In an expressivist culture, effective engagement must acknowledge teenagers' freedom to choose their own spiritual path. Yet, in an evangelical theology, faithful formation must hold on to biblical authority. As we seek to engage young people with the Bible, key questions need to be explored. Such questions include: how can pedagogical freedom be affirmed without undermining theological authority; and how can authority be asserted without diminishing personal freedom? This study explores a freedom-authority dialectic in theological dialogue with the educational philosophy of Maxine Greene. Greene's reflection on the arts and the imagination are brought into conversation with insights from Charles Taylor, Garret Green, and Nicholas Wolterstorff. As a work of practical theology, the book concludes with a framework to shape the purpose, content, and values for Bible engagement in contemporary youth ministry.

In an expressivist culture, effective engagement must acknowledge teenagers’ freedom to choose their own spiritual path. Yet, in an evangelical theology, faithful formation must hold on to biblical authority. As we seek to engage young people with the Bible, key questions need to be explored. Such questions include: how can pedagogical freedom be affirmed without undermining theological authority; and how can authority be asserted without diminishing personal freedom? This study explores a freedom–authority dialectic in theological dialogue with the educational philosophy of Maxine Greene. Greene’s reflection on the arts and the imagination are brought into conversation with insights from Charles Taylor, Garret Green, and Nicholas Wolterstorff. As a work of practical theology, the book concludes with a framework to shape the purpose, content, and values for Bible engagement in contemporary youth ministry.

To be asleep is to be oblivious to being oblivious. The danger of sleep is the danger of carbon monoxide: it’s colorless and odorless, and you’re anesthetized before you know it—before you ever hit the floor. And for the follower of Jesus, it’s just as dangerous—because the Christian who is “asleep” is spiritually unreceptive. If anything will be our undoing, sleep will. In this thoughtful, engaging, challenging book, Rick James dives deep into the New Testament’s teachings on spiritual wakefulness, calling Christ-followers to defy the darkness and remain awake as they await Christ’s return. Because being awake—continually in prayer, watchful for God’s will, expectant of open doors, cautious of sin, desiring to serve, eager to repent, continuously giving thanks, willing to witness, embracing of humility, overflowing with kindness, persevering in obedience—changes everything.

The alarm sounds. Your feet hit the floor and carry you into another day. But what does that day hold for you? Will you be punching your card at work, catching up on TV at home, and crashing into bed before you rinse and repeat the next day? Or will you dare to dig deep and discover the incredible potential lying dormant within us all? In Wide Awake, renowned speaker and church visionary Erwin Raphael McManus challenges us to put an end to all the sleepwalking and settling, for each of us was created by God for a reason. He has called you to live as Jesus did—a heroic life, void of monotony, teeming with danger, adventure, and the unknown. Living wide awake is about realizing that the world desperately needs you to live up to your potential. There is a future that needs to be created, and it is waiting for us all to wake up and get out of bed. The alarm has sounded, and it is time to shake off the slumber. It’s time to live, to create, to imagine, to dream . . . Wide Awake.

How well do you know yourself? What do you think of when you think about God? Are you living half asleep or wide awake? Stemming from Laura's relatable storytelling, Live Wide Awake brings together two significant understandings-- loving who we are through the lens of the Good News and also knowing God through a close relationship with the person of Jesus Christ. Written from a fresh and honest perspective, this thought-provoking, curiosity-generating work uses pay-attention practices to engage with the Bible, God's Living Word. As a spiritual formation guide for individuals and small groups, Live Wide Awake is divided into three sections: The first directs our attention to loving who we are through self-awareness and acceptance, the second to knowing who God is and how His love transforms us and the third towards embracing the healing and wholeness enjoyed by those who know him intimately. This spiritual formation guide leads readers to live knowing that God is everywhere, can do anything and loves us like crazy.

Some of the most honoured prayers reset in genuine contemporary language and over fifty classic hymns of former centuries presented in new guise.

Interviews on Enlightenment compiled by Quidam Green Meyers. In this revealing text, Meyers speaks to some of the Wests top spiritual teachers and writers on the topic of Contemporary Awakening. Wide Awake reveals that there is no set path for enlightenment, yet we are all capable of achieving it. Some of the contributors stress that we already are enlightened, but have not yet become aware of it. Those interviewed include Matthew Fox, Alan Cohen, Rev. Michael Beckwith, Catherine Ingram, Lama Surya Das, Saniel Bonder, Isaac Shapiro, Arjuna Nick Ardagh, Satyam, Nadeen, Dasarath, Neelam, Akash, Wayne Liquorman, Howard Raphael Cushner and Antonio Duncan.

What If There Is More to Life than What You're Living? You've felt it--the underlying anxiety that you're missing out on the good life. So you zone out, swipe up, slim down, work hard, and spin in circles trying to get it. Anjuli Paschall calls it carpe diem syndrome--the fear of not living life to the fullest. But the full life isn't found by chasing it. It's found by coming awake to it. As she puts it: "I want to be awake. I don't want to nervously navigate my life one to-do list, email, and espresso shot at a time. When my life comes to a slow halt, I want to know I savored the small moments and watched the sky change color. I want to know I didn't rush through life but received it. I want to know I came to peace with my weaknesses, loved people fearlessly, and walked with God faithfully. I hope I gave in to the audacious belief that I was loved and, miraculously, even liked." And now, Anjuli casts a compelling vision for you to live a soul-awake life too. The invitation might be as gentle as a song--or as abrupt as a rooster's crow--but God is always waking you up. You can have the life you really want, and you don't have to lose your soul trying to get it. Breathe in. Breathe out. Full life is right here.

Who am I? What's my life's purpose? Where am I going when I die? These questions lie at the heart of all our lives, yet clear answers seem hard to come by. A Complete Guide to the Soul explains that answers can in fact be found in a secret history that runs like quicksilver through Western culture, from philosophy and alchemy, to poetry and modern psychology. This hidden tradition places our soul at the centre of the universe and shows us how to recover a sense of meaning that so many of us have lost today. In this important book, Patrick Harpur explores the nature of our soul, as well as its destiny. He unpacks the myths that surround it and shows how it may actually be the very fabric of reality. And he explains that, not until we have a clear understanding of this invisible part of ourselves, can we discover the answers to many of our questions about existence and human nature. Ultimately, this knowledge could help us find our true place within the world in which we live.