Ecclesiology
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Local And Universal
$40.00Add to cartIn the words of the creeds, the church is the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic body of Christ.
Of those features, perhaps none is as misunderstood as the church’s catholicity (that is, its universality)-because while the church is universal, it is also radically local, connected to a particular community or even found on a specific street corner. How might we reclaim the universality of the church without losing its local situatedness?
In this Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture volume, pastor and theologian C. Ryan Fields offers a surprising solution: he turns to the Free Church tradition, those churches that are historically separate or “free” from state oversight. Juxtaposing the Free Church with its Episcopal counterpart, he argues that far from neglecting the catholicity of the church, the Free Church tradition can helpfully inform our understanding of the one body of Christ while remaining true to its local roots.
Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture, edited by Daniel J. Treier and Kevin J. Vanhoozer, promotes evangelical contributions to systematic theology, seeking fresh understanding of Christian doctrine through creatively faithful engagement with Scripture in dialogue with church tradition.
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Spiritual Formation For The Global Church
$28.99Add to cartThe church is called to grow in Christ. Yet too often, it ignores the practical dimensions of the faith. The church is one in Christ. Yet too often, it is divided by national, denominational, theological, and racial or ethnic boundaries. The church is a global body of believers. Yet too often, it privileges a few voices and fails to recognize its own diversity. In response, this volume offers a multi-denominational, multi-ethnic vision in which biblical scholars, theologians, and practitioners from around the world join together to pursue a cohesive yet diverse theology and praxis of spiritual formation for the global church. Be fed in your faith by brothers and sisters from around the world.
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Introduction To Ecclesiology (Revised)
$35.99Add to cartWhat is the church? Why are there so many different expressions of church throughout time and space, and what ties them all together?
Ecclesiology–the doctrine of the church–has risen to the center of theological interest in recent decades. In this text, theologian Veli-Matti Karkkainen provides a wide-ranging survey of the rich field of ecclesiology in the midst of rapid developments and new horizons. Drawing on Karkkainen’s international experience and comprehensive research on the church, this revised and expanded edition is thoroughly updated to incorporate recent literature and trends. This unique primer not only orients readers to biblical, historical, and contemporary ecclesiologies but also highlights contextual and global perspectives and includes an entirely new section on interfaith comparative theology. An Introduction to Ecclesiology surveys.
*major theological traditions, including Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Reformed, and Pentecostal
*ecclesiological insights from Latin American, Africa, and Asia
*distinct perspectives from women, African Americans, and recent trends in the United States
*key elements of the church such as mission, governance, worship, and sacraments
*interreligious comparison with Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist communities
As the church today encounters challenges and opportunities related to rapid growth in the Majority World, new congregational forms, ecumenical movements, interfaith relations, and more, Christians need a robust ecclesiology that makes room for both unity and diversity. In An Introduction to Ecclesiology students, pastors, and laypeople will find an essential resource for understanding how the church can live out its calling as Christ’s community on earth.
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People Of Gods Presence
$32.00Add to cartIn an age when the church is sometimes viewed as irrelevant and inauthentic, leading Pentecostal theologian Terry Cross calls the people of God to a radical change of structure and mission based on theological principles not programmatic ones. Cross, whose work is respected by scholars from across the ecumenical landscape, offers an introduction to ecclesiology that demonstrates how Pentecostals can contribute to and learn from the church catholic. A forthcoming volume by the author, Serving the People of God’s Presence, will focus on the role of leadership in the church.
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Seeking Church : Emerging Witnesses To The Kingdom
$32.99Add to cartNew expressions of church that are proliferating among Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, and other non-Christian religious communities, including so-called “insider” movements, have raised intense discussion in missiological circles.
In Seeking Church, Darren Duerksen and William Dyrness address these issues by exploring how all Christian movements have been and are engaged in a “reverse hermeneutic,” where the gospel is read and interpreted through existing cultural and religious norms. Duerksen and Dyrness draw on the growing social-scientific work on emergent theory–the concept that social communities arise over time in ways that reflect specific historical and cultural dynamics. This is a missiological process, they argue, in which God has always worked through people and their culture to shape his witness in the world. They illustrate emergent theory through historical and contemporary case studies and consider the church’s contextualized nature by exploring biblical models of the church, worship practices as emergent, and ecclesial markers that identify emerging churches and their distinctive witness. For missiologists, theologians, practitioners, and all who ponder the challenge and opportunities of mission among other religious communities, Seeking Church offers a multidisciplinary conceptual framework with which to understand the global diversity of the body of Christ. The Spirit is constantly drawing people toward God’s community, causing new expressions of church to emerge and thus displaying new facets of his work and character.
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End Times Simplified
$11.00Add to cartAnthony Jeffrey Ballinger Title
The world is in a real mess, with wars, rumours of wars, earthquakes, floods, droughts, diseases and famines in every corner of our planet. Is this just a normal part of going forward into the future or are we seeing the culmination of prophecies like never before?
