The Gathering Storm

Bodie and Brock Thoene

Summerside Press

softcover, 320 pages, $14.99

978-1-609-36033-7

Mega-selling authors Thoene build on their popular "Zion Covenant" and "Zion Chronicles" series, covering the time period in between with the new "Zion Diaries" series. Using their legendary research and writing skills, the Thoenes draw readers into Adolf Hitler's blitzkrieg with this novel of strong faith and unique history.

The American-born daughter of an Austrian father who protests Hitler's policies, Loralei Bittick Kepler spends time in Berlin as the dictator is rising to power, then in Brussels, Belgium, where she and her family must flee the German army. Tragedy finds them, though Lora and others do make it across the English Channel. As she faces the loss of her husband, she embraces the many European refugees landing in England. She finds solace in work—and in the arms of Eben Golah, a man whose mystery is as profound as his heart for saving people.

The Gathering Storm is a unique blend of present and past, history and romance, ancient secrets and future peace. Readers will enjoy once again the Thoenes' storytelling, and take into their hearts Lora, Eben, Varrick and many others who take their stand against evil.

—Ann E. Byle

Bittersweet

Shauna Niequist

Zondervan

hardcover, 256 pages, $16.99

978-0-310-32816-2

Writing with another tasty theme in mind, Niequist (Cold Tangerines) sees bittersweetness as "the idea that in all things there is both something broken and something beautiful, that there is a sliver of lightness on even the darkest of nights, a shadow of hope in every heartbreak."

In Bittersweet: Thoughts on Change, Grace, and Learning the Hard Way, she shines light in that darkness, thanks to her own journey through change and heartbreak and questions and doubt, through her struggle to find good and God in the messiness of life.

Niequist and her husband faced job changes, a move and miscarriages, all rendered here in the smooth language and deep honesty that defines her style as a writer. She's honest, too, about the good things—food, friends, family. Her short essays allow a glimpse into her life, but, more importantly, her heart.

Readers searching for an honest look at the bitter and sweet of life will find it here; those looking for fine writing and God in the day to day will experience that here as well.

—Ann E. Byle

Encountering Heaven and the Afterlife

James L. Garlow and Keith Wall

Bethany House (Baker Publishing Group)

softcover, 288 pages, $14.99

978-0-764-20811-9

Encounters with angels, ghosts and the afterlife are a dime a dozen, but Garlow and Wall, whose previous book Heaven and the Afterlife became a best-seller, combine credible accounts with excellent storytelling in Encountering Heaven and the Afterlife: True Stories From People Who Have Glimpsed the World Beyond. Each encounter with a divine emissary gives insight into the afterlife. 

Although the authors include scriptural background and history, the most compelling part of the book is hearing the voices of those who share their testimonies. One story mentions a child revived after falling to the bottom of a swimming pool, and he suffered no brain damage. Another tells of a man who explained how he died and came back to life, which eased the pain of a family member who had blamed himself for his brother's death.

Readers who are open to reading about near-death experiences or encounters with angels will appreciate this addition to the topic. Skeptics may even be won over by these believable accounts.

—Jennifer Toth

Hipster Christianity

Brett McCracken

Baker Books (Baker Publishing Group)

softcover, 256 pages, $15.99

978-0-801-07222-2

Hipster Christianity: When Church and Cool Collide is not another how-to guide on becoming the next relevant church. Rather, it explores the "cool" movement in Christianity based on twentysomething journalist McCracken's research and personal experience.

Divided into three parts, the book first explains the history of what it means to be cool or hip and how the idea entered the church.

Next are discussions on what hipster Christianity is, where it is found and how being hip is put into practice. Finally, McCracken concludes by sharing some problems and solutions in hip Christian culture and how it compares to the core message of the faith.

Geared toward those who grew up in the '80s and '90s, this discussion on the desire to be hip and relevant will benefit young people in the church as well as the leaders who wish to reach them.

—Nicole Anderson

Nudge

Leonard Sweet

David C. Cook

hardcover, 256 pages, $19.99

978-1-434-76474-4

Theologian and trend spotter Sweet challenges the notion that evangelism is simply persuading people to accept propositions about sin and salvation, in Nudge: Awakening Each Other to the God Who's Already There. He sees evangelism as "nudging people to pay attention to the mission of God in their lives and to the necessity of responding to that initiative in ways that birth new realities and the new birth."

Sweet explains that Christianity is a mix of signs, images, rituals and stories, contending that evangelists are called to read "the signs of the times," scanning the cultural landscape for divine activity. Sweet structures his work in two parts, "Shining," helping readers see the manifestations in real life, and "Sensing," focusing on how we experience God through our senses.

This paradigm-shifting book is a rich and fascinating read. Well rounded and well read, Sweet quotes from a diversity of sources, among them poets, apologists, writers, psychiatrists and philosophers. Pastors, ministry teams and lay people will benefit from Nudge.

—Brian Smith McCallum

The Art of War for the Spiritual Battle

Cindy Trimm

Charisma House (Strang Book Group)

softcover, 224 pages, $15.99

978-1-599-79872-1

While reading Sun Tzu's The Art of War—an ancient Chinese manual on conducting military operations, popular in today's corporate world—charismatic author Trimm saw the relevance of the concepts to spiritual battle, thus the title of her book, The Art of War for Spiritual Battle: Essential Tactics and Strategies for Spiritual Warfare.

