2018 Catholic Press Association, 3rd Place: Pope Francis “There is a charm and a charism to Pope Francis. His words have a way of captivating the reader. Like all good pastors, he points to Jesus. Prepare now to join Pope Francis on this walk along ‘the Way.’” —From the Foreword by ARCHBISHOP JOSEPH E. KURTZ Ask someone for a definition of Christianity and you are likely to hear a philosophical, historical, or even cultural description of it. But any explanation of the Christian faith that fails to define it as a way of being, of proceeding, is missing the mark. For at its core, Christianity is about living—and loving—as committed disciples of Jesus Christ. Embracing the Way of Jesus is a beautifully curated collection of excerpts from the homilies and writings of Pope Francis, all centering on Christianity as a way of life—or, as the earliest Christians would have understood it, “the Way.” Through the Pope’s meditations on Scripture, we pause to consider essential aspects of discipleship such as The Way of the Cross, The Way of Prayer, The Way of Children, The Way of the Poor, and more. The book even offers a rare opportunity to see more clearly the path of discipleship through the lens of the Old Testament. For anyone desiring to live out the faith in a way that can truly transform and heal our hearts and our world, Embracing the Way of Jesus is the perfect place to start.

Many people realize that the cultural landscape of North America has shifted significantly. With such changes, new challenges for how churches live as a proclamation of the gospel have and continue to emerge. These challenges are related to the church’s participation in the mission of God and particularly how local churches live faithfully to God while remaining relevant to such challenges. Because Scripture is revered as God’s word, this matter also pertains to the way churches read Scripture, since the Bible does shape how churches embody the gospel. Gospel Portraits addresses the intersection of mission and hermeneutics for churches within their local contexts. Believing the gospel calls the church to follow Jesus and bear witness to the kingdom of God, this book proposes that churches should read the Bible as a Christ-centered and kingdom-oriented narrative. This reading of Scripture allows churches to reimagine how they might embody the gospel within their local contexts. Discerning what a contextual embodiment of the gospel involves, churches portray God’s new creation in ways that are coherent with the biblical story and relevant to their local context. In doing so, churches live as Christ-formed and Spirit-led communities portraying the gospel.

Do you wonder why some people you know hold theological and political views that blow your mind but they find quite reasonable? Today, Christians are at odds over how to understand the Bible, atonement, and salvation of non-Christians. They are also polarized over issues such as same-gender marriage, income inequality, and health care. Two social science models, Nurturant and Authoritative, explain this divide. Values are at the heart of our disagreements. Nurturants prize empathy and cooperation while Authoritatives cherish obedience to law and order. Each group has distinct core values and these lead them to embrace different theological, moral, and political views. This book explains the divide and makes the case that Jesus embodied the Nurturant way of life. He modeled empathy, grace, forgiveness, and care for those beyond his own tribe. The Nurturant and Authoritative approaches have competed for thousands of years but contemporary research shows that the Nurturant way of life produces better mental and spiritual health as well as superior communities in which to live.

Although there is nothing sweeter than the Gospel, there is much more sweetness to be enjoyed. Few Christians seem to experience the transformation they hoped for, and often burn out too early. This is because we cannot escape the interpretation war each day over our identity. What if we are ruled by a lie more than the truth about who we are? What if condemnation has been their primary motivation, and has functioned for us more than grace, for too many years? What if, on the front end, we already have what we try so hard to obtain? Dr. Bob Smart walks us through the practical steps to embrace our true identity in Christ by helping us embrace our glory, gender, story, acceptance, sonship, and more by renouncing lies, condemning thoughts, and foolish strategies.

A deeply informative and insightful exposition on the essential yet often-neglected ministry of Christian spiritual warfare, Embracing Our Full Victory in Christ: The Journey from Darkness to Light is a Bible-based and detailed account of the challenges and triumphs of confronting and overcoming demonic influences in a world—and, tragically, often within a church—that fails to acknowledge spiritual powers. Inside, pastor Derek Mason guides readers through Christian discipleship counseling, offering powerful tools to connect with the Holy Spirit. He illustrates how effective spiritual warfare is a battle of both the spirit and the mind, showing how both deliverance and counseling contribute to enduring freedom from darkness. Drawing from extensive Scriptural study and Mason’s vast experience confronting darkness, this guide was crafted from the trenches—not the ivory tower—and includes a collection of testimonies from individuals who have experienced struggles, bondage, and the transformative freedom and healing that God brings.

One of the most popular current views on spirituality is that there are varied paths to God. In this new Ancient-Future series book, Bob Webber evaluates this common misunderstanding of spirituality as separated from God's story, extremely self-focused, and shaped by our surrounding culture. This challenging work offers a corrective, calling us to an alternative Christian spirituality, one that reveals two sides-that of God's "divine embrace" of us and our passionate response. The Divine Embrace is a fresh, grounded look at true spirituality that will be embraced by pastors, thinking Christians, and anyone looking for an engaging and thorough treatment of this topic.