This book reveals the answer to these questions by looking at current geopolitical events and comparing them with what the Bible has to say. Why is Israel the centre of world attention, who is the antiChrist and will Christ ever return to rescue our planet? Is the Rapture even possible or just a myth and when does it happen? Look no futher to find the answers to these questions and many others.
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Seeing Jesus In East Harlem
$18.99Add to cartIntroduction
Part 1: Show Up
1. El Testimonio: Go And Show Yourself
2. The “Here I Ams” Of Life: Calling And Holy Disorientation
3. Incarnational: Tracing Our Presence Through Christ’s Body
4. Naming Whiteness: Discerning Space As Disciple MakingPart 2: Staying Put
5. Staying Public: Welcoming Home The Prophets
6. Remaining At Work: Becoming God’s Crowdsource In The Barrio
7. Staying Together: When Hope Became A HouseholdPart 3: See
8. Look Again: Generous Seeing As A Measure Of Discipleship
9. Curating Heaven: Dance And Dirge At Christ’s Table
10. El Culto: Marking Life’s Moments, Rescripting Trauma
11. Apocalypse: Church From A Different Vantage PointAcknowledgments
NotesAdditional Info
We are all located in different places. Some of us move from neighborhood to neighborhood or even state to state. And the way we grow as disciples and lead others in spiritual growth depends on our contexts. Pastor Jose Humphreys recognizes how deeply our faith is tied to our particular stories in our particular places. Grounded in his own deep faith and wisdom, he writes out of his experiences as a Puerto Rican pastor who has planted a multiethnic church in East Harlem. In this book, he offers a framework to help church leaders take discipleship seriously in their places, calling them to show up, stay put, and see what God is doing in their midst. Combining spiritual formation with activism, vivid narrative with exhortation, and realism with hopefulness, Humphreys offers pastors and church planters a thoughtful look at discipleship in a complex world. -
Canoeing The Mountains (Expanded)
$22.00Add to cartPart 1: Understanding Uncharted Territory
1. Seminary Didn’t Prepare Me For This
2. Adventure Or Die
3. A Leadership Model For Uncharted TerritoryPart 2: On-the-Map Skill Set
4. Competence And Credibility
5. Preparing For The Unknown
6. Eating Strategy For BreakfastPart 3: Leading Off The Map
7. Navigating The “Geography Of Reality”
8. My Italian Grandfather Was Killing Me
9. Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There . . . Then Do Something
10. The Mission Trumps!
11. Take A Good Look Into The CoffinPart 4: Relationships And Resistance
12. Gus And Hal Go To Church
13. Et Tu, Church?Part 5: Transformation
14. How A Nursing Mother Saved America
15. The End Of Our ExploringEpilogue: Taking The Hill With Grandma
Study Guide
Acknowledgments
NotesAdditional Info
14th Annual Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year, LeadershipExplorers Lewis and Clark had to adapt. While they had prepared to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, instead they found themselves in the Rocky Mountains. You too may feel that you are leading in a cultural context you were not expecting. You may even feel that your training holds you back more often than it carries you along.Drawing from his extensive experience as a pastor and consultant, Tod Bolsinger brings decades of expertise in guiding churches and organizations through uncharted territory. He offers a combination of illuminating insights and practical tools to help you reimagine what effective leadership looks like in our rapidly changing world.If you’re going to scale the mountains of ministry, you need to leave behind canoes and find new navigational tools. Now expanded with a study guide, this book will set you on the right course to lead with confidence and courage. -
Come Let Us Eat Together
$30.99Add to cartAcknowledgments
Introduction
1. The Supper Of The Lord: Goodness And Grace In 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 (Amy Peeler)
2. Churches And The Politics Of The Sacraments: Rethinking “Unity Of The Church” (D. Zac Niringiye)
3. In Persona Christi: The Catholic Understanding Of The Ordained Priesthood In Relation To The Eucharist (Thomas G. Weinandy)
4. A Way Forward: A Catholic-Anabaptist Ecclesiology (D. Stephen Long)
5. Ascension, Communion, And The Hospitality Of The Priest-King (Cherith Fee Nordling)
6. The Gospel We Share And The Unity We Seek: An Orthodox Contribution (Bradley Nassif)
7. Christ The Ursakrament (Katherine Sonderegger)
8. Visual Ecumenism: The Coy Communion Of Art (Matthew J. Milliner)
9. The Eucharist, The Risen Lord, And The Road To Emmaus: A Road To Deeper Unity? (Matthew Levering)
10. The Eschatological Dimension Of Sacramental Unity: An Orthodox Christian View (Paul L. Gavrilyuk)
11. “For You Have Been Planted Together With Christ”: Sacraments And The Life Of The Church (George Kalantzis)
12. Who Invited The Baptist? The “Sacraments” And Free Church Theology (Marc Cortez)
13. Sacraments And (Dis-)Unity: A Constructive Ecumenical Proposal Toward Healing The Divisions And Facilitating Mutual Recognition (Veli-Matti Karkkainen)
Contributors
Author Index
Subject Index
Scripture IndexAdditional Info
As Christians, we are called to seek the unity of the one body of Christ.But when it comes to the sacraments, the church has often been-and remains-divided. What are we to do? Can we still gather together at the same table?
