Download or read book Dissident Discipleship written by David Augsburger and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2006-06 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bestselling author David Augsburger explains and advocates for a tri-polar spirituality--Christian life and energy centered on God, care of neighbor, and care of self.
Download or read book The Art of Forgiveness written by Philip Halstead and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2018-10-31 with total page 318 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Forgiveness is at the heart of the Christian Gospel. It goes hand in hand with love, mercy, and grace, the fundamental theological virtues. However, forgiveness is easier to define than it is to embody. This unique collection of essays brings together theologians, ethicists, and ministry practitioners into a constructive dialog which explores the complex and crucial concept of forgiveness: what it is, where it is to be found, and how it might be practiced. These essays reflect the perspectives of those from various traditions who nonetheless take the Christian Scriptures seriously, believe that forgiveness is central to living out the Gospel, and are creative in the ways in which forgiveness can be practiced. Forgiveness is an art and not simply a science; as such it requires trust, skill, and hope alongside love, mercy, and grace if it is to be embodied. This volume offers a unique window into the art of forgiveness and the faithful and innovative ways in which it is to be understood, embodied, and cultivated.
Download or read book Revelation for the Rest of Us written by Scot McKnight and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2023-02-28 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: See how the Book of Revelation can be read as a book of discipleship, challenging Christ-followers everywhere to live as hopeful agents of resistance and transformation. The last book of the Bible frustrates and frightens many people with its imagery and apocalyptic tone. Popular interpretations rely on fear and politicization and often lead to pride and alienation of others. Is this really how we were intended to read John’s Revelation? In Revelation for the Rest of Us, Scot McKnight with Cody Matchett explore the key message of Revelation and how it: Calls us to be faithful and hopeful witnesses to Jesus. Stimulates our imagination to see the world through the eyes of God and excite our faith. Challenges us to stand against the militarism, economic exploitation, oppression, and injustice of worldly authorities. McKnight addresses the popular misconceptions about the book, explaining what John means in his use of the images of dragons, lambs, and beasts; and how the symbolism of Revelation spoke in the days of Rome and still speaks powerfully to the present day—though not in the way most people think. You’ll learn to see the Book of Revelation in a fresh and hopeful new way. Drawing from the latest scholarship, the authors present an understanding of Revelation for anyone interested in deepening their personal study of the Bible and strengthening their faith as dissident disciples who can discern the presence of "Babylon" in our world and learn to speak up, speak out, and walk in the way of the Lamb.
Download or read book Faith Journey written by Jr. Hood and published by Xulon Press. This book was released on 2011-03 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Advance praise for Faith Journey "Good pastors are recognizing that the task for forming people in faith has a new urgency in our time. Preaching to people who are not learning about the faith and being formed in discipleship can devolve into entertaining an audience instead of edifying a congregation of the faithful. In this book, Doug Hood provides welcome help in this important ministry of weaving into the fabric of people's lives the basic pattern of the Christian faith - a wise and worthy guide for pastors and lay people." - From the Forward by Thomas G. Long, author of The Witness of Preaching and Bandy Professor of Preaching, Candler School of Theology, Emory University "Doug Hood leads us into a wonderfully accessible approach to a deeply engaging experience of growth in discipleship. By offering the interplay of readings, reflections, spiritual exercises and questions he leads the reader into the life changing journey of growing in Christlikeness and what it is to be loved by Christ and loving others in Christ's name. It is a superb guide for personal study, small groups and classes." - E. Stanley Ott, Ph.D. President of the Vital Churches Institute. "As pastors and church leaders, we want more for the spiritual life of our parishioners than an emotional high or intellectual stimulation. We want our people to know God. Doug Hood has developed an understandable and highly accessible resource for congregations. Using time-tested spiritual disciplines, Faith Journey encourages church members to be receptive to what God is doing in their lives." - James Hodsden, Senior Minister of the Ardmore Presbyterian Church, Ardmore, PA. W. Douglas Hood, Jr. (D.Min. Fuller Theological Seminary) is the pastor of Lenape Valley Presbyterian Church, New Britain, PA. His sermons and articles have appeared in Lectionary Homiletics, Preaching Great Texts, Biblical Preaching Journal and Preaching: Word & Witness.
Download or read book Ministry Without Madness written by Gordon Oliver and published by SPCK. This book was released on 2012-03-12 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In previous generations, ministers often enjoyed high job satisfaction. They could be clear about who they were and what they were for. Today, they are increasingly anxious about role confusion, overload and burnout. Drawing on his abundant experience in hands-on ministry and ministry education, Gordon Oliver speaks directly, with faith and with hopefulness to these realities. He explores the covenant that exists between ministers and their churches and provides a clear evaluation of the structures, constraints and freedoms of ministry. With real-life stories and insightful questions for reflection, his thought-provoking guide helps ministers, and those who support them, work together to fulfil ministers' true calling.
