With more than 20,000 users daily visiting his Challies.com blog, Tim Challies is pioneer in the Christian blogosphere. In The Next Story: Life and Faith After the Digital Explosion (978-0-310-32903-9, $14.99, Zondervan), in stores this month, he examines whether or not today's digital technology is good for the soul.

As a writer and Web editor, Challies admits to feeling overwhelmed. "I began to feel as if maybe, just maybe, all of my devices, gizmos, and gadgets owned me as much as I owned them," he writes.

Feeling uneasy, he asked himself: "Am I giving up control of my life? Is it possible that these technologies are changing me? Am I becoming a tool of the very tools that are supposed to serve me?"

Inviting readers to join him to think about "the 'next story,' a story we are living right now—life after the digital explosion," he asks, "Is there a way, then, to live virtuously, immersed in this strange new digital reality?" 

In part one of the book, Challies looks at theology, theory and experience as he helps readers find "that sweet spot where our use of technology is not just thoughtful and informed, but it is informed by the Bible, by an understanding of God's purpose for technology."

In part two, he looks to areas of application specific to the Christian life. For instance, he shows that we are now a "hypersocial people and why we must intentionally submit our need for constant communication to the lordship of God." He also examines privacy concerns and shows how the digital explosion has brought about changes in authority structures that affect the individual, the family and the church.

From within a distinctly Christian worldview, Challies offers three key principles to help readers better understand the nature of digital technology. First, he sees technology as "a good, God-given gift" with tools that should be used to "shape God's creation for practical purposes," he writes. 

With that in mind, he warns that since technology is subject to the curse, its instruments can often become idols. Finally, users need to discern the intended use of a technology, examine their own use of it and reflect on its purposes in light of Scripture.

"There is inherent good in creating technology," he writes. "And yet there is inherent evil in abusing it or assigning it to a godlike prominence in our lives."

While some Christians wholeheartedly and unthinkingly adopt the latest technological discoveries at the risk of becoming irrelevant, Challies challenges them to take a more discerning and wise approach. 

On the other hand, some Christians head in the direction of strict separation, "seeing everything digital as a dangerous enemy," but Challies asserts that "there is no biblical reason to utterly separate ourselves from them."

A third alternative is that of the discerning Christian, who "moves beyond the broad strokes of utter rejection and complete acceptance. Instead, he relies on the Holy Spirit, who speaks his wisdom through the Bible, to learn how he can live with virtue in this new digital world."

Challies addresses questions such as, how can we live in a deep and meaningful way that avoids distraction? And, why is it that so many of us prefer to send an e-mail or text message rather than make a phone call or knock on a door?

To help readers better understand how to honor God with the technology in their own lives, each chapter ends with questions for self-reflection and discussion.

For more information or to order, call Zondervan at 800-727-1309, or visit www.zondervan.com.

Mother and son offer hope in the wake of 'out of the closet' disclosure

Christopher Yuan lived the life of a prodigal, and his mother, Angela, nearly did the unthinkable after he came "out of the closet." The two tell their story in Out of a Far Country: A Gay Son's Journey to God. A Broken Mother's Search for Hope.

At 16, Christopher sought out a sexual encounter with an older man. When his parents found out, they hoped he was going through a phase, but his same-sex attraction persisted. Later, his parents happened across a porn video he had hidden, and his mother gave him an ultimatum.

"I thought that ultimatum would turn him around or wake him up, so my ultimatum to him was to choose the family or choose homosexuality, but Christopher had already bought into the lie, so he said, 'If you cannot accept me, I have no other choice but to leave,' and without any hesitation, Christopher picked up his bags and left," Angela told Christian Retailing.

Angela and her husband, Leon, were Chinese immigrants living an upper middle class life in a Chicago suburb. Christopher was in his third year at dental school, but after his confession, he went deeper into the gay lifestyle and school became less of a priority.

"All I wanted to focus on was my friends and the gay community, going out to bars, partying," he said. "Eventually I began doing drugs, and when the drug life kind of took over, I began selling drugs as well. I was finally expelled from dental school just three months before I was about to receive my doctorate."

