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Ollie's Kids: Our Family Journey
Calvin H. Bowers
2012
"Ollie's Kids fills an important gap in America's collective knowledge of Black families in the rural South. Dr. Bowers' account provides a strength-based account of a loving family that placed God as its center and experienced immeasurable blessings as a result. This memoir serves as a blueprint for rearing faith-filled, hard-working, and highly productive children"--Dr. Tanya Smith Brice
"... my Pepperdine [University] colleague, Calvin Bowers, tells his own heartwarming story of family, church, and school preparing him for his remarkable career of leadership: over 35 years in higher education, and over 50 years as a minister of [the Figuerosa Church of Christ] in LA"--David Davenport.
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Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity: Servant Leadership as a Way of Life
Shann R. Ferch
2012
In a fresh rendering of the role of leaders as healers, Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity considers love and power in the midst of personal, political, and social upheaval. Unexpected atrocity coexists alongside the quiet subtleties of mercy, and people and nations currently encounter a world in which not even the certainties of existence remain even as grace can sometimes arise under the most difficult circumstances. Ultimately, Forgiveness and Power in the Age of Atrocity is a book about the alienation and intimacy at war within us all. Ferch speaks to categorical human transgressions in the hope that readers will be compelled to examine their own prejudices and engage the moral responsibility to evoke in their own personal life, work life, and larger national communities a more humane and life-giving coexistence. In addition to a primary focus on servant leadership, the book addresses three interwoven aspects of social responsibility: 1) the nature of personal responsibility 2) the nature of privilege and the conscious and unconscious violence against humanity often harbored in a blindly privileged stance, and 3) the encounter with forgiveness and forgiveness-asking grounded in a personal and collective obligation to the well-being of humanity. Modernist and postmodernist notions of the will to meaning are considered against the philosophical notion of the will to power. The book examines the everyday existence of human values in a time when we inhabit a world filled as much with unwarranted cruelty as with the disarming nature of authentic and life-affirming love. The book asks the question: Can ultimate forgiveness change the heart of violence? In Forgiveness and Power, people are challenged not only by the work of profound thought leaders such as Mandela, Tutu, but also Simone Weil, Vaclav Havel, Emerson, Mary Oliver, Martin Luther King, Paulo Freire, bell hooks, and Robert Greenleaf. The hope of the book is that people of all ages and creeds come to a deeper understanding and of personal and collective responsibility for leadership that helps heal the heart of the world.
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Paul and Jesus: How the Apostle Transformed Christianity
James D. Tabor
2012
Historians know almost nothing about the two decades following the crucifixion of Jesus when his followers regrouped and began to spread his message. During this time, the apostle Paul joined the movement and began to preach to the Gentiles. Using the oldest Christian documents that we have -- the letters of Paul -- as well as other early Christian sources, historian and scholar James Tabor reconstructs the origins of Christianity. Tabor reveals that the familiar figures of James, Peter, and Paul sometimes disagreed fiercely over everything from the meaning of Jesus' message to the question of whether converts must first become Jews. The author shows how Paul separated himself from Peter and James to introduce his own version of Christianity, which would continue to develop independently of the message that Jesus, James, and Peter preached.
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The Writer's Compass: From Story Map to Finished Draft in 7 Stages
Nancy Ellen Dodd
2011
This book will show writers how to develop their ideas into a finished novel by working through it in 7 stages while learning how to map out their story's progress and structure so they can evaluate and improve their work. It teaches writers to visualize their story's progress with a story map that helps them see all the different components of their story, where these components are going, and, perhaps most importantly, what's missing.
The book simplifies Aristotle's elements of good writing (a.k.a. that each story should have a beginning, a middle, and an end) into easily applicable concepts that will help writers improve their craft. The author helps readers strengthen their work by teaching them how to focus on one aspect of their story at a time, including forming stories and developing ideas, building strong structures, creating vibrant characters, and structuring scenes and transitions. Thought-provoking questions help writers more objectively assess their story's strengths and weaknesses so they may write the story they want to tell. -
Social Services and the Ethnic Community: History and Analysis
Alfreda P. Iglehart and Rosina M. Becerra
2011
This volume introduces the history of welfare policy, and community development, and provides a look into providing culturally competent service. The book is structured into three main themes -- the history of ethnic and racial minority groups in the Progressive Era; the historical evolution of social work and micro and macro practice with minority groups; and the ethnic agency and community. Up-to-date sources provide expanded discussions of ethnic and racial-group history in the United States, White ethnics and their services, ethnicity and the development of social work, and the linkage of mainstream agencies to ethnic communities.
