Fashion designer Faith McClendon is back in Chicago to start over. She put her promising career on hold for too long, and she’s ready to get back in the game. Her heart is another matter. She’s not willing to put that on the line again—it’s still far too bruised from her failed marriage for that. So when a renewed childhood friendship starts to make her think about second chances at love, she’s more than a little hesitant. Photographer Michael Montgomery was Faith’s biggest cheerleader when she decided to move to New York City, and he’s been her shoulder to cry on since she came home to Chicago. The timing has never been right to tell her how he feels, but maybe now is his chance. First, he’s going to have to break down the walls Faith has around her heart and convince her they can be so much more than friends. Each book in the McClendon Holiday series is STANDALONE: * A McClendon Thanksgiving * The Christmas Promise * A Husband by New Year's * Be My Valentine

Patrice McClendon wants to create a signature scent for her family's aromatherapy and day spa this Valentine's Day. The holiday is crucial for the family business, even if Patrice has never been a hearts and flowers kind of girl. But creating the fragrance isn’t easy, and Patrice needs help. She gets that and more when she meets successful perfumer Jacques Germain. There are instant sparks when Jacques meets Patrice, but she’s asked him for professional help, and mixing business with pleasure is a no-no. But they soon realize that none of the rules apply when love is involved, and Jacques is determined to show Patrice that Valentine's Day can bring gifts more precious than anything money can buy. Each book in the McClendon Holiday series is STANDALONE: * A McClendon Thanksgiving * The Christmas Promise * A Husband by New Year's * Be My Valentine

Jennifer McClendon's taking a long overdue vacation to try and forget the betrayal from her unfaithful boyfriend. What better way than to have some fun with the handsome software engineer she meets on the sun-drenched tropical island? What could it hurt? No strings, no attachments, no worries--or so she thought... Simeon Baker wanted more than just one night with Jennifer, but a tragic accident leaves him hospitalized with no way to find her again. Fate steps in four years later and Simeon realizes Jennifer didn’t leave the island with only good memories. If he can convince Jennifer to give them a chance to build a true family, this might just be their best Christmas ever. Each book in the McClendon Holiday series is STANDALONE: * A McClendon Thanksgiving * The Christmas Promise * A Husband by New Year's * Be My Valentine

Taking over her family’s charming and historic Red Rose Inn is a dream for Kira Davis—even if it means the extra stress of knowing the entire Davis clan is watching her every move. But ignoring her family’s wishes and hiring too-handsome Franklin Bennett as her temporary new manager might be a huge mistake...given their families’ decades-long feud. Yet attraction still sparks between them, proving to ex–army engineer Franklin there’s something real beneath the surface. Something hopeful. Something unmistakable. But pursuing Kira could prove dangerous for a man with an uncertain future. Now Kira and Franklin are caught between an ancient family feud and their feelings for each other. The only way they can love each other is by unraveling the terrible truth about what happened back then...and hope that love is strong enough to mend the break from so long ago.

Welcome to Mayhem, Minnesota, where the cats wear sweaters, the local priest dispenses dating advice, and you can find your fortune in the bottom of a pie tin... When her family's pub is threatened with foreclosure, Hennessy O'Halloran and her three sisters are determined to raise enough money to keep it out of the hands of the Los Angeles real-estate developer trying to raze it and replace it with a—no, thank you—multiplex theater. Bryan Truitt always gets what he wants. And what he wants is the sweet corner property on Mayhem's Main Street where O'Halloran's Pub sits. But his "quick business" turns into more than he bargains for when he meets the feisty Hennessy. Next thing he knows, he's betting her he can outlast Mayhem's punishing winter in time to make the pub his, or he'll gift it to her...for free. Hennessy knows better than to flirt with the enemy. But suddenly Bryan's not sure which he wants more...the property or the woman who owns it. Each book in the Whiskey Sisters series is STANDALONE: * Blame it on the Bet * Mischief and Mayhem * Mistletoe in Mayhem Boxed Set

For centuries, Baptists have regarded the Eucharist, or Lord's Supper, as "merely symbolic" rather than as sacramental. Historically speaking, Baptists have also participated in the practice of the Supper less frequently than other Christian groups, all the while lodging complaints about a lack of ecclesial unity. In response to these trends, this book argues for a sacramental understanding of the Eucharist and focuses on the way in which the Eucharist conveys grace by drawing the church together as the body of Christ. It focuses especially on the theology of James Wm. McClendon Jr., who was Baptist but nonetheless illustrated that through the Eucharist God "re-members" the church as the body of Christ. Together with Lutheran theologian Robert Jenson and Catholic theologian Cardinal Henri de Lubac, McClendon's work has had an enormous impact on contemporary free church discussions about the Supper and ecclesial unity. In a final chapter, therefore, the study examines a number of contemporary Baptists dubbed the "new Baptist sacramentalists." These men and women are influenced by McClendon, Jenson, and de Lubac, and they offer a fresh approach to the ongoing puzzle of the church's disunity through the Eucharist.

The term Believers' Church refers to those who regard the church as the fellowship of regenerate followers of Jesus Christ. Membership in these churches is founded on a voluntary confession of Jesus as Lord. Each member has access to God in worship and prayer and accepts responsibility for carrying the gospel to the world. The Word of God serves as the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. Written by capable thinkers in the Believers' Church tradition, The People of God addresses key issues in the area of ecclesiology. The contributions represent a wide variety of mature theological reflection. Exploring these ecclesiological concerns from a theological, biblical, historical, and contemporary perspective, these essays reflect the unity and diversity of the Believers' Church heritage.

Those within the free church tradition have often appealed to the notion of the invisible church to account for the unity of the Body of Christ. A growing number of free church theologians, however, are giving increased attention to the importance of visible ecclesial unity, which immediately raises the perennial problem of the authorities by which unity is maintained. There is also a growing recognition among free church theologians of the need to recognize the authority of tradition in tandem with the authority of Scripture. In this book, Cary affirms these recent developments but then inquires whether a turn toward visible unity, together with an embrace of the authority of tradition, can eventually be coherent without also embracing the authority of an extra-congregational teaching office. To guide his study, Cary engages the work of two theologians from outside the free church tradition: Robert Jenson and Rowan Williams. He then brings them into contact with the prominent free church theologian James McClendon in order to supplement some of the deficiencies Cary perceives in McClendon's groundbreaking work. Once these deficiencies are addressed, however, the question intensifies whether the free church tradition, as such, can remain a coherent ecclesial option over time.

Presents an unstinting exploration of controversial fracking technologies to consider the arguments of its supporters and detractors, profiling key contributors while explaining how the practice is changing the way energy is used.

In this comprehensive volume Thomas N. Finger takes on the formidable task of making explicit the often implicit theology of the Anabaptist movement and then presenting, for the sake of the welfare of the whole contemporary Christian church, his own constructive theology. In the first part Finger tells the story of the development of Anabaptist thought, helping the reader grasp both the unifying and diverse elements in that theological tradition. In the second and third parts Finger considers in more detail the major themes essential to Anabaptist theology, first considering the historic views and then presenting his own constructive effort. Within the Anabaptist perspective Finger offers a theology that highlights the three dimensions of its salvific center: the communal, the personal and the missional. The themes taken up in the final part form what Finger identifies as the convictional framework of that center; namely, Christology, anthropology and eschatology. This book is a landmark contribution of Anabaptist theology for the whole church in biblical, historical and contemporary context.