LITMIR.BIZ

Mark Petersen has learned philanthropy in the process of leading a private grantmaking foundation. It has been a pilgrimage with mountaintops and valleys, high-impact grants and dead-end disasters. He parallels a personal account of a physical pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago alongside his philanthropic journey to create a sense of momentum and intentional movement toward a shared destination. Each of the thirty-five chapters leads with a short journal entry from the author's month-long pilgrimage along the Camino del Norte and Camino Primitivo in Spain. Mark uses compelling stories to vulnerably shares fifteen years' worth of failures as well as successes in his journey of philanthropy. Along this journey he developed practical steps for reviewing grant applications and achieving goals for philanthropy. He advances the values of transparency, mutuality, and collaborating with others to achieve common goals. The vision of philanthropy espoused not only includes charitable impact but suggests the giver can be transformed in the process. The book offers a window into how people of faith struggle with giving, humanizes the mystique of a philanthropist, and provides grantmakers with tangible tools in their efforts to be both shrewd and faithful.

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Breath of Fresh Air: Biblical Storytelling with Prisoners challenges the behemoth of mass incarceration through the convergence of biblical storytelling pedagogy, restorative justice principles, and peacemaking circle structure. Circle of the Word is an interactive, creative process of engagement with biblical stories. It is a spiritual intervention that addresses an American criminal justice system that is retributive, discriminatory, and out of control. Boomershine reports on the impact of Circle of the Word for incarcerated men and women and grounds Circle of the Word in a multifaceted foundation: the study of the Bible as performance literature, the history of prison reform in Enlightenment England, the doctrine of the Word of God, and the development-of-hope theory. Since the purpose of the book is both advocacy and empowerment, a how-to chapter is included with details for implementation. Participation in Circle of the Word has proven to be a transformative experience for men and women directly impacted by mass incarceration–discovering community in the midst of isolation and hope in the midst of despair.

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Postils for Preaching repristinates an old term for commentaries on the appointed texts by assisting preachers in their time-honored calling of preaching the Word. «Post illa,» some think, probably refers to the reflecting «after this» (meaning upon the texts) that preachers must do in the context of the lives of their congregations and larger communities. These essays do not aim to be sermons but sermon-starters, goads and incitements to consider the assigned texts with serious imagination and good humor, all in the context of the church year and its inter-textual connections. The intention of this publication is to dip into a lifetime of that exegetical and homiletical «bag of tricks» as Jesus himself obliquely recommended when he noted how «every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old» (Matt 13:52). Please consider these postils a «thesaurus» («treasury») from which to borrow insights, references, and allusions as needed and found of value.

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The brokenness of this world inevitably invades our lives. But how do you maintain faith when overwhelmed by grief? When prayer goes unanswered? When all you have are questions, not answers? What do you say to God when you know he is in control but the suffering continues unabated? Is there any alternative to remaining speechless in the midst of pain and heartbreak?
This book is about finding words to use when life is hard. These words are not new. They are modes of expression that the church has drawn on in times of grief throughout most of its history. Yet, the church in the West has largely abandoned these words–the psalms of lament. The result is that believers often struggle to know what to do or say when faced with distress, anxiety, and loss. Whether you are in Christian leadership, training for ministry, or simply struggling to reconcile experience with biblical convictions, Finding Lost Words will help you consider how these ancient words can become your own.

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Sehnsucht: The C. S. Lewis Journal, established by the Arizona C. S. Lewis Society in 2007, is the only peer-reviewed journal devoted to the study of C. S. Lewis and his writings published anywhere in the world. It exists to promote literary, theological, historical, biographical, philosophical, bibliographical and cultural interest (broadly defined) in Lewis and his writings. The journal includes articles, review essays, book reviews, film reviews and play reviews, bibliographical material, poetry, interviews, editorials, and announcements of Lewis-related conferences, events and publications. Its readership is aimed at academic scholars from a wide variety of disciplines, as well as learned non-scholars and Lewis enthusiasts. At this time, Sehnsucht is published once a year.

