Over the past few years, John Pavlovitz's blog, Stuff That Needs To Be Said, has become a virtual hub for millions of people from all over the world, drawn there by his clear, compelling words on compassion, equity, love, and justice. This expansive, like-hearted community transcends race, orientation, gender, religious tradition, political affiliation, and nation of origin--and finds its affinity in the deeper place of our shared humanity, which is the True North of his writing. This collection lovingly pulls together some of John's most widely-read and most beloved essays on faith, politics, grief, and the elemental parts of being human. It is an encouraging, inspiring, challenging storehouse of "stuff that needs to be said."

Stuff That Needs To Be Said: Essential Words on Life, Death, Faith, Politics, Love, and Giving a Damn

Religion & Spirituality

Pavlovitz, John

Christian Books & Bibles

John Pavlovitz

No one likes to eat alone; to approach a table filled with people, only to be told that despite the open chairs there isn’t room for you. The rejection stings. It leaves a mark. Yet this is exactly what the church has been saying to far too many people for far too long: "You're not welcome here. Find someplace else to sit.” How can we extend unconditional welcome and acceptance in a world increasingly marked by bigotry, fear, and exclusion? Pastor John Pavlovitz invites readers to join him on the journey to find—or build—a church that is big enough for everyone. He speaks clearly into the heart of the issues the Christian community has been earnestly wrestling with: LGBT inclusion, gender equality, racial tensions, and global concerns. A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, Hopeful Spiritual Community asks if organized Christianity can find a new way of faithfully continuing the work Jesus began two thousand years ago, where everyone gets a seat. Pavlovitz shares moving personal stories and his careful observations as a pastor to set the table for a new, more loving conversation on these and other important matters of faith. He invites us to build the bigger table Jesus imagined, practicing radical hospitality, total authenticity, messy diversity, and agenda-free community.

A Bigger Table: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community

Westminster/John Knox Press

A Bigger Tableinvites readers to envision a church that is big enough for everyone, by holding up a mirror to the modern church and speaking clearly on issues at the heart of the Christian community: LGBT inclusion, gender equality, racial tensions, global concerns, and theological shifts. John Pavlovitz shares moving personal stories, his careful observations as a pastor, and his understanding of the ancient stories of Jesus to set the table for a new, positive, more loving conversation on these and other important matters of faith. Though there are many who would remove chairs and whittle down the guest list, we can build the bigger table Jesus imagined, practicing radical hospitality, total authenticity, messy diversity, and agenda-free community. This new edition includes a small-group study guide complete with ideas for exploring A Bigger Tablein a congregation-wide sermon series and program along with a new foreword by Jacqui Lewis and new afterword by the author to explore the challenges of living out the bigger table when voices of hate and exclusion seem stronger and louder than ever.

A Bigger Table, Expanded Edition with Study Guide: Building Messy, Authentic, and Hopeful Spiritual Community

Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible. Imagine for a moment what the world might look like if we as people of faith, morality, and conscience actually aspired to this mantra. What if we were fully burdened to create a world that was more loving and equitable than when we arrived? What if we invited one another to share in wide-open, fearless, spiritual communities truly marked by compassion and interdependence? What if we daily challenged ourselves to live a faith that simply made us better humans? John Pavlovitz explores how we can embody this kinderkind of spirituality where we humbly examine our belief system to understand how it might compel us to act in less-than-loving ways toward others. This simple phrase, "Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible," could help us practice what we preach by creating a world where: <ul> <li>spiritual community provides a sense of belonging where all people are received as we are;</li> <li>the most important question we ask of a religious belief is not Is it true?but rather, is it helpful?</li> <li>it is morally impossible to pledge complete allegiance to both Jesus and America simultaneously;</li> <li>the way we treat others is the most tangible and meaningful expression of our belief system.</li> </ul> In If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk, John Pavlovitz examines the bedrock ideas of our religion: the existence of hell, the utility of prayer, the way we treat LGBTQ people, the value of anger, and other doctrines to help all of us take a good, honest look at how the beliefs we hold can shape our relationships with God and our fellow humans--and to make sure that love has the last, loudest word.

