Latest project: The Devil in Pew Number Seven: A True Story, written with Bob DeMoss (Tyndale House Publishers).

Resides in: Nashville.

Your new book tells your family's story. Can you give us a synopsis? "The story began when my parents moved to a small town in North Carolina back in 1969, and when they came to the church, it was without a pastor and my parents were asked to come on there as full-time pastors, and they were greeted and welcomed by everyone. But there was a man that attended the church, and even though it was a small church of about 11 people, (he) had a lot of control in the community. …

"When my parents got there, they were welcomed initially, but then this man was kind of dethroned from some of his self-appointed power in the church. He was not a member of the church but faithfully attended every Sunday and sat in pew number seven. And so during that time my parents just stood their ground even though this man started harassing them, anonymous phone calls, and just letting them know he wasn't happy with them being there.

"When my parents stood their ground and decided this is where God has called us to. We are not going to leave,' this man upped the ante and started hiring people to not only call our home 30 to 60 times a day, but also hire them to do drive-by shootings, break into our home when we would go on vacation and just do whatever they could to antagonize my dad during church services. He even would interrupt, get up, walk out, slam the door, that kind of thing. Eventually he actually hired people to put dynamite around our home and our church during church services."

How old were you when all of this happened? "When the major dispute started happening, I was 2. … For about five years this man just tormented and harassed my family. There were 10 explosions altogether that the local law enforcement, state law enforcement and finally the FBI became involved in (conducting) the investigations."

How did you find the strength to endure what you called a "campaign of terror"? "Because the church was growing, the need to be there was so great. (My parents) knew if they left that this man would jump back into control again. They read the Word and they believed that God was going to protect them. When I talked to my dad about this, even as a little girl he would remind me of Luke 6 where it says, 'Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you and bless those who curse you. Pray for those who mistreat you.' So the Word and believing in the Word and knowing that God had called them to that place.

"My mom and I would get down on our knees at night before I went to bed and we would pray, 'Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take.' And I believed that as a child that if I stayed on this earth, God would protect me. If I left this earth, I would be in heaven with Jesus."

Your father chose not to take his family to a safer place to live. Did he make the right decision? "I trust that he did. I know that in the end he did begin to say, 'OK, this man is relentless.' … Being this big, almost 6-foot-4 Navy vet, you know that he could take this man down if he backslid. He said, 'I never met a man I couldn't whip.' But the Lord helped him restrain that strength and restrain the human feelings that we all have, and I believe that it took that supernatural strength of God inside my parents to not retaliate, to not seek revenge, to forgive over and over and over again."

What are some of the lessons you learned about forgiveness? "Forgiveness is a choice. It's not a feeling. … Jesus went through more suffering than anyone could ever experience on this earth and He forgave anyway. He's our example of forgiveness, and I know and believe that God gave me that gift of forgiveness to be able to forgive people that terrorized my family."

What is your life like now? "I have a husband and two beautiful children. When I was a teenager, I journaled and read my Bible and prayed a lot to get through some rough years without my parents. I got a hold of Job 42 (where it says) God blessed Job more in the latter part of his life than He did in the beginning, and I clung to that scripture … so I'm blessed and I've had so much healing of the heart."

Do you have any parting words for those who will be selling your book? "I'm hoping that this book will be able to reach people that are churched and unchurched. That's my desire because people everywhere have experienced hurt to some degree. The power of forgiveness that can change someone's life and set them free is what I'm hoping the retailers will read themselves, and it's that vision ... to really help the heart healing that needs to happen out there for so many people."

Radical by David Platt, senior pastor of the Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, Ala., challenges Christians to live a life of devotion and sacrifice rather than the American dream. The Multnomah Publishers title, which released in May, has 140,000 copies in print after eight print runs and reached the No. 7 ranking on the New York Times Paperback Advice list.

In Permission to Speak Freely, Anne Jackson calls on readers to help reclaim the church as a safe, grace-giving place. Retailing for $16.99 and releasing this month from Thomas Nelson, the book features Jackson's essays and poetry, along with artistic renderings of confessions submitted to her by mail or to her blog, FlowerDust.net.

Best-selling author and pastor Rod Parsley takes a stand in Living on Our Heads: Righting an Upside-Down Culture, releasing this month from FrontLine/Strang Book Group. In the hardcover book, Parsley writes of the cultural disorientation wherein wrong is considered right, and right is thought of as abnormal, intolerant and offensive. The book retails for $22.99.

Creflo Dollar, founder and senior pastor of World Changers Church International, challenges readers to look for well-being and victory in every area of life, in his new FaithWords book, Winning in Troubled Times. The book retails for $21.99.

This month C. Peter Wagner offers his Wrestling With Alligators, Prophets and Theologians: Lessons From a Lifetime in the Church—A Memoir. The Regal Books release from the church growth leader and spiritual warfare pioneer retails for $19.99.

More book news: For additional book news content, including fiction reviews, visit www.christianretailing.com.

Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees tells the story of his New Orleans Saints' comeback after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. He offers a message of faith, hope and encouragement to readers, football fans or not, in Coming Back Stronger. Retailing for $26.99, the hardcover book releases this month from Tyndale House Publishers.

William P. Young's The Shack (Windblown Media/Hachette Book Group) has spent more than 100 consecutive weeks on the New York Times Paperback Trade Fiction best-seller list, with more than 50 weeks at No. 1, according to Hachette. There are more than 12 million copies of the self-published novel in print.

