With fresh insights into God’s love and compassion gleaned from the author’s study of the Book of Psalms, which he has read through 28 times, you will experience the Lord in a new way and hunger no more.

The author has an emphasis on changed lives changing lives. There will be an online learning community to connect readers worldwide daily during 2013. In addition, a portion of the proceeds from the sale of this book will benefit WorldCrafts, a Christian fair-trade organization dedicated to empowering those in developing nations with employment opportunities. So Hunger No More, which includes a topical index, will help readers nourish their own souls and aid impoverished families in putting food on their tables.

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Retail: $16.99
EAN: 9781596693555
ISBN: 159669355X
Item #: N124108

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: September 3, 2012

Category: Christian Life, Devotional
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 4.25 X 6.25 Inches
Page Count: 384
Pack Qty: 36

Proverbs 31 Ministries in North Carolina will be hosting a kick-off party for the Great Girlfriend Adventure on Tuesday, April 3. The party will be streamed online live at maryrsnyder.com and also through Facebook and Twitter (@MaryRSnyder), with fun giveaways and prizes (11 a.m. EST or 10 a.m. CST).

The Great Girlfriend Adventure is about stories. Just as historic Route 66 holds stories from travelers of days gone by, this road trip is an opportunity for women to share their stories.

“We all have a story, and we all need someone willing to listen,” says Snyder.

Her journey begins in Oklahoma and will end in New Mexico. Along the way, she and her girlfriends have planned several “faith pit stops” to connect with women on the road.

These faith pit stops will take place at historic landmarks along Route 66. Activities include painting Scripture on Cadillacs at Cadillac Ranch in Texas, hanging out at the teepees at Wigwam Motel in Arizona, and taking pictures of the unique Blue Swallow Motel in New Mexico.

“The whole plan is filled with fun. And it will be fun, but God has more for us on that road,” Snyder says. “He has hearts and stories.”

If you can’t join her in person, follow Snyder and find out more through her blog, Facebook, and Twitter (@MaryRSnyder). NewHopeDigital.com also will be recording 2 podcasts with Snyder during her time on the road. Be sure to check back for updates.

About Mary R. Snyder

Mary R. Snyder is a blogger, speaker, and author with a passion for teaching women God’s truth. She connects with women through her messages of hope, joy, and adventure in Christ. In her new book God, Grace, and Girlfriends: Adventures in Faith and Friendship, Snyder explores the importance of friendship and gives tips for building Christ-centered relationships.

Snyder is also Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader. When she’s not cruisin’ and connecting on the ocean or Route 66, Mary makes theBirmingham, Alabama, area home.

To keep up with Mary Snyder and the Great Girlfriend Adventure, visit her blog, Facebook page, or follow her on Twitter (@MaryRSynder).

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope^® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU^®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about New Hope Publishers, visit www.NewHopeDigital.com.

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Graffiti Church (Manhattan, New York City) pastor Taylor Field creatively challenges readers to flip conventional thinking on leadership upside down. He offers 10 principles or antiprinciples of his own along with a strong dose of fresh perspectives from the lives of biblical persons, great missionaries, other historic servant leaders, and contemporary witnesses. Chapter titles include: “Forget Results,” “Associate with Losers,” “Get Off the Cutting Edge,” and “Become a Nobody.”

Upside-Down Leadership is available in paperback and ebook format.

Taylor Field pastors a church that welcomes about 100 people on Sundays to the same storefront location, after 25 years (graffitichurch.org). Weekdays, Taylor frequently works with people some might label underachievers. He knows few influencers and has goals other than career advancement, a new church site, his books on the New York Times best-seller list, or a jam-packed speaking schedule. When he speaks, the groups are relatively small. Taylor serves with Graffiti Community Ministries in the Lower East Side in New York City.

Though Graffiti Community Ministries began with a few people in Lower Manhattan, it works to express God’s love in tangible ways for thousands each year, launching Graffiti 2 (South Bronx) and Graffiti 3 (Brooklyn). Serving, fostering, and supporting some 20 new churches, Graffiti partners with many other New York City ministries. The commitment: to do the small things, to serve the unserved.

Editor’s note: Mark Russell recently interviewed Elizabeth Knox by email on the topic of work as calling, mission, and worship. A working professional, Elizabeth blogs regularly at elizabethknoxonline.com to “encourage and equip women at the intersection of faith and work.” She and her husband, Andrew, live in Washington, D. C.

Mark: Tell us about your job.

Elizabeth: I’m a program manager at CSC, a technology and business solutions company. I provide budgeting oversight for one of our larger ship building programs for the US Navy. I work with the operations team to make sure we’re meeting the client’s expectations within budget. I also work on our business development efforts, to increase our presence with our clients and find new ways to deliver services.

Mark: How is your work a calling?

Elizabeth: I used to think of my calling as the one, unique, end-all activity that, once I achieved it, would give me total confirmation I was exactly where God wants me to be and would simultaneously bring me professional and personal fulfillment. Easy, right?

I don’t think I was alone with that perspective on “calling.” We tend to put a lot of weight on one particular thing: our job, our role as a parent, ministry, a particular skill or ability. We believe that once we perfect that role, we’ll know that it was God’s call on our life.

I now see God’s call in relation to the person I am becoming—at work, yes, but also with my family and community. My work right now, my vocational calling, is a part of the holistic calling on my entire life.

I believe God’s current vocational calling for me is to contribute to successful businesses management. Every moment isn’t thrilling (in fact, many of them aren’t), but I feel like I am living out God’s call on my life when we deliver a better product to our clients. 

Mark: How is your work a mission?

Elizabeth: As Christians, we’re called to contribute to the good of society. Economic and political systems are critical institutions in our culture. It matters how these systems operate, and I think a vital part of our mission is to be involved and help them run well.

My work is part of fulfilling that mission. I enjoy helping organizations sort out their strategic problems so they can better fulfill their purposes. I like helping companies deliver better products to their customers. Consulting to these government organizations or working directly for a company allows me to contribute to our mission of a good, functioning society.

Mark: How does your work express worship?

Elizabeth: Most people think of worship as something related to music or a verbal expression of praise. But for me, I see worship as using any of the gifts God has given me (musical or not) to honor Him and to bring Him glory.

God has given me problem-solving, organizational, and people skills. When I use those skills in a way that honors Him, I see that as an expression of worship.

Mark: What is your view on gender in the workplace?

Elizabeth: Thanks for saving the easy question until the end! Gender in the workplace is a pretty loaded topic. It covers issues like equality, opportunity, leadership, compensation, healthy relationships between genders, and more.

But for the sake of not writing a novel, let me start from the bigger picture. I think Paul gives us instruction for how we should perceive anyone in Galatians 3. In writing to the Galatians about the difference between living under the Old Testament law and the New Testament promise, Paul says that, through Christ, “there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28 NIV). In his day Jews were thought to be better than Greeks, free people were superior to slaves, and men were valued above women. Paul is saying that in God’s ultimate plan, we will not rank ourselves according to those lines. Instead we will understand that in God’s eyes we are not loved more because of our gender or ethnicity or socioeconomic status. One of our jobs as believers is to bring God’s kingdom here to earth.

So while men and women bring different skills or personality types to the workplace, we should not view one as superior to the other. We should make full use of the gifts of each gender and each individual, without ascribing more honor to one over the other or reserving only certain types of work for each specific gender.

Mark Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

Scripture quotation from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Edna Ellison

In this revision of the classic study on Philippians, teacher, speaker, mentor, and women’s leader Edna Ellison provides a warm, enriching, biblical, detailed, intricate, thorough, exciting, joyful, profoundly encouraging, and purposeful opportunity for women to study, share, and apply God’s truth.

• 50 chunks of digestible text in 10 units of 5 sets of verses for weekday study (line-on-line Scripture reading and meditation) with practical ideas for relevant response and application

• Customized to individual or group size, type, age, and schedule

• Focused, with easy-to-get-in-get-out sections for practical use and completion. And easy to facilitate.

• Peppered with interactive questions that allow for self-exploration of one’s calling.

Looks at service, community, prayer, spiritual warfare, transformation, faith, obedience, conflict, contentment, communication, peace, joy, power, and fruitfulness.

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Retail: $8.99

EAN: 9781596693098

ISBN: 1596693096

Item #: N114143

Publisher: New Hope Publishers

Imprint: New Hope Publishers

Pub Date: June 5, 2012

Category: Bible Studies for Women, Bible Studies

Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)

Language: English

Size: 6 X 9 Inches

Page Count: 144

Pack Qty: 36

These troubling topics inform Kathi’s new novel Special Delivery, which is the second book in the “Freedom” series. This redemptive 3-novel series explores the shocking problem of human trafficking, with characters in Thailand, Mexico, and the US. Special Delivery is available as a paperback and ebook.

Free book club guides with questions for discussion and prayer points are available for Special Delivery and Deliver Me from Evil.

Informative content to help you get involved in the fight against human trafficking can be found on NewHopeDigital.com. You may find “Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery” a helpful overview. The Release and Restore CD is an extensive resource for this issue.

I love church. From the preaching and teaching to the worship and music, church is the place I can rest, refresh, and get rejuvenated for the week ahead. 

Church is the place I love to connect. There’s something so precious about building relationships with my sisters in Christ. We may not have one thing in common, beyond a love for Jesus—but that alone should be enough.

Sad that’s not always the case. There are times when Christians fight, backbite, and are just downright mean. 

As believers we must make it our business to love one another. This can be our greatest witness to a nonbelieving world. The way we treat one another is a picture of our heart. What do nonbelievers see when they look at you and your relationship with your sisters in Christ? How do you treat others in the body?

Those who don’t know the Lord are not impressed with the number of Bible studies you’ve led or the amount of Scripture you can quote. They aren’t impressed that you serve on 6 committees, sing in the choir, and teach Sunday School. People who don‘t know the Lord are looking at how you treat others in the good times and in the bad times. This is their gauge. How do you measure up?

Heart Gauge: Where are you?

Wholehearted—love people where they are. Try to find the good in all, but you are realistic and accept people as human and imperfect. You forgive those who hurt you and move on.

Halfhearted—love most people where they are. Look for good in most situations. Often try to make people fit into your idea of righteous. Struggle with holding grudges and forgiving people who hurt you.

Hard-hearted—refuse to accept anyone who doesn’t fit into your idea of righteous. Holds grudges and won’t forgive.

These are 3 very broad, simplistic categories, and it’s possible that you fall between two of these. But what if this is the only gauge someone has for you? Strip away all the church stuff, all the community stuff, and just look at how you treat others—what’s there?

Trust me, I know. I’ve given myself this very test and I’ve failed. Some months are better than others, but I’ve been the worst: gossiping about fellow Christians, judging my friends, and manipulating situations and people. And I’ve been on the receiving end of these as well.

God took me down a road—a long, heartbreaking road where I saw my actions for what they are—sin. I learned the hard way, but oh how I learned. I pray daily that the Lord give me the ability and the grace to love others right where they are, just like He loves me right in the middle of my messy life.

Does this mean I agree with the actions of all my fellow Christians? No, of course not. I can disagree with a person and still love them. We can disagree and find a way to work through our differences with love and respect.

How can we reach out to those who are lost if we can’t even get along with one another?

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures. When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her first release from New Hope Publishers is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

Deborah was braver than I’ll ever be. You won’t find me going up against 900 iron chariots, but still she has helped me. She’s been there for me, shining light on my question, Can you be a strong woman and serve the Lord?

She was there when the pastor of a little church my husband and I were members of shocked us one Sunday morning by resigning. None of us had a clue it was coming.

I quickly assessed the situation and realized what an impact this was going to have. We hadn’t been a church very long, and David (not his real name) had been our pastor from the beginning when we were a mission. Since this group had not experienced the transition of losing their leader and finding another one, I knew we needed to act quickly and make plans or we would lose our momentum and possibly even disintegrate.

After the service, I asked another couple near to join us for lunch so we could explore some possibilities on how we could handle this crisis and keep the little church going.

Over soup and sandwiches, we sketched out some ideas and prayed. Later I asked Pastor David to let us have the Wednesday evening service time to discuss with the members in his presence various approaches and address the concerns of the people. He thought it was a good idea and agreed to meet with us.

I asked my husband, Bob, to call the director of the region our church was a part of and ask him to meet with us. Since we were a fledgling group, I felt we needed him present to know what was going on in case we would need his help in the future.

At the meeting Pastor David listed for us all of his responsibilities and then we worked on finding a church member to cover each of those responsibilities. When no one volunteered to be church moderator, I said, “I will be glad to do it.”

The [regional] director said, “You would be a good one. You’re bossy.”

Now I’ll admit he wasn’t the first person who has ever called me bossy, but his words caught me off guard. I immediately retreated from the dialogue, although no one seemed to notice! And neither did anyone else volunteer to be the moderator!

For several days, I thought about quitting to avoid being labeled “bossy” but I didn’t because I had a Deborah flame burning within me. As Deborah was a mother inIsrael, I could be a mother in a little church until we found a new pastor. I could help this little congregation along until we found a new pastor.

Her willingness to command the troops and face 900 chariots and a powerful army puts Deborah in my “able to leap over tall buildings in a single bound” category. But it is her visionary concern for her people and her strong personality that makes me lasso her and find courage for my own life.

Deborah taught me—and continues to teach me—that you can be a strong woman and serve the Lord.

This article has been adapted from Brenda Poinsett’s Wonder Women of the Bible.

Brenda Poinsett is also the author of Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas? and The Friendship Factor. Passionate about sharing knowledge that changes lives, she organizes retreats on topics such as women in the Bible, spiritual transformation, and dealing with emotions. Brenda and her husband, Bob, have 3 grown sons and reside in Union, Missouri.

When a top selling Bible study reaches its 10th anniverary, a publisher has to celebrate. And so we are! New Hope Publishers will release a new version of the Called and Accountable Bible study by Henry Blackaby and his son Norman Blackaby. Additionally, we will release a DVD that includes vignettes of the Blackabys discussing what it means to be called and accountable, as well as six teaching sessions by Norman Blackaby for use in small group studies and weekend events using the Called and Accountable Bible Study.

Called and Accountable has touched  thousands of lives around the world through small group studies and Called and Accountable Weekends. Last year Blackaby Ministries led men and women in the Angola Prison system of Louisiana through weekend studies and saw many commit their lives to Christ. The study has been used by CEOs as well as ministers and lay people, and is available in several languages.

Recently New Hope had the honor of hosting the two Dr. Blackabys at our office. We recorded vignettes of both authors discussing the six lessons included in the Called and Accountable Bible study book.  Begin planning for fall Bible studies that include the 10th Anniversary Edition Called and Accountable Bible Study and 10th Anniversary Edition Called and Accountable DVD Kit.

Title: Radiant

Caption: The Many Faces of the Church Lady

Artist’s Description: The beauty of the church lady is found in her love for the Lord. He is her delight and her joy. She finds peace in a life surrendered completely to God, and she serves Him with her whole heart. These photos of radiant women of the Lord taken in Switzerland, Birmingham, and Nashville show that there are no rules for what the church lady looks like or how old she is. What matters is that she displays and tells of God’s love to all she meets.

Question: Does your life reflect the incredible love and hope of Christ?

Contact: Email Rachel Freeny at rfreeny13@gmail.com.

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

Editor’s note: You may be interested in our featured book this month, Church Lady: Freed to be a Woman of God by Chandra Peele.

New Hope Publishers is helping to educate and mobilize the public about human trafficking around the world through a variety of resources (books, articles, podcasts, etc) available on NewHopeDigital.com. A partial list of content can be found here. Special Delivery, the second novel in the “Freedom” series of novels on human trafficking by Kathi Macias, released this month.

WorldCrafts develops sustainable, fair-trade businesses among impoverished people worldwide. The vision is to offer an income with dignity and the hope of everlasting life to every person on earth. More information on artisans, products, and parties can be found at WorldCrafts.org. The WorldCrafts Set1Free campaign specifically focuses on the issue of sexual exploitation.

Special Delivery

Deliver Me from Evil, book 1 in the “Freedom” series, is also available in paperback and in ebook format. A book club discussion guide is available for Deliver Me from Evil.

The Deliverer, the third and final novel in the “Freedom” series, is scheduled for release later in 2012.

Special Delivery book summary

In book 2 of the “Freedom” series, readers find Mara fighting against her attraction to Bible college student Jonathan Flannery. Mara also wrestles with risking her own precarious safety to become involved in the rescue of another girl who is pregnant and desperately wants to escape her captors and save her own life as well as her child’s.

Halfway around the world in a brothel in Thailand, a young girl is rescued with the promise of being reunited with her younger sister who was adopted by an interracial couple in the States, friends of Jonathan’s family. Meanwhile, Jefe—Mara’s uncle, who held her as a sex slave in his brothel in San Diego for years—seeks revenge for Mara’s testimony that put him behind bars for life.

Will his underworld connections be successful in kidnapping and killing the girl who believes she has finally won her freedom?

These questions, developed by Kathi Macias, are intended to be used as the basis of a book club discussion. Read the novel and then come together to discuss these important issues. (Allow 1 to 2 hours to discuss all the questions and for prayer. You could take extra time to view and/or read the additional resources listed at the bottom of this guide.) 

1.  Special Delivery is the second book in the Freedom series, picking up 2 years after Deliver Me From Evil, which introduced readers to the sordid topic of human trafficking, as well as to the primary characters in the book/series. Book 2 opens with the main character from book 1, Mara. What differences do you immediately notice in the prologue regarding Mara? How do these differences affect the way you view her as this new episode of her journey begins?
2. Jonathan and Leah are older now, more mature than in the previous book. How might you expect their maturity to affect their perception and involvement in their fight against human trafficking, and how might that play into their future or ongoing relationship with human trafficking victims?
3. Another returning character in the series is Lawan, now 10 years old and having lived in the Thai brothel for 2 years. As you read about her struggle between yielding to hopelessness and despair or clinging to her Christian faith and praying for deliverance, how does that affect the way you deal with your own trials?
4. The Johnsons’ “rainbow” family lends a light spot to an otherwise dark subject. Yet, in the middle of their loving home, they have a serious commitment to Christ, which translates into an outreach that extends across the seas. How does that challenge you in your own home life and ministry?
5. The moment we see Jefe reintroduced into the story, we know that trouble is coming. What sort of emotions does this man, who so epitomizes evil, stir up in you as you read his ongoing story, now taking place behind bars?
6. Barbara Whiting is the type of person we’d all like to know, isn’t she? Can you think of someone in your own life who positively influenced you in a similar way? Conversely, has God used you to bless or guide someone else in the way Barbara did for Mara? If not, would you consider asking God to let you be that type of person for someone else?
7. What were your first impressions of Klahan when you met him? Did those impressions or feelings change as the story went on? If so, in what way and why?
8. Francesca’s story is a heartbreaking one. She came from a loving family who agonized over her disappearance. The young teen’s entrance into Mara’s life challenges the older girl at the very heart of her tenuous safety and sanity. Describe the emotional wrestling that must have gone on in Mara’s heart from the moment she first saw Francesca and began to suspect what was going on in her life.
9. Describe the emotions that ran through Jonathan and Mara when they connected again in person after not having seen one another in awhile. Did you find yourself leaning toward a certain outcome for them? Why do you suppose you felt that way?
10. Alley Cat was nearly as evil as Jefe himself, and he was willing to do most anything for the right price. And yet it wasn’t so much money that motivated him as it was a desire to help his brother. Why do you suppose he had such conflicting personality traits—a willingness to torture or kill someone on the one hand, and yet an overwhelming love and dedication to his brother on the other? How can the 2 be reconciled in the same person?
11. Though several young sex slaves are liberated in the course of this book, so many are still left behind—not just in the story, but in real life. How does that make you feel? What steps, both practical and spiritual, can you take on a personal level to make a difference for those still enslaved and longing for freedom?

