Denominational Concerns
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Roots Of Reform
$65.00Add to cartVolume 1 of The Annotated Luther series contains writings that defined the roots of reform set in motion by Martin Luther, beginning with the Ninety-Five Theses (1517) through The Freedom of a Christian (1520). Included are treatises, letters, and sermons written from 1517 to 1520, which set the framework for key themes in all of Luthers later works. Also included are documents that reveal Luthers earliest confrontations with Rome and his defense of views and perspectives that led to his excommunication by Leo X in 1520.
These documents display a Luther grounded in late medieval theology and its peculiar issues, trained in the latest humanist methods of the Renaissance, and, most especially, showing sensitivity toward the pastoral consequences of theological positions and church practice.
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Fullest Possible Love
$19.99Add to cartA new and age-old way of practicing the Christian faith.
What does Wesleyan theology and the Methodist way of life have to do with Benedictine ideas and practices? Renowned teacher Paul W. Chilcote reveals surprising and profound similarities and overlaps in the practices and theological convictions of these two Christian streams. Chilcote is a United Methodist scholar, elder, and serves as a Benedictine oblate. He writes from his own spiritual life, offering a gift to readers who are interested in Methodism and mysticism. Chilcote teaches a remarkable approach to spiritual practice; it is a new and age-old way of practicing our faith.
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Compelling Convictions : Finding Our Future In A Modern World
$35.99Add to cartA fresh look at our core values
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In the twenty years since a group of Brethren in Christ pastors, educators, administrators, and laypeople first met to identify ten core values for the North American church, much has changed–including the continuing decline of the church in the west; dynamic social movements for racial, gender, and economic justice; vast advances in technology, and a worldwide pandemic.With so much happening on both the national and international stages, it seems vital that we as Brethren in Christ prayerfully reflect not only on our core values and their application, but on how those values might help our churches engage a dramatically new social context. Are these values merely sentimental slogans? Or do they constitute compelling convictions, genuine guiding lights orienting us and motivating our mission in a rapidly changing world? The answer to that all-important question depends largely on how we use them. In this forward-looking book, essays from Brethren in Christ pastors and leaders from across the globe call us into the future of the church–to unleash our creative energies, roll up our sleeves, and put these core values to good use.
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Radicals And Reformers
$34.99Add to cartWith Bibles and baptism, a movement was born.
From renegade gatherings of Christian believers in the 1500s to a global communion of more than 2.1 million members, the Anabaptist-Mennonite movement has been marked by faithfulness and failure, continuity and conflict, radicalism and reformation. In this engaging history, Radicals and Reformers traces the origins and development of the Anabaptist and Mennonite movements from their beginnings in Europe through their spread across the globe.
In this new authoritative introduction to Anabaptist history, historian Troy Osborne reflects on the ways that Anabaptists have defined their identity in new settings and in response to new theological, intellectual, geographic, and political contexts. Drawing from current scholarship and a range of written and visual sources, this book provides an overview of how Mennonites from Zurich to Zimbabwe have adapted to or resisted the world around them.
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Compelling Convictions : Finding Our Future In A Modern World
$19.99Add to cartA fresh look at our core values
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In the twenty years since a group of Brethren in Christ pastors, educators, administrators, and laypeople first met to identify ten core values for the North American church, much has changed–including the continuing decline of the church in the west; dynamic social movements for racial, gender, and economic justice; vast advances in technology, and a worldwide pandemic.With so much happening on both the national and international stages, it seems vital that we as Brethren in Christ prayerfully reflect not only on our core values and their application, but on how those values might help our churches engage a dramatically new social context. Are these values merely sentimental slogans? Or do they constitute compelling convictions, genuine guiding lights orienting us and motivating our mission in a rapidly changing world? The answer to that all-important question depends largely on how we use them. In this forward-looking book, essays from Brethren in Christ pastors and leaders from across the globe call us into the future of the church–to unleash our creative energies, roll up our sleeves, and put these core values to good use.
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Who We Are And What We Believe Companion Reader
$12.99Add to cartClear answers to common questions.
