The loss of a pastor throws a congregation into emotional turmoil. Sometimes bad circumstances force a pastor to leave. Sometimes an effective pastor moves to a new congregation or retires. Either way, the congregation is thrust into a unique journey through change and loss. People often fail to identify or understand the emotions of loss churning under the surface. Whether a congregation embraces a good future or gets stuck in the dynamics of the past depends in part on skillful and wise leadership. When faced with confusing signs, transitional leaders seek wisdom about the unique dynamics of a congregational system in flux. How can one leader adapt to the sudden and surprising needs inherent in transitional leadership? Firmly rooted in the biblical narratives of leading through journeys of transition, this book matches those narratives with case studies and other stories to connect the present practice of transitional leadership with the deep wisdom in the biblical accounts. The perseverance and hope inherent in the Bible's story of redemption deeply engages the dynamics of transition, suggesting ways to lead congregations to embrace a renewed mission. This combination of narratives points to a new level of understanding what is happening within communities in transition.

Few figures embody the physical courage, unstinting sacrifice, and inspired heroism behind the Civil Rights movement more than Fannie Lou Hamer. For millions hers was the voice that made "This Little Light of Mine" an anthem. Her impassioned rhetoric electrified audiences. At the DemocraticConvention in 1964, Hamer's televised speech took not just Democrats but the entire nation to task for abetting racial injustice, searing the conscience of everyone who heard it. Born in the Mississippi Delta in 1917, Hamer was the 20th child of Black sharecroppers and raised in a world in whichracism, poverty, and injustice permeated the cotton fields. As the Civil Rights Movement began to emerge during the 1950s, she was struggling to make a living with her husband on lands that her forebears had cleared, ploughed, and harvested for generations. When a white doctor sterilized her withouther permission in 1961, Hamer took her destiny into her own hands.Bestselling biographer Kate Clifford Larson offers the first account of Hamer's life for a general audience, capturing and illuminating what made Hamer the electrifying force that she became when she walked onto stages across the country during the 1960s and until her death in 1977. Walk with Medoes justice to the full force of Hamer's activism and example. Based on new sources, including recently opened FBI files and Oval Office transcripts, the biography features interviews with some of the people closest to Hamer and conversations with Civil Rights leaders who fought alongside her.Larson's biography will become the standard account of an extraordinary life.

Tales from a man who has walked over 25,000 miles through the length and breadth of America's backcountry.

The emphasis of this book is on the magnificence of God and our desire to obtain as much of His holiness in our hearts as we can. Come Walk with Me to Glory presents the reality of the love of God reaching out to us through the direct, personal, down-to-earth style of a heart that has been tested through both failure and success, and found to be true. We must stay focused on God, however difficult the test - whether it is losing a beloved husband to Alzheimer's disease or a son to the ravages of AIDS. We must trust in God to become the anchor that enables us to survive the storms. Come Walk with Me to Glory offers an opportunity to see the spiritual life through someone else's eyes and to grow through their experiences and their consequences without having to live them. KIRKUS Review - Intensely personal spiritual memoir and testimony.... The author has uniquely structured this work to provide instruction, introspection and confession, with quality storytelling woven throughout...Matlock calls upon Christians to be bold, unafraid and intentional about living their faith. Anybody can be a child of God, but you have to want to be a servant. Through such intentional living, God provides opportunity, strength and direction. Matlock's writing is clear and approachable, and her style is personable and self-effacing ... It is homey and from the heart...Quiltlike gathering of memories and reflections from a faithful life.

An illustrated version of the classic Woody Guthrie folk song, perfect for a family singalongs! Since its debut in the 1940s, Woody Guthrie's "This Land Is Your Land" has become one of the best-loved and most timely folk songs in America, inspiring activism and patriotism for all. This classic ballad is now brought to life in a richly illustrated edition for the whole family to share. Kathy Jakobsen's detailed paintings, which invite readers on a journey across the country, create an unforgettable portrait of our diverse land and the people who live it.

(Piano/Vocal/Guitar Artist Songbook). This songbook includes all 15 songs from the 2006 release, Jackson's first ever gospel album. Songs: Blessed Assurance * How Great Thou Art * I'll Fly Away * In the Garden * The Old Rugged Cross * Softly and Tenderly * What a Friend We Have in Jesus * and more.

First published 500 years ago as the “Rabbinic Bible,” the biblical commentaries known as Miqra’ot Gedolot have inspired and educated generations of Hebrew readers. With this edition, the voices of Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Nahmanides, Rashbam, and other medieval Bible commentators come alive once more, speaking in a contemporary English translation annotated and explicated for lay readers. Each page of this second volume in The Commentators’ Bible series contains several verses from the Book of Leviticus, surrounded by both the 1917 and 1985 JPS translations, and by new contemporary English translations of the major commentators. The book also includes an introduction, a glossary of terms, a list of names used in the text, notes on source texts, a special topics list, and resources for further study. This large-format volume is beautifully designed for easy navigation among the many elements on each page, including explanatory notes and selected additional comments from the works of Bekhor Shor, Hizkuni, Abarbanel, Sforno, Gersonides, and others.

This book is dedicated to my grandson, Tristan. His loving spirit is an inspiration to me. This collection of poems is another series of writings which reflect my life experiences and observations.

Keepsakes: The Heart Series is a journey from fear into freedom, written for women everywhere who struggle with never being good enough to be loved. It is my story, but it is also the story of so many like me, searching for confidence and peace. I remember thinking, Lord, it is so unfair if you return when I am having a bad day or I'm not being as good as I should be or if I didn't score enough points that day to get into heaven. Like so many, I lived in subtle fear that my life was judged on an invisible scale, with each deed being measured against perfection. Once I understood, when I accepted Christ, God's son, into my heart, I was saved; I was going to heaven! I could never be good enough--on my bad days or my good days--to get into heaven, but Christ inside me could. That's when I stopped focusing on myself and my performance, and I started understanding who God was. And I now get to lean on, depend on, talk to, and cry with my King every day on my special journey of life. He knows my every thought, my every motivation, my every deed; he knows my ugly, and he still loves me. Not like the love from childhood, where I had to be perfect to be accepted, but an unconditional, never-ending love. He walks hand in hand with me through every season--no scales, just a hand holding mine. My purpose in writing is simply this: that you who believe in God's Son will know beyond the shadow of a doubt that you have eternal life, the reality and not the illusion. And how bold and free we then become in his presence, freely asking according to his will, sure that he is listening. And if we are confident that he is listening, we know that what we have asked for is as good as ours. (1 John 5:13-15)

Struggles and Triumphs is the autobiography of P. T. Barnum, famous American businessman and showman. Covering the period of around half a century, the autobiography tells about how he found success selling sights to the American and European public. He was successful because he watched for an opportunity to sell things, and then used the power of marketing and advertising to make sure that everybody wanted to see his attractions. Barnum shares many fascinating episodes in the process of making money and building great fortune, by arranging circus shows, concerts, theatrical performances and similar events, then losing it all through frauds and hoaxes, only to start again and succeeds even more.