Download or read book Faithful Witness in a Fractured World written by Nicole L. Johnson and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-09-11 with total page 133 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christians have always looked to models within the Christian faith to guide their lives. At a time when the church is more identifiable by ugly partisan politics—what we call "crappy Christianity"—than by compassionate neighbor love, this book highlights the lives and work of seven individuals who are pursuing their Christian calling in humility and profound love for and service to others, this book highlights the lives and work of seven individuals who are pursuing their Christian calling in humility and profound love for and service to others. Their commitments have led to vocations in working with homeless women, employing refugees, lobbying on Capitol Hill for environmental protection, healing trauma in urban communities, peacemaking in Israel-Palestine, advocating for immigrants, and walking alongside people in addiction recovery. Their individual and collective witness offer compelling examples of authentic Christian life, which is marked in part by active, embodied faith in pursuit of the common good; a broad and inclusive love for all people; rightly ordered political identities and loyalties; and a commitment to work toward holistic redemption of both people and the systems that constitute our life together. In contrast to much of contemporary American Christianity, these models of faith demonstrate that Christians should focus much more on what we are for rather than what we are against.

Download or read book Humanities Perspectives in Peace Education written by Nicole L. Johnson and published by IAP. This book was released on 2021-08-01 with total page 181 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Humanities Perspectives in Peace Education: Re-Engaging the Heart of Peace Studies, scholar-teachers across a variety of humanities fields explore the content, methods, and pedagogies that are unique to their respective disciplines in contributing to the study of peace and justice. In recent decades, even as peace scholarship has burgeoned, many peace studies texts—including those that purport to be interdisciplinary in nature—have emphasized social science perspectives and, in some cases, have foregone exploration of the role of the humanities altogether in comprehensive peace education. While humanities scholars continue to stake out space for peace scholarship within their fields, no volume has attempted to collect the wisdom of multiple humanities disciplines in order to make the case for their critical role in authentic peace education. Humanities Perspectives in Peace Education addresses that shortcoming in the field of peace studies by exploring the ways in which the humanities are uniquely situated to contribute particular content, knowledge, skills, and values required of comprehensive peace education, scholarship, and activism. These include the development of empathy and understanding, creative vision and imagination, personal and communal transformation toward “the good” in society (such as the pursuit of justice, nonviolence, freedom, and human thriving), and field-specific analytical lenses of their own, among other contributions. Both teachers and students of peace will find value in this interdisciplinary humanities volume. Each chapter of Humanities Perspectives in Peace Education offers a deep-dive into a particular humanities field—including philosophy, literature, language and culture studies, rhetoric, religion, history, and music—to mine the field’s unique contributions to peace and justice studies. Scholars ask: “What are we missing in peace education if we fail to include this academic discipline?” Chapters include suggestions for peace pedagogies within the humanities field as well as bibliographies and suggestions for further reading.

Download or read book One For All The Foundations written by Malcolm Duncan and published by Monarch Books. This book was released on 2017-04-21 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 500 years after Martin Luther's objections, the Church is threatened with division. With fundamentalists and liberals pulling at either end of the scale, have we forgotten everything that binds us together? Are we focusing too much on the things that could pull us apart? In 2017 Spring Harvest celebrates the theme of unity. Instead of fracturing over secondary issues, we have an opportunity to celebrate a God-given unity centred on mission and the primary truths of faith. We have an opportunity to be One for All.

Download or read book Respectful LGBT Conversations written by Harold Heie and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2018-05-14 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In stark contrast to the shrill and nasty interactions among many Christians regarding contentious LGBT issues, this book models a redemptive mode of engagement by featuring respectful conversations among deeply committed Christians who hold to diverging traditional and non-traditional views. The foundational values guiding these conversations are the quest for truth, giving the gift of love to all brothers and sisters in Christ, and modeling Christian unity. Emerging from these conversations are practical steps for a way forward that include creating safe spaces for ongoing conversation and practicing courageous Christian leadership. Based on case studies for a Christian university and two Christian churches, this book provides helpful advice for navigating conflict within churches, Christian denominations, and Christian educational institutions.

Download or read book In Search of the Common Good written by Jake Meador and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2019-06-25 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Common life in our society is in decline—our communities are disintegrating, our public discourse is hateful, and economic inequalities are widening. In this book, Jake Meador reclaims a vision of common life for our fractured times: a vision that doesn't depend on the destinies of our economies or our political institutions, but on our citizenship in a heavenly city. Only through that vision can we truly work together for the common good.

