Jesus Plus Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian
Press Release
It’s so easy to forget what the Christian faith is all about. We struggle so much, work so hard, and fail so often that we frequently sense something in the equation of life must be missing.
Tullian Tchividjian argues that what we are missing is the gospel—a fuller, more powerful understanding of Jesus and what his finished work means for everyday life.
During a year of great turmoil, Pastor Tchividjian discovered the power of the gospel in his own life. Sharing his story of how Jesus became more real to him, Tchividjian delves deeply into the fundamentals of the faith, explaining the implications of Christ’s sufficiency—a revelation that sets us free and keeps us anchored through life’s storms.
Ultimately, Tchividjian reminds us that Jesus is the whole of the equation as he boldly proclaims that Jesus plus nothing really is everything.
William Graham Tullian Tchividjian (pronounced cha-vi-jin) is the Senior Pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. A Florida native, Tullian is also the grandson of Billy and Ruth Graham, a visiting professor of theology at Reformed Theological Seminary, and a contributing editor to Leadership Journal.
A graduate of Columbia International University (philosophy) and Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando (M.Div.), Tullian has authored a number of books including Jesus + Nothing = Everything (Crossway). He travels extensively, speaking at conferences throughout the U.S., and his sermons are broadcast daily on the radio program LIBERATE. As a respected pastor, author, and speaker, Tullian is singularly and passionately devoted to seeing people set free by the radical, amazing power of God's grace.
When he is not reading, studying, preaching, or writing, Tullian enjoys being with people and relaxing with his wife, Kim, and their three children, Gabe, Nate, and Genna. He loves the beach, loves to exercise, and when he has time, he loves to surf.
Hardcover: 224 pages Publisher: Crossway Books (October 14, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 1433507781 ISBN-13: 978-1433507786 Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
After the bended knee proposal and ceremonial crowning of the ring finger, and somewhere between a heartily shouted "Yes!" and "I Do!", most couples will find themselves going through the rite of passage called pre-marital counseling. Let's be honest, here. Most of the time, all the "counselling" sessions amount to is the fulfillment of an obligation to becoming Mr. and Mrs.
Looking back on my experience, we left each session arguing about something that had been revealed instead of feeling armed and prepared for the future. I remember the time our minister looked at me and said, (in his own words) "If you see him standing on a street corner, talking to an attractive girl, don't jump to conclusions." Because he never looked at my groom-to-be and gave him the same advice, I felt a little cheated. When talking to other couples regarding their experience, they echoed my sentiments. They felt cheated. They didn't get anything out of the sessions. In their opinion, it was a waste of time.
The concept of premarital counseling has its merits. If you know some of the challenges you will encounter ahead of time, you can better prepare for them instead of opting out of your union, which is what half of married couples do.
Imagine the impact if, during a counselling session (premarital or couples) the minister asked, "Have you ever felt that you let God down in the way you handled your dating or marriage relationship?" Now there's a question that will transpose the emotions of a couple, which is where the marital union truly lies. Lecturing on the topic of commitment is exaggerated. Discussing the emotional level of relationships? Worth more than that priceless American Express in your wallet.
Author Dr. David Yanez explains complex emotional behaviors in his book titled Almost Out Of Grace. They cover, but are not limited to:
Desire-God given, in spite of how man acts on it, and how to let go when you desire the wrong one
Real Romance and how to tell the difference
Identifying a "trophy" when you see one
Learning to love and commit happily-ever-after (I love the anecdote Yanez uses concerning the movie An Affair to Remember)
He also addresses a large audience when he describes some of the hurts you can and will encounter while gently affirming the reader that they are beautiful, with purpose, and that they can have a great marriage even with a less-than-ideal partner. He also cautions against a relationship that is harmful; think controlling, threatening, fear-producing and discouraging.
I mentioned earlier that lecturing on commitment is overrated, yet when Yanez devotes the last section of his book to that very topic, it is refreshing. He praises the blessing of finding a spouse and best friend for life and unashamedly devotes an entire chapter to keepin' that lovin' feeling alive. He goes on to advise on how to deal with ghosts from former flames that refuse to die.
Ask any couple that have logged time together married and they will nod in agreement that these are the issues that young couples in love need to hear and be talking about, not just the trust and commitment factor.
Above all else, Almost Out Of Grace is a reminder that even if you didn't start out on a Godly path, it's never too late. He forgives, He restores and He says 'It's time to move on.' In essence, between the lines of prevention, Yanez wants his alternate audience to be assured that this is for you, too.
To punctuate his dissertation, Yanez reminds the Christian reader that our responsibility is to love one another with a love that is made complete through patience and grace, and that is a counseling session the church as a whole would benefit by attending.
