Christian mission takes place today in the context of a pluralistic world, one in which the adherents of the various religious traditions are increasingly aware of and in dialogue with one another. What is needed now, argues Thangaraj, is an understanding of Christian mission that has for its starting point a moral imperative shared by all the world's religions. The author finds this common task in what he calls the mission of humanity: those obligations to one another and the world which all humans share. For Christians the common task will be a cruciform one; it will display the self-sacrifice and vulnerability of the cross, rather than the grasping after power and influence of the world. It will be a liberative reality, marked by the gospel's concern for the poor and oppressed. Finally, the mission of humanity will be for Christians eschatological in nature, formed by a vision of the fullness of the reign of God which is both present now and yet to come. Having established this specifically Christian interpretation of the common task, Thangaraj goes on to ask how it can inform our reading of Scripture and our understanding of Christian missions, and how it can motivate Christian congregations for mission today.

The Common Task: A Theology of Christian Mission

Religion & Spirituality

Thangaraj, Thomas

Christian Books & Bibles

ABNDP - Abingdon Press

Troeger surveys how evolving forms of communication have shaped the presentation of the gospel. He then details ten strategies for delivering the Word in our modern age of mass media and computerization. The book offers gospel-based sermons that utilize mime, sound, drama, simulation games, photography, and hymns.

Ten Strategies for Preaching in a MultiMedia Culture

Troeger, Thomas H.

Drawing on a metaphor from Mark Twain's Life on the Mississippi, Robert Dale claims that religious leaders must know, as never before, the "shape of the river" of religious and social change. Change, he argues, is the primary context in which Christian ministry now takes place. Pastors and other congregational leaders must embody the timeless values of the Christian message, yet do so in ways that are constantly flexible and open to revision. Fundamental to religious leaders in this new era will be adaptability rooted in character. Leadership for a Changing Church will enable readers to look ahead in anticipation, as they welcome the new challenges presented by ministry in an ever-evolving era.

Leadership for a Changing Church: Charting the Shape of the River

Dale, Robert

Written in Korean, this is the ground-breaking book that has shown thousands of congregations how to overcome the destructive attitudes and systems that prevent them from focusing on their true mission: making disciples of Jesus Christ.In this upgraded edition, Bandy continues to explore the meaning of walking with Jesus in the 21st century. Drawing on the stories of exciting new congregations that have arisen within the last few years, he sharpens his portrayal of the thriving church system, demonstrating its essential concern for savvy awareness of the larger culture and fidelity to the core of the gospel.

Kicking Habits Korean Version: Welcome Relief for Addicted Churches Korean Version (Korean Edition)

Self-Help

Bandy, Thomas G.

Personal Transformation

"As its title page indicates, the substance of [this book] was delivered as the James A. Gray Lectures at the Divinity School of Duke University. That was in November of 1959. But the book actually had its genesis much earlier, for the problem which it treats is one that had plagued me for many years prior to that time. I suppose that it is inevitable that is should have: it is a problem that no teacher of Old Testament studies can forever evade. Certainly I was unable to do so. I had long found myself troubled by the fact that so few preachers--myself included, I fear--really seemed to know how to proceed with the Old Testament, or were guided in their preaching from it, if they preached from it at all, by any conscious hermeneutical principles...It early became clear to me that the place of Old Testament studies in the theological curriculum was not something that could be taken for granted. I was driven to the realization that if I could not present my students with some positive position with regard to the place of the Old Testament in the Bible, and provide them with some guidance in their use of it in the pulpit, they might justifiably regard all that I was trying to teach them, however interesting it might be historically, as of questionable theological and practical importance." (from the Preface, by John Bright)

The Authority of the Old Testament

Politics & Social Sciences

Bright, John

Sociology

C. S. Lewis' thoughts on the nature of Biblical inspiration, the role of revelation and the question of inerrancy.

C S Lewis On Scripture

History

Christensen,Michael J.

