The Church Of Facebook
With well over 300 million members and counting…
What does our obsession with Facebook and other social networking sites say about us?
A revolution is underway. A Wi-Fi, worldwide movement that is changing how we interact with others. It's a seismic shift that is redefining the idea of community. Online social networks are connecting people like never before. And with millions of users, they're creating a virtual world that erases all boundaries. It's a movement that's changing how we form relationships, perceive others, and shape our identity. Yet at their core, these sites reflect our need for community. Our need for intimacy, connection, and a place to simply belong.
In his new book, The Church of Facebook, author Jesse Rice examines the wildly popular world of online social groups. The Church of Facebook is a compelling and thought-provoking look into the phenomenon of online social networking and its radical impact on culture, community, and our understanding of God and self. Rice believes this social trend toward hyper-connection reveals our deeply ingrained need for one another and points to a God who longs to intimately connect with each one of us.
While people of all ages, from middle-schoolers to great-grandparents, are joining this movement, it is especially popular among tweens and teens. With their children spending so much time on these sites, it is especially important for parents to better understand their kids, their kid’s online interactions, and their own role in parenting well within a digitally-dominated culture.
“We must understand that, for most people (especially younger people) there is no longer a distinction between ‘real’ and ‘online’ community. It’s all part of the same experience. Whether my friends are in cyberspace or around my dinner table, they are my community. This is an important concept to grasp in order to enter more fully into the experience of community as a hyperconnected world understands it,” Rice explains.
In The Church of Facebook, Rice’s discussions will engage social networkers who are wrestling with the very real issues of identity, meaning, purpose, and friendship within the context of virtual communities. From profiles, to The Wall, to status updates, to "poking," Jesse shares what Facebook reveals about us, and what it may mean for the church. Driven by Rice’s thought-provoking questions, observations, humor, and heartfelt storytelling, The Church of Facebook challenges readers to consider new perspectives regarding their social networking habits and how those habits may point to deeper heart issues and, ultimately, our hunger for Jesus.
The Church of Facebook by Jesse Rice
David C Cook/October 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4347-6534-5/192 pages/softcover/$12.99
BATTLE READY
Though they may not know it, those who want to serve God will undoubtedly face unexpected hardships, seasons of frustration and seeming futility, and find themselves painted into what seem like impossible corners. And then there are the giants, those brutal, lumbering monstrosities that crash into our lives—unexpected and uninvited—and show every intention of taking up residence. These giants don’t have six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot. Instead, they take on the ugly face of disease, disappointment, depression, addiction, financial reversal, career setback, family breakdown, and personal failure.
“The diverse giants we fight can threaten our peace, well-being and very existence. And the man who desires to be used by God will face not just one giant in his life, but many,” writes Steve Farrar. “That’s the nature of the Christian life. It’s from faith to faith or, to put it another way, from giant to giant.”
In Battle Ready, Farrar teaches men the importance of training and preparing for combat with these giants by examining the real life biographies of men who made an impact in their world, Bible warriors Caleb and Joshua. While exploring the lives of Joshua, who led the Israelites into the Promised Land, and Caleb, who trusted God, and not himself, for victory in battle, Farrar offers perspective, strong counsel, and hope for every man who longs to serve God.
Excerpts from Battle Ready by Steve Farrar:
Giants
If you want to be used—really picked up and significantly utilized—by the living God, you’re going to have to fight the giants.
If you think that sounds simplistic, you’re right.
It is simple. But it’s also the truth.
Joshua and Caleb were used by God. They didn’t squander or waste their lives. They were used, made a difference, contributed, gave more than they took, and, consequently, their lives are remembered and valued to this day. Why?
Because they were willing to fight the giants.
You probably know the story. Joshua and Caleb were part of a twelve man team sent out by Moses to do some advance reconnaissance work in the land of Canaan. The children of Israel had just left hundreds of years of slavery in Egypt and were headed to the Promised Land, the land of Canaan. In Numbers 13, God told Moses to pick a leader from each of the twelve tribes in order to do special ops in the land.
