Have you made a New Year's resolution to get married out of nowhere? Did it work? When the author turned thirty, she put getting married on her New Year's resolution list, not because she wanted to get married or had a boyfriend but because of social pressure in which she lived. Social pressure made her think that if she wanted to ever get married, it was better to do so sooner than later. For three consecutive years, she prayed about ...
In the English-speaking Western world alone, thousands of men and women begin formal training for Christian ministry each year, or informally, seek to equip themselves for pastoral ministry. Over the past fifty years, the ancient world of virtue ethics has been reimagined as a means of forming people of character and morality today, and in this book, it is used as the framework to understand what we are doing as we form Christian ministers now, ...
When people felt obligated to attend worship, as in 1955, it didn't matter whether or not their religious needs were being met. But since our culture has shifted to giving people a choice, they are seeking something meaningful during worship; something which helps them to change their lives. In the church, we talk a lot about «changing people's lives» but we do not articulate what it is that the church has to offer to those seeking to ...
Evangelicalism is reaching an inflection point. The exodus of millennials from Evangelical churches and the growth of those self-identifying as «Nones,» as in «None of the Above,» for their church affiliation, is concerning for the movement's future. Evangelical leaders offer mixed responses to this challenge–from circling the wagons to an enthusiastic «Everything must change!» posture. Theosis takes a different approach. Seeking t ...
There is a difference between that which is and that which is to be. Anthropologically: there is a way I am, and the way I am to be, or not to be. How are we to explain this? This book presents the argument that human nature is both complex and complicated in at least two specific ways–ontologically and ethically. In our being we are indisputably good, dignified, worthy, important, or even noble. But in our morality we are ambivalent–capable of ...
Malchus, historically the first Roman to convert to Christianity, and the last to receive physical healing from Christ before his crucifixion, is born again in the 21st century. What will follow from this «re-birth,» in a time where there is no absolute right or wrong, no morality or immorality? What ensues as true crime in a world full of police sirens? Malchus is explored through the first-person style of traditional confessional writing. The ...
Understanding Our Story presents a concise introduction to the original, transformative thinking of Adrian van Kaam, CSSp, PhD (1920-2007). While many books are available on «spiritual formation» and «Christian disciplines,» no other author of our time has offered such a holistic and comprehensive explanation of Christian formation and its relationship to the human spirituality of all persons. Understanding our Story culls the most seminal idea ...
In The Oxbridge Evangelist: Motivations, Practices, and Legacy of C. S. Lewis, Michael Gehring examines the evangelistic practices of one of the most significant lay evangelists of the twentieth century. In the early 1930s not many who knew Lewis would have guessed that he would become such a significant evangelist. He has left an evangelistic legacy that has influenced millions across the world. Yet Lewis scholarship has not given sufficient at ...
Have you ever wondered where Jesus might worship if he came to earth for a visit? Would he choose a magnificent cathedral, or would he join a rag-tag group sitting under a tree? Is there a «right» way or a «wrong» way to worship? Is worship an individual act, or can it only occur in unison with other like-minded people? Where Egos Dare presents a series of Scriptures and poems that highlight the First Century concept of worship. Whatever your ...
