The modern age has produced global crises that modernity itself seems incapable of resolving-deregulated capitalism, consumerism, economic inequality, militarization, overworked laborers, environmental destruction, insufficient health care, and many other problems. The future of our world depends on moving beyond the modern age. Bob Goudzwaard and Craig G. Bartholomew have spent decades listening to their students and reflecting on modern thought and society. In Beyond the Modern Age they explore the complexities and challenges of our time. Modernity is not one thing but many, encompassing multiple worldviews that contain both the source of our problems and the potential resources for transcending our present situation. Through an archaeological investigation and critique of four modern worldviews, Goudzwaard and Bartholomew demonstrate the need for new ways of thinking and living that overcome the relentless drive of progress. They find guidance in the work of Ren Girard on desire, Abraham Kuyper on pluralism and poverty, and Philip Rieff on culture and religion. These and other thinkers point the way towards a solution to the crises that confront the world today. Beyond the Modern Age is a work of grand vision and profound insight. Goudzwaard and Bartholomew do not settle for simplistic analysis and easy answers but press for nuanced engagement with the ideologies and worldviews that shape the modern age. The problems we face today require an honest, interdisciplinary, and global dialogue. Beyond the Modern Age invites us to the table and points the way forward.
The church and the contemporary art world often find themselves in an uneasy relationship in which misunderstanding and mistrust abound. Drawn from the 2015 biennial CIVA conference, these reflections from theologians, pastors, and practicing artists imagine the possibility of a renewed and mutually fruitful relationship between contemporary art and the church.
Home is our most fundamental human longing. Jen Pollock Michel connects that desire with the story of the Bible, revealing a homemaking God with wide arms of welcome-and a church commissioned with this same work. Keeping Place offers hope to the wanderer, help to the stranded, and a new vision of what it means to live today longing for our eternal home.
Think of it this way . . . Our beliefs are challenged from many directions. Every day it seems more difficult to explain to our friends, families, and neighbors what we believe and why. When our ideas and arguments fail to persuade them, what then? Is there another approach we can take?Veteran apologists and communicators J. P. Moreland and Tim Muehlhoff say that the best way to win over others is with a good story. Stories have the ability to get behind our preconceptions and defenses. They appeal to the whole person rather than just to the mind. This expanded edition includes new chapters and updated stories and illustrations throughout. In these pages the authors enhance the logic and evidence found in other books defending the faith with things that your friends, relatives, or coworkers will ponder long after a conversation is over. Here is sound, empathetic coaching for those of us who long to communicate our faith more effectively.
2018 Top Ten Books For Parish MinistryEffective ministry begins here.The Self-Aware Leader
The problem of evil has produced many responses and elicited vigorous debate. In this multiview book, five philosophical theologians discuss and defend different solutions to this ancient problem: Phillip Cary on the classic view, William Lane Craig on Molinism, William Hasker on open theism, Thomas Jay Oord on essential kenosis, and Stephen Wykstra on skeptical theism.
An Eternity 1988 Book of the YearThere are millions of opportunities for the gospel. With half of the world's five billion people in cities, there is almost no end to the exciting challenges that await us. Ray Bakke has been there. For over twenty years he and his family have worked with and love the people of today's cities, bringing a message of faith and hope. He knows how the city works and how it can be used to the advantage of the gospel. He knows how people hurt too, and he knows how Christianity can heal and make whole.Now he offers us the basic building blocks we need to live this young, rootless, mobile, media-tuned population. Here is practical, time-tested wisdom on what the church can and is doing in worship, work and witness.Bakke's biblical perspective is enriched by years of study and worldwide travel. He believes the church can and must train people to live with and minister to the hurting rich and the hurting poor of the city. The opportunities are ours for the taking.
How are Christians supposed to have hope and experience wholeness amid personal challenges and failures? Featuring contributions from influential young writers like Emily P. Freeman, Sarah Bessey, Holley Gerth and more, these poignant and powerful reflections help you experience beauty in the brokenness of real life laid bare.
Just like a space shuttle struggles and strains to re-enter the earth's atmosphere, so those returning from living overseas can find themselves confused and in a state of panic at coming home. While people anticipate that going overseas will require major changes in their lifestyles and thinking, few anticipate the difficulties they will face upon return.Intended to aid the re-entry process, this encouraging, and insightful book deals with these important subjects: adapting to the passport culture identifying areas of potential struggle dealing with the emotional challenges finding a new job, a new place to live, learning the social mores returning is not coming home it is leaving home facilitating a smooth transition for those on the receiving end
It can be hard to explain why you believe in God. But images and analogies can provide concrete handles for making the Christian faith more plausible. If someone claims that Christians make a "e;blind leap of faith,"e; you can respond, "e;No, it's not a blind leap. Faith is like skydiving. You check out your parachute beforehand and make sure it's secure. You follow the safety instructions. And then you jump. It's a leap, but it's not a blind leap. It's an informed leap."e; Experienced evangelist and apologist Rick Mattson has collected dozens of easy-to-use images for explaining Christianity. God's amazing design of the world? It's like getting dealt a royal flush over and over again. Why is there evil and suffering in the world? Because it's a broken world, and things are not how they're supposed to be. With practical tips on how to interact with your skeptical friends, this book provides a handy toolkit of memorable and instantly usable images for conversation. Find yourself better equipped to give an answer to anyone who asks you about your faith.