The twelve men completed the mission and returned to give their report to Moses and the people of Israel. They reported that it was a fabulous land of milk and honey. They even brought a cluster of grapes out with them—a cluster so heavy it took two men to carry it. But then they got down to the nitty-gritty:
However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.
But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” (vv. 28–31)
These ten spies are quaking in their boots. All of these different tribes of -ites have given them the heebie-jeebies. The battle hasn’t even begun, and these guys are already looking for the locker room.
But they weren’t done yet with their cowardly report. The old King James Version does the best job of capturing the trembling in their hearts and the shaking of their voices:
But the men that went up with him said, “We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.”
And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” (vv. 31–33)
Did these ten men go on to be used by God?
Did they ever inspire anyone by their example?
Did they ever lead men into battle?
Were they remembered as men of honor and courage?
Are you kidding me?
The Greatest Giant
Heart attack, loss of job, a wife with cancer, a son in jail, fighting off a foreclosure—those are all legitimate giants. But what is the greatest giant of all? I teach a men’s study in Dallas on Wednesday evenings, and I recently asked that question of the men: “What is the greatest giant of them all?”
When I asked for verbal feedback, it came fast and furious. The answers ricocheted from every corner of the room.
Pride!
Pornography!
Lust!
Guilt!
Regret!
Failure!
Betrayal!
I interrupted the responses and said, “Those are very good answers—very wise answers—but they are all wrong. What else have you got? What is the greatest giant of them all?”
Selfish ambition!
Greed!
The love of money!
Multiple divorces!
Growing up without a father!
An ex-wife who degrades you before the children!
Failing as a father!
Lying!
Breaking a trust!
Fear!
I broke in and said, “I want to commend you for those answers. They aren’t superficial, and they are gut-level honest. And those are all big giants. But once again they’re all wrong. Let me give you the answer. The biggest giant of them all is God.”
And just that quickly, the room of several hundred men grew very quiet. In fact, you could have heard a pin drop as the reality of the answer penetrated the mind of every man in the room.
Every man has fought and is fighting giants. And make no mistake, these giants are huge. Sometimes, however, in the process of grappling with these intimidating, overwhelming giants, we forget the greatest Giant. God is the greatest of all the giants.
Joshua and Caleb knew that, and that’s why they stood up and spoke against the panic of the other ten spies.
Samuel Adams and John Hancock knew it as well, and that’s why they stood and spoke against tyranny in the name of almighty God. God is the trump card of your life. It doesn’t matter what giant you may be facing—booze, porn, guilt, lying, cocaine, failure, invading armies, whatever—God trumps your giant. He will always trump the giants—every single one of them. But we can so quickly forget that He
is there.
After the recent presidential election, some Christians were elated and some were depressed. Many who were depressed expressed great concern over the continuing survival of our democracy. Now that’s a major giant.
Samuel Adams and John Hancock wanted a democratic nation to be born. I don’t know of any serious Christian who doesn’t want it to survive.
So how do you defeat this particular giant? You go to Daniel 2:20–21:
Daniel answered and said: “Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, to whom belong wisdom and might. He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings.”
The follow-up to God Built, the first in the Bold Man of God series, Battle Ready will prepare men of all ages, at every stage of their spiritual walk, to become men God can use—men who are battle ready!
©2009 Cook Communications Ministries. Battle Ready by Steve Farrar. Used with permission. May not be further reproduced. All rights reserved.
Author Bio: Steve Farrar is the founder and chairman of Men’s Leadership Ministries, an organization dedicated to equipping men for spiritual leadership. He is a frequent speaker at men’s events and conferences across the country and is the best-selling author of God Built and Point Man. Steve and his family reside in the Dallas, Texas area.
Battle Ready: Prepare to Be Used by God by Steve Farrar
David C Cook/September 2009
ISBN: 978-1-4347-6869-8/256 pages/softcover/$14.99
www.davidccook.com www.stevefarrar.com
Why Did God Give Us Emotions?
