Download or read book Exploring Ordinary Theology written by Leslie J. Francis and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Ordinary theology' characterizes the reflective God-talk of the great majority of churchgoers, and others who remain largely untouched by the assumptions, concepts and arguments that academic theology takes for granted. Jeff Astley coined the phrase in his innovative study, Ordinary Theology: Looking, Listening and Learning in Theology, arguing that 'speaking statistically ordinary theology is the theology of God's Church'. A number of scholars have responded to this and related conceptualizations, exploring their theological implications. Other researchers have adopted the perspective in examining a range of Church practices and contexts of Christian discipleship, using the tools of empirical study. Ordinary theology research has proved to be key in uncovering people's everyday lay theology or ordinary dogmatics. Exploring Ordinary Theology presents fresh contributions from a wide range of authors, who address the theological, empirical and practical dimensions of this central feature of ordinary Christian existence and the life of the Church.

Download or read book Ordinary Theology written by Jeff Astley and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Ordinary theology' is Jeff Astley's phrase for the theology and theologising of Christians who have received little or no theological education of a scholarly, academic or systematic kind. Astley argues that an in-depth study of ordinary theology, which should involve both empirical research and theological reflection, can help recover theology as a fundamental dimension of every Christian's vocation. Ordinary Theology analyses the problems and possibilities of research and reflection in this area. This book explores the philosophical, theological and educational dimensions of the concept of ordinary theology, its significance for the work of the theologian as well as for those engaged in the ministry of the church, and the criticisms that it faces. 'Ordinary theology' Astley writes, 'is the church's front line. Statistically speaking, it is the theology of God's church.'

Download or read book Ordinary Theology written by Jeff Astley and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-07-05 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Ordinary theology' is Jeff Astley's phrase for the theology and theologising of Christians who have received little or no theological education of a scholarly, academic or systematic kind. Astley argues that an in-depth study of ordinary theology, which should involve both empirical research and theological reflection, can help recover theology as a fundamental dimension of every Christian's vocation. Ordinary Theology analyses the problems and possibilities of research and reflection in this area. This book explores the philosophical, theological and educational dimensions of the concept of ordinary theology, its significance for the work of the theologian as well as for those engaged in the ministry of the church, and the criticisms that it faces. 'Ordinary theology' Astley writes, 'is the church's front line. Statistically speaking, it is the theology of God's church.'

Download or read book Exploring Ordinary Theology written by Leslie J. Francis and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-04-15 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'Ordinary theology' characterizes the reflective God-talk of the great majority of churchgoers, and others who remain largely untouched by the assumptions, concepts and arguments that academic theology takes for granted. Jeff Astley coined the phrase in his innovative study, Ordinary Theology: Looking, Listening and Learning in Theology, arguing that 'speaking statistically ordinary theology is the theology of God's Church'. A number of scholars have responded to this and related conceptualizations, exploring their theological implications. Other researchers have adopted the perspective in examining a range of Church practices and contexts of Christian discipleship, using the tools of empirical study. Ordinary theology research has proved to be key in uncovering people's everyday lay theology or ordinary dogmatics. Exploring Ordinary Theology presents fresh contributions from a wide range of authors, who address the theological, empirical and practical dimensions of this central feature of ordinary Christian existence and the life of the Church.

Download or read book Introducing Practical Theology written by Pete Ward and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2017-10-17 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This introduction to the field of practical theology reclaims a theological vision for the life and work of the church. Pete Ward dispels the myth that practical theology is a distraction from the "real" tasks of ministry or from serious academic theological work. He argues that practical theology is part of the everyday life of the church and that there are a variety of possible approaches, helping readers evaluate the approach that is most appropriate to their ministerial context and theological tradition. This reliable, accessible resource will work well for those in training or in ministry.

