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Through the fascinating stories of pioneering ministers, this book reveals a unique picture of progressive changes occurring in the Christian tradition. Meeting challenges and overcoming obstacles, these twelve diverse ministers are changing the church as they take prophetic stands on gender, race, interfaith cooperation, ecology, sexual orientation, economic opportunity, and other social justice issues. Believing in the power of sacred symbolism to shape social reality and to provide a foundation for justice and freedom for all people, these ministers lead worship with inclusive language and imagery for humanity and divinity. They include multicultural female and male images of the Divine. Their stories affirm the connection between this expansive theology and an ethic of justice and equality in human relationships. In working from within to change the church, these ministers have risked censure by denominational authorities, loss of opportunities for promotion to larger congregations or to prestigious denominational positions, and even loss of their jobs. They have found creative ways to balance advocating for change and working to support the church, using their positions as ordained clergy to bring liberating change to the church and the wider culture.""I know of no other book like this. Jann Aldredge-Clanton not only convincingly shows why our language and imagery for God must include the feminine as well as the masculine, but she also shows how such inclusiveness can be introduced and implemented in our churches. And she does it through wonderful real-life stories.Wholeheartedly recommended.""-Letha Dawson ScanzoniEditor of Christian Feminism Todayco-author of All We''re Meant to Be: Biblical Feminism for Today""These are stories that need to be told, that have been waiting to be told, so that women and men embarking on this journey know that others have been there before them, have faced some of the same challenges and struggles, and have found ways to be both faithful and emancipating. But most of all, we need to know these stories so that women''s history in the church is not, once again, lost and forgotten and denied.""-Marjorie Procter-SmithPerkins School of Theologyauthor of The Church in Her House: A Feminist Emancipatory Prayer Book of Christian Communities""What does it mean to transform Christian language for prayer and liturgy to really include female symbols for the divine? This is the question Jann Aldredge-Clanton asked in writing this book. To answer this question she did interviews with twelve innovative ministers from seven denominations. These interviews give compelling testimony of the transformation that happens for religious communities when language for God is really affirmed in both genders.""-Rosemary Radford RuetherClaremont Graduate Universityauthor of Integrating Ecofeminism, Globalization, and World ReligionsJann Aldredge-Clanton, PhD, ordained minister and chaplain, is an adjunct professor at Perkins School of Theology and at Richland Community College in Dallas, Texas. She is the author of numerous books, including Inclusive Hymns for Liberating Christians (2006); Seeking Wisdom: Inclusive Blessings and Prayers for Public Occasions (2010); Praying with Christ-Sophia: Services for Healing and Renewal (2007); and God, a Word for Girls and Boys (2007).

This book has two main theses. First, for the biblical/Christian doctrine of sin the root of the human problem is hardness of heart--the corruption of the core self, of the seat of understanding and will. On the other hand, for an important strand of Greek tragedy the root of human harm-doing is the nonculpable blindness and anxiety of finitude that despite the initial nonculpability lead to evil and suffering. The Hardened Heart shows that these two different interpretations of human existence are amenable to a degree of synthesis that leads to this conclusion: hardness of heart and our ordinary finitude together collude to cause sin in its fullness.The second thesis of this volume is that exegetical studies disclose a deconstructive strand in certain biblical texts that represents the finite world that God created as a source of distress and harm-doing in something like the tragic sense. This subdominant deconstructive position challenges the dominant biblical vision, in which the creation came forth from God''s creative word as good without qualification.""Via''s incisive demonstration of tragic finitude in Jewish and Christian Scripture--showing where it runs alongside the dominant themes of sin and the ''hardened heart''--sharpens and clarifies our awareness of how innocence and suffering mingle with anxiety and moral culpability. His new comparisons of key biblical texts with themes from Greek tragedy lead to a provocative and acute theological account of the origins of evil and the challenges of grace and responsibility.""--Larry D. Bouchard, Professor of Religious Studies, University of Virginia""Through careful exegesis and masterful theological reasoning, Via develops a far more compelling view of the sinful nature of the human condition, both at its heart and in its limitations, than other studies of biblical sin have been able to provide. This book is a superb example of biblical theology done extremely well.""--Mary Ann Tolbert, Professor of Biblical Studies, Pacific School of Religion and the Graduate Theological UnionDan O. Via has taught on the faculties of Wake Forest University, the University of Virginia, and Duke University Divinity School, in which he is now Emeritus Professor of New Testament. He has also been a visiting professor at the University of Zimbabwe and Harvard Divinity School. He is the author of forty articles and ten books, including the groundbreaking The Parables, and has edited another sixteen volumes.

Christian teaching and modern sensibilities both eschew ""nationalism"" as an extreme, fanatical form of patriotism, an excessive or disordered form of an otherwise healthy and proper national identity. But what if the problem of nationalism is something much more fundamental? What if nationalism is actually the process leading to national identity in the first place? And what happens when this process entails selectively appropriating and reinterpreting the Christian tradition for the sake of the envisioned nation? This book takes up these questions within the context of American Christian nationalism. Here, the process of interweaving the Christian narrative with American history and myth is examined in depth through a thorough engagement with scholarship on nationalism and within a framework shaped by contemporary theopolitical studies and the biblical narrative. The study aims to discern how the Christian Scriptures and theological tradition have been used by Christians themselves to further what amounts to an alternative gospel. In so doing this book charts a path for the church to evaluate itself honestly in light of Christ''s lordship, repent, and learn to tell its story more truly. ""It would be hard to overstate the importance of this book. Taking the work of Yoder, Hauerwas, and Cavanaugh a crucial step further, Anderson explores why and how nationalism--particularly in America--is so often bred, nurtured, and promoted as political good news in and by the church itself through distorted readings of the biblical narrative, thereby fundamentally compromising the church''s witness. . . . Churches and Christians in all nations must heed carefully the compelling argument of this book.""--Douglas HarinkProfessor of TheologyThe King''s University College, EdmontonAuthor of Paul, Philosophy, and the Theopolitical Vision (Cascade, 2010)""This is a creative and challenging exploration of the issues, controversies, and challenges that surround questions of Christianity and nationalism. Braden Anderson makes an original and important contribution to debates on whether and how ''being a Christian'' affects other identities, loyalties and priorities. His exploration of Scripture, political theology and contemporary issues makes this a rewarding book for scholars, pastors, and lay leaders.""--Michael L. BuddeProfessor of Catholic Studies and Political Science, Senior Research Scholar, Center for World Catholicism and Intercultural TheologyDePaul University, ChicagoAuthor of The Borders of Baptism (Cascade, 2011)Braden P. Anderson earned his PhD in Theology and Society from the Department of Theology at Marquette University. He also completed previous graduate degrees in theology from Marquette and in political science from the University of Kansas.