Well-known apologist Ravi Zacharias' new Zondervan title, Has Christianity Failed You?, releases this month. Retailing for $19.99, the jacketed hardcover examines the question of why many in the church live with silent doubt, while others leave the "evangelical fold."

Author and speaker Christin Ditchfield challenges women to embrace God's gift of words and to think carefully about how they use that gift in A Way With Words: What Women Should Know About the Power They Possess. Each chapter includes wisdom from influential women throughout history and a Bible study for individuals and small groups. The Crossway-published book releases this month and retails for $12.99.

Robert Benne addresses American political discourse in Good and Bad Ways to Think About Religion and Politics, an Eerdmans release this month. Benne argues against what he terms separationism and fusionism and for "critical engagement," derived from the Lutheran tradition. The 120-page softcover book retails for $14.

More book news: For additional book news content, including fiction and nonfiction reviews, visit www.christianretailing.com.

Super Bowl-winning quarterback Drew Brees tells the story of his New Orleans Saints’ comeback after Hurricane Katrina devastated the area. He offers a message of faith, hope and encouragement to readers, football fans or not, in Coming Back Stronger. Retailing for $26.99, the hardcover book releases this month from Tyndale House Publishers.   

William P. Young’s The Shack (Windblown Media/Hachette Book Group) has spent more than 100 consecutive weeks on the New York Times Paperback Trade Fiction best-seller list, with more than 50 weeks at No. 1, according to Hachette. There are more than 12 million copies of the self-published novel in print.    Well-known apologistRavi Zacharias’ new Zondervan title, Has Christianity Failed You?, releases this month. Retailing for $19.99, the jacketed hardcover examines the question of why many in the church live with silent doubt, while others leave the “evangelical fold.”   

Author and speaker Christin Ditchfield challenges women to embrace God’s gift of words and to think carefully about how they use that gift in A Way With Words: What Women Should Know About the Power They Possess. Each chapter includes wisdom from influential women throughout history and a Bible study for individuals and small groups. The Crossway-published book releases this month and retails for $12.99.   

Robert Benne addresses American political discourse in Good and Bad Ways to Think About Religion and Politics, an Eerdmans release this month. Benne argues against what he terms separationism and fusionism and for “critical engagement,” derived from the Lutheran tradition. The 120-page softcover book retails for $14.

More book news: For additional book news content, including fiction and nonfiction reviews, visit www.christianretailing.com.

Andy Stanley, Jentezen Franklin, Francis Chan and Steven Furtick are among the pastors who contributed to What Is God Really Like?, releasing this month from Zondervan. Written in conjunction with the One Prayer multi-church campaign, the $19.99 book features 17 essays.

Baker Publishing Group is releasing A Desperate Faith by Jo Kadlecek this month. An adjunct professor at Gordon College, Kadlecek examines the 40 days after Christ’s resurrection and how it changed those around Him. The book retails for $13.99.

Simply Jesus: Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola present Jesus Manifesto (Thomas Nelson, $14.99) this month. Through the book, the authors attempt to bring Christianity back to being simply about Jesus, not about the ideologies, philosophies, social ethics or core values associated with the Christian faith.

Palmer Chinchen, pastor of The Grove in Chandler, Ariz., challenges Christians to a new kind of spiritual formation in True Religion ($14.99), releasing this month from David C. Cook. Chichin holds that true religion is Christians engaging the problems of the world as they spread the gospel

Small groups are the subject of the new InterVarsity resource Soul-Shaping Small Groups by Kim V. Engelmann, releasing this month. The senior pastor of West Valley Presbyterian Church in Cupertino, Calif., Engelmann offers a fresh organizational approach to small-group ministry for churches. The softcover book will retail for $15

Brazos Press, a division of Baker Publishing Group, looks to a native Californian for an examination of the state’s spiritual and cultural impact. Monica Ganas, a professor at Azusa Pacific University, shows how Christians can respond to what she calls “California-ism” in Under the Influence, releasing this month for $18.99 retail.

More book news: For exclusive and additional book news content, visit www.christianretailing.com.

Tullian Tchividjian, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Fort Lauderdale, uses the biblical story of Jonah to remind readers of God’s persistent grace in Surprised by Grace, releasing from Crossway on May 31. The book will release in hardcover and retail for $18.99.

Wild hearts: Dispelling the notion of a quiet, subdued Jesus, Lisa Harper underlines the radical nature of the Son of God in Untamed, releasing June 15 from WaterBrook Press. In the book, Harper encourages women to live with unleashed faith and set their hearts free. Untamed will release in softcover for $16.99.

More Miller: Two newly revised releases from popular author Donald Miller are arriving in stores. Father Fiction, a revision of Miller’s 2006 To Own a Dragon releases this month from Howard Books for $19.99, while a new version of his Searching for God Knows What released from Thomas Nelson last month for $14.99.

Jason Boyett tackles doubts in his latest book, O Me of Little Faith, releasing from Zondervan this month. Boyett, author of Pocket Guide to the Afterlife and Pocket Guide to the Bible, uses his personal life and humor to show that doubt is not the end of faith. The book will retail for $12.99.

The Art of Dying by Rob Moll (IVP Books) centers on how Christians should approach the subject of death, particularly how to treat the dying and how to prepare one’s self for passing. Moll, a journalist who has written on healthcare issues, uses interviews with the dying, hospice workers, doctors and nurses for guidance on grief. The book will release next month in softcover for $16.

More book news: For additional and exclusive book news content—podcasts, author Q&As, blogs and book reviews, including new fiction titles—visit www.christianretailing.com.