Download or read book Theology for Ordinary People written by Bruce L. Shelley and published by IVP Books. This book was released on 1993-01-14 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Theology is not just for theologians. In our everyday lives, says Bruce Shelley, theology is nothing more than the beliefs Christians use to describe truth. It's necessary, important and accessible to all of us. To prove his point, the popular author of Christian History in Plain Language lays out the basic beliefs of our faith in an appealing, conversational style. "Throughout these chapters," Shelley says, "I have tried to imagine a long walk with a friend, new Christian or non-Christian, who jas just asked me, 'What do you mean by the Christian faith?' " Here is the answer, including the Garden and the Fall, the cross, God the Trinity and the mystery of suffering in our world. At the end of this "walk," you will know for certain: This is an extraordinary book for ordinary people.
Download or read book Plain Theology for Plain People written by Charles Octavius Boothe and published by . This book was released on 2020-07 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2020 Facsimile of the 1890 First Edition. "Charles Octavius Boothe was born a slave in Alabama in 1845. He learned the alphabet as a preschooler from letters stamped on a tin plate. Working as a clerk in a lawyer's office while still in his teens, he read widely and deeply. He went on to become pastor of First Colored Baptist Church in Meridian, Miss., and founding pastor of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala. Many of his church members were sharecroppers or common laborers with little formal education. Boothe believed all Christians needed a solid theological foundation on which to build their understanding of God and his plan for their lives. 'The doctrines of our holy religion need to be studied in order, according to some definite system; but simplicity should prevail--simplicity of arrangement and simplicity of language, ' he said. So, he wrote a theological handbook for common Christians, Plain Theology for Plain People, first published in 1890....Boothe follows the admonition of one hymn writer who urged, 'Make the message clear and plain.' The author's theological overview is straightforward but not simplistic, concise but not condescending. He cites Scripture to support every assertion he makes. Sad to say, the "plain" language of the late 19th century may seem lofty and elevated to 21st century readers accustomed to tweets and sound bites. Even so, whether readers want to gain a perspective on theology as seen from the viewpoint of disadvantaged and marginalized people, or whether they simply seek a solidly biblical and Christ-centered introduction to systematic theology, Plain Theology for Plain People is a treasure." Baptist Standard, March 9th, 2018. Eventually retiring from his work in the 1900s, Boothe died in 1924 in Detroit, Michigan.
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 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 Organic Outreach for Ordinary People written by Kevin G. Harney and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2018-05-22 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fulfill One of Your Deepest Longings Every follower of Jesus has a sincere desire to share God's love with others. We want to tell friends and family about who Jesus is, what he means to us, and all he has done for them. Deep in our hearts we have a burning passion to pass on the good news we have received. But, where do we start? We want to share our faith, but we don't want it to feel awkward, uncomfortable, or unnatural for them or for us! Organic Outreach for Ordinary People will help you shape a personal approach to passing on the good news of Jesus in natural ways. This is not a system or a program. It's a collection of biblical practices that you can incorporate into your life starting today. You can begin right where God has placed you. You can share the love and message of Jesus in a way that fits exactly how God has wired you. In this practical and easy-to-read book, Kevin Harney offers the tools needed to reach out with God's love in organic ways. In these pages you will discover that sharing the good news of Jesus can be as natural as talking about your favorite sports team or telling a friend about a wonderful new restaurant. On the golf course, over coffee, while taking a walk - anywhere and everywhere - become a bearer of grace. Share the amazing love of God. Tell the life-changing story of Jesus. Discover ordinary ways to communicate God's love and the message of salvation - naturally.