If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk: Finding a Faith That Makes Us Better Humans

Worth Fighting For: Finding Courage and Compassion When Cruelty is Trending

Politics & Social Sciences

Social Sciences

Amidst the bright lights and wrappings of a sentimentally saturated Christmas season, we tend to forget about the gritty, messy reality of the Advent story as it was experienced 2,000 years ago. In this honest Advent devotional, best-selling progressive Christian author John Pavlovitz reminds us that God came to meet us in the low places of our lives -- and that Jesus continues to come low this Advent season. When we plant our feet firmly in the dirt of everyday life, we see Jesus meeting us in the low places: when we live humbly, when we seek forgiveness, in our grief and suffering, when we act on behalf of someone else, when we pray. As we walk the road of Advent, Jesus reminds us the invitation is not to escape this world to an elevated Heaven somewhere else, but to bring Heaven down. "God with us" is Jesus, getting low. Each devotional includes a scripture and Advent reflection on Jesus meeting us on the ground.

Low: An Honest Advent Devotional

Chalice Press

In this new Lenten devotional, popular progressive Christian author John Pavlovitz (LOW: An Honest Advent Devotional) once again takes us on a transformative spiritual journey. Like the human experience, the spiritual journey is not a level path. It is about the falling and the rising. We allow our hopes to rise when we are in the middle of the struggle. We wait for the sun to rise, knowing that joy comes in the morning. We rise to our feet after falling to our knees in desperate prayer. We rise when we are knocked from our feet, persistent in this. We rise to meet the coming day, knowing we are held by a Love that will have the last word. RISE is a 40-day journey of elevated hopes and ascending spirits. Each entry includes scripture, a reflection, and a prayer.

Rise: An Authentic Lenten Devotional

Overwhelmed by the news cycle and the state of affairs in our world? Pastor, blogger, and powerful voice in the Resistance, John Pavlovitz has the answer: this rousing and inspirational guide, drawing from lessons of our favorite superheroes, for how we can band together, live more heroically (and meaningfully), and save the world. It’s exhausting to give a damn these days, isn’t it? Perhaps you’re feeling anguished about what you see on the news or in your social media timeline, or by your personal circumstances, and are paralyzed waiting for political or religious leaders, or celebrities, to rescue us from it all. But what if you didn’t have to wait for someone else? What if you could be the hero? This book—a spirited call to action—shows you how. In these pages, John offers a path away from the vitriol and toward compassion, and a plan to transform our burdens into dreams and our outrage into activism. Drawing from lessons of beloved fictional superheroes, John shows us how to identify our origin story, build protective suits of armor, guard against our personal kryptonite, and vanquish our villains. He also identifies ten specific “superpowers” that we can enlist to make our lives and our world better. Along the way, he shares inspiring anecdotes and profiles about ordinary people who saw a gap in the world in empathy or kindness or gratitude and decided to fill it. Hope and Other Superpowers is an invitation to anyone hoping to be the kind of person the world so desperately needs—the kind who can save it. In other words: it’s an invitation to you.

Hope and Other Superpowers: A Life-Affirming, Love-Defending, Butt-Kicking, World-Saving Manifesto

Self-Help

Motivational

Simon&Schuster

Grief is a solitary road. Even if we are fortunate enough to have people alongside us during the journey, (as I have been), no one can really travel all the way with us. Our pain and our path are as individual as the relationship we share with the person we've lost.

A Year in The Grief Valley

Parenting & Relationships

Parson's Porch

How to Heal Our Divides Volume Two: An Abundance of Opportunities

Grant, Jennifer

Harper, Lisa Sharon

Reyes-Chow, Bruce

Tisby, Jemar

Thomas, Adam

Stookey, Noel Paul

Allain, Brian

Taylor, Adam Russell

Higgins, Gareth

Independently published

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Books by Pavlovitz, John