Building Your Field of Dreams is both a compelling personal story and a practical and inspiring guide for anyone who has ever hoped for a better life. Mary Morrissey's own dreams were nearly shattered at age 16, when pregnancy forced her into a reluctant marriage that nevertheless became the crucible for remarkable lessons in faith. As she was tested by the near-death of one of her children, by life-threatening kidney disease, and by years of struggling to make ends meet, she clung to her determination to be a minister. Now, with powerful examples from many dream-builders she has known, she shows how anyone can identify their deepest desires, build a partnership with God, confront obstacles and failure, and overcome the mental blocks that keep us from our potential. It's a great message, compellingly delivered by a great teacher. From the Trade Paperback edition.
The author, a computer science professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, explores his life, the lessons that he has learned, how he has worked to achieve his childhood dreams, and the effect of his diagnosis on him and his family.
Building A Better World is a classic resource manual for anyone who wants to work for change in our world. Dave Andrews urges us to act on our growing sense of distress about the way the world is and to take simple, radical-yet-practical steps to explore the possibility of building a new world out of the ruins of the old - creating safe sustainable spaces, where everyone is accepted as person in their own right, where people are respected for both their similarities and their differences, where there is sense of responsibility for welfare of each person, where every person has the right to participate in the decisions that impact on their lives, and where communities are committed to doing justice to the most marginalised and disadvantaged in society. As you would expect from a landmark do-it-yourself handbook written by a practitioner for practitioners, Building A Better World is filled from cover to cover with personal stories, professional tips, inspiring quotes, empowering anecdotes and lots of practice wisdom about what works and what doesn’t work in overcoming apathy, mobilising activity, subverting bureaucracies, and utilizing first order and second order strategies in the struggle to bring about a truly “PEACE”ful world - characterised by “P”articipatory politics and “E”quitable economics with “A”ppropriate technologies in “C”onscientized communities, exercising “E”nvironmental responsibilities.
Take a journey from doubt to belief It can be hard to share your faith with others, especially when people can't agree on whether there is even any actual truth. With that in mind, Chad Meister has developed a simple, logical way for you to help others move past relativism to a place where Christian belief makes sense: the Apologetics Pyramid. In Building Belief, Meister leads you up each step of the pyramid, beginning where many find themselves today--doubting if anything is really true. From there, he powerfully builds a case for absolute truth, the existence of God, universal morals and values, the reliability and divine inspiration of the Bible, the resurrection of Christ, and ultimately, the good news that Jesus is the Son of God who offers salvation to the world. "Join Chad Meister in this concise, clear, and compelling book as he builds a persuasive case for the truth of Christianity."--Lee Strobel, author, The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith "An excellent book to lead earnest enquirers from doubt to conviction about the basic truths of the Christian faith."--Norman L. Geisler, dean, Southern Evangelical Seminary and Bible College "Chad Meister is a force to be reckoned with, and this delightful little book is a timely resource to be studied by Christians and given to non-Christians."--J. P. Moreland, distinguished professor of philosophy, Talbot School of Theology; author, Love Your God with All Your Mind "Building Belief is thoughtful, fresh, and full of personal and practical illustrations. Meister strikes just the right balance, providing a model for how apologetics ought to be done."--Paul Copan, Pledger Family Chair of Philosophy and Ethics, Palm Beach AtlanticUniversity "Meister offers both the tools and the method for making discussions with skeptics more fruitful."--Jay W. Richards, research fellow, Acton Institute; coauthor, The Privileged Planet
Much has been written on how temples are constructed or reconstructed for reviving local religious and communal life or for recycling tradition after the market reforms in China. The dynamics between the state and society that lie behind the revival of temples and religious practices initiated by the locals have been well-analysed. However, there is a gap in the literature when it comes to understanding religious revivals that were instead led by local governments. This book examines the revival of worship of the Chinese Deity Huang Daxian and the building of many new temples to the god in mainland China over the last 20 years. It analyses the role of local governments in initiating temple construction projects in China, and how development-oriented temple-building activities in Mainland China reveal the forces of transnational ties, capital, markets and identities, as temples were built with the hope of developing tourism, boosting the local economy, and enhancing Chinese identities for Hong Kong worshippers and Taiwanese in response to the reunification of Hong Kong to China. Including chapters on local religious memory awakening, pilgrimage as a form of tourism, women temple managers, entrepreneurialism and the religious economy, and based on extensive fieldwork, Chan and Lang have produced a truly interdisciplinary follow up to The Rise of a Refugee God which will appeal to students and scholars of Chinese religion, Chinese culture, Asian anthropology, cultural heritage and Daoism alike.
Susan Gunelius uncovers how a brand about sex survived and thrived despite attacks from every direction, in an increasingly competitive market and jaded consumers. It's the story of brand building, brand value, brand longevity and the ultimate brand champion.
