New book: I'd Like You More If You Were More Like Me by John Ortberg

I'd Like You More If You Were More Like Me: Getting Real about Getting Close by John Ortberg - I'd Like You More if You Were More like Me takes on one of life's most important questions: How can I get closer to God and other people?

We were created for deep connections. When people have deep connections, says John Ortberg, they win in life. When they don't have deep connections, they cannot win in life. I'd Like You More if You Were More like Me offers help in overcoming one of the biggest obstacles to making deep connections: the fact that we're so different. Different from God and different from each other.

The good news is that connectedness is not based on similarity, but on shared experiences. When one person invites another to share an experience, they're connected. It can be sharing a beautiful sunset or a meal, having a great conversation over cup of coffee, going for walk, or even teasing somebody. And when we share those same experiences with God, we get closer to him, too. God wants to connect with us--so much that he sent his son to live as a human being. God took on flesh and shared every human experience. So we don't have to wonder what a close relationship with God looks like anymore.

An intimate relationship with God and other people doesn't have to be a cliche, it can be a daily way of life.

Book information:

Title: I'd Like You More If You Were More Like Me: Getting Real about Getting Close

Author: John Ortberg

Call number: 201 ORT

New book: Tactics by Gregory Koukl

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Gregory Koukl - In a world increasingly indifferent to Christian truth, followers of Christ need to be equipped to communicate with those who do not speak their language or accept their source of authority. Gregory Koukl demonstrates how to get in the driver's seat, keeping any conversation moving with thoughtful, artful diplomacy. You'll learn how to maneuver comfortably and graciously through the minefields, stop challengers in their tracks, turn the tables and—most importantly—get people thinking about Jesus. Soon, your conversations will look more like diplomacy than D-Day. Drawing on extensive experience defending Christianity in the public square, Koukl shows you how to:

• Initiate conversations effortlessly
• Present the truth clearly, cleverly, and persuasively
• Graciously and effectively expose faulty thinking
• Skillfully manage the details of dialogue
• Maintain an engaging, disarming style even under attack

Tactics provides the game plan for communicating the compelling truth about Christianity with confidence and grace.

Book information:
Title: Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions
Author: Gregory Koukl
Call number: 264 KOU

New book: Basic Christianity by John Stott

Basic Christianity by John Stott - Who is Jesus? "If Jesus was not God in human flesh, Christianity is exploded," writes John Stott. "We are left with just another religion with some beautiful ideas and noble ethics; its unique distinction has gone." If Jesus is not who he said he was, and if he did not do what he said he had come to do, the whole superstructure of Christianity crumbles in ruins to the ground. Is it plausible that Jesus was truly divine? And what might this mean for us? John Stott's clear, classic statement examines the historical facts on which Christianity stands. Here is a sound, sensible guide for all who seek an intellectually satisfying explanation of the Christian faith.

Book information:

Title: Basic Christianity

Author: John Stott

Call number: 137 STO

New book: Encounters with Jesus by Timothy Keller

Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life's Biggest Questions by Timothy Keller - In Encounters With Jesus, New York Times-bestselling author and renowned pastor Timothy Keller explores Jesus' answers to life's biggest questions by showing what happened to those whom met Jesus personally.

What is my purpose in life? Who am I meant to be? How can I live a successful life? Why is there so much wrong with our world today? Am I part of the problem? What can I do to help change that?

These are the big and seemingly unanswerable questions that everyone must ask, and then attempt to answer, in life. In Encounters With Jesus, Timothy Keller explores Jesus' answers to life's biggest questions by showing what happened to those who met Jesus personally.

Jesus changed the lives of nearly every person he met in the Gospels. These were powerful experiences: they can have a profound effect on us today, and also help explain not only different aspects of Christianity, but the deep questions of life itself. Timothy Keller highlights ten of these encounters - including Jesus' meeting a sceptical student, a religious insider, an outcast, even Satan himself - proves how invaluable the lessons from these encounters are for contemporary readers.

Book information:

Title: Encounters with Jesus: Unexpected Answers to Life's Biggest Questions

Author: Timothy Keller

Call number: 132 KEL

New book: Preaching by Timothy Keller

Preaching: Commmunicating Faith in an Age of Scepticism by Timothy Keller - Pastor, preacher, and New York Times bestselling author Timothy Keller’s wisdom on communicating the Christian faith from the pulpit as well as from the coffee shop.

Most Christians—including pastors—struggle to talk about their faith in a way that applies the power of the Christian gospel to change people’s lives. Timothy Keller is known for his insightful, down-to-earth sermons and talks that help people understand themselves, encounter Jesus, and apply the Bible to their lives. In this accessible guide for pastors and laypeople alike, Keller helps readers learn to present the Christian message of grace in a more engaging, passionate, and compassionate way.