Download or read book A Theology of the Ordinary written by Julie Canlis and published by . This book was released on 2017 with total page 68 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Memoirs of an Ordinary Pastor written by D. A. Carson and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2008-02-05 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: D. A. Carson's father was a pioneering church-planter and pastor in Quebec. But still, an ordinary pastor-except that he ministered during the decades that brought French Canada from the brutal challenges of persecution and imprisonment for Baptist ministers to spectacular growth and revival in the 1970s. It is a story, and an era, that few in the English-speaking world know anything about. But through Tom Carson's journals and written prayers, and the narrative and historical background supplied by his son, readers will be given a firsthand account of not only this trying time in North American church history, but of one pastor's life and times, dreams and disappointments. With words that will ring true for every person who has devoted themselves to the Lord's work, this unique book serves to remind readers that though the sacrifices of serving God are great, the sweetness of living a faithful, obedient life is greater still.

Download or read book Ordinary written by Michael Horton and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2014-10-07 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Radical. Crazy. Transformative and restless. Every word we read these days seems to suggest there’s a “next-best-thing,” if only we would change our comfortable, compromising lives. In fact, the greatest fear most Christians have is boredom—the sense that they are missing out on the radical life Jesus promised. One thing is certain. No one wants to be “ordinary.” Yet pastor and author Michael Horton believes that our attempts to measure our spiritual growth by our experiences, constantly seeking after the next big breakthrough, have left many Christians disillusioned and disappointed. There’s nothing wrong with an energetic faith; the danger is that we can burn ourselves out on restless anxieties and unrealistic expectations. What’s needed is not another program or a fresh approach to spiritual growth; it’s a renewed appreciation for the commonplace. Far from a call to low expectations and passivity, Horton invites readers to recover their sense of joy in the ordinary. He provides a guide to a sustainable discipleship that happens over the long haul—not a quick fix that leaves readers empty with unfulfilled promises. Convicting and ultimately empowering, Ordinary is not a call to do less; it’s an invitation to experience the elusive joy of the ordinary Christian life.

Download or read book Faithful written by Beth Felker Jones and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many believers accept traditional Christian sexual morality but have very little idea why it matters for the Christian life. In Faithful, author Beth Felker Jones sketches a theology of sexuality that demonstrates sex is not about legalistic morals with no basis in reality but rather about the God who is faithful to us. In Hosea 2:19-20 God says to Israel, “I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love, and in mercy. I will take you for my wife in faithfulness; and you shall know the Lord.” This short book explores the goodness of sexuality as created and redeemed, and it suggests ways to navigate the difficulties of living in a world in which sexuality, like everything else, suffers the effects of the fall. As part of Zondervan’s Ordinary Theology series, Faithful takes a deeper look at a subject Christians talk about often but not always thoughtfully. This short, insightful reflection explores the deeper significance of the body and sexuality.

Download or read book Anglican Cathedrals in Modern Life written by Leslie J Francis and published by Springer. This book was released on 2015-09-30 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the past decade, cathedrals have blossomed as signs of growth for the Anglican Church in England and Wales. They have opened their doors to growing congregations, to widening participation at the major Christian festivals, and to visitors, pilgrims, and tourists on a changing quest for religious experience and for spiritual fulfilment. In this thought-provoking volume Leslie J. Francis' research group presents ten focused empirical studies that illuminate what is really going on in these cathedrals.

Download or read book Empirical Theology in Texts and Tables written by Leslie J. Francis and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2009-01-31 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawing on the insights of Catholic and Protestant scholars, this collection of essays advances new insight into the theory, practice and relevance of empirical research in theology.

Download or read book Taking Ordinary Theology Seriously written by Jeff Astley and published by . This book was released on 2007 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book An Uncertain Certainty written by Graham Buxton and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-09-25 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many people in Christian ministry are tired of simplistic certainties; what they need is permission to live with uncertainty, with mystery, ambiguity, and paradox. Because we live in a world that is far removed from the modernist version of reality, with its rational, clinical, and superficial presentation of life, we need the courage and wisdom to embrace the presence of uncertainties in the midst of certainty. In this book, the author offers snapshots of a number of central Christian topics--God, the gospel, the church, salvation, ministry--inviting us to treat them as features of a landscape to explore rather than a set of propositional statements to sign up to. Each chapter--short enough to provoke interest and curiosity--will be a catalyst for deeper reflection and enquiry, inviting us to discover a new freedom in ministry as we embrace a more generous "both-and" perspective in place of a more narrow "either-or" interpretation of the Christian faith. In the process, we may find ourselves rediscovering "the Life we have lost in living" as we imaginatively participate in the life, ministry, and mystery of the triune God of grace in our midst.

