The true story of the events that took place across America as a successful businessman and his wife spent most of their weekends since 1998 hanging out in the lawns, parking lots and cemeteries of America's churches dressed, not as upstanding citizens, but rather, in the tattered and smelly clothes of the homeless. It is in this guise that they experienced the shocking response of today's Sunday morning, church-going crowds to people to people who "don't look like they do."

An updated and expanded edition of the gritty, challenging, and utterly captivating portait of the homeless crisis. Ever Wonder What it Would Be Like to Live Homeless? Mike Yankoski did more than just wonder. By his own choice, Mike's life went from upper-middle class plush to scum-of-the-earth repulsive overnight. With only a backpack, a sleeping bag and a guitar, Mike and his traveling companion, Sam, set out to experience life on the streets in six different cities—from Washington D.C. to San Diego— and they put themselves to the test. For more than five months the pair experienced firsthand the extreme pains of hunger, the constant uncertainty and danger of living on the streets, exhaustion, depression, and social rejection—and all of this by their own choice. They wanted to find out if their faith was real, if they could actually be the Christians they said they were apart from the comforts they’d always known…to discover first hand what it means to be homeless in America. What you encounter in these pages will radically alter how you see your world—and may even change your life.

Since Benjamin Rush first introduced the disease of wills as the cause of alcoholism, a steady and slow infiltration of the disease model has infected how the church treats those who struggle with addictions. The first organization that truly sought to remove the soul care of addicts from the church was Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), through their bestselling The Big Book of AA and the introduction of the 12 Steps. AA's influence on how the church confronts addiction still reverberates today, with many of the ministries that address addiction firmly rooted in what can be found in AA literature. Addictions were once viewed as an issue caused by sin and best addressed through faith and prayer. Currently addiction is seen through the lens of disease. The ramifications are consequential as more church members are struggling with addictions than ever before. Tracing the progression of addiction from sin to disease will reveal that the SBC and its churches have been negligent in understanding the underlying foundations of AA and the influence that the medicalization of substance abuse has had on how churches approach what should be classified as a sin issue.

The Times Are Urgent God Is on the Move Now Is the Moment to ... ask God to ignite his fire in your soul! Pastor Jim Cymbala believes that Jesus wants to renew his people-to call us back from spiritual dead ends, apathy, and lukewarm religion. Cymbala knows the difference firsthand. Thirty-five years ago his own church, the Brooklyn Tabernacle, was a struggling congregation of twenty. Then they began to pray ... God began to move ... street-hardened lives by the hundreds were changed by the love of Christ ... and today they are more than ten thousand strong. The story of what happened to this broken-down church in one of America's toughest neighborhoods points the way to new spiritual vitality in the church and in your own life. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire shows what the Holy Spirit can do when believers get serious about prayer and the gospel. As this compelling book reveals, God moves in life-changing ways when we set aside our own agendas, take him at his word, and listen for his voice.