SHERWOOD SENIOR PASTOR MICHAEL CATT CALLS FOR 'COURAGEOUS LIVING'

NASHVILLE—From more than 20 years in the pulpit, Sherwood Baptist Church Senior Pastor Michael Catt calls godly fathers "an endangered species." His response includes a challenging new book, Courageous Living—Dare to Take a Stand, launching September 2011.

"I'm asking God to give His men the tenacity that seems strangely lacking in this hour," Catt said. "Caleb was an old man when he said, ‘Give me this mountain.' Samuel was a young man when he heard from God. I ask God to use this book to call men from every generation to new courage."

From B&H Publishing Group, Courageous Living—Dare to Take a Stand is a companion to the highly anticipated film COURAGEOUS, from Sherwood Pictures, makers of FLYWHEEL, FACING THE GIANTS, and the No. 1 independent film of 2008, FIREPROOF. Catt was executive producer on each film.

The movie COURAGEOUS is the story of five friends; after a tragedy strikes one of them, they resolve together to be the husbands, fathers, and leaders God intends. In Courageous Living, Catt assesses today's culture and finds equal need for godly men. Drawing from the Bible, he shows example after example of ordinary men and women called and empowered by God. For example:

• Abraham—at God's call, he left a comfortable life for an unknown land
• Moses—his parents took a stand to protect him as an infant; as an adult, he took a stand to protect his countrymen
• Joshua—when others doubted, he believed; when others pulled back, he led
• Gideon—a humble hero
• Ruth—faced an uncertain future with faith

A bold stand is a byproduct, Catt explains in Courageous Living, of an intimate relationship with God, through His Son and through knowledge of his Word.

"Jesus faced critics, cynics, and skeptics and never blinked," Catt said. "His resurrection power now is our life power. The challenge is to apply it daily, not just to sing about it at church."

Courageous Living—Dare to Take a Stand is available for preorder now with a September 2011 debut. A companion four-week Bible study curriculum kit is available from B&H Publishing.

About Michael Catt

Michael Catt has been senior pastor of Sherwood Baptist Church in Albany, Ga., since 1989 and is executive producer of the popular Sherwood Pictures films FLYWHEEL, FACING THE GIANTS, FIREPROOF, and the highly anticipated COURAGEOUS. He wrote Prepare for Rain, Fireproof Your Life, The Power of Desperation, The Power of Persistence, and The Power of Surrender among other books and founded the ReFRESH^TM revival conference. Michael and his wife, Terri, have two children.