New Releases from Smyth & Helwys
|

June 2009 |
Sessions with John & Jude
God's Abiding Words for an Active Faith
by Charles Qualls
Charles Qualls takes readers on a journey through the letters of John and Jude. The lessons of these letters drive us to active belief as Christ modeled.
|

back to the top
|

May 2009 |
Making the Good News Good Again
by Judson Edwards
Judson Edwards asks questions shared by many longtime Christians: wouldn’t it be great if the Bible fascinated us once again? Wouldn’t we do almost anything to sense the presence of God anew in our lives? Wouldn’t we pay almost anything to get the wonder back? Wonder is the fuel that keeps Christians going, the element that makes our faith contagious and aliveand it is the greatest need in our churches today. Making the Good News Good Again will help readers hear with new ears the sweet, undistilled melody of the gospel.
|

May 2009 |
1, 2 & 3 John
by Peter Rhea Jones
During a historical crisis involving a splintering church, 1 John was written to solidify fellowship among like-minded congregations in a time when some teachings (2:19) denied the humanity of Chriwst. Second John emphasizes the serious nature of false teachings and exhorts readers to be on their guard. Third John juxtaposes hospitality embodied and denied in the situation of Gaius and Diotrephes.
|
 March 2009
|
Bottom Line Beliefs
Twelve Doctrines All Christians Hold in Common (Sort of)
by Michael B. Brown
Though individual denominations, congregations, and Christians may argue about how to interpret particular doctrines, all Christians accept and affirm some interpretation of them as central and vital to the practice of the faith. Though we may differ on the nuances of each of these doctrines, we still confess that they are central to our understanding of Christianity. They are the bottom line beliefs that form the body of our shared Christianity.
|

March 2009 |
Hardball Religion
Feeling the Fury of Fundamentalism
by Wade Burleson
Wade Burleson’s Hardball Religion is the startling story of his three-year journey from Christian dissent to censure to resignation from the IMB. It also serves as an important record of another struggle within the SBCthe much more serious battle against the Fundamentalism that threatens to destroy the fabric of Southern Baptist cooperation.
|

March 2009 |
The Good News According to Jesus
A New Kind of Christianity for a New Kind of Christian
by Chuck Queen
The time has come for evangelical Christians to rethink their faith. Many of us grew up with a Christianity centered mostly on the teachings of Paul, but have we explored the life and teachings of Jesus as portrayed in the Synoptic Gospels? Chuck Queen contends that when we broaden our study of Jesus, the result is a richer, deeper, healthier, more relevant and holistic gospel, a Christianity that can transform this world into God’s new world.
|

February 2009 |
The Green Earth Challenge
Integrating Faith & the Environment
by Winnie Williams
The Green Earth Challenge will change the way you view the planet, your faith, and your role as a steward of God’s creation. Winnie also describes our worldwide energy challenges and offers practical advice for reevaluating our personal, national, and global behavior.
|

January 2009
|
Sessions with Mark
Following Jesus at Full Speed
by Michael D. McCullar & Rickey Letson
Immersing us in the Gospel of Mark, Michael D. McCullar and Rickey Letson reveal Jesus as a person of intense passion, energy, and drive. Mark portrayed Jesus as powerful yet benevolenthealing the sick, calming storms, exorcising demons, raising the dead, and restoring sight to the blind. Mark’s Jesus was God on a mission.
|

December 2008
|
Mission as Holistic Ministry
Developing a Congregational Ethos of
Community Engagement
Steve deClaissé Walford
This book offers a lifeline to struggling pastors and declining churches that is based on insightful analysis of our culture’s malaise and drift away from the church, sound biblical and theological reflections on the mission of the church, and a sociological study of churches in the Atlanta area.
|

December 2008
|
Reading Paul's Letters to Individuals
A Literary and Theological Commentary on Paul's Letters to Philemon, Titus, and Timothy
W. Hulitt Gloer & Perry L. Stepp
In this volume, Gloer and Stepp interpret Paul’s letter to Philemon and the Pastoral EpistlesTitus and 1 & 2 Timothy. Like other volumes in this unique series, Reading Paul’s Letters to Individuals focuses on comprehending the major themes of the epistles and their relationship to the understanding of the early Christian communities.
|

December 2008
|
Elvis, Willie, Jesus & Me
The Musings and Mutterings of a Church Misfit
Bert Montgomery
Elvis, Willie, Jesus, & Me is a collection of short observations and reflections on life, society, faith, and church, with a rock-and-roll attitude.
|
 December 2008
|
Luke
Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary
Richard B. Vinson
The Gospel of Luke narrates the life of Jesus from the nativity stories, to Jesus’ baptism and temptation, ministry in Galilee, journey to and teaching in Jerusalem, and finally his death and resurrection. In his engaging guide to Luke’s account, Richard Vinson accompanies readers on their own compelling journeya journey through the life of Christ as seen through the lenses of critical scholarship and contemporary culture.
|

September 2008
|
Acts, Annual Bible Study
Living With Passionate Faith
Judson Edwards
Gathering a community. Breaking down walls. Spreading the word. Taking a stand. These four phrases organize this study of Acts and guide readers through a world alive with God and God’s mighty deeds. And all of us who have “drunk too deeply at the wells of reason and rationality” will once again pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe. Lead your entire congregation through Acts with the 2009 Annual Bible Study teaching and study guide.
|

