Herald Press Blog Tour God's Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church by Brad Roth

God's Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church  by Brad Roth.  ABOUT THE BOOK Rural places are often seen as insular and declining, all pickup trucks and gas stations with no gas. Another popular vision of rural life is more nostalgic: amber waves of grain, quaint streets, and the idyllic family farm. Neither story meets rural communities and congregations on their own terms, writes Brad Roth in his new book, God’s Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church (Herald Press, September 2017). In an era in which many are prescribing solutions to rural dilemmas, Roth writes, “We need a new approach, one that sees rural communities not as places to pity or lionize but simply as places, places open to God’s goodness and in need of God’s grace.” Addressing issues such as population shifts, economics, and value systems, Roth takes a comprehensive look at issues facing the rural church today. He then offers a theological and practical alternative to church growth strategies, which are frequently imported from suburban and urban congregations and which rely on success stories and flashy metrics. Calling leaders, pastors, and outsiders to “love the church as we discover it while still dreaming of where God is leading us,” Roth outlines a vision for vibrant rural churches that includes disciplines such as praising, abiding, watching, praying, growing, and befriending. “The rural church represents Christ’s commitment to be among all people everywhere, regardless of the value attributed to them by global centers of power,” he writes. “This is a book I will assign to divinity students and to a prominent position on my shelf,” says Leonard Sweet in the book’s foreword. “Brad Roth tells stories that will linger in my mind and imagination and shape how I think about the future of all churches.”

ABOUT BRAD ROTH Bradley Roth serves as pastor at West Zion Mennonite Church in Moundridge, Kansas. He grew up baling hay, tending sheep, and shearing Christmas trees on a farm in Illinois. He is a graduate of Augustana College, Harvard Divinity School, and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Brad has a heart for serving God and God’s people in rural communities. He’s passionate about sharing faith in word and deed and living out God’s love in the community. He and his wife, Lici, enjoy bicycling, tending a garden, keeping chickens, and playing with their two sons. $16.99 USD 5.5 x 8.5 in. paperback ISBN 978-1-5138-0161-2 eBook │ $13.99 │ 978-1-5138-0240-4 Release date: September 19, 2017  Available from Herald Press, Amazon, and your favorite bookseller.

Blog Tour: Anything But Simple By Lucinda J. Miller

Blog Tour: Anything But Simple If you live in a conservative Mennonite community, edges are sewn shut and questions have answers. So if you’ve got a saucy tongue and a roving curiosity about the world, you’ve got a story to tell. As a schoolteacher in a small Mennonite school in rural Wisconsin, Lucinda J. Miller wears long dresses and a prayer covering, like her grandmother, and she knows a lot about cooking and making do with what you’ve got. But she uses a cellphone and posts status updates on Facebook. So why would a young woman with access to all these technologies remain within a sheltered community like the plain Mennonites? How can someone with an eye for beauty and a sometimes sardonic wit stay within a tradition that values discipline and submission and uniformity? Anything but Simple is the stirring memoir of a young woman’s rich church tradition, lively family life, and longings for a meaningful future within her Mennonite faith.

	Lucinda J. Miller is a writer, teacher, blogger, and member of a conservative Mennonite community in Wisconsin. She teaches elementary school at the Sheldon Mennonite Church, and her writing has appeared in Daughters of Promise and Red Cedar Literary Journal. Her children's book, The Arrowhead, is forthcoming from Christian Light Publications. Connect with her at lucindajmiller.com. $12.99 USD 5.5 x 8.5 in. paperback ISBN 978-1-5138-0160-5 eBook │ $8.99 │ 978-1-5138-0176-6 Release date: July 25, 2017  Click the image below to view the trailer.

	Available from Herald Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and your favorite bookseller.

	Visit our new Herald Press Facebook page for more details and updates.

More information on our upcoming books

Blog tour Prayers for a Simpler Life by Faith Sommers

Prayers for a Simpler Life

by 

Faith Sommers

Herald Press; First edition (February 21, 2017)

Description:
Do your quiet times with God feel disconnected from the rest of your overflowing days? Shouldn’t our devotions affect how we live our lives?

In this 90-day devotional for women, plain Mennonite mother and wife Faith Sommers helps connect your moments with the Lord to the rest of your life. Steeped in the faith of Amish and Mennonites, who maintain that how we live is as important as what we say, Sommers’ words hold gentle warmth and wise nudging for readers tired of disjointed living.

Offering daily devotions, prayers, journal prompts, and ideas for how to simplify your life and strengthen your faith, Prayers for a Simpler Life guides readers toward a deeper commitment to the way of Jesus.

$12.99 USD

5 x 8 in. paperback

ISBN 978-1-5138-0126-1

eBook │ $8.99 │ 978-1-5138-0044-8

Release date: February 21, 2017

Available from Amazon.

About the Author Faith Sommers is a conservative Mennonite mother, wife, and columnist for Ladies Journal, a publication for Amish and Mennonite women. She and her husband Paul have six children between the ages of six and twenty-one.

My Review:

Firstly thanks to the publisher for my review copy.
When I first heard about this book I was interested in it as I like to have a devotional book to use each morning. This book has a bible reading, thoughts on the reading by Faith Sommers,  a prayer and a refection for each day. It goes for 90 days. I have been enjoying the daily devotions and thoughts. They are easy to read and understand but at the same time are meaningful. A new Christian would find this book helpful in understanding God and to just help them in their daily walk. I haven't finished the book yet but I do look forward to the next reading every morning. I have replace the devotional I was reading with this one due to this one being so much easier to understand and feeling it being more relevant.