Download or read book The Decline of Christianity and the Rise of the Pastor Priests in America written by John Morton and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2017-06-06 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Decline of Christianity and the Rise of the Pastor/Priests in America is built on the rock solid foundation laid by E. Gibbons History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. It focuses on the historical subversion of Christianity and with that as a sledgehammer it smashes into the middle-class-on-up American evangelical leadership that serves as a lapdog to concentrations of corporate and political power. The Decline of Christianity demands first, above everything else, honesty. That the pastor/priests admit before God, conscience, and congregation that their lives have had nothing at all to do with New Testament Christianity, and because of that Americas evangelicals remain either poisoned or famished. Yet inspite of the nauseating conformity of religious leadership, the book remarks upon Americas more authentic expressions of servant leadership. It moves with the Biblical tide, that leniency is given for those who earnestly desire it, propelling one into the restlessness of faith (Luther), having remorse/confession/repentence as good shepherds.
Download or read book God s Ambassadors written by E. Brooks Holifield and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2007-09-25 with total page 367 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In God's Ambassadors E. Brooks Holifield masterfully traces the history of America's Christian clergy from the seventeenth to the twenty-first century, analyzing the changes in practice and authority that have transformed the clerical profession. Challenging one-sided depictions of decline in clerical authority, Holifield locates the complex story of the clergy within the context not only of changing theologies but also of transitions in American culture and society. The result is a thorough social history of the profession that also takes seriously the theological presuppositions that have informed clerical activity. With alternating chapters on Protestant and Catholic clergy, the book permits sustained comparisons between the two dominant Christian traditions in American history. At the same time, God's Ambassadors depicts a vocation that has remained deeply ambivalent regarding the professional status marking the other traditional learned callings in the American workplace. Changing expectations about clerical education, as well as enduring theological questions, have engendered a debate about the professional ideal that has distinguished the clerical vocation from such fields as law and medicine. The American clergy from the past four centuries constitute a colorful, diverse cast of characters who have, in ways both obvious and obscure, helped to shape the tone of American culture. For a well-rounded narrative of their story told by a master historian, God's Ambassadors is the book to read.
Download or read book Christianity and Conversion among Migrants written by Darren Carlson and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2020-10-20 with total page 307 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Christianity and Conversion among Migrants, Darren Carlson explores the faith, beliefs, and practices of migrants and refugees as well as the Christian organizations serving them between 2014–2018 in Athens, Greece.
Download or read book At Your Best written by Carey Nieuwhof and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2021-09-14 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A perceptive and practical book about why our calendars so rarely reflect our priorities and what we can do to regain control.”—ADAM GRANT “Carey’s book will help you reorganize your life. And then you can share a copy with someone you care about.”—SETH GODIN You deserve to stop living at an unsustainable pace. An influential podcaster and thought leader shows you how. Overwhelmed. Overcommitted. Overworked. That’s the false script an inordinate number of people adopt to be successful. Does this sound familiar: ● Slammed is normal. ● Distractions are everywhere. ● Life gets reduced to going through the motions. Tired of living that way? At Your Best gives you the strategies you need to win at work and at home by living in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow. Influential podcast host and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof understands the challenges of constant pressure. After a season of burnout almost took him out, he discovered how to get time, energy, and priorities working in his favor. This approach freed up more than one thousand productive hours a year for him and can do the same for you. At Your Best will help you ● replace chronic exhaustion with deep productivity ● break the pattern of overpromising and never accomplishing enough ● clarify what matters most by restructuring your day ● master the art of saying no, without losing friends or influence ● discover why vacations and sabbaticals don’t really solve your problems ● develop a personalized plan to recapture each day so you can break free from the trap of endless to-dos Start thriving at work and at home as you discover how to be at your best.