Pray

Close your time together in prayer for those involved in human trafficking.

Markers for prayer include:

• Physical and spiritual freedom for victims of sex trafficking in the US and abroad
• Wisdom, courage, and compassion for those working with victims of sex trafficking (law enforcement, social services, Christian nonprofits, churches, shelters, and others)
• Spiritual awakening around the world to end demand for sexual exploitation (prostitution, pornography, strip clubs, sex tourism)
• Stricter enforcement of existing laws and the development of new legal protections (politicians, lawyers, police, and citizens worldwide)
• More Christ followers to become involved in the battles against trafficking and poverty, both physical and spiritual
• Ask God to change the hearts of traffickers, leading them to repent and turn to Christ

You also may find the  Set1Free Prayer Guide helpful; this is a free resource from  WorldCrafts.

WorldCrafts develops sustainable, fair-trade businesses among impoverished people around the world. Their vision is to offer an income with dignity and the hope of everlasting life to every person on earth. The Set1Free campaign focuses specifically on artisan groups working with those at risk of or leaving sexual exploitation.

The Release and Restore CD includes a prayerwalking experience and other resources.

You may also benefit from free prayer and fasting resources on this topic from The Salvation Army.

Additional resources

“Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery.” Features an extensive list of New Hope Digital articles, podcasts, and a few videos related to the subject of human trafficking. Also includes a list of action steps and other resources. Consider reading Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery, a nonfiction account of these horrors that also includes encouraging stories of hope and change.

Kathi Macias recently interviwed Lisa Thompson, Liaison for the Abolition of Sexual Trafficking, Salvation Army National Headquarters. Read her 2 posts: “Cultural Attitudes Toward Sexual Exploitation” and “Get Educated Then Get Involved in the Fight Against Human Trafficking.”  

“Kathi Macias Discusses Human Trafficking on the Harvest Show.” Video from Kathi’s appearance in October 2011.

“Shining God’s Light in the Darkest Corners of the World.” Article in which Kathi Macias answers the question: “Why do you write about such dark subjects?” Also includes a video from the CNN Freedom Project on slavery inAmerica.

“Chong Kim: A Trafficking Survivor’s Dramatic Story.” A New Hope Digital podcast.

“Chandra’s joy and enthusiasm are irrepressible and irresistible. She completely redefines what it means to be a Church Lady and challenges us all to embrace the calling to take the church into the world. After studying this book, you will find your inner Church Lady!”—Jennifer Kennedy Dean, best-selling author of Live a Praying Life

Church Lady: Freed to Be a Woman of God by Chandra Peele is available now as a paperback and ebook (Nook).

The first chapter of Church Lady is available here as a free download. (This download includes the foreword by Denalyn Lucado as well.)

Chandra Peele has been endorsed by pastor and author Max Lucado; Christian contemporary recording artist Natalie Grant; author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean; and many others. Chandra is a dynamic speaker who has a passion for Jesus that is contagious!

She encourages women to live with peace, hope, and joy while experiencing true freedom that comes when we step into God’s amazing grace. She and her husband, Bruce, live in Houston, Texas.

“I’m tired, Lord,” I said one morning, as I sat on the edge of my bed facing yet another long day. “I need to rest.”

I know. But are you ready?

I was too surprised and confused to answer. What was God asking me? Was I ready? Ready for what? Ready for a new direction in ministry? Ready for some new assignment?

Are you ready to rest?

Of course I was ready to rest! Didn’t I just say . . . ?

You said you needed to rest. I know that. You’ve needed to rest for a long time. I’m asking if you’re ready.

My heart stopped, as Jesus’s words from Matthew 11:28 echoed in my mind: “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (NKJV).

Be Still

How many times had I read that verse? And why had I never paid attention? I slipped from my bed and sprawled on the floor listening. . . .

Peace. Be still.

I couldn’t have moved if I’d wanted to.

Be still, and know that I am God.

I thought I’d known that for many years, but now it came as revelation, as if I were hearing it for the very first time. Maybe it was because I was finally being still. And I stayed that way for a very long time, soaking up the remarkable, life-changing truth that God is God, and nothing else mattered.

It was several hours before I rose from my prone position, feeling as if I’d just returned from a long and restful vacation. I had a seemingly never-ending list of things to do that day, and I’d done none of them. A mere 24 hours earlier I would have been in a panic over my lack of accomplishment. This day I was completely at peace, knowing I’d done the only thing I truly needed to do—rest. I’d finally obeyed Jesus’s command to come to Him and rest, to be still and know that He is God . . . not me.

What a lesson! I felt like I’d learned more in those few hours of resting in Him than in all the previous years of trying to do things for Him. And I’d learned it right back where I first started as a spiritual rug rat—on my knees. I smiled, realizing I’d come full circle. Only this time I had no desire to get up off my knees and learn to walk or run or fly. I just wanted to be still and listen for His voice, to know that He is God and that all else will one day pass away.

I was finally ready to rest.

Making It Personal

Have there been times in your life when you struggled to find the right balance between resting and doing? How did spending time with God’s Word and His people help you achieve that balance? When was the last time you took time to rest? Are there other times when you forget the “going” aspect of the Christian life?

“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” —Matthew 11:28 (NKJV)

The Christian life does involve both resting and going. Read more from award-winning author Kathi Macias’s spiritual journey in How Can I Run a Tight Ship When I’m Surrounded by Loose Cannons? This article is an excerpt from that book.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

Norman Blackaby is a professor at Dallas Baptist University where his primary responsibility is teaching in the PhD program for the Graduate School of Leadership. In addition, he teaches Old Testament courses for the Biblical Studies program at the university. He holds a PhD in biblical backgrounds and archeology. Previously he has served as a senior pastor at 2 churches and with his father for 6 years as vice-president of Blackaby Ministries International.

• Called and Accountable
• Called and Accountable (Trade Book)
• Called and Accountable 52-Week Devotional
• Character

Ed Stetzer and Philip Nation are executive editor and general editor of The Mission of God Study Bible. This book is a companion to that study.

The authors challenge readers to look at love within the context of God, the church, and the lives of individual believers. Compelled provides readers a basic theological grounding and a platform for personal application as they understand that missional living is all about simply the calling to love others.

Look at the love of God; begin to truly understand what is at the center of the church’s foundation, commission, and direction; but most importantly, understand your role within the mission of God as you integrate love into all aspects of your missional calling.

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Christianbook.com • WMUStore.com
Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693517
ISBN: 1596693517
Item #: N124104

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: June 5, 2012

Category: Christian Living, Missions
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 6 X 9 Inches
Page Count: 192
Pack Qty: 36

Mrs. Tambi Swiney (center front) and her "daughters" (author at far right)

Spend 5 minutes with Mrs. Swiney, and you’ll realize it is difficult to put her into any sort of stereotypical box. Exceeding people’s expectations in the way she serves the Lord by serving others, she constantly redefines who the Church Lady is and should be.

Mrs. Tambi Swiney has been in my life for as long as I can remember. She was a chaperone on every youth retreat, a photographer on every choir tour, and taught Sunday School for several years. My friends and I did not know what to make of her at first. Maybe it was her flowing grey hair which exuded wisdom. Maybe it was her loud laugh which came easily and was infectious. Or maybe it was her delicious homemade strawberry cake.

Whatever it was, she eventually won us over, and from 8th grade on, we adopted Mrs. Swiney as one of our own. She was one of the girls, and we were her “daughters.”

Throughout high school, Mrs. Swiney’s ministry to us went beyond church activities. She held a Bible study in her home on Mondays, the value of which I now more fully appreciate as I make major decisions and lead my own Bible studies. Through our  hilarious sleepovers together, she somehow managed to teach us what it means to be daughters of God and servants of the Lord.

A Rare and Precious Gift

She was intentional about being in our lives and discipling us, something that required time and sacrifice for her own family. I thought her ministry to us was normal, but only recently have I realized what a rare and precious gift she gave us. It is a beautiful picture of the sacrifice Christ asks us to make to serve and love others.

In college, Mrs. Swiney once again did the unexpected and visited every single one of my friends and me at our 8 different universities. She sends us care packages and notes on every holiday. When we are home for Christmas, we invade her kitchen to decorate cookies and enjoy catching up with one another.

For the past 9 years, Mrs. Swiney has been an important mentor in my life. Her faithful, selfless life shows me who I want to be and who God asks me to be. She taught me how to pray and wait on God. As I heard my own call into ministry, she prayed with me and gave me guidance. She encouraged me to live as a godly woman, stepping out in faith to serve the Lord in all that I do. I can’t imagine who I would be if Mrs. Swiney had never poured into my life. The Lord used her in ways that I’m sure I am only just beginning to understand.

Mrs. Swiney’s ministry to me and my friends is just a small part of her life’s ministry. She gives so much of her time, energy, and prayer to serve those in her church. Her entire life is a reflection of wholehearted devotion to God. She’s a prayer warrior, godly encourager, and servant. She’s a Church Lady.

Rachel Freeny is an intern with WMU’s Product Development Center. She is a junior journalism/mass communications major at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama. This article is part of our focus this month on Church Lady: Move Beyond the Stereotypes.

Editor’s note: By email, award-winning author Kathi Macias interviewed Lisa Thompson, Liaison for the Abolition of Sexual Trafficking, the Salvation Army National Headquarters. This is the second part of a 2-part interview. Lisa endorsed the first novel in Kathi’s “Freedom” series, Deliver Me from Evil.

Kathi: If we suspect that human trafficking may indeed be taking place in our own sphere of influence, how best do we safely and effectively get involved in helping to combat this evil and rescue the victims? Are there precautions you would recommend?

Lisa: It can sometimes be a challenge ascertaining whether someone is a victim of human trafficking or not. As a first step, I encourage people to attend an anti-trafficking training program to learn about human trafficking indicators. Many groups are offering such training programs in communities across the country.  

At such training programs, participants will typically learn standard questions to ask a suspected victim, questions that will give you clues as to their possible trafficking status. These questions include:

1. Are you being paid?
2. Can you leave your job if you want to?
3. Have you or your family been threatened?
4. What are your working and living conditions like?

Questions like these, and several others, are important because often trafficking victims are not even aware of what human trafficking is or that they may be a victim of it.

If you asked the individual, “Are you a victim of human trafficking?” you may be answered with a blank stare.  But by asking roundabout questions, such as those listed above, the questioner may discover important human trafficking indicators.

Be Wise

Of course, every situation is unique, and there is no one-size-fits-all response to possible cases. That said, it is easy for members of the general public to miss signs of danger and to make matters worse if they take immediate, direct action by themselves. So, as a general rule, it is the best course of action to immediately contact the local authorities, if you suspect someone is a victim. There is also a national hotline number that people should call: 1-888-3737-888.

Often after learning about human trafficking people want to jump in and do something to help combat the problem. That is a very commendable response! Unfortunately, sometimes well-meaning people jump in before they have taken the time to do their homework. In other words, they decide to launch a program, start a shelter, or some other initiative, without the least experience, education, or understanding of what is already being done about the problem in their communities. This can waste time and valuable resources, as well as damage relationships and potentially harm those they intended to serve. Thus, I encourage people to become educated on the subject, to spend time interning or volunteering with existing anti-trafficking organizations, and to work cooperatively building partnerships with other groups and individuals in their communities.  

Lastly, we need to target more of our responses towards prevention efforts, rather than solely to the difficult and costly task of restoration. Yes, we need programs and initiatives to assist those who have already fallen prey to human traffickers, but we need to be devoting much more time and effort to stopping human trafficking before it happens.

NewHopeDigital.com offers a variety of resources to help you understand and become involved in the fight against modern-day slavery. A partial list is available here. Kathi Macias is a regular contributor by article and podcast.

Kathi is the author of the “Freedom” series of novels on human trafficking. The first 2 books, Deliver Me from Evil and Special Delivery, are available now in paperbook and ebook format (Nook).

Editor’s note: By email, award-winning author Kathi Macias interviewed Lisa Thompson, Liaison for the Abolition of Sexual Trafficking, the Salvation Army National Headquarters. This is the first part of a 2-part interview. Lisa endorsed the first novel in Kathi’s “Freedom” series of novels, Deliver Me from Evil.

Kathi: So often I hear statements like, “How could sex trafficking be going on without our knowing about it? Wouldn’t we see it?” How do you answer questions like that? How can we, as concerned citizens, recognize the signs of something like this when it’s hidden in plain sight?

Lisa: There are several factors that can blind people to sex trafficking that may be occurring in our communities. First, the actual provisioning of a woman or child for sex may not be happening on the street corner, but via the Internet. Certain Web sites exist through which people seeking to buy sex may connect with sex traffickers (i.e. pimps) to arrange a sexual encounter with a trafficked person. Such Web sites make sex trafficking less visible to the general public, but make connecting with sex buyers easy for traffickers.

Additionally, when women and girls are being sexually trafficked at the street level (meaning they are being controlled by pimps who make money by providing sexual access to them openly on the streets), it often happens late at night, in seedy parts of town. Again, this makes sex trafficking less visible to the general public.

A bigger problem, however, is that in the eyes of many, victims of sexual trafficking are “just prostitutes.” In other words, because of their involvement in the sex trade victims are considered unworthy of compassion and concern. The victims are seen as “dirty” girls who deserve whatever they get.

In the past, such attitudes meant that many victims of sex trafficking were never identified as such. Due to increasing advocacy, more people now are realizing that many people in prostitution are victims of sexual trafficking. Accordingly, they are being offered proper treatment and care.

Of course, some women in prostitution were not trafficked into it. Nevertheless involvement in prostitution is harmful to those who get caught up in it, whether they were trafficked or not. The physical, psychological, and spiritual traumas to women from prostitution activity are staggering. Just to catalogue a few of its harms, studies report forms of physical violence and abuse in prostitution that include:

• threats with weapons;
• abandonment in remote areas;
• robbery;
• kidnapping;
• strangulation, stabbings, and physical assaults (with or without weapons) perpetrated by pimps, sex purchasers, serial predators, neighbors, wives and girlfriends of sex purchasers, passersby, and drug users;
• rape by sex purchasers, police officers, husbands, or boyfriends/pimps.

Commonplace injuries as a consequence of such violence include abrasions, burns, broken bones, knocked out teeth, bruises, cuts and stab wounds, bullet wounds, and traumatic brain injury (which may result in headaches, memory loss, numbness, vision and hearing problems, etc.) So prostitution is traumatic to those involved in it, trafficked or not.

Cultural Normalization of the Sex Industry

Another factor contributing to a societal blind-spot for sex trafficking is the increasing hypersexualization of our culture. In fashion, television, movies, music, magazines, and advertising, women and girls are widely portrayed in ways that suggest they are always ready and available for sex. This creates a toxic sexual atmosphere in which all females must live.

This atmosphere is especially harmful to young females, because it conditions them to accept a role as a sex object. It is also harmful to young males, because it grooms them to become future sex buyers. Thus, many in the younger generation are being primed for involvement in the sex trade—as strippers, pornography performers, and prostitutes—and others are readied to take on their role as commercial sex exploiters.

Moreover, this normalization of an “it’s all about sex, all the time” mentality serves to normalize the sex industry as a regular part of life. If something is viewed as “normal,” then it’s much less likely to earn our close scrutiny. The less we pay attention to the commercial sex industry, the happier and richer sex traffickers will become.

NewHopeDigital.com offers a variety of resources to help you understand and become involved in the fight against modern-day slavery. A partial list is available here. Kathi Macias is a regular contributor by article and podcast.

Kathi is the author of the “Freedom” series of novels on human trafficking. The first 2 books, Deliver Me from Evil and Special Delivery, are available now in paperback and ebook format (Nook).

Not long ago I compiled a cookbook to commemorate our church’s 50th anniversary. This unique project was a bit different from most church cookbooks. Its recipes span half a century, including many favorite dishes from members already with Jesus. Black and white photos dot the pages, reminding us of days—and potluck dinners—gone by.

This cookbook isn’t simply a collection of recipes—it’s a testimony to a half-century of faithful Church Ladies. These women, who loved the Lord and His people, exemplified the godly ladies Chandra Peele describes in her new book, Church Lady: Freed to Be a Woman of God. These Christian women break the culture’s Church Lady stereotypes with their unwavering faith, unselfish service, and delicious casseroles.

As the women’s ministry team sorted through the prospective dishes to include in the book, we talked about the people as much as the food. Helen, the church secretary for almost 3 decades, kept the office and the staff running smoothly. Gerry lovingly rocked the little ones and changed the diapers of at least 2 generations of church babies, mine included. And of course, there was Jessie.

Jessie’s Legacy

Mrs. Jessie Powell at 100

Mrs. Jessie Powell, born in 1908, was famous for her cinnamon buns. She also used her skill with a needle and thread to make stuffed animals for young burn victims. But it was Jessie’s love for God’s Word that impacted lives for eternity.

Jessie diligently studied the Scriptures every week to prepare her lesson for the Ladies Sunday School Class. Jessie’s students loved her and loved her teaching. Through the years, many West Texas women discovered an intense passion for God’s Word while sitting in the same small classroom with cinder-block walls.

Jessie Powell taught the Ladies Class until she was in her late 90s. She continued to teach even after poor eyesight forced her to quit sewing. Although I never had the opportunity to be a part of her class, I have been blessed by women who were her students. And Jessie’s legacy of faith will continue to have an impact through them and those they influence.

Jessie was a woman of the Word and a Church Lady. Although she passed through the pearly gates at the age of 100 in 2009, her faithfulness to God and His people lingers.

I want to leave a legacy like the one Jessie left. I want to be a Church Lady that impacts the lives of countless other church ladies. I want my passion for God and His Word to be contagious. I want to join the ranks of the faithful Church Ladies through the centuries and across the globe who have pointed the lost to Jesus.

What about you? Will you stand up and be a Church Lady?

Kathy Howard, www.kathyhoward.org, has authored 3 Bible studies, Before His Throne, God’s Truth Revealed, and Unshakeable Faith. She and her husband now live in Houston, Texas.

You may be interested in her articles, “Shaky Times Need an Unshakeable Faith” and “Embrace the ‘Crazy’ Wisdom of God.” Listen to a podcast with Kathy here.

Church Lady: Freed to Be a Woman of God by Chandra Peele is available now as a paperback and ebook (Nook).

The first chapter of Church Lady is available here as a free download. (This download includes the foreword by Denalyn Lucado as well.)

Chandra Peele has been endorsed by pastor and author Max Lucado; Christian contemporary recording artist Natalie Grant; author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean; and many others. Chandra is a dynamic speaker who has a passion for Jesus that is contagious!

While speaking to one or thousands, God has blessed her with the gift to connect with women of all ages. She speaks straight from her heart and God uses her authentic style to lead others to the feet of Jesus. She encourages women to live with peace, hope, and joy while experiencing true freedom that comes when we step into God’s amazing grace. She and her husband, Bruce, live in Houston, Texas.

I am not a Church Lady.

I admit this is a rather odd and obvious way for a man to start his editor’s column. But since the monthly focus on NewHopeDigital.com is Church Lady: Move Beyond the Stereotypes, it makes sense to me at least. I may not be a Church Lady, but I do know and give thanks for plenty of them.

So, who is the Church Lady?

If you read Church Lady: Freed to Be a Woman of God by dynamic author and speaker Chandra Peele, you’ll find out. But I’ll give you the simple answer now: the Church Lady is any woman who loves the Lord and loves others.