Download or read book Genesis for Ordinary People written by Paul Poulton and published by Resource Publications (CA). This book was released on 2014-10-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The book of Genesis is considered by some people to be inspired, truthful, and sacred. Others think of it as a fairy story and wonder why people still believe such an ancient book. Genesis for Ordinary People doesn't shy away from the questions that go through people's minds as they read the first book in the Bible. Are there reasons it is trustworthy? In addressing these questions, Paul Poulton follows the intriguing thread that runs through the entire book of Genesis. He takes a good look at the story's wonderful (and flawed) people and beings, inviting readers to gaze into the garden of Eden to witness the reality of what actually happened there. He follows the storyline of Genesis but often looks back, adding a fresh perspective to Adam and Eve's enthralling lives. A fascinating picture emerges as the layers of Genesis accumulate. Paul Poulton is a British writer, speaker, and singer-songwriter. He is the son of a minister and has known the Scriptures from his earliest years. He writes regularly for Cross Rhythms and performs as a solo artist and with his band, the Paul Poulton Project. He talks about life, human idiosyncrasies, faith, God, and philosophy, seasoning his discourses with humor. Paul's first book, Fishing for Praise, was published in 2008 by Wipf and Stock.
Download or read book Exploring Ordinary Theology written by Jeff Astley and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.. This book was released on 2013 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. 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'.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 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 Longing to Know written by Esther Lightcap Meek and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2003-07-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We don't often think about the act of knowing, but if we do, the question of what we know and how we know it becomes murky indeed. Longing to Know is a book about knowing: knowing how we know things, knowing how we know people, and knowing how we know God. This book is for those who are considering Christianity for the first time, as well as Christians who are struggling with issues related to truth, certainty, and doubt. As such, it is a wonderful resource for evangelists, pastors, and counselors. This unique look at the questions of knowing is both entertaining and approachable. Questions for reflection make it ideal for students of philosophy and all those wrestling with the questions of knowledge.
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 The God of the Mundane written by Matthew B Redmond and published by . This book was released on 2021-04-03 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's OK to not be a "radical" Christian. Our life is not about what we do for God. It's about what he does for us. You've heard the message. "If you really loved God, you would be totally committed-do something big, sell your belongings, maybe become a missionary." Matt Redmond has preached it himself. But here he simply asks: What about the rest of us? Through stories of pastors, plumbers, dental hygienists, and stay-at-home moms, Matt finds grace and mercy in chicken fingers, classic films, and smiles from strangers. Ultimately, he convicts us of what he has learned himself... There is a God of the mundane, and our life is not about what we do for him. It's about what he does for us.
Download or read book Hopes and Fears written by Bromleigh McCleneghan and published by Alban Books. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bromleigh McCleneghan and Lee Hull Moses have written a book about being not-perfect parents in a not-perfect world. The result, Hopes and Fears: Everyday Theology for New Parents and Other Tired, Anxious People, is a joyous celebration of child-rearing in which any parent no matter how perfect can share. 'I want to have a happy and healthy marriage, and I want to have happy, faithful kids, ' proclaims co-author McCleneghan in the introduction to the book. 'But I reject the pervasive cultural lie that a happy marriage and the faithful kids are somehow the byproducts of some rigorous and largely unattainable personal or moral perfection.' Thus, Hopes and Fears is neither a 'how-to' book nor a mere meditation. Rather, the authors seek to find the beautiful and the spiritual in the sometimes mundane activities that parents have performed since the beginning of history, while at the same time allowing beautiful and spiritual insights of the past to inform and shape the activities of modern parenting. Thus, the words of a hymn can trigger an idea about how to deal with bedtime, and an exercise in baby-naming can lead to a better understanding of a passage in Isaiah. The intertwining of the spiritual and familial in this book constantly surprises and delights: a quote from Paul Tillich can stand next to one from Tina Fey or What to Expect When You're Expecting. We are often reminded that the authors, two longtime friends, are ordinary working mothers. Fortunately, they are also experienced and well-read congregational leaders, and they bring that perspective to their reflections. Hopes and Fears is also about sharing, in the widest and deepest sense of that word. As many parents know, learning to share is one of the most difficult things for many children to acquire. McCleneghan and Moses have decided to teach by example with this book, noting: 'we're hopeful that as we share our lives--the trials and tribulations and incredible joys--other parents will feel inspired to reflect on their own experiences, and perhaps even to consider new ways in which their own faith is relevant to their identities as parents.' Hopes and Fears: Everyday Theology for New Parents and Other Tired, Anxious People is highly suitable for group study as well as individual reflection.
