Part personal narrative, part spiritual formation guide, Be the Brave One is the story of Rev. Ann Kansfield leaving the grind of Wall Street and finding her calling at a church in Greenpoint, Brooklyn; becoming the first female and openly gay chaplain at the New York Fire Department; and getting voted the inaugural New York Times New Yorker of the Year. Guiding her story are the values that anchor her life in an adventurous faith and have allowed her to transform from a run-of-the-mill capitalist jerk into a pastor, chaplain, wife, mother, and spiritual leader. Be the Brave One weaves gritty, real-life stories with witty commentary and practical faith to explore what it looks like to live out our convictions in our daily lives--and how that can radically change us and those around us. Ultimately, Kansfield's story will leave readers both comforted and challenged to discover and live out their own spiritual values.
In Touched, author Shanell T. Smith makes visible the often silenced or ignored narratives of survivors of sexual violence. The book tells the author's story of her personal traumatic experience with sexual violence by a church leader and focuses on the responses that she received from people in the church (clergy and lay folk) once she sounded the alarm. These responses either justified, ignored, or denied that the horrific act occurred, resulting in the author leaving that congregation.As a survivor of sexual violence, an ordained minister, and a professor, Smith has heard many stories from other survivors. The circumstances of the sexual assault may differ, but a common thread among them all is the fact that these stories, in one way or another, have often been ignored.Touched helps those who have experienced sexual assault give themselves permission to feel what they feel and to find strength to stand up to the counternarratives that come from those who do not understand or deny their trauma. And more, Touched helps readers learn how to respond effectively and compassionately to those who seek refuge and care.
William H. Willimon makes the case that two key pastoral tasks--preaching and leadership--complement, correct, strengthen, and inform one another. He shows how the practices, skills, and intentions of Christian preaching can strengthen congregational leadership and that leadership is an appropriate expectation for Christian preaching.--back cover.
In Journeying in the Wilderness, author Terri Martinson Elton observes that faith formation in the church setting is contextual, and multiple forces are coming together today to create seismic contextual changes at record speed. These changes are disrupting aspects of our lives, challenging assumptions, and dislodging personal and communal practices. For the church to take seriously its call to form faith in each generation, it must be attentive to current contextual realities. Elton places confessional understanding of faith in dialogue with five contextually altering forces in order to provide a pathway for congregations to reimagine faith formation in the midst of twenty-first-century realities.The use of stories, nontechnical language, and biblical perspectives make this work accessible for congregational leaders and others who seek to explore new directions in forming faith. Processes and practices are offered to help both leaders and congregations contextualize their approach to their particular settings. Each chapter includes leadership competencies, shared practices, and group discussion questions.
For anyone who's ever researched a biblical precedent or religious phrase after encountering Margaret Atwood's dystopia The Handmaid's Tale, this essential guide explains it all and gives readers a fascinating look into the novel and its world.
This book by pastor and certified fund raising executive (CFRE) Michael R. Ward provides church leaders a resource to lead their congregations to a new culture of generosity and abundance that raises more money as well as more disciples. Written specifically with pastors, congregation councils, finance committees, and stewardship teams in mind, this book encourages and guides a process of study, reflection, and action that is clear and practical. Ward taps into years of experience fundraising in the nonprofit sector to address the ongoing challenges of financing ministry. His goal is to empower congregations and other nonprofit organizations to expect and plan for generosity.The book moves from grounding stewardship ministry biblically and theologically to setting up the basic building blocks for strong stewardship, including board development, stewardship planning, and strategic planning. From there, it addresses practical tactics, such as case development, communication, donor mentality, roadblocks, volunteers, and steps to a gift.Real-life stories and examples of growing stewardship programs and capital campaigns are provided along with practical hands-on tools to help groups plan, develop, and implement stewardship plans.