Believing that Christians aren't gaining much ground, Trimm calls on readers to fight again like "the evangelists and revivalists of old"—to get divine direction for this time in history. She writes that God is looking for spiritual generals to organize and lead the charge, and emphasizes scriptural operation of authority and leadership in the church.

Clear and direct, Trimm writes to motivate believers to exercise the disciplines of a prayer warrior, to organize prayer initiatives, to wage prayer campaigns and to establish and expand God's kingdom. Discouraged Christians will be challenged to believe that they still have a role to play in a war that has not yet seen its end.

—Christine D. Johnson

Angel Song

Sheila Walsh and Kathryn Cushman

Thomas Nelson

softcover, 352 pages, $14.99

978-1-595-54685-2

Annie Fletcher is proud of her sister Sarah and her upcoming graduation. But a night of celebrating new beginnings turns into tragedy as Sarah loses her life.

In her loss, Annie finds herself hearing music and quickly realizes that no one else is hearing it. In her search to figure out what she is experiencing, she decides it is easily explained away by stress, but as time goes on, she's not so sure.

As her late sister's neighbors—and their Down Syndrome son—take her under their wings, Annie is forced to come to terms with hurts of the past. As God places the right people at just the right times to direct her, Annie is forced to tear down the walls she has built around herself and in so doing, discovers a world she never before believed in and promise for a new future.

Angel Song aims to speak to anyone who has ever wondered whether God could use angels to touch a life. The authors also affirm the value of individuals who have a disability yet seem to have special gifting.

—Heidi L. Ippolito

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.

Best-selling author and pastor Max Lucado includes practical applications from his first book to his latest in The Lucado Life Lessons Study Bible, a complete revision of The Inspirational Study Bible. Thomas Nelson releases the revised Bible this month in the New King James Version. It comes in hardcover for $49.99 and Leathersoft for $69.99 with thumb index and $79.99 without thumb index.

With the same convenient size and readability as the best-selling NIV Thinline Bible, the NIV Bible for Teens includes the complete New International Version text, a presentation page, Words of Christ in red, concordance, eight pages of full-color maps, 8-point font and ribbon marker. Releasing Aug. 6, the Zondervan Bible comes in Italian Duo-Tone green or Caribbean blue, with each retailing for $24.99.

The Life Application Study Bible, Personal Size: Limited Anniversary Edition marks the anniversary of this top-selling Bible from Tyndale House Publishers. This New Living Translation edition features notes that explain difficult scripture passages, give information on Bible life and times and show how God’s Word speaks to specific life situations. The Bible incorporates top scholarship in answering “now what?” questions and includes nearly 10,000 Life Application notes and features. With an introductory price of $24.97, the anniversary edition releases this month.

Thomas Nelson is releasing its single-column Bible in the King James Version and New King James Version. Both the KJV Single-Column Bible and the NKJV Single-Column Bible feature large-print, black-letter text for easy reading, and a clean, uncluttered page design that keeps visual distractions to a minimum. Releasing Aug. 10, the Leathersoft Bibles retail for $39.99 each.

Evolving in Monkey Town

Rachel Held Evans

Zondervan

softcover, 400 pages, $14.99

978-0-310-29399-6

Anyone who knows American history or has seen the movie Inherit the Wind will be familiar with the names Clarence Darrow and William Jennings Bryan and the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, a famous court case on creationism in which they played a part.

In Evolving in Monkey Town: How a Girl Who Knew All the Answers Learned to Ask the Questions, Evans, a twentysomething journalist, shares her journey of growing up in Dayton, Tenn., where the case took place. The book brings readers into Evans' home, where she grew up with her theologian father and spent her halcyon days at Christian schools, including Bryan College—named after William Jennings Bryan. She introduces readers to people who've crossed her path—from "Matt the Apologist" to Zarmina, a Muslim woman—and shares her journey from fundamentalism through doubt and eventually to faith.

Evans' autobiographical account is an important contribution to the dialogue between church and culture. Her writing is lucid, witty and trenchant, and her transparency will appeal to seekers. Evolving in Monkey Town gives readers permission to live and even rest in uncertainty and doubt.

—Brian Smith McCallum

23 Questions About Hell

Bill Wiese

Charisma House (Strang Book Group)

softcover with DVD, 160 pages, $15.99

978-1-616-38027-4

Wiese follows up his New York Times best-selling 23 Minutes in Hell with 23 Questions About Hell: Everything You Want—And Need—To Know! The author says he was once sent to the place of the damned for 23 minutes, and he offers lessons learned from that experience on a DVD that comes with the book.

In 23 Questions, he addresses common and not so common concerns, one per chapter, using the Scriptures to explain why God created such a place, what it's like and who goes there. The first chapter goes to the root of all of the questions, asking, Isn't God mean for making hell? Other such inquiries also delve into God's character, one asking whether He would be unloving to not allow a "good person" to enter heaven.

