While spiritual formation focuses on the inner life of the Christian, the missional church discussion focuses on one's life in the world. Nathan A. Finn and Keith S. Whitfield bring together leading evangelical voices to cast a new vision for a missional spirituality that fosters spiritual maturity while also fueling Christian evangelism, cultural engagement, and the pursuit of justice.
Steve Wilkens edits a conversation between four major approaches to contemporary ethics in the Christian tradition: virtue, divine command, natural law, and prophetic. This accessible introduction includes contributions by Brad Kallenberg, John Hare, Claire Peterson, and Peter Heltzel.
The task of bearing faithful witness to Jesus in our post-Christian society is complicated. What should our interactions with the dominant cultural ethos look like? How might we be both persuasive and civil? Integrating communications and theology, this model for cultural engagement offers a compelling vision of public engagement that is both shrewd and gracious.
The priesthood of all believers is a core Protestant belief. But what does it actually mean?Uche Anizor and Hank Voss set the record straight in this concise treatment of a doctrine that lies at the center of church life and Christian spirituality. The authors look at the priesthood of all believers in terms of the biblical witness, the contribution of Martin Luther and the doctrine of the Trinity. They place this concept in the context of the canonical description of Israel and the church as a royal priesthood that responds to God in witness and service to the world. Representing Christ is much more than a piece of Reformation history. It shows that the priesthood of all believers is interwoven with the practical, spiritual and missional life of the church.
The second century was a religious and cultural crucible for early Christian Christology. Was Christ a man, temporarily inhabited by the divine? Was he a spirit, only apparently cloaked in flesh? Or was he the Logos, truly incarnate? Between varieties of adoptionism on the one hand and brands of Gnosticism on the other, the church's understanding took shape. In this clear and concise introduction, James Papandrea sets out five of the principal images of Christ that dominated belief and debate in the postapostolic age. While beliefs on the ground were likely more tangled and less defined than we can know, Papandrea helps us see how Logos Christology was forged as the beginning of the church's orthodox confession. This informative and clarifying study of early Christology provides a solid ground for students to begin to explore the early church and its Christologies.
In Delivered from the Elements of the World Peter Leithart reframes Anselm's question, "e;Why the God Man?"e; Instead he asks, "e;How can the death and resurrection of a Jewish rabbi of the first century . . . be the decisive event in the history of humanity, the hinge and crux and crossroads for everything?"e; With the question reframed for the wide screen, Leithart pursues the cultural and public settings and consequences of the cross and resurrection. He writes, "e;I hope to show that atonement theology must be social theory if it is going to have any coherence, relevance or comprehensibility at all."e;There are no small thoughts or cramped plot lines in this vision of the deep-down things of cross and culture. While much is recognizable as biblical theology projected along Pauline vectors, Leithart marshals a stunning array of discourse to crack open one of the big questions of Christian theology. This is a book on the atonement that eludes conventional categories, prods our theological imaginations and is sure to spark conversation and debate.
Why did the Wesleyan Methodists and the Anglican evangelicals divide during the middle of the eighteenth century? Many would argue that the division between them was based narrowly on theological matters, especially predestination and perfection. Ryan Danker suggests, however, that politics was a major factor throughout, driving the Wesleyan Methodists and Anglican evangelicals apart. Methodism was perceived to be linked with the radical and seditious politics of the Cromwellian period. This was a charged claim in a post-Restoration England. Likewise Danker explores the political force of resurgent Tory influence under George III, which exerted more pressure on evangelicals to prove their loyalty to the Establishment. These political realities made it hard for evangelicals in the Church of England to cooperate with Wesley and meant that all their theological debates were politically inflected. Rich in detail, here is a book for all who seek deeper insight into a critical juncture in the development of evangelicalism and early Methodism.
Humans are created in the image of God, yet by choosing to rebel against God we become unfaithful bearers of his image. But Jesus, who is the image of God, restores the divine image in us. At the intersection of theology and culture, these essays offer a unified vision of what it means to be truly human and created in the divine image in the world today.
What constitutes the unity of the church over time and across cultures? Can our account of the church's apostolic faith embrace the cultural diversity of world Christianity?The ecumenical movement that began in the twentieth century posed the problem of the church's apostolicity in profound new ways. In the attempt to find unity in the midst of the Protestant-Catholic schism, participants in this movement defined the church as a distinct culture-complete with its own structures, rituals, architecture and music. Apostolicity became a matter of cultivating the church's own (Western) culture. At the same time it became disconnected from mission, and more importantly, from the diverse reality of world Christianity. In this pioneering study, John Flett assesses the state of the conversation about the apostolic nature of the church. He contends that the pursuit of ecumenical unity has come at the expense of dealing responsibly with crosscultural difference. By looking out to the church beyond the West and back to the New Testament, Flett presents a bold account of an apostolicity that embraces plurality.
Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) had a mission. The church had become weak, flabby and inconsequential. Being a Christian was more a cultural heritage than a spiritual reality. His mission-reintroduce the Christian faith to Christians. How could he break through to people who were members of the church and thought they were Christians already? Like an Old Testament prophet, Kiergegaard used a variety of pointed and dramatic ways to shake people from their slumber. He incisively diagnosed the spiritual ailments of his age and offered a fresh take on classic Christian teaching. Mark Tietjen thinks that Kierkegaard's critique of his contemporaries strikes close to home today. We also need to listen to one of the most insightful yet complex Christian thinkers of any era. Through an examination of core Christian doctrines-the person of Jesus Christ, human nature, Christian witness and love-Tietjen helps us hear Kierkegaard's missionary message to a church that often fails to follow Christ with purity of heart.
This latest volume in the Reformation Commentary on Scripture (RCS) series offers biblical commentary from numerous Reformation-era theologians, pastors, and preachers from a variety of theological traditions-Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Radical, and Roman Catholic-on six Old Testament books: 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, and 1-2 Chronicles.
ECPA Gold Medallion Award winnerIn this first volume of a three-volume Old Testament theology, John Goldingay focuses on narrative. Examining the biblical order of God's creation of and interactions with the world and Israel, he tells the story of Israel's gospel as a series of divine acts:God BeganGod Started OverGod PromisedGod DeliveredGod SealedGod GaveGod AccommodatedGod WrestledGod PreservedGod SentGod ExaltedThis is an Old Testament theology like no other. Whether applying magnifying or wide-angle lenses, Goldingay is closely attentive to the First Testament's narrative, plot, motifs, tensions and subtleties. Brimming with insight and energy, and postmodern in its ethos, this book will repeatedly reward readers with fresh and challenging perspectives on God and God's ways with Israel and the world-as well as Israel's ways with God.Old Testament TheologyVolume two focuses on Israel's faith, or Old Testament theology as belief. It explores the person and nature of God, the nature of the world and humanity, the character of sin and the significance of Israel. Volume three's focus is Israel's life, or Old Testament theology as ethos, exploring its worship, spirituality, ideals and vision for living.
Spiritual mentoring is a particular kind of friendship in which, according to Keith R. Anderson, "e;two or more people walk together in heightened awareness of the presence of yet Another"e;-the Holy Spirit. "e;Spiritual mentoring is not a complicated process that requires technical training and complex protocol,"e; Anderson continues. "e;It is essential, authentic, and maybe even natural human speech that is focused, disciplined and nurtured by training for one of the hardest natural things we do: listening reflectively to another. It is sacred companionship as life is lived and story told. Available to almost all, it requires deliberate recruitment, preparation and practice."e;These pages unfold a vision for mentoring that invites us to read our own lives as narrative and to learn how to enter the narrative of another life. The book covers the scope of the mentoring relationship through various seasons, offering helpful and inspiring metaphors for mentoring. All are invited to enter the mentoring story.
Does God want to write your love story? Maybe not! Margaret and Dwight Peterson help us sort out the difference between how our surrounding culture often depicts marriage and how Christians really should approach this particular gift of God to all humanity.
McDonald draws on her own experiences to offer guidance for other women on building a life as a healthy, happy single.
In this volume of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture, Philip Krey and Peter Krey offer a diversity of Reformation-era biblical commentary on Romans 9-16. Drawing upon Lutheran, Reformed, Anglican, Radical, and Roman Catholic resources, they reveal the breadth and depth of early modern biblical exegesis for the renewal of the church today.
Readers' Choice Award WinnerOutreach Magazine's Resources of the YearIt's increasingly clear that leadership should be shared-for the good of any organization and for the good of the leader. Many churches have begun to share key leadership duties, but don't know how to take their leadership team to the point where it thrives. Others seriously need a new approach to leadership: pastors are tired, congregations are stuck, and meanwhile the work never lets up. But what does it actually mean to do leadership well as a team? How can it be done in a way that avoids frustration and burnout? How does team leadership best equip the staff and bless a congregation? What do the top church teams do to actually thrive together?Researchers and practitioners Ryan Hartwig and Warren Bird have discovered churches of various sizes and traditions throughout the United States who have learned to thrive under healthy team leadership. Using actual church examples, they present their discoveries here, culminating in five disciplines that, if implemented, can enable your team to thrive. The result? A coaching tool for senior leadership teams that enables struggling teams to thrive, and resources teams doing well to do their work even better.