The human race, along with the animals and plants that make up the creation of God, face a difficult future due to the multiple ways that the ecosystem on which they all depend is currently under stress. Temperatures are rising along with the oceans. Rain forests are falling along with the polar ice caps. Questions of the environment are now front and center in any catalog of concerns. Those who are called to preach need to include in the subjects of their sermons these environmental issues. Our Bible contains significant resources, often overlooked, as bases on which powerful environmental sermons can be preached. This book introduces the subject of preaching and the environment, offering close looks at important biblical passages that address the cosmos of God, and presenting sample sermons founded on those passages. The book calls for preachers both to name the vast problems we face and to offer the hope of the gospel of God to address them.""This is a ''must have'' book for every preacher who seeks to help congregations towards a faithful understanding of how human beings can join God''s purposes for the created world. John Holbert''s work is comprehensive: from the creation narratives in Genesis through the Prophets and Wisdom Literature to the less-often-considered role of creation in the Letters, Gospels, and Book of Revelation, John offers incisive (and highly quotable) exegesis and epigrammatic sample sermons.""--Ronald J. AllenProfessor of Preaching and New TestamentChristian Theological Seminary""As various pseudo-experts make hay of dubious environmental science, John Holbert offers us reliable and exegetically sound biblical theology in order to help us address a creation that human beings are ''trashing.'' Not just this, but Holbert helps the church address these ecological issues via the faith we preach.""--Rev. David N. Mosser, PhDSenior Pastor of First United Methodist Church of Arlington, Texas and author of Transitions: Leading Churches through Change (2011)""[T]his book . . . changed my thinking about what the Bible says and left me with both help to preach on the subject and the passionate desire to do so!This is a powerful book, the kind that drags you through your resistance and persuades you to enjoy the trip. . . . John Holbert offers fresh exegetical insights, compelling arguments, and examples of the kind of sermons that prime a preacher''s pump. But you will come away from this book with more than good compasses and maps, this is a book filled with hope.""--Jana ChildersProfessor of Homiletics and Speech CommunicationSan Francisco Theological Seminary""What word can preachers bring to human creatures who are putting the earth at risk? Holbert answers the question with incisive biblical interpretation, scientific knowledge, and lively sermons. He dispels the misuse of religious faith to deny or ignore the environmental crisis, and he demonstrates how to preach a scientifically informed faith that honors the Creator by redefining our role as lovers and partners of the natural order. An essential book for preachers now.""--Thomas H. TroegerLantz Professor of Christian CommunicationYale Divinity School & Institute of Sacred MusicJohn C. Holbert is Lois Craddock Perkins Professor of Homiletics at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, where he has been a member of the faculty for thirty-two years. He is the author of seven previous books, each having to do with the relationships between the Bible and the work of preaching.

The Gospel of Judas: On a Night with Judas Iscariot presents a fresh translation of the Gospel of Judas, with introduction, commentary, and notes. Originally published with considerable international fanfare in 2006, the Gospel of Judas has prompted a vibrant discussion among scholars and other interested readers about the meaning of the text and the place of Judas Iscariot in the story of Jesus and the history of the church. Meyer, a member of the original research team assembled by the National Geographic Society to edit, translate, and publish the Gospel of Judas and the remaining texts in what is now called Codex Tchacos, here offers an up-to-date and thoroughly accessible translation of the Gospel of Judas, expanded with new fragments of the text and informed by the latest scholarship. He adds reminiscences of the work on the Coptic text when it first was coming to light in 2005 and 2006. This book also includes reflections on the extensive literature, beyond the Gospel of Judas, on the figure of Judas Iscariot, with suggestions for a literary interpretation of Judas--an interpretation that may have a dramatic impact upon our understanding of the role of Judas Iscariot in the story of Jesus''s passion.""Marvin Meyer can justly be considered the premier translator of ancient Gnostic writings in North America and one of the world''s leading experts on the Gospel of Judas. Now he provides a vivid and compelling translation of this most important text along with an insightful introduction and copious notes. Most intriguing of all, he narrates a theatrical engagement with issues that emerge from recent reflections on the world''s most infamous and intriguing ''villain,'' Judas Iscariot. This is intense scholarship and creative imagination at the highest level.""-Bart D. EhrmanUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill""Marvin Meyer has a track record of a series of serious academic publications that are both readable and reliable, which distinguished tradition The Gospel of Judas continues on the same high plane.""-James M. RobinsonClaremont Graduate University""Beginning with the Nag Hammadi library, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Gospel of Judas, we have a trinity of essential holy scriptures that radically enrich and alter our knowledge of Judaism, Christianity, and Gnosticism. Now with his definitive version of Judas and its latest fragments, Marvin Meyer bequeaths the world a benevolent Judas. Meyer provides a crisp literary translation and introduction to the fully annotated Judas text--as well as a surprise: ''A Night with Judas Iscariot.'' In his profoundly funny and thoughtful mystery play, Judas stars as the redemptive figure. Hurrah for this revolutionary book with its poetic enlightenment!""-Willis Barnstoneauthor of The Restored New Testament and The Other Bible""In this book Professor Marvin Meyer shares in a very readable way his thoughtful insights into the Coptic Gospel of Judas--a second-century text essential for our understanding of the first steps of Christianity and the gnostic movements--while providing the key to unveil the symbolic contents of this apocryphal gospel. The epilogue--''A Night with Judas Iscariot''--shows well how ancient texts can be communicated meaningfully to a contemporary audience. This is a strong, powerful book that captivates the reader from the first page to the last.""-Madeleine ScopelloCorrespondant de l''Institut de France""No other recent discovery from Christian antiquity has stirred so much debate as the Gospel of Judas. Does it really rehabilitate Judas, or does it place him in the same role of a villain as the gospels in the New Testament? Does this gospel contain ''good news,'' and if so, to whom, or does it only proclaim bad news to Judas and to all of humankind? So much has been written about this text since its publication in 2006 that one might wonder if something substantially new can be added to the discussion any longer. Marvin Meyer''s important new book sh

Should Christianity''s theological face remain largely European and North American in the twenty-first century in the wake of the expansion of Christianity in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and Latin America? The question about the ""theological face"" of Christianity cannot be ignored. For too long African, Asian, and Latin American theologians have been left out of mainstream theological discussions. Few standard textbooks on Christian theology acknowledge the unique contributions theologians from these continents have made to global Christianity. Introducing Christian Theologies: Voices from Global Christian Communities is a two-volume textbook that alters the predominantly European and North American ""theological face"" of Christianity by interacting with the voices of the Christian communities from around the globe. Introducing Christian Theologies explores the works of key theologians from across the globe, highlighting their unique contributions to Christian theology and doctrine.""Introducing Christian Theologies Christian Theologies is a feast! It covers the major doctrines well while being clear, accessible, engaging, and attractive. It is careful to describe faithfully differing views, but not too timid to evaluate them. . . . Most of all, it moves thoroughly into the twenty-first century with numerous contemporary theologians and debates and with the rich and exciting flavors of Africa, Asia, and Latin America.""--Timothy Larsen, Wheaton College""Applying the best of contemporary contextualizing methodology, this introduction to Christian theology from a global and ecumenical perspective equips learners to engage a wide variety of perspectives on the major Christian doctrines. . . . Drawing on and interpreting original historical sources in ways today''s learners can understand, Victor Ezigbo provides a comprehensive, truly global perspective on key Christian teachings that has been missing in earlier English-language, introductory theological texts.""--Heather Clements, Azusa Pacific University""By creatively engaging with African, Asian, and Latin American Christian theologians, Ezigbo corrects the ''Euro-American theological face'' of world Christianity in this globally relevant introductory textbook for Christian theology.""--Jayachitra Lalitha, Co-Chair of World Christianity Group, American Academy of Religions""The author, a budding African theologian, brings fresh, robust insights into Christian theology, prioritizing the voices of non-Western theologies in tandem with mainstream theologies, thus bringing them into the global academic limelight. One merit of Introducing Christian Theologies is its pedadogical value and the all-embracing themes and topics. This is a must-read for all those interested in grasping the breadth and richness of the ''theological face'' of global Christianity in the twenty-first century.""--Afe Adogame, The University of Edinburgh, UKVictor I. Ezigbo is Associate Professor of Contextual and Systematic Theology at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of Re-Imagining African Christologies (2010).