Humans have long searched for an adequate answer to an age-old question: If God is good, why do we suffer? An entire book of the Bible, Job, is dedicated to the problem of God and human suffering. Theologians across continents and centuries have debated the intricacies, inconsistencies, and assumptions the question elicits. And of course, many have turned to Jesus's own suffering, and his horrible death at the cross, in search of understanding. All too often, the resulting approaches to the mystery of suffering, though linked to the Jewish and Christian Scriptures and traditions, fail to satisfy contemporary hearts and minds.The Mystery of God and Suffering draws guidance from the Gospel of John and the letters to the Colossians and the Ephesians, and focuses on God's overflowing love in creation as a foundation for understanding Jesus's death and its implications for those who follow him. This work offers an alternative vision, one emphasizing incarnation over atonement, for all those who find themselves uneasy or even oppressed by the notion of a vindictive God who demands the suffering and death of his son. The Mystery of God and Suffering also speaks to a larger audience, comprised of all those who suffer and search for meaning in their suffering. With a focus on the eternal concepts of life and love that are not simply integral to but inseparable from a God who is good, as well as on insights of believers through the ages, The Mystery of God and Suffering offers wise guidance for our journey into the abyss of suffering.
Shaking the Gates of Hell: Faith-Led Resistance to Corporate Globalization breaks new ground by describing the global economy and its effects from the perspective of an integrated theology of "the earth as primary revelation" and the institutional powers of this world. It reaches the conclusion that hope lies in nonviolent resistance and ecological and social responsibility based on God's action in Jesus and in the triumph of God over the powers. This book describes today's interrelated social, economic, and ecological crises and makes the case that we face a living hell on earth if we do not address them. It provides an overview of the global economic system and offers a comprehensive theological analysis of the network of primary institutions that make up what Walter Wink calls the "Domination System." It points readers in the direction of hope based on following the way of Jesus, who lived in nonviolent resistance to the powers of his day. This new, revised edition continues the powerful story of the original, extending the analysis of the global economy from the 2008 collapse and recession to its alleged recovery. It addresses the Obama administration's policies on economics, trade, and the environment, and provides further reflections on American foreign and military policy in this so-called New American Century
Those who are afflicted as well as those who are adversely affected by mental illness often live lives of "quiet desperation" without recourse to appropriate assistance. Most caregivers confronted with these illnesses in the work of ministry have had no training or accurate information about mental illnesses, so frequently they do nothing, resulting in further harm and damage. Others may operate out of a theological system that does not adequately account for the nature, severity, or treatment of these illnesses. In Ministry with Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families, Second Edition, psychiatrists and pastoral theologians come together in an interdisciplinary, collaborative effort to ensure accuracy of information concerning the medical dimensions of mental illness, interpret these illnesses from a faith perspective, and make suggestions relative to effective ministry. Readers will learn how science and a faith tradition can not only co-exist but work in tandem to alleviate the pain of the afflicted and affected.
Church historian and Luther faculty member Mark Granquist provides a new and comprehensive history of Luther Seminary just in time for the celebration of the institution's 150th anniversary (1869-2019). It also explores recent history, analyzes the challenges faced by the ELCA, and the major shifts in theological education in the early 21st century, and includes a gallery of photos chronicling Luther's history.
Law and Theology offers the definitive account of the relationship between law and theology in the Christian tradition. Drawing on diverse biblical texts and classic authors from the early church to contemporary voices from the modern period, David W. Opderbeck examines key legal questions and controversial case studies from an interdisciplinary perspective, breaking new ground for legal scholars and theologians alike. As a law professor, practicing attorney, and theologian, Opderbeck writes as an insider from both disciplines. This unique look brings fresh insight for both fields in a context where questions of theology and law are especially relevant--and increasingly urgent. Going beyond the culture wars, Opderbeck brings these real-world cases to life, examining the ins and outs of the most important legal questions facing American civic and religious life. Scholars and students of law and theology will find this book to be required reading in and outside the legal and theological classrooms.