Wiese combats the views that hell is metaphorical and not a real place, and that anyone who goes there is annihilated and not left to suffer eternally. With the heart of a prophet and the love of an evangelist, he leads unbelievers to pray the sinner's prayer, urging them to take hell seriously and make the choice to go to heaven.

—Christine D. Johnson

Gotta Have It!

Gregory L. Jantz with Ann McMurray

David C. Cook

softcover, 272 pages, $14.99

978-1-434-76624-3

Author and founder of A Place of Hope Counseling Center, Jantz offers a way to freedom from the "excessities" of life—whether food, alcohol, exercise or any other stronghold used to cushion life's blows—in Gotta Have It! Freedom From Wanting Everything Right Here, Right Now. He argues that often what is considered a necessity isn't at all, and it inevitably crowds out those things that are, cheating individuals of a free and full life.

Helping readers understand what is a necessity and what is a desire, he offers them opportunity to question their motives and the whys and wherefores of the not-so-healthy things that have crept into their lives. Through questions, application exercises as well as the cases of his patients, he sheds light on how to break free into God's way to a life of abundance, patience, endurance, wisdom and hope.

This book is helpful for anyone who is ready to take honest inventory of his or her life and with the help of God, truly live.

—Heidi L. Ippolito

The Outsider Interviews

Jim Henderson, Todd Hunter and Craig Spinks

Baker Books (Baker Publishing Group)

hardcover with DVD, 208 pages, $24.99

978-0-801-01345-4

Inspired by Barna Group President David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons' 2007 book UnChristian, three men set out to conduct interviews with young adults who don't consider themselves Christians to find out how they perceive believers and the church.

Henderson, Hunter and Spinks filmed interviews in four cities, giving their reflections on what was said in The Outsider Interviews: A New Generation Speaks on Christianity. Mainly, their aim is to instruct the church on how culture has changed, how Christianity is now perceived and how such perceptions have created the need for a change in how believers connect with "outsiders."

The authors want readers to really listen to unbelievers without becoming defensive, in order to be more effective communicators. They caution Christians not to perceive all hostility as persecution, realizing that outsiders have seen Christianity misrepresented and are reacting to that.

The Outsider Interviews is challenging to read and sure to cause a variety of responses, both negative and positive. A DVD of the interviews accompanies the book.

—Deborah L. Delk

The Power of a Praying Life

Stormie Omartian

Harvest House Publishers

hardcover, 256 pages, $13.99

978-0-736-92688-1

Adding to her best-selling "The Power of a Praying ... " series, Omartian presents a new classic in The Power of a Praying Life: Finding the Freedom, Wholeness, and True Success God Has for You. From beginning a ministry in music and exercise to spanning a career writing 50 books, Omartian shares insights learned in times of joy and pain.

Her book reads quietly and confidently, offering healing to readers who have questions about prayer. She shares scripture and insights in different sections that explain the significance of God's will in the life of the Christian, how to know the enemy, God's holiness, His love and the power of prayer and fasting.

As in previous classics on prayer, Omartian aims to teach once more the basic principles that need to be retaught in this generation in regard to prayer.

This well-written book should teach, disciple and build faith in the hearts of all who read it.

—Jennifer Toth

Back on Murder

J. Mark Bertrand

Bethany House (Baker Publishing Group)

softcover, 384 pages, $14.99

978-0-764-20637-5

Back on Murder: A Roland March Mystery is an engaging crime novel taking readers on assignment with Houston's best homicide detective.

Detective March believes he is on his way out of the force because his peers trivialize his accomplishments—until he observes evidence at a major crime scene. Determined to find the victim and regain the respect he once held, he pursues his gut instinct to connect the victim with a missing, high-profile teen girl.

Because of his rogue decision, he is taken off the murder case and put on the task force to find the missing teen. Refusing to give up on solving the murder case, March finds himself cracking an internal cover-up when a fellow officer approaches him with answers to the case.

Bertrand captures a realistic view of a homicide detective's life, from the paperwork to life-threatening situations. Readers will relate to the struggles of his characters, their faltering faith and success.

—Nicole Anderson

Danger Close

William G. Boykin and Tom Morrisey

Fidelis Books (B&H Publishing Group)

hardcover, 336 pages, $24.99

978-0-805-44955-6

Author Boykin and retired Lieutenant General Morrisey explore the Islamist threat in the terrorist thriller Danger Close,which imagines an Al Qaeda intent on trumping itself with a more deadly attack on America.

After a successful tour in Afghanistan, Lieutenant Blake Crenshaw accepts a secret assignment from the CIA's counterterrorism chief. He switches places with an Anglo recruited into Al Qaeda by Muslim clerics in prison. Under this identity, he joins a D.C. sleeper cell and travels via London to a Pakistani training camp. There he learns of a nuclear device provided by North Korea for detonation near the Capitol and must escape before Predator drones take out the camp.

Throughout his ordeal, Blake, a devout Christian, must reconcile his faith with the life of deception and violence he must lead for a greater good—adding a dimension of spirituality often missing from espionage thrillers. In addition, the authors' attention to detail, particularly with military hardware, makes the story chillingly plausible.

—John Leatherman

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.