Leadership is intentional. It is a calling. It takes a survivor. One Foot Planted in the Center, the Other Dangling off the Edge tells the story of how one man with a vision turned a New York City church with a history of failure into a mecca of the arts, diversity, and celebration. Using humor and practical suggestions, Reverend Gordon Dragt guides and inspires others to overcome leadership challenges and utilize every resource in bringing new life to their organization. This book is a valuable tool, providing fresh perspectives and numerous examples of how to be a transformational leader bringing about change in an increasingly diverse world. Be prepared for hard work, perseverance, and an adventurous journey. Transformational leadership is not for the faint of heart.

Dance in Scripture: How Biblical Dancers Can Revolutionize Worship Today examines the dances of seven biblical figures: Miriam, Jephthah's daughter, David, the Shulamite, Judith, Salome, and Jesus. Each figure offers a virtue that has the potential to revolutionize worship today. Yarber combines feminist and queer hermeneutics with dance history to highlight the nuances of the texts that often go unnoticed in biblical scholarship, while also celebrating the myriad ways the body can be affirmed in worship in creative, empowering, and subversive ways. Liberation, lamentation, abandon, passion, subversion, innocence, and community each contribute to the exciting ways embodied worship can be revolutionized. This is a book for those interested in biblical scholarship, dance, the arts, feminist and queer theory, or revolutionizing worship.

"The founder and CEO of Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) and columnist for the Atlantic describes how white Protestant Christians have declined in influence and power since the 1990s and explores the effect this has had on America, "--NoveList

Aliens crashing on Earth in the 1970s, lead to an explosion of hybrid humans. Some with powerful abilities, others lying dormant. Tossing the 21st century Olympics on its head. The United States’ Olympics Aquatic committee, hell bent on regaining their glory in the only event they dominated, needs a savior from the swim team. They get more than they bargained for. Enter Frankie Mel Donovan, the golden boy, drunk on fame and notoriety. Gerald, a married committee member who finally finds his true soulmate. Blane and Ravi, two swimmers with delusions of grandeur and consumed with envy. Even the head coach shows questionable ethics. The committee can’t keep a leash on the giant mess. Who knew the Olympics were so scandalous? Dive into an angsty, profanity laden alternate history with a pool full of egomaniacs. Part of the Curve of Humanity timeline.

Most congregational leaders find it difficult to resist the dominant cultural expectation that different cultural and ethnic groups should stick to themselves–especially when it comes to church. But some congregational leaders have learned the secrets of breaking out of these expectations to bring together communities of faith that model God’s radical inclusiveness.What makes the difference? Jacqui Lewis explains that it resides in the stories these leaders tell: stories about who they themselves are, and what the communities they lead are about. These leaders are able to embrace the multiple, complex stories within these diverse communities, hearing in the many voices a particular echo of the living voice of the gospel. In this book Lewis shares with the reader examples of congregational leaders who have successfully overcome the challenges of leading multicultural congregations, and the lessons that can be learned from them.Jacqueline J. Lewis is Senior Minister for Vision, Worship, and the Arts at Middle Collegiate Church in New York.

CHASE BAKER IS ON THE HUNT FOR THE GREATEST RELIC IN HISTORY! New York Times and USA Today bestselling Thriller Award winning author Vincent Zandri takes you into the world of of acclaimed Suspense Magazine Award winning Chase Baker action/adventure series, starting with the pilot novel, THE SHROUD KEY. Chase Baker is a true Renaissance Man. He’s also a man who knows how to find trouble. A part-time resident of Florence, Italy and New York City, his resume reads like a modern day Da Vinci or Casanova. Writer, treasure hunter, adventurer, and even archaeological sandhog, Chase is also lucky and more often unlucky in love. Now, at the direct request of the Florence police, he finds himself on the trail of an archaeologist by the name of Dr. Andre Manion who’s gone missing from his teaching post at the American University. But having worked for the archaeologist several years ago as a sandhog on a secret but failed dig just outside the Great Pyramids in the Giza Plateau, Chase smells a renewed opportunity to uncover what, for some, just might be the most prized archaeological treasure in the world: The mortal remains of Jesus. But then, do the remains truly exist? How will Chase Baker go about solving the mystery of finding both the archaeologist and the alleged Jesus Remains? With the help of Manion’s beautiful ex-wife, Chase will manage to secure an up-close and personal examination of the Shroud of Turin, not only to view the famous image of the crucified Christ, but to unlock the relic’s greatest secret which is none other than a map, or a key, detailing the precise location of Jesus’s body. It's a mission that will test Chase's faith in both himself and God. A romantic, action-packed, and thrilling conspiracy mystery. Fans of Clive Cussler, Dan Brown books like the Da Vinci Code, and JR Rain, will love the first installment of the Chase Baker Series from NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Thriller Award winning, bestselling author, Vincent Zandri. Don't wait another minute. Get the thrilling debut to the bestselling Chase Baker action/romantic adventure series today! Then get all the thrilling Chase Baker novels: --Chase Baker and the Golden Condor --Chase Baker and the God Boy --Chase Baker and the Lincoln Curse --Chase Baker and the Dutch Diamonds --Chase Baker and the Di Vinci Divinity --Chase Baker and the Spear of Destiny --Chase Baker and the Ark of God Plus... --Chase Baker and the Viking's Secret (with Ben Sobieck) --Chase Baker and the Apocalypse Bomb (with Ben Sobieck) --Chase Baker and the Humanzees from Hell (with Ben Sobieck) What the critics are saying: : "If you put Zandri and Dan Brown in a dark Cairo back alley, I'd put money on Zandri. He went to Cairo in the middle of the Arab Spring (against the explicit wishes of the U.S. State Department), gathered materials for the book while Tahrir Square rioted ... The Shroud Key is page-turning fun for popcorn munchers." --Ben Sobieck, CrimeFictionBook Blog "Zandri has brought back that wonderful ‘quest’ story ... THE SHROUD KEY is well worth every minute." --SUSPENSE MAGAZINE

