Someone once said that if they were stranded on a desert island with a choice of only two books, they would be the Bible and Gurnall's "Complete Armour," hands down I would concur, only to the point that after having the time to read, digest and perhaps memorize both, I would pray for rescue, so I could then share with the world the living water which flows from these written sources!

Of course, Gurnall is not Scripture. But he so deftly defines and expounds on the Scripture passages of Eph 6 using Scripture, that this book is extremely helpful in understanding Paul's vision from God regarding Eph 6!

Nearly every page has a quote you will long to write in the margins of your Bible. The problem is, many of the quotes refer to multiple Scripture passages. An example is this quote, "Were there no devils, you would still have your hands full resisting the corruption of your own heart." That quote could find proof texting in Jer 17:9, Eccl 9:3, Matt 13:15 AND Mark 7:21-22!

This is a book that will very likely change your world-view. Read this book, and follow it up with Lloyd-Jones' "I Am Not Ashamed." You will never be the same.

Christian in Complete Armour, The, (vol. 1, a modernized abridgement), by William Gurnall - Banner of Truth 1986 ISBN 0851514561
This book was originally written in three volumes between 1655 and 1662. It appears that in his time, William Gurnall was looked on as somewhat of a maverick and not accepted well by his peers. The reason for this was that although Gurnall was a Puritan preacher, he did not secede from the Church of England with the majority of Puritan preachers after the English Civil War and the "great dividing of the Church". Rather he chose to remain a part of the Church of England while still maintaining his Puritan views. Thus it was that neither side of the divided church accepted him as their own. Soon after his death however, many on both sides came to find unparalleled depth and insight in his work. Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher and evangelist of the last century commented that Gurnall's work is "peerless and priceless; every line full of wisdom". John Newton, converted slave trader and author of "Amazing Grace", said: "If I might read only one book beside the Bible I would choose, "The Christian in Complete Armour." Dave Wilkerson said concerning this book: "Leonard Ravenhill, a very godly friend, gave me a copy of 'The Christian in Complete Armour' with these solemn words, "This book is going to revolutionize your life. It has had a profound effect on my life, and I believe you are prepared to receive its message now." Says Wilkerson: "at first I put the book aside; it was too long, too wordy, and written in 17th century English. Out of curiosity, I later scanned the first 25 pages. That is all it took to bring me to my knees. Gurnall, the pious puritan, had touched something deep within me. His were such probing, scorching, searing words that they shook my inner man. I devoured the book with great zeal." Later Wilkerson went on to say: "I will forever bless the day it was placed in my hands." This book, now in modern English, is a treasure, and to those who are serious Christians and consider themselves mature in the faith, we at "The Christian Home Shopper", highly recommend and endorse this book.

Christian in Complete Armour, The, (vol. 2, a modernized abridgement), by William Gurnall - Banner of Truth 08515150
See Christian in Complete Armour (vol. 1) for descriptive information.
Christian in Complete Armour, The, (modern abridgement one volume edition), by William Gurnall - Soverign Grace Trust Fund Publishing 1989 hardbound
After the Bible The Christian in Complete Armour is truly one of the greatest Christian books in print.

There is so much in this book that I don't think it is possible to get it all or even most of it through a single casual reading. Gurnall's intensive thought and insight in the subject of spiritual 'wrestling' is so rich and wonderfully written that you can gleam new truth from it time and time again. And the sections are written in shorter bite-sized portions that don't leave you paddling to reach the end of a chapter.
I would highly recommend this book and consider it must reading for anyone who thinks they know anything about spiritual warfare. There are a lot of excellent books out there on spiritual warfare right now and although I might recommend some of them, this book stands head-and-shoulders above them all because of its exhaustive treatment and analysis in the practical details of the good fight in everyday life. This book takes a huge subject that so many deal with in short and fleshes it out into the whole life-encompassing reality that is life as a Christian in this fallen world.
It is no wonder that this classic from 1655 should survive as almost an appendix to the scriptures themselves for so many saints of God through recent centuries. It is remaining near my Bible as among the oft' read for a long time to come!

William Guillory has hit the nail squarely on the head. It is about time that someone has been able to give solid thoughts as to how one can adapt to the ever changing workplace, while maintaining and enhancing spiritual values.

With consolidation being the main focus of companies across North America, the pressures and anxiety are at extreme levels. William Guillory gives employees and executives a fresh insight into dealing with these changes.

This is a must read for anyone who is experiencing change or chaos in the workplace. It is a must read for everyone!

