John L. Thompson

George Olsen's life is one big lie. As a witness in a mob money embezzlement operation turned deadly, he lives within the WITSEC program and has had plenty of trouble adapting to life. Never look back. It's one of the sacred rules within the WITSEC program. But when he hears an old flame has moved back to New Mexico, he takes a chance and returns to his old stomping grounds only to discover that decision could prove to be fatal. People are looking for the half-million in embezzled mob cash buried somewhere within Torrance County. The same money Olsen and his friend had found a couple of years earlier, the same money people have died for, and the same money wanted by an army of killers who will stop at nothing to get it.

Moriarty, New Mexico is about as far as Logan Pierce got before the money and the El Camino gave out. He'd hoped for a clean start in life as a field mechanic working for any company willing to pay top dollar for his skills in the oil fields of West Texas. Low on funds and out of options, he begins a change of course in his mechanic career and takes a local job as a technician at Duggan's Truck Stop. The truck stop is a miniature city within a city that has all the luxuries for a home away from home feel for the over-the-road truck driver. Under it all, Logan discovers there is also a dark side, which people claim is operated by the Dixie Mafia. Then there is the persistent rumor that affiliates of the Mafia are looking for a quarter-million in missing cash skimmed from over a five-year time frame. The job was meant to be a temporary solution, but that was before Amy Hauser entered the picture and presented him with additional problems. They want nothing more than to leave New Mexico for a new life, but then again...there's that rumor of a quarter-million in missing mob cash. And Logan just may well have discovered where it's hidden, but soon finds that some people want it more.

The first chapters of Genesis are the bedrock of the Jewish and Christian traditions. In these inaugural pages of the canon, the creation of the world, the fall of the human creature, the promise of redemption and the beginning of salvation history are found. Interwoven in the text are memorable stories of the ancient biblical patriarchs and matriarchs. Throughout the history of commentary, interpreters have lavished attention on the rich passages recounting the six days of creation, the tragic fall of God's creature--from the expulsion of the first parents to Cain's fratricide and the catastrophe of the Flood--as well as the allegorical sign of hope in the ark of Noah. Commentators in the Reformation continued this venerable tradition of detailed focus on these primordial stories, finding themselves and their era deeply connected to the tragedies and promises, the genealogies and marvels of God's providential election and governance. Above all, Reformation-era interpreters found anchor for their teaching, preaching and hope in the promise of Christ running through these first chapters, from creation to the calling of Abraham. While following the precedent of patristic and medieval commentators on Scripture, as well as Rabbinic midrash, the Reformers provide insightful and startling fresh readings of familiar passages, inviting readers to see the ancient text with new eyes. This volume collects the comments of not only the monumental thinkers like Luther, Calvin and Melancthon, but also many important figures of the time who are lesser-known today. Here we find rich fare from Johannes Brenz, Wolfgang Capito, Hans Denck, Wolfgang Musculus, Johannes Oecolampadius and Peter Martyr Vermigli. Readers will encounter comments from a wide array of perspectives, from the magisterial Reformers to radical Protestants like Balthasar Hubmaier, Menno Simons, Pilgram Marpeck and Dirk Philips, as well as some Catholic thinkers, such as Desiderius Erasmus and Cardinal Cajetan. Important contributions from female voices, like Katharina Schütz Zell and Anna Maria van Schurman are included also. The wealth of Reformation interpretation is brought together here for study and reflection, much appearing in English for the first time.

Half of the population of the world lives in cities of one million or more. If we don't reach and disciple from these masses, our future missionary and pastoral force will be diminished. The book Urban Impact is a trumpet call to muster our forces but also deals with the philosophy and practical principles that make any ministry in the city successful. Brandishing a practical writing style coupled with real life experiences, John Thompson helps the reader understand the problems, burdens, joys, and powerful impact cities have on the rest of society. Helping the city pastor or missionary develop an effective ministry, Thompson elaborates on seven critical principles necessary for an effective urban ministry. Following this discussion the book turns to two of the leading challenges of great cities. The first being how to reach the disenfranchised--those from minority groups, people who have substance abuse problems, and the homeless, to name but a few. The second challenge deals with one of the greatest foundational problems in our cities and in all of society: the plight of the Absent Father. Other chapters address urban discipleship as the most effective approach to promote life transformation, planting churches in the difficult urban environment, and a topic rarely discussed in urban books, raising a family in the city. ""I can tell you that the one chapter on the absent father, the greatest problem in our society, would be worth the purchase price of the book and every second of the valuable time that it takes to read it. If I could only read one book this year on evangelism and especially how to reach the teeming masses of people in the inner cities of our world, it would be this book by John Thompson. This will change not only your life but the lives of thousands of others also."" --Paige Patterson President Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary ""There are practitioners who are not veterans. There are veterans who are no longer practitioners. There is nothing like hearing from a veteran who is still a practitioner. John Thompson writes from the field. This work helps meet the urgent need for urban ministry perspective and material that is rooted in scripture, tested in practice, and based in the local. This volume is the voice of a man who lives the life and knows what he is talking about."" --Charles Lyons Senior Pastor Armitage Baptist Church, Chicago ""Inner-city ministries may at times be risky and unnerving. But they are never dull, nor without spiritual rewards. John Thompson has given us a book rich in personal narrative, biblical teaching, practical wisdom, and urgent challenge. I recommend that students who feel even the slightest tug to consider urban ministry read this book, let its message grip you, and ask God if the inner city is where he wants you to serve him."" --Roger S. Greenway Professor of World Missiology Calvin Theological Seminary John Thompson has lived and served in the inner city of Chicago for twenty-nine years. He is the Pastor of Discipleship at Armitage Baptist Church, a multicultural church representing thirty-seven different ethnic groups from the inner city of Chicago. He has taught in many Bible colleges and seminaries on urban topics.

