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The Former Prophets of the Hebrew Bible includes the books of Joshua through 2 Kings, a narrative of ancient Israel's history of some seven hundred years from the «conquest» of Canaan to the exile, when Israel lost the land. From a critical perspective the narrative is a composite document incorporating many different literary sources from different times; seen as a whole, the result is a compelling example of ancient historiography as well as an impressive artistic achievement. Included are fascinating (and often horrifying) stories of war, religious fanaticism, terror, and disaster, as well as stories of deep personal loyalty, friendship, and faith.
Many characters in the books of The Former Prophets are at once virtuous and villainous, such as King David: slayer of giants, writer of therapeutic songs, and builder of empire, who is also a permissive parent, a rapist, an adulterer, and a murderer. The books of the Former Prophets feature a witch who is far from wicked, and a religious reformer who slaughters the unorthodox. Even God makes an appearance as an evil spirit!
Not only have such vivid personages inspired works of art and motivated groups, including the Pilgrims, who came to America to found communities like New Canaan. The Former Prophets also present parallels–often uncomfortable ones–to events in our own history from ethnic cleansing to tyrannical oppression. Yet the Former Prophets also picture the dream of a just and peaceful community that has motivated people of goodwill for thousands of years.
Through it all the Former Prophets raise perennial questions: What is the relationship between divine sovereignty and human political institutions? How does a culture identify «insiders» and «outsiders»? In what sense are historical events the result of human acts and also of divine Providence? How does a nation come to terms with its failures as well as its triumphs?

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The chapters in this volume were originally presented as papers at the 2009 colloquium of the Calvin Studies Society, held to mark the five-hundredth anniversary of John Calvin's birth. They offer a fresh evaluation of Calvin's ideas and achievements, and describe how others–from his contemporaries to the present–have responded to or built upon the Calvinist heritage. This book dispels popular misperceptions about Calvin and Calvinism, allowing readers to make a more accurate assessment of Calvin's importance as a theologian and historical figure. Contributions address areas in which Calvin's legacy has been most controversial or misunderstood, such as his attitude toward women, his advocacy of church discipline, and his understanding of predestination. These essays also give a nuanced picture of the impact of Calvinism by taking account of both the positive and negative reactions to it from the early modern period to the present.
Part 1: Calvin: The Man and His Work Part 2: Appeal of and Responses to Calvinism Part 3: The Impact of Calvin's Ideas

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Congregations today face both old and often new, unprecedented challenges–spiritual, moral, technological, and economic–for which there are no easy solutions. Facing such challenges calls for pastors able to lead with authority in ways at the same time faithful to the gospel and appropriate to the congregation's setting and the issues at hand. Yet many pastors are unsure of their authority, often experiencing conflict as they attempt to lead. Others have abused their authority and brought mistrust and suspicion to ordained ministry, making it difficult for other clergy to lead. In this book, a new and revised edition of his earlier, highly regarded work on pastoral authority and leadership, Jackson Carroll brings together theological and sociological perspectives to provide an interpretation of pastoral authority as reflective leadership, a style of leadership that involves vision and discernment, and that is appropriate for the many roles in which pastors engage–preaching, worship leadership, teaching, counseling, and shaping the congregation's corporate life. In this new edition Carroll draws on what he has learned from many conversations with pastors and lay leaders since the book's initial publication as well as insights from others. He also introduces helpful new case material from practicing pastors and incorporates the perspectives of several recent leadership theorists and practitioners to deepen and enhance the discussion of pastoral authority as reflective leadership.

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Mobilizing a Great Commission Church for Harvest addresses practical aspects of evangelism in the local church, with the voices and views of nineteen current Southern Baptist professors of evangelism. They address important topics to local church evangelism, such as «Invitations with integrity» and «Preparing for Spiritual Warfare.» Key leaders and professors write in their areas of expertise. For examples, Alvin Reid writes on «Mobilizing Students,» David Wheeler on «Servant Evangelism,» Josef Solc on «Sports Evangelism,» and Darrell Robinson on «The Evangelist.» In addition, the book begins and ends with two different applications of Matthew's Great Commission.
Mobilizing a Great Commission Church for Harvest is a gold mine of information for both pastor and deacon, as it is for students considering the importance of evangelism to local church ministry. It is fresh, new, and true–as all of its authors teach at SBC-affiliated schools and are grounded in the Bible as the inerrant Word of God!

