Download or read book The Church and Its Vocation written by Michael W. Goheen and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2018-11-06 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Lesslie Newbigin, one of the twentieth century's most important church leaders, offered insights on the church in a pluralistic world that are arguably more relevant now than when first written. This volume presents his ecclesiology to a new generation. Michael Goheen clearly articulates Newbigin's missionary understanding of the church and places it in the context of Newbigin's core theological convictions. Suitable for students as well as church leaders, this book offers readers a better understanding of the mission of the church in the world today. Foreword by N. T. Wright.

Download or read book Vocation and Violence written by Miryam Clough and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-01-17 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As #MeToo and its sister movement #ChurchToo demonstrated, sexual violence is systemic in many and varied workplace settings, including Christian churches, and can destroy women’s careers and vocational aspirations. The study draws on empirical evidence – personal stories from survivors and the views of church leaders and educators – in dialogue with theoretical perspectives, to consider clergy sexual abuse of adult women and the conditions that support it. Institutional abuse only changes when survivors come forward. This study focusses on New Zealand Anglicanism, the locus of the author’s experience, and has resonance for a range of denominational settings. It aims to be a useful resource to clergy, ministry educators, and those training for ministry, and to academics and scholars with an interest in theology, gender, and professional ethics. Notably, it will be a potentially helpful text for women survivors of sexual misconduct by clergy, not least those who are considering a future in the church or grieving the loss of one. The volume concludes by suggesting that alternative theological models and relational ethics are essential if the church is to truly address the problem of clergy sexual abuse and give greater priority to the abused.

Download or read book Vocation written by Raleigh Sadler and published by New Reformation Publications. This book was released on 2021-04-13 with total page 103 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How shall we live? What is the good life? What is the value of a person? What is my place in this world? Is God active in this world? These are questions that have been asked in every culture and in every era. From the Hebrew concept of Shalom (wholeness/well-being) to the Greek concept of Eudaimonia (happiness) and even to the American notion that all people have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, great thinkers have pondered what it means for humans to flourish. The doctrine of vocation uniquely answers these questions. A certain level of security, prosperity, and freedom are essential components of human flourishing. God provides these components by working through humans in their stations in life such as parents and police (security), farmers and bankers (prosperity), and soldiers and governments (freedom). And yet there is more for which we humans strive. We are the types of beings whose wonderment drives us to the pursuit of knowledge, justice, and achievement. In short, we desire to be justified. We want to be valued. We want to be right or just. We strive for epic-ness. But no mere human adulation will satisfy. Nor can we justify ourselves before God with our broken lives. God justifies Christians through Christ and then uses them. God adds another component to human flourishing: purpose. He uses Christians in his economy of love to take care of the world. He lifts us from the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary even as we carry ordinary tasks. For the Christian these stations become callings or vocations. This can only fully be appreciated if the Christian knows that he or she is free from pleasing God through works. Once the Christian is freed from this burden the whole of the Christian life is reoriented to the free exercise of love towards neighbor. It is the highest calling, the truly good, flourishing, and happy life.

Download or read book Becoming a Missionary Church written by Michael W. Goheen and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2022-07-19 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a historical assessment and balanced critique of contemporary church movements, especially in light of missional ecclesiology. An expert on Lesslie Newbigin and an expert on contemporary church models show how Newbigin's ideas have been developed and contextualized in three popular contemporary church movements: missional, emergent, and center church. In addition, the authors explain that some of Newbigin's insights have been neglected and need to be retrieved for the present day. This book calls for the recovery of the missionary nature of the church and commends church practices applicable to any congregation.

Download or read book Lesslie Newbigin written by Lesslie Newbigin and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Monumental figure in the twentieth-century worldwide church. Internationally esteemed British pastor and missionary theologian. Ecumenical statesman and prolific writer. Lesslie Newbigin (1909-1998) was all of these and more. This reader fills a long-standing need for a comprehensive introduction to Newbigin and his legacy. Opening with a short biography of Newbigin and a discussion of his major theological and missiological themes, the volume sets selected readings in context with brief introductions and offers suggestions for further reading from Newbigin's corpus. Praise for Lesslie Newbigin and his writings: "Newbigin has made a bold and major step forward in the debate on Christianity, pluralism, and Western self-understanding." -- Lamin Sanneh in "The Christian Century""When my students finally realize what Newbigin is saying, they panic. When they realize that even the most faithful circles they know have been seduced by sectarianism, solipsism, Gnosticism, and nihilism, they worry that apostasy is unavoidable. . . . Yet, despite the surrounding darkness, Newbigin never loses hope, because he stays focused on the light that has come." -- Telford Work in "Pro Ecclesia""Newbigin is most impressive, indeed awesome, when defending the universality of the Christian gospel and exposing the muddleheadedness and loss of nerve that have turned many Western churches into domestic chaplaincies rather than launching pads for cross-cultural mission at home and abroad." -- Vinoth Ramachandra in "Themelios""Seeing both liberal and fundamentalist Christians imprisoned in the epistemological presuppositions of the Enlightenment, Lesslie Newbigin offers them liberation bypointing to the fiduciary character of all human knowledge. The best form of apologetics, he contends, is the preaching of the particular yet universal gospel." -- Geoffrey Wainwright on Newbigin's "Proper Confidence"