Download or read book Liturgy of the Ordinary written by Tish Harrison Warren and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2016-11-01 with total page 189 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christianity Today Book of the Year In the overlooked moments and routines of our day, we can become aware of God's presence in surprising ways. How do we embrace the sacred in the ordinary and the ordinary in the sacred? Framed around one typical day, this book explores life through the lens of liturgy—small practices and habits that form us. In each chapter, Tish Harrison Warren considers a common daily experience—making the bed, brushing her teeth, losing her keys. Drawing from the diversity of her life as a campus minister, Anglican priest, friend, wife, and mother, Warren opens up a practical theology of the everyday. Each activity is related to a spiritual practice as well as an aspect of our Sunday worship. Come and discover the holiness of your every day.

Download or read book Cities of Tomorrow and the City to Come written by Noah J. Toly and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each day, the world’s urban population swells by almost 200,000. With every passing week, more than a million people new to cities face unexpected realities and challenges of urban life. Just like the sheer volume of people in the city, these challenges can be staggering. As with the height and breadth of our metropolises, the wonders of urban life can be breathtaking. Like the city itself, the questions and challenges of urban life are both sprawling and pulsing with vitality. As part of Zondervan's Ordinary Theology series, this volume offers a series of Christian reflections on some of the most basic and universal challenges of 21st century urban life. It takes one important dimension of what it means to be human—that human beings are made to be for God, for others, and for creation—and asks, “What are the implications of who God made us to be for how we ought to live in our cities?” This book is intended for Christians facing the riddle of urban creation care, discerning the shape of community life, struggling with the challenges of wealth and poverty, and wondering at the global influence of cities. It is meant for those whose lives and livelihoods are inextricably bound up in the flourishing of their neighborhood and also for those who live in the shadow of cities. Most of all, it is meant for those grappling with the relationship between the cities of tomorrow and the glorious city to come.

Download or read book Why Is There Suffering written by Bethany N. Sollereder and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2021-11-02 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Your journey begins. The road before you is smooth and straight. You walk for some time, recalling your experiences that call into question the deep realities of life. Up ahead, you can see the road branching in three directions. . . In Why Is There Suffering? you, reader, control the route you take through its "choose-your-own-path" chapters, asking questions and exploring different theological possibilities on the big topics of: God's existence God's nature The nature of suffering Evil Pain Final destiny Taking an intentionally light-hearted approach to a heavy topic this book presents an illustrative introduction to the problem of suffering and the most commonly offered responses to it. Along the road, you'll face multiple possibilities regarding suffering and its theological explanations, and you'll make choices about which one you find most plausible, skipping to that section of the book. Each decision you make leads to further complexities and new choices that reveal how theological beliefs lead to certain conclusions. This book does not offer final answers. Instead, it introduces the "theological" possibilities—both Christian and non-Christian—that you can explore and wrestle with to make informed decisions about your beliefs and clearly see the road you've taken to reach such beliefs. You are, of course, in control of the paths you take through these pages. You decide which explanations work. You can always go back and see what would change if you'd taken a different path. And, who knows. . .you may find that certain pathways resonate with your experiences in ways you didn't expect.

Download or read book Ordinary Christology written by Ann Christie and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-05-13 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ordinary Christology is defined as the account of who Jesus was/is and what he did/does that is given by Christian believers who have received no formal theological education. In this fascinating study Ann Christie analyses, and offers a theological appraisal, of the main christologies and soteriologies operating in a sample of ordinary churchgoers. Christie highlights the formal characteristics of ordinary Christology and raises questions about how we should respond to the beliefs about Jesus held by ordinary churchgoers. Empirical findings have important pastoral, theological, and missiological implications, and raise important questions about the importance (or otherwise) of 'right' belief for being Christian. This book presents a model for how the study of ordinary theology can be conducted, with the in-depth theological analysis and critique which it both requires and deserves.