Shame has many faces. From the pressing need to avoid ""losing face"" to the urge to scapegoat and blame, from the desire to exclude those who are different to the horrors of ethnic cleansing, from the obsession with body image to the abiding terrors of the abused, shame is a universal phenomenon. It transcends boundaries of time and is evident in diverse cultures across the world. It is, furthermore, found throughout the pages of Scripture, yet in modern theology shame is conspicuous by its absence. This book attempts to redress the balance by exploring the theology of shame, from its inception in the garden of Eden, to the final triumph over shame on the cross. Restoring the Shamed will offer readers the opportunity to think theologically about one of the most urgent, yet strangely secret, issues of contemporary society.""Robin Stockitt''s Restoring the Shamed is a rediscovery of a neglected dimension in the biblical witnesses, making it relevant for today''s most painful human experiences. It offers an abundance of pastoral insights, creative theological explorations, and imaginative suggestions for ecclesial practice. Beginning with . . . the absence of a theology of shame in modern theology, the book becomes a courageous and rewarding journey of theological discovery.""--Christoph SchwobelChair in Systematic TheologyUniversity of Tubingen""This is a passionate book, in all the right senses . . . Reading it will not only help to restore the shamed; it will likely restore a godly passion--and few things are more sorely needed in theology today.""--Jeremy S. BegbieThomas A. Langford Research ProfessorDuke Divinity School""Robin Stockitt has written a powerful and persuasive book that shows the centrality of shame in human experience and in the biblical message. It is the most readable and theologically astute account of Christ''s ministry to the shamed that is available today. This warmly pastoral book contains rich resources to deal with crippling experiences such as being treated as unworthy or unwanted.""--Robert JewettVisiting Professor of New TestamentUniversity of HeidelbergRobin Stockitt is the minister of the Anglican Church in Freiburg, Germany. He is the author of Open to the Spirit: Ignatius of Loyola and John Wimber in Dialogue (2000) and Imagination and the Playfulness of God: The Theological Implications of Samuel Taylor Coleridge''s Definition of the Human Imagination (2011).

Whatever religion may have meant to the boy when he was younger, in the teenage years it takes the form of a personal journey or quest. This journey is related to other aspects of his life and is integral to how he experiences himself and others. The title of this volume--Striking Out--has the connotation of the beginning of a journey that will take the boy in new directions, but it also suggests the baseball metaphor of a batter being called out on strikes. The first sense is positive; the second is negative. Together, they express the anticipatory and hopeful nature of the venture, but also the possibility that the undertaking may evoke feelings of fear, frustration, and failure. By focusing on real-life examples of teenage boys (both historical and contemporary), the book presents five typical manifestations of a boy''s vulnerabilities as he sets forth on the journey: the stumbler, the struggler, the straggler, the straddler, and the stranger. It explores the ways in which these vulnerabilities may contribute in positive ways to his personal growth and his religious maturity.Throughout this book Gordon W. Allport''s classic text The Individual and His Religion draws attention to the claim that a boy''s religious sentiment may play a decisive role in the integration of his personality despite its inevitable disparities and uncertainties, and the real-life examples are presented as evidence that this religious sentiment provides direction and clarity of vision as the boy looks toward the future. ""This book is about the religious journeys of boys. It assumes, correctly, that there is (and should be) a congruity between a boy''s life and his religion. Just as a boy''s life changes, his religiosity changes. Capps writes about these changes by exploring common vulnerabilities that boys face as they strike out on their own journeys. Capps gives us all--and especially teenage boys--hope for the journey.""-Nathan CarlinThe University of Texas Medical School, Houston, Texas ""Capps takes us right to the heart of the religious journey of the adolescent male--a journey marked by stumbling, struggling, straggling, straddling, and being a stranger. He masterfully pulls together a number of strands to tell his story of striking out that is at once deeply perceptive, profoundly human, and richly spiritual . . . This is a simply brilliant exposition of the religious journey of teenage boys.""-Neil Pembroke,University of Queensland""Striking Out is a home run! All five of Capps''s personality types (the stumbler, the struggler, the straggler, the straddler, and the stranger) are in my youth group, so this is a particularly relevant book for me. Capps navigates the vulnerable adolescent journey masterfully, thoughtfully, and faithfully. All those invested in the spiritual journey of teenagers will discover great hope in Striking Out.""-Joshua StewartFirst Presbyterian Church, Fort Worth, Texas""Capps spoke to me personally as a man who had once been a young teenage boy with questions, emotions, and baggage striking out on my own spiritual journey. He speaks to me as a new father, as I imagine my son''s future, with all of his potential and struggles ahead, and my hope to help him keep his eyes on the ball each time he comes to the plate. Capps also speaks to me as a pastor and educator, as I realize the great need of this very specific population in our culture and nation. Striking out is a paradox with which we must each deal in one way or another.""-Grafton T. EliasonCalifornia University of PennsylvaniaDonald Capps (1939-2015) was William Harte Felmeth Professor of Pastoral Theology (Emeritus) and Adjunct Professor at Princeton Theological Seminary. He is the author of Striking Out (Cascade Books, 2011), At Home in the World (Cascade Books, 2013), Still Growing (Cascade Books, 2014), and The Resourceful Self (Cascade Books, 2014). He is coauthor with Nathan Carlin of Living in Limbo (Cascade Books, 2010) and The Gift of