In THE STRUCTURE OF SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS, Thomas Kuhn suggested that the evolution of science was marked more by epistemological shifts than linear developments over time that reflected unchanging truths and practices. After Kuhn's analysis, scientists would never again be able to do "business as usual." William Guillory's work represents a similar epistemological shift, and like Kuhn's REVOLUTIONS has the potential to change the way that business is envisioned and actualized, literally challenging the business of "business and usual," and introducing an element that has yet to be fully explored in the numerous works that articulate transformative business practices. The future of business, for Guillory, is defined by one idea/practice: spirituality. SPIRITUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE: A GUIDE FOR ADAPTING TO THE CHAOTICALLY CHANGING WORKPLACE is William Guillory's contribution to the emerging conversation of how to effectively transform business and implement practices that will be responsive to, and inclusive of, empowerment, diversity, and organizational coherence. Guillory challenges some of our most sacred beliefs about difference and division: self and other, individuality and collectivism, and of course, spirituality and materialism. It is a book that offers a new vision of leadership, one that values intuition as much as observation, and the spiritual as much as the material. William Guillory's vision is, indeed, integrative, and reflects his own personal challenges and transformations. Guillory is the CEO and founder of Innovations Consulting International, and a highly sought after authority on facilitating organizational transformation, managing diversity, and creating contexts for individual empowerment. His work with organizational change and diversity led naturally to his own transformative self-reflections, reflections that moved him beyond the material concerns of a career to the spiritual possibilities of exploring his own deeply embedded life interests. He writes in the prologue of SPIRITUALITY of an experience in October of 1985 that changed both his life and his mind. "Words flowed through me at a rate with which I cold hardly keep pace. There were phrases and concepts I had never heard before, pouring into my consciousness." Those words and phrases, he relates, challenged one of our culture's most sacred division, the separation of the spiritual and the material. Guillory believes that this division needs to be understood, addressed, and ultimately healed if organizations are going to be able to adapt to accelerated change and potential crises. The multiple ways of addressing this division are revealed throughout the book, in both the titles and the contents of each chapter. Chapter one discusses "The Living Organization," and offers a biological metaphor for understanding organizational evolution. Chapter two "Spirituality as a source of wisdom," addresses directly the main focus of the book and offers both definitions of spirituality and examples of how it is reflected in specific business practices. Chapter three, "People--The Only Sustainable Competitive Advantage," discusses the difficulties of personal transformation within organizational contexts that privilege material over human resources, and illustrates how individuals can successfully empower themselves to become agents of change. Chapter four, "Service--An Unconditional Commitment to Others," points to the value of challenging and redefining our conception of ourselves in relation to others, and the potential that committing one's self to service can have for both individual and organizational transformation. Chapter five, "Organizational Self-Awareness--Know Thyself," explores the critical connection between communication and culture that defines the problems and possibilities of organizational change and development in an increasingly diverse and global business economy. Chapter six, Wisdom--Your Soul Connection," illustrates the importance intuition and personal self-reflection for overcoming limiting conditions and actualizing performance potential. Chapter seven, "The New Leadership--Spirituality," explores the critical need for visionary, transformative, and spiritual leadership, and how these approaches reflect both normative principles and practical outcomes. In the final chapter, "The Future--A Call for Action," Guillory challenges us to rethink the world of work and our place in it, and the impact of our personal and professional works on the world in which we live. Guillory paradigmatic shift invites us to consider what David Bohm described as the "implicate order" or reality, the many diverse and seemingly divergent principles and practices that implicate us in each other's lives and, ultimately, in the planet itself. Although the titles of Guillory's chapters suggest at first glance an exploration into the realm of the esoteric and the transcendent, the chapters themselves reveal concrete and down to earth discussions and examples of spirituality at work in the work place. The book is very accessibly written, and does an excellent job touching on many of the emerging theoretical discussions of organizational change and development without being "theory laden." The use of personal experiences and narratives also serve to make the book extremely practical in terms of presenting concrete examples of spiritual practices. Each of the chapters also offers exercises and measurement instruments for facilitating self-reflexive explorations of spirituality in the workplace and in our lives. While at first glance this may seem like a strange mixture of science and metaphysics, a kind of "lichert scale spirituality," the exercises if take seriously serve as provocative catalysts for further understanding, and recognizing the necessity of a paradigmatic shift toward the spiritual. Guillory suggests that the economics of self-interest and personal gain have placed the planet in a tenuous position, one requiring radical change and personal transformation. SPIRITUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE offers an alternative paradigm for re-conceptualizing and re-creating the way we do business with each other, with the planet, and with ourselves. The articulation of a new paradigm is perhaps the most important contribution that this book makes to the literature on organization change and development. Unlike many of the texts in this genre, however, SPIRITUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE forces us to delve deeper into the mechanisms of culture and consciousness that undergird our business organizations and economic institutions. This is an important and provocative book that will makes a significant contribution to our understanding of how organizational change and personal transformation will be the keys to business competitiveness and development in the 21st century.

