Böcker utgivna av Chalice Press

"Here is a volume that is sure to be welcomed by anyone who teaches topics related to postmodernism. But it will be especially appreciated by teachers of religious education and practical theology because Friedrich Schweitzer does more than discuss various interpretations of postmodernism and its critiques. He paints a picture of the postmodern life cycle, which he claims is itself a theological issue. The brilliance of his treatment is further enhanced by the European and North American perspectives he engages in his critique of religious imagery, religious education, and pastoral theology within the context of present day pluriformity. Particularly unique is the author's attempt to make his work available to a broad audience. This book is public theology in its best sense."

A memoir of John O. Humbert, who served as Deputy General Minister and President of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) from 1977 to 1985. In August 1985 at the Disciples' Des Moines General Assembly the Reverend Dr. Humbert was elected General Minister and President, the chief executive of the 1.2 million member denomination. Before serving as Deputy for eight years, Dr. Humbert was pastor of congregations for twenty-eight years in Ohio and Maryland.He is the fourteenth ordained Disciples minister in his family's line of ministers dating back six generations to his great-greatgreat-grandfather, James Foster, a colleague of the Disciples founders, Thomas and Alexander Campbell. Foster was the first in the family line of ordained ministers leading to Humbert. Mrs. James Foster, Martha, along with her parents Thomas and Lucy Hodgens, and family, were members of Thomas Campbell'sPresbyterian congregation in Ahorey, Ireland, before the three families' immigrated to Washington Township in western Pennsylvania.

What if we could actually change the world by telling better stories? What if the world we have-with its racism, sexism, heterosexism, ableism, religious hatred, ecological disregard-is exactly the world we have spun into existence through the stories we have told? In his new book, Melvin Bray insists that a better world is possible if the stories around which we organize our lives begin to match the beauty we imagine is possible. Bray puts forth his own daring yet faithful reimaginings of classic faith stories that inspire more beautiful, more just, more virtue-filled ways of being in the world.Better offers a spiritual path on which people-for whom life has called into question many of their assumptions about God and the world-can continue to hold onto their faith, while joining others of goodwill in seeking sustainable, cooperative, and courageous answers to the seemingly intractable problems of our time.

A new and expanded version of Seamless Faith, now with more than a dozen new spiritual practices and additional resources for parents, kids, grandparents, and communities that care about families! Add family faith moments to your daily routine with little or no prep, and share meaningful spiritual experiences with your children! Traci Smith, a pastor and mother of three, offers ways to discover and develop new spiritual practices as a family, whether you're a new seeker or a lifelong follower. Faithful Families is brimming with easy, do-it-yourself ideas for transforming your family's everyday moments into sacred moments! Faithful Families helps you: connect faith to your family's everyday life; add family faith moments into your daily routine; learn new spiritual practices alongside your children; teach your children to appreciate religious diversity with time-tested non-Christian and Christian spiritual practices; respond to life's everyday challenges and opportunities with meaningful practicesFaithful Families is the perfect gift for Parents, Grandparents, Aunts and Uncles; Baptisms; Baby Showers; New Families; Christian educators and those they serve; Preschool Classes; and GodparentsFaithful Families is part of The Young Clergy Women Project

When infertility painfully interrupted Elizabeth Hagan's plan to start a family, the path of grace offered her another way. Instead of giving birth to a child, she birthed herself instead. Along the way, she learned you can't control how fast your dreams come true, if they come true at all, but you can find grace for embracing your life in the present tense, grief and all.Through her new book Birthed, Elizabeth Hagan offers her story as a companion and guide for living through your own pain and loss. For the one in eight couples who face infertility, you will know you are not alone and a long season of grief does not have to destroy your marriage or your friendships with childbearing friends. For those friends and family members of infertile couples, there are no "e;one size fits all"e; answers to a fertility journey-medically, emotionally, or spiritually-and the worst thing you can say is nothing at all. Adoption is never the complete solution to infertility, and through it all, pain can never be fixed, only lived through. So allow grace to help you begin to live today in the present moment.

In the spring of 2013, seventeen people gathered at the North Carolina state legislature to protest extreme legislation passed by the General Assembly attacking health insurance, unemployment insurance, labor, and voting rights. The ministers, labor, and human rights activists began praying, singing, and chanting, and were ultimately arrested. That group grew into crowds of thousands at successive "e;Moral Mondays"e; rallies, and by summer's end nearly 1,000 people had been arrested, making this sustained moral protest one of the largest acts of civil disobedience in U.S. history. The effort grew out of seven years of organizing with more than 160 groups. Rallies continued in 2014, with a "e;Moral March"e; of 80,000 people in February. Rev. Dr. William Barber II, a pastor and president of the North Carolina Conference of the NAACP, now the largest in the South, became one of the architects of the Forward Together Moral Movement. In a new book, Forward Together, Rev. Barber tells the story of a new fusion civil rights movement, a "e;big tent,"e; in which black and white, gay and straight, rich and poor, old and young, Republicans and Democrats are all welcome. Rev. Barber's sermons/speeches at the protests, many of them collected in Forward Together, became the inspiration and rallying cry for a new civil rights movement. North Carolina today is at the epicenter of the political and spiritual crisis affecting 21st-century America. What happens here, says Barber, can shift the center of gravity in the American political discourse. Similar movements are now growing in states around the country. Forward Together captures the essence of what it means to preach in the public square.