Evidence of mainstream denominational decline virtually throws itself in our faces--growing religious pluralism in North America; the decline over the last half century in the salience, prestige, power, and vitality of Protestant denominational leadership; slippage in mainline membership and corresponding growth, vigor, visibility, and political prowess of conservative, evangelical, and fundamentalist bodies; patterns of congregational independence, including loosening of or removal of denominational identity, particularly in signage, and the related marginal loyalty of members; emergence of megachurches, with resources and the capacity to meet needs heretofore supplied by denominations (training, literature, expertise); growth within mainline denominations of caucuses and their alignment into broad progressive or conservative camps, often with connections to similar camps in other denominations; widespread suspicion of, indeed hostility towards, the centers and symbols of denominational identity--the regional and national headquarters; migration of individuals and families through various religious identities, sometimes out of classic Christianity altogether. Denominationalism looks doomed and is so proclaimed. It may be. However, viewing the sweep of Anglo-American history, this volume suggests how much denominations and denominationalism have changed, how resilient they have proved, how significant these structures of religious belonging have been in providing order and direction to American society, and how such enduring purposes find ever new structural/institutional expression.""This book has convinced me that denominational Christianity is not dying; it is once again adapting and transitioning into a new chapter in its fascinating history. Here is history from one of our most able church historians, who not only studied our history, but also helped make history in his church and seminary leadership, all in service to the future vitality of our church.""--Will Willimon, Duke Divinity School""Face the facts of denominational decline and discord. Spot the spires and spectacle of mega-churches on the rise, and chart the paths of spiritual seekers and pluralist pilgrims through faith in flux. Then find the underlying truth and overarching spirit of American grace, made flesh in denominational bodies and reborn through their living history. Nobody does this better than Russell Richey, and no place better than in this brilliant book.""--Steven M. Tipton, Emory University""Russell Richey has long been the master historian of the phenomenon of denominationalism. This is a collection of his essays stretching over a forty-year career. Each essay is a jewel, and together they make up a glittering necklace that allows the reader to glimpse the various facets of the denominational pattern.""--Robert Bruce Mullin, General Theological Seminary""In its historical scope, from English origins to contemporary challenges of denominationalism, and in its range of probing discussion, from the voluntary principle to ecclesial purpose of denominations old and new, Richey''s work is an essential reference and stimulus to teaching and scholarship in American religious studies.""--Thomas Edward Frank, Wake Forest UniversityRussell E. Richey, Dean Emeritus of Candler School of Theology and William R. Cannon Distinguished Professor of Church History Emeritus, is author or editor of twenty books, including Denominationalism (1977, 2010) and Reimagining Denominationalism (1994, 2010).

CONTENTSIntroductionPART ONE: The Social-Political Context of Apocalyptic and Wisdom Texts1. Ben Sira and the Sociology of the Second Temple2. The Politics of Cultural Production3. The Social Settings of the Components of 1 EnochPART TWO: Reconsiderations of Texts in Historical Contexts4. Israel at the Mercy of Demonic Powers: An Enochic Interpretation of Imperialism5. Social Relations and Social Conflict in the Epistle of Enoch6. Fourth Ezra: Anti-Apocalyptic Apocalypse7. Late Twentieth-Century Scribes'' Study of Late Second Temple ScribesPART THREE: Questioning the Categories as Applied to the Gospels and James8. Questions about Wisdom and Apocalypticism9. Sayings of the Sages or Speeches of the Prophets? Reflections on the Genre of Q10. Apocalypticism and Wisdom: Missing in Mark11. Apocalypticism in the Gospels? The Kingdom of God and the Renewal of Israel12. The Rich and Poor in James: An Apocalyptic Ethic""These essays achieve a much needed demolition of two ill-defined concepts that have dominated the study of early Judaism and the New Testament. Turning from questions of worldview and genre to the historical and social realities confronting the authors of Sirach, 1 Enoch, the Epistle of James, and 4 Ezra, Horsley and Tiller demonstrate how these texts engage with the political realities of their time, especially imperial rule. This is an eloquent demonstration of the value of the social-scientific approach to the exegesis of biblical and parabiblical texts.""-- Professor Philip DaviesUniversity of Sheffield""The terms wisdom and apocalyptic, the authors argue correctly, have been used in such a vague or simplistic way by many scholars that a series of corrections are necessary. Horsley and Tiller have worked separately and together on these issues for many years. Here they address the problems of genre definition, the social and political context of the texts, and the twentieth-century theological assumptions that lie behind the previous studies. They forge new conclusions about the interpretations of many important texts. The clarity with which they define the issues is admirable, and the debate will be illuminated for all parties. Now both the scholar and the student can in one volume reap the benefits of their results."" -- Lawrence M. WillsEpiscopal Divinity SchoolRichard Horsley is Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and the Study of Religion Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Boston and the author of numerous volumes, including Jesus and the Powers, Revolt of the Scribes, and Wisdom and Spiritual Transcendence at Corinth (Cascade Books, 2008).Patrick A. Tiller is a member of the Enoch Seminar and is the author of A Commentary on the Animal Apocalypse of 1 Enoch.

It seems that much of American Christianity has lost sight of the goal of growing to maturity in Christ. This loss of vision has had serious consequences for the quality of our witness and ministry. In Aiming at Maturity, Steven W. Rankin seeks to bring back into focus key qualities of spiritual maturity and summarizes important biblical passages to show the scriptural foundations that call for spiritual maturity. Rankin also addresses certain tendencies in popular Christian culture to reduce doctrinal truths to sound bites with the laudable but counterproductive goal to make doctrine memorable, therefore applicable. Thinking more expansively about certain key doctrines related to the work of Christ and the impact of grace contributes to growth toward maturity in a way that popular descriptions of these doctrines do not. Finally, Rankin also challenges readers to consider the important role of emotions in developing Christlike dispositions, which contribute toward producing the fruit of a mature Christian life. By looking at relevant modern research, Aiming at Maturity shows the inherent connection between thoughts and feelings that draw us closer to the actual biblical description of the heart.""Stephen Rankin has given Christians a strong call to grow up, a challenge overdue in a culture that idolizes youth and stereotypes people over the age of thirty. Drawing from popular culture, his work as chaplain and college professor, and from theology, Rankin offers a robust definition of Christian maturity and invites readers to step up.""--Elaine Heath, Perkins School of Theology""Individual believers and local church leaders will find this book unique in laying the groundwork for discipleship growth plans. As a pastor I have been using Rankin''s ''trajectory of Christian maturity'' for years to identify the essence of a mature follower of Christ, and to design ministries that will provide substantive fruit, not simply more activities. Rankin calls the church to be serious in developing mature disciples."" --Pastor Bruce E. BaxterLead Pastor, Wesley United Methodist Church, Springfield, MissouriStephen W. Rankin is Chaplain and Minister to the University at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. A contributor to academic and popular periodicals, Aiming at Maturity is his first book.

""Those who serve as truth-tellers in the church, like those who listen to the truth-telling in the church, are a mix of yearning and fearfulness, of receptiveness and collusion. In the end, the work of truth-telling is not to offer a new package of certitudes that displaces old certitudes. This truth to be uttered and acted, rather, is the enactment and conveyance of this Person who is truth, so that truth comes as bodily fidelity that stays reliably present to the pain of the world.""--from the Preface""Although Truth-Telling as Subversive Obedience addresses preachers, it also calls urgently to anyone who desires to hear and do God''s word. With characteristic eloquence, Brueggemann dares us to believe in new life amidst the sexual, financial, and political lies that surround us. He finds hope in the truth coursing through Scriptures and invites us to become courageous, obedient speakers of truth ''because our lives depend on it.''""-Kathleen M. O''ConnorColumbia Theological Seminary""The provocative essays in this volume are yet another reminder that no one prods the consciences of preachers more effectively, discomfortingly, and profoundly than Walter Brueggemann. With imagination, resolve, and a comprehensive grasp of the issues, Brueggemann summons us once again to have the courage to speak ''truth that subverts our best self-deceiving certitudes.''""-Thomas G. LongCandler School of Theology""Walter Brueggemann has inspired more pastors and congregations than anyone else of our generation. And he continues this good work in a compelling collection of essays and sermons rooted deeply in the text and in prophetic imagination. Truth-Telling as Subversive Obedience trades in a sort of primal candor that dares to confront our most cherished conventions. Perhaps even more strikingly, this little book creates space for the loving embrace of God. Extraordinary stuff that we have come to depend on!""-Louis StulmanUniversity of Findlay""The persuasion of a book that dares to address ''truth-telling'' about God, the world, and humankind, rests largely on its author''s capacity to discern and communicate clearly truths that may be easily overlooked or minimized by others. In this collection of articles . . . Walter Brueggemann demonstrates yet again his prescient theological skills. For those who linger over Pilate''s question to Jesus, What is truth?, Brueggemann''s contention that truth about God is relentlessly connected to the pain of this world is and remains an imperative in search of a faithful response.""-Samuel E. BalentineUnion Presbyterian SeminaryWalter Brueggemann is William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus at Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia. He is past President of the Society of Biblical Literature and the author of numerous books, including David and His Theologian, Praying the Psalms, A Pathway of Interpretation, and Ichabod toward Home.