World

A family-faith crisis is occurring in church-going families. Often church leaders are perplexed about the best way for their congregation to care for the families within their midst and community. Nurturing Faith in Families offers 425 creative ideas that pastors, teachers, and other leaders can use to help families grow spiritually and feel more connected to the church.

Nurturing Faith in Families: 425 Creative Ideas for Family Ministry

Roehlkepartain, Jolene L.

Often the church is accused of being so embedded in the culture that effective prophecy leveled at the culture is impossible. But this book illustrates that there was a time and a place where the church community was faithful to its mission as the body of Christ, as church leaders led, people lifted high the cross, and they marched into the uncertainty that still prevails. Here is a time and place where the call to risky discipleship was answered not with whimpers, whines, and excuses, but with the power of faithful Christians living out their call. This book illustrates what it can mean to faithfully answer the call to discipleship and God's service. Many people wonder if they would be able to stand up for their faith if it meant great personal sacrifice or the sacrifice of people they love. They wonder what they would risk for their faith, if anything. In the United States where cost/benefit analysis is a popular way to assess risk, many Christians wonder if they might not have to stand alone, because too many see the risks as too costly. As suggested by the title, this book draws upon a collection of sermons and addresses given by Peter Storey in a variety of contexts between 1966 and 1993. The original audiences ranged from the all-white Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg, to the South African Council of Churches, to the nation of South Africa, and to the world. All of these sermons and addresses are directly related to specific historical events: security police confrontations, beatings, and tear-gassings in churches around the country of South Africa; an imposed State of Emergency; the murder of 14-year-old Stompie Sepie by Winnie Mandela's thugs; and the violent jockeying for power between Mandela's African National Congress, Chief Mangosutho Buthelizi's Inkatha Movement, and F. W. de Klerk's regime. The book offers the full perspective of what it means to speak truth, empower people to stand for the truth, and to pastor souls during times when living truth seems almost impossible. Key Features: 1. Foreword by Desmond Tutu 2. 15 chapters, each including a brief description of the original context, the sermon and its connection with the present, and a prayer 3. Epilogue by Will Willimon

With God in the Crucible: Preaching Costly Discipleship

Storey, Peter J

The purpose of the church is simple: it exists to bring people to salvation in Christ, and to positively and permanently change lives for the good of the community. The way the church fulfills this basic calling is through empowerment: endowing people with the capacity to be recipients and catalysts of positive social and personal change. Too many churches in North American have neglected this basic calling, argues the author. If they are to become thriving centers of personal and social transformation, then they must work to empower the whole person through ministries that work at the same time for spiritual, relational, and communal transformation. Only when they thus empower individuals to be disciples of Jesus Christ in ways that then transform those individuals' personal relations and the communities in which they live will the church have fulfilled its basic calling.

The Empowerment Church: Speaking a New Language for Church Growth

Stewart III, Carlyle F.

Those interested in Christian worship have tended to limit their attention to three areas: (1) the history of rites and texts; (2) the theological meaning of specific liturgical acts; and (3) the nature of ritual speech and gesture. But there has been little attention paid to the interaction between Christian worship and its immediate social context. This book will argue that one of the primary influences on the social context of Christian worship is the pervasive presence of technology and technological process, and that these have had a profound effect on liturgical theory and practice. After a survey of some of the important work being done in the history and philosophy of technology, White goes on to cite specific historical examples of the creative interplay between technological processes and Christian worship. This will include such things as the pasteurization of grape juice for the use at communion and the changes in funeral rites which were made necessary by the practice of embalming. The argument will then turn to the way in which individuals who "think technologically" approach the act of Christian worship today, and then to a discussion of the technological influences at work on those involved in preparing services of public worship. This last section will describe how technology has affected the way in which every mainline denomination produces its official service materials, as well as how individual congregations appropriate liturgical change. In the final section of the book, one issue remains to be addressed: Is technology a dangerous social force, against which Christian worship can be a potent weapon? Or, on the other hand, is technology an inextricable element in a contemporary society to which Christian worship must accommodate itself in order to be "relevant"?

Christian Worship and Technological Change

White, Susan

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