8.Matthew 26:42.

9.Matthew 26:46a.

CHAPTER 7: Promptings for Parenthood.

1.For more information on this concept, see author Gary Chapman's books on the five love languages.

2.Shauna published a book in 2007 t.i.tled, Cold Tangerines: Celebrating the Extraordinary Nature of Everyday Life, (Zondervan), in which she recounts the details and tough lessons learned during this era of life.

CHAPTER 8: When G.o.d Speaks through Others.

1.2 Samuel 12:1a3, NCV.

2.2 Samuel 12:5, NCV.

3.2 Samuel 12:7a, NCV.

4.2 Samuel 12:13, NCV.

CHAPTER 9: Whispers That Change the World.

1.Psalm 106:3.

2.Psalm 140:12.

3.Isaiah 1:17.

4.Isaiah 61:8.

5.Micah 6:8.

6.Luke 11:42.

7.See Exodus 22:25.

8.See Deuteronomy 15.

9.Zechariah 7:11ba12a.

10.See 2 Corinthians 8:9; Proverbs 19:17; Matthew 25:31a46.

11.Undoubtedly, the best book I have read on the subject of extreme poverty is Bryant Myers's Walking with the Poor (Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis, 1999). Your heart never will be the same after you understand the truth about poverty in our world. Read at your own risk!

12.Number estimated from statistics in the 2006 United Nations Human Development Report.

13.Michael Emerson and Christian Smith, Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America (London and New York: Oxford University Press, 2001).

14.Ibid., 22.

15.C. S. Lewis, "The Inner Ring," The Weight of Glory (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1965), 58. The essay was originally a Memorial Lecture at King's College, University of London, delivered in 1944 and was originally published in the collection Transposition and Other Addresses in 1949. For a fascinating discussion of this concept of the Inner Ring, go to lewissociety.org/innerring.php.

16.Emerson and Smith, Divided by Faith, 14.

17.Ibid, 93.

18.Ibid, 94.

19.Matthew 5:44.

20.Matthew Soerens and Jenny Hw.a.n.g, Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compa.s.sion and Truth in the Immigration Debate (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 2009).

CHAPTER 10: Just Say the Word.

1.Bill Hybels and Rob Wilkins, (Find True Satisfaction by) Descending into Greatness (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1993).

2.Philippians 2:6, NIV.

3.Philippians 2:7a.

4.Emphasis added.

5.Hybels and Wilkins, Descending into Greatness, 19.

6.Philippians 2:9a11, CEV.

7.Matthew 8:10, NASB.

The Power of a Whisper: Audio CD

Hearing G.o.d.

Having the Guts to Respond.

Bill Hybels "Without a hint of exaggeration," says pastor and author Bill Hybels in this unabridged audio CD, The Power of a Whisper: Hearing G.o.d, Having the Guts to Respond, "the ability to discern divine direction has saved me from a life of sure boredom and self-destruction. G.o.d's well-timed words have redirected my path, rescued me from temptation and reenergized me during some of my deepest moments of despair."

In The Power of a Whisper, vision is cast for what life can look like when G.o.d's followers choose to hear from heaven as they navigate life on earth. Whispers that arbitrate key decisions, nudges that rescue from dark nights of the soul, promptings that spur on growth, urgings that come by way of another person, inspiration that opens once-glazed-over eyes to the terrible plight people face in this world...Through firsthand accounts spanning fifty-seven years of life, more than thirty of which have been spent in the trenches of ministry, Hybels promotes pa.s.sion in Christ-followers' hearts for being wide open to hearing from G.o.d, and for getting gutsier about doing exactly what he says to do.

The Power of a Whisper: Partic.i.p.ant's Guide

Hearing G.o.d.

Having the Guts to Respond.

Bill Hybels G.o.d still speaks-is anyone listening? Join bestselling author and pastor Bill Hybels in this four-session video-based study where your group will learn to navigate life through whispers from G.o.d. Through this dynamic teaching and group study, you will learn to practice hearing from G.o.d, surrender to the voice of G.o.d, obey his promptings and become a more effective kingdom-builder. Use with the Power of a Whisper Partic.i.p.ant's Guide to help facilitate group discussion and further study.

Just Walk Across the Room

Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith Bill Hybels What if you knew that by simply crossing the room and saying h.e.l.lo to someone, you could change that person's forever? Just a few steps to make an eternal difference. It has nothing to do with methods and everything to do with taking a genuine interest in another human being. All you need is a heart that's in tune with the Holy Spirit and a willingness to venture out of your "Circle of Comfort" and into another person's life.

Just Walk Across the Room brings personal evangelism into the twenty-first century. Building on the solid foundation laid in Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels shows how you can partic.i.p.ate in the model first set by Jesus, who stepped down from heaven two thousand years ago to bring hope and redemption to broken people living in a fallen world. Now it's your turn. Your journey may not be as dramatic, but it can have a life-changing impact for someone standing a few steps away from you-and for you as well, as you learn the power of extending care, compa.s.sion, and inclusiveness under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The stakes are high. The implications are eternal. And you may be only a conversation away from having an eternal impact on someone's life-if you will just walk across the room.

Just Walk Across the Room

Four Sessions on Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith Bill Hybels with Ashley Wiersma In Just Walk Across the Room, Bill Hybels brings personal evangelism into the twenty-first century with a natural and empowering approach modeled after Jesus himself. When Christ "walked" clear across the cosmos more than two thousand years ago, he had no forced formulas and no memorized script; rather, he came armed only with an offer of redemption for people like us, many of whom were neck-deep in pain of their own making.

This dynamic four-week experience is designed to equip and inspire your entire church to partic.i.p.ate in that same pattern of grace-giving by taking simple walks across rooms-leaving your circles of comfort and extending hands of care, compa.s.sion, and inclusiveness to people who might need a touch of G.o.d's love today.

This DVD is designed for use in conjunction with Just Walk Across the Room: The Four-Week Campaign Experience, which consists of three integrated components: Sermons, an implementation guide, and church promotional materials provided on CD-ROM to address the church as a whole Small group DVD and a partic.i.p.ant's guide to enable people to work through the material in small, connected circles of community The book Just Walk Across the Room to allow partic.i.p.ants to think through the concepts individually

Courageous Leadership

Bill Hybels The book you hold resonates with this conviction: that leaders such as you have the potential to be the most influential forces on planet Earth. Yours is the staggering responsibility and the matchless privilege of rallying believers and mobilizing their spiritual gifts in order to help people who are far from G.o.d become fully devoted followers of Christ. Life transformation and the eternal destinies of real people depend on the redemptive message entrusted to the local church. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to lead your church effectively so G.o.d's message of hope can change the world? Then this book is for you.

Courageous Leadership is Bill Hybels' magnum opus, a book far too important to be written before its time. Only now, after nearly thirty years leading his own church from a handful of people with a burning vision into a globe-spanning kingdom force-only after almost three decades of victories and setbacks, of praying hard and risking big-is Hybels ready at last to share the lessons he has learned, and continues to learn, about Christian leadership.

In this pa.s.sionate, powerful book, Hybels unpacks the tools, tasks, and challenges of your calling. You'll discover the power of vision and how to turn it into action. You'll gain frontline insights for developing a kingdom dream team, discovering your leadership style, developing other leaders, making decisions, walking with G.o.d, embracing change, and much, much more. Drawing on his own richly varied life experiences, Hybels fleshes out vital principles with riveting firsthand stories.

Becoming a Contagious Christian