M. Craig Barnes – författare

Jesus once said, "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty." So why are Christians still thirsty? We throw ourselves into church work, Bible studies, prayer, missions, fellowship. Yet still we search restlessly for something more. What are we missing?Perhaps the answer is, more of Jesus. Church meetings and programs, ministry, Christian counseling, and home groups are all good, but they are not him. It doesn't matter how devoted we are to these wonderful activities; they are not the same thing as communion with Jesus. Our souls crave him alone.In Sacred Thirst, author and pastor Craig Barnes brings us face-to-face with our desperate longing for God. Like the woman at the well, we have tried to satisfy our parched souls with so many other things—even religious things. But when we get to the bottom of our desire, we find Jesus quietly waiting with his living water—intimatecommunion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.This book is filled with unique insights into human experience and the character of God. With his keen understanding of the needs of contemporary Christians, Barnes points to the only way our thirst will ever be satisfied. Drawing from his rich background in the Bible and his tender insights as a pastor, he leads us into a new understanding ofourselves and the uncontrollable but gracious God we seek.

We work hard at life. We try to get better jobs, better homes, better relationships, and even a better spirituality. We are like Jacob in the Old Testament. His name means "striver, schemer, supplanter, hustler." He could have been the poster boy for the American Dream.But author Craig Barnes says this is not the way we should be living our lives. We should not try to manipulate and hustle ourselves into a place of advantage with God, a position that has been ours all along. After all, God is the one who climbed down the ladder to be with us. Using true anecdotes from the men, women, and families of the churches he has served, Barnes invites hard-running, stressed-out, burned-out people to stop striving. Life is not something we grasp and clutch to us, but a gift God freely gives. Only when we open our hands can God fill them with the blessings he has been waiting to lavish upon us all along.

We work hard at life. We try to get better jobs, better homes, better relationships, and even a better spirituality. We are like Jacob in the Old Testament. His name means "striver, schemer, supplanter, hustler." He could have been the poster boy for the American Dream.But author Craig Barnes says this is not the way we should be living our lives. We should not try to manipulate and hustle ourselves into a place of advantage with God, a position that has been ours all along. After all, God is the one who climbed down the ladder to be with us. Using true anecdotes from the men, women, and families of the churches he has served, Barnes invites hard-running, stressed-out, burned-out people to stop striving. Life is not something we grasp and clutch to us, but a gift God freely gives. Only when we open our hands can God fill them with the blessings he has been waiting to lavish upon us all along.

Jesus once said, "Whoever drinks of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty." So why are Christians still thirsty? We throw ourselves into church work, Bible studies, prayer, missions, fellowship. Yet still we search restlessly for something more. What are we missing?Perhaps the answer is, more of Jesus. Church meetings and programs, ministry, Christian counseling, and home groups are all good, but they are not him. It doesn''t matter how devoted we are to these wonderful activities; they are not the same thing as communion with Jesus. Our souls crave him alone.In Sacred Thirst, author and pastor Craig Barnes brings us face-to-face with our desperate longing for God. Like the woman at the well, we have tried to satisfy our parched souls with so many other things—even religious things. But when we get to the bottom of our desire, we find Jesus quietly waiting with his living water—intimatecommunion with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.This book is filled with unique insights into human experience and the character of God. With his keen understanding of the needs of contemporary Christians, Barnes points to the only way our thirst will ever be satisfied. Drawing from his rich background in the Bible and his tender insights as a pastor, he leads us into a new understanding ofourselves and the uncontrollable but gracious God we seek.

Christianity Today 2021 Award of Merit (The Church/Pastoral Leadership)Diary of a Pastor''s Soul tells the story of a fictionalized pastor, embarking on his final year before retirement, who reflects on the experiences and relationships that have formed his vocation and shaped his soul over a lifetime of pastoral ministry.Drawing on his own experiences, seasoned pastor Craig Barnes invites readers to embrace the life lessons of a pastor who has been formed by his failures and his fleeting moments of glory, but most of all by discovering the holy in the routine but often quirky duties of being a parish pastor.Through 52 weekly thematic entries, Barnes presents spirituality in narrative form through a collection of interwoven stories about learning to love others with curiosity, amazement, vulnerability, and most of all gratitude for the grace found in flawed lives.Barnes''s fictionalized diary approach creatively shows how the pastoral vocation forms mind, heart, and soul, helping pastors make sense of their own calling. With unvarnished honesty, this book eloquently illustrates a lifetime of ministry, revealing how "the Holy haunts the landscape of life."

Deep down it''s easy to believe that the better job, the nicer house, or the more dynamic church will finally make us feel "at home." In Searching for Home, M. Craig Barnes challenges this belief. He reminds us that paradise is lost and we can''t go home again. Our great comfort and hope, however, is that we are never lost to God. Seasoned by more than twenty years as a pastor, Barnes discusses the importance of confession, worship, and grace in our search for home. He offers advice about how we can move from being transient nomads "too frightened to be grateful" to pilgrims who are at home with God, guided by our pleasure in him. This book was written for both Christians and seekers who are still looking for a sense of belonging or "home." It will be a useful tool for pastors, adult Sunday school groups, and counselors of all kinds who are advising pilgrims along the way.