Download or read book God at Work written by Gene Edward Veith Jr. and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2011-08-02 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When you understand it properly, the doctrine of vocation—"doing everything for God's glory"—is not a platitude or an outdated notion. This principle that we vaguely apply to our lives and our work is actually the key to Christian ethics, to influencing our culture for Christ, and to infusing our ordinary, everyday lives with the presence of God. For when we realize that the "mundane" activities that consume most of our time are "God's hiding places," our perspective changes. Culture expert Gene Veith unpacks the biblical, Reformation teaching about the doctrine of vocation, emphasizing not what we should specifically do with our time or what careers we are called to, but what God does in and through our callings—even within the home. In each task He has given us—in our workplaces and families, our churches and society—God Himself is at work. Veith guides you to discover God's purpose and calling in those seemingly ordinary areas by providing you with a spiritual framework for thinking about such issues and for acting upon them with a changed perspective.

Download or read book Luther on Vocation written by Gustaf Wingren and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2004-02-19 with total page 268 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ...[C]oncern about the [inherited doctrine of vocation and its relevance for modern life] was generated out of the complexities and frustrations especially of industrial life, and it has produced a voluminous literature of a popular and semi-popular kind which has served to drive home the problem of daily work upon the conscience of contemporary Christians, and also to provide certain resources for handling it. In addition to this varied literature, the last years have also seen a very general discussion of the question at every level of church life: in ecumencal conferences, in the curricular material of the major denominations, and in conferences and study groups of all kinds. About the urgency and importance of the problem of vocation there is now no doubt. But now we find that the rather simple formulae in which we have been dealing with it do justice neither to the Biblical and Reformation inheritance, nor to the profound dilemmas that appear not only in industry, but in every area of professional and commercial life. The problem now is not only to equip our lay-people with fuller theological resources for the understanding of the meaning of discipleship, but to utilize their practical experience of day-to-day dilemmas and day to-day decisions. ...Gustaf Wingren's conscientious analysis of Luther's teaching on the matter...remains our prime resource for the understanding of the relation of faith and works. Nothing could exceed the patience and thoroughness with which Wingren has combed through the Luther corpus.... [I]t will serve to put the full range of Luther's insight at the disposal of those who care for theology as part of their care of all the Churches. Alexander Miller Stanford University

Download or read book Visions of Vocation written by Steven Garber and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2014-01-27 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Vocation is more than a job. It is our relationships and responsibilities woven into the work of God. In following our calling to seek the welfare of our world, we find that it flourishes and so do we. Garber offers here a book for parents, artists, students, public servants and businesspeople—for all who want to discover the virtue of vocation.

Download or read book Living the Call written by Michael Novak and published by Encounter Books. This book was released on 2011-09-13 with total page 215 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since 1965 the number of priests in the United States has fallen by some 30,000. But over that same time period, more than 30,000 laypeople have come into the employ of parishes and other Church institutions. Laypeople have stepped up to serve in a variety of new ministries, and they are relieving their pastors of many administrative burdens, enabling them to focus on their proper priestly duties. Lay teachers now outnumber nuns, brothers, and priests in Catholic schools by at least 19 to 1. In the history of the Church, laypeople have never been asked to do so much. William E. Simon, Jr. and Michael Novak call attention to this great shift in Living the Call. The first part of the book tells the personal stories of nine faithful laypeople now serving the Church in new and diverse ways. Simon and Novak’s insight is that more and more who work in the Church feel the need to shape their lives in a new way, matched to their different needs and adjusted to the new base of knowledge about the world with which they begin. In response to this need, the second part of Living the Call offers practical examples and reflections on a number of themes, including entering into the presence of God and learning different forms of prayer, reading that refreshes the mind and deepens the soul, and the graces of the sacraments and how being a spouse contributes to holiness.