This small, simple, and shareable book about The United Methodist Church is a helpful reference guide to everything that makes The UMC distinctive. Written in a clear, accessible style by Laceye Warner, Who We Are and What We Believe: 50 Questions about the UMC contains answers to fifty common questions about who United Methodists are, what we believe and practice, and what sets us apart. Use it alone or as a companion to Knowing Who We Are: The Wesleyan Way of Grace.
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Works Of John Wesley 30
$77.99Add to cartPart of the most comprehensive collection of Wesley’s writings. The correspondence presented in this sixth volume of Wesley’s letters covers the period when Methodists in North America, by a “strange providence,” were severed from their relationship with the Church of England. Wesley made heroic efforts to provide them with ordained clergy and other materials they would need in their life as a “church.” It also illuminates the tensions that John’s decision to ordain clergy for Methodists outside of England created within his connexion in England-particularly with his brother Charles. The volume includes over 200 items not found in previous editions of Wesley’s letters. All Works of John Wesley volumes are designed to keep the pages clean and in place for years to come, with casebound non-cloth hardcover, dust jacket, and secure adhesive binding.
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Knowing Who We Are
$18.99Add to cartDiscover what sets United Methodism apart.
In this book, Laceye C. Warner invites you to a richer understanding of Wesleyan Christianity so you can have a clear sense of identity, better express your own beliefs, and deepen your connection with The United Methodist Church. She introduces you to important values and characteristics that make the Wesleyan way distinctive, including emphasizing God’s grace for all and sanctification as tangible transformation in your life, your community, and all creation. You’ll see how The United Methodist Church today is deeply rooted in the Christian tradition and a legacy of care, compassion, and active response to injustice in the world. And you’ll find that Christian faith in the Wesleyan tradition holds together personal faith and community life, along with a commitment to justice through ministry and service. Pick up this book and study it with your small group and discover a way of being Christian that fills you with joy, moves you to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, and spurs you to live with compassion and grace. The book can be read alone or used by small groups anytime throughout the year. Components include video teaching sessions featuring Laceye Warner and a comprehensive Leader Guide, making this perfect as a six-week group study. A companion book, Who We Are and What We Believe: 50 Questions about The UMC, is also available.
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New Anabaptists : Practices For Emerging Communities
$18.99Add to cartWhat does it look like to be an Anabaptist community in the modern world? And why does it matter?
A new incarnation of Anabaptism is emerging, but not where we might expect. In the United Kingdom–a post-Christendom context with little historical Anabaptist presence–Christian communities are embodying fresh expressions of Anabaptist faith and practice. In this companion to The Naked Anabaptist, author Stuart Murray identifies twelve common practices of such churches and communities that are shaped by an Anabaptist vision.
Murray explores how these practices–which include encouraging economic radicalism in the face of rampant consumerism, truth-telling in a “post-truth” society, and accountability in an individualistic culture that knows little about the Christian story–might shape emerging Christian communities and inspire those seeking fresh expressions as cultural changes accelerate. The book concludes with three on-the-ground reports from ministry leaders pursuing this Anabaptist vision in their own post-Christendom contexts.
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The New Anabaptists provides foundational resources for followers of Jesus in many different settings as they rise to the challenge of faithful and radical discipleship in local communities. -
New Anabaptists: Practices For Emerging Communities
$35.99Add to cartWhat does it look like to be an Anabaptist community in the modern world? And why does it matter?
A new incarnation of Anabaptism is emerging, but not where we might expect. In the United Kingdom–a post-Christendom context with little historical Anabaptist presence–Christian communities are embodying fresh expressions of Anabaptist faith and practice. In this companion to The Naked Anabaptist, author Stuart Murray identifies twelve common practices of such churches and communities that are shaped by an Anabaptist vision.
Murray explores how these practices–which include encouraging economic radicalism in the face of rampant consumerism, truth-telling in a “post-truth” society, and accountability in an individualistic culture that knows little about the Christian story–might shape emerging Christian communities and inspire those seeking fresh expressions as cultural changes accelerate. The book concludes with three on-the-ground reports from ministry leaders pursuing this Anabaptist vision in their own post-Christendom contexts.
