The Confessions of a Storefront Church is a no-holds-barred, cold, hard truth that will make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. A real-life observation that hits the target time after time. After his new birth, the Scriptures seemed to jump off the pages and speak to him. Unaware of the ordinance to be licensed or ordained by a church, he knew that the Bible said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit." His decision to go was controversial in the eyes of many, but looking into the eyes of God, he found inner peace and beauty. Yet back on earth, the reality was that he had entered the ferocious teeth of an unrelenting theological firestorm!

A serial killer is roaming the streets of Milwaukee. He hides in plain sight. He could be your neighbor or your co-worker. Why does he kill? Is it for twisted love or from moral depravity? A fiery detective is on his trail. Will she catch him in time or will she become another victim? Live the path of destruction as seen through the eyes of the serial killer and experience the thrilling conclusion that ends with a wicked twist.

When I was only ten years old, I was living in poverty, trapped in a dysfunctional situation - and so without hope that I attempted suicide. As years passed, nothing changed. With nowhere to turn, I called out to God for help, unsure if He even existed. From that moment on, I saw the hand of God in my life: in my mother’s miraculous rescue from a murder attempt; in my post high school enrollment in a Bible School; and in my marriage to a wonderful man, whom I met when he visited my home church as a guest preacher. I’d gone from spiritual and physical destitution to a wealth of love and blessing! Yet being the wife of a minister wasn’t without difficulties. From becoming a skilled hostess to dealing with the women who were attracted to my husband, I had many challenges to overcome. When my preacher husband, Steve, became sick, I trained as a real estate agent and learned there is as much ministry outside of the pulpit as behind it. And when Steve’s illness worsened, I discovered there could still be unexpected miracles in my life.

Confessions of a Small Town Cop is the story of how the author, Donald C. Partridge searched for identity in his work, relationships and marriage. The object of Donald's search eluded him until he returned to his roots, spiritually. When Donald reconnected with the God he thought had failed him he found forgiveness, by forgiving others, and restoration. Confessions is the testimony of a modern day prodigal, written after encouragement from friends to give this testimony to God in written form. It includes events witnessed that can only be called miracles, as well as the more, mundane everyday experiences of this and other Peace Officers. It goes from humorous to exciting to poignant. Confessions is a must for any likely, would be Cops, and their families. It is an interesting look at law-enforcement for current Cops, and to Christians is a testimony of the redemptive work of Jesus in Donald's life.

After a physical altercation with a troubled student, school officials remove jaded veteran English teacher Manny Quesada from his high school classroom. They assign him administrative duties in the Rubber Room of lore and legend in the superintendents office where lost souls known as rogue teachers await judgment. Rather than wait passively to be exonerated for what he considers justifiable defense, Manny undertakes a quest to clear himself. He uncovers startling evidence that educational officials are falsifying statistics - and that the scandal reaches the highest levels of city politics. As the new realities of urban education erode his ideals, Manny wallow in self-pity. He spirals downward on alcohol, drugs, and his favorite student, Maggie, a bright, green-eyed beauty interestedunlike the othersin learning, whose infatuation temps him in his weakened state. But then blackmail and a murder investigation cast serious doubt on his return to the classroom, and Manny must decide if his ministry to problem students can survive his personal turmoil. Reminiscent of such notable works as Blackboard Jungle, Up the Down Stair Case, and To Sir with Love, Confessions of a Rogue Teacher paints a sobering portrait of the American classroom and artfully captures the realities of public education today.

“Both a memoir and manifesto for education reform . . . chronicles [Cummins’s] remarkable career as a teacher, headmaster, and school founder.” —Kirkus Reviews In this entertaining and inspiring memoir, renowned educator Paul Cummins candidly shares his journey from privileged kid and ivory-tower scholar to hands-on progressive educator, working to achieve social justice through education for all youth: from children of celebrities to foster and incarcerated youth and those facing sometimes unimaginable circumstantial hurdles to education and accomplishment—proving time and again that all children can succeed given appropriate support. Confessions of a Headmaster is “the story of the birth of the kind of open, enlightened, diverse education we all take for granted today, told in a warm and engaging way by the visionary in our midst who made it happen” (Victoria Shorr, cofounder of the Archer School for Girls and of the Pine Ridge Girls’ School). “The story of a man who brought the romance back into teaching at a time when the field of education is a field of constant national controversy, and our most popular books have titles with militarist references, such as The Teacher Wars.” —Mona Simpson, national bestselling author of Anywhere But Here “As Paul Cummins once remarked, ‘Passion without intelligence is of limited value’—and the inverse is also true—for who would want intelligence without passion? In Confessions, we see what can happen when these two qualities work in sync!” —John Densmore, drummer for the Doors

Fourteen Presbyterian scholars enter into conversations with the confessions of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and examine the major theological themes that make the confessions such foundational commitments of faith. This collection of insightful essays provides readers with a clear understanding of the confessions from different periods of the church's life. These conversations with the confessions found in the PC(USA)'s Book of Confessions include some illuminating commentary on why they were written and demonstrate how they can be used to address major theological issues. This important work will help scholars, pastors, and church leaders interested in studying the Reformed tradition appreciate the role of the confessions in shaping Christian life and faith today.

"A cracking good story with a wonderful cast of rogues, ruffians and some remarkably holy and sensible people." --Los Angeles Times Book Review Before the potato famine ravaged Ireland in the 1840s, the Roman Catholic Church was barely a thread in the American cloth. Twenty years later, New York City was home to more Irish Catholics than Dublin. Today, the United States boasts some sixty million members of the Catholic Church, which has become one of this country's most influential cultural forces. In American Catholic: The Saints and Sinners Who Built America's Most Powerful Church, Charles R. Morris recounts the rich story of the rise of the Catholic Church in America, bringing to life the personalities that transformed an urban Irish subculture into a dominant presence nationwide. Here are the stories of rogues and ruffians, heroes and martyrs--from Dorothy Day, a convert from Greenwich Village Marxism who opened shelters for thousands, to Cardinal William O'Connell, who ran the Church in Boston from a Renaissance palazzo, complete with golf course. Morris also reveals the Church's continuing struggle to come to terms with secular, pluralist America and the theological, sexual, authority, and gender issues that keep tearing it apart. As comprehensive as it is provocative, American Catholic is a tour de force, a fascinating cultural history that will engage and inform both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. "The best one-volume history of the last hundred years of American Catholicism that it has ever been my pleasure to read. What's appealing in this remarkable book is its delicate sense of balance and its soundly grounded judgments." --Andrew Greeley