Download or read book Housewife Theologian written by Aimee Byrd and published by P & R Publishing. This book was released on 2013 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Women who want God to be more than superficially in their lives can rise above the world's expectations by becoming housewife theologians finding true meaning and true worship everyday. Great for journaling and for group discussion.
Download or read book The Dictionary of Everyday Theology and Culture written by Bruce A. Demarest and published by NavPress Publishing Group. This book was released on 2010 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This resource puts theological concepts into everyday situations, showing the meaning of the terms and the importance of living out these doctrines in daily life.
Download or read book We the Ordinary People of the Streets written by Madeleine Delbrêl and published by William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. This book was released on 2000 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We, the Ordinary People of the Streets comprises the powerful reflections by Madeleine Delbrêl (1904-1964), an award-winning poet, writer, and Catholic layperson whose conviction and insight led her to a life of social work in the atheistic, Communist-dominated city of Ivry-sur-Seine, France. Delbrêl draws from her own experiences living in Ivry, witnessing to the possibility of a life at once rooted radically in the church and fully engaged in the world. This posthumously published collection spans Delbrêl's life, from a piece she wrote as a seventeen-year-old atheist to her later Christian works. Her passionate essays explore the Christian's role in a secular society, the difficulty of faith in an atheistic environment, the need for prayer, the centrality of the church, and the fundamental importance of loving both God and our neighbors.
Download or read book Genesis for Normal People written by Jared Byas and published by . This book was released on 2019-09-18 with total page 195 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Given the fever-pitched controversies about evolution, Adam and Eve, and scientific evidence for the Flood, the average person might feel intimidated by the book of Genesis. But behind the heady debates is a terrific story-one that anyone can understand, and one that has gripped people for ages. If you are not a Bible scholar but want to be able to read Genesis and understand its big picture, this brief, witty book is the guide you've been waiting for. Clear summaries and thought-provoking questions provide direction for personal reflection and group discussion. Peter Enns, a Biblical Studies professor, and Jared Byas, an Old Testament professor, summarize the book's key themes and help us see Genesis as an ancient story, one with continued relevance for human experience today. Genesis for Normal People illuminates the characters that fill the book of Genesis, causing us to resonate with their choices and struggles even as we marvel at their distant world. And that's what you'll find here-not scientific proof texts or simple moral tales, but a distant world made available, and a story that is often strange, sometimes dangerous, and always filled with rich possibilities.WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT GENESIS FOR NORMAL PEOPLE:"This book is a welcome antidote to the mystification about the book of Genesis that goes around. It is accessible for readers who want to take the plunge into this old text. It is gentle in leading readers to a critical sense of the text in response to a "late" trauma in Israel. It is imaginative in its articulation of a book that might otherwise be off-putting. The convergence of accessibility, gentleness, and imagination make this a very fine read."- Walter Brueggemann, Professor Emeritus, Columbia Theological Seminary"Genesis for Normal People is the perfect starting point for Christians who want to read the book of Genesis more faithfully and honestly. Enns and Byas break down the history, genre, culture, and context of this fascinating book of the Bible, so that "normal people"--you know, those who can't read ancient Hebrew--can get a better sense of its purpose, meaning and relevance. The authors manage to simplify without dumbing down, challenge without confusing, and dig for deep truth without compromising their intellectual integrity. A must-read for anyone who care enough about the Bible to want to read and understand it on its own terms."- Rachel Held Evans, author of A Year of Biblical Womanhood"The stories in the book of Genesis are among the most well known in the Bible--so much so that it's easy to lose sight of the fact that Genesis is an ancient document from a cultural setting very different from our own. Enns and Byas have provided a highly readable volume that reminds readers of its reality while explaining the meaning and significance of Genesis in light of its ancient context. An ideal book for individual and study groups interested in understanding Genesis on its own terms."- John R. Franke, General Coordinator for The Gospel and Our Culture Network"Evangelical Old Testament scholarship has come of age and is now coming out from behind the shadows of suppression and secrecy. No one represents this fresh coming of age more than Peter Enns, who, with co-author Jared Byas, makes available to any Bible reader a fresh engagement with Genesis--readable, responsible, and recognizably fresh."- Scot McKnight, Professor of New Testament at Northern Seminary
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.
