LITMIR.BIZ

This book wrestles with quandaries of pastoral ministry in what psychotherapist Mary Pipher calls «the age of overwhelm.» Drawing especially from the wisdom of Jesus' own teaching and healing ministries as portrayed in the Gospel of Luke, it offers an intimate narrative introduction to pastoral theology for guiding bewildering tasks of pastoral care and counseling. These essays encourage seminarians and ministers to embrace their role as agents of healing by exploring their own debilitating shame and daring to speak what in childhood could not be spoken; by revealing their discoveries to a trusted confidant so as to feel less loathsome or lonely; by attending to even minute individual differences, in self and others, that fuel social isolation; and by believing in those persons who first believed in them.

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The Torah was recognized as a unit before the separation between the kingdoms of Judah and Israel. This book challenges established biblical scholarship derived from two assumptions of the Wellhausen Fallacy: a) Deuteronomy could not have been written before the time of Josiah (650 BCE); b) The existence of a group of redactors in the fifth century BCE or later. The first premise is based on the mistranslation of the biblical text. The second is based on the unlikely assumption that the scribes of the Second Temple era felt free to edit old documents or to ascribe their own writings to Mosaic times. The Samarian version of the Pentateuch is virtually identical to the traditional (Masoretic) text. It is preposterous to assume that the Samarians would accept a fictitious Torah composed by Judean exiles of the Persian period or later as authoritative. Neither Samarians nor Judeans copied the Pentateuch from each other. The biblical text and the Samarian texts are merely different editions of the same document.

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In stark contrast to the shrill and nasty interactions among many Christians regarding contentious LGBT issues, this book models a redemptive mode of engagement by featuring respectful conversations among deeply committed Christians who hold to diverging traditional and non-traditional views. The foundational values guiding these conversations are the quest for truth, giving the gift of love to all brothers and sisters in Christ, and modeling Christian unity. Emerging from these conversations are practical steps for a way forward that include creating safe spaces for ongoing conversation and practicing courageous Christian leadership. Based on case studies for a Christian university and two Christian churches, this book provides helpful advice for navigating conflict within churches, Christian denominations, and Christian educational institutions.

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So many Christians pray the Lord's Prayer. It is almost «second nature.» This book is meant to help these people pray it more deeply and lovingly. Ecumenical and even striving to be global in nature, this book explores what the Scriptures teach us about this prayer, how the Christian tradition has approached this prayer in its long history, and how many of our contemporary concerns challenge the way we can pray this prayer, and also how the prayer can provide insights for those same concerns. People of all persuasions, believers and nonbelievers, «nones,» and followers of the world's great religions will also find many of their concerns given serious consideration in this book. If you think nothing new can be said about the «Our Father,» this book may surprise you.

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Henri Nouwen wisely said, «The great illusion of leadership is to think that man can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.» Jesus has «been there» and knows how to lead us out–but first, he just may lead us in. He meets us in the desert and does his best work in us there. We look for an easier way in vain. I myself reluctantly entered the desert and eventually received unimagined gifts there–gifts I didn't ask for, deserve, or want–gifts hidden in such painful loss that I despaired–and yet, looking back now, these «desert gifts» were the best thing that ever happened to me. I entered the desert, and years later, found my way out. It's not a new way, it was just new to me. Jewish and Christian sages had been living it for thousands of years. Somehow, in recent generations, we managed to forget it. In this collection I mean to begin to make those riches available to you. I'm hoping that like me, you'll discover something that you didn't know you wanted or needed–and something now you wouldn't give up at any price.

