The worlds of dating and Christianity can be two difficult worlds to merge. Find out where the lines are drawn. Even couples who take responsibility for their actions and trust God to help them stay pure want to know when they’re crossing the line. To offer them help with this vaguely marked boundary, Jason Illian, …
Randy Singer reveals the
unique inspiration for his new book, False Witness. He also discusses
how a trip to India changed his perspective.
Q: Where
did you first get your inspiration for False Witness?
At a funeral.
The deceased was David O’Malley, a good
friend and former client. His wife had asked me to give the eulogy. I talked
about David’s generosity, his big heart. He was always inviting someone to live
at his house until they could get back on their feet. He ran a used car lot and
hired people down on their luck. David believed in second chances. And he was a
character. He had this larger-than-life personality that made people laugh. He
sang in a gospel quartet. Everybody had a David O’Malley story. Heads nodded as
I shared mine.
Wayne Cordeiro | Bethany House
A best-selling author and pastor
at New Hope Christian Fellowship in Honolulu, one of the nation’s
fastest-growing churches, Wayne Cordeiro lays out a strategic framework for
pursuing change and improvement, in The Irresistible Church: 12 Traits of a
Church Heaven Applauds.
Dale S. Recinella | Chosen
Dale S. Recinella was a high-powered attorney with endless
money and big dreams, but his heart was empty and broken. On the heels of
closing a huge deal for the Miami Dolphins, he gave his life to Jesus in a
rock-bottom decision, a moment in which “I will lose every illusory thing I
have thought important, and be given everything that really matters,” he writes
in Now I Walk on Death Row: A Wall Street Finance Lawyer Stumbles Into the
Arms of a Loving God.
Dan Walsh | Revell
Just married, Laura and John Foster are excited about their
future together. On their way back East aboard the steamship SS Vandervere, where
John will be reunited with his family to introduce his lovely bride, a
hurricane brews in the Atlantic, destroying the ship they are on and leaving
little hope.
Lis Wiehl with April Henry | Thomas Nelson
Lis Wiehl continues her “Triple
Threat” series with the third, starring a trio of best friends crime reporter
Cassidy Shaw, FBI agent Nicole Hedges and federal prosecutor Allison Pierce.
One murder after another seem to be linked, but the three can’t figure out how
until Cassidy breaks the case with a surprising discovery. But can they
outmaneuver a killer who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals?
Frank Viola | David C. Cook
Each life is a story, an unfolding
narrative heavily molded by one’s family of origin and environment. In reality,
Viola asserts, an individual’s script often works on an unconscious level and
may not be aligned with God’s best. Known for helping believers find a deeper
Christian life, Viola urges readers to return to God’s script in Revise
Us Again: Living From a Renewed Christian Script.
In the two years since Abandon’s Forefront Records debut Searchlights, the San Antonio-based band scored a Dove nomination, throngs of critical acclaim and tours alongside Fireflight, Building 429, Remedy Drive, Teen Mania’s Acquire the Fire, plus a plethora of major faith-based festivals. Amongst all the activity, the modern rockers crafted its sophomore CD, Control, which finds the five-some taking the next natural evolutionary musical step, while also turning inward for their greatest lyrical depth to date.
“It’s been a lot of hard work, and when you’re in the audience looking at a band on stage, it’s easy to take for granted how they got there,” notes frontman Josh Engler. “There’s a lot of leg work that makes it all possible. From the very beginning, we set out to stay real and stay at the audience’s level, even if we are literally three feet above them on stage.”
The 13 tracks that comprise Controlare oozing with examples of the group’s instant reliability and heart on sleeve vulnerability, despite all the interactions with success and fame since first starting as an indie act in 2005. If anything, the more experiences members have encountered through their vast travels has yielded an even greater realization of their constant dependence on the Lord and need to break beyond comfort zones with a faith that’s fully on fire.