Download or read book A Word to a Fractured Church and a Broken World written by Thomas H. Vanleer and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2023-03-22 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For those who has ears to hear . . . his words force us to make difficult choices. The Reverend Thomas Vanleer’s composition “A Word to a Fractured Church and a Broken World” is a powerful anthology of God’s righteous word of judgment and hope, calling back to its roots and original mission. Speaking in a dynamic prophetic style, Vanleer challenges the Church to de-institutionalize the Biblical message of the “Beatitudes” focus less on denominations and more on the body of Christ! — Reverend Lonnie Branch ELCA Pastor Emeritus Pastor Thomas Vanleer new book My Word to a Fractured Church and a Broken World is a brilliant and inspired must read book. It is profound and challenging in transformation of one’s understanding of the plan of God. Thank you, my friend, for listening to our Savior, for He has given you to write a masterpiece of a book. —Thomas J. Salen, president of Salen Incorporated A Pastor and friend, Reverend Tom Vanleer has been my friend and church brother for ten years. I have been honored to know him during that time as a thoughtful, wise, loving man who has improved and continue to grow as his years extend. One cannot find a better man. The labor of this book is sincere and honestly written, it is as God Himself dictated the very words he has written. The message is heartfelt and challenging to God’s Church. —Jeff Pelletier Founder of the Foundation for Excellence in Faith and Work The word of God received and transcribe in this book is Powerful, inspirational, compelling, instructional and a warning and hope to the Church and to mankind. This book gives us reassurance of who God truly is to us and refreshing for those that are truly walking with God and following his Commandments. This is a MUST READ. —Reverend Christopher Brooks Executive Director, SHINE

Download or read book Faithful and Fractured written by Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2018-05-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clergy suffer from certain health issues at a rate higher than the general population. Why are pastors in such poor health? And what can be done to help them step into the abundant life God desires for them? Although anecdotal observations about poor clergy health abound, concrete data from multiple sources supporting this claim hasn't been made accessible--until now. Duke's Clergy Health Initiative (CHI), a major, decade-long research project, provides a true picture of the clergy health crisis over time and demonstrates that improving the health of pastors is possible. Bringing together the best in social science and medical research, this book quantifies the poor health of clergy with theological engagement. Although the study focused on United Methodist ministers, the authors interpret CHI's groundbreaking data for a broad ecumenical readership. In addition to physical health, the book examines mental health and spiritual well-being, and suggests that increasing positive mental health may prevent future physical and mental health problems for clergy. Concrete suggestions tailored to clergy are woven throughout the book.

Download or read book Faithful Witness written by James McLeish and published by IVP Books. This book was released on 1985 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Bad Religion written by Ross Douthat and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-04-16 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Traces the decline of Christianity in America since the 1950s, posing controversial arguments about the role of heresy in the nation's downfall while calling for a revival of traditional Christian practices.

Download or read book The Catholic Periodical and Literature Index written by and published by . This book was released on 2002 with total page 1000 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Whole and Reconciled written by Al Tizon and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2018-10-16 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The ministry of reconciliation is the new whole in holistic ministry. It must be if the Christian mission is to remain relevant in our increasingly fractured world. This book offers a fresh treatment of holistic ministry that takes the role of reconciliation seriously, rethinking the meaning of the gospel, the nature of the church, and the practice of mission in light of globalization, post-Christendom, and postcolonialism. It also includes theological and practical resources for effectively engaging in evangelism, compassion and justice, and reconciliation ministries. Includes a foreword by Ruth Padilla DeBorst and an afterword by Ronald J. Sider.

Download or read book Washed and Waiting written by Wesley Hill and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-11-29 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Yet many who sit next to us in the pew at church fit that description, says author Wesley Hill. As a celibate gay Christian, Hill gives us a glimpse of what it looks like to wrestle firsthand with God's ''No'' to same-sex relationships. What does it mean for gay Christians to live faithful to God while struggling with the challenge of their homosexuality? What is God's will for believers who experience same-sex desires? Those who choose celibacy are often left to deal with loneliness and the hunger for relationships. How can gay Christians experience God's favor and blessing in the midst of a struggle that for many brings a crippling sense of shame and guilt? Weaving together reflections from his own life and the lives of other Christians, such as Henri Nouwen and Gerard Manley Hopkins, Hill offers a fresh perspective on these questions. He advocates neither unqualified ''healing'' for those who struggle, nor their accommodation to temptation, but rather faithfulness in the midst of brokenness. ''I hope this book may encourage other homosexual Christians to take the risky step of opening up their lives to others in the body of Christ,'' Hill writes. ''In so doing, they may find, as I have, by grace, that being known is spiritually healthier than remaining behind closed doors, that the light is better than the darkness.

