Millions are satisfied to sit through hour-long, weekly religious services. Millions more have left the church, brokenhearted and cynical. But God is waking up His people—people who will risk everything and sacrifice anything to become the dynamic, powerful Church seen in Scripture.   We Are Church calls Christ-followers, young and old, to hold fast to their biblical roots while seeking radical change. Scripture promises an exuberant and unstoppable Church. That wondrous early church of Acts can be our reality today—but not until we devote ourselves to her original priorities.   Read this book and be challenged, guided, and encouraged to passionately pursue God’s magnificent and beautiful vision for His Church. Come and claim your part in this body of believers that is not just possible—it’s promised.

Eddie Hertz is a 12-year-old genius who patrols the streets of Nirvana, hoping to foil the schemes of the evil Mephisto. Being small for his age, Eddie relies on a Batman-style gadgets belt and acrobatic skills as well as street smarts and ingenuity.Eddie has a dream, to become like Damocles, Nirvana's great superhero. To accomplish that goal, Eddie invented a device that theoretically will endow him with superpowers, but using it on himself could be dangerous, maybe even fatal, so he doesn't have the nerve to try it.When Mephisto unleashes an earthquake machine to terrorize the city, Eddie gains a surprising ally - his quirky eight-year-old sister, Samantha, who comes up with an unexpected way to help in the frantic battle to prevent the impending destruction.Working as a team, the siblings fight Mephisto in a race against time to save Nirvana and the world from devastating earthquakes, all the while receiving advice from a computerized version of Damocles, who has been rendered incapable of helping in physical form.

Fear is a form of torment the enemy tries to plague people with in order to paralyze them, to steal their purpose and destiny from God's best. None of us is immune to these attacks. Jesus came to destroy fear and set the captives free. Speaking as one whom Jesus Christ set free from the devil's grip, John Ramirez, once a satanic high priest, exposes the tormenting weapons of fear of our number one spiritual enemy, the devil, and equips and arms believers with the weapons of our warfare that God has given us through his Son, Jesus Christ, to abort the enemy's mission. In this book, Destroying Fear, you will learn how to get back your peace and purpose and walk fearlessly into your destiny by dismantling every stronghold and stopping the enemy's attacks once and for all, for a life of freedom!

Long before the followers of Jesus declared him to be the Son of God, Jesus taught his followers that they too were the children of God. This ancient creed, now all but forgotten, is recorded still within the folds of a letter of Paul the Apostle. This ancient creed said nothing about God or Christ or salvation. Its claims were about the whole human race: there is no race, there is no class, there is no gender. Followers of Jesus proclaimed: 'You are all children of God. There is no Jew or Greek, no slave or free, no male and female, for you are all one.' Where did this remarkable statement of human solidarity come from, and what, finally, happened to it? How did Christianity become a Gentile religion that despised Jews, condoned slavery as the will of God, and championed patriarchy? Christian theologians would one day argue about the nature of Christ, the being of God, and the mechanics of salvation. But before this, in the days when Jesus was still fresh in the memory of those who knew him, the argument was a different one: how can human beings overcome the ways by which we divide ourselves one from another? Is solidarity possible beyond race, class, and gender?

Five running backs were selected in the first round of the 2008 NFL Draft. Jamaal Charles was not among them. Despite piling up the fourth-most rushing yards at the University of Texas in just three seasons, he waited for eight other running backs to get selected ahead of him. The Middle School Rules of Jamaal Charles features the stories and lessons of Jamaal’s childhood, defined by people overlooking him. Young readers will see how Jamaal deals with bullying and endures teasing because of a long undiagnosed learning disability that enabled him to participate in the Special Olympics as a 10-year-old. The gold medals he won at the Special Olympics empowered him, and Jamaal displayed a rare work ethic and determination in everything he did on the field and in the classroom. “I just kept working, just kept fighting,” Jamaal says. “If you give up, you will not ever know how far you would have gotten.” A state champion hurdler, Jamaal ran for 4,107 yards and 50 touchdowns in his final two seasons at Memorial High School in Port Arthur, Texas. But readers will see how hard Jamaal had to study to earn a high enough mark on a standardized test to qualify for a full athletic scholarship. Dogged by doubts about his size, Jamaal is already the Chiefs’ all-time leading rusher, a four-time Pro Bowl selection and has more career rushing yards and total touchdowns than all but two of the eight running backs selected ahead of him in the 2008 NFL Draft. In fact, Jamaal owns a special NFL record: More yards per carry (5.5) than any other running back with at least 1,000 career carries! Jamaal wants his legacy to extend beyond football fields. His Jamaal Charles Youth Matters Family Foundation promotes the development of healthy minds and bodies and reinforces the motto that, “Determination wins.” Jamaal inspired millions at the Opening Ceremony of the 2015 Special Olympics in Los Angeles by sharing his story of struggle and triumph. “I was afraid. I was lost. I had trouble reading. I found out I had a learning disability,” he said. “People made fun of me. They said I would never go anywhere. But I learned I can fly... the Special Olympics gave me my first chance to discover a talent I did not know I had.”

Over a dozen seasons, Charles Tillman established himself as the greatest cornerback in the storied history of the Chicago Bears. A two-time Pro Bowl selection, Tillman has been distinguished as one of the NFL’s most opportunistic defensive backs, intercepting 36 passes and forcing 42 fumbles—the most in the league since his rookie year in 2003. In fact, he popularized the “Peanut Punch,” a nod to his childhood nickname and a tribute to his knack for jarring a football from the grasp of an offensive player. But even more than his acclaim on the field, Tillman is highly regarded off the field. With his father serving in the United States Army, Tillman attended 11 different schools domestically and internationally. Lightly recruited out of Copperas Cove High School in Texas, Tillman was offered a single Division 1-A scholarship, but he shined at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and was selected by the Bears in the second round of the NFL Draft. In 2005, Tillman and his wife Jackie established the Cornerstone Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides resources and opportunities to children inneed. Tillman was a 2012 finalist for the NFL Players Association’s Byron White Man of the Year award, and he was the 2013 winner of the prestigious Walter Payton Man of the Year award, which “recognizes a player’s off-the-field community service as well as his playing excellence.” The Middle School Rules of Charles Tillman will feature the defining childhood stories of a young, well-traveled boy nicknamed “Peanut,” who had to deal with racism, adapt to constant relocation, and endure the divorce of his parents. Inspired by faith and family, Tillman persevered and carved out an indelible mark both on and off the field.

When asked by his son why some churches have smoke machines, worship pastor Manuel Luz found himself responding, "Well, technically, you need smoke machines to see the lasers." But when you take down the smoke screen, what do you have left? Where do we encounter the Holy in the midst of all this? Where can we worship with our full selves―heart, soul, mind, and body―in Spirit and truth? Drawing from his own experience leading worship in a large congregation and feeling the pull of performance, Manuel Luz guides us on a journey through worship that takes us far beyond style and deep into our own souls. He calls us back to an honest worship that moves past facades and pulls us inward toward the true self that God is forming within each of us. Each chapter ends with a spiritual practice designed to help us set aside pretense and enter into the very presence of God.