This book develops a theology of childhood both from a theoretical basis in biblical theology (especially the gospel of Mark) and practical experience in children and youth ministry. Mercer builds on classical theologians such as Augustine, Calvin, Barth, and Rahner as well as modern feminist theologians such as Brock and Russell. She gains insights from pastoral theologians such as Capps and Couture and from contemporary cultural criticism. Mercer challenges approaches to educational and liturgical practices with children in congregations that segregate children from the rest of the church and its key practices of service, mission, worship, care, and learning. She reframes ministries with children as processes through which the church as a "e;community of practice"e; forms children into an alternative identity that resists surrounding consumerist culture and walks in the ways of Jesus. This book offers strategies for educational practices with children in congregations as it seeks to address the question, "e;What might educational practices that welcome children and contribute to their flourishing look like in the context of a faith community where children's learning happens in collaboration with experienced practitioners of faith?"e; Outlining a feminist practical theology of childhood, it explores five basic theological claims: (1) children as gifts and parenting as a religious practice of stewardship; (2) welcoming those who welcome and care for children; (3) children as already fully human; (4) children as part of the purposes of God; and (5) acknowledging and transforming the sufferings of children.

This interdisciplinary conversation combines educational theory with Bible scholarship to help teachers of the Bible move beyond conveying information to revealing the transformative power of the scripture.

Boundaries are healthy and necessary parts of life and ministry. Staying in Bounds provides straight-talk guidance to ministers and other leaders of churches and faith-based organizations on the what, why, and how of relational boundaries. Provides guidance on identifying, implementing, and enforcing healthy boundaries, with a special focus on ministry settings. The author develops the concept of boundaries from psychological and theological perspectives, discusses the benefits of boundaries, and then explains the importance of healthy boundaries in the church.

The biblical story of Dinah has often been overlooked, until Anita Diamant's The Red Tent (St. Martin's Press, 1997), that is. With equal skill and passion, Sandra Hack Polaski unravels the biblical story of Leah, Rachel, Zil'pah, Bil'hah, and Leah's daughter Dinah, probing aspects of The Red Tent that give us insight into the text and into the lives of women in the ancient Near East. She gives us a glimpse "e;inside the red tent"e; at the families, relationships, encounters, goddesses, and God that defined their lives and that define ours.

This book was written to help congregational leaders, clergy, staff, and laypersons, plan and organize a Christian education ministry from the approach of Christian formation in a community of faith context. This book provides a model for organizing the Christian education leadership committee or team of the church, demonstrates how to use the church year as a framework for planning the Christian education ministry of the church, and gives a model for assessing the effectiveness of the educational ministry of the church and a process to help congregations move toward the Christian Education Formation approach.

Reclaim the Psalms for true worship, as well as prayer, as you learn how to approach God with the emotional intensity of the ancient psalmists. Denise Dombkowski Hopkins combines the insights of scholarship on the Psalms with artwork, liturgy, song, and poetry, to give us a new way to use the Psalms in our life of faith together, to empower our corporate identity and revitalize our worship. She examines how the Psalms formed the worship of ancient synagogues and the earliest churches and how they can do the same for our churches today. Reflective questions bring worship leaders and individuals alike to a new awareness of the power of the Psalms to enrich public worship and private devotions with an honesty that does not turn away from the realities of suffering and anger.

The shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, reignited a long-smoldering movement for justice, with many St. Louis-area clergy stepping up to support the emerging young leaders of today's Civil Rights Movement. Seminary professor Leah Gunning Francis was among the activists, and her interviews with more than two dozen faith leaders and with the new movement's organizers take us behind the scenes of the continuing protests. Ferguson and Faith demonstrates that being called to lead a faithful life can take us to places we never expected to go, with people who never expected us to join hands with them.Ferguson and Faith is the first book from the partnership of the Forum for Theological Exploration (FTE) and Chalice Press.

God is love. Consequently, shouldn't love exist at the center of Christian theology? When love is at the center, theology is understood differently than it has typically been understood. Some theologians have placed faith at the center, others God's sovereignty, still others-the Church, but Dr. Oord places the emphasis on love. God's love for us, revealed in Christ, in the Church, and in creation, and our love for God and others as ourselves-must be afforded its rightful place. Beginning with the foundation of "e;love"e; is what differentiates the Christian faith from others...a loving God. Dr. Oord defines love as: "e;To love is to act intentionally, in sympathetic/empathetic response to God and others, to promote overall well-being."e; Is this not what has defined Christians throughout history?