Spirituality in the Workplace is a truly inspirational book that encourages individuals and organizations to incorporate their values and spirituality into their work endeavers. The powerful ideas inside this book show how we can align the spiritual, mental and physical components of our lives to become more fully functional in the workplace. Although the focus is on values and individual development, Bill also makes a strong business case for using these principles to create excellence within an organization. His real life examples and creative insights make this a interesting and motivating read.

Once I picked up The Road To Forgiveness at our local bookstore, I couldn't put it down. Bill and Cindy Griffiths, having lost an eleven year old daughter and Cindy's mother in a car accident, through their faith, understanding and love were able to forgive and change the life of the American Native woman that was the cause of the crash, while driving under the influence of alchohol. They take the reader on an amazing journey, one that I will try with all my being, now and in the future to emulate. Certainly one of the great examples of true Christianity/Judiasm I have ever read. Bravo, my hat's off to them. It had to have taken an enormous amount of determination and courage to write such a heart rendering piece of literature.

This is the best book one can read to learn to forgive others, in order to have a healthy outlook onthe pitfalls which occur in everyones life.Through this book we can learn to love our enemies as Jesus taught us to do,in his word in the bible.This testimony shows how we can have courage and understanding.I salute Bill and Cindy for their faith in such adversity.If everyone could follow their example there'd be no wars.

The whole world needs to read this book - which will help promote understanding love and forgiveness. We heal our spirits and mend when we forgive others. Holding a grudge only makes us unhealthy. The Lord must be very much with Bill and Cindy. Jesus forgave those who crucified him and all humanity thereby besowing salvation to all who believe and forgive.

Like so many people in these unsettled times I long for a sense of stability and certainty. What is solid and unchanging if not our love of life and nature and the inspired word. That is why I recommend 'Journeying through the days 2002' with beautiful photography by David Hay Jones. The book is a rock upon which to rest our weary and battered souls.

At last, a diary and calendar that's spiral bound so it lies flat when you write! The photographs from around the world are great; some can even be looked at and studied for as long as it takes to fill a page with text. What's good, too, is that the quotes and so-called inspiring texts are not from Oscar Wilde and other masters of the ironic one-liner but words that go deeper than that. OK, some of the photo and text combinations are obvious. It shouldn't always be necessary to match so literally. But of the hundreds, indeed thousands, of calendars on the market, this is in the Top Three.

Journal-writing is a liberating exercise in so many ways. We are freed from the notion that other people's "truths" will save us, freed from the dogma of accepting 10-point programs to salvation. Although 'Journeying' is published by a Christian outfit it resists the temptation to point a fundamentalist finger at us. Instead, we are encouraged to listen to our inner voice, reflect on the beauty of our surroundings and use the thoughts of others, such as Martin Luther King, to enlighten our minds. Thankfully, too, the pitfalls of New Age "anything goes" are avoided. At last, Christianity has understood the meaning and content of humility! The photographs by up-and-coming European photographer David Hay Jones are sufficiently subtle and atmospheric to match this sensitive approach to spirituality. They are rarely obvious, certainly not commercial. Rather, they encourage us to look at the world and find our own truths, whether they be Christian, Muslim, Hindu, New Age or agnostic.

I am interested in stories of older persons who languish in nursing homes. Morgan's book tells these stories of older persons that would never see the light of day if he hadn't recorded them. We lose a library when an older person dies and their stories die with them. These FAITH STORIES FROM THE NURSING HOME preserve incredible stories of people who live outside the city walls, and often are perceived as lepers. It needs to be read by anyone interested in human beings.

I have served as a chaplain in a Nursing Home and the unheralded heroes/heroines are the nursing assistants. Grossly unpaid, usually unappreciated, they do the "dirty" work that others avoid. Morgan's book is one I recommend to CNAs, so they can realize the value of their work as a ministry, not just a job. Many have told me that it helped affirm them, create a feeling of value in what they do, and make them feel more appreciated. For that reason it is a book caregivers need to have.

I work with nursing home residents and often find myself trying to explain our work to family members. They don't seem to understand that good things happen here, as well as some of the bad things. Morgan's book shows the flip side of nursing homes....that it is a place of joy and courage, as well as a place of pain and suffering. I recommend this book to family members so they can get a better picture of what we do for this growing population of older people.

I particularly enjoyed GREEN MAN because the author William Anderson brings together and explores many subjects of interest to me -- the natural world, mythology and archtypes, Gothic church architecture, Wordsworth, and the concept of Gaia. GREEN MAN has been described by it's critics as a book about Mythology and Ecology, but I think Anderson has also written a very fine art history.