Based on the lectures from the 2017 Wheaton Theology Conference, this volume brings together the reflections of Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox theologians, who jointly consider what it means to proclaim the unity of the body of Christ in light of the sacraments.
Without avoiding or downplaying the genuine theological and sacramental differences that exist between Christian traditions, what emerges is a thoughtful consideration of what it means to live with the difficult, elusive command to be one as the Father and the Son are one.
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7 Practices For The Church On Mission
$16.99Add to cartPreface
1. The Lord’s Table
2. Reconciliation
3. Proclaiming The Gospel
4. Being With The “Least Of These”
5. Being With Children
6. The Fivefold Gifting
7. Kingdom Prayer
NotesAdditional Info
Jesus gave his followers seven key practices:The Lord’s Supper
Reconciliation
Proclaiming the gospel
Being with the “least of these”
Being with children
Fivefold ministry gifting
Kingdom prayerWhen we practice these disciplines, God becomes faithfully present to us, and we in turn become God’s faithful presence to the world. Pastor and professor David Fitch shows how these seven practices can revolutionize the church’s presence in our neighborhoods, transform our way of life in the world, and advance the kingdom.
Our communities can be changed when they see us practicing our faith. Go and do.
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Ekklesia : Rediscovering God’s Instrument For Global Transformation (Reprinted)
$16.99Add to cartIn this vital, eye-opening book, bestselling author Ed Silvoso equips believers to transform the world around them. Amid the social, political, and moral chaos in our world today, he shows how we can become the church, the ekklesia, that Jesus called us to be: the revolutionary, transformational, life-giving force that people and nations so desperately need.
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Parish : An Anglican Theology Of Place
$31.00Add to cartThe Anglican parish is uniquely embedded in English culture and society, by virtue both of its antiquity and close allegiance with secular governance. Yet it remains an elusive and surprisingly overlooked theme, whose ‘place’, theologically, is far from certain. Whilst ecclesiastical history has long formed a pillar of academic training for ordained ministry, ecclesiastical geography has not contributing to the often uninformed assumptions about locality in contemporary church debate and mission strategy. At a time when its relevance and sustainability are being weighed in the balance and with plans progressing for the Church in Wales’ abandonment of parochial organisation, there is an urgent need for a clear analysis of the parish’s historical, geographical and sociological – as well as theological significance.?
“Parish” examines the distinctive form of social and communal life created by the Anglican parish: applying and advancing, the emerging discipline of place theology by filling a conspicuous gap in contemporary scholarship. Andrew Rumsey will help in forming a vision for the future of the English parish system, contribute towards the Church’s strategy for parochial ministry and also inform the broader national conversation about ‘localism’ and cultural identity.
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Spirituality For The Sent
$35.99Add to cartAcknowledgments
Introduction (Nathan A. Finn And Keith Whitfield)
1. The Missional Church And Spiritual Formation (Nathan A. Finn And Keith Whitfield)
2. Spirituality, Mission, And The Drama Of Scripture (Craig G. Bartholomew)
3. Missional Spirituality And Global Missions (Susan Booth)
4. Missional Spirituality As Congregational (Anthony L. Chute And Christopher W. Morgan)
5. Missional Spirituality And Cultural Engagement (Timothy W. Sheridan And Michael W. Goheen)
6. Welcome To Paul’s World: The Contextual Nature Of Missional Spirituality (Gary Tyra)
7. Lament As Appropriate Missional Spirituality (Soong-Chan Rah)
8. Godly Love: The Primary Missional Virtue (Diane Chandler)
9. Missional Spirituality And Worship (Gordon T. Smith)
10. Missional Spirituality And Justice (Mae Elise Cannon)
11. Journey In The Spirit (George R. Hunsberger)General Index
Scripture IndexAdditional Info
Since their rise in the midst of the revivals of the eighteenth century, evangelicals have been dedicated to the importance of both spirituality and mission. In recent years, evangelicals have engaged in the missional theology discussion that advocates a more holistic Christian mission grounded in the eternal mission of the triune God. At the same time, evangelicals have also been key participants in the spiritual formation discussion that seeks to recover biblical and classical practices for contemporary spiritual growth. While these two movements have been largely independent of each other, the time is right to join them together into a single conversation for the sake of ongoing evangelical faithfulness. Spirituality for the Sent brings together evangelical scholars from a variety of disciplines and ecclesial traditions to address the relationship between spiritual formation and a missional vision of theology and practice. The contributors share a common vision for a missional spirituality that fosters spiritual maturity while also fueling Christian evangelism, cultural engagement, and the pursuit of justice. This collection features contributions by Craig G. BartholomewSusan BoothMae Elise CannonDiane ChandlerAnthony L. ChuteMichael W. GoheenGeorge R. HunsbergerChristopher W. MorganSoong-Chan RahTimothy W. SheridanGordon T. SmithGary Tyra -
Organizing Church : Grassroots Practices For Embodying Change In Your Congr
$24.99Add to cartWhat if congregations embraced community organizing? While many theories exist on how to plant or how to renew a church and its leadership, Organizing Church offers a unique perspective that brings together the tools of community organizing and a robust ecclesiology to suggest a new way forward for revitalizing and empowering churches. This book is a helpful field guide for pastors and other church leaders trying to build healthy congregations, create a deep culture of discipleship in their community, and to respond to the challenges presented by the global culture of the 21st century.
