Download or read book Biblical Strategies for a Community in Crisis written by Colleen Birchett and published by Urban Ministries Inc. This book was released on 1995-04 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through inspirational messages and warnings, 11 leading Christian thinkers share with readers the major challenges facing the African American community and its church. Readers are given biblical strategies for facing these challenges. 12 lessons. Leader's Guide also available.
Download or read book Beyond Homelessness written by Steven Bouma-Prediger and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2008-06-03 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a brilliant use of metaphor that makes clear why the world leaves us feeling so uneasy!
Download or read book Prophetic Lament written by Soong-Chan Rah and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2015-09-03 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The American church avoids lament. But lament is a missing, essential component of Christian faith. Soong-Chan Rah's prophetic exposition of the book of Lamentations provides a biblical and theological lens for examining the church's relationship with a suffering world. Hear the prophet's lament as the necessary corrective for Christianity's future.
Download or read book Beyond Sex Roles written by Gilbert G. Bilezikian and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2006-10 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This first-rate biblical and theological study offers an accessible examination of the key texts of Scripture pertinent to understanding female roles, affirming full equality of the sexes in family and church. The third edition has been revised throughout. Gilbert Bilezikian avoids using scholarly jargon and complex argumentation in the main text of the book to encourage readers to interact with the biblical research. The aim is for nonspecialized readers to be able to follow his discussion step-by-step, evaluate arguments, consider alternative views, and arrive at independent conclusions. The study guide format of the book is designed for either individual investigation or group work. Pastors, church leaders, students, and those interested in issues relating to gender and church life will value this classic work on the egalitarian viewpoint.
Download or read book For Christian Lovers Only Leader s Guide written by Reverend Clarence Walker and published by Urban Ministries Inc. This book was released on 2009 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How are marriages in your church? If they're following the national pattern, almost half are bound to end in divorce. Help couples in your faith community beat the odds. For Christian Lovers Only is a Bible-based program that helps African-American couples develop greater skills in communication, problem resolution and intimacy, leading to strong, healthy and lasting relationships. Lessons incorporate goals and home activities, video and Scripture to empower couples to discover and live within God's plan for their marriage. Topics include finance, closeness vs. independence, friends, communication, balancing work and leisure, and dealing with extended family. The Leader's Kit includes a DVD, Leader's Guide, Participant's Workbook and Resource CD.
Download or read book Outreach Theology written by Charles J. J. Jackson and published by Xulon Press. This book was released on 2010-12 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you have been searching God's purpose for reaching the world for Jesus Christ, this book is for you! Dr. Jackson challenges the church to look inward and heal those who are in the pews before reaching outward to those who are hurting to fill the pews. He gives biblical scriptures that remind us that we are called to transform our communities by deepening our commitment to outreach and providing ministries that heal the broken hearted, encourage the weak and lift up those who need a helping hand-this is a must read if you want to take your ministry to another level. Mary L. Thomas EVP, the Spartanburg County Foundation "Charles Jackson is a hard-working preacher whose passionate commitment to God's mission through Jesus Christ shines through this book. Outreach Theology is grounded in Holy Scripture, informed by the Church's wisdom throughout the centuries, and filled with many helpful resources that will benefit those who love the Lord Jesus and seek to follow Him in His ministry of reaching out to all people everywhere. Pastors and congregations who are satisfied with serving themselves should avoid this book. But those who are not will find great encouragement in it." Richard Burnett, Professor of Systematic Theology, Erskine Theological Seminary Outreach Theology: by Dr. Charles J.J. Jackson is a great literary contribution to the body of Christ. This book gives insight on how believers can do true kingdom building through outreach. Outreach Theology: guides readers on how to genuinely care for those in the community for outreach starts in your common territory. This book is a must read for any and everyone who aspires to do ministry, to do mission, and to do Kingdom. So now, let your outreach begin. It's time to Transition the Traditional Church. -Charmayne Brown/Editor-In-Chief of REJOICE Magazine
Download or read book Apostles of Reason written by Molly Worthen and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2016 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Apostles of Reason, Molly Worthen offers a sweeping history of modern American evangelicalism, arguing that the faith has been shaped not by shared beliefs but by battles over the relationship between faith and reason.