Download or read book A Glimpse of the Kingdom in Academia written by Irene Alexander and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2013-02-11 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: University is a major way that our society prepares professionals and leaders in education, health, government, business, arts, church--all components of our communal lives. Although the beginnings of the first universities were Christian, academia has become more and more adrift from these foundations. We have lost not only the union, the interwovenness of theological and academic understandings, but also the relational and communal process of learning which teaches students to be other-centered in their practice. A Glimpse of the Kingdom in Academia tells the story of the social sciences department of a small Christian university that took seriously the mandate to prepare their students to be salt and light in a secular society. Here are stories of the transformation in students' lives, as well as description of classroom practices, and the epistemological theory behind those practices. The book explores academic knowing, Christian worldview, relational epistemology, inner knowing, and wisdom--all ways of knowing that a Christian university should teach. The process of transformation, the context of community, and the bigger picture of life's journey and changing images of God are identified as important aspects of kingdom life in academia. The institutional setting is also critiqued with the recognition that power practices need to align with the kingdom of the Christ who emptied himself.
Download or read book Gathering Disciples written by Myra Blyth and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2017-02-08 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays by British Baptists honors the work of Christopher Ellis amongst the Baptist community, recognizing in particular the contribution he has made to the practice and theology of Free Church worship. The book takes a selection of his hymns as a starting point for reflection on areas of worship, discipleship, the sacraments, and theology.
Download or read book A Just Church written by Chris Howson and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-02-17 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does liberation theology actually look like in 21st century Britain? How can the Church respond faithfully to issues like war, climate change and vast global inequalities? A 'fresh expression' church in the centre of Bradford has explored these questions through radical forms of worship, non-violent direct action (for example, physically resisting the unjust detentions of asylum seekers) and experimenting with new ways of being community that help to build the reign of God. Church members have been arrested, come under the scrutiny of security forces and been super-glued together at the gates of hell (aka Aldermaston Atomic Weapons Establishment). This is their story: their successes and disasters, and their modelling of a new version of the Action/Reflection cycle called EARS (Education, Action, Reflection, Sustaining), aimed at helping other Christians to evolve their own way of thinking, growing - and demonstrating the relevance of Church in today's contexts.
Download or read book The Motives of Self Sacrifice in Korean American Culture Family and Marriage written by Chul Woo Son and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-01-24 with total page 247 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The concept of self-sacrifice is highly important to Korean Americans. With hierarchy of age, social status, and gender-defined roles taking primacy over equality and justice, self-sacrifice becomes instrumental in maintaining family and social relationships. Unfortunately, in family relationships, sacrifice has more to do with submission and endurance than it does with sacrificial service that is redemptive and mutually beneficial. When self-sacrifice carries hidden motives--coercive responsibility, obligation, shame, guilt, or one's reputation--that "self-sacrifice" is not self-giving, neither serving nor being of mutual benefit. In this context, it is important to explore the attitudes and motives of self-sacrifice in Korean American families. In unlocking and exploring the dynamics of the theology and practice of self-sacrifice for Korean Americans, this book explores cultural virtues, marital relationships, gender inequality, domestic violence, and their theological implications. The author introduces a new approach and model with a proposal for a healthier and a more judicious understanding of self-sacrifice for Korean American family relationships. The element of "equal regard" as pertaining to self-sacrifice offers Korean Americans a refreshing hope in the perspective of familial relationships and a liberating casting-off of culturally and religiously imposed burdens. The Korean American family ought to be grounded on a love ethic of equal regard and place its value on mutuality, self-sacrifice, and individual fulfillment. When this is done, sacrificial love can be understood as justly appropriated for both husbands and wives, males and females, and parents and children. Thus, Christian teaching and theology may deliver a more transparent message of true agape and its liberating effects for the marginalized, especially women and children.
Download or read book In the Midst of Much Doing written by Charles R. Ringma and published by Langham Publishing. This book was released on 2023-05-31 with total page 681 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How are we to sustain activism and compassion amidst the never-ending crises of the twenty-first century? While the concern for social justice is deeply biblical, cynicism, burnout, and despair are all too common side effects when action is divorced from contemplation. To effectively serve as the hands and feet of Jesus, the church must attend to the revitalization of its inner life through the spiritual practices which feed, support, and sustain the work of the kingdom. Rather than the fragmentation and dualism that have led denominations to choose between prayer and service, evangelization and justice, the church must integrate heart, mind, and body in order to fulfil its calling to transform the world from within. Drawing from Scripture and a wide range of Christian traditions – from the monastic to the evangelical – this book inspires its readers to integrate spiritual renewal and prophetic witness for the glory of God and the good of his creation.