David Yanez is a leading faith and spiritual entrepreneur for the gospel reaching the world through preaching, media, books, missions and broadcasting. Founder of Revelation Ministries, which operates David Yanez Ministries, a global missions and healing service ministry. RevMedia Network an online broadcasting ministry reaching millions, RevMedia Publishing a Christian publishing ministry reaching the world with books and magazines through printed and digital editions, and RevLife a global orphanage ministry and feed program.
Dr. David Yanez "The Rev" has been preaching the gospel since he was sixteen years old. God has used him in the Navy and throughout our nation to deliver healing, hope and salvation to many. In his early twenties he interned with a missions ministry from India to help the 1.5 billion in India and Asia that don't know Jesus.
In his early thirties he started hosting a popular radio show called Midwatch with the Rev. Thousands listen online and through the airwaves from coast to coast.
Today he continues in ministry as a pastor, author, radio host, counselor and evangelist through the ministy he founded Revelation Ministries a 501c(3) tax-exempt non-profit organization. He holds relationship webinars, seminars and conferences around the nation. Constantly involved in missions through building Bible Colleges, hosting crusades and pastor's conferences around the world through David Yanez Ministries. He is also the general station manager of Revmedia Network and Director of RevMedia Publishing both which he founded.
Paperback: 124 pages Publisher: RevMedia (April 12, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0977219437 ISBN-13: 978-0977219438 Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.2 inches
In 1981, a simple nun, using merely her entrepreneurial instincts and $200, launched what would become the world’s largest religious media empire in the garage of a Birmingham, Alabama, monastery. Under her guidance, the Eternal Word Television Network grew at a staggering pace, both in viewership and in influence, to where it now reaches over a hundred million viewers in hundreds of countries around the globe.
Raymond Arroyo combines his journalist’s objectivity and eye for detail with more than five years of exclusive interviews with Mother Angelica. He traces Mother Angelica’s tortured rise to success and exposes for the first time the fierce opposition she faced, both outside and inside of her church.
Raymond Arroyo is an internationally known, award-winning journalist, producer, and New York Times Bestselling author. As news director and lead anchor for EWTN, he is seen in more than 150 million homes on six continents each week. Mr. Arroyo established EWTNews in 1996, creating several programs including "The World Over Live" which he hosts from Washington DC before a live studio audience. The program was named "Best Religious Show or Series in Cable Television for 2009" by CableFAX Magazine.
Known for his penetrating interviews, Mr. Arroyo has interrogated the leading figures of the day. Highlights include: The first exclusive, sit down interview with Mel Gibson about his film, "The Passion of the Christ"; Carroll O'Connor's final broadcast interview; Mother Teresa of Calcutta; Placido Domingo; President George W. Bush, several heads of state, and the first and only English interview with Pope Benedict XVI.
Mr. Arroyo has served as a Capitol Hill Correspondent, a reporter for the political columnist team of Evans and Novak, and worked for the Associated Press and The New York Observer.
A graduate of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, Arroyo was mentored by some of the finest acting instructors in the world, among them: Stella Adler, Bobby Lewis, Uta Hagen, and Beatrice Straight.
In addition to his work at EWTN, Mr. Arroyo has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America, CNN Headline News, Access Hollywood, Capitol Gang, The O'Reilly Factor, Countdown, and is a regular contributor to The Laura Ingraham Show. His work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Times, The Financial Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine, The New Yorker, National Review, and elsewhere.
He is producer of the bestselling, all-star "Truth and Life Dramatized Audio Bible" (Zondervan), "The Word of Promise" (Thomas Nelson), and a Billboard chart topping PBS Christmas special, "The Birth of Christ"(Sony Classics) hosted by Liam Neeson. His books: "Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve, and a Network of Miracles" (Doubleday), "Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality" (Doubleday) and "Mother Angelica's Private and Pithy Lessons from the Scriptures" (Doubleday) and "The Prayers and Personal Devotions of Mother Angelica" have all been New York Times Bestsellers. The New Orleans native is currently working on a children's series, a mystery series, and an original musical. Mr. Arroyo resides in Northern Virginia with his wife Rebecca and their three children.
Review notes from Mary-Get ready to be engaged before the completion of the introduction. Arroyo is an incredibly gifted author that is to Mother Angelica what Christopher Andersen and Andrew Morton are to notable leaders, celebrities and royalty. Five years and many gruelling interview sessions later, Mother Angelica reads as a novel, with a flawless presentation that would make the notable nun proud. Unfortunately she suffered a stroke in 2001, coincidentally a few short months following the perceived end of Arroyo's assignment, making his interview the last on record. If she has been able to sample the finished product, she would relish in the fact that Arroyo followed through with her one and only instruction regarding the writing of her biography. "Make sure you present the real me. There is nothing worse than a book that sugarcoats the truth and ducks the humanity of the person. I wish you forty years in purgatory if you do that."
