This blog is designed to create connections and start conversations with content, authors and ideas that transform – the church, and our world – for good. In the end we hope the ideas here are both relevant and intelligent – relligent.
After nearly four years of supporting our acquisitions team, our acquisitions assistant, Trinity, is moving on to serve as publicist for our friends in the Baker Academic and Brazos Press divisions.
And of course this means we have begun a search for a new acquisitions assistant for Baker Books and God’s Word Translation. This is a terrific opportunity for someone who is interested in book publishing as a career.
We wanted to let our blog readers and social networks know, as we’d love to hire someone who is already a fan of what we do!
To find out more, click here: http://tinyurl.com/86q4vhx
Trusted psychologist and author Dr. Larry Crabb has signed a three-book contract with Baker Books. The first title, focused on what it means to be created as distinctly masculine or feminine bearers of God’s image, is set to release in summer 2013.
Men and women are equal as image-bearers, unique as men and women, Crabb says. He invites readers to explore the core terror, the root desire, and the rich opportunity that belongs to each man and woman, and to understand how they reveal something unique of God’s loving and holy character by the way they relate. Crabb presents a fresh look at what it means to be authentically feminine and authentically masculine and to realize the impact we have on each other.
“We’re delighted to partner with Dr. Crabb. His work has had a profound impact on how Christians think about relationships and church and our mission in the world,” said Chad Allen, Editorial Director, Baker Books. “His forthcoming book illuminates what it means to be a godly woman or man in today’s culture. It’s an enthralling read and, I expect, will be received as a landmark work on the subject.”
Dr. Larry Crabb is a well-known psychologist, conference and seminar speaker, Bible teacher, popular author, and founder/director of NewWay Ministries. In addition to various other speaking and teaching opportunities, Dr. Crabb offers several weekend conferences throughout the country and a week-long School of Spiritual Direction held in Colorado Springs, CO or Asheville, NC. He currently is Scholar in Residence at Colorado Christian University in Colorado, Visiting Professor for Richmont Graduate University in Georgia, and serves as Spiritual Director for the American Association of Christian Counselors. Crabb has authored more than 20 books including his best seller Inside Out and produced a variety of CD’s and DVD curricula. His latest book, God’s Love Letters to You, a 40-day Devotional Experience, based on his book 66 Love Letters, was released in 2010. Dr. Crabb and his wife, Rachael, live in the Denver, Colorado area. For additional information please visit www.newwayministries.org.
Often in a world that is so full of noise, it can be hard to just take a quiet moment and listen. Listen to the voices of our friends, our neighbors, the world around us. Right now, at Baker Books, we want to take some time to listen to you. We are earnestly seeking to serve the local church, whether it be the pastor in the pulpit, the small group leader, or the average Sunday attender. In order to do that well, we need to know what you look for in your books.
If you have a few minutes, please take this brief survey.
In appreciation for your feedback, if you take the survey during the month of Febuary, you’ll receive 40% off an item at www.BakerBooks.com. We look forward to hearing from you and continuing to serve you well in the future.
Once you get to know Chris Seay, you realize that this is a man with a deep and profound love for God. And because of this deep love for God – not surprisingly – Chris is deeply in love with people – who just so happen to be the very object of God’s love.
Chris is particularly drawn to the poor. The needy, the suffering… those who have little. He beckons all of us to form a radical solidarity with the poor – for in serving and living with them, we experience the fullness of the incarnation; we in reality are loving Christ Himself who hides Himself in the poor. Let me invite you to walk with Chris and his ‘kids’ this Lent, or in fact at anytime this coming year – a sacred season of fasting and prayer, a time in which you will experience a 40 day radical journey of faith and extravagant grace.
You can fast these 40 days alone, with a group, or as a church community – but one thing is certain – you are never alone - because hundreds of churches across the land are walking to Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday, February 22, 2012 and forty days later will arrive at Easter – Resurrection Sunday.
In fact check this out… each day of your 40 day fast you can view a personal message from Chris Seay… to encourage you along the way…!
Our incredible ministry partners for this project are Compassion International and Living Water International… in a nutshell these are amazing groups of people. While you fast, and while you drink water for 40 days… you’ll save money, and Chris has a great idea on what to do with that… “bless the needy“… form a bond of solidarity with them by eating and drinking like them… and then take your excess and bless them in their needs .. so how do we…
Move From Consumption to Compassion
During the 40 days of your fast, as you walk with Chris, consume less food – as you begin to identify with people living in need and poverty, and as you perhaps make water your only beverage of choice during the fast – consider turning your savings into a blessing.
With the money that you save by drinking water and eating less for 40 days, offer that as an act of love to a local charity of your choice in your region, or better yet, partner with Living Water International and Compassion International.
Click on the icons below and find out how your contributions can provide health and life to women and children in need of medicine and food through Compassion’s Child Survival program, or partner with Living Water International and provide a cup of clean, safe water in Jesus’ name to billions in this world who are thirsty.