Book information:

Title: Preaching: Commmunicating Faith in an Age of Scepticism

Author: Timothy Keller

Call number: 340 KEL

New book: Generous Justice by Timothy Keller

Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just by Timothy Keller - It is commonly thought in secular society that the Bible is one of the greatest hindrances to doing justice. Isn't it full of regressive views? Didn't it condone slavery? Why look to the Bible for guidance on how to have a more just society? But Keller sees it another way. In GENEROUS JUSTICE, Keller explores a life of justice empowered by an experience of grace: a generous, gracious justice. Here is a book for believers who find the Bible a trustworthy guide, as well as those who suspect that Christianity is a regressive influence in the world.

Book information:

Title: Generous Justice: How God's Grace Makes Us Just

Author: Timothy Keller

Call number: 201 KEL

New book: King's Cross by Timothy Keller

King's Cross: Understand the Life and Death of the Son of God by Timothy Keller - At a time when interest in Jesus has never been higher, Tim Keller takes a deep and thought-provoking look at the life of Christ. Drawing from Mark's gospel, he explains how Jesus' identity as king and his purpose in dying on the cross have meaning and significance on a cosmic scale as well as for the individual.

Book information:
Title: King's Cross: Understand the Life and Death of the Son of God
Author: Timothy Keller
Call number: 132 KEL

New book: Center Church by Timothy Keller

Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City by Timothy Keller - Many pastors struggle to translate their theological beliefs into fruitful ministry in the places they are called to reach. It's not enough to simply know what to believe (theology) or, on the other hand, how to do ministry (methodology) — they need something in between. They need help thinking about ministry in a culture that no longer believes Christianity is a force for good, let alone the source of ultimate revealed truth in the person of Christ. Center Church, a collection of twelve essays by Timothy Keller, outlines a theological vision for ministry that is organized around three core commitments:

• Gospel-centered: The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ changes everything, from our hearts to our community to the world. It completely reshapes the content, tone and strategy of all that we do.
• City-centered: With a positive approach toward our culture, we learn to affirm that cities are wonderful, strategic and underserved places for gospel ministry.
• Movement-centered: Instead of building our own tribe, we seek the prosperity and peace of our community as we are led by the Holy Spirit.

Book information:

Title: Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City

Author: Timothy Keller

Call number: 266.5 KEL

New book - Winsome Persuasion by Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Langer

Winsome Persuasion: Christian Influence in a Post-Christian World by Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Charles Langer - We blush at the possibilities. Brainwashed fanatics? Out-of-touch dogmatists? Buffoons?

The task of bearing faithful witness to Jesus is complicated by persistent―and not altogether baseless―cultural stereotypes. In our post-Christian society, thoughtful Christians are considering again how to engage the dominant culture as a minority, a counterpublic, amid varying perceptions and misperceptions.

In this timely book, Timothy Muehlhoff and Rick Langer ask what our interactions with the dominant cultural ethos should look like. How might we be persuasive and civil at the same time? How should we respond to those who ridicule and caricature us? How can we challenge the beliefs of other communities with love and respect?

Muehlhoff and Langer present a model for cultural engagement that integrates communication theory, theology, and Scripture. Penetrating, wise, and relentlessly practical, it includes test cases and examples from history, such as William Wilberforce and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

Now more than ever, Christians need what Winsome Persuasion offers: a compelling vision of public engagement that is both shrewd and gracious.

Book information:

Title: Winsome Persuasion: Christian Influence in a Post-Christian World

Authors: Tim Muehlhoff and Richard Charles Langer

Call number: 201 MUE

New book: Engaging Globalization by Bryant Myers

Engaging Globalization: The Poor, Christian Mission, and Our Hyperconnected World by Bryant Myers - Globalization is speeding up our world, extending our relationships globally and bringing us closer together in positive and not-so-positive ways. The church and many Christians, however, remain largely unaware of its seductive power, resulting in a failure of vision for mission in today's world. This up-to-date resource by a veteran leader in global development work with World Vision orients readers to the history of globalization and to a Christian theological perspective on it, explores concrete realities by focusing on global poverty, and helps readers reimagine Christian mission in ways that announce the truly good news of Christ and God's kingdom. Diagrams and sidebars that incorporate the voices of global partners are included. This is the second book in a new series that reframes missiological themes and studies for students using/featuring the common theme of mission as partnership with Christians.

Book information:

Title: Engaging Globalization: The Poor, Christian Mission, and Our Hyperconnected World

Author: Bryant Myers

Call number: 266.3 MYE