In this serial work of religious historical fiction, Magda, a ""fallen woman"" from Berlin turned maidservant in the house of Soren Kierkegaard, seeks the full life that has thus far eluded her. Two journals set in the summer of 1847 record Magda''s responses to the Luther Bible, Goethe''s Faust, and her elusive yet compelling master, who is simultaneously crafting his Works of Love. Three journals set in the fall, winter, and ""people''s spring"" of 1847 and 1848 reflect Magda''s ongoing engagement with secular and sacred writings, her sporadic yet intimate interactions with her master, the precariousness of her position in his household, and the rapidly changing social landscape, at the same time as Kierkegaard begins, revises, or completes several of his most existential and prophetic works. A sixth journal set in the summer of 1848 reveals Magda''s final disposition. Is she judged, or is she saved?""Through the changing of the seasons in a year of revolutions, a maidservant reflects on the Bible . . . and the anguish and hope of her master, the Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard. Ellen Brown has crafted an understated, heartfelt, and moving meditation on the enigmatic man, religion, the position of women in society, and a life of exile and liberation.""--Marshall Brown, Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Washington, editor of Modern Language Quarterly, and author of The Shape of German Romanticism""Readers of Magda''s diary from the summer of 1847 will be delighted with these journals, which continue her life story alongside her continuing reflections on Scripture, literature, and life. Like the first volume, this collection is filled with spiritual insight and wisdom. The life story takes a surprising turn, or was it to be expected? Magda''s characterization of Kierkegaard is poetic and convincing.""--Adela Yarbro Collins, Buckingham Professor of New Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity SchoolEllen Brown lives in Connecticut. Her publications prior to Master Kierkegaard include essays on Percy Shelley''s Prometheus Unbound and Mary Shelley''s Frankenstein.

Reclaiming Mission as Constructive Theology offers a compelling case for the need to integrate God''s mission and missional church conversation with a public and post-colonial study of World Christianity. Driven by a commitment to publicly engaged theology that takes seriously the reality of Global Christianity, Paul Chung presents a vital new model for understanding the mission of God as a dynamic word-event. This is argued in conversation with contemporary missional theology and analysis of the development of Global Christianity, and as such brings important transcultural issues to bear on contemporary American conversations about the missional church. All of this serves to innovatively stimulate this missional church conversation and more directly address the various questions that arise in pursuing mission in a multiculuralized American society.""Paul Chung proposes fresh ways to envision the mission of the church within its global, multi-cultural, and inter-religious contexts, and he does so with a view to the future. Grounding his thinking in the biblical narrative of God''s salvific drama, Chung aligns missiology with other theological disciplines, providing a breadth of inter-disciplinary scholarship. He engages the contributions of contemporary missiologists and listens to the voices of the global church, past and present. All is brought together to advance our thinking within the new contexts of global mission."" -Arland J. HultgrenFirst Theological Degrees Luther Seminary""In these essays, a noted international theologian takes another creative and constructive look at the concept of the missio Dei. He not only reaffirms the importance of God''s mission in the current fragmented world but also revamps the concept in light of the latest developments in post-colonial missiology and mission theology. Part of this intriguing interdisciplinary conversation is the reconsideration of the meaning and significance of the notion of ""missional church,"" a topic widely discussed not only in North America but also elsewhere.""-Veli-Matti KarkkainenFuller Theological Seminary and University of Helsinki, Finland""Reclaiming Mission as Constructive Theology locates the contemporary discussion of missional church in its fullest eschatological horizon. Chung advocates for socially engaged mission that attends to the emergence of world Christianity, the imperative of public theology, and the call to serve God''s diakonia for the life of the world. Informed by mission history and recent hermeneutical theory, this book deepens and broadens the study of missiology to address the urgent issues of our time.""-Craig L. NessanWartburg Theological Seminary""For those seeking a theologically-grounded understanding of mission that is equally as concerned with effective practice, Paul Chung''s presentation of ''Mission as Constructive Theology'' is an impressive, expansive integration of confessional theology and cultural analysis. Dr. Chung argues that because of the embodied narrative of God in Jesus Christ, anthropology is essential to the development of a faithful and effective understanding and practice of mission. In Paul Chung''s innovative missiology, confessional commitments are essential to a faithful understanding of mission; equally essential, if mission is to be effective, is that these confessional commitments be understood and interpreted through the concreteness of each particular context so as to become the living voice of God in each time and place.""-Roland D. MartinsonLuther Seminary""In his new book, Paul Chung performs a great service, bringing together the themes and concerns of two equally urgent but too-often separated conversations: missional church and world Christianity. Even better, he gives both conversations new life by weaving them together with a robust theology of the Word focused on the living voice of the gospel. In both his constructive theology and his stories of pastoral practice, missio Dei show

""In this dark, when we all talk at once, some of us must learn to whistle.""In this comprehensive collection of his work, Craig Keen''s voice emerges as that of a theologian who has indeed learned to whistle. In a day when much of what passes for academic ""theology"" is careful to maintain a safe distance from any determinate act of faith or work of praise, Keen evinces a single-minded determination to think and to speak, to write and to live doxologically. And whether writing or lecturing, teaching or conversing, Keen understands theology to be nothing less than an invitation to work out one''s faith with fear and trembling.Throughout this volume Keen argues that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus disrupt all metaphysical attempts to determine the reality of ""God,"" and suggests instead that theology is to be done liturgically and eucharistically--as the work of a people whose labor is carried out with open hands, free from all attempts to grasp and control. Keen discusses doctrinal issues--the Trinity, incarnation, creation--as well as a number of critical theological concerns--church and culture, justice, holiness, Christian education--in this light. The result is a profound set of reflections on the ways in which the word of the cross simultaneously transgresses our constructions of ""God"" and gives us to live transgressively in love.""We''ve come to expect from Craig Keen that he will make things theological more difficult and complex than we thought they were. Then, after inviting us to accompany him in several unfamiliar paths, he makes us more trusting of the gospel without insisting that we eschew the complexity or arrive at a presumptuous conclusion. Masterful teacher that he is, he proffers only accompaniment, in all the richness of that term, knowing that each one will find the way only by being found by the Way. This is the method of these essays. What they also reveal is a writer whose humility and deference to God''s grace is palpable holiness. Would that this holy way could spread among theologians.""--M. Douglas MeeksCal Turner Chancellor Professor of Theology and Wesleyan StudiesVanderbilt Divinity School""Talk of self-involving knowledge and performative speech has become so widespread in recent years that I almost hesitate to use it. But in relation to Craig Keen''s work, there is really no alternative. Keen''s writing is animated by a deep personal desire for an authentically kenotic existence, and a longing for the coming of a community of women and men who understand that they cannot live until they die. There is pain and anguish in these essays but there is also well-founded hope. I cannot read them without being reminded very forcibly of the crisis theology of the young Karl Barth. This is a book to be read and savored-and read again.""--Bruce McCormackCharles Hodge Professor of Systematic TheologyPrinceton Theological SeminaryCraig Keen is Professor of Systematic Theology at Azusa Pacific University, Azusa, California. He is the author of the forthcoming After Crucifixion (Cascade Books).