Anderson suggests most art historians and critics have overlooked the Green Man as an archetypal element and artifact. And, although I've taken several art history classes on the topic of Western church architecture, I can't recall a single instructor discussing the foliate masks, vine disgorging heads, or human fruiting vegetation Anderson clearly describes. The photographs in his book show they can be found in many places in churches including on rood screens, columns, capitals, corbels, tympani, stringcourses, pediments, flying buttressses, with the Holy Virgin and child, and weeping over Christ.

Anderson suggests the Green Man (or our need for him) has morphed into variation after variation over the millenia. The Green Man probably began life as a Celtic mythical figure, but by the 20th Century he had become a hidden Art Deco element. His most amazing incarnation occurred in the Middle Ages in the Gothic cathedrals, especially very sacred spots like Chartres in France. Chartres was one of Joseph Campbell's favorite haunts, and he has shared many of his insights about the cathedral, as has the art historian Panofsky. Anderson shares a few more ideas involving the Green Man.

If you plan to visit churches or cathedrals in Britain, Ireland, or Europe, I think you'll find this book a good resource. You can also learn more about the Green Man and his link to the Earth Mother and the natural order.

I discovered this book in a small bookstore several years ago, and have thoroughly enjoyed reading it several times. Having ten years of training in art and art history, many books on art frustrate me, because many people don't know how to write about it. I found Anderson's book an absolute delight. He cites his sources, and it was always clear (to me, at least) when he was speculating, and when he was using references to support his statements. Discussing art and art history can all too often lead to muddy logic and subjectivity, which means that good art historians must meet a very high standard of proof. Anderson satisfied me on that count. Mind you, this is largely a work undertaken for his own curiousity and pleasure, so perhaps I wasn't as rigourous as I might have been with a work that claimed to be authoritative. But I know trash when I read it, and this is emphatically not trash. He's done his homework, and he knows his stuff. He states his case very well.

My own research into the Green Man and into the interface between Christianity and paganism in the Dark Ages and Middle Ages have led me to disagree with Anderson on a few points. But that doesn't diminish for me the pleasure of reading his book again.

I also enjoyed the many photographs. There's nothing worse than a book about art that doesn't illustrate the points made! And this book satisfied me there. I've used the illustrations as inspiration for my own artwork many times.

I count this as one of my favourite books of all time.

Very good variety of photos of Green Man sculptures. Poses interesting theories as to the disappearance and reappearance of the Green Man in art and sculpture.

I personally knew Mr. Melczer both as my instructor and later as a friend and I simply cannot say enough about this man. Studying in Spain with Mr. Melczer in 1990 I can say he truly opened my eyes to history, art and culture. I took copious notes, but I realized I could never fully "absorb" the knowledge that this man imparted to his students. He inspired me to enter the field I am in now.
This book is an excellent presentation of one of the most remarkable journeys traversed by so many people throughout history. The research is excellent and the reading is very clear. This book is a must for any person interested in Spanish history

As a collector of guide books about Iberia, I found this volume exceptionally revealing, practical and poetic.

Wow! This book is lucid, inspiring, insightful and profound. It really uses the Guide as a window to the medieval mind. Outstandingly scholarly and genuinely readable. A winner!

This is a well-written and enjoyable book to read. Contains interesting stories that make you really feel like you know Mr. Williams by the end. Great reading for a sports enthusiast. You sense the enthusiasm in which Mr. Williams lives his life. However, you also sense that this enthusiasm stems from his ego, which literally oozes off the pages. This leaves the reader questioning whether Mr. Williams, despite all of his religious speaking engagements, is a humble Christian or an ego-driven people pleaser.

He frequently mentions his ex-wife and 18 children (14 foster children). I would like to read his biography from their perspective.

I picked up a copy because I heard Pat on a radio interview and felt I could use a book on "finding your passion and pursuing it". Boy! I never thought I would enjoy the book so much...I couldn't put it down. Thanks Pat for sharing so much of your life with us! I am a Latin girl who really doesn't get much into American sports, I admit I read it for the "success" part, but I learned so much about sports and the front office operations that now I enjoy keeping up with the trades, drafts, etc. My husband has been impressed! I recently re-read it!

Pat Williams has done it again! This autobiography gives the reader a courtside seat to Williams wonderful life. He takes us from his boyhood, to his days playing with a Miami farm club (baseball), all the way to his current position with the Orlando Magic. He has many great stories, and lessons to share upon the way. He also gives a detailed account of how becoming a Christian has fullfilled all that was missing in his life. Pat Williams is the master motivator, and once again encourages the reader to reach for the stars, and go for it! A must read for everyone.