Moving from consumption to compassion is the definition of love; – partnering with Compassion and Living Water is a way to make that love real.
Thank you all very much.
Richard has written a marvelous book – and don’t take just my word for it (because it is certainly biased) but heed the admonition and praise of the best thinkers and writers in evangelicalism who chose The Colors of Hope as the best book in the Christian Living category. In fact, The Colors of Hope was recently named as one of the top books for 2011 by Christianity Today… chosen as one of the 12 best out of 300 plus entries. Now that is saying something.
One of Christianity’s best in 2011.
Certainly you need to read the sampler of The Colors of Hope, you need to watch the promo video, you need to download the free group discussion questions, and you need to know more about Richard and why he wrote what he wrote.
So I asked him to share some of his thoughts about the book in this interview. It is a timely message, perhaps even more so as elections approach, threatening to further fracture churches everywhere.
Why Hope? Why Colors? Why Artists?
Why Hope? “The theme of hope is important right now because the world that so desperately needs the gospel (which, if you’ll recall, is just another word for ‘good news’) isn’t hearing the message of Christ proclaimed as good news very much these days. They’re hearing about how awful things are. They’re hearing about wars, rumors of wars, and political corruption in whichever party we choose to vilify. They’re hearing all this bad news from, of all places, the church!
I can tell you firsthand, that to the extent we learn to frame the gospel as the good news that Christ’s resurrection was the start of an entirely new trajectory for history, there are many people who will listen. There are longings out there in our world for meaning, beauty, intimacy, justice, celebration, reconciliation. Making such things visible is our calling. Showing Christ as the source is our message. This kind of life pours hope into the world. This is a very different approach to the life of faith than that which is often found as Christians come across as combative, fearful, isolated, and judgmental. In the presence of such Christians, hope is sucked right out of the room. I wrote Colors of Hope in order to help change that.
Why Colors? Micah 6:6-8 is one of my favorite passages of scripture. It’s one of the places in the Bible where you can almost taste the exasperation of people as they ask God what he wants from them. They get down right sarcastic as they ask God if sacrificing their firstborn would be appeasement enough. Micah’s response, on behalf of God, is a clarion call, almost a mission statement, inviting people to prioritize their lives around three simple exhortations:
- Do justice
- Love mercy
- Walk Humbly with God
It’s as if this world is a canvas, and each of us are uniquely gifted to paint beauty and hope onto it. As any artist will tell you, the infinite shades of paint that find their way to the artist’s work all stem from three primary colors. Likewise, wherever you find unique expressions of the reign of God, each expression will be uniquely derived from a blend of justice, mercy, and intimacy with God. Search out God’s good reign in the Bible and you’ll find these three colors. Do the same thing anywhere in the world – everything that brings hope derives from a blend of justice, mercy, and intimacy with God. It can be no other way, for this is all God asks of us.
Colors of Hope goes into some detail, both from the scriptures and life example, to explain each of these elements; why they matter so much, and how do develop them in our lives. As we grow in our capacity to paint with these colors, life takes on new dimensions of joy, meaning, and adventure. This, of course, is as it should be – after all, Jesus didn’t invite us to religion, in-fighting, fear, and divisions. He invited us to abundant life. Learning these three colors and apply them to the canvass of our daily is where we must begin. It’s primary.
Why Art? I use the artist imagery to help people live into their calling because the lives of artists have many parallels to the lives of disciples. The first thing artists are taught to do is pay attention; look at light, shadows, proportion; make sure you’re really seeing. Fail here, and you fail utterly. Christ’s followers need to learn, too, how to see God’s kingdom clearly. Otherwise, we’ll misrepresent it, as we’ve done over and over again, with things like crusades, slavery, colonialism, and more, all done in the name of Christ. If only we’d paid closer attention to our subject, which is the kingdom of God, we could have painted hope instead of despair. Artists deal with setbacks, disappointments, and what sometimes feels like an appalling lack of progress. I’ve yet to meet an honest Christian who can’t identify with some of those things. In this book, I talk about how to develop patience and perseverance so that we can relax and actually enjoy our lives.
Artists and disciples are alike in many other ways as well but really, you should read the book! It’s great for groups, or parents with their young adult children, because there’s a study guide to prompt discussion.
Thank you Richard. Get a copy today.
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The all new Baker Illustrated Bible Handbook… the only evangelical handbook that features the latest and most up-to-date scholarship from over 50 of the best pastors, teachers and scholars in the church today is now available as an ebook download! In fact, most other Bible handbooks on the market today are publishing information that is well over 20 years old… only the Baker Handbook brings the most recent findings and scholarship to readers in 2012.
A veritable truck load of bible knowledge, full color, maps, charts, graphs… a treasure trove of knowledge and help on the bible is now ready for instant download from our friends at Olive Tree.
Get it today at a GREAT PRICE: for around 17 bucks you can own over 1,000 pages – ready at any moment wherever you are….imagine all that content living within the confines of your iphone, ipad, android…etc. truly a miracle.
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