Download or read book Misquoting Jesus written by Bart D. Ehrman and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-10-06 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When world-class biblical scholar Bart Ehrman first began to study the texts of the Bible in their original languages he was startled to discover the multitude of mistakes and intentional alterations that had been made by earlier translators. In Misquoting Jesus, Ehrman tells the story behind the mistakes and changes that ancient scribes made to the New Testament and shows the great impact they had upon the Bible we use today. He frames his account with personal reflections on how his study of the Greek manuscripts made him abandon his once ultraconservative views of the Bible. Since the advent of the printing press and the accurate reproduction of texts, most people have assumed that when they read the New Testament they are reading an exact copy of Jesus's words or Saint Paul's writings. And yet, for almost fifteen hundred years these manuscripts were hand copied by scribes who were deeply influenced by the cultural, theological, and political disputes of their day. Both mistakes and intentional changes abound in the surviving manuscripts, making the original words difficult to reconstruct. For the first time, Ehrman reveals where and why these changes were made and how scholars go about reconstructing the original words of the New Testament as closely as possible. Ehrman makes the provocative case that many of our cherished biblical stories and widely held beliefs concerning the divinity of Jesus, the Trinity, and the divine origins of the Bible itself stem from both intentional and accidental alterations by scribes -- alterations that dramatically affected all subsequent versions of the Bible.
Download or read book Abandonment Theology written by John W. Chalfant and published by . This book was released on 1996-12-01 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Rise of the Global South written by Elijah Jong Fil Kim and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2012-04-06 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global Christianity has been experiencing an unprecedented historical transition from the West to the non-Western world. The leadership of global Christianity has taken on a new face since the twentieth century. Christendom in Europe and America has experienced a great decline while there has been a rise in Majority World Christianity. Churches in the Global South have given their voices to global Christianity through their leadership, world mission movements, and theology. The phenomenal church growth has risen from the Pentecostal and Charismatic movement. Pentecostalism has become the dominant force in global Christianity today. The Rise of the Global South examines the significance this shift has had on global Christianity by going through the history of Christianity in the West and the causes of the shift.
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 American Pope written by Sean Swain Martin and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2021-10-15 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As arguably the most influential voice in American Catholicism, the vision that Scott Hahn offers in his works, read by millions of Catholics throughout the world, is one of the most formative in American Catholicism. His numerous books and public speaking engagements are shaping the American Catholic Church in a uniquely powerful manner. This work demonstrates that the Catholic vision that Hahn claims to be providing his audience is, in fact, always quite different from the one he actually presents. What he coins as Catholic faithfulness is instead a straightforward and damning Catholic fundamentalism. As this vision is delivered to millions of the faithful who look to Hahn as a trustworthy guide to an authentic life of Catholic faith, American Pope acts as a critical analysis of his work.
Download or read book Bad Pastors written by Anson D. Shupe and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2000-08-01 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Child-molesting priests, embezzled church treasures, philandering ministers and rabbis, even church-endorsed pyramid schemes that defraud gullible parishioners of millions of dollars: for the past decade, clergy misconduct has seemed continually to be in the news. Is there something about religious organizations that fosters such misbehavior? Bad Pastors presents a range of new perspectives and solidly grounded data on pastoral abuse, investigating sexual misconduct, financial improprieties, and political and personal abuse of authority. Rather than focusing on individuals who misbehave, the volume investigates whether the foundation for clergy malfeasance is inherent in religious organizations themselves, stemming from hierarchies of power in which trusted leaders have the ability to define reality, control behavior, and even offer or withhold the promise of immortality. Arguing that such phenomena arise out of organizational structures, the contributors do not focus on one particular religion, but rather treat these incidents from an interfaith perspective. Bad Pastors moves beyond individual case studies to consider a broad range of issues surrounding clergy misconduct, from violence against women to the role of charisma and abuse of power in new religious movements. Highlighting similarities between other forms of abuse, such as domestic violence, the volume helps us to conceptualize and understand clergy misconduct in new ways.
Download or read book Pilgrims and Priests written by Stefan Paas and published by SCM Press. This book was released on 2019-11-30 with total page 375 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What does “missional” mean for small Christian communities in a deeply secular society? Leading missiologist Stefan Paas asks what missional spirituality could possibly mean for today’s local church. This fully revised new international edition will make this an important introduction to contemporary thinking on mission and the church.