Coming home from military service is a process of reconnection and reintegration that is best engaged within a compassionate community. There are almost 20 million veterans and service members living in the United States, including more than one million Americans deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since 2001. Post-war life can be challenging unless there are communities responding with compassion and hospitality. How churches welcome and respond will be critical to the well-being of our nation's veterans, their families, our local communities, and our nation. Zachary Moon, a commissioned military chaplain, has seen the unique challenges for those adjusting to post-war life. In this book, he prepares congregations to mobilize a receptive and restorative ministry with military service members and their families. Designed to be accessible to both clergy and laypersons, this is an ideal resource for individuals or small groups interested in addressing the opportunities and challenges facing veterans and their families. Discussion questions and other resources included will help support small-group dialogue and community building.

The apostle Paul often gets a bad rap with progressive Christians, primarily due to his reputation as being anti-woman, anti-Jew, anti-sex, pro-slavery, and a guilt-mongerer. But what if Paul isn't really Progressive Christianity's Enemy #1, but rather a strong biblical ally for justice and inclusion?

When the unexpected comes and words escape you, 99 Prayers Your Church Needs (But Doesn't Know It Yet) provides the prayer your congregation or pastor needs. From comfort for a family dealing with addiction, to a celebration of the new pastor, these 99 prayers will help you respond to unexpected events of your congregation's life.

The author discusses how to preach about racism thoughtfully and sensitively to predominantly white congregations.

As nationalism, patriarchy, and alt-right fear-mongering threaten our troubled nation, the pulpit has again become a subversive space of sacred resistance. In this provocative and powerful collection of sermons from diverse pastors across America, hear the brave and urgent voice of Christians calling for radical change rooted in love, solidarity, and justice. Preaching as Resistance resists, confronts, and troubles the dangerous structures of authoritarianism and oppression crashing in from all sides – and proclaims the transformation, possibility, and hope stirring in the gospel of Christ. From big-steeple churches in big cities to rural congregations in red states, preaching as resistance is practiced in a wide variety of social contexts and preaching styles, inspiring and equipping listeners to respond to the call of justice. Ideal for pastors and church leaders, Preaching as Resistance also provides the opportunity to experience hopeful, welcoming Christian voices rooted in the gospel values of love, solidarity, and justice. In these challenging times when Christianity is so often misrepresented, misunderstood, and misused for unjust agendas, take heart and find your own voice in this collection of resistance sermons from everyday pastors across the country. 

Every year millions of people engage in suicidal activity. Yet the Church remains largely silent about mental health, depression, and suicide. Pastor Rachael Keefe shares her own story of depression and suicidality, and provides resources, scriptures, and prayers for clergy, suicide loss survivors, and those struggling with suicidality.

Reanimate your congregation by Drawing on Holy Currencies--an altogether awesome (and fun!) way to explore your gifts and purpose in the world! This interactive graphic workbook is filled with drawings, doodles, questions, invitations, songs, meditations, and more spirited exercises to explore the amazing ways you give and receive in life.

What can one person do to change the world? Be inspired by real stories of ordinary people who changed their neighborhoods. Transforming Communities will give you the vision, the tools, and the encouragement to start your own transformations.

Barbara Mosley de Souza shares the stories of the women she taught and worked with during her 40 years of service in Brazil,  14 as a social worker for the local Catholic church, 8 with the American Friends Service Committee (Quakers), and 18 with Global Ministries. She provided health education to empower women in the favelas (shantytowns) of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. With her students, she designed and published the curriculum for a Community Health Educators Training Course and proved that knowledge builds self-esteem, thus empowering her students to become multipliers, encouraging more women to change their own lives and the lives of others. 

Now more than ever, it's time to preach. The election of Donald Trump left countless faith leaders across the country speechless. Now that he is president, silence must give way to prophetic preaching.

What happens when a people can take no more injustice rained down upon their sons and daughters? When each new travesty echoes the cries of ancestors killed for the color of their skin? How do a people rediscover hope? And how do they use that new-found hope as momentum and strength for change? In his powerful new book Stakes Is High, pastor, activist, and community leader Michael W. Waters blends hip-hop lyricism and social justice leadership, creating an urgent voice demanding that America listen to the suffering if it hopes to redeem its soul. Weaving stories from centuries of persecution against the backdrop of today's urban prophets on the radio and in the streets, Waters speaks on behalf of an awakened generation raging against racism - yet fueled by the promise of a just future. Through the pain and hard but holy work, you will hear the call to join the faithful struggle for racial justice.