Download or read book Biblical Principles of Crisis Leadership written by Steve Firestone and published by Springer Nature. This book was released on 2020-05-28 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores how spirituality can improve an organization’s ability to respond to a crisis. It presents biblical examples of leading during a crisis to show how faith can be relied upon to lead during crisis situations. Further, it presents examples of leaders using their faith during trying times. In recent years, organizations have begun to prepare for crises, but scholarly research has not kept up with their efforts. Exploring topics such as communication, servant leadership, and resilience, this work stakes new ground in leadership theory and will foster future research into the role of spirituality during organizational crisis.
Download or read book Why Social Justice Is Not Biblical Justice An Urgent Appeal to Fellow Christians in a Time of Social Crisis written by Scott David Allen and published by Credo House Publishers. This book was released on 2020-09 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Prepare yourself to defend the truth against the greatest worldview threat of our generation. In recent years, a set of ideas rooted in postmodernism and neo-Marxist critical theory have merged into a comprehensive worldview. Labeled "social justice" by its advocates, it has radically redefined the popular understanding of justice. It purports to value equality and diversity and to champion the cause of the oppressed. Yet far too many Christians have little knowledge of this ideology, and consequently, don't see the danger. Many evangelical leaders confuse ideological social justice with biblical justice. Of course, justice is a deeply biblical idea, but this new ideology is far from biblical. It is imperative that Christ-followers, tasked with blessing their nations, wake up to the danger, and carefully discern the difference between Biblical justice and its destructive counterfeit. This book aims to replace confusion with clarity by holding up the counterfeit worldview and the Biblical worldview side-by-side, showing how significantly they differ in their core presuppositions. It challenges Christians to not merely denounce the false worldview, but offer a better alternative-the incomparable Biblical worldview, which shapes cultures marked by genuine justice, mercy, forgiveness, social harmony, and human dignity.
Download or read book The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World written by Deanna A. Thompson and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page 129 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in a wired world where 24/7 digital connectivity is increasingly the norm. Christian megachurch communities often embrace this reality wholeheartedly while more traditional churches often seem hesitant and overwhelmed by the need for an interactive website, a Facebook page and a twitter feed. This book accepts digital connectivity as our reality, but presents a vision of how faith communities can utilize technology to better be the body of Christ to those who are hurting while also helping followers of Christ think critically about the limits of our digital attachments. This book begins with a conversion story of a non-cell phone owning, non-Facebook using religion professor judgmental of the ability of digital tools to enhance relationships. A stage IV cancer diagnosis later, in the midst of being held up by virtual communities of support, a conversion occurs: this religion professor benefits in embodied ways from virtual sources and wants to convert others to the reality that the body of Christ can and does exist virtually and makes embodied difference in the lives of those who are hurting. The book neither uncritically embraces nor rejects the constant digital connectivity present in our lives. Rather it calls on the church to a) recognize ways in which digital social networks already enact the virtual body of Christ; b) tap into and expand how Christ is being experienced virtually; c) embrace thoughtfully the material effects of our new augmented reality, and c) influence utilization of technology that minimizes distraction and maximizes attentiveness toward God and the world God loves.
Download or read book The Christian Perspective on Mental Health written by Dr. Paul McDowell and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2016-10-31 with total page 102 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is to challenge and change the thinking of many to that of wanting to do more for those that are mentally ill. There seems to be a problem with the Christian community doing more for those that are mentally ill instead of just feeding those that are on the street ever so often. There is a need for more training for ministers and lay people of the churches, and there must be a bridging of the gap between the mental-health professionals and the Christian community.
Download or read book God and Community Organizing written by Lewis B Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics Hak Joon Lee and published by . This book was released on 2020-10 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ever-evolving climate, technological advances, neoliberal capitalism, and globalization and its effects have transformed the very fabric of global society. In the wake of these phenomena is a globally experienced fragmentation caused by moral assumptions about social institutions as well as increasing disenchantment with democracy and social arrangements as they currently exist. Recently, a surprisingly large number of Christian congregations have been attracted to the twentieth-century concept of community organizing. This phenomenon is a result of the inherent passion for justice in covenantal organizing that underlies Jewish and Christian faith. Not only is covenant instrumental in the formation of God's people as a community, the concept has also played an important role in the rise of modern Western ideas of democracy, constitutionalism, and human rights. God and Community Organizing: A Covenantal Approach brings Saul Alinsky's community organizing into conversation with biblical and theological models of covenant. Hak Joon Lee argues that covenant reflects the life of the triune God who eternally organizes Godself as the Father, Son, and Spirit. At the heart of the biblical institutions of the Mosaic Covenant and the New Covenant of Jesus is the attempt to structure a wholesome, close-knit community of love, justice, and power. Lee incorporates four examples of covenantal organizing in different historical and social contexts: Exodus, Jesus, Puritans, and Martin Luther King Jr. Critically engaging with Saul Alinsky's method, Lee seeks to highlight how the two streams of thought--covenantal organizing and Alinsky's community organizing--can complement each other to develop a more vigorous and effective method of faith-based community organizing. From his study Lee explores the political and moral implications in light of the current struggle against the neoliberal corporate oligarchy. By demonstrating how covenantal organizing presents a more coherent and plausible social philosophy, an effective method in organizing a globalizing society is offered as an alternative to liberal democracy, postmodernism, identity politics, and communitarianism.