Download or read book Need to Know written by John G. Stackhouse Jr. and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2014-05-30 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How should a Christian think? If a serious Christian wants to think seriously about a serious subject--from considering how to vote in the next election to choosing a career; from deciding among scientific theories to selecting a mate; from weighing competing marketing proposals to discerning the best fitness plan--what does he or she do? This basic question is at the heart of a complex discourse: epistemology. A bold new statement of Christian epistemology, Need to Know presents a comprehensive, coherent, and clear model of responsible Christian thinking. Grounded in the best of the Christian theological tradition while being attentive to a surprising range of thinkers in the history of philosophy, natural science, social science, and culture, the book offers a scheme for drawing together experience, tradition, scholarship, art, and the Bible into a practical yet theoretically profound system of thinking about thinking. John Stackhouse's fundamental idea is as simple as it is startling: Since God calls human beings to do certain things in the world, God can be relied upon to supply the knowledge necessary for human beings to do those things. The classic Christian concept of vocation, then, supplies both the impetus and the assurance that faithful Christians can trust God to guide their thinking--on a "need to know" basis.

Download or read book Awakening Vocation written by Edward P. Hahnenberg and published by Liturgical Press. This book was released on 2010-07-01 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does God have a specific plan for each of us, or is it more like general guidelines for all of us? How do my gifts and abilities, my personality and particular circumstances, impact my vocation? What is the role of the church in this process? What are the needs of the world that call us to respond? Awakening Vocation explores these questions and breathes new life into an ancient idea - rousing vocation from a centuries-long slumber. Inspired by the broad and inclusive Vision of the Second Vatican Council, the book traces the history of Catholic reflection on vocation and offers a constructive proposal for the present. In plain language, Edward Hahnenberg argues that Catholic thinking on vocation has been frustrated by a deficient theology of grace and that the key to reclaiming the notion of God's call today lies in a Vision of God's self-gift reaching across al of human history and into every human heart. Rethinking vocation in light of a revitalized theology of grace helps move beyond earlier dead ends, opening up new ways of imagining discipleship and discernment within our wonderfully diverse and yet deeply divided world.

Download or read book The Way of Life written by Gary D. Badcock and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 1998 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Beginning with the Bible and drawing on a range of theological sources, Gary Badcock develops a constructive theology of Christian vocation, rescuing it from both secular and sacred distortions. Badcock demonstrates that the concept of vocation is more intimately tied to "personhood" than to "occupation." Even though work itself is of great significance and is one vital sphere within which vocation can be expressed, Badcock shows that the fullest meaning of vocation is less about what one does than about what one is. Anyone struggling to discover a "vocation" will find this book to be a revelation.

Download or read book Transforming Vocation written by David Benson and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2021-05-12 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There has been an explosion of publishing in the faith–work movement in the last twenty years. Work is increasingly seen as the new frontier for Christian mission. However, the church and theological colleges have failed to keep up with the interest among, and needs of, workplace Christians. This book is the urgent corrective that is needed, moving past Theology of Work 101 to much deeper encounters with God’s word as it relates to daily work. These twelve academic papers look at work through three different lenses: the workplace, the church, and theological education. It is prefaced by Mark Greene from the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, reflecting on what work, church, and theological education would look like if there was no sacred–secular divide. In the concluding remarks, the editors imagine a future where each domain is transformed by the gospel, working dynamically together for the life of the world. While academic in terms of depth of thinking, quality of research, and referencing of crucial sources for further exploration, this book is never dry. Rather, it’s life-giving and provocative for every vocation, asking fundamental questions of the reader: What is the work that God is calling you to do? How can the gospel transform your work? And how well-positioned are churches and colleges to be at the forefront of transforming vocation? With contributions from: Mark Greene James Pietsch Peter White Peter Docherty Gordon Preece Keith Mitchell David Fagg Ian Hussey Colin Noble Andrew Matthews Sarah Bacaller Samuel Curkpatrick Maggie Kappelhoff

Download or read book Transforming Vocation written by Sam Portaro and published by Church Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2008-03-01 with total page 161 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At once “travel guide” and vision for the future, the Transformation series is good news for the Episcopal Church at a time of fast and furious demographic and social change. Series contributors - recognized experts in their fields - analyze our present plight, point to the seeds of change already at work transforming the church, and outline a positive new way forward. What kinds of churches are most ready for transformation? What are the essential tools? What will give us strength, direction, and purpose to the journey? Each volume of the series will: Explain why a changed vision is essential Give robust theological and biblical foundations Offer a guide to best practices and positive trends in churches large and small. Describe the necessary tools for change Imagine how transformation will look In the Episcopal Church, it seems the only real purpose and end of Christian discernment is professional ordination, either to the priesthood or to the vocational diaconate. This book deals with such questions as, How can both communities and individuals discern a call from God within the vocations and tasks in which they find themselves? How can the Church deal creatively with its confusion about the differing roles and authority of ordained and lay ministers?