With Christopher's admission, Angela hit a low point. "It was worse than receiving news of Christopher's death, and I fell to the floor in shock and anguish," she said.

Feeling that her husband refused to stand by her and that Christopher had betrayed her, she decided to contact a minister, who met with her and gave her a pamphlet about homosexuality.

With plans to end her life, she bought a one-way train ticket to say her final goodbye to Christopher. Reading the pamphlet on the train, Angela sensed God meeting her at her point of need.

"I realized that just as God loved me in spite of my sin, I could love Christopher in spite of his sin as a homosexual," she said. "So when I was sitting on the train … suddenly I just heard a still small voice that (said), 'You belong to me.' "

After a federal drug raid of his home, Christopher was sentenced to six years in prison—where he met Jesus and learned that he was HIV-positive. 

"I think that was maybe the final thing that God used to put me down," he said.

Angela's advice to parents of prodigal children is to "pray and fast unceasingly and never ever, ever give up," but tough love is also necessary. "We have to be willing to submit to His Lordship and be willing to do whatever He tells us to do," she added.

The book includes a foreword by Kay Warren. In support of the release, marketing efforts include a social media campaign and a blogger campaign.

To order, call 800-733-3000.

What if..., starring Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys) as a successful businessmen who awakens to an alternative life as a pastor, released on DVD last month from PureFlix Entertainment. We asked producer and director Dallas Jenkins:

How do you bring something fresh to a theme as familiar as It's a Wonderful Life and The Family Man?

Well, the first and most obvious difference is the element of faith; in this story, God the Creator is the cause of and center of the storyline, and we have a lot of scenes that take place in a church and in the home of a pastor, which is something you don't often see in films.

But more than that, the "living in an alternate reality" set-up of this story is really just a backdrop; yes, it's a familiar set-up, but the characters and situations that develop are unique and are the primary focus. Ultimately, it's a story of a man finding his true calling.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in making the movie?

The schedule was insane because of our modest budget. We only had 15 days to shoot the film, which is less than a third of the average Hollywood film.

But it really forced a family atmosphere on set, which translated to the film. It also forced me to creatively problem-solve, which keeps the juices flowing.

What second chance would you like to have?

Besides missing a key free throw at the end of a big game in high school, I'd do a few things differently in my career. Namely, What if... is the first film where I totally embraced the explicitly Christian elements of a story. 

In the past I've tried to get cute in that regard, but I just went for it in this film, not worrying about how it'd come across to the mainstream market. And I ended up not only making my best film, but a film that was more embraced by the mainstream than any film I've done, even though it's by far the most "Christian market"-friendly film I've done.

Your father (author Jerry Jenkins) was executive producer. How involved was he in the project?

He always speaks into the storytelling a bit because he's obviously so successful in that area, and of course, it's our company that financed the film, but on a day-to-day level, he lets us do our thing.

Which of your father's books would you most like to make into a film and why?

Riven is his best book and would make a very powerful film. We'll make that film someday, probably in the next few years. 

Read the complete interview at meetheartist.christianretailing.com.

After spending the last couple of years pursuing an acting career, Rebecca St. James returns to music this month with the release of I Will Praise You on Beach Street Records (Provident-Integrity Distribution). We asked her:

This new release marks a change in label for you. How did that come about?

Mark Miller, who is the head of Beach Street Records and also my producer with this album, he produced Casting Crowns—just an amazing Christian man—we had lunch and talked about doing this album, and he said, 'Rebecca, I'm just praying that if I could be a good steward of your ministry, that God would show me that and show us that we'll (get a) green light to work together.' So I just loved that this producer was just going to God about this opportunity for us to work together, and both of us had such a sense of peace with the whole team. I really saw God's hands on the process of this album.

Is there a theme or thread throughout the recording?

Some of the themes are the kindness of God, because that's really what draws us to Him, His gentleness and love. Then there is the act of surrender, just how important letting go is, and that's something God has been doing in my life. We even talk about beauty and self-image, God redeeming our pain. We talk about fear.