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This book on Deuteronomy seeks to place before a broad audience of students and lay readers one of the important books among the first five books (together called the Pentateuch) in the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament. It lifts up major themes in the book, one of the most prominent being Moses as prophet par excellence. Deuteronomy is the Old Testament's major book on law and covenant, re-presenting the Ten Commandments given to Israel at Mount Horeb (also known as Sinai). But the book is more concerned to present the Deuteronomic Code (in chapters 12-26) taught to Israel in the plains of Moab, just before Moses dies and Israel is to cross the Jordan River into Canaan. The writer of Deuteronomy is not Moses, as stated in the Jewish Talmud, but most likely a Levitical priest in the late eighth or early seventh century BC who assumes the persona of Moses in Judahite worship. Two old poems, the Song of Moses (32:1-43) and the Blessing of Moses (chapter 33), appear in a final supplement to the book, which then closes with an account of Moses's death and burial in Moab.

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What is being done in worship when national holidays are celebrated, the American flag is displayed and honored, and songs are sung that extol the nation? Are these benign gestures? Or could they actually be idolatrous? In this insightful and persuasively argued study Craig M. Watts contends the inclusion of elements of American nationalism in worship is detrimental to the integrity of Christian worship. He maintains that in faithful worship the story of Jesus must be re-presented and performed in such a way that the only affections and loyalty that are fostered are those Christians everywhere rightfully share. To do otherwise opens the door to idolatry and leaves the church doing what Watts calls «bowing toward Babylon.» He reviews the development of the symbols, songs, and gestures that celebrate America and how they were introduced into worship. Watts concludes that the spirituality of American Christian nationalism does not complement the faith of the church but distorts it, hindering global Christian unity and the peaceable witness of the church in a divided world.

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The voices of Messianic rabbis and believers have been collected in this volume to share concerns about the gap that remains between Jews and the church. For the past fifteen centuries, the church has been predominantly Gentile. Jews of faith were not considered Jews, but as «converted.» Today, as Messianic congregations multiply and church denominations try to find their way back to the original principles of the early church, the church is challenged to repair this relationship, deepen its understanding of the apostles' vision of one new man, and be edified by the meaning in appointed observances that extended to graft in the wild olive branches. «For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility» (Eph 2:14).

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If only we could do a better job of helping students at «connecting the dots,» theological educators commonly lament. Integration, often proposed as a solution to the woes of professional education for ministry, would help students integrate knowledge, skills, spirituality, and integrity. When these remain disconnected, incompetence ensues, and the cost runs high for churches, denominations, and ministers themselves. However, we fail in thinking that integrating work is for students alone. It is a multifaceted, constructive process of learning that is contextual, reflective, and dialogical. It aims toward important ends–competent leaders who can guide Christian communities today. It entails rhythms, not stages, and dynamic movement, including disintegration. Integrating work is learning in motion, across domains, and among and between persons. It is social and communal, born of a life of learning together for faculty, staff, administrators and students. It is work that bridges the long-standing gaps between school, ministry practice, and life. It's a verb, not a noun. Here a diverse group of theological educators, through descriptive case studies, theological reflection, and theory building, offer a distinctive contribution to understanding integrating work and how best to achieve it across three domains: in community, curriculums, and courses.

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Does God sovereignly elect some individuals for salvation while passing others by? Do human beings possess free will to embrace or reject the gospel? Did Christ die equally for all people or only for some? These questions have long been debated in the history of the Christian church. Answers typically fall into one of two main categories, popularly known as Calvinism and Arminianism. The focus of this book is to establish how one nineteenth-century evangelical group, the Brethren, responded to these and other related questions. The Brethren produced a number of colorful leaders whose influence was felt throughout the evangelical world. Although many critics have assumed the movement's theology was Arminian, this book argues that the Brethren, with few exceptions, advocated Calvinistic positions. Yet there were some twists along the way! The movement's radical biblicism, passionate evangelism, and strong aversion to systematic theology and creeds meant they refused to label themselves as Calvinists even though they affirmed Calvinism's soteriological principles–the so-called doctrines of grace.

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