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Kenotic Ecclesiology : Select Writings Of Donald M. MacKinnon
$49.00Add to cartDonald M. MacKinnon has been one of the most important and influential of the post-World War British theologians, significantly impacting the development and subsequent work of the likes of Rowan Williams, Nicholas Lash, and John Milbank, among many other notable theologians. A younger generation largely emerging from Cambridge, but with influence elsewhere, has more recently brought MacKinnon’s eclectic and occasionalist work to a larger audience worldwide.
In this collection, MacKinnon’s central writings on the major themes of ecclesiology, and especially the relationship of the church to theology, are gathered in one source. The volume features several of MacKinnon’s important early texts. These include two short books published in the Signposts series during World War II, and a collection of later essays entitled The Stripping of the Altars.
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Faithful Presence : Seven Disciplines That Shape The Church For Mission
$24.99Add to cartFaithful Presence aims to reshape how we think about the church, what we do in the name as church, and the way we lead as church. It offers seven distinct spiritual practices that are undergirded by sound theology to provide a fuller vision for how people can come together to live in and for Christ and his Kingdom.
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Virtual Body Of Christ In A Suffering World
$22.99Add to cartWe live in a wired world where 24/7 digital connectivity is increasingly the norm. Christian megachurch communities often embrace this reality wholeheartedly while more traditional churches often seem hesitant and overwhelmed by the need for an interactive website, a Facebook page and a twitter feed. This book accepts digital connectivity as our reality, but presents a vision of how faith communities can utilize technology to better be the body of Christ to those who are hurting while also helping followers of Christ think critically about the limits of our digital attachments. This book begins with a conversion story of a non-cell phone owning, non-Facebook using religion professor judgmental of the ability of digital tools to enhance relationships. A stage IV cancer diagnosis later, in the midst of being held up by virtual communities of support, a conversion occurs: this religion professor benefits in embodied ways from virtual sources and wants to convert others to the reality that the body of Christ can and does exist virtually and makes embodied difference in the lives of those who are hurting. The book neither uncritically embraces nor rejects the constant digital connectivity present in our lives. Rather it calls on the church to a) recognize ways in which digital social networks already enact the virtual body of Christ; b) tap into and expand how Christ is being experienced virtually; c) embrace thoughtfully the material effects of our new augmented reality, and c) influence utilization of technology that minimizes distraction and maximizes attentiveness toward God and the world God loves.
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Shared Mercy : Karl Barth On Forgiveness And The Church
$44.99Add to cartIn A Shared Mercy, Jon Coutts explores Karl Barth’s theology of forgiveness and reconciliation in the final volume of the Church Dogmatics. Combining systematic and pastoral theology, Coutts shows the significance of Barth’s writings for the life of the church today.
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Representing Christ : A Vision For The Priesthood Of All Believers
$28.99Add to cartThe priesthood of all believers is a core Protestant belief. But what does it actually mean? Uche Anizor and Hank Voss set the record straight in this concise treatment of a doctrine that lies at the center of church life and Christian spirituality. The authors look at the priesthood of all believers in terms of the biblical witness, the contribution of Martin Luther and the doctrine of the Trinity. They place this concept in the context of the canonical description of Israel and the church as a royal priesthood that responds to God in witness and service to the world. Representing Christ is much more than a piece of Reformation history. It shows that the priesthood of all believers is interwoven with the practical, spiritual and missional life of the church.
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Political Church : The Local Assembly As Embassy Of Christs Rule
