Booted out of school for trying to set fire to a teacher's desk, Graham Taylor became a roadie for the Sex Pistols and other punk rock bands. It's unlikely that someone savoring a life of sex, drugs, and rock music would end up on a police force, but it happened. After a decade on the force, Taylor was attacked and beaten, and his injuries forced him out of service. So Taylor topped one surprise twist in his life with another: he became an Anglican priest. Assigned to a church on the northeast coast of England, Taylor delved into the fascinating history of the region---tales of smugglers, storms at sea and people lost out on the moors. This curiosity would propel him in yet another new direction, as the landscape started to inspire him with ideas for settings and stories of his own. When he gave a speech about his concern over a growing occult presence in children's literature, someone asked Taylor why he didn't write a children's book himself. The seed was planted, and soon Taylor was hard at work on Shadowmancer, a breathtaking tale of the battle between good and evil. It was a safe bet that when Taylor sold his motorcycle to print his first novel, the self-published book would sell only to friends and relatives. But once again, Taylor's course roared away from the predictable. Shadowmancer rocketed to the top of the bestseller lists on both sides of the Atlantic. But then, what had been predictable about Taylor's life? Laced with humor and filled with incredible twists and turns, the life story of G. P. Taylor is equal to the plot of any one of his bestselling novels. This entertaining, inspiring, and engaging autobiography is a book you won't want to put down.

G. P. Taylor: Sin, Salvation and Shadowmancer

Smietana, Bob

Taylor, Graham P.

Literature & Fiction

Zondervan

The bestseller Shadowmancer stormed the literary world, rocketing to top sales. Who could have predicted that a country vicar would have such a hit on his hands? But that's only one chapter in the amazing, faith-sustained life of G. P. Taylor. Kicked out of school for trying to set fire to a teacher's desk, Graham Taylor's future looked bleak. He became a roadie for a punk-rock band and launched into a life of nightclubs and drugs. It appeared he would live hard and die young ... but God had a different plot in mind. In one awe-filled moment, Taylor heard God telling him to go home to Yorkshire. There he found a job and his future wife waiting, just as God had promised. Before his ordination, though, Taylor panicked, joining the police force instead. Like Jonah, he had to learn that hiding from the Lord's will is impossible. How did Taylor become a vicar in a part of England filled with tales of smugglers and storms at sea? How did he write Shadowmancer and his other runaway bestsellers to counteract the growing occult presence in so much of today's fiction? How did he find hope and healing when a near-fatal heart condition almost ended it all? This story is filled with unpredictable twists and revelations. And like Taylor's Christ-inspired novels, it's a tale you won't be able to put down.

We often struggle to answer the question: What is the right thing to do here?
Good Intentions suggests that it is possible to do good in economic matters if we begin with the right assumptions (and begins to ask the right questions):
<ul>
<li> Is greed ever good? </li>
<li> How can we give poor kids a million bucks? </li>
<li> How did Ben and Jerry get so rich? </li>
<li> Is capitalism ruining the environment? </li>
<li> Do immigrants take American jobs?</li>
</ul>
Our actions can produce outcomes that reflect what we value.

Good Intentions: Nine Hot-Button Issues Viewed Through the Eyes of Faith

Business & Money

North, Charles M.

Personal Finance

Moody Publishers

The United States is in the middle of an unprecedented spiritual, technological, demographic, political and social transformation- moving from an older, mostly white, mostly Protestant, religion-friendly society to a younger diverse, multiethnic, pluralistic culture, where no one faith group will have the advantage. At the same time, millions of Americans are abandoning organized religion altogether in favor of disorganized disbelief. Reorganized Religion is an in-depth and critical look at why people are leaving American churches and what we lose as a society as it continues. But it also accepts the dismantling of what has come before and try to help readers reinvent the path forward. This book looks at the future of organized religion in America and outline the options facing churches and other faith groups. Will they retreat? Will they become irrelevant? Or will they find a new path forward? Written by veteran religion reporter Bob Smietana, Reorganized Religion is a journalistic look at the state of the American church and its future. It draws on polling data, interviews with experts, and reporting on how faith communities old and new are coping with the changing religious landscape, along with personal stories about how faith is lived in everyday life. It also profiles faith communities and leaders who are finding interesting ways to reimagine what church might look like in the future and discuss various ways we can reinvent this organization so it survives and thrives. The book also reflects the hope that perhaps people of faith can learn to become, if not friends with the larger culture, then at least better neighbors.

Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why it Matters

Politics & Social Sciences

Sociology

Worthy Books

Uncover the ways the Christian church has changed in recent years--from the decline of the mainline denominations to the mega-churchification of American culture--and a hopeful reimagining of what the church might look like going forward. The United States is in the middle of an unprecedented spiritual, technological, demographic, political and social transformation--moving from an older, mostly white, mostly Protestant, religion-friendly society to a younger diverse, multiethnic, pluralistic culture, where no one faith group will have the advantage. At the same time, millions of Americans are abandoning organized religion altogether in favor of disorganized disbelief. &nbsp; Reorganized Religion is an in-depth and critical look at why people are leaving American churches and what we lose as a society as it continues.&nbsp;But it also accepts the dismantling of what has come before and try to help readers reinvent the path forward. This book looks at the future of organized religion in America and outline the options facing churches and other faith groups. Will they retreat? Will they become irrelevant? Or will they find a new path forward?&nbsp; Written by veteran religion reporter Bob Smietana, Reorganized Religion is a journalistic look at the state of the American church and its future. It draws on polling data, interviews with experts, and reporting on how faith communities old and new are coping with the changing religious landscape, along with personal stories about how faith is lived in everyday life. It also profiles faith communities and leaders who are finding interesting ways to reimagine what church might look like in the future and discuss various ways we can reinvent this organization so it survives and thrives. The book also reflects the hope that perhaps people of faith can learn to become, if not friends with the larger culture, then at least better neighbors. &nbsp; "A superb examination of the future of Christian institutions.... A must-read for anyone invested in the fate of the American church." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Smietana, Bob. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Smietana, Bob

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Smietana, Bob. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

G. P. Taylor: Sin, Salvation and Shadowmancer

G. P. Taylor: Sin, Salvation and Shadowmancer

Good Intentions: Nine Hot-Button Issues Viewed Through the Eyes of Faith

Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why it Matters

Reorganized Religion: The Reshaping of the American Church and Why it Matters