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Rancho Santa Margarita
Michael A. Moodian
2010
Set in the foothills of the Santa Ana Mountains, Rancho Santa Margarita is a vibrant city with the unique quality of an urban village. Although incorporated on January 1, 2000, making it one of California's youngest cities, it has a rich and intriguing history that dates back to the origins of the Golden State. During the late 1800s, the original ranch covered 230,000 acres, making it one of the largest in the Southwest. With many never-before-seen images, this book captures the essence of this fascinating story of the city, including the Spanish expedition in the 1700s, the Mexican governance of the land, the ownership of the area by the O'Neill family, the ranch activities of the 1960s, and the building of city landmarks in the 1980s, including the development of the most scenic lake in Orange County.
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A New Day: A True Story of Faith, Healing, and Miracles
Dora Barilla
2009
Dora Barilla had the perfect life; a great job, a handsome firefighter husband, two beautiful daughters and a house in the suburbs. But on March 15, 2005, her world was turned upside down. While on a routine call, husband Tom Barilla suffered a traumatic brain injury in a horrific collision that nearly killed him, destroying Dora's perfect world.In painstaking detail, Dora recounts the days sitting by Tom's bedside as he lay in a coma, the numerous surgeries he endured, the endless hours of rehabilitation and weeks of nasty litigation that pitted the family of firefighters and the city against the California Highway Patrol and the tour bus company that crashed into Tom's fire engine.Dora tells the story of her struggle to maintain optimism for her family and friends as well as keep her own sanity. Ultimately, with faith and understanding, Dora is able to accept the challenges of her new world and embrace a new day.
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Succeeding in the Real World: What School Won't Teach You
Hoan Do
2009
The truth is that school is nothing like the real world. For many, life after college means serious responsibilities and difficult decisions to make finding a place to work, how to pay back school loans, and figuring out a direction in life. Whit the uncertainties that exist after graduation, students are feeling more anxious and unprepared to transition from academic life to real life. This book shares straightforward, useful advice and solutions to deal with the day-to-day challenges that young people face.
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Succeeding in the Real World: What School Won't Teach You
Hoan Do
2009
The truth is that school is nothing like the real world. For many, life after college means serious responsibilities and difficult decisions to make, finding a place to work, learning how to pay back school loans, and figuring out a direction in life. Whit the uncertainties that exist after graduation, students are feeling more anxious and unprepared to transition from academic life to real life. This book shares straightforward, useful advice and solutions to deal with the day-to-day challenges that young people face."
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Working World 101: The New Grad's Guide to Getting a Job
Bridget Graham and Monique Reidy
2009
Targeting the generation-specific problems that thwart young grads' career efforts, "Working World 101" helps young people develop the well-spoken poise, confidence, and professional attitude needed to succeed in the real world.
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Contemporary Leadership and Intercultural Competence: Exploring the Cross-Cultural Dynamics Within Organizations
Michael A. Moodian
2009
Featuring contributions from some of the world′s most renowned cross-cultural management theorists and commentators, this breakthrough text explores the cross-cultural dynamics within organizations. The book examines the evolving role of cultural diversity in the workplace, the application of cultural comprehension to organizations, and the measurement of various aspects of intercultural competence.
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Integrating Planning, Assessment, and Improvement in Higher Education
Barbara J. Sherlock and National Association of College and University Business Officers
2009
Based on Penn State s popular Innovation Insights series, this book brings together in one handy reference nearly a decade of tried and true insights into continuous quality improvements in higher education. Their five-step model for integrating planning, assessment, and improvement moves plans off the shelf and into the weekly and daily scheduling and prioritizing process. It uses assessment as a guide for future actions and goals, and process improvement, innovation, and reengineering as a means to implement a plan.
