In the life of a pastor, it can be tempting to offer half-truths that make everyone happy and the pastor popular. Speaking difficult truths may anger or alienate church members, but authentic pastoral care sometimes requires it. How can those in ministry speak honestly in the inevitable awkward situations they face? Here a wise and witty pastor-storyteller draws on his church life experiences over the past twenty-five years--including sermons, funerals, and board meetings--to offer nitty-gritty guidance on handling the uncomfortable situations that all pastors face. Utilizing humor and encouragement and speaking across denominational lines, Frank Honeycutt examines a variety of biblical contexts where the truth of Jesus is difficult to hear, but direly needed--especially in settings where half-truths are the norm. He shows pastors how to courageously speak the truth no matter the risk or cost.

In this volume of the For Today series, author and pastor James Howell takes us on an engaging exploration of the Beatitudes. Howell considers each of the well-known phrases in these passages from Matthew and creatively applies Jesus' teachings to our contemporary world and Christian lives. The For Today series was designed to provide reliable and accessible resources for the study and real life application of important biblical texts, theological documents, and Christian practices. The emphasis of the series is not only on the realization and appreciation of what these subjects have meant in the past, but also on their value in the present--"for today." Thought-provoking questions are included at the end of each chapter, making the books ideal for personal study and group use.

With this new lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. When complete, the twelve volumes of the series will cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints' Day. For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays--one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclaimation of the Word on any given occasion. The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series will follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume will contain an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.

Most of us grow up believing it's more important to fit in than to stand out. But there's something different about you...and it matters. What if your weirdness was the key to changing everything? What if the outrageous, imaginative, crazy ideas that live inside your wildest dreams are actually there on purpose, divinely preinstalled to help others? Knowing what makes you weird is the best thing you can offer your art, your business, your friends, your family, and yourself. It's the essence of creativity, the stuff of movements, and the hope for humanity. It's time to quit painting by numbers, conforming to patterns, and checking off boxes. It's time to Get Weird.