Leonard Sweet - Rings of Fire: Walking in Faith through a Volcanic Future

Twenty years ago, I read SoulTsunami, and my soul was saturated by Len Sweets inspiring vision of a future church that could swim in the fluid culture of the twenty-first century. Now, Rings of Fire has set my brain ablaze as he describes the spiritual hot zones that await twenty-second-century Christ followers. If youre ready to learn how to fight fire with the Spirits fire, read this powerful book by my favorite holy arsonist.

TIM LUCAS, founder and lead pastor of Liquid Church, author of Liquid Church: 6 Powerful Currents to Saturate Your City for Christ

Too often in contemporary times, Christian thought is a practical oxymoron. For some, the exercising of faith is the relinquishing of curiosity and query that is at the center of sound thought process. Thank God for Len Sweet and his eternally curious mind. It is impossible to read Len Sweet and not think about what it means to be a person of faith. In Rings of Fire, Sweet guides us through multiple places of present and potential eruption in the world in which we live and profess faith. Many of these places influence and confront us every day, but we have detached them from our sense of being faithful. It is inescapable: We and our faith are definitely in the world (John 17:11).

GARY SIMPSON, associate professor of homiletics at Drew Theological School, leading pastor at The Concord Baptist Church of Christ

Len Sweet has once again written a guide for the future by asking questions we all need to answer. Rings of Fire: Walking in Faith through a Volcanic Future looks at the past, present, and then into the future to challenge the church to choose faith over fear and become all God meant for her to be.

DAVE FERGUSON, visionary for NewThing, coauthor of Hero Maker

Leonard Sweet is a prophet of sorts: He speaks of things he sees. We often hold prophets at bay because they challenge us with words describing a future that has yet to arrive. But when you find a prophet who regularly nails it, you pay close attention to what they say since you know that you will likely intersect with that future. Leonard Sweets voice is so critically important for us to hear and embrace, because what he has seen and spoken will have a great impact on our lives, and he has already begun to identify how we should respond to a future that is rapidly settling on us.

GLENN BURRIS, president of The Foursquare Church

Just as seismic pressure forces magma to rise through the crust of solid rocks, creating a massive volcanic eruption, in Rings of Fire: Walking in Faith through a Volcanic Future, Dr. Leonard Sweet reveals to us the compounding, cataclysmic, global pressure points that produce a future world on fire. I encourage every Christian leader to read this earthshaking book and learn what it will take to walk in faith through a future world that will soon be upon us. Put down your old ministry maps and pick up Rings of Fire today!

DR. JAMES O. DAVIS, cofounder of Global Church Network, founder of Cutting Edge International

The gift of Len Sweet is the compelling way he draws us into current and future spiritual realities with imagery, facts, and bold prophetic vision. This book is his best so far (and they are all good). Rings of Fire is the shaking we need as the world shifts beneath us, as we wonder about the future of the church. Sweet not only demonstrates how twelve major social domains will impact the next century but also suggests strategic ways to embrace the fire.

DR. MARYKATE MORSE, mentor and author

What used to be a nice song has turned into a fiery reality. The world of the twenty-second century is a global ring of fire. Len Sweet semiotician, storyteller, and prophetic seer of the future masterfully helps us make sense of this new world full of erupting volcanoes. He guides us through the hot zones and hot topics of our day and shows us how to embrace this volcanic culture as followers of Jesus. This brilliant and timely book serves as a first responders manual to a blazing new landscape. It is the primer for all who desire an eruptive faith, one that keeps up with Jesus while inviting others to Gods fire to get warm. This book will assist and enable the church of the future to walk on lava!

STEPHAN JOUBERT, Extraordinary Professor of Contemporary Ecclesiology at University of the Free State, editor of Ekerk

NavPress is the publishing ministry of The Navigators, an international Christian organization and leader in personal spiritual development. NavPress is committed to helping people grow spiritually and enjoy lives of meaning and hope through personal and group resources that are biblically rooted, culturally relevant, and highly practical.

For more information, visit www.NavPress.com.

Rings of Fire: Walking in Faith through a Volcanic Future

Copyright 2019 by Leonard Sweet. All rights reserved.

A NavPress resource published in alliance with Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

NAVPRESS and the NAVPRESS logo are registered trademarks of NavPress, The Navigators, Colorado Springs, CO. TYNDALE is a registered trademark of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Absence of in connection with marks of NavPress or other parties does not indicate an absence of registration of those marks.

The Team: Don Pape, Publisher; David Zimmerman, Acquisitions Editor; Eric Stanford, Copy Editor; Ron C. Kaufmann, Designer

Published in association with the literary agency of Mark Sweeney and Associates

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked NET are taken from the New English Translation, NET Bible, copyright 19962006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified Bible, copyright 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version, copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version. Scripture quotations marked DRA are taken from the Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Some of the anecdotal illustrations in this book are true to life and are included with the permission of the persons involved. All other illustrations are composites of real situations, and any resemblance to people living or dead is purely coincidental.

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Tyndale House Publishers at , or call 1-800-323-9400.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Sweet, Leonard I., author.