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The New Anabaptists provides foundational resources for followers of Jesus in many different settings as they rise to the challenge of faithful and radical discipleship in local communities. -
Upward : Wesleyan Formation In Three Movements
$19.99Add to cartA guide for new and longtime United Methodists. This book thorougly and methodically walks the reader through the distinctives of the Wesleyan way–the theology, practices, habits, and attitudes that characterize Methodist people. It is a book of both instruction and celebration, offering the equivalent of a course on Wesleyan living and a beautiful reminder of the ways that life is most gracious and lovely. Features:
–Clear framework with small segments; easy for readers to follow
–Practical Methodist theology for today, for real people
–The content can easily be adapted for different formats, such as articles, single chapters, and key points for Ministry Matters Exchange
Benefits:
–Helps readers correct misconceptions about Wesleyan theology-their own and those in their congregations
–Helps readers clarify and reclaim Wesleyan theology-or to learn it for the first time
–Gives readers the vocabulary and a helpful new framework for sharing Wesleyan theology with others
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Methodist Book Of Daily Prayer
$21.99Add to cartDaily payer the Wesleyan way.
Prayer is a spiritual practice, and daily prayer uses the repetition of forms and words to cultivate a deep, meaningful ritual, drawing the individual into an ever-closer relationship with God. This book is organized by liturgical season, but is undated, so the individual is free to begin using it at any point during the year. The book is concise and easy to use and includes the words of scripture and other necessary text. It is a simple, frictionless tool for spiritual health.
The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer provides complete texts for Morning Prayers and Evening Prayers, with a new set of texts for each week of the year. Each week is anchored in its liturgical season: Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Eastertide, Pentecost, Sow & Rest (Ordinary Time), and Harvest & Create (Ordinary Time).
Each set of prayers centers on a scripture passage, with an emphasis on the Psalms. The prayers draw from familiar historic, classic, and ancient Christian texts, and from Methodism’s rich hymnody. They also feature fresh, original words from new writers. This book facilitates deep daily connection with God–a method for spiritual sustenance.
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Silenced : The Forgotten Story Of Progressive Era Free Methodist Women
$100.00Add to cartSilenced: The Forgotten Story of Progressive Era Free Methodist Women explores gender debates within the Free Methodist Church of North America from 1890-1920. This interdisciplinary work reconstructs the lives of women who served as Free Methodist evangelists and deacons, illustrating their struggle for recognition and acceptance.
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Multiplying Love : Vision Of United Methodist Life Together
$14.99Add to cartA Vision of United Methodist Life Together.
Our world needs love during these desperate days of radical polarization and division. Our United Methodist churches yearn to embrace love more completely because God first loved us. Our “faith” (including doctrine) is important; Christian “hope” (including renewal) is important; “love” of God and neighbor is more important. Multiplying Love underscores what matters most and stands in contrast to divisive misreadings of essential Methodist teachings. Chilcote helps us embrace anew the Wesleyan vision of love of Jesus as central to what we believe and how we live.
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Being United Methodist Christians
$16.99Add to cartLearn what it means to be a United Methodist Christian.
How may we describe United Methodists? Where do we come from? What do we believe? How do United Methodists act? What are our distinctive characteristics? What is required to be a member of our denomination? How do we grow as disciples of Jesus Christ within this great communion?
In this resource, we offer answers to these questions and others in broad strokes as we describe our United Methodist Church. We will introduce you to how United Methodists live and think as followers of Jesus Christ.
The United Methodist Church possesses the characteristics of many other Christian traditions but has its own distinctive profile. Our denomination combines knowledge and vital piety, believing that serious theological reflection and spiritual practices are both part of the Christian life. United Methodists link personal and social holiness, expecting high personal integrity and deep concern for social justice. We are both evangelical and sacramental, showing concern for people who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and honoring the transforming power of Baptism and Holy Communion. We welcome people with many different theological perspectives. Finally, United Methodists are both local and connectional, expressing our faith in local congregations, regional associations, and global missions, so that we might do more together than any of us could do separately.
This book will help readers:
* hear and claim for themselves the story of God’s love, God’s redemption, and God’s ongoing presence and power through Jesus Christ.
* explore and claim for themselves the unique beliefs and emphases of United Methodist Christians.
* identify ways to live day by day as United Methodist Christians as individuals and in community with other Christians.
We invite you to claim for yourself the continuing story of God’s mighty acts of creation, redemption, and power through Jesus Christ within our great denomination. As you begin or continue to see yourself within this living, dynamic part of the universal body of Jesus Christ, we invite you to live, be, and grow as a United Methodist Christian.
