E-Books on Social Issues: July 9/25

One Dress. One Year
Author(s): Bethany Winz & Susanna Foth Aughtmon
Publisher: Baker
Price: $3.99       (Jul 3 – 9)

How can one girl change the world? It all began with a heart for justice and a little black dress. In 2012, sixteen-year-old Bethany Winz decided to make a difference. To raise awareness, she determined to

– wear the same black dress every day for a year to bring attention to the lack of choices slaves have
– come up with new ways to accessorize the dress each day
– use her blog and pictures of her outfits to raise money for agencies helping those who were being trafficked

Her yearlong journey was one of hope, discipline, and sometimes disappointment. She celebrated some successes yet despaired at the depth of the problem. As she found her identity tied to the things she did, Bethany discovered that while she stood for freedom for others, she also struggled to find her own freedom in believing that she was loved just as she was. This moving book shows readers that their voices matter, they can make a difference, and sometimes the smallest gestures have lasting impact.

Free to Serve: Protecting the Religious Freedom of Faith-Based Organizations
Author(s): Stephen V. Monsma
Publisher: Brazos Press
Price: $5.99       (Jul 3 – 9)

Christianity Today Book Award Winner

What do Hobby Lobby, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, Wheaton College, World Vision, the Little Sisters of the Poor, and the University of Notre Dame have in common? All are faith-based organizations that have faced pressure to act in ways contrary to their religious beliefs. In this book, two policy experts show how faith-based groups–those active in the educational, healthcare, international aid and development, and social service fields–can defend their ability to follow their religiously based beliefs without having to jettison the very faith and faith-based practices that led them to provide services to those in need. They present a pluralist vision for religious freedom for faith-based organizations of all religious traditions. The book includes case studies that document the challenges faith-based organizations face to freely follow the practices of their religious traditions and analyzes these threats as originating in a common, yet erroneous, set of assumptions and attitudes prevalent in American society. The book also includes responses by diverse voices–an Orthodox Jew, a Roman Catholic, two evangelicals, two Islamic leaders, and an unbeliever who is a religious-freedom advocate–underscoring the importance of religious freedom for faith-based organizations.