You are known for speaking out on pro-life issues and for being a model and champion of abstinence. Has all that ever been a burden?

The purity message has been the mainstay of my ministry. The only way that had become at certain points a little bit of a heavy message to share was when I was feeling kind of lonely in the single department. I got engaged on Christmas Day, so just very recently. Now being in the engagement period, preparing for marriage, it's a real fulfillment of a lot of dreams. It's a lot easier to talk about that and not feel a bit of the sting of 'I'm still single and I don't necessarily want to be.' But the purity message, in essence I really have enjoyed sharing about because I think it's a need-driven message.

Does this new release mean that your movie 'detour' is over?

That's yet to be determined really, by God. I'm open to doing more acting. We've even got two different films that are on the table right now that we are talking about me doing roles in. We'll just kind of see and play it by ear. I've probably been involved in five or six films since I moved to Los Angeles a couple of years ago.

How has acting enriched or changed your music?

In some ways, being away from the music scene for a little while has made me appreciate the gift of it even more.

Listen to the complete conversation at rebeccastjames.christianretailing.com.

ASK THE AUTHOR

Wanda E. Brunstetter

Next release: The Journey (April), the first book in the "Kentucky Brothers Series."

Publisher: Barbour Publishing

Why do you think this genre has so much appeal? 

In talking to my readers, it's very clear to me that people are seeking something that will take them to a simpler life. It will make them slow down and refocus their priorities and just get back to basics. I think we all want to go back to our roots to the way our ancestors were. Since the Amish are still living in that mode, reading about them—and of course, a lot of people will take it one step further and travel to Amish country after they have read an Amish book—they'll just get a taste of what it means to slow down and live life a little more simply.

Your books seem to be making their way around Amish communities across the country. What's different about Kentucky? The part of Kentucky where this book is done is very rural. There is not a lot of tourism there. The Amish pretty much have that area to themselves. The Mennonites are also in that community. Very clean, very simple way of living, not a lot of commercialism going on, and I think that and the fact that the land there is so much cheaper has been the attraction. A lot of Amish have moved out of Lancaster County into Christian County, Ky. 

What drives the plot in The Journey? It is actually a spinoff from one of my earliest series, "The Daughters of Lancaster County," where a boy is kidnapped. In that series the father remarries because he is a widower, and he and his wife in their mid-life have twins, two boys. So the spin-off involves these two twin boys as well as one of their other sons. These boys decide to uproot from Lancaster County and go into Kentucky and start life anew, so it's a bit of a trauma for the family, especially the mother to see her youngest children move away like that. They are trying to find themselves and begin again.

Do you think Amish fiction will continue to grow and add readers?

I really think it will because people are just craving that simpler life. They are looking for that. People will tell me, "Don't ever stop writing about the Amish," and I think it's because they just want that feeling so bad. … Many people said, "I wish I could become Amish, but I know I can't give up my lifestyle, so this is an attempt to glean from their life and carry it into our own world."

How's your Pennsylvania Dutch?

I know several words. I don't speak the language fluently, but I know enough words that when we are with our Amish friends, I can pick out some of the things they say. I will often comment, and they will look at me surprised and say, "Oh, you knew what we said?"

See Author Corner at www.christianretailing.com for more on this author.

ECPA Fiction Top 10

1. Unlocked, Karen Kingsbury (Zondervan)

2. The Twelfth Imam, Joel C. Rosenberg (Tyndale House Publishers)

3. Her Daughter's Dream, Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers) News Bit: Rivers' maternal grandparents have similarities to fictional characters Marta and Niclas, but it was only after the release of Her Daughter's Dream that she learned that her grandfather, a German immigrant working for the Baldwin Locomotive Works, advertised for a wife when he arrived in Montreal in 1913. Her grandmother replied, and they were married Easter Sunday, 1914.