Many Christians would describe themselves as serious and regular readers of the Bible. Yet, if we are honest, most of us have a tendency to stick with the parts of the Bible that we understand or are comforted by, leaving vast tracts of Scripture unexplored. Even when following a guide, we may never reach into the Bible's less-traveled regions -- passages marked by violence, tragedy, offense, or obscurity. What our modern minds shy away from, however, ancient, medieval, and Reformation commentators dove into. In fact, their writings often display strikingly contemporary interests and sensitivities to the meaning and moral implications of the Bible's difficult narratives. John Thompson here presents nine case studies in the history of exegesis -- including the stories of Hagar and Jephthah's daughter, the imprecatory psalms, and texts that address domestic relations, particularly divorce -- in order to demonstrate the valuable insights into Scripture that we can gain not only from what individual commentators say but from fifteen centuries' cumulative witness to the meaning of Scripture in the life of the church. Visit Dr. Thompson's companion website at: http: //purl.oclc.org/net/jlt/exegesis so access further features such as a list of commentary literature in English through the year 1700 and sample sermons that model a homiletic use of the history of interpretation.

The last third of the 20th century has witnessed an eruption of interest in the women in the Bible. In this field, Phyllis Trible's Texts of Terror is a landmark among those studying women of the Bible. Focusing on stories of the maltreatment of women, Trible paved the way for subsequent feminist exegetes who have been very critical of such stories in the Bible, and who see Christianity as an irredeemably patriarchal religion. It is commonly said that these Old Testament stories of rape, murder, torture, and abandonment passed without comment until recent times. In this book, however, John Thompson points out that many neglected pre-modern Christian interpreters have wrestled with the texts of terror throughout the centuries, sometimes writing volumes 'between the lines' of scripture out of an apparent concern for the women in these stories. Thompson traces and analyses the interpretation of the stories of Hagar, Jephthah's daughter, the Levite's wife, and Lot's daughters from the earliest Church Fathers through to the Reformation. He argues that the neglected and largely inaccessible commentaries on which he draws not only shed light on how these troubling stories have been seen in the past, but can speak to Christians who are battling over how the Bible ought to be read today. Here, Thompson traces and analyses various Christian interpretations of these Bible stories of women. In drawing attention to views other than Texts of Terror, Thompson speaks to Christians who are battling over how the Bible ought to be read today.

Aims to provide a concise yet rigorous discussion of major issues in modern macroeconomics, in particular in relation to the controversy over the role and conduct of macroeconomic stabilization policy, for students taking intermediate level undergraduate courses in macroeconomics.

This book provides a concise yet rigorous discussion of the main issues in modern macroeconomics. In particular, it examines the controversy over the role and conduct of macroeconomic stabilization policy.While the book is written in such a way as to allow students to read individual chapters in isolation, according to their interests and needs, the book follows a structured direction. After providing a review of mainstream macro-models and the chief areas of controversy between Keynesian, Monetarist and New Classical approaches to stabilization policy, subsequent chapters focus on selected key controversies: the balance of payments and exchange rates; inflation and unemployment; money and economic activity; fiscal policy and aggregate demand; and business cycles.The approach adopted by the authors make this book highly responsive to teaching and student needs. This authoritative state-of-the-art survey of modern macroeconomics will be essential reading for intermediate level courses in macroeconomics.

This book provides an introduction to the methods employed in forecasting the future state of the economy. It provides a comprehensive coverage of methods and applications in this fast-growing area and is intended for use in postgraduate and upper-level undergraduate courses. Part I outlines the available techniques, particularly those used in business forecasting and econometric forecasting. The state of the art in time series modelling is reviewed and includes a discussion of Box-Jenkins models, the vector autogressive approach and cointegration. Ways of combining forecasts are also examined in detail. Part II considers the most important applications of forecasting. Applications in microeconomics include demand and sales forecasting, the use of anticipations data, leading indicators and scenario analysis. In macroeconomics the emphasis is on why errors occur in forecasting asset market prices, including implications of the efficient markets hypothesis for foreign markets, stock market prices and commodity market prices. The book ends with a discussion of the appropriateness of various techniques, recent developments in forecasting, and the links between economic forecasting and government policy.