Christianity is simple. Love God. Love your neighbor. The rest is commentary. Simple in theory becomes much more difficult when your neighbor is a man in a dress who stinks like urine and a decaying, unwashed body. And yet, that''s exactly who you find on a downtown bus: the homeless, the unsavory, the just plain weird. Drawing on the wisdom of the Desert Fathers and Mothers, this book explores one woman''s complex and ambivalent interactions with the homeless. Stories about a persistent failure to acknowledge and honor the humanity of the homeless are evidence of the pervasive reality of human sin. But at the same time, there are moments of genuine kindness and humanity that stand as reminders that God brings new life from the brokenness of sin. These stories of days spent on a downtown bus move from unflinching self-reflection to a new awareness of God''s presence. This is where the abstract becomes local, and where theology finally gets real.""Annie Vocature Bullock''s honest, gritty storytelling is a gift to be savored! In this beautiful tapestry of narrative, theology and culture, Bullock''s insights are woven into a volume that inspires, challenges and transforms.""--Margot Starbuck, www.MargotStarbuck.comAuthor of Small Things with Great Love: Adventures in Loving Your Neighbor (2011)""Through her engaging style and vivid stories of the homeless men and women encountered on the city bus, Annie Bullock invites the reader into a deeper understanding of sin--not the sin of the homeless, not the sin of the system, but her own sin. With tremendous candor and humility, Annie names her sin and our sin--the sin of not seeing the divine or even seeing the human in another person.""--Wendy McCaig, founder and executive director of Embrace RichmondAuthor of From the Sanctuary to the Streets: How the Dreams of One City''s Homeless Sparked a Faith Revolution that Transformed a Community (2010)Annie Vocature Bullock is an adjunct faculty member at St. Edward''s University and teaches at Regents School of Austin, a Classical Christian high school in Austin, Texas.

The disunity of the church is a social and theological scandal for it betrays the prayer of Jesus that we ""will be one . . . so that the world will believe"" (John 17:21). As a Baptist whose academic background focused on the Orthodox Church and whose teaching has included Catholic and Protestant contexts, this division is for Elizabeth Newman personal and professional. Attending to the Wounds on Christ''s Body rests on the conviction that the broad tradition of Christianity already contains resources to heal the church, namely the saints of the church. Newman examines especially how Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) speaks to the whole church today in the midst of political, economic, and ecclesial brokenness. Teresa''s reliance upon three scriptural figures--dwellings, marriage, and pilgrimage--helps make sense of an ecclesial way of life that is inherently unitive, a unity that stands in contrast to that of the nation-state or the global market. Teresa''s scriptural journey offers an alternative at once liturgical, political, and economic. This Doctor of the Church provides ""medicine"" that can repair wounds of division that separate brothers and sisters in Christ.""Elizabeth Newman is one of our best spiritual writers and she works at the intersection of theology, spirituality, and Christian behavior. She attends all of these matters in this new book on St. Teresa of Avila, helping us move past the false images of Teresa to reclaim a vision for ecclesial renewal at the heart of her concern.""--Timothy George, Founding Dean, Beeson Divinity School of Samford University""This is a wonderfully informative book about Teresa of Avila, but it is also much more. Newman reflects on Teresa''s central images, dwellings, marriage, and pilgrimage to challenge modern Christians to reconsider their understandings of such things as time, abundance, place, politics, and economics. Such work helps us better inhabit a divided church, to repent of wounding her, and to imagine and pray for her healing. It is hard to conceive of more important theological work.""--Stephen Fowl, Chair of the Department of Theology, Loyola CollegeElizabeth Newman is Professor of Theology and Ethics at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. She is the author of Untamed Hospitality: Welcoming God and Other Strangers (2007).

Against the Tide, Towards the Kingdom is the story of the Urban Vision community in New Zealand. This book recounts the story of a group of young Christian adults who over the last fifteen years have relocated to the colorful ends of their city to share life with those who are struggling, homeless, sick, poor, neglected, or otherwise marginalized. The community has grown over time to seven neighborhoods where on any given day you may find ""Urban Visionites"" growing vegetables amidst the concrete, teaching English to refugees, offering alternative education programs to out of school teenagers, fostering children, doing church with the homeless, offering friendship to the mentally ill, roasting fair trade coffee, running kids clubs, moms groups, tenant meetings or just sharing yet another cup of tea with their neighbors. In fact sharing is a good summary of the whole shape of this exciting movement. They share homes, food, money, vehicles, jobs, prayers, dreams, conversations, fun, tears, pain, hope, healing, transformation . . . they share the whole of life with each other and with their neighbors. They live the gospel, this good news of Jesus.""As you flip through these pages, you feel your soul start to breathe better. It is a call to break free from all that suffocates us and to live with the recklessness and innocence of the lilies and sparrows. Justin and Jenny not only invite you to reject the counterfeit splendor and empty promises but they point you towards new rhythms and holy habits that move the world a little closer to God''s dream for it.""-Shane Claiborneauthor, activist, recovering sinner""Honest and deeply reflective, Jenny and Justin Duckworth have granted us a window on the beauty, the mess, the joy, and the pain of missional community. What they have discovered is that we can live fuller, more gracious lives in community, mission, and contemplation than we can by living in our nuclear family fortresses. This journey against the tide of a consumption-oriented culture will require us to put to death our tiresome and lonely lives of delicious self-absorption, but the promise of discovery and adventure in our voyage to a more sustainable and simplified life of shalom is painted for us with such striking honesty and beauty that we are compelled to set out on the waka. This is not a book, it is an invitation. I urge you not just to read it, but to accept it.""-Scott BesseneckerAssociate Director of MissionsInterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USAJenny and Justin Duckworth were founders of Urban Vision movement.