Download or read book God So Loves the City written by Charles E. Van Engen and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2009-08-01 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the explosive contexts of Nairobi, Mexico City, Los Angeles, and Madras burst fresh insights on the mission of the church for the city. Jude Tiersma and Charles Van Engen worked closely with an international team of experienced urban practitioners to explore the most urgent issues facing those who minister in today's cities. From each particular urban setting, a team member contributed a story from ministry in the city. Each story uniquely illustrates a different challenge of urban ministry in the face of injustice, marginalization, and urban structures. This book brings you these stories, then retells them in light of Scripture, introducing new hope to each one. From these stories emerge new ideas about the nature of cities and how to practice ministry in them. The new methodology employed by Van Engen and Tiersma's team leads us in the first steps toward a theology of mission for the city. God So Loves the City is a must for pastors, seminary students, missiologists, congregation members, and all who are concerned about urban ministry.
Download or read book The Purpose Driven Church written by Rick Warren and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2007-09-04 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The issue is church health, not church growth—if your church is healthy, growth will occur naturally. So how do we make healthy churches, driven by purpose? In order for any church to thrive, it must be built around the five New Testament purposes given to the church by Jesus Christ. In this classic of Christian church stability, pastor and bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren unpacks this proven five-part strategy that will enable your church to grow: Warmer through fellowship. Deeper through discipleship. Stronger through worship. Broader through ministry. Larger through evangelism. Every church is driven by something. Tradition, finances, programs, personalities, events, seekers, and even buildings can each be the controlling force in a church. But Warren will show you how to concentrate on building people and let God build the church. In other words, healthy, consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church. And The Purpose Driven Church will show you how to do that. “The Purpose Driven Church has brought focus and direction to more pastors and church leaders than you can count. What a gift!”—John Ortberg, bestselling author.
Download or read book Reading the Bible in an Age of Crisis written by Bruce Worthington and published by Fortress Press. This book was released on 2015-08-03 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We live in an age in which economic, ecological, and political crises are not the exception, but the rule. The Cold War polarities that shaped an earlier “political exegesis” have been replaced; increasingly, crisis is the engine of a global “turbo-capitalism.” Here, biblical scholars and activists describe and exemplify the shape of a biblical interpretation that takes contemporary crisis seriously. Succinct opening essays summarize the salient aspects of our critical situation; in later parts, contributions address themes of economic, political, and environmental crisis in dialogue with biblical texts.
Download or read book The Bible and the Crisis of Meaning written by Christopher Spinks and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2007-08-30 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many of the most pressing issues in theology and the church today depend greatly on the understanding of the bible. Recent debates on the theological interpretation of scripture have emerged which consider whether the meaning of scripture should concern theologians and church leaders at all. The Bible and the Crisis of Meaning is an account of these debates in examining the concept of meaning in current proposals of theological interpretation. The concept of meaning is educed either from the supposed nature of the texts and their authors or from the function of the texts in religious communities. Thus, approaches to theological interpretation become debates between ontological and pragmatic strategists. Stephen Fowl and Kevin Vanhoozer have embraced the term "theological interpretation" for their separate projects, but their ideas of what this means and how "meaning" is a part of it, differ greatly. Christopher Spinks describes their respective concepts of meaning and argues for a more holistic concept that allows theological interpreters to understand their craft not so much as a discovery of intentions or the creation of interests but as a conversation in which truth is mediated.
Download or read book Into Thy Word written by Richard Krejcir and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2000-12-20 with total page 302 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is about how to read and study the Bible. This book is about getting the non-Christian to learn how to study the Bible, and this book is for the Pastor and theologian who needs to have their "refresh" button pressed. This book is in fact for anybody desiring to know the Book of ages. If you are new to the Word or are a seasoned teacher. If you do not know where to begin, or you have tried countless times and feel overwhelmed and frustrated, this is the book for you!