And it’s an honorable title. The label “Church Lady” has gotten a bad rap for some time now, but Chandra wants to reclaim, restore, and redeem the name. It is a wonderful thing to be a woman of God, part of the bride and body of Christ, a daughter of the King. And these royal women should not be boxed in by stereotypes, whether they are negative caricatures or simply categories of age, class, personality, ethnic background, or denomination.

By reading diverse stories from Chandra’s 8-year journey to discover who the Church Lady is, I pray you (or your wife or mother or daughter) will be encouraged and will find new freedom in worshipping our great God. [Men, this is a hint for Mother’s Day shopping! Church Lady is available as a paperback and an ebook (Nook).]

As I reflect, I realize the Lord has blessed my life with many wonderful examples of Church Ladies, starting with my mother in Maryland and including others from Chicago to China to Birmingham. Women who love and serve, advance the kingdom of God in word and deed, and offer great hospitality. (I’m remembering some good meals now).

Above all of these, I would like to honor the number one Church Lady in my life, my wife, Kay. Outside of my relationship with Christ, I can think of no greater gift I’ve received than her. She’s supported me in times of need and brokenness and continually watches out for my best. A passionate artist, she is a true servant of the Lord and His church, and a great mother to our 2 boys!

To support the Church Lady theme this month, NewHopeDigital.com will be offering:

• A free download of chapter 1 of Church Lady
• Chandra’s guest column
• 3 engaging podcasts with Chandra (listen to the first here)
• An article from author Kathy Howard (Unshakeable Faith)
• An excerpt from Brenda Poinsett’s Wonder Women of the Bible
• Art and writing from our intern, Rachel Freeny

Finally, I would like to remind readers that the second novel in the “Freedom” series by Kathi Macias, Special Delivery, is now available as a paperback and ebook. You can download the first 2 chapters for free here. NewHopeDigital.com will be featuring relevant articles from Kathi, a podcast, and a book club guide for Special Delivery this month.

Randy Bishop is editor of NewHopeDigital.com.

“Enjoy the journey of the Church Lady.”—Denalyn Lucado

Church Lady: Freed to Be a Woman of God is available now as a paperback and an ebook (Nook platform). With free downloads from Barnes & Noble, you can also read Church Lady on your home computer, iPad, iPhone, or Android.

The first chapter of Church Lady is available free here on NewHopeDigital.com.

Chandra Peele has been endorsed by pastor and author Max Lucado; Christian contemporary recording artist Natalie Grant; author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean; and many others. Chandra is a dynamic speaker who has a passion for Jesus that is contagious!

While speaking to one or thousands, God has blessed her with the gift to connect with women of all ages. She speaks straight from her heart and God uses her authentic style to lead others to the feet of Jesus. She encourages women to live with peace, hope, and joy while experiencing true freedom that comes when we step into God’s amazing grace. She and her husband, Bruce, live in Houston, Texas.

Who is the Church Lady?

The answer is complex. However, there is one effortless way to describe her: she is God’s daughter.

Let me explain. One night I was awakened by the Holy Spirit at 3:30 in the morning. The vision I had (you can read more in my book) would begin an 8-year journey in search of the modern-day Church Lady. When I asked various people “Who is the Church Lady?” I was disappointed not only by what they said but also by their emotional reaction. Much to my surprise, the reputation of the Church Lady has been tarnished—bound up by negative stereotypes. 

What comes to your mind when you hear the words Church Lady? Some people, if old enough, think she is a judgmental late-night comedy show character played by Dana Carvey. Others think she is a self-righteous woman from their past. Others, more graciously, consider her the sweet, godly, elderly lady who sits on the third pew at their church.

The top 3 responses I got when I asked churchgoing women of all ages if they considered themselves a Church Lady were:

1. I’m not old enough to be a Church Lady.

2. I’m not good enough to be a Church Lady.

3. Please! Don’t call me a church lady because she is legalistic and judgmental.

Moving Beyond the Stereotypes

Heartbreaking, isn’t it? We, the church, have allowed a satire or the ungodly attitude of “someone in our past” to tarnish our reputation as God’s daughters? I say, it’s time to reclaim the name. To humbly, yet confidently, consider it an honor to be called a Church Lady. After all, we are the church, the body of Christ, and we have a purpose!

“Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other” (Romans 12:4–5 NLT).

Can you see the damage done? Sisters, we need to wake up! The body, the church, is under fire. Could it be Satan? Of course! And I’m not joking. He loves the fact that we, God’s daughters, have been lumped into negative stereotypes in spite of our love for God, service to people, and reflection of Christ. We are the hands and feet of Jesus, and we are alive and well! Amen!

In Church Lady, I hope to shatter the stereotypes and redefine the Church Lady. My hope is the Lord will use these real stories of real Church Ladies to set free those who may be held hostage by their past or who have been misguided or misunderstood. Your heart is sure to be touched, perhaps changed. More than anything I pray you are freed—freed to be a woman of God!

Now . . . look in the mirror. Who is the Church Lady? You woman of God are the Church Lady!

Chandra Peele has been endorsed by pastor and author Max Lucado; Christian contemporary recording artist Natalie Grant; author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean; and many others. Chandra is a dynamic speaker who has a passion for Jesus that is contagious!

While speaking to one or thousands, God has blessed her with the gift to connect with women of all ages. She speaks straight from her heart and God uses her authentic style to lead others to the feet of Jesus. She encourages women to live with peace, hope, and joy while experiencing true freedom that comes when we step into God’s amazing grace. She and her husband, Bruce, live in Houston, Texas.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of  Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

He has authored Jesus on Leadership, My Identity in Christ, Paul on Leadership, and many other books.

Gene earned his bachelor’s degree from Baylor University and his master of divinity and doctor of philosophy in New Testament studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Gene and his wife, Kim, have 2 children and 2 grandchildren.

•  Character

Godly character is the lifeblood for great discipleship. These experienced leaders, teachers, and authors fully address the key to whether Christian followers succeed—or fail—in their mission, challenging readers to shift from activity to relationship. Readers will understand the need for godly character where they serve, how to develop it in their lives and in others’, finding ways to allow God to shape them into His likeness.

Wilkes and Blackaby walk with readers through dozens of individual case studies to draw God’s truth from the Bible’s narrative passages while bolstering readers’ ability to interpret Scripture in personal study. Any Christian—in the family, church, school, or in business—will be rewarded with an examination of how God chooses, develops, and cooperates with us to accomplish His plans.

Free sample available for download here.

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Christianbook.com • WMUStore.com
Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $16.99
EAN: 9781596693470
ISBN: 1596693479
Item #: N124101

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: May 1, 2012

Category: Christian Living, Leadership
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 6 X 9 Inches
Page Count: 240
Pack Qty: 36

Though Graffiti Community Ministries began with a few people in Lower Manhattan, it works to express God’s love in tangible ways for thousands each year, launching Graffiti 2 (South Bronx) and Graffiti 3 (Brooklyn). Serving, fostering, and supporting some 20 new churches, Graffiti partners with many other New York City ministries. Their commitment: to do the small things, to serve the unserved.

Follow Taylor Field’s new blog at thestairwaytonowhere.com. Check out what’s going on at Graffiti on Facebook.

•  Upside-Down Leadership

Somewhere along the way, this woman of noble character—wholesome, God-fearing, lovable, kind, giving, and serving—lost her respect. You’ve seen her. You may even be her—the godly and beautiful woman who, in spite of herself, has resembled her complete opposite twin a time or two in her life—evil and ugly. And wouldn’t you know it? That was the exact moment someone snapped a picture and recorded it on the hard drive of her mind, filed it under Stereotypes, and titled it “Church Lady.”

It’s time for a do-over, a truce, a meeting of the sisters. Delete the hard drive, wipe out the negative stereotype, and shine up her tarnished reputation. Join Chandra Peele and reclaim the honor and humility that is the real church lady.

Chandra Peele has been endorsed by pastor and author Max Lucado; nationally known youth speaker David Nasser; Christian contemporary recording artist Natalie Grant; author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean; and many others. Church Lady is her first book for adult Christian women.

Founder of GAB (Godly and Beautiful) Ministries, Chandra uses a high-energy approach to motivate, encourage, and equip teens to live a lifestyle of holiness. She is also an advocate against human trafficking and has worked with teen moms and pregnancy care centers across the United States, as well as other programs needing assistance with at-risk children. She and her husband, Bruce, live in Houston, Texas.

Follow Chandra on Twitter (@chandrapeele) and Facebook (fb.com/chandrapeele).

Everyday people may not see themselves as successful, influential leaders; and there are plenty of stale human expectations to discourage. Yet the lives and words of biblical persons, other historic servant leaders, great missionaries, and contemporary witnesses boost us with fresh perspectives. These lives with unique points of view bind the cynicism that might paralyze us and release hope that fuels our individual ability to have true impact.

Graffiti Church (New York City) pastor and leader Taylor Field creatively challenges us to flip conventional ideas upside down, escape clichés on leadership, and to see real leadership principles revealed as right side up. Everyday readers involved in community service, church, and missions will find current, practical, realistic, and diverse illustrations—simple, short, biblical, and cross-cultural—that help people to transcend barriers and powerfully influence their faith.

Free small-group/book club guide available here.

Free download of chapter 1 available here.

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Christianbook.com • WMUStore.com
Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Ebook also available ($9.99).

Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693425
ISBN: 1596693428
Item #: N124147

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: April 3, 2012

Category: Christian Living, Leadership
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 6 X 9 Inches
Page Count: 192
Pack Qty: 36

Margaret McSweeney

With a master’s degree from the University of South Carolina in international business, Margaret became a vice-president in the corporate finance division of a New York City bank and worked there 1986–93. As founder of Pearl Girls, Margaret collaborates with other writers on projects to help fund a safe house for WINGS, an organization that helps women and their children who are victims of domestic violence, and to build wells for schoolchildren in Uganda through Hands of Hope. For the past 10 years she has served on the board of directors and leadership advisory board for WINGS. Margaret lives with her husband and 2 daughters in the Chicago suburbs.

• Aftermath

Tony Merida and David Platt discuss orphan care in the local church. Merida advocates a 3-prong strategy for church leaders: leading with the Word, leading by example, and leading with a simple plan of engagement. The Father to the fatherless will empower the local church to succeed in this mission, says Platt.

Tony Merida is coauthor with Rick Morton of Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care. Merida is also professor of preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and lead pastor of Imago Dei Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. David Platt, pastor of the Church at Brook Hills, wrote the foreword to Orphanology. Merida, Morton, and Platt are all adoptive fathers.

There are a number of articles, videos, and podcasts addressing orphan care on NewHopeDigital.com. Here are just a few links:

• “Adoption in Process”
• “Stand for Orphans and Stand Against Human Trafficking”
• “5 Questions to Ask Before Adopting”
• “9 Ideas for Small Group Ministry to Widows and Orphans”
• “Orphan Care Has Faces”
• “A Father’s Adoption Story”
• “Kingdom Economics and Orphans”

David is the son of a pastor. He had 5 siblings, all of whom followed in their father’s footsteps and went into traditional full-time ministry. David went another direction; he chose to go into business. 

Feeling like a second-class citizen compared to his siblings in ministry, he started working in retail stores, eventually becoming a store manager. After a while he started making his own frames in his garage, getting his 2 young sons to help him glue the frames together.

Using the profits from selling the frames, David and his wife, Barbara, opened a small 300-square-foot retail store of their own. From the beginning of their business, they were committed to making it God’s business and operating it like a ministry.

Through the years David says they have made many difficult decisions, because they sensed those decisions were God’s will, even though they could have weakened the company financially.

Initially, their business was always closed on Sundays. But one year a competitor moved into their area and made it clear they were determined to eliminate David’s stores. Nervous about the consequences of remaining closed on Sunday, David and Barbara made the decision to open on Sundays. The stores took off, and there was a marked increase in revenue.

However, after some time, they realized that they should remain closed on Sundays in order to honor God and allow their many employees to attend church. Though they were still nervous about being closed on Sundays, they nevertheless proceeded to be closed that day every week.

Eventually, David says they realized their decision to close the stores on Sundays did not really affect the bottom line. Rather, they have been able to attract better managers and have not seen revenue drop.

Serving God and Ministering to Others

They have remained committed to employee well-being, now paying a minimum wage of $12 an hour to full-time employees—even though the minimum wage is much lower and competitors pay significantly less. Again, this financial decision was made to honor their employees. David says his company has not suffered financially as it attracts more loyal employees (lowering the cost of employee turnover) and employees perform better.

They have legally structured the business so that there are no individual rights. Rights belong to the family.  They have put in writing that if the company is sold 90 percent is to go to missions and ministries, Davis says. The other 10 percent would take care of their children and grandchildren: for their education, medical issues, or other needs, but not salary.

“This is God’s business. We are the stewards of the business, not the owners,” David says.

His and his wife’s tiny 300-square-foot retail shop has grown since the early 1970s. Their company, Hobby Lobby, has 499 different retail stores in 41 states (as of February 2012), no long-term debt, and in 2011 made more than $2 billion in revenue.

Despite David and Barbara Green’s tremendous success, their goal of serving God and ministering to others through their business remains the same.

Editor’s note: One of David Green’s sons, Mart Green, is the founder and CEO of Mardel, a Christian and educational resource supply company that carries books from New Hope Publishers.

Mark Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

Special Delivery, available as a paperback and ebook,  is missional fiction at its best, stirring the Christian heart and mind to action. Focused on modern-day slavery in the US and abroad, this novel by Kathi Macias is the second in the 3-novel “Freedom” series. 

The first novel in the “Freedom” series, Deliver Me from Evil, is also available as a paperback and ebook. A free book club discussion guide for Deliver Me from Evil is available. A similar discussion guide for Special Delivery will be released this month.  

Book summary

In book 2 of the “Freedom” series, readers find Mara fighting against her attraction to Bible college student Jonathan Flannery. Mara also wrestles with risking her own precarious safety to become involved in the rescue of another girl who is pregnant and desperately wants to escape her captors and save her own life as well as her child’s.

Halfway around the world in a brothel in Thailand, a young girl is rescued with the promise of being reunited with her younger sister who was adopted by an interracial couple in the States, friends of Jonathan’s family. Meanwhile, Jefe—Mara’s uncle, who held her as a sex slave in his brothel in San Diego for years—seeks revenge for Mara’s testimony that put him behind bars for life.

Will his underworld connections be successful in kidnapping and killing the girl who believes she has finally won her freedom?

Passionate about some of the world’s most pressing concerns, Kathi Macias has written more than 30 books, including the “Extreme Devotion” series of novels for New Hope Publishers. Red Ink, the third book in the “Extreme Devotion” series on the persecuted church, was named a finalist in its category for the prestigious Carol Award.

Kathi is a popular speaker for women’s retreats, conferences, and churches. A mother and grandmother, Kathi and her husband, Al, call California home.

We need about 10,000 steps a day for an active lifestyle. Here are some ways to increase daily steps:

• Park in the far back of the parking lot so the walk to the door is longer.
• Don’t just stand—pace; when waiting for the bus, waiting at an elevator, or in other waiting situations, pace around rather than just standing.
• When at work, use the farthest reasonable option for restroom, copy machine, water fountain, and break room.
• Take the stairs rather than the elevator, especially for 1 to 3 floors—both up and down.
• When making a phone call, stand up and pace around while talking.
• During TV commercials, get up and walk around the house.
• Rather than using phone or email, walk to a co-worker’s office or neighbor’s house and converse face-to-face.
• Before and/or after eating lunch, take a 10-minute walking break.
• Walk the dog.

Pat Terry, PhD, is a highly respected nutritionist with more than 30 years of experience as a registered and licensed dietitian. She is the director of the nutrition and dietetic program at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama.

Listen to this podcast as respected nutritionist Dr. Patricia Hart Terry talks about getting outside into nature, eating naturally, and learning to rest. God has given us all we need for healthy living!

The Bible reveals God’s design for wellness: healthy eating, physical activity, and rest. In Made for Paradise, Pat Terry looks at Scripture and provides sensible ideas for implementing lifestyle changes. Director of the nutrition and dietetic program at Samford University (Birmingham, Alabama), Terry has more than 30 years of experience as a registered and licensed dietitian.

Recipe

Powerful red pigments contain lycopene, resveratrol, anthocyanins, quercetins, and ellagic acid that protect heart and urinary tract health and memory function, as well as lower risk of certain cancers.

Try this beet treat: Sauté 1 or 2 grated raw beets in a little butter until tender. Add 1 tablespoon of vinegar, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of cornstarch dissolved in ¼ cup of water. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the sauce clears. Even your children will love these powerful beets! 

(Recipe taken from Made for Paradise.)

Title: Reborn

© 2012 by David Dinkins

Caption: Wings from the ashes

Artist’s description: As our earthly agendas die, we are transformed as we give over control to the Holy Spirit within us. This is portrayed through the crumbling of the flesh on the altar into ashes and then ashes to feathers. The feathers recollect into the symbol for the Holy Spirit, a dove. As we give our lives over to God, He doesn’t just leave us on that altar. He gives us a new purpose so that we can truly soar with Him in the heavens above.

Question: Will you sacrifice all that you are and all of your earthly investments to follow Christ?

Contact: Email David Dinkins at stanlee314@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1041782715).

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

Editor’s note: You may be interested in our featured book this month, Altar’d, which explores similar themes and issues. Other recent New Hope Digital Art Forum pieces  include “Life in the Light” and “Celebrating Christmas in a World of Need.”

Face-to-Face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah is intended to help women learn to rest in God’s sovereignty and waiting on His timing. The Old Testament records that Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah each struggled with infertility. They thought God should provide a child and pleaded with Him to honor their heart’s desire. In different ways, each woman took matters into her own hands when God’s timing didn’t match her timetable.

Janet Thompson, founder and director of About His Work Ministries, is an author and speaker on topics relevant to today’s Christian.

Janet discovered her purpose when God called her to “Feed My sheep.” Janet answered that call by developing the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Janet served as a lay minister for 12 years leading Saddleback’s Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry. 

 She and her husband Dave have 4 married children and love being Grammie and Grampa to 11 amazing grandchildren. They make their home in rural Idaho.

You also may be interested in her new release Face-to-Face with Lois and Eunice: Nurturing Faith in Your Family. Her recent articles for New Hope Digital include: 5 Ways to Spiritually Nurture Your Grandchildren and What to Do in God’s Waiting Room.

I grew up in a Baptist church. My family had little interaction with the Lenten season. Yes, we celebrated Easter, but gave little thought to such traditions as Ash Wednesday, Maundy Thursday, or even Good Friday. But today many evangelicals are awakening to find value in the sacrificial call of Lent.

The subject of sacrifice causes most Christians to wince a bit. Maybe this is why many pastors shy away from addressing subjects such as tithing and fasting. It perhaps explains why most opportunities to serve are “opt-in.” But we’d do well to remember that the heart is wired to give and sacrifice and worship and will do so naturally.

Let me explain. Everyone everywhere worships and everyone everywhere sacrifices. The only difference between Christians who regularly give, fast, and offer their time to the Lord and others who refuse is the object of their worship. We all worship kings and they all demand a tithe.

I’m reminded of the story of Abraham and Lot in Genesis 13–14. Abraham gave a tenth of his bounty to the Lord (through Melchizedek) while Lot chose to engage the pleasures of the king of Sodom. But the choices each had a cost. Abraham’s tithe was on the front end, a tenth given from a heart of worship. Abraham fulfilled the demands of One worthy of sacrifice.

Lot also tithed, only the cost of his choice was hidden. Sodom and its king offered sensual pleasure and riches. But the costs to be exacted from Lot were not disclosed upfront: his wife, the purity of his daughters, his sons-in-law, his reputation, his life. This is what I refer to as the “hidden tithe.”