Left Behind and Loving It is a cheeky critique of popular writings about the end times. Rather than presenting a steroid-buffed Jesus wrapped in an American flag and ""coming again in clouds of gunfire,"" Left Behind and Loving It invites readers to approach some of the most controversial and scary portions of the Scriptures with the utter confidence that ""God''s steadfast love endures forever."" Rather than asserting a hope premised on a few chosen ones escaping the world, Left Behind and Loving It argues that if it is Jesus who is to return (and not his evil twin), then the second coming has redemption written all over it. Many today cannot accept the escapist, violent, end-of-the-world scenario envisioned by ""Left Behind"" theology. Left Behind and Loving It invites readers not to fear but to trust in God''s steadfast love and look at the finitude of the world with hope in an infinitely loving God.""Rapture theology has become a great chuffing beast, feeding on fear, imperial aspirations, and our growing sense of alienation from God''s good creation. Mark Davis aims a few well-chosen arrows at the beast, and lo, the rapture business turns out to be nothing more than a lot of hot air. This book points us toward our home on this earth, where God, whose steadfast love endures forever, dwells with us.""-Stanley P SaundersColumbia Theological Seminary""In this book filled with wit and great wisdom, Mark Davis takes on the Left Behind series and exposes it for what it is: fearmongering nonsense that makes a travesty of the gospel. Davis provides a way of reading the Bible that is historically sensitive and theologically acute. And as he ably demonstrates, a faithful reading of Scripture has its own share of surprises! I highly recommend this book to anyone who is concerned, or confused, about the apocalypse.""-William P. BrownColumbia Theological Seminary""Does the subtitle of D. Mark Davis'' book imply that his analysis is imprudent? Absolutely not. Judiciously, he delineates in lucid prose diverse strategies fostering a faithful, non-literal reading of ''scary'' apocalyptic biblical texts. Ably demonstrating that such multilayered texts are flattened when practitioners of ''Left Behind Theology'' view them through the lens of ''homotextuality,'' Davis engages in a ''heterotextual'' reading susceptible to the extraordinary power of poetic speech. Rather than yielding ominous predictive truth, such image-filled disclosures in Davis'' investigation attest God''s enduring love.""-J. Kenneth KuntzThe University of IowaD. Mark Davis is the pastor of Heartland Presbyterian Church in Clive, Iowa. He is the author of Talking about Evangelism (2007).

At a recent conference entitled Ancient Wisdom--Anglican Futures, theologians from across the denominational spectrum considered the question, ""What does it mean to inhabit the ''Great Tradition'' authentically?"" As an expression of what C. S. Lewis called ""Deep Church,"" Anglicanism offers a test case of Tradition with a capital ""T"" in late modernity. Of particular interest is the highly dynamic transmission that has preserved a recognizable ""Anglican Way"" over the centuries. The process has been enlivened through constant negotiation and exchange with surprising convergences that have brought new life and direction. The contributors to this volume show how ""profitable and commodious"" (as Richard Hooker has said) the Great Tradition can be in nurturing the worship, communal life, and mission of the Church. But it often demonstrates how hard it is to uphold the varied integrities of historic faith in the contemporary marketplace of religion and, especially, among evangelicals who continue to follow the Canterbury Trail.Contributors: Simon Chan, Tony Clark, Dominic Erdozain, Edith Humphrey, D. Stephen Long, George Sumner, and D. H. Williams.""Evangelicals have too long suffered from a willful amnesia. In their passion for the immediacy of God''s voice in the pages of Scripture, they have implicitly stopped their ears to the many and various ways God spoke to our fathers (and mothers). The essays in this volume will help us tune our ears to God''s voice in the church''s history, even as we listen carefully for his voice in our future.""--David Neff ,Editor in Chief & Vice PresidentChristianity Today Media Group ""Recently there has been an exciting ''ancient-future'' resourcement of the larger church. This work explores the contours and nature of that movement, through a veritable cornucopia of essays, from evangelical, to pentecostal and emerging. This intricate mapping announces that the archives of the church are now open to all, whilst at the same time providing a much needed guide to the use of those resources for Christian formation.""--Jason ClarkEmergent U.K. CoordinatorPastor, Putney Vineyard Church, London, UK""Much more than just presenting a call for allegiance to the Great Tradition, this collection of essays actually engages the tough question what such allegiance might look like on the ground. We find here a common recognition that this effort inevitably involves what T. S. Eliot called a ''great labour.'' Happily, this book itself forms an important contribution of this great labour.""--Hans BoersmaJ. I. Packer Professor of TheologyRegent CollegeD. H. Williams is Professor of Religion in Patristics and Historical Theology at Baylor University, Waco, Texas. William''s recent books include Tradition, Scripture and Interpretation (Baker, 2006).Philip Harrold is Associate Professor of Church History, Trinity School for Ministry, Ambridge, Pennsylvania. Harrold''s most recent book is ''A Place Somewhat Apart: The Private Worlds of a Late Nineteenth-Century Public University (Wipf & Stock, 2006).

This book discusses the relationship between theology and the humanities and their shared significance within contemporary universities. Taking up this complex question, twelve scholarly authors analyze the connections between theology and philosophy, history, scholarly literature, sociology, and law. Cumulatively, these essays make a case for the importance of reflecting on what binds the humanities and theology together. By meditating on ultimate, theological questions, this book brings the issue of the meaning and purpose of university education into a new light, exploring its deep significance for academic pursuits today.""As debate about the social role and economic value of universities intensifies in the developed world, this collection is timely. The papers within it are a refreshingly lively reminder that these concerns have a history and that to address them requires serious and intellectually generous engagement with underlying philosophical and theological questions. This is altogether a most appropriate provocation.""-Susan Frank ParsonsEditor, Studies in Christian Ethics""In this collection of high-octane essays, many of the papers seek to dig deeper into the causes and cures of our cultural malaise, of which the crisis in identity afflicting university education is a symptom. The authors also move beyond doing ''theology and culture'' to attempting a ''theology of culture''. There is a concern for dialogue and the observation of otherness. A common thread is that the humanities need theology for a proper account of the creature, and that theology is both wonderfully useful and properly useless (high minded) at the same time.""-Mark W. ElliottUniversity of St Andrews""In universities these days, there is a great deal of talk-much of it dull and overly abstract-about the loss of purpose in the university and especially about the malaise afflicting the humanities. Who would have thought that the introduction of theology into the discussion would be precisely what is needed to move from remote, arid speculation to concrete, inspiring proposals and examples? The learned and lively essays in Theology, University, Humanities: Initium Sapientiae Timor Domini advance the conversation about university education in surprising and welcome ways.""-Thomas HibbsBaylor UniversityChristopher Craig Brittain is Lecturer in Practical Theology at the University of Aberdeen. He is the author of Adorno and Theology (2010) and is writing a book entitled Religion at Ground Zero.Francesca Aran Murphy is Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Notre Dame. Her books include God is Not a Story (2007) and a commentary on I Samuel (2010).

--Has modern science made philosophy obsolete? --Is the soul real? --Do we have a free will? --Why should we be moral? --Does God exist, and if so, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world? --What is the relation between faith and reason? Ric Machuga takes a holistic approach to these questions. No philosophical idea, no matter how small, can live alone. Ideas always gain their force, power, and life from their surroundings--their ""ecosystem."" The ecosystem of ideas defended in this book comes from the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle and his medieval interpreter, Thomas Aquinas. The ongoing relevance of their philosophical thought to twenty-first century issues is opened up in fascinating ways. Life, the Universe, and Everything is the product of thirty years of teaching introductory courses in philosophy. Assuming no prior background, it only requires of readers an enquiring mind and a willingness to think carefully. An ideal guide to the big questions we face.""''Ideas always exist in an ecosystem.'' Patiently unpacking this simple but powerful truth with the skill of a master teacher, Ric Machuga has written a book as wise as it is winsomely modest.""--John WilsonEditor, Books & Culture""This is a clearly written, wonderfully engaging account of Aristotelianism for our contemporary world. It is, in short, a defense of `first philosophy,'' the idea that philosophy and philosophical reflection is the starting point of, and that which illuminates and clarifies, all that we believe that we know in the other disciplines in the university, especially the hard sciences. I applaud Professor Machuga for this outstanding book.""--Francis J. BeckwithProfessor of Philosophy and Church-State StudiesBaylor University""Modestly but engagingly written, and yet ambitious in scope, this ''Aristotelian'' tour of the great loci of philosophy is a tour de force. It is the fruit, not of quickly-written ''research'', but of many years'' teaching of primary, classic texts, and it shows. A careful reading will provide a philosophical education, in the old-fashioned sense of that word. The reader will put the book down both better informed, and wiser.""--Paul HelmRegent College, Vancouver, BCRic Machuga has taught philosophy and in the Honor Program at Butte College for thirty years. He is the author of In Defense of the Soul (2002) and numerous pieces for Books and Culture.