$45.99Add to cartPreface
Introduction
1. What Is Politics?
2. What Is An Institution?
3. The Politics Of Creation
4. The Politics Of The Fall
5. The Politics Of The New Covenant
6. The Politics Of The Kingdom
Conclusion
Author Index
Subject Index
Scripture IndexAdditional Info
The church is political. Theologians have been debating this claim for years. Liberationists, Anabaptists, Augustinians, neo-Calvinists, Radical Orthodox and others continue to discuss the matter. What do we mean by politics and the political? What are the limits of the church’s political reach? What is the nature of the church as an institution? How do we establish these claims theologically? Jonathan Leeman sets out to address these questions in this significant work. Drawing on covenant theology and the “new institutionalism” in political science, Leeman critiques political liberalism and explores how the biblical canon informs an account of the local church as an embassy of Christ’s kingdom. Political Church heralds a new era in political theology. -
Bodies Of Peace
$44.00Add to cartContents:
Introduction: Ecclesiology, Nonviolence, And The Claims Of War
1. War, Church, And The Plurality Of Witness
2. The Church As Witness: John Howard Yoder, Dialogical Nonviolence, And The Church’s Performance
3. The Church Forming Nonviolence: Dorothy Day, The Mystical Body, And The Logic Of Tradition
4. The Church As Naming Nonviolence Witness: William Stringfellow, The Powers, And The Word’s Renewing Work
5. The Church Supporting Nonviolence: Robert McAfee Brown, CALCAV, And Worldly Ecumenicity
Conclusion
BibliographyAdditional Info
This book argues that Christian nonviolence is both formed by and forms ecclesial life, creating an inextricable relationship between church commitment and resistance to war. Examining the work of John Howard Yoder, Dorothy Day, William Stringfellow, and Robert McAfee Brown, this book explores how each thinker’s advocacy for nonviolent resistance depends deeply upon the ecclesiology out of which it comes. These forms comprise four strands of a comprehensive Christian approach to a nonviolent witness rooted in ecclesial life.Because each of these figures’ ecclesiology implicates a different mode of resistance to war and a different relation between ecclesiology and resistance to war, the volume argues that any account of an ecclesially-informed resistance to war must be open to a multitude of approaches, not as pragmatic concessions, but as a foretaste of ecumenical unity. Insofar as the pursuit of peace in the world can be seen as a church bearing out the work of the Spirit, the approach of other ecclesial traditions can be seen not as competitors but as common works of the Spirit, which other traditions may learn from and be challenged by.
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Between Magisterium And Marketplace
$49.00Add to cartContents:
Introduction
1. Situating Authorship: Insights From Contemporary Literary Theory
2. The Rock Or The Eagle?
3. Magisterium Or Marketplace?
4. Authorship In Public
5. The Church As Diffusively Spatialized Event
Conclusion
BibliographyAdditional Info
What is the relationship of the church to theology? How does the church relate to the work of creative theological authorship, particularly when authors propose novel claims? Even more, how do ecclesial models, particularly of ecclesial authority, underwrite or authorize how theology is done? Saler takes up these challenging and provocative questions and argues for a fresh ecclesiology of the church as event, specifically as a diffusively spatialized event.Establishing this claim through the fascinating historical encounters between thinkers like Thomas More and William Tyndale, John Henry Newman and Friedrich Schleiermacher, Between Magisterium and Marketplace provides a theological genealogy of modern ecclesiology, arguing that modern and contemporary ecclesiology is a theological contest not between Barth and Schleiermacher, but rather Newman and Schleiermacher. Constructing an alternative path, Saler turns to the work of a diverse array of authors past and present to argue for a humble yet hopeful view of the theological task in light of contemporary ecclesial opportunities.
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Essential Church : A Wesleyan Ecclesiology
$19.99Add to cartWith so many denominations and differing ideas about what the church is and does, arriving at a clear understanding of the church is a formidable challenge. The pastors and educators who have contributed to this book explore the meaning,purpose, and function of the church, as well as its structure. They address topics such as the kingdom of God, worship, and mission, in relation to the body of Christ, and give special attention to Wesleyan theological concerns.This theology of the church is an accessible resource for anyone, minister or layperson, who desires a better grasp of the church. This stimulating ecclesiology is a valuable addition to any theological library.
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Community Of Jesus
$24.99Add to cartIntended for upper division college students, seminarians, and pastors, The Community of Jesus delivers a biblical, historic, systematic, and missional theology of the church.
Today the word church provokes wide-ranging reactions and generates discussion on a variety of issues among Christians and non-Christians alike. In order to sort through this maze of responses and topics, a biblical and theological foundation must be laid that provides a clear vision of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and its significance in God’s eternal purpose.
With extensive pastoral, teaching, missions, and administrative experience, this team of contributors carefully sets forth the biblical teachings concerning the church and then builds on this core material, relating the theology of the church to salvation history, church history, God’s glory, and God’s mission:
* Paul R. House, “God Walks with His People: Old Testament Foundations”
* Andreas J. Kostenberger, “The Church According to the Gospels”
* Kendell H. Easley, “The Church in Acts and Revelation: New Testament Bookends”
* David S. Dockery, “The Church in the Pauline Epistles”
* Ray Van Neste, “The Church in the General Epistles”
* James A. Patterson, “The Church in History: Ecclesiastical Ideals and Institutional Realities”
* Stephen J.Wellum, “Beyond Mere Ecclesiology: The Church as God’s New Covenant Community”
* Christopher W. Morgan, “The Church and the Glory of God”
* Bruce Riley Ashford, “The Church in the Mission of God” -
Generous Ecclesiology : Church World And The Kingdom Of God
$35.99Add to cartGenerous Ecclesiology seeks to present a positive theological contribution to Anglican ecclesiology and missiology. It aims to do this by responding to issues raised by For the Parish and mission-shaped church in particular. This is because the editors are aware that the debate generated by these publications risks becoming polarised – with the dangers of either traditional practices/missionary innovation not being taken seriously. The book would respond to a theological need within the church; and open up a generous space for future reflection and practice. It would be rooted in the Anglican tradition and its imaginative response to context.