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This book is for people who are serious about leading people–men and women who have accepted big challenges, who have passed through the fire of tough decisions, who have acknowledged they at times have failed, and have recovered for the next challenge, but do not want to repeat the past. The thesis of the book is that the journey of leadership takes us deep into the dangers of both authority and risk, and our attempts to avoid one or the other of these dangers will precipitate crisis. As a leader who desires to flourish, it is critical to ask, is anyone following? And are we following Jesus as we invite others to follow us? In this book I invite you into my journey, and the journeys of other ministry leaders, through the deep waters of crisis and the challenge of learning to lead so that people are following. This process begins with self-discovery–disclosing default habits, fears, and hungers–followed by trusting the Holy Spirit to work God's transformation within us, and then to engaging the hard work of mobilizing his body, the people of God, so that every part is doing his work.

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The preacher's body is a tool for proclamation, a vehicle by which a sermon comes to life. Female preachers, engaged in a task not long their own, know well the added attention directed to their physicality. They can experience ordinary decisions about attire, accessories, hairstyles, and movement as complex, and occasionally precarious, choices around how to bring flesh to their sermons. They can also experience the extraordinary power of their bodies, when materiality weighs in on the message. McCullough explores the every-Sunday bodily decisions of contemporary female preachers, with an eye to uncovering the meanings about body, preaching, and God alive underneath. Ultimately, she argues for a renewed understanding of embodiment, in which one's living body, inescapably intertwined with her preaching, becomes the avenue for greater knowledge about how to preach and deeper insight into the faith professed.

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Wise Up! invites the reader to step up to the divine customer service desk and exchange self-sufficiency, self-absorption, self-indulgence, and self-protection for the four virtues of biblical wisdom: the fear of the Lord (faith), the listening heart (compassion), the cool spirit (self-discipline), and the subversive voice (moral courage).
An invaluable resource for personal devotion, small group study, and sermon series, Wise Up! is a spiritual manual for navigating the twists and turns of an unpredictable life. The author mines the riches of the Bible's wisdom literature from Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and the short sayings of the synoptic Jesus. The result is four guiding virtues that can keep our feet from stumbling on the journey to wisdom through the thorniest of paths. McKenzie, the author of several popular books for both clergy and laity, places her profound knowledge of biblical wisdom in conversation with the absurdities, pains, and joys of our everyday lives. She invites wisdom down from the pedestal to accompany the reader on his or her daily rounds. Reading this book, at the same time, soothes the soul and troubles the conscience. It deepens faith, fires compassion, cools destructive desires, and nudges the sleeping conscience awake.

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"For the sake of the world, we question.For the sake of the gospel, we examine.For the sake of the dignity of the image-bearers we serve–as well as ourselves–we inquire."
The evolution that has taken place in the world of mission over the last twenty-five years has left many Christians asking brutally honest questions about what we do and why we do it. Are we doing more damage than good? What does it look like to truly love and serve the marginalized in an authentic and effective way? What, actually, is the gospel and is it truly good news? In this groundbreaking book, Ryan Kuja vividly examines the world of Christian mission as few have seen it. With a beautiful balance of storytelling and theological reflection birthed from his own painful and powerful experiences on and off the field–from rural villages in South Sudan to major cities across Asia, Africa, and Latin America–Ryan guides us into global mission's past and present, revealing where the light and hope lie, helping recover a missional future that will usher us into a new era. This is mission reimagined for a world recreated . . . from the inside out.

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Churches often find themselves in the middle of conflict. These conflicts can exist between people within the church, between the leaders and congregation, or even between churches themselves. Leaders often turn to Scripture for guidance in resolving these conflicts. However, the Bible does not outline or even discuss conflict management. In fact, various biblical figures–from ancient Israelite kings to New Testament apostles–all uniquely approach conflict.
Does the Bible have a «theory of conflict management»? In Conflict Management and the Apostle Paul, the authors explore how Paul approached conflicts with his close associates like Barnabas and Peter, and with his mission churches like those in Galatia and Corinth. Conflict Management and the Apostle Paul distinctively sketches how various theories of conflict management used today shed light on Paul's own approaches to conflict while also evaluating the conflicts themselves. The authors in this volume are pastors and church workers who themselves bring their own experiences with conflict into play as they seek wisdom from the New Testament.

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