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The ancient heresy of Gnosticism has seeped into the church and is being taught in our most influential seminaries today. This can be seen most readily in the willingness-and even determination-of leading scholars and theologians to force the doctrines of evolution into the sacred text of the Scriptures. This book looks closely at the Bible to determine whether or not evolution can be endorsed by the Word of God. It then moves on to examine how today's theologians have played tricks with the text in order to seduce ordinary Christians into embracing Gnosticism. This book is a call to God's people to eradicate this heresy and return to an honest reading of the Bible. "These 'higher critics' have castrated Christianity; they themselves are spiritual eunuchs, incapable of producing any spiritual seed with which to grow the church in the coming generations. They hope to bring some reconciliation between the teachings of modern science and the traditional teachings of Scripture, but instead they only serve to instill doubt in the ordinary Christian-doubt that an ordinary believer can ever again trust his own uneducated reading of the Bible. It is sad to think that William Tyndale was martyred for bringing the Bible to the common man, while modern theologians are being praised for taking it away again."

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This is a book about the importance of mentors in the lives of the young. But rather than developing the theme of mentoring theoretically, Douglas John Hall demonstrates its significance quite personally, autobiographically. In his twentieth year and hoping to study music professionally, Hall met a young minister whose «different» Christianity both surprised and intrigued him. In the end, this friendship altered the course of his life.
The book traces the story of this friendship of more than half a century, and the impact of the times upon the lives of its two principal figures.

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Evangelical Christians affirm together that a dreadful destiny awaits those who reject God's grace throughout life. According to the traditional view, that destiny will involve unending conscious torment in hell. However, believers are increasingly questioning that understanding, as both unbiblical and inconsistent with the character of God revealed in the Scriptures and in the man Jesus Christ. This internationally acclaimed book–now fully updated, revised, and expanded–carefully examines the complete teaching of Scripture on the subject of final punishment. It concludes that hell is a place of total annihilation, everlasting destruction, although the destructive process encompasses conscious torment of whatever sort, intensity, and duration God might require in each individual case.

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Knowing is less about information and more about transformation; less about comprehension and more about being apprehended.
This radical book develops the notion of covenant epistemology–an innovative, biblically compatible, holistic, embodied, life-shaping epistemological vision in which all knowing takes the shape of interpersonal, covenantal relationship. Rather than knowing in order to love, we love in order to know. Meek argues that all knowing is best understood as transformative encounter. Creatively blending insights from a diverse range of conversation partners–including Michael Polanyi, Michael D. Williams, Lesslie Newbigin, Parker Palmer, John Macmurray, Martin Buber, and James Loder–Meek offers critically needed «epistemological therapy» in response to the pervasive and damaging presumptions that those in Western culture continue to bring to efforts to know. The book's innovative approach–an unfolding journey of discovery-through-dialogue–itself subverts standard epistemological presumptions of timeless linearity. While it offers a sustained and sophisticated philosophical argument, Loving to Know's texts and textures interweave loosely to effect therapeutic epistemic transformation in the reader.

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There are a lot of books about leadership out there. I wanted to stir the pot and make some suggestions that I have not heard yet. Leadership is not about sticking qualities all over yourself, like dozens of «yellow sticky notes»: «Today I will learn time management. Tomorrow I will develop integrity.» Mere information is not enough to change us. Data may lead to transformation, but it is not enough to transform us on its own. Leadership is not about «trends» and «buzzwords.» Leadership is about personhood. Personhood is where this transformation truly takes place. Leadership may perseverate into any one of these things (stickies, trends, information, data, and buzzwords), but it is ultimately and ideally about personhood. This may be a philosophical category that the church has left off discussing, but it meant a lot to the ancients. We need to stir some of their depth back into our existence. One's genuine ability to lead comes from one's genuine transformation into the kind of person that is needed for the particular form of leading at hand. Different traits will be called forth from the leader depending on the situation, place, time, and people. It is the person who is the leader and not the trait or characteristic that is the leader. «Being» is critical; not just «doing.» I think a lot of our current reading on leadership is simply about skill-sets. They are important discussions, but that is not all there is. Do not get me wrong, I am not saying you must be perfect to lead. If that were the case, I would not be able to write this book. What I am saying is that your identity is where your true leading comes from, and if you are in a transformational relationship with Jesus the chances are good that your person and identity will deepen over time.

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Do «eschatology» and «peace» go together? Is eschatology mostly about retribution and fear–or compassion and hope?
Compassionate Eschatology brings together a group of international scholars representing a wide range of Christian traditions to address these questions. Together they make the case that Christianity's teaching about the «end times» should and can center on Jesus's message of peace and reconciliation. Offering a peace-oriented reading of the Book of Revelation and other biblical materials relevant to Christian eschatology, this book breaks new ground in its consistent message that compassion not retribution stands at the heart of the doctrine of the last things.
Besides its creative treatment of biblical materials, Compassionate Eschatology also makes a distinctive contribution in how several essays engage the thought of Rene Girard and his mimetic theory. Girard's project is shown to reinforce the biblical message of eschatological peace.

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