Liturgy is not a religious frill or Sunday morning ceremonial exercise. It is a communal response to the sacred. The liturgies, ceremonies, and rituals in our lives are the stuff of reality and have the power to heal and inspire us. From archaic times they have had this capacity, as they have always been our interaction with God and the gods. This book is filled with essays and stories, ancient and modern. Some of its liturgies are tried and ...
Confronting Religious Denial of Science: Christian Humanism and the Moral Imagination traces the cultural backstory of contemporary conflicts between biblical literalists who oppose evolution and «New Atheists» who insist that religion is so pernicious it should be outlawed, if not exterminated. That's a clash of fundamentalisms. It's a zero-sum game derived from high Victorian misunderstanding of both religion and science. The God who ...
This work explores a perennial question that Christians who are called to teach must consider: So what makes our teaching Christian? It considers the essential and distinctive elements of Christian teaching by examining the apostles' teaching ministry in the Book of Acts and aspects of Jesus's own teaching in the Gospel of John. It proposes how teaching in the name, spirit, and power of Jesus relates to the teaching ministries of Chris ...
The conclusion of Luke-Acts is regarded as one of the most important chapters of Luke's two-volume work. Several significant Lukan themes are found in Acts 28, all of which make some contribution to the purpose and aim of the author in writing Luke-Acts: the Gentile mission, the triumph of God's Word, and the relationship of Christianity with Judaism and Rome. Acts 28 contains many historical problems that have been debated for centuri ...
As the church continues to advance through the generations, The Great Commission is falling into great disarray. Discipleship has almost become obsolete. Leadership is dwindling, and most churches are trying to repair this lack of leadership in the wrong way. This book is a call for us to return to the basics of what Jesus was commanding His disciples to do through The Great Commission. It does not just explain the importance of the com ...
The sixteenth century in Europe was a tumultuous time. It was the time of plagues, a time of wars, and a time of reformation. The Protestant Reformation was a decisive moment. We hear a great deal about men who shaped that time, such as Martin Luther, John Calvin, Ulrich Zwingli, Thomas Butzer, and innumerable others. But who were the women who stood behind those men? One of them was Wibrandis Rosenblatt. Hers is a remarkable story. She marri ...
At present, every nation embraces a blend of two major economic philosophies: socialism and capitalism. Does either system of economic belief, however, meet our needs? Faced with uncertain global economic conditions and problems with capitalism and free markets, we seek solutions in socialism and government control. Faced with declining individual freedom and problems with socialism and government control, we seek solutions in capitalism and fre ...
For many congregations, change creates discomfort. Pastoral leaders are often expected to be experts who manage and control realities beyond their expertise, experience, and ability. That expectation, a product of modern approaches to leadership, views the pastor as responsible for maintaining the status quo. Transforming Pastoral Leadership responds to this context by challenging readers to rediscover key biblical themes around the shepherding ...