The world has its hidden tithes and sacrifices and fasts. The idols of self, worldly pleasure, and Satan offer luscious spoils but subtly hide the cost of indulgence. Jesus, the King of kings, offers refreshment, lasting peace, and joy through every season.

Gotta Serve Somebody

So as we approach the Lenten season, don’t make the mistake of thinking that it’s a choice between giving and not giving, that life can be lived without any cost.

Our culture cringes at the notion of giving up anything. To fast for a day seems pointless when so much sensual pleasure can be indulged. To give back a portion of one’s financial resources in a tight economy seems unwise. To devote precious time and energy to eternal causes often yields little tangible reward.

And yet, it’s a matter of perspective, isn’t it? The choices of an adulterous heart also have their tithes: hidden tithes like broken relationships, emptiness, despair, and even death. Some king will demand a sacrifice.

The question you and I must answer is which king will we worship?

Daniel Darling is the senior pastor of Gages Lake Bible Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago.  His latest release is iFaith: Connecting with God in the 21st Century. Connect with Daniel at www.facebook.com/danieldarling; www.twitter.com/dandarling; www.danieldarling.com.

As today, February 22, 2012, is the first day of Lent, she also discusses why Altar’d would make a great individual, small group, or church study for this season of the year.

Book summary: Through careful exposition and biblical teaching, celebrated author and prayer expert Jennifer Kennedy Dean guides readers on a 40-day exploration of the Scriptures to discover what it means to truly live a life dead to flesh and alive to the Spirit.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation and a respected author and speaker. She has spoken in such venues as the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove and Focus on the Family. Best known for the Live a Praying Life Bible study and related products, some of her other recent books include The Power of Small and Life Unhindered! She makes her home in Marion, Kentucky.

Editor’s note: Jennifer Kennedy Dean’s Altar’d can be used in a variety ways. Certainly individuals can benefit greatly from the book. There is, however, something to be said for processing material together as partners or in a group. When brothers and sisters meet together to pray, read the Word, and discuss a book like Altar’d, new insights and perspectives can be discovered, thereby encouraging everyone involved. New Hope Digital offers this guide as a suggested means to that end.

Introductory Meeting

Plan an introductory gathering to discuss plans for structuring this 6-week study together. Consider offering light refreshments, such as cookies and beverages.

Begin by choosing a weekly meeting time (Sunday school, small group, book club, etc.) that works best for the group. About an hour should be sufficient to work through the suggested questions and pray. Organize weekly child care, if necessary.

Depending on how well your group knows each other, spend some time getting to know everyone. Introduce yourself to the group and tell them a little about yourself. If your group is small, go around the room and have everyone introduce themselves and offer an interesting fact about themselves. If your group is large, do this in groups of 2 or 4.

After introductions are made, take a few minutes to present the theme of the book: a 40-day exploration of the Scriptures uncovering what it means to truly live a life dead to the flesh and alive to the Spirit.

Suggest that everyone find a partner or assign everyone a partner in the group (same gender). Partners will walk through the book together during the week and should be encouraged to talk and pray regularly via phone, email, texts, and/or face-to-face meetings. Each day in the Altar’d devotional contains at least 1 reflection question to spur discussion.

On group meeting days, partners will join with 2 or 3 other sets of partners to form groups of 6 or 8. People who do not feel comfortable sharing in a large group will have a chance to open up and discuss questions in these smaller groups.

This group study can be as formal or casual as you want it to be. Be a guide through the material, but allow the focus to be on the group discussion.

General Format for Weekly Meetings

The daily devotionals in Altar’d are quite in depth, so when you meet each week as a group, the best use of your time will be to discuss major points of the study instead of spending a lot of time on each day.

As a leader, begin each meeting by quickly bringing up a few points that stood out to you. Then ask a couple volunteers to briefly share some points that stood out to them from the previous week. (10–15 minutes)

The rest of the time should be focused on small group discussion (3–4 partners) using the suggested sample questions for each week below. (Or feel free to develop your own questions.) (30–40 minutes)

These groups of 6–8 should close the time together in specific prayer for one another. (10–15 minutes)

Week 1 (Days 1–7)

•  What do you think it means to be “of the flesh?”
•  What do you think it means to be “of the Spirit?”
•  What is one lie your flesh tells you? How can you keep from listening to that lie?

Week 2 (Days 8–14)

• What does it mean to be a “new creation?”
• Dean makes the point that surrendering to Christ enhances, not hinders, our personalities (p.54). How have you seen this statement proven true in your own life or the life of someone you know?
• How is obedience a part of the process of being made new? Why is obedience difficult?

Week 3 (Days 15–21)

• How does our insecurity and self-focus hinder us from fully living out our salvation?
• What happens to us when we let Christ’s life flow through us?
• Why can we trust Christ to help us overcome even our biggest temptations and sins?
• Does knowing Christ dwells in you change how you live? Why or why not?

Week 4 (Days 22–28)

• Why was Jesus able to resist temptation? What does that mean for us?
• How does temptation benefit us?
• How can we recognize when our “flesh” is acting? How should we respond?
•  How do we develop a “steadfast heart?” (p.141)

Week 5 (Days 29–35)

• How can our words be dangerous? How can Jesus transform our words?
• What is holding you back from fully surrendering your heart and life to Christ?
• What do you think the author means when she writes, “Sometimes worshipping is an act of your will, not your emotions”? (p.167)

Week 6 (Days 36–40)

After you discuss the last week’s readings, spend some time reflecting on what the Lord has done in group members’ lives through this study. Give them the opportunity to share something they’ve learned about altar’d living over the past 6 weeks. Consider closing out the study with a special prayer time thanking the Lord for what He has done and what He will continue to do in each of your lives.

• What is the difference between happiness and joy?
• How does the author define Sabbath? What are the benefits of Sabbath?
• In what ways does God use our weakness for His glory?
• What happens in our lives when we “cut off” our “flesh?”

An intern with the WMU^® Product Development Center, Rachel Freeny is a junior majoring in journalism/mass communication at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama.

Morton is coauthor of Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care. He and his wife, Denise, have adopted 3 children from the Ukraine and helped start Promise 139, an international orphan-hosting ministry.

The conference will be hosted by Hunter Street Baptist Church in Hoover, Alabama.

Other speakers at the event include: Shaun Groves, Russell Moore, David Nasser, and Maridel Sandberg.

Worship will be led by Shaun Groves, His Little Feet, and Rush of Fools.

For more details and/or to register, go to the event’s home page: http://knowmoreorphans.org/index.html.

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope^® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU^®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about New Hope Publishers, visit www.NewHopeDigital.com.

The Mortons played an integral role in the cofounding of Promise 139, an international orphan-hosting ministry. Rick, coauthor of Orphanology, is now associate pastor for discipleship and equipping at Faith Baptist Church in Bartlett, Tennessee.

Orphanology: Awakening to Gospel-Centered Adoption and Orphan Care by Tony Merida and Rick Morton is available as a paperback and an ebook.

Deliver Me from Evil

Special Delivery, book 2 in the “Freedom” series, is also now available in paperback and in ebook format. A book club discussion guide is scheduled for release on NewHopeDigital.com next month.

The Deliverer, the third and final novel in the “Freedom” series, is scheduled for release later in 2012.

Deliver Me from Evil book summary

Mara, sold by her parents in Mexico and then smuggled across the border in San Diego, has been forced into sexual slavery. Bible-college-bound Jonathan and his sister, Leah, whose paths cross Mara’s, become involved in her dramatic rescue.

Interwoven is the heartbreaking story of another young woman in captivity in the Golden Triangle of Thailand. Her past mysteriously connects to the young people in California.

Book club questions

These questions, developed by Kathi Macias, are intended to be used as the basis of a book club discussion. Read the novel and then come together to discuss these important issues. (Allow 1 to 2 hours to discuss all the questions and for prayer. You could take extra time to view and/or read the additional resources listed at the bottom of this guide.) 

1. When you first met Mara and realized the horrific situation she was in and how she got there, what was your initial reaction? What feelings were stirred up, and which of those feelings surprised you?
2. Most people who are even slightly aware of human trafficking tend to think it takes place only in faraway places, such as Thailand. Deliver Me from Evil clearly shows that is not the case. How does that fact change the way you view the magnitude and seriousness of the situation?
3. Jonathan and Leah’s home situation stands out in stark contrast to the dark life led by Mara and the others at the compound. In what ways was it easier for you to relate to Jonathan and Leah’s life than Mara’s? Do you suppose Jesus would relate equally with both?
4. Though Jonathan had been born and raised in a loving, Christian home, he had his own spiritual battle to wage, as do we all. Describe his journey to personal faith as he walked through the discovery of the reality of human trafficking?
5. In what ways did Mara and the other girls depict the typical view of hardened sex workers? In what ways did they break the stereotype and open your eyes to their position as victim?
6. Chanthra’s life was a tragedy from nearly every standpoint. Though she better fits the stereotype of a sex slave than someone like Jasmine, what traits did they have in common?
7. Consider Jefe and his 2 henchmen. Could you find any redeeming qualities in any of them? If not and you knew there truly were people like that, could you find it in your heart to pray for them?
8. “The Reeds” is not a fictional place; it actually existed in the San Diego area, and young girls and women suffered horribly there. How does that knowledge spur you on to discover if any such places might exist in your own city or state?
9. Huge numbers of young girls (and even some boys), particularly teenagers, disappear annually. If they are never found, often they are classified as runaways, despite the fact that their families are certain that’s not the case. How does that change the way you view the problem of sex trafficking?
10. If you were to sum up the way this book has challenged/changed you, what would you say—to yourself, to others, and, most important, to God? 

Pray

Close your time together in prayer for those involved in human trafficking.

Markers for prayer include:

• Physical and spiritual freedom for victims of sex trafficking in the US and abroad
• Wisdom, courage, and compassion for those working with victims of sex trafficking (law enforcement, social services, Christian nonprofits, churches, shelters, and others)
• Spiritual awakening around the world to end demand for sexual exploitation (prostitution, pornography, strip clubs, sex tourism)
• Stricter enforcement of existing laws and the development of new legal protections (politicians, lawyers, police, and citizens worldwide)
• More Christ followers to become involved in the battles against trafficking and poverty, both physical and spiritual
• Ask God to change the hearts of traffickers, leading them to repent and turn to Christ

You also may find the  Set1Free Prayer Guide helpful; this is a free resource from  WorldCrafts.

WorldCrafts develops sustainable, fair-trade businesses among impoverished people around the world. Their vision is to offer an income with dignity and the hope of everlasting life to every person on earth. The Set1Free campaign focuses specifically on artisan groups working with those at risk of or leaving sexual exploitation.

The Release and Restore CD includes a prayerwalking experience and other resources.

You may also benefit from free prayer and fasting resources on this topic from The Salvation Army.

Additional resources

“Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery.” Features an extensive list of New Hope Digital articles, podcasts, and a few videos related to the subject of human trafficking. Also includes a list of action steps and other resources. Consider reading Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery, a nonfiction account of these horrors that also includes encouraging stories of hope and change.

“Kathi Macias Discusses Human Trafficking on the Harvest Show.” Video from Kathi’s appearance in October 2011.

“Shining God’s Light in the Darkest Corners of the World.” Article in which Kathi Macias answers the question: “Why do you write about such dark subjects?” Also includes a video from the CNN Freedom Project on slavery in America.

“Chong Kim: A Trafficking Survivor’s Dramatic Story.” A New Hope Digital podcast.

Altar’d: Experience the Power of Resurrection is all about living free in Christ.

Join Jennifer on a 40-day journey of transformation. This is a great book for Lent (preparing for Easter) or any time of the year. Altar’d is available as a paperback ($14.99)  and an ebook ($9.99; Nook).

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation and a respected author and speaker. She is best known for her Live a Praying Life Bible study and related products.

Widowed in 2005 after 26 years of marriage to Wayne Dean, they have 3 grown sons. She recently celebrated the birth of her first grandson, Campbell. She lives in Marion, Kentucky.

For more podcasts with Jennifer, go  to our podcast page.

God uses people to embody His power to change the world in miraculous ways.

Wanda Lee, national WMU executive director and hands-on missionary, leading the world’s largest organization of laypeople engaged in missions, gives an intimate, detailed narrative about the radical individuals and groups having an impact for Christ in places of hopelessness and exploitation.

As an executive,  former field missionary, and nurse, Lee hammers out a biblical response to human suffering. Reporting on the present passion of Christian leaders and laypersons, and recording past victories, this book will ignite continuing commitment to missions to the least.

Using Acts 4:12–20 as the foundation, Lee bears authentic witness to what she and others have seen and heard of God’s redemptive power:

• Radical overcoming through Jesus Christ—across audience and culture

• Liberating victory in the battle against human exploitation

• Redemptive witnesses fanning the flame of passion for the Great Commission throughout generations

Free leader’s guide for group study available here.

Ebook available.

Amazon • Barnes & Noble • Christianbook.com • WMUStore.com
Berean • Cokesbury • Family Christian • LifeWay • Mardel

Retail: $14.99
EAN: 9781596693449
ISBN: 1596693444
Item #: N124149

Publisher: New Hope Publishers
Imprint: New Hope Publishers
Pub Date: April 3, 2012

Category: Christian Living, Women, Missions
Format: Paperback, Trade paperback (US)
Language: English
Size: 5.5 X 8.5 Inches
Page Count: 192
Pack Qty: 36

I grew up in Maryland, went to college there (go Terps!), and then moved to Illinois for several years. I’m used to snow. I like my winters cold.

A little more than 4 years ago, I moved way south to Birmingham, Alabama. The winters are not that cold here, and we might get an inch of snow in a good year. (Locals may dispute the term good.)

This season has been especially disappointing for me. While I’m asking for a bleak midwinter, we’ve gotten temperatures in the 70s. I’m fairly certain some spring flowers were in full bloom here in late January. Indecent, I say.

Now I’m not going to talk global warming one way or the other. And since I know God controls the weather, I don’t want to sin by complaining against His good and sovereign purposes. (Retract indecent, please.)

I will say this, though, those northern winters I fondly remember clearly served to mirror and illustrate the important spiritual truth that life follows death. Right now the flowers in Baltimore and in Chicago definitely appear dead. You can’t miss it! But they will be blooming soon enough.

In her new book, Altar’d: Experience the Power of Resurrection, author Jennifer Kennedy Dean deals with crucifixion and resurrection in our own lives. As we approach Lent (starts February 22) and Easter (April 8), there are no better themes to meditate upon.

She writes: “God designed the eternal cadence and it is built into creation at its crux. Life emerges out of death. The seed that falls into the ground to die to produce a harvest. The branch that is pruned so that it can bear more fruit. The beautiful colors of fall, ushering in the very death that will culminate in the springtime resurrection.”

Spiritually, we can embrace death in order to grasp life. We can trust the One who’s been there and done that, the One who is still in the business of radical transformation. The process starts with our salvation through the finished work of Christ and continues with His ongoing work deep inside us, our sanctification. As we let Him put to death sin in our lives, we can experience life more abundant and free.

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life” (John 12:24–25 ESV).

Jesus calls us to die to those things that profit nothing but seem like everything, to release them from our desperate grasp, and lay them on the altar (sometimes over and over). Let’s open ourselves to God’s altaring work so that we will bear much fruit to His glory!

February on New Hope Digital:

• Our theme is Altar’d: Dead to Sin, Alive to God.
• Enjoy podcasts and articles from Jennifer Kennedy Dean.
• Suggestions for how to make Altar’d a shared experience will be available later this month.
• Special Delivery, the second book in the “Freedom” series of novels on human trafficking from Kathi Macias, is now available as an ebook in advance of the print release.
• Welcome Janet Thompson as our guest columnist.

All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Fellowship is the natural result when church members love one another. It is lost when love is absent.

The kind of fellowship (koinonia as in Acts 2:42) that the New Testament church knew was not another word for “potluck dinner” or “coffee time.” It was a deep and sacrificial commitment of loyalty toward one another based on the unifying character of the Spirit of God residing in each person.

How do you know if koinonia is missing from your church? In many ways it is like going through the motions without the meaning. The actions are there but the heart is not.

The worship may be lively. The bulletin can be full of activities and programs. The pastor will smile and shake people’s hands. The parking lot is often mostly full.

But the auditorium will empty quickly after the service, very few people will loiter in the foyer, there will be an absence of laughter, little or no hugging, and every family will go directly home or out to lunch alone. Visitors rarely come back twice. The polite social interaction in the foyer rarely gets past the surface. People feel disconnected.

The pastor wonders what is really going on in the hearts and minds of his congregation, and the congregation wonders if anyone really cares what is going on in their lives. People are reluctant to share prayer requests because it seems the prayer list is more for information or gossip than a means of lifting one another up before the throne of grace.

What breaks my hearts is to know for a fact that this is what many people feel is “normal” for church. It is not. It may be normal for some churches, but it is a far cry from what Christ expects from His people.

Walking in the Light

Koinonia is more than working together. It is more than accomplishing goals and projects together. It is a deep and abiding love for one another that includes and unreserved and immediate willingness to sacrifice for one another.

“But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship [koinonia] with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7 NKJV). Walking in the light represents being filled with God’s Spirit; when He is living in us, we will then be able to truly fellowship with other Christians.

Koinonia was essential to the survival of the early church. It was love in action and the bond that helped church members survive in the midst of tremendous persecution. It should be the glue that holds the church together today. When all else fails, love won’t.

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from Experiencing God’s Love in the Church: The Missing Ingredient in Today’s Church and How to Bring It Back. The first chapter, which includes “Simple Steps to Revive Love in the Church,” is available as a free download here.

Tom Blackaby is director of international ministries for Blackaby Ministries International. In addition to Experiencing God’s Love in the Church, Tom has also written The Family God Uses with his wife, Kim, as coauthor. They and their 3 children live near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.  

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Join Jennifer on a 40-day journey of transformation. This is a great book for Lent (preparing for Easter) or any time of the year. Altar’d is available as a paperback ($14.99)  and an ebook ($9.99; Nook).

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation and a respected author and speaker. She is best known for her Live a Praying Life Bible study and related products.

Widowed in 2005 after 26 years of marriage to Wayne Dean, they have 3 grown sons. She recently celebrated the birth of her first grandson, Campbell. She lives in Marion, Kentucky.

For more podcasts with Jennifer, go  to our podcast page.

I wanted to be her friend. It was my focus and my plan. I wrapped my plotting in good intentions with thoughts and statements like: We need to make her feel welcome and It’s hard being the pastor’s wife.  

I wanted to be her ally, her closest confidante, and her best friend. My motives had nothing to do with her and everything to do with my selfishness. I thought her friendship would elevate my status. I made it my mission to make it happen.   

Here’s the thing with such a focused mission—you quickly become blinded to any thing and everything that might interfere with your singular goal. I let the little warning signs slip by. I disregarded the half-truths I told (which are whole lies). I turned a deaf ear to wise counsel from trusted friends. 

I didn’t consider how my selfish actions would impact all those around me—my girlfriends, Bible study girls, my family, and my own testimony. The noxious fallout resulting from my selfish actions was great.  

Here are a few warning signs I disregarded:

• The dangers of WIFM

WIFM is an acronym for what’s in it for me. When you approach a friendship with a what’s-in-it-for-me attitude, you are placing unfair expectations on the other person. What do you hope to achieve from the friendship? Are you hoping to use this person as a building block to get what you want, be it status or access to a group. That does not sound very Christ-like does it?

Friendships aren’t built on using people to gain access to people or status (or power or influence or wealth.) And they aren’t the building blocks of your self worth. We are all valued for who we are in Christ. 

• Out-of-order priorities

When a friendship regularly takes precedence over family or other valued relationships, it’s time to step back and reconsider. Certainly, there are times for friends, but when you often sacrifice family (or spouse) time for a friend, then your priorities are out of order. 