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Seeking The Church
$45.00Add to cartSeeking the Church intends to introduce students, teachers and inquirers to key themes and dynamics in being the Church. In a time of significant change and search for new forms of Christian community the book locates such developments within the wider Christian tradition of theological reflection on the doctrine of the Church. The book covers the basic themes in ecclesiology presented in a systematic manner. It draws upon historical examples and engages where appropriate with the Anglican tradition. The intent is to cover the key areas without pretending to be exhaustive so that a reader will gain a solid and creative introduction to a major area of theology. Seeking the Church is an ideal introduction for all who want to engage with the churches theological self understanding in the present day and through the ages.
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Perspectives On Ecclesiology And Ethnography
$53.99Add to cartWithin the disciplines of religious studies, systematic theology, and practical theology there exists a divide between empirical and theological analyses of the church. Each volume in the cross-disciplinary series Studies in Ecclesiology and Ethnography attempts to address this gap by exploring the methodological and substantive issues that arise from both theological and empirical studies of the church’s practices and social reality.
Perspectives on Ecclesiology and Ethnography, the inaugural volume in the series, proposes that if theology is to regain its relevance to the church today, theologians must utilize ethnographical tools in order to provide more accurate, disciplined research that is situated in real contexts. Using “ethnography” in its broadest sense — encompassing any form of qualitative research — this volume proposes that the church is both theological and social/cultural, which implies the need for a methodological shift for researchers in theology. Contributions from twelve scholar-practitioners lead the way forward.
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Light To The Nations (Reprinted)
$28.00Add to cartThere is a growing body of literature about the missional church, but the word missional is often defined in competing ways with little attempt to ground it deeply in Scripture. Michael Goheen, a dynamic speaker and the coauthor of two popular texts on the biblical narrative, unpacks the missional identity of the church by tracing the role God’s people are called to play in the biblical story. Goheen shows that the church’s identity can be understood only when its role is articulated in the context of the whole biblical story–not just the New Testament, but the Old Testament as well. He also explores practical outworkings and implications, offering field-tested suggestions for contemporary churches.
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Politics Of Discipleship
$32.00Add to cartIn this fourth volume in the Church and Postmodern Culture series, internationally acclaimed theologian Graham Ward examines the political side of postmodernism in order to discern the contemporary context of the church and describe the characteristics of a faithful, political discipleship. His study falls neatly into two sections. The first, which is the more theoretical section, considers “the signs of the times.” Ward names this section “The World,” noting that the church must always frame its vision and mission within its worldly context. In the second section, “The Church,” he turns to constructive application, providing an account of the Christian practices of hope that engage the world from within yet always act as messengers of God’s kingdom.
Ward’s study accomplishes two related goals. First, he provides an accessible guide to contemporary postmodernism and its wide-ranging implications. Second, he elaborates a discipleship that informs a faith seeking understanding, which Ward describes as “the substance of the church’s political life.”
Ward is well known for his thoughtful engagement with postmodernism and contemporary critical theology. Here he provides a broader audience with an engaging account of the inherently political nature of postmodernity and thoughts on what it means to live the Christian faith within that setting.
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ChurchMorph
$24.00Add to cartIt is estimated that 80 percent of churches across the theological spectrum are either stalled or in decline. In ChurchMorph, internationally respected church observer Eddie Gibbs goes beyond an analysis of the causes to show how many churches and faith communities are actually breaking the downward trend. He expertly maps current converging church movements–emerging and missional churches, mainline renewal groups, megachurches, urban mission, new monasticism, alternative worship, and expanding networks–and offers a positive assessment of the reshaping of today’s church.
Gibbs argues that more is required of Western churches than adopting new programs if they are to missionally engage within their context. The church must re-image itself, resulting in its reconfiguration and a comprehensive change in its self-understanding; it must morph in order to be defined by its mission in the world. Gibbs identifies trends that provide signs of the kingdom, reflecting on how different ecclesial communities are working out what it means to be “church” in a post-Christendom environment. He provides a range of examples from North America and the United Kingdom to offer encouragement and assurance that God has by no means abandoned his church.
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Space For Grace
$20.99Add to cart‘Inclusive’ is a term that is most closely associated with questions of human sexuality, but in relation to theology and to local church life it has many more dimensions which this book explores. Like so many others, the church of which Giles Goddard is rector was, fifty years ago, almost exclusively white, middle class and male-led. As the local community became more diverse, change was inevitable. Theology has followed rather than led this change and this book reflects on what inclusive theology is starting to look like in practice. Including stories of people who have either been instrumental in this change or who have stayed faithful through its various stages, it explores key questions for every local church: embracing the evangelical, orthodox and liberal and seeing beyond labels, treating everyone as equal before God, sharing leadership and responsibility, recognising that freedom needs limits, drawing people from the margins to the centre, and managing change. Theological reflection follows each story and an h
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People And Place
$60.00Add to cartIn this final volume of a four-volume series, Michael Horton explores the origin, mission, and destiny of the church through the lens of covenantal theology. Arguing that the history of Israel and the covenant of grace provide the proper context for New Testament ecclesiology, Horton then shows how the church is constituted through the ascension of Christ, the Pentecost, and the Parousia and continues to live by the Word and sacraments. Hortons goal is to demonstrate the potential of a covenantal model for integrating the themes of the church as people and as place, with an urgent concern for contemporary practice.