In his new book Why Did God Give Us Emotions?, author Reneau Peurifoy discusses six steps to managing our emotions effectively. After more than two decades as a therapist and teacher, Reneau Peurifoy has become a master at reducing complex ideas into simple, easy-to-understand terms and applying them to daily life. He holds a Master’s in counseling and attended Fuller Theological Seminary. Peurifoy was in private practice for twenty years (1980–2000) as a marriage and family therapist specializing in anxiety disorders. He retired from private practice in 2000 and is currently teaching at Heald College in Sacramento, California.
Q: What are some steps we can take to manage our emotions effectively?
A: When you experience emotions that seem overwhelming or puzzling or when you have responded to a situation in an ungodly or self-defeating way, be sure to ask God to open your heart and mind to His guidance before you begin.
Step 1: What Am I Feeling?
Clearly identify what emotion you experienced. Be sure to use words that describe true emotions. If you are working with an inappropriate behavior, identify what you were feeling just before you reacted.
Step 2: What Triggered this Emotion?
Most emotions are a response to needs and wants being met, a threat or a loss that has been experienced. Once you identify what you felt, the easiest way to identify the need or want that triggered it is to ask yourself, “What did I want in this situation?” or “If I could control events, what should have happened?”
Step 3: Was My Emotional Response Appropriate?
Decide if the response was a logical response. If there was a real threat, then some level of anger or fear would be appropriate. If a loss occurred, sadness would be appropriate. Ask yourself if the level of the emotion fit the situation. If the emotion was logical and at an appropriate level of intensity, go on to the next step. If not, you will need to look deeper for any hidden needs, unbiblical forms of thinking, core beliefs, or conditioned responses that triggered the response.
Step 4: Were the Actions I Took Appropriate?
Most of the time, simply asking yourself the question, “Was my behavior something that glorified God?” is enough. However, if you are not sure, talk to someone who is mature in the Lord. This might be a fellow believer or a pastor. An objective third person is often helpful in looking at your behavior more clearly.
Step 5: What Does God Want Me to Learn from This?
Because we are experts at rationalizing our responses, this is often the most difficult step. However, if you ask God with a sincere heart to help you see what He wants you to learn from this experience, He will reveal it to you. Be willing to allow God to lead you to those things in your life that are keeping you distant from Him and need His healing touch such as fear, pride, resentment, self-importance, emotional wounds or sin that you are reluctant to give up.
Step 6: Is There Some Action I Need to Take?
Strong emotions always indicate a need to take action. Sometimes the action involves dealing with unresolved hurts from the past, ungodly beliefs, pride, or sin in your life. This is especially true if you identified issues like this in Steps 3 or 5. Other times, your emotions are signaling that you need to take some other type of action. If you have clearly identified a need or want that is reasonable and doesn‘t violate what has been revealed in Scripture, ask God to help you plan actions that will please Him.
Sometimes the required action has to do with setting limits or confronting someone. Sometimes it involves making changes in your life or pursing something your heart desires that you have been ignoring. If it is difficult for you to identify actions you can take that would be appropriate and pleasing to God, seek the counsel of other believers or your pastor.
Why Did God Give Us Emotions? by Reneau Peurifoy
LifeSkills Publications September 15, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-929437-16-3/240 pages/softcover/$16.95
www.rpeurifoy.com www.whyemotions.com
US
Don’t just improve your marriage. Transform it!
Marriage Coach Daniel Tocchini shows how to
break barriers and remove ruts in marriage
Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX—Us, a new book by Daniel Tocchini, isn’t about improving marriages. It’s about transforming them. Drawing on personal experience and stories from couples he has coached, Tocchini offers practical guidance to move couples beyond communication tricks and gimmicks to help them truly understand "Us" for the first time—talking honestly, listening generously, tackling tricky issues, breaking out of ruts, and abandoning self-centered “consumer thinking.” The good news, according to Tocchini, is that personalities don’t need to change in order for marriage to work. What needs to change is how we view ourselves, our spouses, and our marriages.