Download or read book The Naked Anabaptist written by Stuart Murray and published by MennoMedia, Inc.. This book was released on 2015-10-20 with total page 204 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Click here to read the introduction to The Naked Anabaptist. In churches and kitchens and neighborhood centers across the world, communities of Jesus-followers are crafting a vision of radical service, simple living, and commitment to peace. Many are finding a home in a Christian tradition almost five centuries old: Anabaptism. Who are the Anabaptists? What do they believe? Where did they come from? What makes them different from other Christians? And can you become an Anabaptist without leaving your own church? Follow Stuart Murray as he peels back the layers to reveal the core convictions of Anabaptist Christianity, a way of following Jesus that challenges, disturbs, and inspires. Glimpse an alternative to nationalistic, materialistic, individualistic Christian faith. If you are seeking a community of authentic discipleship, heartfelt worship, sacrificial service, and radical peacemaking, consider this your invitation. This new edition features: Voices and stories from North America and the global church. Updated and expanded definition and discussion of Christendom. Updated resource section. Free downloadable study guide available here.
Download or read book Reciprocal Church written by Sharon Galgay Ketcham and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The church faces an unprecedented loss of rising generations. Young adults who were active and engaged in the local church are leaving the community behind after high school. What can we do? Sharon Galgay Ketcham reflects theologically on the church community and its role in forming faith, offering values and practices that can shape a community into a place where faith will flourish in those both young and old.
Download or read book The Dialectics of Discipleship written by Chris Swann and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2023-08-24 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Interrogating Barth's discipleship-shaped vision of sanctification, this book investigates both Lutheran and Calvinian source material to develop an account that differs markedly from other Lutheran and Calvinist perspectives. Highlighting the robustly theological and Christ-centred character of Barth's account, Chris Swann demonstrates that, far from merely valorising human activity, Barth advances an understanding of human moral agency, action, and suffering that is real but relative to the agency of God in Christ to which it corresponds analogously. With a focus on the role the image of discipleship plays in giving conceptual structure and shape to Barth's distinctive account of the correspondence between divine agency and sanctified human agency, this book evaluates the ramifications of his discipleship-shaped vision of sanctification. In doing this, it gives special attention to Barth's own personal mixed record with regard to Christian discipleship. Ultimately, Swann retrieves a number of important resources for contemporary theological ethics from Barth's theology of discipleship.
Download or read book A Vast Minority written by Stuart Murray and published by Authentic Media Inc. This book was released on 2015-09-01 with total page 232 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the past century the advance of secularism, the growth of other religious communities and the decline of the churches have combined to reduce the size and influence of the Christian community. Christians are now members of a minority religious community in a plural society. How is this diminished status to be understood in a global and historical context, within the purposes of God? What institutional changes are required? What psychological and emotional adjustments are needed in communities that have a corporate memory of majority status, privilege and influence? What hopes and expectations should be encouraged? What strategies should be adopted? A Vast Minority explores the challenges and opportunities we face. - Publisher
Download or read book Borderland Churches written by Gary V Nelson and published by Chalice Press. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Borderland Churches is a call to embrace the pluralistic, post Christian and postmodern culture with a sense of opportunity and hope. The author uses the image of the church crossing over into an "in -between time", a place where faith is lived outside the walls of the church engaging the community in incarnational ways. To live in that "precarious but exhilarating place where faith and other faiths and no faith meet." Only individuals and congregations that accept this new reality will be able to carry on Christian ministry in this new cultural situation. A TCP Leadership Series title.
Download or read book Divine Suffering written by Andrew J. Schmutzer and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2023-02-22 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Divine Suffering is an inter-disciplinary study that draws from systematics, philosophy, biblical theology, and pastoral experience. In addition to covering topics like the suffering of the Father in the Son and God's cruciform vulnerability, this book also explores how divine suffering animates the Christian gospel and resonates in the ongoing persecution of believers. The study of the suffering God has everything to do with Theology, History, and Church Mission. Like exploring a cathedral from all its entrances, both scholars and seekers will find ample opportunity for theological challenge, biblical insight, and missional hope. To accomplish this, both Scripture and doctrine are closely investigated. Today, divine suffering must face the contemporary realities of protest atheism, escalating wars, new studies in relational theology, and dialogical personhood that presses the need to explain a Christian message about the kind of God who is not only transcendent but also personal. Divine Suffering introduces us to the history of God, not just the God of history. In this study, we meet a God available to our pain though not diminished by it. Mounting forms of grief need to be met with an equally pastoral understanding that validates suffering without valorizing it.
Download or read book Relationships and Emotions After Christendom written by Jeremy Thomson and published by Authentic Media Inc. This book was released on 2016-06-01 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This accessible and practical book is a mixture of selected theological and psychological insights into key human emotions and relationships. Its aim is to help Christian people and churches to behave in relationships and handle emotions in constructive and liberating ways. It argues that, after Christendom, particular attention should be given to how Christians conduct day-to-day relationships, and that developing emotional literacy should be high on churches' agendas.