No twentieth-century American understood Luther's law-gospel distinction better than Gerhard O. Forde, who was professor of theology at Luther Theological Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Because Forde kept this Lutheran distinction razor sharp, his theological writings are an essential inheritance for us today. This volume, The Essential Forde, aims to provide the essence of Forde's writing centered upon Luthers and Scripture's essential distinction, that is, the distinction between law and gospel. The editors of this volume have chosen some of the most definitive writings of the renowned Gerhad Forde, whose influence continues to grow. The list of works trace the contours of Forde's theological argument. Organized around "Law and Gospel," the selections start off with some historical background on that doctrinal locus, but for the most part express Forde's own views of the law and the gospel, including death and resurrection, the bondage of the will, good works, preaching, and the sacraments. Besides these essential writings, the book will provide a definitive introduction by the editors, which includes a brief biography of Forde, an essay regarding his doctrinal interpretation, and a sketch of the Forde legacy. Also contained in the volume will be a comprehensive bibliography of all of Forde's published works plus work published about him.
This volume is part of the new Working Preacher Books series designed to provide timely and compelling books on biblical preaching. God uses good preaching to change lives.
Pundits regularly declare that Christianity is dying. Its golden age of influence is long gone in Western Europe, and similar trends are happening in North America. But while it slowly dies in the West, Christianity has been coming to life in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Now immigrants, refugees, and missionaries from the Global South bring their vibrant faith to our shores. They are bringing the gospel back to us in new and surprising ways. Christianity is rising, you just have to look around.
"This book began as a dissertation...."--Acknowledgments, page ix.
Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Wheaton College (Illinois), 2016.
Christians have traditionally claimed that humans are created in the image of God (imago Dei), but they have consistently defined that image in ways that exclude people from full humanity. The most well-known definition locates the image in the rational soul, which is constructed in such a way that women, children, and many persons with disabilities are found deficient.Body Parts claims the importance of embodiment, difference, and limitation--not only as descriptions of the human condition but also as part of the imago Dei itself. This thesis is inspired by a parallel claim in an Indian tradition that posits the reflection of the divine body in humanity. Its thirty-six parts invite Christians to consider how consciousness, limitations, mental and emotional capacities, organs of sensation and action, and elements are reflections of divinity. Each chapter pursues openings in the Christian theological tradition in order to imagine these sets of "body parts" as the image of God.
Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Durham University.
Encountering Reality argues for a new appreciation of T. F. Torrance on epistemology and reality. Torrance emphasizes the distinction between truth and truthfulness, reorienting the discussion from a focus on statements to being. This shift challenges the dichotomy between correspondence and coherence theories of truth.
Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nottingham, 2015 under title: Being deified: fantasy and poetry on the path to God.
Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Wheaton College, 2013 under title: Not this rather than that: Eusebius' reception of Mark 16:9-20 in the Ad marinum.
Revision of the author's thesis (Ph. D.)--Claremont School of Theology.
Embodied Liturgy marks a return to the body in thinking about Christian liturgy and sacramental practice. Rooted in phenomenology and incarnational theology, the book gives primary focus to the body as it considers the prayer offices and the liturgical calendar, sacrifices and sacraments, initiation and vestments, ritual theory and play, word and meal, fasting and feasting, penance and celebration, rites of passage, cultural perspectives, and the role of art, music, dance, and drama in worship. The author invites readers to return to the experience of their own body through guided yogic exercises. As a text for students and liturgical practitioners, the volume gives fresh voice to the experience and practice of worship as bodily acts. Embodied Liturgy is a dynamic, accessible new resource in liturgical and sacramental theology from one of the premiere scholars in the field. Frank C. Senn distills an established legacy of expertise in an innovative and inviting perspective on bodily acts of worship.
Lucas Stephens is a successful pharmaceutical executive. During a business trip, he is wrongfully accused of drug trafficking and imprisoned in a brutal penitentiary. While in his cold cell, he discovers the gift of supernatural healing. This story shows how people of faith can cope when faced with catastrophic change in their lives.
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