Your family deserves more than that, and a true friend would not ask you to choose between her and them.

• Minimal Jesus time

If you find you’re spending less and less time with Jesus, ask yourself why. For me, I was running from the reality that I was in a bad relationship. Instead of working it out in prayer with Jesus, I ran away.

I didn’t want to pray; the conviction was too much to handle. I didn’t want to read Scripture, because the Bible pointed out that I was heading down the wrong path. I knew I was traveling the wrong road, but I didn’t want to stop.

My selfish motives came from my own insecurities. I thought this friendship would make me more valued and important. It did neither. But out of all the heartbreak and brokenness, I learned some very valuable lessons. Now God is using me and the mess caused by my selfishness for His good glory.

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures. When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama.

Her first release from New Hope Publishers is God, Grace, and Girlfriends. Check out a podcast wtih Mary on the subject of finding great girlfriends by God’s grace.

Detesto el correo chatarra. No hace otra cosa que llenar mi carpeta de reciclaje o el cesto de basura. No me sirve de nada. No puedo aguantarlo. ¿Tengo en realidad que decirle cómo me siento?

Tristemente, encuentro a muchos que en realidad se sienten tal como yo me siento en cuanto a correo chatarra. En la metáfora de correo electrónico, se consideran a sí mismos arrinconados en la carpeta de correo electrónico chatarra, para nunca más volver a ser recibidos. Para mí esto es muy triste; aunque, no es sorpresa que algunos se sientan así. Cuando el egoísmo de nuestro mundo se inscribe a sí mismo en nuestras vidas mediante degradación, vergüenza, y una competencia de ganar a toda costa, y una falta de un compromiso a largo plazo, leal, y mucho más, con razón las personas se sienten como chatarra: sin esperanza y sin propósito. Todos hemos recibido el porrazo de la decisión absorbida en sí mismo de otra persona. Jesús dijo que el maligno anda buscando como arrebatarnos la vida de cualquier manera que pueda (Juan 10:10).

En realidad todos queremos ser amados, como lo dice alguna canción, y verdaderamente todos queremos simplemente un poco de R-E-S-P-E-T-O. Es más, basado en lo que Dios declaró primero que “no es bueno,” opino que sentirse solo es el temor básico para todos nosotros. No queremos estar solos. Queremos saber que somos amados.

Esto debe ser otro componente del caos que surgió en el huerto del Edén. Antes de que comieran del fruto del árbol de sabelotodo, Adán y Eva caminaban en la plenitud de Aquel que Juan dijo que “es amor.” Deben haber sabido que eran amados; y con todo comieron del fruto, pensando que sabían mejor, y más tarde deseando no saber tanto como llegaron a saber cuando comieron del fruto sabelotodo.

¿Qué peregrina cosa estoy diciendo? Que aunque es integral en nosotros una consciencia de un Dios que nos hizo y nos ama, aprendemos a no amar, y a no confiar, y a no respetar debido a las maneras en que nos tratamos unos a otros desde el mismo huerto del Edén.

Probablemente usted ha oído el dicho: “Sé que soy alguien, porque Dios no hace ninguna chatarra.” Estoy seguro que los fanáticos de la gramática harán su agosto con eso; pero si uno mira más allá del doble negativo, halla un principio fundamental para vivir como enviado. Amamos porque somos amados. Podemos ser una carta para otros, llevándoles el mensaje de que ellos no son chatarra, porque confiamos en que nosotros tampoco somos chatarra.

de Cartas vivas, por Jason C. Dukes

Jason C. Dukes es estudiante, soñador y profesor. Originario de Nueva Orleans, Luisiana, en estos últimos años Jason se ha hallado en una jornada asombrosa al iniciar la iglesia Westpoint en el área de Orlando, Florida.

Una carta viva
Cartas vivas (podcast)

I was surprised at my husband’s shocked reaction to my request. But then I’d had time to consider and pray about the weight of what I was asking . . .

I became a believer at the age of 12, but by my late 20s I was a divorced single mom with a successful career. For the next 17 years, I backslid into a world dominated by a cultural shift away from Christian values. Then my hairdresser invited me to a Harvest Crusade led by pastor Greg Laurie.

He challenged the crowd, “If you died tonight, are you ready?”

No, I wasn’t ready!

I cried out to God that His prodigal daughter was returning, and I promised to do whatever He asked and go wherever He led.

I didn’t know then the ramifications of my vow, but slowly my life began changing. I married a godly man, enrolled in seminary, and became deeply involved with ministry at our church.

But something still didn’t feel right. I was about the Lord’s work, yet so much of me was at the core of everything I did.

I opened my Bible and saw the problem and solution:

“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives” (Romans 6:6 NLT).

“My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not ‘mine,’ but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that” (Galatians 2:19–20 The Message).

What Seemed a Simple Request

Convicted, I asked my husband, “Will you pray over me to completely die to myself and only live for Christ.”

I expected an enthusiastic, “Honey, that’s wonderful! Let’s do it now.”

Instead, he asked, “Are you sure? You really need to pray about that.” I assured him I had prayed and I had to get me out of the way to be about His work.

After praying about my request, Dave said if I was going to take such a significant spiritual step, he would take it with me. So we knelt, held hands, and prayed that God would help us die to our own agendas and live solely for Him. We didn’t expect suddenly to become selfless—it’s a lifelong process. But we did immediately feel the significance of our commitment to the Lord and to each other.

Naively, we thought our Bible study group at the time would be thrilled when we asked for their prayer support. Instead they said, “That’s great for you, but don’t expect us to go there with you.”

Experience the Blessing of Dying to Self

In the years since we exchanged our ways for God’s ways, God has seen us through challenging times and amazing times, and we’re careful to always give Him the glory. Dying to self has become a daily process.

If you too want to experience the blessings of dying to self, are you ready to

• Completely surrender your will to God’s will?
• Seek God’s direction before making decisions and respond accordingly?
• Be in the minority—sometimes even among fellow Christians?
• Care about others more than your own well-being and comfort?
• Live a countercultural lifestyle for Christ?

Don’t worry if you can’t answer yes to all the questions, and don’t be prideful if you can. Choose one area to start with and ask God to help you see things through His eyes, to hurt where He hurts and love how He loves. Get ready—you’re on your way to being about His work!

Janet Thompson, founder and director of About His Work Ministries, is an author and speaker on topics relevant to today’s Christian. She recently authored Face-to-Face with Lois and Eunice: Nurturing Faith in Your Family and Face-to-Face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah: Pleading with God.

Janet discovered her purpose when God called her to “Feed My sheep.” Janet answered that call by developing the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Janet served as a lay minister for 12 years leading this ministry.

She and her husband, Dave, have 4 married children and love being Grammie and Grampa to 11 amazing grandchildren. They make their home in rural Idaho.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked The Message taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

I believe confession is a God-given touchstone.

In the Middle Ages, chemists and alchemists used touchstones to test the purity of gold and silver. When they dragged the black, flintlike stone across the surface of a potentially precious piece of metal, the mark that remained helped them differentiate between what was genuine and what was not. God’s touchstones serve the same purpose. They point to what is real—even if it’s beyond the scope of our senses.

Confession is like a compass I check now and again to make sure I’m still headed in the right direction. It doesn’t require a confessional, a priest, or an appointment. All I need to do is set my pride aside so I can come honestly and humbly before God’s throne, and then agree with what God has to say about how I’ve missed the mark He’s set for my life.

Talking to God about where I’ve blown it does three things:

1. It helps me realign my perspective with God’s.
2. It removes any false guilt I’ve been lugging around by reminding me that I’m forgiven.
3. And it helps lead me toward repentance. To repent means to “turn around.” God’s compass of confession is a gift that sets me straight by literally turning my life around.

A Vision of Love

I still vividly recall a time of confession I shared with God almost a decade ago. Being a rather visual person, and since God is such an invisible Sovereign, as I talked to God about how I’d missed His mark in my life, a picture began to develop in my mind’s eye.

I was standing before Jesus, relaying to Him all of the guilt and shame I’d been lugging around for way too long. Some of it was unjustified. Much of it was well earned. I wanted to hand all of these transgressions, big and small, real and imagined, over to Jesus. I didn’t want to carry them any longer. I didn’t need to carry them at all.

When I looked at my hands, raised as if to present Jesus with an offering of repentance, I saw that they were filled with ashes. My heart broke as I came to the deep realization of how unworthy the offering I was presenting was to One so perfectly holy. Ashamed, I slowly raised my eyes from the ashes and looked into Jesus’ face. What I saw was unabashed love and acceptance.

As I placed the ashes into Jesus’ outstretched hands, His face broke into a wide smile. He raised His ash-filled hands to the sky—and the ashes transformed into a snow-white dove that disappeared into the clouds. To this day I remember how pure, free, and loved I felt at that moment.

“But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”—1 John 1:9 (NLT)

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from Breaking the Surface: Inviting God into the Shallows and the Depths of Your Mind.

Vicki J. Kuyper is an author and avid traveler. When Vicki and her husband, Mark, are not on the road, they reside in Phoenix, Arizona. They have been married 30 years and have 2 married children, Ryan and Katrina. You also may be interested in her book Wonderlust.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

The Cross of Christ stands as the point of separation between the old person powered by death-driven corrupted flesh, and the new creation, powered by the very Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead.

At the moment you embrace the Cross, you receive its power into your life—a power that is eternally and continually working. Paul says that “death is at work in us” (2 Corinthians 4:12 NIV1984). At work in us now. Doing ongoing work. Doing present work.

A.B. Simpsons says, “We may not preach a crucified Saviour without being also crucified men and women. It is not enough to wear an ornamental cross as a pretty decoration. The cross that Paul speaks about was burned into his very flesh, was branded into his being, and only the Holy Spirit can burn the true cross into our innermost life.”

The death that Jesus died on the Cross cannot be—and need not be—repeated. Only He is able to die for our sins, having no sins of His own to die for. The priests of the Old Testament, which were foreshadows of our Great High Priest, had to offer sacrifices first for their own sins, then for the sins of the people.

But Jesus had no sins to be atoned for, and He alone is able to bear our sins on our behalf. The writer of Hebrews explained it: “Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself” (Hebrews 7:27 NIV1984).

Dying to Be Freed

As we surrender our corrupted flesh to His crucifixion, and as His death works in us, we are not repeating the atoning work of the Cross. That is done, completed, finished. Instead, we are letting the power of the Cross work out the crucifixion of our flesh.

It is not a cross of punishment that works in us. The Cross did its work of punishment on the body of Jesus. The Cross frees us from the confines, distortions, and limitations of our sinful nature. It is the only hope of being all that we were created to be.

God designed an eternal cadence, and it is built into creation at its crux. Life emerges out of death. The seed that falls into the ground to die to produce a harvest. The branch that is pruned so that it can bear more fruit. The beautiful colors of fall, ushering in the very death that will culminate in the springtime resurrection.

Living altar’d means surrendering to the death from which life comes. The Cross is the only place where flesh can go to die.

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from Day 7 of Altar’d.

Author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation.  Her two most recent releases are Altar’d and The Power of Small. She is in demand as a speaker and has spoken in such venues as the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove and Focus on the Family.

Links to columns on prayer and all 4 of her grandmother columns are available on her Voices page.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Follow Mara as she risks her own precarious safety to rescue a pregant young woman held in modern slavery. 

At the same time, halfway around the world in a Thai brothel, a young girl is rescued with the promise of being reunited with her younger sister who was adopted by an interracial couple in the States. They (the couple) are friends of the family of Jonathan Flannery, the Bible student to whom Mara now finds herself attracted.

Meanwhile, Jefe—Mara’s uncle who formerly held her as a sex slave in his San Diego brothel—seeks revenge for Mara’s testimony that put him behind bars for life.

If you have not already, you’ll want to read the action-packed first novel in the “Freedom” series, Deliver Me from Evil. Learn more about Mara, Jonathan, and Jefe—as well as the horrific and all too real problem of human trafficking, which stretches around the world even to our own neighborhoods.

The third and final novel in this series, The Deliverer, is scheduled for release in the fall of 2012.

My husband, Wayne, and I began to rejoice when the doctor said, “It’s a girl.” But when we didn’t hear her cry, we knew something was wrong. Our first child, Kelley, was not breathing, and her little body was blue.

The doctor and nurses began to furiously work over her. They gave her oxygen, but still she did not breathe on her own. Scared and confused, Wayne and I could only watch their attempts to save her. A couple of minutes passed but they still could not get Kelley to breathe. A nurse brought in shock paddles.

Finally, as they prepared to shock our daughter’s small heart, Kelley took her first breath. Our fear turned once again to joy and then to gratitude when we learned she was completely healthy.

What happened with Kelley’s delivery was certainly not what we had expected. We went to the hospital anticipating a normal delivery and a healthy baby. Instead, we experienced a near tragedy. Had the crisis ended in the loss of our baby, our future would have been very different.

The Resurrection Gives Hope

Jesus’ disciples followed Him with great anticipation for the future, but they did not expect His death, even though He clearly told them. In the tomb with His body, they buried their hopes and dreams for what they thought Jesus would do. Then they huddled together in grief and fear. Their future felt bleak.

The disciples did not realize Jesus’ death was the Father’s plan from the beginning of time, nor did they comprehend what His death accomplished for them. They certainly did not anticipate what happened next. Their Rabbi—dead and buried on Friday—walked out of the tomb on Sunday. And that changed everything.

Jesus’ resurrection necessitated a total paradigm shift for those first followers. The disciples’ perspective changed from a temporary, earthly one to an eternal, heavenly one. The kingdom they served was spiritual, not physical. Their hope was everlasting, not limited by time and space.

Disillusioned and fearful after Jesus’ death, the disciples displayed boldness and courage after His resurrection. Even in the face of persecution they continued to spread the good news of Jesus around the world because they were looking to a future hope.

Jesus’ death and resurrection impacts both our life on this earth and our eternal future. Those who enter into a saving relationship with Jesus receive power from the Holy Spirit to boldly follow Him and experience abundant life in this world.

More important, physical death holds no sting for believers. By His resurrection, Jesus broke its power, and physical death is not the final reality for those who put their faith and trust in Him. Our hope for an eternal future with Jesus is confirmed by an empty tomb.

Editor’s note: Adapted from“God’s Truth Revealed: Biblical Foundations for the Christian Faith.”

Kathy Howard, www.kathyhoward.org, has authored 3 Bible studies, Before His Throne, God’s Truth Revealed, and Unshakeable Faith. She and her husband live inHouston,Texas.

You may be interested in her articles, “Shaky Times Need an Unshakeable Faith” and “Embrace the ‘Crazy’ Wisdom of God.” Listen to a podcast with Kathy here.

Ideal for reading during the 40 days of Lent (February 22, 2012, to April 7, 2012; not counting Sundays) in preparation for Easter, this study also can be used any time of the year.

Book description

We are created to live in an altar’d state—surrendered, yielded, free.

The noun altar is usually understood to be a place of worshipful offering. Something of value is offered up and released on the altar. When we turn the noun altar into a verb—altar our fear, our failure, our possessiveness, our need to control—all those things that hold us captive and keep us from running the race at full throttle are released.

Through careful exposition and biblical teaching, celebrated author and prayer expert Jennifer Kennedy Dean guides readers on a 40-day exploration of the Scriptures and what it means to truly live a life dead to flesh and alive to the Spirit.

Download the introduction and first chapter (day 1) of this book now.

Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation and a respected author and speaker. She is in demand as a speaker and has addressed audiences at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove and Focus on the Family. Her recent books include The Power of Small and Life Unhindered! She is best known for her Live a Praying Life Bible study and related products.

She recently became a grandmother to Campbell Wayne Dean. Read more about that here.

There are no certainties in the Christian life, and there are no certainties in business. As a result, living as a Christian in the world of business means having to live with a lot of uncertainty.

Years ago a friend, Jim Dotson, was an award-winning, top-selling salesman in the world’s largest pharmaceutical corporation (Pfizer). He was climbing the ranks fast. But with the increased notoriety and pay, came increased demands for more travel, longer hours, and relocation.

Eventually his wife challenged him by pointing out that he wasn’t living according to his faith and his values. Shaken up, he realized she was right and set about to correct his wrongs. Jim began refusing the Saturday morning golf meetings and wouldn’t move yet again for the company cause. (They had moved 9 times in 10 years.)

Paying a Price

The change was met with cold resistance by the management team. He began to be slighted and pushed to the side, he told me. Bypassed for a promotion he deserved, he said he began to realize that he had been stalled on the corporate ladder. Nevertheless, he knew he had made the right decisions.

The minor losses of corporate reputation and (potentially) forfeited financial gain were nothing compared to the increased family time and quality of life Jim enjoyed. Through this process, Jim and Ann decided to adopt a daughter from Russia.

After returning from Russia with their new daughter, Jim was surprised by an emergency meeting with some members of corporate leadership. They falsely accused Jim of using company pharmaceuticals to buy his adopted daughter and immediately terminated him.

Startled and stumbling out the door, Jim’s life and the life of his family had been changed forever. Though his career had been ruined, he retained what was important: his wife, his kids, their new adopted daughter.

Jim’s story demonstrates what can happen when the culture of this world collides with the values of the kingdom of heaven. We can expect trials when we desire to follow the values of Christ. There is a price to be paid as we are salt and light in the marketplace.

More to the Story

Not out of revenge, but out of a desire to protect his reputation, Jim decided to mount a legal challenge to his termination. It cost him a home and ate up his family’s savings. However, after a 6-year legal process that ended at the US Supreme Court, he won his case.* His reputation was rightfully restored.

There is not always a victorious end to every cultural collision in the marketplace. The real economics of living by faith at work are not about accruing status and monies in this world, but about storing up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:20). The returns on our very long-term investment are huge when compared to the short-term gains of this world.

*Editor’s note: For a longer, more detailed account of Jim’s personal experience, click here to read an article from the Raleigh News & Observer. If you are interested in Jim’s case and how it relates to  US law and adoption, you may find more information here.

Mark Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

Road trips are about cruising the byways and steering clear of the busy highways. It’s about finding the roads less traveled. It’s about taking the time to explore the interesting, the unique, or the just plain strange.

Lifelong memories are made on road trips—memories filled with unplanned detours and dead-ends that end up in adventure and fun. I’m always ready for a road trip and here are a few of my favorites:

Quick Road Trips

Scenic Historic A1A—Florida. Follow the seashore as you travel this 72-mile stretch of highway. This north Florida road trip takes you down the old road to the beach. Starting out near Ponte Vedra Beach, the road hugs the coast through St. Augustine and ends in Flagler Beach. But it’s only the official Scenic Historic A1A that ends, A1A, as US 1 continues south all the way to Key West.

North Shore Drive, Minnesota. Travel the coast of Lake Superior on this 154-mile scenic drive from Duluth to the Canadian border. You’ll find amazing waterfalls, parks, lighthouses, museums, and eclectic shops all along the road.

A few more quick road trips:

• White Mountain Trail. This 100-mile scenic road trip through the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire is breathtaking.
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Travel US 441 through the Great Smoky Mountains.
• Washington, D.C.,  to Williamsburg. A 160-mile trip through historic Virginia.
• Monterey to Morro Bay, California. Travel 125 miles of scenic California coastline.

Not-So-Quick Road Trips

Route 66—The Mother Road. Spanning the country from Chicago to Los Angeles, Route 66 covered almost 2,500 miles. Route 66 was decommissioned in 1984 and would have been lost to progress, if not for the people who weren’t willing to let this famous icon slip away. I’m heading out on Route 66 in April 2012. I’ll be traveling from Oklahoma City to Los Angeles. Stay tuned to New Hope Digital for updates and to learn more about this amazing adventure.