This interdisciplinary and creative study examines how African American culture is presented in American films and other media. The author examines and interprets a number of cultural texts deriving memory as interpreted by Freud and by Franz Fanon, mixed with Black Liberation Theology and Islamic mysticism.

“What my soul sees cannot be conceived by any thought nor expressed in words. I see nothing, and I see it all. The more infinite Good is seen in the darkness, the more certain it is and the more it exceeds all things else.” -Saint Angela of Foligno, Book of visions and instructions I have an incredible story to tell, and as my finger crosses the soft surface of my third scroll, I realize why this story must be told. It occurs during extraordinary times between two worlds that have grown complacent about God. Perhaps that’s why Azrael and I were positioned to meet, as God has a sense of humor and an exquisite sense of irony. A rebellion brewing on heaven and earth, made worse by doubt about whether we even need each other.As both realms wrestle with the ‘yes, no, and maybe’s,’ the four horsemen saddle up. Stay with me here because redemption is always worth it, especially when it comes to the salvation of two profoundly broken beings, one who has been transformed into the bringer of death and the collector of souls. A being who has hidden from his disfigurement and refuses to look any “further in fear of what he might see. And then there’s me, a middle-aged breast cancer survivor who, until I met him, could barely find the will to live outside of work, much less find the courage to look at myself in the mirror. Despite all that baggage, Azrael and I find each other twice. Within our bond, we find the courage to believe in one another and look beyond outward appearances to the souls beneath. Our unlikely friendship and later love will give hope and proof to both heaven & earth that we need each other to flourish, even if those opposed to our message seek to devastate everything we hold dear. Our journey will nearly destroy us but will lead us to a place where our battle for the partnership between angels and mankind will outweigh our struggles, allowing us to find a cause much more significant than our own lives. Along the way, we find like minds and souls that will join us on our quest.” Excerpt From One Day Closer to Death Jen Rinaldi https://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewBook?id=0 This material may be protected by copyright.

Novel.

As androids proliferate, become highly skilled, and become difficult to tell apart from humans, Mytown Mining, Inc. takes full advantage of the situation to secretly rise up from below and give those responsible for top secret plans in the United States Air Force all that it can handle in the remotest western skies. Meanwhile, the three members of the Braun family, Ben, Jenny, and Max, are plucked from their normal routine to participate voluntarily in the top secret plans along with a few others to battle the crooked corporation sometimes underground, but mostly in the air. Ben, the inventor and manufacturer of the Mindblower, a sleek electronic device that boosts memory and enhances mental acuity, disappears on a family hike in the rain forest. When Jenny, his wife and a traveling pharmaceutical sales representative, and Max, his teenage son, try to find him in Jenny’s small plane, they discover the USAF top secret facilities and its latest top secret aircraft and androids. Then as they and their friends continue their search for Ben, they find themselves fighting for their lives and for those humans and androids beside them until they discover much more about what really goes on between the military and the bad mining corporation and the future for both humans and androids. The Mindblower Androids is the second novel in a trilogy by Randall Edward Foss, beginning with The Mindblower Families. The story continues with The Mindblower Orbs, coming soon. Gradually, the recurring characters develop into greater importance as they are thrust deeper into the mysteries behind corporate control over the U.S. government and over energy economics. Mytown Mining, Inc., using android miners instead of human labor to dig deeper in remote regions first on earth and then in space for new energy reserves, must fight off both human and android heroes seeking to curtail its overbearing dominance threatening all human safety and freedom.