Download or read book Pastor Unique written by Lavern E. Brown and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2016-07-27 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ADVANCED PRAISE FOR PASTOR UNIQUE: Becoming a Turnaround Leader Each year thousands of books are written, published, and distributed. Few are really significant works. Pastor Unique is, in my view, a significant book. Gary L. McIntosh, D.Min., Ph.D. Talbot Seminary, Biola University Helping pastors understand themselves and their role is crucial and fundamental. So is training them in the tactics and strategies of change. Furthermore, they must learn how their personalities help or hinder leading change. I believe the process described in this book is targeted more specifically than any other I know to provide this training . Paul Borden. Ph.D. Director, Church Health Initiative I am grateful to the authors for including The Birkman Method in their work with pastors. My father, Roger Birkman, was passionate about helping people of faith gain a clearer, more accurate understanding of self and others. The authentic kind of leadership development recommended in this book will profoundly impact pastors and the people they lead. We are proud that Birkman can play a role in the important initiative represented in Pastor Unique. Sharon Birkman Fink, CEO Birkman International, Inc. Are you still searching for that killer church health conference, that rock star pastor to imitate, or the perfect formula that will tell you how lead your church to effective service in Jesus mission? Pastors who chase dreams of high powered ministry by looking for answers outside of themselves are inevitably discouraged when they learn that what works for others wont work for them. If thats your story, Pastor Unique is what youve been looking for. Inside you will learn how to use all the tools the Head of the Church has already given you your identity, your personality, and your life experience to become a turnaround leader in your church.
Download or read book The Failures of American Churches written by Dennis Rushing and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2023-06-14 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It has been some time now since American Churches have entered a practice where most are moving away from salvation and pleasing God and moving towards socializing and uplifting self. Americans have grown accustomed to comfort and so the pastors and members of churches have focused on the comforting of one's feelings over the mission of a New Testament Church. We have lost our first love, that of Jesus Christ. The goal of this book is to point out the pitfalls that American Churches have and are presently falling into that moves them away from sound doctrine. The book exposes those pitfalls, biblically showing where they are detrimental to the ministry of the Gospel, and concludes with biblical focused efforts to right the course of an American Church.
Download or read book The Fall of the Priests and the Rise of the Lawyers written by Philip Wood and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-04-21 with total page 466 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fast-paced, inspiring and original work proposes that, if religions fade, then secular law provides a much more comprehensive moral regime to govern our lives. Backed by potent and haunting images, it argues that the rule of law is the one universal framework that everyone believes in and that the law is now the most important ideology we have for our survival. The author explores the decline of religions and the huge growth of law and makes predictions for the future of law and lawyers. The book maintains that even though societies may decide they can do without religions, they cannot do without law. The book helpfully summarises both the teachings of all the main religions and the central tenets of the law – governing everything from human relationships to money, banks and corporations. It shows that, without these legal constructs, some of them arcane, our societies would grind to a halt. These innovative summaries make complex ideas seem simple and provide the keys to understanding both the law and religion globally. The book will appeal to both lawyers and the general reader. The book concludes with the author's personal code for a modern way of living to promote the survival of humankind into the future. Vividly written by one of the most important lawyers of our generation, this magisterial and exciting work offers a powerful vision of the role of law in centuries to come and its impact on how we stay alive.
Download or read book Polling Matters written by Frank Newport and published by Grand Central Publishing. This book was released on 2004-07-30 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From The Gallup Organization-the most respected source on the subject-comes a fascinating look at the importance of measuring public opinion in modern society. For years, public-opinion polls have been a valuable tool for gauging the positions of American citizens on a wide variety of topics. Polling applies scientific principles to understanding and anticipating the insights, emotions, and attitudes of society. Now in POLLING MATTERS: Why Leaders Must Listen to the Wisdom of the People, The Gallup Organization reveals: What polls really are and how they are conducted Why the information polls provide is so vitally important to modern society today How this valuable information can be used more effectively and more...
Download or read book The American and Foreign Christian Union written by and published by . This book was released on 1855 with total page 670 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Latin American Religion in Motion written by Christian Smith and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2004-11-23 with total page 316 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Latin America is undergoing a period of intense religious transformation and upheaval. This book analyzes some of the more important new discoveries about religious movements in the region. It examines important shifts such as the expansion and politicization of Protestantism, the ongoing transformation of the Catholic church, the growth of Afro-Brazilian religions, and the genuine pluralization of faith.