Here are a few more of the not-so-quick road trips:

• National Road—US 40 from Atlantic City, New Jersey, to near Salt Lake City, Utah. (It once ran all the way to San Francisco.)
• Blue Ridge Parkway—470 miles of breathtaking scenery through North Carolina and Virginia
• Great Lakes Seaway Trail—500 miles of islands, waterfalls, and historic sites through New York and Pennsylvania

Whether you’re traveling just down the road a ways or across thousands of miles, remember to enjoy the adventure. Don’t push too hard for a destination—blessings are out there on the road. Enjoy the adventure!

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from God, Grace, and Girlfriends by Mary R. Snyder.

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures.

When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her first release from New Hope Publishers is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

We are delighted to post a new position for New Hope Publishers. Please email HR@wmu.org for more information or to submit a resume.

Title: Life in the Light

Artist’s description: I tried to illustrate ideas and activities that portray light and life. I feel like we can find true joy when we recognize that God blesses us with each day. We should take advantage of them with our family and friends.

Question: Are you daily living in the light of Christ’s grace?

Contact: Email David Dinkins at stanlee314@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1041782715).

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

Editor’s note: You may be interested in 2 of our featured books this month. How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? by Rhonda Rhea explores many of the almost 300 references to light in the Bible. In God, Grace, and Girlfriends by Mary R. Snyder you’ll learn the importance of friendships; discover tips on building healthy friendships; and find dozens of possible trips, events, and adventures for you and your girlfriends to explore.

Anyone who has ever prayed or pleaded with God to act now knows that, much like a parent responding to a child, God answers prayer in 1 of 3 ways: yes, later, or no.

And, much like children, we usually respond in typical fashion: A yes response receives praise and gratitude. “Later” is met with impatience and frustration. A no gets anger and questioning in return.

But God postpones fulfilling our requests or even gives us an outright no, because He has:

1. A bigger perspective and long range goals for us and humanity.
2. A better plan than our plan.
3. Perfect timing.

God never works randomly: there’s always a plan and blessed are we whom He uses to fulfill His plans, even when inconvenient. Many Old Testament men and women persevered in doing the Lord’s work in spite of disappointment. With physical eyes, they never saw the fulfillment of His ultimate plan: the Messiah, Jesus Christ. But they knew Jesus was coming and accepted their role in the unfolding story of salvation.

They trusted, obeyed, and discovered peace in accepting that God was in control of every situation. Sometimes they were part of a miracle, like Sarah having a baby at 90 years old, and other times they endured great sorrow and pain, but God used each one to His glory. He will use you and me too—and we can experience this joy as long as we persevere in the faith.

So how can you stay faithful when God says no or tells you to wait?

• Trust God and His love for you.
• Pray for grace to expect and accept His answers
• Replace worry with worship.
• Turn pleas into praises.

Like Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah, 2 of my daughters pleaded with God for a baby for years. And like Sarah and Rachel they often tried to take circumstances into their own hands and circumvent God’s unseen plans. But when they finally surrendered their will to God’s will and made peace with Him as Hannah did, each woman was granted a testimony of the blessing of waiting on His timing.

God’s waiting room can be lonely and painful. It helps to have a support group going through similar circumstances. Then, “[i]nstead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life” (Philippians 4:6–7 MSG).

Janet Thompson, founder and director of About His Work Ministries, is an author and speaker on topics relevant to today’s Christian. She recently authored Face-to-Face with Sarah, Rachel, and Hannah: Pleading with God.

Janet discovered her purpose when God called her to “Feed My sheep.” Janet answered that call by developing the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Janet served as a lay minister in that work for 12 years. She and her husband, Dave, have 4 married children and love being Grammie and Grampa to 11 amazing grandchildren. They make their home in rural Idaho.

You also may be interested in a podcast with Janet, “Beating Burnout.”

Scriptures marked (MSG) taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

• God is with us.

• God is powerful to save us.

• God takes delight in us.

• God will quiet us with His love.

• God rejoices over us with singing.

Interested in a Bible study on our (the church’s) bride-and-groom relationship with Christ? Check out Chosen and Cherished: Becoming the Bride of Christ by Edna Ellison, Joy Brown, and Kimberly Sowell.

A people lover and humorist, Edna Ellison will tickle your funny bone as she teaches spiritual truths. Award-winning author of 23 books and more than 400 magazine articles, Edna is a well-known keynote speaker who loves leading prayer retreats and writers conferences across the United States and overseas. Holding a PhD from the University of Alabama, she is the author or coauthor of several New Hope books, including Women of the Covenant, Woman to Woman, and A Passion for Purpose.

When you receive news—good or bad—what do you want to do? When something unusual happens, what’s your first impulse? For many women, our response is the same as Mary’s when she found out she was pregnant. We find someone to tell.

After the angel Gabriel told young Mary she was going to be the mother of Jesus, “soon afterward” she headed toward her cousin Elizabeth’s house (Luke 1:39 GNT). She needed to talk about her unusual experience. She must have pinched herself on the way and asked herself, Did I really see an angel? Did he really tell me that I am going to have God’s child? Was I dreaming or was this real?

When something unusual happens to us our impulse is to talk about it, to replay the experience. We can relive it and express our emotions about it. Talking can help us deal with the fallout and/or enrich our experience.

The Bible suggests that it may have been enriching for Mary. It was after she arrived at Elizabeth’s and shared her experience that she broke forth in song, “My heart praises the Lord; my soul is glad . . . for he has remembered me, his lowly servant! From now on all people will call me happy” (Luke 1:46–48 GNT).

While talking about the unusual is a natural response—and often an important one—some of us also need to talk about the usual, the ordinary things of life. You know what I mean if you’ve wanted to share your delight in something your child said or to tell a neighbor about seeing goldfinches in your yard. You can understand if you have wanted to talk about an embarrassing moment you had in a restaurant, a new recipe you tried, a helpful magazine article you read, or your frustration with some new software.

I call this kind of talk “life processing,” and my mother and I are good at it, especially after a large family gathering. We work together getting the meal ready for her children, their spouses, their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, and sometimes cousins. We eat at noon and then have punch and cake in the afternoon or watermelon depending on the season.

Around 3:30 people start leaving making their way back home.  By 5:00, it is just Mom, my father, my husband, Bob, and me left. We warm the leftovers for a light supper. The men quickly eat and head to the living room to watch the evening news. That’s when Mom says, “Want a cup of coffee?” I always answer, “Sure,” because I know we are going to be sitting for awhile.

As we sip coffee and nibble on some leftover pie, we talk about the day—the food, the children, the games, the laughter—whatever might have transpired. Some like my father would say “it’s a bunch of talk about nothing.” Not to Mom and me, it isn’t.

Rather it’s the capstone of the day, completing and rounding it out, giving us a satisfied feeling and enriching the experience.

Editor’s note: This article has been excerpted/adapted from The Friendship Factor: Why Women Need Other Women.

Brenda Poinsett is the author of Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?, The Friendship Factor, and Wonder Women of the Bible. Passionate about sharing knowledge that changes lives, she organizes retreats on topics such as women in the Bible, spiritual transformation, and dealing with emotions. Brenda and her husband, Bob, have 3 grown sons and reside in Union, Missouri.

Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) Copyright © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

My wonderful hubby surprised me a while back with an anniversary cruise. Hawaii, baby! We had the most marvelous time just being together for 7 glorious days.

I admit it, I’m a cruise fan. I love everything about it—especially the food. A cruise and overeating go together like a hand in glove. Well, more accurately, they go together like a size 10 hand in a size 2 glove. I guess I was just asking for a trip back to maternity pants. I now refer to myself as “17 years postpartum.”

The staff on the ship said that the average person gains 7–10 pounds on a 7-day cruise. But then, I’ve always considered myself an overachiever.

On prime rib night, my husband and I were walking out of the dining room and, even though he was about to let his belt out a notch, Richie said he was thinking of ordering yet another prime rib. Another one! I figured that could cost him at least another 2 belt notches. I told him I thought that would be a mistake. Get it? Prime rib? “Mis-steak”?

If we’re going to overdo, though, it’s good to make sure we’re “overdoing” in the right areas. Exceeding calorie limits? Not such a great thing to consistently overdo. But 1 Thessalonians 4:1 talks about living right to please God and then it says, “Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more” (NIV1984).

To do and then do some more. It’s an encouragement to keep growing. Not so much growing in the “bring on the elastic waistbands” way, but rather growing in maturity—sanctification.

Paul goes in verses 2–3 to say, “For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified” (NIV1984). The Amplified Bible calls that sanctification, “consecrated (separated and set apart for pure and holy living).”

We grow as we seek to stay in the light, dwelling in the presence of the Lord, making sure our lives are for Him and all about Him. Our growth is not an option. It’s a command. Verses 7 and 8 in that same passage in 1 Thessalonians say, “For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit” (NIV).

It can be a little startling to think about the fact that to reject His instruction and to reject the call to pursue a holy, consecrated life is to reject our heavenly Father Himself. And that rejection means we’re ignoring the Holy Spirit He gave to help live that life. A mistake of the highest order.

Dwelling in His presence results in a life in which growing “a notch or two” spiritually—the good kind of growth—is a regular occurrence. And we need to seek that consistency in growth even more diligently than we would seek the biggest everything-fried-to-perfection buffet.

There’s a lot at steak—I mean, stake.

Editor’s note: This article was adapted from chapter 14 of How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person?

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of multiple books, including How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? You also may enjoy her articles “Skittles: The Secret Measure of a Person’s Love” and “Stretched: Fears Fade in God’s Light.”

Scripture marked (NIV1984) taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture marked (NIV) taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Amplified® Bible, Copyright ©1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

The only woman in the Bible referred to as a “grandmother” is Timothy’s grandmother, Lois.

She and her daughter Eunice received accolades from the Apostle Paul on their rearing of his protégé and future pastor, young Timothy: “I [Paul] have been reminded of your sincere faith which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5 NIV).

He later adds: “And how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15 NIV).

As a grandmother of 11 grandchildren who all know about Jesus (and some know Jesus as their Savior), here’s what I’ve learned from Lois:

1. Pray for, mentor, and nurture the faith of your adult children—the parents of your grandchildren.
2. Give with a purpose. Choose gifts that introduce grandchildren to Jesus at an early age. Shop at Christian bookstores or online to find age-appropriate games, books, DVDs, CDs, and toys.
3. Look for opportunities to talk to grandchildren about Jesus and His love for them.
4. Be a role model that family members admire and respect.
5. Assume an active role in your grandchildren’s lives, even if you live far apart. Stay current and don’t criticize the things that interest them. Learn their communication style and method—email, texting, Skype or FaceTime, cell phone, social networking, etc. Remain relatable and relational with each generation.

Lois and Eunice were intentional in raising Timothy in the faith. The world didn’t set standards for their home, God did. They knew God’s Word and taught it to Timothy. I’ve found songs are one effective means to help children (and their parents) learn Scripture. Most kids love to sing along to CDs in the car and soon Mommy and Daddy are learning the words too.

Parents are often so busy raising their children that they rely on the church to educate the kids spiritually. We grandparents are usually at a stage of life where we can help parents nurture faith in the home. If relationships are strained with adult children or you don’t live close, you can still pray for them and/or keep in touch in different ways.

My prayer is that my legacy to my grandchildren will be: Grammie taught us about the Bible and Jesus, and she lived what she believed.

What spiritual legacy are you leaving for your family?

Janet Thompson, founder and director of About His Work Ministries, is an author and speaker on topics relevant to today’s Christian. She recently authored Face-to-Face with Lois and Eunice: Nurturing Faith in Your Family, among other Bible studies for New Hope Publishers.

Janet discovered her purpose when God called her to “Feed My sheep.” Janet answered that call by developing the Woman to Woman Mentoring Ministry at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California. Janet served as a lay minister for 12 years in this ministry. See The Team Jesus That Built for more on this topic.

She and her husband, Dave, have 4 married children and love being Grammie and Grampa to 11 amazing grandchildren. They make their home in rural Idaho.

Scripture marked NIV from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

I am a grandmother. 

At 2 am on January 13, Campbell Wayne Dean made his appearance. He was 7 pounds 1 ounce, 20 inches long.

Many of you grandparents have been telling me for years how amazing it would be, but, truthfully, I thought you might be exaggerating. Now I think you were underplaying it.

Sara’s parents, Kim and Nora Campbell, along with Sara’s sister Emily, and I were there. Of course, Kennedy, my son, was there too. We had all been in the room through the hours of labor, watching the monitors that measured Sara’s contractions and telling stories about the births of Kennedy and Sara.

When time for the birth came, we relocated to the waiting room, except for Kennedy. After a short stint, a picture popped up on our cell phones (sent by Kennedy) and we had our first look at Campbell. I suspect that our stampede back to the birthing room registered on the Richter scale.

Jennifer, Kennedy, and Campbell joined by Jennifer's mother, Audrey Kennedy.

Truth be told, a newborn baby looks like a newborn baby. Unless it is your newborn baby. For the few days I was able to stay after Campbell’s birth, I inspected him head to toe, marveling at every detail. I am utterly entranced, taken, enchanted with my grandson.

He has done nothing to so capture my heart except to exist. The fact that he is delights me beyond measure. Perhaps this is a glimpse into the unfathomable, unearned love that the Father has for us.

As I inspected and memorized every detail—from the way his little forehead wrinkles up as he strains to open his eyes to the way his tiny toe joints feel so small and delicate—I began to pray over him from head to toe.

HEAD

My son, if you accept my words and store up my commands within you, turning your ear to wisdom and applying your heart to understanding—indeed, if you call out for insight and cry aloud for understanding, and if you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding. He holds success in store for the upright, he is a shield to those whose walk is blameless, for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.—Proverbs 2:1–8 (NIV)

EYES

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.—Proverbs 4:25–27 (NIV)

MOUTH

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life.—Proverbs 10:11 (NIV)

HEART

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.—Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)

HANDS

Diligent hands will rule.—Proverbs 12:24 (NIV)

FEET AND LEGS

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.—Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV)

I am committed to praying for Campbell and any yet-to-be siblings and cousins from head to toe.

Author and speaker Jennifer Kennedy Dean is executive director of the Praying Life Foundation.  Her two most recent releases are Altar’d and The Power of Small. She is in demand as a speaker and has spoken in such venues as the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove and Focus on the Family. Links to all 4 of her grandmother columns  are available on her Voices page.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

I love good light. 

Every morning the first thing I do is open all the blinds in my house.  I want to see the light spill into the room. 

However, when I recently discovered some additional lines on my face I wanted to jerk the blinds down and use only candles for lighting!  

After some thought, I determined the darkness would keep me from seeing the lines, but it wouldn’t make them fade. So, I took action and bought a strong magnifying mirror complete with high-wattage lighting, just so I could inspect those wrinkles  more closely.

I soon realized the megamirror made tiny lines look like major crevices.  Therefore, I went back to opening the blinds, letting the natural light shine in, and made a decision to invest in some good eye cream.

Good light shows things just as they are —like those tiny lines on my face. We are called to be the light to the world.  We don’t need to magnify the tiny or minimize the important. Just light it up and God will do the rest.

Light Up a Friendship

In my relationships, I wonder if I’m more of a megawatt bulb or a tiny tea light.  I decided I’ve been both—and I’ve had friends who’ve done the same. Some shined so brightly it hurt my eyes to look at them and others were so dim I almost had to strike a match to find them.

I’ve been a few different types of lights in my friendships, maybe you’ve seen me around:

• Spotlight—obnoxiously bright. This brilliant light emphasizes every tiny speck and dot.  She’s the girl who quickly points out the flaws in others, but keeps herself behind the glare.
• Lighthouse—swings a wide arc of light to showcase danger.  She shows you the dangers and moves on.  She’s a great friend to have.  She doesn’t dwell on the problems, just casts a light over them, and let’s you decide if you want to take the risk.
• Laser pointer—focused.  She may highlight your greatest attribute or your biggest flaw, but she has a singular focus.  She can be your greatest advocate or your biggest stumbling block.  
• Flashlight—shines bright but can dim quickly.  She’s great to have around when it’s too dark to know the way.  She is trustworthy and true; don’t overwork her, but trust her.  She’s a workhorse. 
• Candlelight—soft, flickering and great for hiding flaws.  She’s the friend who doesn’t push too hard or ask too much.  Low on light and low on challenge.
• Lamplight—casts a warm pool of light.  She’s friendly and neither too bright nor too dim. She’s the girl who sees you for who you are and loves you right where you are. 

I’ve stood behind the harsh spotlight as I pointed out the flaws of others.  I’ve pointed a laser on a molehill and made it look like a mountain.  These days I’m trying to be the lamplight.  I want to cast a warm light and make those around me feel loved.  

Mary Snyder’s busy blog is one of multiple ways crowds of women connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures. When she’s not cruising, she can be found at home with family near Birmingham, Alabama. Her first release from New Hope Publishers is God, Grace, and Girlfriends.

Read How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? for more humor, wit, and biblical wisdom. Group discussion guide included in the book. Download the first 2 chapters here now.

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of multiple books, including How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? You also may enjoy her articles and “Stretched: Fears Fade in God’s Light” and “Skittles: The Secret Measure of a Person’s Love.”

Driving through town one night, my husband, Snow, and I found a young man lying on the yellow center-line in the middle of a highway.

Snow got out, picked the guy up, and talked with him. The young man (I’ll call him John) was high on drugs, almost incoherent. He wore only a pair of jeans—no shirt, underwear, or shoes—his long hair matted together in clumps. Snow, who worked at city hall, gave him a bed in the city jail.

The next morning Snow gave him clean clothes and found a place for him to live. Several other city employees got involved in helping John.

Two weeks later, Snow and I went to a Bible study, where I saw a clean-cut young man across the room. Why couldn’t John live like this young man? What a difference in their behaviors and lifestyles! If only John could meet him . . .

After the Bible study, Snow and I walked over to him.

“Remember John?” Snow asked.

“Yes, I . . .” I realized this clean-cut young man was John. What a change! His clothes were clean; his hair was cut, combed, and styled.

John continued to be a faithful member of that Bible study, joined a support group, and became a member of a Christian church, where he accepted Jesus as his Savior! Within a year, he was reunited with his parents who had kicked him out of their home and family. Today he walks “in newness of life” (Romans 6:4 KJV).

John is typical of thousands of people who wander, looking for answers to their problems. Christian ministers—all of us who are on mission to introduce lost, wandering people to Jesus—have the answers. As we share Jesus with them, we can be the gatekeepers to new life.

Lord, help us find lost, wandering people who need You. Enable us to reach out to show them new life in You. Amen.

Editor’s note: This article was excerpted from A Passion for Purpose: 365 Daily Devotions for Missional Living by Kimberly Sowell, Edna Ellison, Joy Brown, Tricia Scribner, and Marie Alston.

A popular author and speaker, Edna Ellison, PhD, has addressed women in almost every state in the US and has led women’s conferences across Europe and South and Middle America. She is the author or coauthor of numerous books from New Hope Publishers, including Women of the Covenant, Stronger Still, and Woman to Woman.

Our theme on New Hope Digital this month is Light Living: Basking in the Love of the Savior. What a great way to start 2012!

Christmas is not that long past, and when I began thinking of light, I was drawn to John 1:4–5 (ESV): “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.”

For those of us in Christ, we have been called out of darkness and into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9). Truly, we have been enlightened (John 1:9; following the New Revised Standard).

I think of biblical enlightening in 2 ways. First, there is the sudden, miraculous burst of light we call salvation. Think of a bright light being turned on in a dark room. It is immediate and, in this case, permanent.