This comprehensive theory and practice of Christian spiritual formation weaves together biblical and theological foundations with interdisciplinary scholarship, real-world examples, personal vignettes, and practical tools to assist readers in becoming whole persons in relationship with God and others.
Puzzled about life?Sometimes the world doesn't make sense. Things seem random and disconnected, and we wonder if there's any purpose to it all, any meaning to our lives. But what if everything could make sense? What if the pieces actually do fit together?Alex McLellan says that figuring out life is like assembling a jigsaw puzzle. You don't have to have every piece in place before you start to see the big picture. You just need enough important pieces to fit together. There are enough clues in the universe and in human experience to discern that there is an underlying order and significance to all things. McLellan explores competing views of truth and belief and examines the nature of doubt. Ultimately Christianity is reasonable because it resonates with how we see and experience the world. Even if we don't have absolute certainty, we have enough to go on to have confidence in the Christian worldview. You don't have to have all the answers. Just start putting the pieces together, and the big picture will emerge.
It's an Either-Or world. We find ourselves caught between competing factions, secular or religious, conservative or liberal. We are pulled between extremes on one side or the other. But the Christian faith holds together seemingly contradictory ideas: Jesus is both human and divine; God is both three and one. There is a paradoxical power in the both-and. Rich Nathan and Insoo Kim show how Christians can live out the fullness of the gospel through the both-and. They affirm that we believe in both proclamation and demonstration of the gospel, justice and mercy, and unity and diversity as one body with many parts. The answer is not to choose one or the other, but to hold both together for a richer, more holistic experience of Christianity. Then we will live into the realities of the kingdom of God, both now and not yet, on earth as it is in heaven. Both-And Christians are both timeless and timely, hewing to the orthodoxy of traditional belief while always contextualizing our witness in a rapidly changing world. Discover how you can deepen your discipleship with the larger vision of the both-and.
Missiologist and church planter JR Woodward offers a blueprint for a church in search of a missional culture. Expanding on the biblical principles giving life to the missional movement worldwide, Woodward calls not for small tweaks to the church?s image but for a recasting of the very environment that shapes us.
Honorable Mention for Classic Christian Spirituality, from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore"e;Three things will last forever-faith, hope, and love-and the greatest of these is love."e;-1 Corinthians 13:13What are the pathways that lead us to God? This is a book about what happens when we find those pathways. You will discover the values and virtues that grow out of our experiences, and practices that encourage us to be with God in specific ways. Spiritual director Helen Cepero writes: "e;I've seen that when I reflect on my own life experiences, when I am alert to God's presence, and alive to Christ's love, I grow as a Christ follower, and as a human being living in God's world. This book is an invitation for you not to follow me, but follow Jesus into the stories of your own life. You too, will need to wake up and be willing to walk . . . through your own life."e;We will follow the journey to God by beginning with three ways of love, then three ways of continuing in faith and lastly, three ways of living in hope. These nine pathways will lead you more deeply into life with Christ.
Can Christians act like Christians even when they disagree? In these wild and diverse times, right and left battle over the airwaves, prolifers square off against prochoicers, gay liberationists confront champions of the traditional family, artists and legislators tangle, even Christians fight other Christians whose doctrines aren't "e;just so."e; Richard Mouw has been actively forging a model of Christian civil conversation with those we might disagree with-atheists, Muslims, gay activists and more. He is concerned that, too often, Christians have contributed more to the problem than to the solution. But he recognizes-from his dialogues with those from many perspectives-that it's not easy to hold to Christian convictions and treat sometimes vindictive opponents with civility and decency. Few if any people in the evangelical world have conversed as widely and sensitively as Mouw. So few can write more wisely or helpfully than Mouw does here about what Christians can appreciate about pluralism, the theological basis for civility, and how we can communicate with people who disagree with us on the issues that matter most.
Richard Lamb blends scriptural insights, stories of recent graduates and his own life experience to offer sound advice and practical encouragement for spiritual growth during the postcollege years.
How can we discover God's will for the complicated decisions of time, money, relationships, education and career? How do we know which is best among a variety of "good" options? In this updated and substantially expanded edition, M. Blaine Smith shows how God unfolds his plan for our lives-through the Bible, prayer, reason, abilities, circumstances, desire and the counsel of others.
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