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Architecture Of Immanence
$32.99Add to cartBaroque, Gothic, Romanesque, Greek. These traditional architectural styles are easily recognizable both in public buildings and especially in houses of worship. Each has a particular influence on sacred space, and all tend to highlight the utter transcendence of God. In An Architecture of Immanence Mark Torgerson asserts that modern architecture has heavily influenced the construction of new sacred spaces, producing a new way of building that emphasizes God’s coming near to us. Torgerson begins by discussing a proper understanding of God’s transcendence and immanence and showing how church architecture has traditionally interpreted these key concepts. He then traces the theological roots of immanence’s priority from liberal theology and liturgical innovation to modern architecture. Next, Torgerson illustrates this new architecture of immanence through particular practitioners, focusing especially on the work of theologically savvy architect Edward Anders SAvik. Finally, he addresses the future of church architecture as congregations are buffeted by the twin forces of liturgical change and postmodernism. A celebration and exploration of the modern conception of sacred space, An Architecture of Immanence will interest architects, liturgists, and all Christians who seek to read the sacred spaces of the recent past.
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Holy People : A Liturgical Ecclesiology
$29.00Add to cartIntroduction: Liturgical Ecclesiology And Its Importance
PART ONE: A People-Church In Liturgical Perspective
*Assembly
*With All, In Every Place
*The Practice Of AssemblyPART TWO: One People – Liturgy And Church Unity
*Knowing Something Together
*Unity And Liturgical Pattern
*The Practice Of UnityPART THREE: Holy People – Liturgical Assemblies And Earth’s Peoples
*Assembly, Baptism, And Culture
*Assembly, Eucharist, And Culture
*The Practice Of HolinessAppendixes
IndexesAdditional Info
This sequel to Gordon Lathrop’s highly successful Holy Things is an exercise in liturgical theology, viewing the activities of worship as a means of defining and discussing the concept “church.” It centers on community and assembly to discuss the sacraments. It focuses on ecumenism and inculturation as central test cases for a liturgically derived idea of church.In hopes of invigorating the local church, Lathrop explores the meaning of the term “church,” the relationship of the local liturgical assembly and other Christian assemblies (catholicity); the personal and communal character of liturgical assembly; the unity of the churches; the critical principles of liturgy and culture; openness to what is radically other; and liturgical evangelization. Lathrop’s work grounds a notion of church that is personal yet communal, universal, but not triumphalistic.
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Great Giveaway : Reclaiming The Mission Of The Church (Reprinted)
$22.00Add to cartHas the North American church relinquished her God-given mission to parachurch organizations, psychotherapy, and consumer capitalism? Warning that postmodern evangelicals are increasingly modeling their ministries after secular sciences and “farming out” church functions in the name of efficiency, Fitch challenges believers to reclaim the lost practices of evangelism, physical healing, and spiritual formation.
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Community Of The Word
$35.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
Do North American evangelicals have a clear and strong doctrine of the church? Can we generate one?
In this volume, editors Mark Husbands and Daniel J. Treier bring together thirteen scholars and teachers to explore the history of evangelical ecclesiology and the continuing discussion regarding the nature of the church, the question of sacraments, the relation of church to society, and the church’s moral character and missional witness.
Contributors include William J. Abraham, Gary D. Badcock, Craig A. Carter, Ellen T. Charry, William A. Dyrness, Darrell L. Guder, D. G. Hart, Willie James Jennings, Dennis L. Okholm, James K. A. Smith, Allen Verhey, John Webster and Jonathan R. Wilson.
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Tabernacle Pamphlet : Symbolism In The Tabernacle
$3.99Add to cartHigh Gloss Plastic Coated Sheet
Size: 8.5″ X 5.5″ 12-14 Panels Unfolds To 33″ LongAdditional Info
The Tabernacle pamphlet
The pamphlet shows a beautiful picture of the Old Testament Tabernacle in the Wilderness of Sinai. The Tabernacle was the special “tent of meeting” that God instructed Moses to build. It was placed in the center of the camp and could be set up and taken down whenever the Children of Israel traveled. Drawn to Bible measurements, this picture points out all of the important features: the Ark of the Covenant, the High Priest, the Holy Place, the Holy of Holies, the Brazen Altar, the pillar of fire and more. Includes more than a dozen illustrations and diagrams. Includes measurements, explanations, a list of sacrifices, symbols, and a time line. Perfect for adults and children -
Tabernacle Workbook : Lesson Guide With 12 Fun Lessons – Ages 10-Adult – Ex (Wor
$11.99Add to cartThe Tabernacle Workbook
This workbook is packed with reproducible activity and information sheets on the Tabernacle, the sacrifices, the furnishings (including the Ark of the Covenant), the priests’ garments, and the symbolism that points to Jesus. Includes diagrams of the Tabernacle, drawings of all of the furnishings, and pictures of the High Priestly garments. Includes worksheets, codes and clues, puzzles, and activities. Perfect for youth or adults. -
City And Sanctuary
$35.99Add to cartThis volume challenges some common assumptions about the culture of the early Byzantine Near East by examining the architecture and urban design of five cities in that period. The author assesses the various kinds of religious structure found in each city, including cult centres, temples dedicated to the Olympian gods and buildings set aside for mystery religions. He also shows how the effects of these sanctuaries on civic religious life were hugely important and influential, and shaped the way that citizens conceived of their city and of themselves. This book should be of interest to: scholars and students of the New Testament and of the Hellenistic period; scholars and students of Judaic studies; scholars and students of Classical studies; and non-specialists interested in the life and times of the ancient world.