Charles Wesley, in one of my favorite hymns, described it this way: “Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray; I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; my chains fell off, my heart was free” (“And Can It Be That I Should Gain”).

Second, we are enlightened day by day, little by little. Think of the dawning of a new day. The sun’s rays only gradually wash into those remote corners of the forest, those deep hollows between the hills. But, moment by moment, the sun rises higher and higher until all bask in the noonday heat.

This is our sanctification—the process by which God transforms us and shines His light on the dark, sinful places in our lives. Let’s welcome His glorious love into our deepest need.

This January we focus on Rhonda Rhea’s latest release, How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? Bright Ideas for Delightful Transformation. Through humor and stories, Rhonda explores many of the almost 300 references to light in the Bible. The light of Christ is the only means that can provide positive, lasting change in our lives.

And we don’t hide the light we’ve been given under a bushel, do we? No, we are to share with both believing friends and with the lost near and far. For more on that, listen to Mary R. Snyder’s podcast as she discusses her book God, Grace, and Girlfriends and read a powerful call to action from Kathi Macias on the issue of modern slavery. Kathi’s first novel focused on human trafficking, Deliver Me from Evil, is out now and the second novel in the “Freedom” trilogy, Special Delivery, will release in March.

Just a reminder: Nook books are now available. Click here to read a press release that contains a link to our full list of current ebooks. With free reading apps, these books can be read on your PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Android.

All Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

OK, I realize some of you hardly ever wear tights so you probably won’t totally get this. But anyone else who’s suffered from “medium denial” will sooo feel my pain.

Especially when I mention that whole song and dance number a girl’s got to do to try to writhe into one of those pair of tights that’s gone completely rogue size-wise. It’s bad enough that as soon as we arrive in that between-size zone, there’s a mind game that begins. At the first realization that we’re in grave danger of going up a size, fear gets us in a grip that’s tighter than an XS.

Sometimes there are even voices in our heads. And they don’t whisper. They’re yelling “No! Not going to happen! I will stretch these size small tights from here to Guam if I have to. I’m 5 feet tall and I positively refuse to be a medium!”

I’m not sure how I figure that stretching those small tights within an inch of their poor little elastic lives is going to make me look like I did 20 pounds ago anyway. That really is a stretch.

Oh well, maybe I’m just revealing entirely too much from my own little stockpile of personal fears.

Fears Flee in His Presence

Fear, from the trivial to the deadly serious, can be startlingly powerful. It can absolutely surprise us as we sense it squeezing the breath right out of us and pinching our attempts to walk out our life of faith. But isn’t it amazing that as we breathe in the presence of the God of light, our fears immediately begin to fade away?

In Psalm 27:1 (HCSB), David gives himself a bit of a pep talk when he reminds himself, “The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom should I be afraid?”

When we know His saving grace and have experienced His life-changing light, fear suddenly seems silly. And when we think about the fact that our all-powerful God manifests Himself in radiant light and then consider all the amazing things light does, we can’t help but see our courage bolstered, just as David did.

Light illuminates so we can see where we’re going. Light helps protect us from danger. It provides security. Light even enables growth and warmth. Any time we’re afraid, as we look to Him in all His light and ponder His power, we can find the Lord stretching us. Fears fade. Courage is renewed.

We can see the truth and can think more clearly. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (NKJV). By His marvelous light, He provides the good kind of stretch in every tight situation.

And also in every “tights” situation.

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of multiple books, including How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? You also may enjoy her article “Skittles: The Secret Measure of a Person’s Love.”

Scripture quotations marked HCSB are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

Scripture marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

One of the questions I frequently hear is: “Why do you write about such dark subjects?”

My answer: Why wouldn’t I?

Truthfully, though, I don’t write about dark subjects. I write about light shining in the darkness—even the darkest places imaginable—because that’s where it is most needed. I’ve done an entire fiction series (“Extreme Devotion”: No Greater Love; More than Conquerors; Red Ink; People of the Book) on the topic of the persecuted church, and yes, some scenes are dark and will most definitely make readers uncomfortable. Good!

God hasn’t called us to comfort, but to courage; He hasn’t equipped us to run from the darkness in fear, but rather to live in a way that lights the path of escape for those who are trapped there. And though the 4 novels in the “Extreme Devotion” series don’t necessarily wrap up with the typical happily-ever-after endings of many novels, they do finish on a triumphant note because the darkness can never overcome God’s Light.

Confronting the Darkness of Human Trafficking

Now I am in the midst of releasing a “Freedom” series trilogy on the topic of human trafficking. The first book of the series, Deliver Me from Evil, is already out, with Special Delivery to release in March and the third book later this year. It doesn’t get much darker than human trafficking, does it?

But when you consider that an estimated 27 million people worldwide are trapped in modern-day slavery right now, today, in the 21st century, including an estimated 100,000–300,000 minors involved in or at risk of sex trafficking right here in the United States, how can I keep silent?

God has given me a gift, a talent and passion to write. He has also given me His light to shine from within me onto others, and how better to do it than to use my gift of writing to expose the deeds of darkness and to rescue the victims?

When Jesus walked the earth, He declared Himself to be the light of the world (John 9:5). Now that He has ascended into heaven, He has passed the torch to us, His church, to bring light and hope to a dark and dying world. Dare we ignore that mandate? Can we justify going only where darkness is but a shadow, avoiding the true depths of midnight-darkness and perverted depravity that would destroy the very people who have been stamped with the image of their Creator?

I don’t believe we can avoid it. President Obama has declared January 2012 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and the US Senate has designated January 11 to be a National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness. Secular groups around the world are taking a stand against this horrific atrocity, and I applaud them.

But it is the church, those of us who have the Light living inside us, who must lead the way, standing together to dispel the darkness and to set the captives free.

Will you join me? The Light of the world will walk with us, each and every step of the way.

Editor’s note: Check out Kathi’s podcast on the subject of addressing modern slavery through fiction. Click here for more resources and ideas from New Hope Digital on fighting modern slavery, including the nonfiction book Not in My Town by Charles Powell and Dillon Burroughs.

Award-winning author Kathi Macias has written the 4-novel “Extreme Devotion” series and is currently working on the “Freedom” trilogy. Click here to download the first 2 chapters of the first book, Deliver Me from Evil. Book 2 in the “Freedom” series, Special Delivery, is scheduled to release in March. The “Extreme Devotion” series (No Greater Love; More than Conquerors; Red Ink, and People of the Book) and Deliver Me from Evil are also now available as ebooks for your PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone, Android, and Nook.

Mary R. Snyder is the author of God, Grace, and Girlfriends: Adventures in Faith and Friendship. In addition to the print book, the ebook is available here. Nook books can be read on your PC, Mac, Android, iPad,  iPhone, or Nook. (Go here for free reading apps.)

You can download the first chapter of her book now for free from New Hope Digital.

Mary R. Snyder’s busy blog, www.maryrsnyder.com, is one of multiple ways women can connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures because, with God’s love, humor, and vivid detail, she carries God’s holy truth in her messages. 

Mary Snyder will be on the Girl’s Get-A-Way cruise from January 12-16, 2012. She is currently a featured columnist with New Hope Digital.

As seen on Fox news, Not in My Town: Exposing and Ending Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery (978-1-59669-301-2, $19.99) answers questions and promotes discussion about the slavery system that crisscrosses Atlanta, Orlando, Las Vegas, New York, California, Texas, North Carolina, Haiti, Amsterdam, India, Cambodia, and beyond. The authors’ gripping journey shocks but also motivates and provides resources to equip new generations of abolitionists from all corners of society and diverse worldviews who share the common call to stop injustice. DVD included with book.

New Hope Publishers also offers the “Freedom” fiction series by award-winning author Kathi Macias. Deliver Me from Evil (978-1-59669-306-7, $14.99) is the first release in the series and Special Delivery (978-1-59669-307-4, $14.99) will be available this March.

Watch for a special article from Kathi Macias scheduled to be posted on January 11 on this site.

The New Hope Publishers Web site offers several podcasts, articles/columns, and videos on human trafficking. You may be especially interested in the article, “Ideas and Resources to Join the Fight Against Modern Slavery,” which, in one place, lists and links to much of the New Hope Digital content.

Please also consider supporting the efforts of WorldCrafts, our ministry partner, and its Set1Free campaign. The Set1Free campaign highlights artisan groups working with women freed from sexual exploitation and/or others at risk of human trafficking.

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope^® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU^®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about New Hope Publishers, visit www.NewHopeDigital.com.

A sampling of our ebook list includes: Orphanology, Live a Praying Life!, Called and Accountable, Thirst No More, Soul Shaping, and all 6 current fiction titles from Kathi Macias. New titles will be added as available. A full current list is available here.  

For the latest resources from New Hope Publishers go to www.NewHopeDigital.com where you’ll find articles, podcasts, videos, book information, and more.

About New Hope Publishers

Representing more than 80 authors and more than 130 individual works, the mission of New Hope^® Publishers is to provide books that challenge readers to understand and be radically involved in the mission of God. New Hope Publishers is the general trade publishing imprint for WMU^®, a missions auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention. New Hope Publishers is a member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA).

For more information about New Hope Publishers, visit www.NewHopeDigital.com.

Everywhere we went they could tell.

We didn’t even have to open our mouths. The stares and the whispers made it obvious: they knew we were Americans. But, we weren’t in Africa or Asia where two Caucasian women would easily stand out. We were in Europe.

In October 2011, I spent 2 weeks in Kishinev, Moldova, teaching a class at the Moldova Bible Seminary. I taught 4 hours each morning and spent most of the afternoon grading work and preparing for the next class. My friend Lisa, who traveled with me, stayed busy during the day ministering in various ways with the local church. We both got to interact with many Moldovans and hear about their lives.

Communism’s Lingering Effects

Moldova—part of the former Soviet block—is sandwiched between the Ukraine and Romania. Even 2 decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union the effects of Communist oppression still linger. Many Moldovans remember the overwhelming dominance of the USSR and the rest have heard the stories from the older ones who experienced it.

For instance, Alina, one of our young Moldovan companions and translators, told us about her great-grandparents. Their home was considered especially nice in the small village where they lived because it had 2 rooms—one for the family and one for the animals in cold weather. The Communist Party decided the house would be a great place to hold their local meetings.

Immediately the family was snatched up with only the clothes on their back and dumped in the snowy forests of Siberia to fend for themselves. Lisa asked Alina how they survived. “They wanted to live” was her matter-of-fact answer.

Someone else told us that children were taken from their parents. Others told us of the need to whisper, even at home, because of the very real possibility of being turned in for “crimes” against the government. Constant need. Constant fear. And the dark cloud of despondency that rose during the Soviet years still lingers.

So how did they know we were Americans? Lisa and I thought it must be the way we dressed. Perhaps our style of shoes tipped them off. But, according to Alina, it’s because our faces are “open and ready to smile.”

The darkness of Communism still shadows the Moldovan’s demeanor and overall view of life. By contrast, Lisa and I have lived in freedom all our lives and it shows.

Do I Stand Out?

This experience raised some questions in my mind. Shouldn’t the effects of my spiritual freedom be more evident than those of my political freedom? Yet, no one stares at me on the street because the presence of Christ shines through me.

Why don’t I stand out among my American neighbors like I did on the streets of Moldova?  Instead I tend to blend in.

Here’s my prayer: Lord, make me different from the world. Conform me to the image of Christ so those around me can tell that I belong to You. 

I welcome the stares.

Kathy Howard, www.kathyhoward.org, has authored 3 Bible studies, Before His Throne, God’s Truth Revealed, and Unshakeable Faith. She and her husband live in Houston, Texas.

You may be interested in her articles, “Shaky Times Need an Unshakeable Faith” and “Embrace the ‘Crazy’ Wisdom of God.” Listen to a podcast with Kathy here.

Download the introduction and first chapter of Mary R. Snyder’s God, Grace, and Girlfriends today.

Christ’s light changes our lives and our friendships. Women everywhere, in all walks of life, are looking for girlfriends they can depend on. Friends who will stand by them, friends they can laugh with, and friends they can have an adventure with.  True-blue, dyed-in-the-wool girlfriends. Whether you’re in college or retired, a stay-at-home mom or any empty nester, a single career women or a working mother, you likely can identify with this heart cry of women everywhere: “Lord, send me girlfriends!”

In God, Grace, and Girlfriends you’ll learn the importance of friendships; discover tips on building healthy friendships; and explore dozens of possible trips, events, and adventures for you and your girlfriends.

Mary R. Snyder‘s busy blog, www.maryrsnyder.com, is one of multiple ways women can connect with this leader’s message of hope, joy, and adventure in Jesus Christ. As Premier Christian Cruises Girl’s Get-A-Way group coordinator, contest director, and girlfriend leader, Mary has a following that’s near, far, and across cultures because, with God’s love, humor, and vivid detail, she carries God’s holy truth in her messages. 

Mary Snyder will be on the Girl’s Get-A-Way cruise from January 12-16, 2012. She is currently a featured columnist with New Hope Digital.

James wrote, “Is any one of you sick? He should call for the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up” (James 5:14–15 NIV). His words remind us that sometimes you just can’t pray through your ailments alone.

In your pain or fear, your faith is almost zilch. You can’t bring yourself to articulate your need, let alone believe that God would heal you. James’ solution was to “call for the elders.” In other words, share that need with others.

For some of us, with very personal needs or with a hesitancy to share, we may need to call for strong faith-believing women to pray for us. We can lean on them to offer faith-believing prayers on our behalf.

James also implies that sin may be part of a sick person’s problem. He encourages us to confess those sins to each other (James 5:16a NIV)—something that may be harder to do than to ask for physical healing. But confession may be just the avenue we need to experience God’s forgiveness.

Extending God’s Grace

As we confess, other people can be His instruments for learning God forgives us. Long ago, God granted the power to express His forgiveness to His followers. It was during one of Jesus’s resurrection appearances. As Jesus showed His followers His hands and side, he said, “‘Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.’ And with that he breathed on them and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven’” (John 20:21–23 NIV).

This doesn’t mean that we do the actual forgiving of another’s sins, but it does mean that it is our privilege to convey God’s forgiveness. If we recognize a woman is repentant, then we can assure her of God’s forgiveness.

This can be through words or actions. As we interact with each other, we may actually voice words of forgiveness, but God’s grace may also be extended in a woman’s eyes, in her facial expression, in the touch of her hand or the hug she gives on parting.

Unexpected blessings, confirmations, reassurance, answered prayer, an experiencing of God’s presence, healing, and forgiveness are among the spiritual possibilities that may transpire when we meet with others in the name of Jesus.

I say may because we can’t predict which of these will occur, and neither can we demand that any of them occur. What we can do is prepare an environment where God can work. To prepare that environment, we need to talk.

Editor’s note: This article has been excerpted/adapted from The Friendship Factor: Why Women Need Other Women.

Brenda Poinsett is the author of Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?, The Friendship Factor, and Wonder Women of the Bible. Passionate about sharing knowledge that changes lives, she organizes retreats on topics such as women in the Bible, spiritual transformation, and dealing with emotions. Brenda and her husband, Bob, have 3 grown sons and reside in Union, Missouri.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

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Fruitful, joy-filled, victorious living happens only as we are spiritually enlightened through the truth of the Word of God and by the inner working of the Spirit of God. With humor and stories, Rhonda Rhea explores many of the almost 300 references to light in the Bible. Her goal is to draw us back to the only light that can produce real change in our lives and in the lives of those we know and love, Christ Himself.

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of multiple books. You may enjoy her article for New Hope Digital: “Skittles: The Secret Measure of a Person’s Love.” (Watch for more content from Rhonda this month.)

She lives in the St. Louis area but enjoys travelings to every corner of the nation speaking at all kinds of conferences and events. Rhonda says her favorite and most adventurous roles are as wife to Richie Rhea, senior pastor of Troy First Baptist Church, and as mom to her 5 nearly grown children.

Even in an economic recession, a massive amount of money is spent within the United States. And Christmastime is always a time of vast expenditures. A recent Gallup poll showed that the average American family planned on spending $764 on gifts this 2011 holiday season, slightly higher than what they planned at the same time for the 2010 holiday season.

That equals a lot of money.

Personal financial stewardship means Christians recognize that everything they have comes from God. We are not the owners of anything. Commonly, this is recognized as an impetus to tithing or giving from our earnings.

We should definitely be givers, no doubt. But as we pass through the holiday season, it is a time we can reflect on our spending. Are we spending too much? Should we be more generous and donate more to our churches or Christian ministries or charities?

These are worthwhile questions, but I’d like to say there is another question we should be asking as well. Is there a way that we can spend better? We intuitively understand we can (and sometimes should) spend less, but when we need to spend, can we spend better?

Responsible Spending

If there is anything that drives the way the world works, it’s money. Money talks and people listen. If the Christians of the world would regularly spend their money on products and at retailers that are consistently socially responsible, then the world would be radically different.

The good news is that there are several ways you can do this in 2012.

• Do you like chocolate? Who doesn’t? What about coffee and tea? If you buy these products, consider Full Circle Exchange. They verify that everyone in the supply chain of their products is compensated fairly and treated well. Their products are also produced in an environmentally responsible manner. In addition, they give a percentage of their profits to charity.
• Are you looking for fair-trade, handmade jewelry, accessories, stationery, Christmas decorations, and more? Then order from WorldCrafts, a ministry partner of New Hope Digital. Your purchase will support hardworking entrepreneurs in impoverished places around the world. Artisan groups noted as Set1Free are working with women leaving or at risk of sexual exploitation/trafficking.
• Most of us wear shoes. If you buy from TOMS Shoes your purchase will lead to the donation of a pair of shoes to a child in need. Your pair of shoes will help protect the feet of one of the millions of children around the world who are at risk of injury, infection, and soil-transmitted diseases.
• Wear glasses? If you purchase a pair of glasses from Warby Parker then they will give away a pair to one of the millions of people in the world who do not have access to affordable eyeglasses. Furthermore, they use some of their profits to partner with groups that train low-income entrepreneurs on how to sell eyeglasses affordably and profitably.

If you buy from these companies you will receive something for your purchase. It is not like giving to charity. Giving to charity is exactly that, it’s giving. But we also have to spend money. We need things like eyeglasses, shoes, home décor, and we can even enjoy a cup of java with some good chocolate from time to time.

Instead of simply going to the mall and reflexively buying whatever from whomever, let’s think more about our spending and how it can also help to create a more just world.

Mark L. Russell, author of The Missional Entrepreneur, is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. Contact Mark through www.russell-media.com; www.facebook.com/marklrussell; www.twitter.com/marklrussell.

Editor’s note: In regard to Full Circle Exchange, TOMS Shoes, and Warby Parker, this article does not constitute an endorsement by New Hope Publishers. Nor is it an exhaustive list of socially responsible companies. The opinions expressed are solely those of the author. New Hope does not make any claim regarding the specific work of these 3 companies and cannot vet the charities they may support.

After sharing an important story from a recent missions trip to Japan, Kimberly gives suggestions for action in the new year. Will there be people celebrating Christ for the first time next year because of God’s grace through your obedience?

Kimberly Sowell is founder and president of Kingdom Heart Ministries and the author of several books for New Hope Publishers, including Soul Shaping, Women of the Covenant, and A Passion for Purpose. She also serves as director of missions mobilization and women’s minstry at Second Baptist Church, Lancaster, South Carolina.

Kimberly recommended http://www.joshuaproject.net/ for more information on people groups.