Innovative, insightful and thoroughly biblical, Tocchini’s approach has helped thousands in his popular seminars. Whether a marriage is in deep trouble or just coasting along, it's time for Christian couples to read the User's Guide that God intended.
In this intensely practical, innovative guide, marriage coach Daniel Tocchini invites you to open your marriage to transformation by learning to:
· Expect less—and infinitely more—of your life partner and yourself
· Actually talk to each other instead of making assumptions (and accusations)
· Break free of those recurring, unresolved arguments
· Manage the impact of difficult (but necessary) conversations on your relationship
· Defuse conflict without sweeping it under a rug
· Open the broken places in your marriage (the ones you hesitate even to talk about) to God’s kind of reconciliation
Tocchini explains, “This is a transformational approach to breaking through the barriers and getting out of the ruts in our marriage by paying attention to our conversation—what we are thinking, our motivation for thinking it, and the impact it has on our spouse.”
Author Bio
Daniel L. Tocchini has worked with more than 5,000 couples through personal marriage coaching and the unique and life-changing marriage seminars offered through his organization, the Association for Christian Character Development. An ordained minister, chaplain, author, and highly successful speaker/coach, he lives with his family in California.
Us by Daniel Tocchini
David C Cook – January 2010
240 pages/Paperback
ISBN: 978-1-4347-6473-7
THE REST OF HEALTH
“In both of our practices, we constantly see people who view health too narrowly. Many people think of health as dropping pounds, lowering blood pressure, etc. These are all good, healthy things, but when the underlying motive is simply to look better physically, that is evidence that a patient doesn’t really understand the meaning of ‘health.’ After working with so many patients, we have seen that before a patient can make lasting changes in any area of life—and this includes physical health—they must take a step back and look at the bigger picture of their life.”
Q & A with David and Sonya Cameron
Authors of The Rest of Health
Q: In The Rest of Health, readers will discover seven steps for recovering health and wellness—but those steps are woven into the fictional story of Mike, a man in need of serious life change. This is certainly an unexpected format for a health book. Why did you choose this unique approach?
A: We had been presenting the non-fiction material for The Rest of Health as a seven week course for some time before our students began suggesting that we adapt it for publication. As we thought about what that book would look like, it was very important to both of us that we capture a male audience as well as a female audience. During the early stages of writing, we came across some research that claimed that 90 percent of what men read is fiction. We were also inspired by the example of Jesus, who was the Master Storyteller, communicating eternal truths in parable form. We both like a good story, and we felt the material, with its focus on the many facets of health and wellness (social/behavior, spiritual, biological/physical, thoughts and emotions/feelings) gave us opportunities to explore various relationships between the main character and other key people/activities in his life. We wanted our readers to enjoy the learning process, and an engaging story is an ideal means for making that happen.
Q: Can you give us an overview of the seven steps? How did you discover these principles?
A: In our medical and counseling practices, we see the common issues that people face. More than anything, our experience has taught us that lives are not compartmentalized. People are not one-dimensional. There is a complex interplay between what is going on in everyone’s physical, psychological, social, and spiritual lives.
Based on our training and clinical experience, we developed seven skills that we consistently see as the most influential for maintaining or recovering health and well-being. They have been field-tested in our practices with great results, and individually these concepts have been validated in medical and psychological literature. They are:
· Looking to learn
· Transforming your thinking
· Establishing healthy boundaries
· Caring for your body
· Raising your emotional I.Q.
· Cultivating your spiritual life
· Fine-tuning relationships
To find out more about The Rest of Health and the Camerons’ organization, The True Foundation, visit www.TrueFoundation.com and www.TheRestofHealth.com.
The Rest of Health by David and Sonya Cameron
VMI Publishers/September 2009
ISBN-13: 978-1-933204-96-3/softcover/302 pages/$14.99