4. Her Mother's Hope, Francine Rivers (Tyndale House Publishers)

5. Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers (Multnomah Books)

6. The Shack, William P. Young (Windblown Media/Hachette Book Group)

7. The Thorn, Beverly Lewis (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

8. Immanuel's Veins, Ted Dekker (Thomas Nelson)

9. Fatal Judgment, Irene Hannon (Revell/Baker Publishing Group)

10. Girl in the Gatehouse, Julie Klassen (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group) News Bit: Klassen has something in common with her book's heroine, who is a secret authoress. For years, while Klassen worked as an editor for Bethany House Publishers, her dream of writing was a closely-held secret.

The ECPA list is compiled from sales of Christian books in hundreds of Christian retail outlets nationwide, collected using Pubtrack Christian ( www.ptchristian.com). December best-sellers are for the four-week cycle ending January 15, 2011. All rights reserved. © 2010 ECPA. www.ecpa.org.

New fiction releases coming in May:

A Killer Among Us, Lynette Eason (Revell/Baker Publishing Group)

Day of War, Cliff Graham (Zondervan)

Fade to Blue, Julie Carobini (B&H Books)

Hidden Affections, Delia Parr (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

Indelible, Kristen Heitzmann (WaterBrook Press)

My Foolish Heart, Susan May Warren (Tyndale House Publishers)

Nick of Time, Tim Downs (Thomas Nelson)

Secrets of the Heart, Jillian Kent (Realms/Charisma House Book Group)

Snitch, Booker T. Mattison (Revell/Baker Publishing Group)

To Win Her Heart, Karen Witemeyer (Bethany House/Baker Publishing Group)

When Sparrows Fall, Meg Moseley (Multnomah Books)

Latest project: Fear No Evil: A Test of Faith, a Courageous Church, and an Unfailing God (Zondervan, April).

Your church suffered a tragedy on Dec. 9, 2007, when a gunman came to your campus. What happened? Matthew Murray, a 24-year-old young man, came on our campus. He had a thousand rounds of ammunition attached to the vest that he was wearing. He had an AR-15 assault rifle, a couple of handguns and some smoke grenades. He had distracted part of our volunteer security team and drove up through our parking lot, got out of his car and opened fire into a family who was getting into a van. As he fired into that van, he struck Rachel and Stephanie, an 18 year old and a 16 year old. (They) were both shot and died almost instantly. Their dad was injured, shot through the abdomen. This gunman then turned and shot into several other cars, injuring a lady who was driving by. … He then came in one of the doors of the church and was shooting down the hallway at people as they were running for their lives. A very heroic security guard, who was a volunteer at our church, stepped out and confronted him, injured him, and as he was injured, he crawled over into another hallway and took his own life, but not before two people died and several others were injured. It was by far the darkest day of my life. In fact, that day I had only been a pastor for that church for 100 days. 

And this was the same gunman at the Youth With a Mission location nearby? Yes that's right. That was the night before. … This young man had once been a part of that YWAM base, but he had been dismissed years earlier because of some mental issues. 

Murray's parents later came and met with the couple that lost their two daughters. What was that like? The four of them met in my office and I'm telling you it was the most powerful display of forgiveness and grace I had ever seen in my life. These two families embraced one another, prayed for one another, cried with one another, and I've just never seen such an expression of forgiveness. Then, of course, the next Sunday when I told our entire church what had happened, our church just erupted. It was just an amazing display of gratitude. 

Tell us about the "miracles" you say have happened in your church since. Thirteen months before the shooting, the founding pastor of New Life, Ted Haggard, had been on the front page of every newspaper for a scandal that involved him. Obviously he had to resign at the church, and all of that is a story in itself. Then we had a shooting on our campus. So in the stretch of 13 months we were on the front page of every American newspaper and newspapers around the world for two very bad things. … At that time we had actually begun the recovery. We started seeing life come back to the church. We saw the church start growing again. It's a miracle. That just doesn't happen. 

What do you hope readers will take away from this book? It's all based on the 23rd Psalm, verse 4, that even though we walk through the shadow of death, we will fear no evil. … This story is about a church who found themselves in the darkest place imaginable, and we began to worship together and pray together. We began to come alongside one another as friends, and we have found ourselves on the other side of the valley. … Those lessons that we have learned are absolutely invaluable. I shared a lot of these things in the book.