Minding the Good Ground

Minding the Good Ground PDF Author: Professor of Theology Jason E Vickers
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781481314923
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
Declining memberships. Pastoral scandals. A fear of secularism and the New Atheism. Christians are worried about the church's future. Despite such despair, Jason Vickers believes the church also sits upon the cusp of renewal. Some emerging voices promise to lead the church out of decay but focus only upon its structure, while others encourage the Spirit's work to the exclusion of all else. Minding the Good Ground organizes the multitude of voices and proposes a new way forward--rooting these renewal movements in a robust historical theology. Moving beyond quick-fix solutions, this new theological vision grounds renewal in the good and life-giving work of the Holy Spirit.

Minding the Good Ground

Minding the Good Ground PDF Author: Professor of Theology Jason E Vickers
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781481314923
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 151

Get Book

Book Description
Declining memberships. Pastoral scandals. A fear of secularism and the New Atheism. Christians are worried about the church's future. Despite such despair, Jason Vickers believes the church also sits upon the cusp of renewal. Some emerging voices promise to lead the church out of decay but focus only upon its structure, while others encourage the Spirit's work to the exclusion of all else. Minding the Good Ground organizes the multitude of voices and proposes a new way forward--rooting these renewal movements in a robust historical theology. Moving beyond quick-fix solutions, this new theological vision grounds renewal in the good and life-giving work of the Holy Spirit.

Replacing Guilt

Replacing Guilt PDF Author: Nate Soares
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 214

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Book Description
The goal is to address the guilt that comes from a feeling of listlessness, the vague feeling of guilt that one might get when they play video games all day, or when they turn desperately towards drugs or parties, in attempts to silence the part of themselves that whispers that there must be something else to life.This sort of guilt cannot be removed by force of will, in most people. The trick to removing this sort of guilt, I think, is to start exploring that feeling that there must be something else to life, that there must be something more to do---and either find something worth working towards, or find that there really isn't actually anything missing. This first sort of listless guilt, I think, comes from someone who wants to find something else to do, and hasn't yet.Unfortunately, addressing this sort of guilt isn't as easy as just finding a hobby. In my experience, this listless guilt tends to be found in people who have fallen into the nihilistic trap---people who either believe they can't matter, or who believe that no one can matter. It tends to be found in people who believe that humans only ever do what they want, that nothing is truly "better'' than anything else, that there is no such thing as altruism, that "morality'' is a pleasant lie---that class of beliefs is the class that I will address first, starting with the Allegory of the Stamp Collector...

The Return of the Prodigal Son

The Return of the Prodigal Son PDF Author: Henri J. M. Nouwen
Publisher: Image
ISBN: 0804152128
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 162

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Book Description
With over a million copies sold, this classic work is essential reading for all who ask, “Where has my struggle led me?” A chance encounter with a reproduction of Rembrandt’s The Return of the Prodigal Son catapulted Henri Nouwen on an unforgettable spiritual adventure. Here he shares the deeply personal and resonant meditation that led him to discover the place within where God has chosen to dwell. As Nouwen reflects on Rembrandt’s painting in light of his own life journey, he evokes a powerful drama of the classic parable in a rich, captivating way that is sure to reverberate in the hearts of readers. Nouwen probes the several movements of the parable: the younger son’s return, the father’s restoration of sonship, the elder son’s resentfulness, and the father’s compassion. The themes of homecoming, affirmation, and reconciliation will be newly discovered by all who have known loneliness, dejection, jealousy, or anger. The challenge to love as God loves, and to be loved as God’s beloved, will be seen as the ultimate revelation of the parable known to Christians throughout time, and is here represented with a vigor and power fresh for our times.

Covenant, Community, and the Spirit

Covenant, Community, and the Spirit PDF Author: Robert Sherman
Publisher: Baker Academic
ISBN: 1441227792
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
This comprehensive textbook by a well-respected Reformed theologian brings together two perennial issues in Christian theology: the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and ecclesiology. It demonstrates the importance of the Holy Spirit in empowering the being and mission of the church and shows how the church's identity and calling are embedded in the larger covenantal purposes of the triune God. Accessibly written with pastors in training in mind, the book probes the classic rubrics of the church as the people of God, the body of Christ, and the temple of the Holy Spirit, igniting readers' ecclesiological imaginations and reclaiming a more biblical, theological, and pastoral vision of church.