This thesis by Gonzalo Haya-Prats, written in the Catholic interpretive tradition under the supervision of Johannine scholar Ignace de la Potterie at the Gregorian University in Rome, reflects a faith tradition that historically remained open to the miraculous and resisted regulations on activities of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts. Accordingly, Haya-Prats interprets the workings of the Spirit from a perspective of narrative sensitivity. He is deliberately diligent to exercise due care so as not to obscure narrative flow and connectivity, despite any ecclesial or interpretive precedents that might be of influence to the contrary. His exegetical method is to let the original meaning be discerned and discovered according to the author''s intention as closely as possible. With this sound interpretive approach Haya-Prats achieves a remarkable degree of freshness and insightful vision that all readers of Luke-Acts will welcome. Students and scholars alike should find this timely and thoughtful thesis to be a valuable and long-lasting contribution to New Testament studies.This English edition is made more accessible by including translations of all contemporary foreign languages, and editor Paul Elbert offers occasional explanatory notes that engage current scholarship relevant to Haya-Prats''s presentation.""Haya-Prats''s influential work bursts with thought-provoking insights for Lukan exegesis and theology, some now familiar and others unexpected, always with a sensitivity to the larger context of early Christianity. The cooperation of Catholic and Pentecostal scholarship in its current production offers a welcome model of ecumenicity.""--Craig Keener, Palmer Theological Seminary ""I welcome with great joy the English translation of Haya-Prats''s Empowered Believers, a thorough study of Luke''s understanding of the Holy Spirit. The author mines Luke''s rich vocabulary extracting deep meaning. He lets Luke speak for himself and refuses to force Luke-Acts into an artificial academic mold resulting in a profound insight: according to Luke the Church receives an eschatological Holy Spirit.""--James B. Shelton, Oral Roberts University""Written at approximately the same time as James Dunn''s Baptism in the Holy Spirit and independent of it, Haya-Prats''s stimulating book offered dramatically different conclusions concerning Luke''s understanding of the work of the Holy Spirit. Although various aspects of Haya-Prats''s proposal may be questioned, his contention that for Luke the Spirit is directly related to neither conversion nor salvation anticipated important themes discussed by contemporary Lukan scholars. I am delighted that this fine work has now been made available to an English-speaking audience.""--Robert P. Menzies, Director of Synergy, a rural service organization located in Kunming, China. ""English language readers everywhere will welcome this translation into English of Haya-Prats''s study of the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. His aim is to look at the subject from the inside, with Lukan eyes. Other interpreters who share the same aim will not be surprised that Haya-Prats concludes that Luke does not identify the Holy Spirit with the gifts of salvation or sanctification. Rather, he identifies the Holy Spirit with the gift of prophecy. The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship, Paul Elbert (editor), and Scott Ellington (translator) are to be commended for making Empowered Believers readily accessible to a new, English language readership.""--Roger Stronstad, Summit Pacific College""Careful students of the New Testament have long recognized the distinction between the empowering and the sanctifying endowments stressed respectively in the Lukan and Pauline pneumatologies. Haya-Prats is to be commended for his defense of the inextricable nexus between the two, and the Holy Spirit''s sine qua non role in producing and maintaining it. Empowered Believers breathes fresh air into the scholarly debate surrounding Luke''

For those who are called to it, pastoral ministry can be a source of deep joy. But there are also challenges. An increasing number of pastors seem to be burning out under the load. Congregations may not be aware of the many and conflicting demands placed on a pastor''s time and energies, nor the pastor''s need for rest and personal support. That Their Work Will Be a Joy was written to encourage mutual understanding between pastors and congregations about the stresses of ministry. The authors present five principles that will help ministry remain more of a joy than a burden. Every chapter contains practical recommendations targeted specifically for pastors, congregational leaders, and even seminarians preparing for ministry. A dozen personal responses to the book, written as letters from people in ministry, have been collected together at the end.The book is helpful as a ministry preparation text, a guide for those serving as pastors, or as a discussion starter for pastors support groups. It will help church committees smooth a pastoral transition, or calm seminary graduates anticipating their first placement. The hope is that stressed-out pastors will recover their sense of vocation, and congregations will begin to fulfill their calling as the body of Christ.""With biblical wisdom, Spirit-filled sensitivity, and cultural awareness, seasoned pastor-teachers Lee and Fredrickson offer a timely book. Personally acquainted with the joys and dangers of ministry, their practical insights will lead seminarians, pastors, and congregations to discover themselves and each other anew as the called people of God."" --Jaco J. Hamman, Western Theological Seminary""This book masterfully unveils to congregants the joy and challenges for pastors as they work within the church as the body of Christ. If congregants enact even a few of the book''s practical suggestions to support their pastor and church, everyone will be healthier and stronger for it."" --Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, Duke Clergy Health Initiative and Duke Global Health Institute""The work of a pastor is both a joy and a burden, a calling and plain hard work. No one understands this better than the authors of That Their Work Will Be a Joy. They have taught and encouraged many pastors who have succumbed to burnout or stress, and also guided many through the maze of challenges that face all people-healers . . . I strongly recommend it as a must-read for all seminary students as well.""--Archibald D. Hart, Fuller Theological Seminary""A practical guide for living an authentic life in the ministry. Lee and Fredrickson generously share from their own experiences and introduce the major areas of life in ordained ministry. That Their Work Will Be a Joy is a wise companion for ministers and the congregations who love them.""--Jeanie M. Thorndike, Presbytery of Los Ranchos""Anyone who has served as a pastor knows there is joy in serving the Lord in the local church. The authors underscore the joys, but also paint a realistic picture of the challenges: relational demands, conflict, expectations, overwork, burnout, and other critical issues . . . Not only is the book realistic; it is also practical. It provides insights and sound advice about how pastors can exercise self-care, and how congregations can effectively undergird their pastors.""--Reggie Thomas, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary""Out of the tension between the ideal and the actual, the authors have forged five principle-based habits or patterns that, if shared by pastors and their congregations, would create new life and effectiveness in any church. Each chapter''s postscripts--written for pastors, congregants, and seminarians--are alone worth the cost of the book."" --Michael B. Ross, The Pastors Institute""Written in accessible language for congregational leaders, pastors, and seminarians alike, this book is full of tangible content, concepts, and insights that will spark the kind of deeper understanding