Hope of a Life That Transcends Culture’s Shallowness

(Nashville, Tenn.) – Many Christians live with the tension between what they know the Scriptures promise, and what they are actually experiencing in their lives. God seems distant, and the life described in Scriptures seems more like a series of rumors than reality. As pastors of different mega churches in large suburban US cities, these two friends share a passion to help people break free of the spiritual ruts they are trapped within, and perhaps for the first time, come to life. In Rumors of God (Thomas Nelson), fellow Aussies Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson lay out the spiritual obstacles they see the North American church facing, and provide insightful ways to overcome them.

Believers and non-believers have said that a lot of Christians cynically feel the greatest days of the church are in the past. The authors disagree. This book is their small rebellion against that notion. Rumors of God is a rally cry for the church in which Whitehead and Tyson share compelling stories, cultural observations, and illuminating Scriptural insights about the work and activity of God today. They believe that if you listen to the rumors of God, you will hear that God is doing something new in the church, and they desire to confirm these rumors with their own lives. Whitehead and Tyson believe God is writing an epic, global, redemptive story in which every single person has been invited to participate.

Key points of Rumors of God:

• Our attention has drifted from God and rested on the trappings of the world. All the while, our Father has something better awaiting us if we simply ask.

• Rather than trusting God to supply our needs, we get caught in the frenzy of accumulation. In contrast to this mind-set, Jesus says life is more important than material pursuits.

• When we forget the wonder of our identity and position in Christ, we end up relegating the church to a mere organization, while our union with God falls to the theoretical.

• If we are going to transform rumors of grace into powerful encounters with its reality, we need to reexamine our approach to sin, judgment, the gospel, and truth.

• Deep in the believer’s soul is a longing to see the fame and deeds of God renewed and known in our time, and a belief that we were all created for a radical pursuit of Jesus and His kingdom.

In his forward, Bill Hybels, founding and senior pastor of Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., and chairman of the board for the Willow Creek Association says, “In Rumors of God, Darren and Jon have somehow succeeded in slipping 3D glasses over our eyes. The results are that passages from scripture come alive in ways that will impact readers for a long time.”

Originally from Australia, Darren Whitehead has been on staff at Willow Creek Community Church for 6 years.  As Teaching Pastor, Darren and Senior Pastor Bill Hybels share the weekend service responsibilities to provide teaching for all five campuses. He also leads the Next Gen Ministries and Creative Arts Departments. Prior to Willow Creek, Darren served as Teaching Pastor and Director of Student Ministries at The People’s Church in Nashville, TN. He lives just outside of Chicago, IL with his wife Brandy and their three half Aussie, half American daughters. For more information about Willow Creek, go to www.willowcreek.org. Twitter: @DarrenWhitehead

Jon Tyson is the Lead Pastor of Trinity Grace Church with five locations in New York City. Originally from Australia, Jon moved to the United States 14 years ago and worked at several suburban mega churches in next-gen ministry before planting TGC 4 years ago. He is also on the board of City Collective, a network of incarnational churches committed to multiplying missional church networks in the urban centers of the world. You can see more about their church at www.trinitygracechurch.com and the network at www.citycollective.org. He lives in Manhattan with his wife, Christy, and two children. Twitter: @JonTyson

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Thomas Nelson is a leading provider of Bibles, products, and live events emphasizing Christian, inspirational and family value themes.  For more information, visit our website www.thomasnelson.com.

Rumors of God

By Darren Whitehead &  Jon Tyson

Available from Thomas Nelson

Release date: July 2011

Pages: 256

Trade Paper ISBN: 9781595553638 / $15.99 / 5.5” x 8.38”

E-Book ISBN: 9781595553645 / $14.99

BISAC category: RELIGION / CHRISTIAN LIFE / SPIRITUAL GROWTH

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS, IMAGES, ARTICLES, AND EXCERPTS AVAILABLE.

Contact: Brenda Smotherman, Thomas Nelson,

bsmotherman@thomasnelson.com

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The fate of Hartley’s violin has long been a mystery. All eight members of the band perished in the disaster, but the bodies of Hartley and two others were found by a search crew and taken to Nova Scotia, Canada. READ MORE »

Launches The Shelter of God’s Promises Trade Book & In-depth Bible Study for Women in DVD Format

(Nashville, Tenn.) These are difficult times. Turn on the television or open a newspaper and it’s clear that we are a nation in crisis. In a world of uncertainty, pain, and struggle, where do you find solid assurance and unshakeable truth?

Gifted Bible teacher and inspiring Women of Faith speaker Sheila Walsh offers powerful, heart-filled teaching on ten bedrock promises of God, providing the foundation for daily confidence, joy, and hope. In The Shelter of God’s Promises (Thomas Nelson, Trade Paper, ISBN: 9781400202447, $15.99), releasing this month, Sheila searches Scripture for what God has promised us, what God’s promises mean, and how encounters with Christ are the eternal fulfillment of His unrelenting commitment to us.

“In the course of my work with Women of Faith, my daily journey, and living in community with other believers, I find that most of us are trying to make it through this life with inadequate resources. As I have weathered my own storms, God has brought me to a place where He has shown me the power of His promises,” notes Walsh. READ MORE »

(Nashville, Tenn.) Thomas Nelson, the world’s largest publisher of Bibles in the English language and the leading publisher of King James Version (KJV) Bibles, will partner with media giants The History Channel Club, The History Channel Magazine, and Salem Communications to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the publication of the King James Version of the Bible. The partnerships are a significant strategic element of Thomas Nelson’s KJV400 celebration campaign, which will commemorate the historical, religious, and cultural impact of the KJV, the #1 selling Bible translation of all time. Through print, online, and radio the trio will be offering numerous ways for the world to participate in the celebration.

“Together Thomas Nelson, The History Channel Club, The History Channel Magazine, and Salem Communications will be able to connect millions of people with the living legacy of the King James Version of the Bible,” says Thomas Nelson’s Senior Vice President & Bible Group Publisher Gary Davidson. “We’ve enjoyed successful relationships with these industry leaders in the past, so they are natural partners for this historic anniversary celebration.”

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Dr. Richard G. Lee To Appear on The Glenn Beck Program and Restoring Honor Rally This Week

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“The ability that I have to celebrate the joy I’ve found in Jesus Christ is not one I take lightly, and I feel called to share that message of hope with others,” says Lee. “I’m truly honored to be invited to join in the discussion of religious freedom and to thank the service men that fight for my freedom on a daily basis.” READ MORE »