"e;I have seen and I testify . . ."e; (John 1:34)The idea of giving one's testimony often evokes summer church camps, evangelistic revivals, mission trips and baptisms. Like an eyewitness called to testify in a courtroom, sharing a testimony of faith is for specific people at special moments. But what if our view of testimony is all wrong? According to Amanda Drury, testimony is not merely about describing something that happened in the past. It is a practice that forms our present and future identity. Testimony changes us, and without it we risk having a stunted and stale faith. Drawing on work in sociology, psychology and theology, Drury develops an understanding of testimony as an essential practice for Christian spiritual formation, especially for adolescents who are in the process of developing their identity. Recent studies reveal a staggering inability for adolescents to articulate their religious beliefs. Now more than ever, churches need to recover the practice of testimony as an integral part of communal worship.
Everyone believes something. But how and why do people believe? What counts as evidence? How much can be assumed or believed by faith alone? When it comes to religious faith, the questions become at once more difficult and more important. Over the centuries, Christians have offered different approaches to explaining or defending the Christian faith, a discipline known as apologetics. But it has not always been clear how different apologetic methods work, or what each approach has to offer. In this comprehensive survey, Brian Morley provides an overview of Christian apologetic approaches and how they differ. He explores the historical and philosophical underpinnings of key figures and major schools of thought, from the presuppositionalism of Cornelius Van Til to the evidentialism of Gary Habermas. Moving beyond theory, Morley also covers apologetic application, demonstrating how each view works out in practical terms. This guide covers the complexities of apologetics in a way that is accessible to the nonspecialist. Even-handed and respectful of each apologist and their contribution, this book provides the reader with a formidable array of defenses for the faith.
What does salvation in the New Testament look like? "The New Testament does not develop a systematic doctrine of salvation," writes Brenda Colijn. "Instead, it presents us with a variety of pictures taken from different perspectives. From one angle, the human predicament is rebellion against God. Salvation looks like living under God's universal reign. From another angle, the human predicament is bondage to both internal and external forces. Salvation looks like freedom from those forces. From yet a third angle, the human predicament looks like alienation from God, from other people, from creation and even from one's own best self. Salvation looks like the restoration of those relationships." Colijn, who holds degrees in English literature as well as theology, embraces a critical-realist methodology that incorporates New Testament theology, literary criticism and theological interpretation. She advocates listening to the individual authors of Scripture in their own social-cultural and historical settings, while looking for how the texts work both individually and collectively at a literary level. Students of the New Testament and of theology will both find their vision broadened and their understanding deepened by this rich, informative study. As the author seeks to understand their implications for people of faith, she uncovers how New Testament images provide the building blocks of the master story of redemption.
Digital technology has become a ubiquitous feature of modern life. Our increasingly fast-paced world seems more and more remote from the world narrated in Scripture. But despite its pervasiveness, there remains a dearth of theological reflection about computer technology and what it means to live as a faithful Christian in a digitally-saturated society. In this thoughtful and timely book, Derek Schuurman provides a brief theology of technology, rooted in the Reformed tradition and oriented around the grand themes of creation, fall, redemption and new creation. He combines a concise, accessible style with penetrating cultural and theological analysis. Building on the work of Jacques Ellul, Marshall McLuhan and Neil Postman, and drawing from a wide range of Reformed thinkers, Schuurman situates computer technology within the big picture of the biblical story. Technology is not neutral, but neither is there an exclusively "e;Christian"e; form of technological production and use. Instead, Schuurman guides us to see the digital world as part of God?s good creation, fallen yet redeemable according to the law of God. Responsibly used, technology can become an integral part of God?s shalom for the earth.
Readers' Choice Awards Honorable MentionOne of Nijay Gupta's Best Academic New Testament BooksWho is your Jesus? Matthew's teacher? John's Word made flesh? Hebrews' great high priest? What if it turned out that your Jesus is a composite of your favorite selections from the New Testament buffet, garnished with some Hollywood and Americana?Rediscovering JesusAll along the way our tour guides describe and interpret, but also raise questions: How is this Jesus different from other portraits? If this were our only portrait of Jesus, what would our faith be like?Rediscovering JesusRediscovering Paul,
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