Supported by data and tools, readers will learn how to create a culture of innovation; adopt a student-centered approach to continuous quality improvement; lead a successful innovation; make accurate assessments; foster teamwork and collaboration; and implement plans. Drawing on Penn State's IMPROVE method, as well as many other leaders in the field, this book offers proven methods and tools for running effective meetings, facilitating teams, conducting surveys, using focus groups, benchmarking, and developing strategic performance indicators.
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Miraculous Messages: From Noah's Flood to the End Times
David W. Balsiger and Charles E. Sellier
2008
From the producers of Breaking the Da Vinci Code, The Search for Heaven, and Faith in the White House, this book investigates the incredible links between Noah's Flood and Global Warming and End Times! The newest installment in our Faith Evidence Series explores a mystery to which all of mankind is seeking the answer. Beginning with the story of Noah and woven throughout the pages of the Bible is a thread that ties together our past, present, and future--a series of supernatural messages that carry the keys to life, death, and eternity.
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Child of Wonder: Nurturing Creative & Naturally Curious Children
Ginger L. Carlson
2008
Designed to nurture children who think, wonder, and love to learn, this collection of inspiring ideas and techniques guides children’s creative development. A thoughtful, engaging resource—for parents and educators seeking to understand creativity and to encourage it in practical ways—this guide illustrates multiple intelligences and learning styles and provides tools to develop a creatively supported environment that cultivates family participation. An array of complementary hands-on activities explores topics such as imaginative play, math, movement, music, cooking, science, storytelling, visual arts, questioning, cooperative games, media, and nature.
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Copper Sun
Sharon M. Draper
2008
Two fifteen-year-old girls--one a slave and the other an indentured servant--escape their Carolina plantation and try to make their way to Fort Moses, Florida, a Spanish colony that gives sanctuary to slaves.
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The Leadership Advantage: How the Best Companies are Developing their Talent to Pave the Way for Future Success
Robert M. Fulmer and Jared L. Bleak
2008
The best competitive weapon any company can have is its up-and-coming leaders. The Leadership Advantage shows companies what some exceptional organizations are doing to develop their best and brightest. Based on substantial research and featuring the results of a 2006 study conducted by Duke Corporate Education, APQC, and the Center for Creative Leadership, Robert M. Fulmer and Jared L. Bleak show how these companies:
* create learning opportunities for individual employees as well as the entire company * maintain a strong partnership between line managers and human resources * develop high-potential employees * evaluate success by measuring company-wide achievement * tie leadership development to business goals
Featuring illuminating case studies of companies like Caterpillar, Cisco Systems, and PepsiCo that have made leadership development an integral part of their business strategy, The Leadership Advantage will ensure that today's businesses have the tools to help their most promising talent reach their greatest potential and to create a company-wide culture of excellence.
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The Breakthrough Company: How Everyday Companies Become Extraordinary Performers
Keith R. McFarland
2008
The vast majority of small businesses stay small--and not by choice. Only the most savvy and persistent--a tiny one-tenth of one percent--break through to annual sales above $250 million. Here, consultant McFarland pinpoints how breakthrough success is associated with a clearly identifiable set of strategies and skills that anyone in any business can emulate. McFarland spent five years building and analyzing the world's largest growth-company performance database and interviewing more than 1,500 growth-company executives on four continents. His goal was simple: to identify the secrets of breakthrough. The result is a collection of real-world tools and myth-busting insights that can be used by anyone wanting his or her business to join this exclusive circle.
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Messengers of the Risen Son in the Land of the Rising Sun: Single Women Missionaries in Japan
Bonnie Miller
2008
The story of the evangelism of Japan by a courageous group of women who left everything and sacrificed all for their Lord.
As the nineteenth century came to a close, Japan was a mysterious group of islands that had been previously closed to the Western world. Christianity had been blamed for many of the ills that had befallen the island nation. This is the amazing story of how a group of Christian ladies left their nation, their culture, and the safety of their homes to bring the gospel to a male-dominated, biased world. -
The entrepreneurial investor :the art, science, and business of value investing
Paul Orfalea
2008
The Entrepreneurial Investor will inspire you to treat investing like a business and to think of yourself as an owner. Through solid examples and a light narrative, Paul Orfalea skillfully explores the essence of the entrepreneurial investor, which includes balancing the art and science of this discipline and viewing investing itself as a business. Along the way, he also examines how the elements of focus, opportunism, and involvement can improve your overall investment results.