Paperback: 416 pages Publisher: Image (May 15, 2007) Language: English ISBN-10: 0385510934 ISBN-13: 978-0385510936 Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.2 inches
These people rise up like a lioness; like a majestic lion they stand. —Numbers 23:24
The lioness rises from her slumber, a magnificent image of strength, passion, and beauty. Her mere presence commands the landscape, protects her young, and empowers the lion. In groups, lionesses become a creative and strategic force to be reckoned with, acting as one to change the world around them.
You too are a lioness.
Women, it’s time to… AWAKEN… God did not save you to tame you. AWAKEN… to a life of fierce passion. AWAKEN… To dangerous prayer, stunning power, and teamed purpose. AWAKEN… Your response could very well change your world.
Packed with remarkable insights from nature and a rich depth of biblical references to lionesses, Lioness Arising is a call for women to rise up in strength and numbers to change their world.
Jesus is, after all, the lion of the Tribe of Judah. And we are his lioness arising.
Paperback: 240 pages Publisher: WaterBrook Press (September 6, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 0307457796 ISBN-13: 978-0307457790 Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.6 x 9 inches
"There's nothing more dangerous than being in the presence of lions when they are fully awake."
He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened. ~Lao Tzu
Questions to contemplate: Do you truly listen to another point of view, or do you endlessly rationalize your own?
Are you generous, empathetic, and compassionate, or more concerned with getting your share?
Are you passive-aggressive or direct in your communication?
Do you manipulate others to get what you want, or are you straightforward in your actions?
None of us is perfect. However, to excuse all our imperfections with the line "I'm only human" is a cop-out. Each of us can do better. What it takes is desire and commitment.
Chris Fabry is a successful media giant. He is the author of over seventy books for children and adults that have accumulated awards including ECPA’s Fiction Book of the Year and a Christy Award for Outstanding Standalone Contemporary Novel. He was also named Moody radio’s Talk Show Host of The Year after decades on air as a radio talk show host. Yet, among his professional accomplishments, he admits, “My family is what energizes me. Most of all, I want to succeed as a husband and father.” Fabry’s sense of balance and the simplicity of his worldview stand in stark contrast to the rave reviews and media attention Tyndale House Publishers is receiving related to his new release, Not In The Heart. Fabry’s much anticipated novel examines every parent’s nightmare and the ethical dilemmas that arise from making decisions from the heart when it asks, “What would you do to save the life of your child?”
MN- Your newest novel, Not in the Heart, faces heavy topics such as gambling addiction, capital punishment and organ donation. Where did you get your inspiration for the book?
CF- My stories usually come from some aspect of real life. I worked in TV news with a friend who went on to work for CNN. He was the pool reporter for an execution of a man in South Carolina. That really affected him for a number of years and his views on capital punishment were altered. We have friends with a young son with a heart condition and many friends have marriages that are on the brink or have crumbled. There is also spiritual searching and gambling, so I feel it’s a pretty realistic picture of a lot of relationships.
MN-Several of the characters in Not in the Heart deal with life changing addictions. Have you struggled with addiction in your own life?
CF- I’ve never been diagnosed with an addiction, but I can see how most people are addicted to something. We depend on something outside of us to make us happy, give us a good feeling. I’ve had issues with food and soft drinks and sports. That’s more respectable than gambling or cocaine or alcohol, but I’m in the same boat in a lot of ways. Anything we use to make ourselves numb to reality and numb to life can restrict our relationship with God.
MN- What encouragement would you offer to your readers who may be dealing with an addiction? What encouragement would you give to the family of an addict?
CF-To the addict, I would say that there is hope for you. There is hope for your relationships. God offers you freedom if you will choose it. It’s not an overnight thing—it can be, but it usually isn’t. If you want freedom, you can have it.
To the family, I would say to hang in there and to love the other person well. Sometimes loving the other person means letting them go. It can look messy and not feel like love.
MN- Is addiction usually the result of other factors going on in one’s life? What drove the addiction of the character in your book?
CF-My main character has an addictive personality, no doubt. The factors in his life are like those in society—the more stress, the more anxiety and pain, the more likely a person is to seek something that will soothe them and help them dull that pain. For some it’s drugs or alcohol; for others it may be sex or gambling. For some it’s food. It can really be anything that takes away the intense pain that person is experiencing. I’m not an expert or a psychologist, but I’ve observed addictions in people’s lives stemming from those surface struggles, but the addictions go way deeper.
MN- Problem Gambling Awareness Week is March 4-10, 2012. Do you know how many Americans struggle with an addiction to gambling?
CF-I have seen stats that say as many as 15-20 million people in the U.S. are addicted to gambling. That’s 5-7% of the entire population. And those numbers are only going to go up with the increase in availability.
MN- You have had your own struggles over the past few years. Tell us about some of what your own family has gone through in regards to having to start over.