The book includes Small-Group Study and Leader Helps at the end of each chapter, including questions.
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Works Of John Wesley 28
$77.99Add to cartThe correspondence presented in this fourth volume of Wesley’s letters casts light on the growth of his movement, documenting (for example) the emergence of connexion-wide financial campaigns and continuing debates over the desire of lay preachers for ordination. It covers the decisive split between the Wesleyan and Calvinist wings of Methodism, including the ways in which Charles Wesley drew closer to his brother through these developments. The volume includes over 100 items not found in previous editions of Wesley’s letters. All Works of John Wesley volumes are designed to keep the pages clean and in place for years to come., with casebound non-cloth hardcover, dust jacket, and secure adhesive binding.
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American Methodism Revised And Updated (Revised)
$39.99Add to cartThe essential guide to American Methodism revised and updated through 2020.
Four of Methodism’s most respected teachers give us a vivid picture of 260 years of Methodist experience in America. The revised edition updates the Methodist movement’s story through 2020, including the social, political, economic, technological, and global disruptions that cause faith communities and denominations to pull apart.
American Methodism Revised and Updated begins with the explosion of evangelical Pietism and revolutionary Methodism, the First Great Awakening, as an independent nation was formed.
It then highlights key 19th century themes and Methodist contributions, such as spreading scriptural holiness through missions and literature, planting tens of thousands of Sunday schools and churches by Circuit Riders, the pivotal Methodist schism between abolitionists and enslavers, the innovative building of schools and hospitals into the next century, and the revivalism of the Second Great Awakening.
Finally it explores the movements of 20th century Methodism, including the expansion of home and foreign missions, the Methodist drive for Prohibition, the decision for nationwide reunification on the cusp of World War II, reunification with the United Brethren during the Vietnam War, the Methodist ordination of women during the 1950s, Black Methodist leadership in the 1960s Civil Rights movement, and the liturgical renewal or reformation of worship (ancient and future).
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Shaped By Worship
$12.95Add to cartThe newest book in the Little Books on Liturgy series, focused on the intersection of liturgy and formation.
Juan Oliver, Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer, outlines why rituals and liturgy have great meaning in forming individuals and communities. His work is focused on topics such as the sacraments, worship, mystery and the sacred.
Ideal for group or individual study in churches, seminaries, and schools of ministry.
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Dont Look Back
$18.99Add to cartHope and help for pastors and congregations who are asking, What now? And What’s next?
Some pastors and congregations have managed remarkable innovation, creation of new ministries, courageous pruning of old programs, and rediscovery of core Wesleyan convictions in recent years. Others have experienced a long, slow-motion, downward cycle of loss.
We might be tempted to ‘sit down’ wherever we are, looking back at all that’s happened, shaking our heads in disbelief. But it’s time to stand up, to move forward. Will Willimon shows what that could look like. He spent a year committed to asking questions and careful listening in conversations with clergy, organizational leaders, and parishioners across the U.S. What’s next for Methodist church folk?
As you read, join in the process of asking and listening. The honesty, wisdom, and inspiration you find here may point you in new directions. What do you think God is up to in the present moment? What should we stop doing and begin doing, responding to God’s call now? What are the biblical texts, stories from our past, and core Wesleyan convictions that might guide us from this point?
And are we at Good Friday or at Easter?
As Willimon writes in his Introduction, “Let’s have a decent burial for yesterday’s good intentions and then partner with the Holy Spirit in creating tomorrow’s church.” This is a book to read and reflect on with colleagues, congregants, and Methodist friends.