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From Crime to Crime: Mind-Boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder
Dennis Palumbo
2008
Hollywood screenwriter Dennis Palumbo (My Favorite Year) threw in the pen to become a psychotherapist to the very same writers, directors and producers he had worked with in the industry. Now, he has picked that pen up again -- this time writing dark, yet humorous, short mysteries. In From Crime to Crime - Mind-boggling Tales of Mystery and Murder, Palumbo offers readers a chance to solve each mystery by giving them all the clues necessary.
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The Age of Engage: Reinventing Marketing for Today's Connected, Collaborative, and Hyperinteractive Culture
Denise Shiffman
2008
Whether you're a marketer, communications expert, CEO, or business owner, you face the daunting challenge of marketing with your customers, not to them. In this book, Denise Shiffman lays out a blueprint for how you can create persuasive value so that your products stand out, build trust by reshaping audience interactions, expand social currency and extend your sphere of influence, and deploy new marketing vehicles to capture the hearts, minds, and wallets of your customers.
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The Red Schwinn Bicycle: "A Sentimental Journey"
Barrie C. Bartulski
2007
An endearing and captivating story, The Red Schwinn Bicycle: A Sentimental Journey, recounts the journey of one bike and the fun, selfishness, arguments, sadness, and fond memories that its presence creates for six boys.The first owner, "Red," receives the bike through a stroke of sheer luck when his mother wins her bet on a game of chance known simply as "the numbers." While experiencing firsthand the ugliness of war and death on Iwo Jima as a Marine in World War II, Red envisions the good times he had with his bike to seek relief from fierce fighting with Japanese soldiers. Red must decide if he will pass the bike onto his brother Robert, and will nephew Richard become another owner of the bike! Jack, a neighborhood boy whose widowed mother cannot afford a bike, is allowed to use the bike, becomes a paratrooper and is sent to Korea. Barrie, who believes he will someday follow in family ownership of the bike fights fiercely for the first time, with a brother he loves dearly over the bike. Tommy, an adopted, friendly little boy, who also uses the bike will take it on its final ride.A touching memoir, The Red Schwinn Bicycle is the story of how six boys' lives are affected by the use of this enchanting and magnificent bike.
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Pursued: A Novel
John R. Beyer
2007
A killer without remorse, burning with pride, and having the time of his life, Zachary Marshall is unstoppable-until Detective Jonas Peters unexpectedly arrives in the midst of one of Marshall's heinous crimes. After a bank robbery goes from bad to worse and leaves three dead-including a little girl-Marshall finds himself the target of the most intensive manhunt Riverside, California, has ever witnessed. Detective Peters becomes frustrated and half-crazed as the case falters due to lack of clues and evidence. Ordered to take a vacation from the department before he drives all the other detectives crazy with his constant tirades, he reluctantly agrees. But an innocent remark to the media changes the entire scenario-now the pursued has become the pursuer.Detective Peters takes this homicide case especially hard, having seen his own young daughter murdered during a bungled convenience-store robbery years earlier. The pain of the darkness is too deep, and the spirits are waiting to remind him; they will not forgive him, and he cannot forgive himself. There will be no rest until Marshall is caught.
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The Great Omission: Amazing Ways the Church Muddles the Message: How to Get it Right and Tell it Right
Robert Blair
2007
If Jesus were still alive and preaching today, would he be building a huge church structure? Would he be talking about the "trigger" issues, the hot topics that seem to dominate our pulpits? Would he be marching in the streets -- either against or in favor of -- abortion, gay rights, or repealing the death penalty? Robert Blair contends that Christ would not be politically active or overtly try to influence the government. Instead, he asserts that Jesus would preach the same simple gospel that he did 2,000 years ago. In The Great Omission, Blair makes the case that the contemporary followers of Jesus should be doing what he would do -- and that our primary objective ought to be preaching the good news to every person on the planet. Blair believes that it is only by doing that, and by personally assisting the poor, that we can truly glorify God.
Every minister will profit by "reading and heeding" this book -- but those in the pews will also benefit from reading The Great Omission. Too often laypersons wish to honor God but receive garbled signals from church leadership about the church's main purpose. This book will become a lightning rod for change in returning our churches to the biblical message and suggesting the right methods to tell it.
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