CF-Our family moved into a huge home in Colorado in 2000. Soon after we started seeing some unusual physical problems that accelerated after we found mold growing behind a bathroom wall. The remediation was done incorrectly, and our problems got worse. We walked away from the house in 2008 with the clothes on our backs and moved to Arizona to get treatment. It’s been one of the most difficult things to go through, watching our children suffer, but also one of the most rewarding because we’ve seen God work in spite of our illnesses and losses.
MN- Didn’t your children become ill as a result of the mold problem? Much like your main character, you had to watch them struggle without much you could do to help. How did you work your own experience into this story?
CF-Six weeks after the first exposure one son contracted Type 1 diabetes, which doesn’t run in our family. Another son had ringing in one ear and, as a result of surgery to correct it, he’s now deaf in that ear. I could go on with the sicknesses of the kids but, yes, watching our kids suffer helped in writing the book. I can see why Truman would want to run away from the pain. I also met a little boy named Levi who has a heart problem, and I extrapolated the pain his parents had gone through in deciding about his surgery.
MN- February 14th is the National Organ Donor Day. Do you know how many people in our country are waiting for an organ donor?
CF-There are 70-80 organ transplants done every day, I believe. On the downside, about 18 people die every day awaiting an organ transplant. I’ve known several people who have undergone a transplant of a kidney or a liver, and the change in lifestyle is amazing.
MN- What do you hope your readers will take away from reading Not in the Heart?
CF-Love conquers all. What is done in secret will one day come to light. God is the great pursuer of our hearts and we are restless until we find our rest in Him. There is hope for even smarmy characters who set up their own morality. There is hope for the addicted.
Nurture your inner monk and surrender to the natural grace and rhythm of your heart’s deepest longings.
“The whole world is, in fact, a text of sacred revelation. All experience has the potential to be revelatory, and God is singing one unending song seducing each of our hearts. So the call is to listen, to attune to the words God utters in the world.” -from the Afterword
Break open this ancient contemplative practice of listening deeply for God’s voice in sacred texts. Drawing on her own experience as a monk in the world, Christine Valters Paintner introduces the foundations for a practice of lectio divina. She closely examines each of the four movements of lectio divina as well as the rhythm they create when practiced as a process. She then invites you to expand your practice beyond traditional sacred texts to a sacred reading of the world through image, sound, nature, and life experience.
Whether you want to start a contemplative prayer practice or deepen your experience of lectio divina in new ways, you are invited to savor the gifts lectio divina has to offer your heart and spirit.
Christine Valters Paintner, PhD, is a writer, teacher and the online abbess of Abbey of the Arts, a virtual monastery dedicated to nurturing contemplative practice and creative expression. She is author of Water, Wind, Earth, and Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements and co-author of Awakening the Creative Spirit: Bringing the Arts to Spiritual Direction. She frequently leads retreats and teaches on the wisdom of Benedictine, Celtic and desert ways of praying. Christine Valters Paintner is available to speak on the following topics:
Desert Monastic Practices And Spirituality Celtic Monastic Practices And Spirituality Benedictine Monastic Practices And Spirituality Lectio Divina And Contemplative Prayer Spirituality And The Expressive Arts
Paperback: 192 pages Publisher: Skylight Paths Pub (May 27, 2011) Language: English ISBN-10: 1594733007 ISBN-13: 978-1594733000 Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
The Seven Principles of the Monk Manifesto: 1. I commit to finding moments each day for silence and solitude, to make space for another voice to be heard, and to resist a culture of noise and constant stimulation.
2. I commit to radical acts of hospitality by welcoming the stranger both without and within. I recognize that when I make space inside my heart for the unclaimed parts of myself, I cultivate compassion and the ability to accept those places in others.
3. I commit to cultivating community by finding kindred spirits along the path, soul friends with whom I can share my deepest longings, and mentors who can offer guidance and wisdom for the journey.
4. I commit to cultivating awareness of my kinship with creation and a healthy asceticism by discerning my use of energy and things, letting go of what does not help nature to flourish.
5. I commit to bringing myself fully present to the work I do, whether paid or unpaid, holding a heart of gratitude for the ability to express my gifts in the world in meaningful ways.
6. I commit to rhythms of rest and renewal through the regular practice of Sabbath and resist a culture of busyness that measures my worth by what I do.
7. I commit to a lifetime of ongoing conversion and transformation, recognizing that I am always on a journey with both gifts and limitations.
Mary is an avid reader, writer, editor and self-proclaimed advocate for Christian literature and the authors that make it happen. She supports publishers by promoting their new releases as well as spotlighting the best authors in the business. In 2011, Mary became the host of an internet radio talk show focusing on the extraordinary stories of ordinary people. She is also the lead journalist for The Wordsmith Journal; an online Christian entertainment magazine. Member Evangelical Press Association.(EPA)