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When Chruch Became Theatre
$150.00Add to cartFor nearly eighteen centuries, two fundamental spatial plans dominated Christian architecture: the basilica and the central plan. In the 1880s, however, profound socio-economic and technological changes in the United States contributed to the rejection of these traditions and the development of a radically new worship building, the auditorium church. When Church Became Theatre focuses on this radical shift in evangelical Protestant architecture and links it to changes in worship style and religious mission.
The auditorium style, featuring a prominent stage from which rows of pews radiated up a sloping floor, was derived directly from the theatre, an unusual source for religious architecture but one with a similar goal-to gather large groups within range of a speaker’s voice. Theatrical elements were prominent; many featured proscenium arches, marquee lighting, theatre seats, and even opera boxes.
Examining these churches and the discussions surrounding their development, Jeanne Halgren Kilde focuses on how these buildings helped congregations negotiate supernatural, social, and personal power. These worship spaces underscored performative and entertainment aspects of the service and in so doing transformed relationships between clergy and audiences. In auditorium churches, the congregants’ personal and social power derived as much from consumerism as from piety, and clerical power lay in dramatic expertise rather than connections to social institutions. By erecting these buildings, argues Kilde, middle class religious audiences demonstrated the move toward a consumer-oriented model of religious participation that gave them unprecedented influence over the worship experience and church mission.
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New Creation : A Liturgical Worldview
$18.00Add to cartFrank Senn, one of today’s most knowledgeable liturgical theologians and historians, contemplates the furture shape of liturgy. He believes that ritual systems-liturgy- express and inculcate a worldview, and implicit theology; and fears that “lest the community of faith gain the whole world and lose its soul.” New Creation proposes the lines of a “Christian culture” or worldview or way of life that can inform liturgical renewal.
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Searching For Sacred Space
$32.95Add to cartEvery Sunday we walk through those (probably red) doors and enter a sacred space. It is familiar . . . maybe comforting . . . maybe not . . . maybe downright uncomfortable and unwelcoming.
In twelve thoughtful and provocative essays, the writers ask important questions about the relationship between sacred spaces and the worship that takes place in them:
-How do our buildings convey a vision of God’s kingdom on earth?
-How are our places of worship reflecting our beliefs?
-In what visible, tangible forms are we proclaiming a faith in the living God?
-How are our church buildings helping this church bring the Gospel into a new century? -
Sacred Drama : A Spirituality Of Christian Liturgy
$17.00Add to cartWilson-Kastner’s wonderfully crafted work views the liturgy as a cosmic drama, enacting a sacred meal that grounds us in the universe, draws us into God’s creation and redemption, and poses stiff ethical challenges “deep in our bones” to Christians in community. “Liturgy reconnects us with God and with all creation, rekindles in us the vision of the restoration of all in God, and clarifies and nourishes again in us the hope in which we can live now in justice, peace, and love with each other” she says. Though we don’t have all the details of this script, we are deeply implicated in the plot.
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Confessing The Faith
$34.00Add to cartAt once a deep critique and a stirring manifesto, this final volume in Douglas John Hall’s monumental trilogy addresses the most practical and pressing issues confronting the Christian church today: its stance in the world, its own contours, its mission to a society that seems to have lost its bearings, and – in a time of Christianity’s own disestablishment – its unavoidable mandate as a prophetic minority to confess the faith.
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Calvins Ecclesiastical Advice
$34.00Add to cart“From the Publisher:” The Columbia Series in Reformed Theology represents a joint commitment by Columbia Theological Seminary and Westminster John Knox Press to provide theological resources from the Reformed tradition for the church today. Volumes in this series are intended for scholars, theologians, pastors, and lay people who are committed to faith in search of understanding.
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Tabernacle In The Wilderness
$15.99Add to cartManufactured On Demand Title
While the Old Testament presents many types of the person and work of Christ, few are as detailed and as instructive as the Tabernacle, the offerings, and the priesthood. John Ritchie’s classic study illuminates a richly rewarding area of Old Testament studies.