September 2008
|
Growing Up Christian
A Congregational Strategy for Nurturing Disciples
C. Ellis Nelson
McGuffey’s Readers. Public school. Family prayers. In the 1800s, these were primary, and successful, strategies by which children learned to become Christians. Today many churches still rely on the nineteenth-century model to encourage young people to become disciples of Christ. Growing Up Christian explores why these strategies are inadequate for the twenty-first century and offers practical, specific guidance for congregations who wish to nurture disciples of Christ more effectively. A discussion guide is included.
|
 September 2008
|
1 & 2 Thessalonians
Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary
Linda McKinnish Bridges
First and Second Thessalonians explore the first-century Mediterranean world in which the Apostle Paul writes to the community of faith in Thessaloniki. It is a complex dialogue among the Thessalonian believers, the young missionary Paul, and the readers who would follow through the centuries. These writings give us a wide window into this ancient environment where Paul lived, worked, and taught and help us, the twenty-first-century readers, understand Paul’s perspectives on leadership, ethics, community life, and death.
|

July 2008
|
Regent's Study Guide 14:
Under the Rule of Christ
Dimensions of Baptist Spirituality
Paul S. Fiddes (editor)
In this book the Principals of the six Baptist colleges in Great Britain take up a request to write about Baptist spirituality. They propose that the spirituality of Baptists, in all its diversity, is characterized by living ‘under the rule of Christ’. While all Christian spiritual traditions affirm this truth, they suggest that there is a particular sense of being under Christ’s rule which has been shaped by the story of Baptists and by their way of being church through the centuries.
|

June 2008
|
By My Own Reckoning
Autobiography of Cecil Sherman
In this much-anticipated autobiography, Dr. Sherman reflects on his life as a pastor, as a husband and father, and as a key figure in the SBC political controversy of the 1980s. More importantly, Sherman shares with readers the intimate history of his life and ministry, from his origins as the descendent of preachers and farmers, to his pastoral years, and ultimately to the tender love story of caring for his wife, Dot, as she fades into the haze of Alzheimer’s disease.
|

June 2008
|
Daniel
Smyth & Helwys Bible Commentary
Sharon Pace
Dr. Sharon Pace's superb analysis and commentary reveal that from the depths of despair comes a faith that refuses to abandon the belief that the universe operates according to God’s willeven though its unfolding cannot yet be seen. Daniel boldly declares, through the eyes of faith, that the suffering of the righteous matters, that God hears their voices, and that there is a divine plan for good.
|

May 2008
|
Telling Stories
Tall Tales and Deep Truths
Tony Cartledge
Discover a smorgasbord of stories and scripts that range from the possible to the fantastic, along with one that really happened. They include original stories in folktale style and monologues or dialogues designed to illuminate biblical characters. All of these stories are designed to inspire those who proclaim Christ to effectively utilize good stories in their own preaching.
|

May 2008
|
Joining Forces
Balancing Masculine and Feminine
Jeanie Miley
Jeanie Miley explains that our deeply ingrained gender expectations have created an imbalance in our emotional and spiritual lives and have kept us from becoming our most authentic selves. Joining Forces will help readers discover the masculine and feminine characteristics that connect, unite, and restore us.
|

April 2008
|
The Spirit of Retirement
Creating a Life of Meaning and Personal Growth
James A. Autry
The Spirit of Retirement is your guiding light to creating and sustaining the post-work life you have always envisioned.
|

March 2008
|
A Christian's Guide to Islam
Michael McCullar
A Christian’s Guide to Islam provides a brief but accurate guide to Muslim formation, history, structure, beliefs, practices, and goals. It explores to what degree the tenets of Islam have been misinterpreted, corrupted, or abused over the centuries.
|

March 2008
|
But God Meant It for Good
Lessons from the Life of Joseph
Ronnie McBrayer
What will you find in the story of Joseph? Jealousy, deception, injustice, forgiveness, redemption. We read about his dysfunctional family. We witness a sudden stop when he is alone and abandoned in a Middle Eastern prison. Then the speed in which he rises to the seat of world power takes the air from our lungs. Through it all God faithfully brings Joseph’s life to its intended destiny.
|

March 2008
|
Love as a Way of Living
William Powell Tuck
Without question the word “love” sums up the essence of our Christian faith; we are commanded to love God, our neighbors, ourselves, and our enemies. Nonetheless, many Christians struggle with living by this high standard. Sometimes Christians are afraid to practice love for fear of ridicule or being seen as weak. Is Jesus’ ethic of love, as some assert, unrealistic for the modern world? Tuck believes we cannot give way to this negative philosophy.
|

March 2008
|
Blessed Are the Jesus Chicks
A Christian Mother's Guide to Life, Love, and Work
Miranda Bradley
Miranda Bradley offers a practical guide to balancing the complex issues working Christian moms face such as childcare, careers, marriage, faith, and friendship. Readers will come away with the knowledge that they are not alone, with the inspiration to embrace their sometimes chaotic lives, and with the reassurance of Christ’s everlasting grace.
|

February 2008
|
A Distinctively Baptist Church
Renewing Your Church in Practice
Ronnie Prevost
A Distinctively Baptist Church explains how historically Baptist beliefs can and should shape the way a church functions; the study questions and downloadable teaching guide offer churches a means to work through how their Baptist heritage will shape their life and witness.
|

February 2008
|
Sessions with Matthew
Becoming a Family of Faith
William D. Shiell
Immersing us in the first-century world, this study will help us read the ancient biography of Jesus in light of the first listeners’ expectations and hopes and will draw analogies to the modern world. Sessions with Matthew also focuses on passages that make Matthew unique among the Gospels.
|
|
|