Articles from the Newsletter and E-Update.

Peter Greer is the president and CEO of Hope International, and he's our friend. Those of us fortunate enough to know Peter know he is the real deal - full of life, love and an unending passion to help others break the cycles of physical and spiritual poverty through microfinance. (Not to mention his insights and wonderful sense of humor.)

We thought you'd enjoy this read about Peter from his friend and HOPE co-worker, Chris Horst. And we're delighted to announce Peter will be with us at The Gathering in Dana Point this September.

Peter and his wife, Laurel, live in Lancaster, Pa., with their three children.

Read "Newt Gingrich vs. President Obama vs. Peter Greer" here.

Read Peter's article from Catalyst: "The Good News (You Haven't Heard)" here.

Read Peter's personal blog "Aid is not the Answer" here.

Visit the Hope International website here.

Their names really are Shane: Shane Barnard and Shane Everett. The two met while attending Texas A&M and then combined forces and harmonies to create some of the most beautiful acoustic music found in worship and on the radio today.

Thirteen years have passed since those college days, and the boys have become husbands and fathers. They have also won a few Dove awards and gone on tour with "everyone from Mat Kearney to David Crowder." (And you might also recognize the name and musical talent of Shane Barnard's wife, Bethany Dillon.)

Still, Shane and Shane consider their music a second calling to the call they feel to share Jesus Christ. They've cut back on their tour dates to be home more with their families and to be able to be more involved in church leadership.

We're thrilled Shane and Shane have chosen to spend time with us this year as our worship leaders for The Gathering in Dana Point.

Watch and listen to Shane and Shane's "The One You Need" here .

Click here to check out Shane and Shane's blog for "behind the song" stories of their latest releases.

Watch and listen to Bethany Dillon's "Dreamer" here.

The "This Is Our City" initiative is based on the belief that a new generation of Christians has felt God calling them to seek shalom in their cities.

These Christians aren't simply missionaries or non-profit workers. They are people from all walks of life using their gifts and energies - commerce, government, technology, the arts, media and education - to bring systemic renewal to the cultural "upstream" and to bless their neighbors in the process.

This Is Our City is a multiyear project of Christianity Today and uses reporting, essays, and documentary video to show how these Christians are responding to their cities' particular challenges with excellence, biblical faith and hope. The cities being profiled differ dramatically from one another, but they all have stories worth telling, like the Nobles of Charlotte, North Carolina, pictured above.

We welcome This Is Our City Executive Producer Andy Crouch to this year's Gathering in Dana Point. Andy will be leading a panel discussing what it looks like to seek shalom in an urban setting and what he means when he asserts that "Jesus loved the cities."

Click here to read the story of the Nobles family, "Shrimp and Grits with a Side of Shalom: The King's Kitchen Revitalizes Charlotte."

Click here to watch and learn more about the people in the stories of This Is Our City.

Click here to watch a short video of Andy Crouch talking about the importance of cities in history, Scripture and our lives today.

You may know conservative sociologist Charles Murray as the best-selling author of Losing Ground and The Bell Curve. He is also an American Enterprise Institute (AEI) Scholar.

In his latest book, Coming Apart, Charles Murray explores the formation of American classes that are different in kind from anything we have ever known, focusing on white people as a way of driving home the fact that the trends he describes do not break along lines of race or ethnicity.

Murray uses five decades of statistics and research to make his case that a new upper class and a new lower class have diverged so far in core behaviors and values that they barely recognize their underlying American kinship. The book goes on to say that this divergence has nothing to do with income inequality and that has grown during good economic times and bad.

New York Times Op-Ed Columnist David Brooks wrote about Murray's theory this week in his essay, "The Great Divorce." He wrote, "I'll be shocked if there's another book this year as important as Charles Murray's 'Coming Apart.' I'll be shocked if there's another book that so compellingly describes the most important trends in American society."

Read David Brooks' Op-Ed here.

Order the book here.

Read Murray's latest post on the AEI blog: "A policy-free post on life after death."

Visit the American Enterprise Institute website here.

And for all of you C-SPAN fans, you can watch Murray speak here on the state of white America. (It's a full-length feature.)

Gregory Slayton grew up in a difficult family environment. Eventually, his father abandoned the family. Gregory determined he would be different, and he has succeeded.

"Some cultures and countries do a better job affirming, guiding, and encouraging fathers," Gregory said. "Modern American culture is sadly lacking in these areas-and we are all poorer for it. But the good news is this: good dads are made... not born."

With a foreword from former President George W. Bush, and endorsements from Tim Keller, Jeb Bush and many more, "Be A Better Dad Today!" helps fathers gain the "Ten Tools of Fatherhood" men need to become worthy family leaders, as well as to help create what Gregory calls the "Noble Family Vision."

A former ambassador in the Bush administration, Gregory and his wife, Marina, live in Hanover, New Hampshire, with their children.

Visit the "Be A Better Dad Today" website here.

The book will be published before Father's Day. Sign up here to get a first edition of "Be A Better Dad Today!"

Read an excerpt from Chapter One here.