Anthony DeStefano |
DoubleDay Religion
Author Anthony
DeStefano offers insights into his new book, The Invisibile World:
Understanding Angels, Demons, and the Spiritual Realities That Surround Us.
Q: The
Invisible World is a book about understanding angels, demons and the
spiritual realities that surround us. In a world that is so visual, why tackle
such a murky subject?
A: That’s really the
whole point. What I tried to do in this book was attempt to render that
spiritual world a bit less murky and a bit clearer for people. My hope is that,
by doing this, these invisible realities won’t seem so unfamiliar in the
future. And the more familiar they are, the easier it will be to understand
them and to have absolute faith in their existence.
In his
latest DVD release, Holy Spirit, part of the BASIC series, Francis Chan challenges
the church to allow the Holy Spirit to lead. Here he discusses this oftentimes misunderstood and sometimes dividing topic.
Q: You
wrote a book in 2009 on the Holy Spirit called The Forgotten God. Now you
have a film from the BASIC series on the Holy Spirit. Why all of this emphasis on the Holy Spirit?
A: I received a lot
of questions about why I titled the book The Forgotten God. Some thought it was is a bit extreme. I
don’t think so. From my perspective, the Holy Spirit is tragically neglected
and, for all practical purposes, forgotten. That’s why I have a book and a film
on the subject. While no evangelical would
deny His existence, I’m willing to bet there are millions of churchgoers across
America who cannot confidently say they have experienced His presence or action
in their lives over the past year. And many of them do not believe they can.
Kathy
Herman | David C. Cook
Zoe
Broussard is enjoying the life she and her husband, Pierce, have created in her
loved Louisiana hometown. She especially cherishes owning Zoe B’s, their highly
popular eatery. Seems like life can’t get any better—but it’s about to take an ugly turn.
Dennis and Nolene
Prince | Charisma House
More than 150 years
ago, 25-year-old Marietta Davis had a vision of heaven. Davis fell into a trance, and when she
awoke, she said that God took her to heaven for nine days, which become the
talk of her community in upstate New York as well as continuing through
generations.
In Nine Days in
Heaven, Davis’ account is retold in modern language and includes biblical
teaching points and testimonials of those who have been impacted by this
supernatural story. Dennis and Nolene
Prince discovered the chronicle of Davis’ vision after experiencing the
traumatic loss of their two newborn children and being given a copy of the
narrative. The Princes found comfort in the remarkable account of the afterlife
and wanted others to hear the story as well.
Francis Frangipane | Charisma House
In his book Holiness,
Truth, and the Presence of God, Francis Frangipane tackles the difficult
questions of satisfaction in spiritual growth.
Using biblical principles and his spiritual experience, Frangipane
offers keen insight into the truths of God as well as how to develop a deeper
spiritual walk.
I’ll admit it. I can be somewhat of a reality TV show junkie. I don’t watch
all of them, but there are a few I especially enjoy, Top Chef, The Next
Food Network Star and yes, The Housewives of Orange County, Beverly Hills, New
York, Miami (you get the picture). But the TV shows I can truly appreciate are those that do make
positive changes in people’s lives, for example The Biggest Loser, Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition and now Secret Millionaire.
Have you ever heard the expression “going to hell in a handbasket”? Doesn’t it sometimes seem—at least, judging by our leaders—as if that’s what the body of Christ is doing? We have high-profile charismatic preachers divorcing their wives to marry someone else, evangelical pastors falling prey to Internet pornography, mainline denominational priests sexually abusing their congregants’ children and, more recently, a homosexual priest being raised up to the position of bishop. As a Christian journalist, I hear the reports—and I cringe.
But I have learned that if we focus on what we see, we can easily become discouraged. So I choose to keep my eyes on Jesus, the magnificent Bridegroom, and my heart anchored in His Word, which tells us that Christ gave Himself for the church “that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Eph. 5:27, NKJV, emphasis added). His plan is for us to be a glorious church—a beautiful, wrinkle-free bride.