Download or read book Your Christian Vocation written by Ave Maria Press and published by . This book was released on 2020-01-24 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understanding the rewards of a lifelong commitment to Christ is the most important goal of a new high school religion textbook from Ave Maria Press. Your Christian Vocation helps students learn how to live their lives to the benefit of others as they consider a vocation of service--in marriage, priestly or consecrated life, or the single life--to the Church and their own communities. Students will explore a variety of topics in each vocation, including friendship, dating, and courtship related to choosing a spouse; family planning and raising children; the importance of the Sacrament of Holy Orders to the whole Church; priestly celibacy; and other forms of religious life including religious institutes, eremites, consecrated virgins and widows, secular institutes, and societies of apostolic life. Students will find the encouragement and practical skills to practice discernment for their lifelong vocation. They'll also learn how to consider the differences between vocation, jobs, and career. A bonus chapter on the single life is available online, along with a variety of teacher resources. Your Christian Vocation replaces the Marriage and Holy Orders textbook. Developed in collaboration with experts in theology, catechesis, and pedagogy, Your Christian Vocation is part of the Encountering Jesus textbook series and features the same pedagogical design and features that have made the series popular with both teachers and students: Chapter Focus Questions: Each chapter's main idea is posed as a question to the student to provide a broader context in which new ideas can be integrated and understood. Infographics: A wide variety of visual and interactive designs throughout the text help students understand theological concepts in ways they will remember. Currents Events: Each chapter opens with a story from the contemporary world that teens can relate to their own lives. Educational Photos: Images throughout the text have been carefully chosen not only to illustrate the chapter but for teachers and students to use as educational tools. Note-Taking Graphic Organizers: Designed to help students organize, summarize, and sequence the text, various types of organizers were customized for every section of the book. Section Assessments: Each section includes pedagogically designed assessment questions with labels that show how the questions serve a variety of different learning styles. Online Resources: As always, teachers can access a wide variety of online resources at the Ave Maria Press website, including videos, PowerPoints, handouts, crossword puzzles, reading guides, and tests. The enhanced digital edition of Your Christian Vocation includes exclusive access to videos from the Apostleship of Prayer, America Media, Catholic Relief Services, the Congregation of Holy Cross, and Word on Fire Catholic Ministries. These videos enrich the written text with expert explanations of key theological concepts, sacred people, and sacred places by Bishop Robert Barron, Dr. John Bergsma, Rev. Kevin Grove, C.S.C., Rev. James Kubick, S.J., and Rev. James Martin, S.J. A Teacher's Wraparound Edition (TWE) offers strategies and lessons to facilitate several different learning styles. Guides, approaches, rubrics, questions, and answers all ease a teacher's planning and coverage of each student text chapter. The text has been approved by the Subcommittee on Catechism for use with Elective D, Responding to the Call of Jesus Christ, of the USCCB curriculum framework.

Download or read book The Blessed Trinity and Our Christian Vocation written by James Socías and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 261 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Vocation of the Christian Scholar written by Richard T. Hughes and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2005-05-02 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Richard T. Hughes's highly praised book on the relationship between Christian faith and secular learning -- originally titled "How Christian Faith Can Sustain the Life of the Mind" -- is now available in this revised and expanded edition, which speaks more directly to the subject of vocation. In a substantial new preface Hughes recounts his own vocational journey, telling how he drew on Christian theology to discover his talents and how best to use them. Another new chapter explores the vocation of Christian colleges and universities, including the purposes and goals of church-related education. Drawing from the Catholic, Reformed, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, Hughes shows how the Christian scholar can embrace paradox rather than dogmatism. His reflections provide a compelling argument that faith, properly pursued, nourishes the openness and curiosity that make a life of the mind possible. Praise for the original edition: "In this beautifully written, sermonic essay Richard Hughes defines the virtues needed for sound scholarship and good teaching. . . . As Hughes powerfully and persuasively argues, the Christian scholar has ample Christian warrant to be humble in the face of diversity, open to the challenge of competing perspectives, and fully engaged in the cooperative, rigorous, and imaginative search for truth." -- The Christian Century "Following the examples of George Marsden and Mark Noll, Hughes encourages Christians not to forsake their calling as scholars nor to be discouraged by the enormity of their task, but to keep on integrating faith and contemporary culture." -- Reformed Review "In this book Richard Hughes mentors all of us who want to beboth Christians and scholars. But even for those who do not teach and would not wear the name 'scholar, ' this book is a valuable model of what it means to serve God humbly in one's chosen vocation." -- New Wineskins "Everybody who is concerned with Christian education should read this little book." -- Journal of Education and Christian Belief