Showing results by narrator "Tom Parks" in All Categories

There are many misconceptions about what it means to be humble. Some think that being humble means hiding your talents and abilities or being weak and inauthentic. But the Bible paints a different picture—defining humility as a self-forgetfulness leading to joy and explaining that it is a life-giving virtue that frees you from the restricting needs of your ego. In Humility: The Joy of Self-Forgetfulness, Gavin Ortlund encourages listeners that humility is not just an abstract virtue but a mark of gospel integrity.

The year 146 BC marked the brutal end to the Roman Republic's 118-year struggle for the western Mediterranean. Breaching the walls of their great enemy, Carthage, Roman troops slaughtered countless citizens, enslaved those who survived, and leveled the 700-year-old city. That same year in the east, Rome destroyed Corinth and subdued Greece. Over little more than a century, Rome's triumphant armies of citizen-soldiers had shocked the world by conquering all of its neighbors.

In 2016, many Christian leaders opposed candidate Donald Trump. He was a social liberal, and his vulgarity, divorces, affairs, and scandals made it impossible for him to defend Christian values in public life. Or so they thought. Trump nevertheless won an overwhelming majority of the Evangelical vote in 2016, as well as the Catholic vote. And in 2020, the idea that he can’t represent Christians is demonstrably false.

Conrad Black, bestselling author of Franklin Delano Roosevelt: Champion of Freedom and Richard M. Nixon: A Life in Full, turns his attention to his "friend" President Donald J. Trump and provides the most intriguing and significant analysis yet of Trump's political rise. Ambitious in intellectual scope, contrarian in many of its opinions, and admirably concise, this is surely set to be one of the most provocative political books you are likely to listen to this year.

Many pastors struggle to translate their theological beliefs into fruitful ministry in the places they are called to reach. It’s not enough to simply know what to believe (theology), or on the other hand, how to do ministry (methodology) - they need something in between. They need help thinking about ministry in a culture that no longer believes Christianity is a force for good, let alone the source of ultimate revealed truth in the person of Christ.

Written for leaders, aspiring leaders, and anyone who makes a difference in the lives of others, author and leadership expert Tim Irwin, PhD, examines how failures of character common to even the most capable individuals—including deficits in authenticity, humility, self-management, and courage—repeatedly lead to downfall.

At the start of Holy Week, tears streamed down Jesus' face as he cried out, "If only you knew the things that make for peace." From that moment, until a week later when he triumphantly declared, "Peace be with you," Jesus spent each day confronting injustice, calling out oppressors, and contending for peace.

Explorers Lewis and Clark had to adapt. While they had prepared to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, instead they found themselves in the Rocky Mountains. You too may feel that you are leading in a cultural context you were not expecting. You may even feel that your training holds you back more often than it carries you along. Drawing from his extensive experience as a pastor and consultant, Tod Bolsinger brings decades of expertise in guiding churches and organizations through uncharted territory.

Disciples of the Holy Spirit shows how a dynamic, close walk with God can be yours each day through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. As the energizer of your faith, the Spirit wants to bring you into a transforming communion with Christ. He wants to empower you to love your enemies, live without fear, and give generously out of an inner abundance. As you practice the spiritual disciplines, your concept of what it means to be a Christian will acquire a life-changing new dimension.

Do you wish you had more qualified, committed, and mission-oriented leaders in your church to share the ministry workload? Do you have a passion for cultivating the God-given leadership gifts in others? Most pastors say that the need to identify and develop leaders is critical to the health and growth of their church, yet most churches do not have an intentional plan for doing this.

Born After Midnight stirs us toward renewal. Be it in the realm of money, worship, worry, or prayer, A. W. Tozer applies God's high wisdom to our everyday living to show sin bitter and Christ sweet, helping us crave heaven and lose our taste for the world. If you will take God for who he says he is, trust his promises as true, and forsake the world in clutching for heaven, it will cost you everything. But it will give you eternity. Born After Midnight invites you to seek what cannot be lost.

Recent years have seen a growing recognition of the role that White Christian Nationalism plays in American society. As White Christian Nationalism has become a major force, and as racial and religious attitudes become increasingly aligned among whites-for example, the more likely you are to say that the decline of white people as a share of the population is "bad for society," the more likely you are to believe the government should support religious values-it has become reasonable to wonder which of the adjectives in the phrase "White Christian Nationalism" takes precedence.

We live in a society that has largely abandoned moral standards and Christian principles. Unkept campaign promises, false advertising, exaggerated tax exemptions, employee theft - compromise has become a way of life. Such moral concession has even invaded the church. Faced with an opportunity to proclaim Christ to unbelievers, we feel intimidated and keep silent. Or we water down God's word on ethical issues at work or in our community to avoid rejection. Too often we prefer hypocrisy to integrity.

What should a disciple of Jesus look and act like today? What is the relationship between discipleship and salvation, between discipleship and sanctification, between discipleship and ministry? How were disciples of Jesus different from other disciples in the ancient world? In Following the Master, Michael J. Wilkins addresses these and many other questions that perplex the church today—not by offering another discipleship program or manual but by presenting a comprehensive biblical theology of discipleship.

Before Shelby Foote undertook his epic history of the Civil War, he wrote this fictional chronicle, "a landscape in narrative", of Jordan County, Mississippi, a place where the traumas of slavery, war, and Reconstruction are as tangible as rock formations.

Africa has played a decisive role in the formation of Christian culture from its infancy. Some of the most decisive intellectual achievements of Christianity were explored and understood in Africa before they were in Europe. If this is so, why is Christianity so often perceived in Africa as a Western colonial import? How can Christians in Northern and sub-Saharan Africa, indeed, how can Christians throughout the world, rediscover and learn from this ancient heritage?

This is the first time in American history that we have had four different generations working side-by-side in the workplace: the Traditionalists (born before 1945), the Baby Boomers (born 1945-1964), Gen X (born 1965-1980), and the Millennials (born 1981-2001). Haydn Shaw, popular business speaker and generational expert, has identified 12 places where the 4 generations typically come apart in the workplace (and in life as well).

Have you stopped pursuing the life of your dreams? Did someone or something steal the passions that made your heart beat fast? It's possible - for the first time or once again - to become that wide-eyed, visionary dream-chaser! It starts by realizing that God has specific, amazing plans for you. Once you discover what drives you at the deepest level, you'll overcome any barrier that stands between you and your new reality.

It’s the most important question we can ask: Who is God? The wrong answer could spell our doom, but God has clearly revealed Himself and His majesty in His Word. Just as Moses asked the Lord on the summit of Sinai, we can approach God’s Word with the ultimate request: “Show me Your glory.”

These days, consumers have real power: they can research companies, compare ratings, and find alternatives with a simple tap. Focusing on customer needs isn't a nice-to-have, it's a strategic imperative. The Jobs To Be Done Playbook (JTBD) helps organizations turn market insight into action. This book shows you techniques to make offerings people want, as well as make people want your offering.