You also may be interested in these titles:

• Follow Me: Becoming a Lifestyle Prayerwalker
• Prayer 101: What Every Intercessor Needs to Know
• Called to Love: Stories of Compassion, Faith, and God’s Amazing Grace
• The Missional Entrepreneur: Principles and Practices for Business as Mission
• Bounce the Balls and They Will Come: A Coach’s Passion for the Great Commission
• Families on Mission: Ideas for Teaching Your Preschooler to Love, Share, and Care
• Equipped for Adventure: A Practical Guide for Short-Term Mission Trips
• Faces in the Crowd: Reaching Your International Neighbor for Christ

Chapter 13 is titled “The Church Multiplication Alliance: Redeemer Presbyterian Church and Concerts of Prayer Greater New York Partnership.” Read how God has moved in powerful ways through this alliance in New York City and around the world.

Mac Pier writes, “The partnership in building the alliance was rooted in Redeemer’s credibility as a rapidly growing church committed to the good of the whole church. The partnership was also rooted in Concerts of Prayer’s commitment to knit together as many diverse traditions in the Bible-believing church world as possible.”

Pier goes on to call the 2003 National Leadership Forum that Concerts of Prayer cohosted with Mission America as a “turning point” for the alliance. During that forum, Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian did 3 expositions from the Book of Acts for leaders attending from 50 cities. A brief summary (6 highlighted themes) is included in the chapter available for download now.

If you are hungry to see God move among the churches in your city, you may also be interested in Beyond My Church: Thinking and Living So That the World Might Know by Jason C. Dukes, available now from New Hope Publishers.  Activist and author Alan Hirsch writes, “Jason Dukes is the real deal. And his vision for the unity (as well as the universality) of the church in mission is as visionary as it is practical. We need more of this in our time.”

Download the first chapter of Jason’s book here.

Jason C. Dukes has a passion for equipping the church to make disciples. Since 2004, he’s been on an amazing journey, cultivating a local church expression in the Orlando, Florida, area: Westpoint Church. This faith community focuses on being the church, doing life together, and giving herself away. Jason helped to create and launch the Restoration Concept, House Blend Cafe, the Reproducing Churches network, and the Church of West Orange. He and his wife, Jen, have 5 children and live in Orlando.

You may also be interested in Jason’s other books:

• Live Sent
• Cartas Vivas

by Brenda Poinsett

When Bernie was a missionary pilot, flying Bible translators for the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service in Peru, he and his wife Nancy were nostalgic for Christmas back home in Pennsylvania. It was their third Christmas away from home, but their 3 boys were excited as Christmas approached. To the boys, Peru was home. And the air around the mission center, with more than 300 translators and support personnel, was festive.

The week before Christmas, Bernie’s flight coordinator asked him to make an emergency flight to the Maranon River basin, carrying medical supplies to an Indian tribe where there had been an epidemic. He scheduled Bernie to return to Nancy and the boys on the evening of December 23.

Bernie made the 5-hour flight without incident. The old Aeronca plane with its bulky pontoons droned through the scattered clouds and safely landed on the river near the Indian village. He planned to spend the night at the village, sleeping in a jungle lean-to between two palm trees, and depart the next morning for home.

During the night, however, he heard rain splattering on the thatch roof over his head. When he awoke in the morning the entire river basin was covered with fog and rain. There would be no flying that day.

It rained all day and through the next night. Christmas Eve was the same. The clouds were down to the tops of the trees. The rain fell steadily.

In the Wrong Place?

Bernie slipped on a poncho and trudged through the village down to the river’s edge. The plane was tied against the bank, rocking gently on the rain-splattered water. He crawled out on a pontoon and sat under the wing, feeling desperately sorry for himself.

It was Christmas Eve, and the night was descending on the jungle. He knew there was no way he could get back home.

Back in Pennsylvania, his folks would have returned from church and his mother would be getting the turkey ready. Outside, the snow would be falling. The big tree, with the star on top, would be standing as always in its corner.

Back at the mission center, 6 hours away, Nancy and the boys would be sitting at home alone. They knew that he was stuck in the jungle because he had been able to radio them. He would not be with family for Christmas.

“Oh, God,” he moaned, “I’m in the wrong place.”

More than anything else he wanted to be home for Christmas.

Instead, he sloshed his way back to his hut in the little village. He shared some yucca with a couple of Indian children, and read them the Christmas story out of the Bible, doing his best to translate it so they could understand.

A Radical New Perspective

That night, under his mosquito net, Bernie had a visitation from God—a midnight clear moment like the shepherds experienced on the hills outside ofBethlehem. There were no angels, and no bright light, but the clarity was there, and so was a voice.

As he lay in his hammock, desperately homesick, he heard God say: “My son, this is what Christmas is all about. Jesus left heaven and on Christmas morning He woke up in the ‘wrong place’—a stable in Bethlehem. Christmas means leaving home, not going home. My only begotten Son did not come home for Christmas—He left His home to be with you.”

Bernie opened his eyes. Overhead, through the mosquito net, he could see the brown palm-thatch leaves that formed the ceiling of the lean-to. Beneath him was the hard-packed dirt floor. All around was the sound of gently falling rain.

But out there in the darkness were men and women, boys and girls, tiny babies—all part of the Indian tribe. He was there, away from home Christmas Eve, because Jesus left his home on Christmas. Bernie was there because Jesus said, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” (John 20:21 KJV)

During the night the rain stopped. On Christmas Day Bernie was able to take off from the river and by nightfall he was back with his loved ones. He went back knowing in an indelible way that Christmas is God’s ultimate missionary outreach. In the wrong place for Christmas, a silent night turned into a holy night.

Brenda Poinsett is the author of Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?, The Friendship Factor, and Wonder Women of the Bible. Passionate about sharing knowledge that changes lives, she organizes retreats on topics such as women in the Bible, spiritual transformation, and dealing with emotions. Brenda and her husband, Bob, have 3 grown sons and reside in Union, Missouri.

by Patricia Ennis

It was October of my 18th year of life when my dad stepped into eternity. As a college freshman I not only had to deal with my own grief, I also was faced with the responsibility of helping my mother adjust to a new lifestyle.

You see, when Dad died, she not only lost her husband of 30 years, she also lost her circle of friends. Suddenly the married couples (my dad was the first of their group to die) didn’t know what to do about Mother—so they did nothing. Her grieving process was actually extended because of the withdrawal of her friends, many with whom she and Dad had enjoyed fellowship for years.

Our plight was magnified by the reality that we did not have extended family, and I was an only child. Quite frankly, the outlook for the holiday season appeared pretty dismal!

As the holidays approached, our neighbors graciously invited us to share their Christmas celebration with them. The sincere invitation, their effort to fold us into their family, inclusion in the gift exchange, and intentional conversation that focused on recounting the blessings of the year as well as looking forward to the next turned what could have been a miserable day into one of joy.

Of course we missed our husband and Dad but the focus on the Lord’s provision for us through the hospitality of our neighbors (Philippians 4:8–9, 19) soothed our grieving spirits.

A Catalyst to Biblical Compassion

I have a happy ending to my mother’s loss of her circle of friends, which I described at the beginning of this story. Ever the gracious Southern hostess, she did not cease to extend hospitality because of the change in her marital status—in the 5 years that she lived beyond Dad’s death, we entertained frequently, and eventually our guest list included widows from the group that had earlier excluded my mother. Though her arthritic condition precluded her from doing quite as much food preparation as she was accustomed to do, she continued to help me hone the skills that were second nature to her.

The loving hospitality extended to us on that first lonely Christmas served as a catalyst for Mom and me to open our home throughout the year—especially during the holiday season! Will you consider displaying biblical compassion by including some of the “others”—singles, widows, and the grieving—in your holiday celebrations? Who, knows, you might be entertaining an angel incognito (Hebrews 13:2)!

Patricia Ennis is the author of Becoming a Young Woman Who Pleases God. She serves as distinguished professor and director of homemaking programs, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

By Sheryle Cruse

“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”—Matthew 1:23 (NKJV)

Matthew 1:23 reminds us of Jesus’ name, Immanuel—“God with us.” That means that as we Christmas hustle and bustle, Christmas shop, and Christmas stress about this wonderful time of year, He is right there. When we’re cheery, when we’re grumpy, He’s there. When we forget Him, when we remember Him, He’s still there.

There are Nativity displays galore during this season. We see varying styles and sizes. And Who is in these Nativity scenes? It’s Baby Jesus.

Jesus—He’s not just another Christmas ornament. He is God with us. Are we living in step with our Savior? Or do we treat Him as just a decoration?

Jesus is relevant and present. He doesn’t want to merely decorate your life; He wants to guide it and bless it! Are we keeping the “main thing the main thing?” Are we celebrating that?

Immanuel. God is with us. It’s a celebration beyond tradition; it’s God’s loving gift for us!

Now a poet living in St. Paul, Minnesota, Sheryl Cruse writes as a way of ministering to those struggling with eating disorders. Her poems have been published in several journals and newsletters. She is the author of Thin Enough: My Spiritual Journey Through the Living Death of an Eating Disorder.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

by Kimberly Sowell

It looked like the twinkling landscape of any major American city square readied for Christmas. But we were far from home. We were in Japan.

I was standing on a corner of Fukuoka with my daughter, a friend and her daughter, and our male teammate as we beckoned people to come talk with us about the true meaning of Christmas. The dazzling display of Christmas lights was breathtaking, but those lightbulbs seemed dim in comparison to the light of Christ that was shining through my daughter. I stood back with tears in my eyes as my 9-year-old told a woman that Jesus is the King of kings and He means everything to her. She was sharing Jesus with a world in need.

God at Work

This was a missions trip like no other. Our method for spreading the good news was to work with our resident missionary to share the gospel on the city streets and to do several Christmas parties around the city. God opened the door for 10 Christmas parties, and God brought more than 300 moms, children, senior citizens, and college students to hear the true meaning of Christmas and the story of why Jesus came.

One woman said, “I saw a picture of Jesus dying on the Cross, and it always made me feel sad. But now I know that Jesus came to save the whole world.” Wow!

Another woman came to a party and asked if she could come again the next day; the story of Jesus impressed her and she wanted to hear it again. One lady asked about prayer, another person asked to hear a testimony . . . God was at work.

At Christmas and throughout the year, the world needs to hear that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). How will God use you? Share that Christmas cheer!

Editor’s note: You also may be interested in listening to a podcast next week with Kimberly on the subject of world evangelization. Scheduled to be posted on December 29, 2011.

Kimberly Sowell is founder and president of Kingdom Heart Ministries. She is also a regular voice on New Hope Digital. Her most recent works include Soul Shaping, Women of the Covenant, and A Passion for Purpose.

by Linda M. Clark

Because my husband’s work took us away from both sides of our family, we developed some Christmas traditions built around reaching out to people in need. We exchanged gifts and mailed the usual boxes to grandparents and friends, but my husband and I always tried to provide opportunities for our 3 children to experience giving rather than just receiving.

In addition to earning money for the annual Christmas missions offering by doing extra household chores, Wayne, Phillip, and Janna helped with a variety of projects for homeless families, providing holiday meals, gathering canned goods, and buying gifts for children. We had a lot of fun through the years as a family knowing that we helped others to celebrate Christmas too.

Children grow up, marry, and establish homes of their own. After many years, it was just my husband and me! That first year was a time of adjustment because there were no children at our Christmas celebrations.

It was obvious that we needed to establish new traditions, ones that fit our new title as “empty nesters.” We began to look for new opportunities to share Christ with others during the Christmas season.

Since then, we have tried in a number of ways to minister to the spiritual and physical needs of others at Christmastime. We have served meals at a senior citizen center and on skid row in Los Angeles. We have bought gifts for children whose parents were in prison and helped with a follow-up celebration event for their families. One year in an effort to help one of my granddaughters learn the blessing of giving to others we shopped for winter scarves and matching gloves for the homeless. Another year we set a goal of filling 15 Operation Christmas Child boxes. The hardest part was finding the boxes!

We have recently moved from California to Indiana and are already in search of a Christmas project that will allow us to share God’s love through Jesus, His Son. Merry Christmas as you, too, establish or continue Christmas celebrations and ministries!

Linda M. Clark speaks both nationally and internationally on a wide range of subjects of interest to women and leads seminars, retreats, and conferences on spiritual growth, women’s life issues, and missions. She is the compiler of 5 Leadership Essentials for Women and author of Awaken the Leader in You.

Title: Homeless for the Holidays

Artist’s description: With this piece, I wanted to capture the typical Christmas feast image you see on Christmas cards and magazines, but with a twist. Celebrating Christmas in a world of need isn’t just about giving gifts. Often times we think about buying things for others, when the greatest gift we could give them is our time and the love of Jesus Christ. This is where the homeless character comes into play, because by serving “the least” we are serving God Himself. You never know how important a hot meal and a loving attitude is to someone who has suffered their whole life.

Question: Is there room at your table this Christmas?

Contact: Email David Dinkins at stanlee314@gmail.com or friend him on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1041782715).

Thoughtful comments, ideas, and questions regarding the art are welcome in the comments section below. Discussion is encouraged.

Editor’s note: You may be interested in our focus book this month on New Hope Digital: Beyond My Church by Jason C. Dukes. This book explores how the church can live in a manner that draws others to believe in the Son of God.

As you are celebrating Immanuel this year, may I ask you a question regarding your neighbors (all those who live on the daily pathways of your life right there in your community)?

I admit up front that this question is a loaded one. It will be followed by some personal thoughts on the story of the shepherds and how Immanuel’s arrival changed forever those individuals and their community and our world.

So, here’s the question: If the people of your community believed and actually lived as though “God with us” was a reality, what might surprisingly be different about the neighborhood, the community, and the city where you live?

Luke 2 and Some Thoughts on His Coming

As you ponder this question, please consider the following personal reflections (with accompanying Scriptures) from the story of the shepherds in Luke 2:8–20 (NASB).

:: Emmanuel challenges our community’s religious norms, bypassing the ritually religious people to show up among those who weren’t necessarily religiously active.

In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.

:: Emmanuel questions who our community values, highlighting the presence of the powerless and exposing the powerful (by their lack of presence).

But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

:: Emmanuel rebukes how our community typically thinks of God. We do not perform well in order to gain His presence, but rather He is pleased to give us His presence in spite of our performance.

And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

:: Emmanuel causes us to look for God differently. We search for Him away from our erected mountains of worship only to find Him out in the midst of the ignored, unimportant, overlooked, and dirtiest of places.

When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child.

:: Emmanuel transforms wayward loners into loving worshippers, making us into a community of people who learn the ways of God together even from the most unexpected of teachers.

 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

The Bottom Line

How might Immanuel change the way you and I think and live and interact in our community? May we remember daily what God desires, who He values, how He loves us, where He is, and why He is so worthy of our worship.

Because while we were still sinners, both self-indulgent and self-righteous, He came to be with us.

And that changes things.

Even how we celebrate His coming.

So, what would you suggest? In response to what we have learned and continue to learn from Immanuel, how might the local church expressions in our neighborhoods join together to do more than just celebrate Christmas in the same old ways? How might we together go and be Immanuel in our communities?

Please leave your stories and thoughts so we can celebrate and learn His ways together!

Jason C. Dukes, author of Live Sent, Cartas Vivas, and Beyond My Church, has a passion for equipping the church to make disciples. Raised in New Orleans, he is a Christ follower and a leader, a husband and a father, a learner and a teacher, a servant and a brother. Since 2004, he’s been on an amazing journey cultivating a local church expression in the Orlando, Florida, area: Westpoint Church.

Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

by Rhonda Rhea

So much shopping! By the time I finish making my shopping list, I often start to wonder if I’m going to have to sell an organ before the bills come in.

Incidentally, I’m leery of selling off parts I’m presently using. However, there doesn’t seem to be a big market for tonsils. Slightly used appendix anyone? Nice spleen, only one owner. How about my gizzard?

I do try to stay this side of the organ black market, but toward the end of the shopping season you just might find me turning my purse upside down and giving it several latch-rattling shakes. I don’t know why I think I’m going to be pleasantly surprised at what shakes out of those dark recesses of my purse. I somehow imagine enough cash to finish off the entire shopping list will suddenly appear—and maybe enough to get my nails done.

I’m brought forlornly back to reality when I realize I’ll be trying to finish off the list by wheeling and dealing with 3 nickels, a large ball of purse fuzz, and some stale gum. To say the least, none of that looks good for my nails.

On My Knees

My shopping strategy may not always be the smartest, but here’s hoping my real Christmas celebration will always begin and end on my knees. Whether life is humming along pleasantly or we’re suffering through difficulties a lot bigger than a minor but taxing financial situation at the mall, prayer should be our continuous response to God, who provides everything we really need. James 5:13 says,“Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises.” (NLT).

The Christmas charge (which has nothing to do with a credit card) is to stay connected to our Creator through His provision of prayer. The Message phrases Mark 11:24 this way:  “‘That’s why I urge you to pray for absolutely everything, ranging from small to large. Include everything as you embrace this God-life, and you’ll get God’s everything.’”

God’s “everything” is not really about all the items on that shopping list. As a matter of fact, it tends to put all our shopping lists in perspective. It’s about knowing Him and the spiritual fruit-filled life He can provide.

So let’s stay connected to the Father in prayer and watch as He fills our life with sweetness. You’ll find that staying in touch with Him even influences our buying decisions. I think that means I can keep my spleen. And I found out I don’t even have a gizzard.

Rhonda Rhea is a humor columnist, radio personality, and author of 8 books, most recently How Many Lightbulbs Does It Take to Change a Person? from New Hope Publishers. She lives in the St. Louis area but enjoys traveling to every corner of the nation speaking at all kinds of conferences and events. Rhonda says her favorite and most adventurous roles are as wife to Richie Rhea, senior pastor of Troy First Baptist Church, and as mom to her 5 nearly grown children.

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Other Scripture indicated taken from The Message. Copyright © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Many of us are frantically scurrying around during these busy December days. Sometimes we don’t know whether we are coming or going. We tell ourselves every year that this year it will be different.

Well, is it different for you this year? When our focus is on Christ and celebrating His birth, we find perspective. Seek Him and you will find Him.

Through WMU’s International Initiatives^sm we have the privilege of partnering with incredible national Christians and others who celebrate and share about the birth of our Savior in the countries in which they serve. WMU^® is the parent company of New Hope Publishers.

Global Resource Services (GRS)

Global Resource Services continues to identify and meet humanitarian needs in the Democratic People’s Republicof Korea(DPRK or North Korea). There are significant numbers of communities who lack access to safe and clean drinking water. WMU’s Pure Water, Pure Love^sm has provided funding for 4 water distribution systems in the Haepo community. These systems provide water for the soy factory, swine farm, health clinic, and nearby villages. More than 100,000 people now have a clean water source. A new project in North Korea is now helping to feed malnourished children.

Arab Woman Today (AWT)

One of the vital ministries of AWT is the radio broadcast. Although many Arab women are highly educated, there are also quite a few Arab women who are illiterate. Many others have no direct access to the Internet. Therefore, books, magazines, and the Internet are empty avenues for them.

To overcome these barriers, and also to provide the opportunity for all women to receive God’s Word in their own place, AWT Ministries broadcasts twice a week on Trans World Radio (TWR). Woman Today is a 15-minute radio program, which is picked up by listeners throughout the Middle East andNorth Africa. Social, spiritual, and psychological topics are discussed on the program, which is built around themes relevant to the daily lives and needs of Arab women.

Moldova: Beginning of Life

Human trafficking is rampant in parts of Moldova. Beginning of Life (BOL) is a ministry, located in Kishnev, Moldova, that reaches out to minister to the needs of hurting women and children. Started as a ministry to women considering abortion, their work has now grown to include actively supporting women escaping human trafficking, providing care to pregnant women with AIDS, and serving in the local schools to educate children on the dangers of trafficking.

Kristy Carr is a ministry consultant for National WMU. More resources regarding International Initiatives, including information about other partners and opportunities, are available here. A flyer is also available.