Download or read book Politics after Christendom written by David VanDrunen and published by Zondervan Academic. This book was released on 2020-04-21 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For more than a millennium, beginning in the early Middle Ages, most Western Christians lived in societies that sought to be comprehensively Christian--ecclesiastically, economically, legally, and politically. That is to say, most Western Christians lived in Christendom. But in a gradual process beginning a few hundred years ago, Christendom weakened and finally crumbled. Today, most Christians in the world live in pluralistic political communities. And Christians themselves have very different opinions about what to make of the demise of Christendom and how to understand their status and responsibilities in a post-Christendom world. Politics After Christendom argues that Scripture leaves Christians well-equipped for living in a world such as this. Scripture gives no indication that Christians should strive to establish some version of Christendom. Instead, it prepares them to live in societies that are indifferent or hostile to Christianity, societies in which believers must live faithful lives as sojourners and exiles. Politics After Christendom explains what Scripture teaches about political community and about Christians' responsibilities within their own communities. As it pursues this task, Politics After Christendom makes use of several important theological ideas that Christian thinkers have developed over the centuries. These ideas include Augustine's Two-Cities concept, the Reformation Two-Kingdoms category, natural law, and a theology of the biblical covenants. Politics After Christendom brings these ideas together in a distinctive way to present a model for Christian political engagement. In doing so, it interacts with many important thinkers, including older theologians (e.g., Augustine, Aquinas, and Calvin), recent secular political theorists (e.g., Rawls, Hayek, and Dworkin), contemporary political-theologians (e.g., Hauerwas, O'Donovan, and Wolterstorff), and contemporary Christian cultural commentators (e.g., MacIntyre, Hunter, and Dreher). Part 1 presents a political theology through a careful study of the biblical story, giving special attention to the covenants God has established with his creation and how these covenants inform a proper view of political community. Part 1 argues that civil governments are legitimate but penultimate, and common but not neutral. It concludes that Christians should understand themselves as sojourners and exiles in their political communities. They ought to pursue justice, peace, and excellence in these communities, but remember that these communities are temporary and thus not confuse them with the everlasting kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. Christians' ultimate citizenship is in this new-creation kingdom. Part 2 reflects on how the political theology developed in Part 1 provides Christians with a framework for thinking about perennial issues of political and legal theory. Part 2 does not set out a detailed public policy or promote a particular political ideology. Rather, it suggests how Christians might think about important social issues in a wise and theologically sound way, so that they might be better equipped to respond well to the specific controversies they face today. These issues include race, religious liberty, family, economics, justice, rights, authority, and civil resistance. After considering these matters, Part 2 concludes by reflecting on the classical liberal and conservative traditions, as well as recent challenges to them by nationalist and progressivist movements.

Download or read book Death by Church written by Mike Erre and published by Harvest House Publishers. This book was released on 2009-01-01 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Examining how materialism and consumerism have made their way into the church, a teaching pastor and author of Jesus of Suburbia reveals how Christians can more effectively demonstrate Christ's presence and how the church can cooperate with Jesus in the world in which they live. Original.

Download or read book Courage to Bear Witness written by L. Edward Phillips and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2009-04-15 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To be a follower of Jesus means to bear witness to the truth of God. In an age when so many contemporary voices portray faith as a form of personal therapy, Gene L. Davenport, Professor Emeritus of Religion at Lambuth University, has consistently reminded us in his own witness that the truth of the Gospel entails confrontation with the world that dwells in darkness. These essays in honor of Davenport address the meaning of witness in the face of racism, sexism, and religious bigotry, to name but some of the forms this darkness takes. The topics range from emerging forms of prayer to religious themes in cowboy music, from the work of white pastors in Mississippi during the growing Civil Rights Movement to the meaning of the Righteous Gentile in Jewish-Christian friendship. Contributors: D. Brent Laytham Randy Cooper Stanley Hauerwas Billy Vaughan James T. Laney Kenneth L. Carder M. Douglas Meeks Phyllis Tickle L. Edward Phillips Tex Sample Cindy Wesley Joseph T. Reiff Margaret J. Meyer Charles Mayo

Download or read book What Are Christians For written by Jake Meador and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2022-02-22 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Though fidelity to the common good ought to define our politics, the modern revolutions of the West have poisoned common life in America. Uninterested in the cultural wars that have often characterized American Christianity, Jake Meador casts a vision for an antiracist, anticapitalist, and profoundly pro-life Christian political approach rooted in the givenness and goodness of the created world.

Download or read book Essentially One written by JONATHAN LAMB and published by Inter-Varsity Press. This book was released on 2020-06-18 with total page 199 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Across the barriers of race, class, culture and denomination, Christians are united through the transforming power of the gospel of grace. Yet instead of walls dismantled and alienations healed, churches are often characterised by ugly division, narrow tribalism and painful fragmentation. In a world characterised by growing social division, hostile identity politics and polarised cyber tribes - all compounded by shrill voices on social media - the author unfolds the profound biblical vision of true unity, founded on the redemptive purposes of God to create a single new humanity. This book provides crucial help for handling differences and overcoming division, calling for attitudes and behaviour that portray Christ-like character and reflect true Christian community. Applying key biblical texts, it addresses practical issues of handling conflict, managing change, using words wisely, avoiding tribalism, strengthening partnerships and building counter-cultural community in the local church. Urging us to make every effort to promote godly unity, this is a thoughtful yet passionate call to remember that we are essentially one - for the sake of God’s honour and the credibility of our Christian witness in a fractured world.