Transfiguration and Hope

Transfiguration and Hope PDF Author: D. Gregory Van Dussen
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532654553
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 160

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Book Description
To read and visualize the transfiguration of Christ is to enter its mystery and encounter its hope. Like the Gospel writers and the disciples who climbed the mountain with Jesus, we struggle to tell the story and explain its meaning. Yet this astounding event reveals God's ultimate purpose in sending his Son--the complete restoration of humanity and all creation--our transfiguration in Christ. The light and glory of that moment reveal a destiny that is infinite and eternal, made possible by the power of grace. Transfiguration is the trajectory and goal of our spiritual journey. Across time and space, Christians have reflected on the mystery and hope epitomized in the transfiguration, yet their voices have been heard primarily within their own cultural and ecclesiastical contexts. This study gathers many of those voices from the panorama of Scripture and church history and finds in them the common theme of radical transformation in Christ. The point of this theological conversation is spiritual transfiguration and hope for each of us as we reach toward the future Christ has shown us in himself.

Christian Education

Christian Education PDF Author: Freddy Cardoza
Publisher: Baker Academic
ISBN: 1493419706
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 400

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Book Description
This introductory textbook solidly situates Christian education in the church and ministry context of the 21st century. With over 20 years of ministry, teaching, and leadership experience, Freddy Cardoza is uniquely qualified to bring together a wide range of Christian educators. This volume features the expertise of 25 evangelical scholars of Christian education, including diverse, next-generation voices in the field. It provides balanced biblical-theological and practical perspectives for church and parachurch leaders, equipping them to meet the ever-changing needs of our world. Additional resources for professors and students are available through Textbook eSources.

The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind

The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind PDF Author: Julian Jaynes
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
ISBN: 0547527543
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 580

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Book Description
National Book Award Finalist: “This man’s ideas may be the most influential, not to say controversial, of the second half of the twentieth century.”—Columbus Dispatch At the heart of this classic, seminal book is Julian Jaynes's still-controversial thesis that human consciousness did not begin far back in animal evolution but instead is a learned process that came about only three thousand years ago and is still developing. The implications of this revolutionary scientific paradigm extend into virtually every aspect of our psychology, our history and culture, our religion—and indeed our future. “Don’t be put off by the academic title of Julian Jaynes’s The Origin of Consciousness in the Breakdown of the Bicameral Mind. Its prose is always lucid and often lyrical…he unfolds his case with the utmost intellectual rigor.”—The New York Times “When Julian Jaynes . . . speculates that until late in the twentieth millennium BC men had no consciousness but were automatically obeying the voices of the gods, we are astounded but compelled to follow this remarkable thesis.”—John Updike, The New Yorker “He is as startling as Freud was in The Interpretation of Dreams, and Jaynes is equally as adept at forcing a new view of known human behavior.”—American Journal of Psychiatry

The Cambridge Companion to American Methodism

The Cambridge Companion to American Methodism PDF Author: Jason E. Vickers
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107433924
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 411

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Book Description
A product of trans-Atlantic revivalism and awakening, Methodism initially took root in America in the eighteenth century. In the mid-nineteenth century, Methodism exploded to become the largest religious body in the United States and the quintessential form of American religion. This Cambridge Companion offers a general, comprehensive introduction to various forms of American Methodism, including the African-American, German Evangelical Pietist, holiness and Methodist Episcopal traditions. Written from various disciplinary perspectives, including history, literature, theology and religious studies, this volume explores the beliefs and practices around which the lives of American Methodist churches have revolved, as well as the many ways in which Methodism has both adapted to and shaped American culture. This volume will be an invaluable resource to scholars and students alike, including those who are exploring American Methodism for the first time.

Outpouring

Outpouring PDF Author: Jason E. Vickers
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1666776165
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 103

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Book Description
Outpouring is a theological exploration of religious revivals and awakenings. The authors reflect on God's pursuit of human persons in the light of Scripture and classical Christian doctrine. They also take seriously eyewitness testimonies to God's presence and power in events like the Great Awakenings and the Asbury Outpouring of 2023, allowing such events to raise fresh questions and to enliven theology. Inspired by their participation in the Asbury Outpouring, they bear witness to the ancient conviction that theology, prayer, and praise belong together.

Wesley: A Guide for the Perplexed

Wesley: A Guide for the Perplexed PDF Author: Jason E. Vickers
Publisher: A&C Black
ISBN: 0567033538
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 142

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Book Description
As anyone familiar with both the stereotypes and the scholarship related to Wesley knows, tricky interpretive questions abound: was Wesley a conservative, high church Tory or a revolutionary protodemocrat or proto-Marxist? Was he a modern rationalist obsessed with the epistemology of religious belief or a late medieval style thinker who believed in demonic possession and supernatural healing? Was Wesley primarily a pragmatic evangelist or a serious theologian committed to the long-haul work of catechesis, initiation, and formation? Wesley: A Guide for the Perplexed sheds new light on Wesley's life and teaching, and aims to help students understand this enigmatic figure.