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Legacy Of Melchior Rinck
$39.99Add to cart“Reformer. Revolutionary. Anabaptist.After witnessing the failure of the peasants’ movement in sixteenth-century Germany, Melchior Rinck was motivated by a passion to see both church and society reformed. His name appears in sixteenth-century lists of significant early Anabaptist leaders, but he has not received much scholarly attention. In this first full-length study of Rinck’s life, relationships, ministry, debates, theological emphases, impact, and legacy, Stuart Murray paints a portrait of an underappreciated Anabaptist pioneer who did not fit neatly into any of the major branches of the movement but developed his own approach. Rinck was vehemently opposed to infant baptism because of the damage this practice did to church and society, more nuanced than many other Anabaptists in his views on church and state, and convinced that love was the supreme divine characteristic and the highest calling of humanity. The Legacy of Melchior Rinck contains previously untranslated writings and the first complete collection of extant works by and about Rinck, offering readers a comprehensive but readable introduction to Rinck’s pioneering role in the unusually tolerant territory of Hesse and an opportunity to consider his legacy. “
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What Kind Of Christianity
$30.00Add to cartLike most Americans, Presbyterians in the United States know woefully little about the history of slavery and the rise of anti-Black racism in our country. Most think of slavery as a tragedy that “just happened” without considering how it happened and who was involved. In What Kind of Christianity William Yoo paints an accurate picture of the complicity of the majority of Presbyterians in promoting, supporting, or willfully ignoring the enslavement of other human beings. Most Presbyterians knew of the widespread physical and sexual violence that enslavers visited on the enslaved, and either approved of it or did nothing to prevent it. Most Presbyterians in the nineteenth century-whether in the South or the North–held racist attitudes toward African Americans and put those attitudes into daily application. In short, during that period when the Presbyterian church was establishing itself as a central part of American life most of its members were promoting slavery and anti-Black racism. In this important book William Yoo demonstrates that to understand how Presbyterian Christians can promote racial justice today, they must first understand and acknowledge how deeply racial injustice is embedded in their history and identity as a denomination.
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Works Of John Wesley 14
$77.99Add to cartThe controversial and doctrinal works emerging from John Wesley’s debates with Moravians, with Roman Catholics, and regrading worship practices are essential for understanding Wesleyan soteriology and ecclesiology.
Works of John Wesley, Volume 14 Doctrine and Controversial Treaties III is part of a series dedicated to providing a complete and accurate published collection of the Works of John Wesley. The various items included in the series constitute crucial primary texts for study of Wesley’s life, his ministry, and his thoughtful impact on the broader Methodist movement in Great Britain and America
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Presbyterian Polity For Church Leaders Updated Fourth Edition
$28.00Add to cartNewly updated for the revised Directory for Worship.
This detailed, comprehensive interpretation of the Presbyterian Book of Order is the most complete resource of its kind. Joan S. Gray updated this best-selling book to include the revised Directory for Worship. It explains the system of Presbyterian government, from sessions to presbyteries to synods to the General Assembly itself.
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5 Means Of Grace
$10.99Add to cartWesley showed us ways to reorder our lives through the “means of grace.” Recharge. Reboot. Reorder. Whatever you want to call it, we need a process that helps us continuously renew our relationship with God so that we don’t drift away from our faith. Based on The Wesley Covenant for Renewal, Five Means of Grace is a six-week, video-based study that will show you how to reorder your life through prayer, searching Scripture, receiving the Lord’s Supper, fasting, and conferencing (worshiping together). You’ll learn how to recognize and affirm the outward signs, words, and actions of an invisible divine grace, deepening your relationship with God and making your faith more complete. A Leader Guide and DVD are also available.
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Presbyterian Ruling Elder Updated Edition
$18.00Add to cartThis valuable resource on the role of the Presbyterian elder covers many basic topics. It examines the Presbyterian and Reformed understanding of the Christian faith as well as the qualifications for the office of elder, its importance for the church, and the functions of the office.
?It discusses the role of the elders in the session and in the presbytery and their relationships to pastors and to the whole church.
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5 Marks Of A Methodist
$10.99Add to cartFive clear practices for anyone who identifies as a Christian.Five marks confirm our identity as genuine and fruitful followers of Christ:
1. A Methodist Loves God
2. A Methodist Rejoices in God
3. A Methodist Gives Thanks
4. A Methodist Prays Constantly
5. A Methodist Loves OthersThis brief book, suitable for sharing with others, provides a meditation on each of these characteristics. Prayerfully apply them to your journey with Jesus. If you are part of the worldwide Methodist or Wesleyan family, these five marks will grant a greater knowledge and appreciation for why and how you follow Jesus. If you are located in another part of the body of Christ, you can emerge with a solid foundation to keep your spiritual house standing strong. Christians marked by these five habits, when taken together have character.
Each chapter ends with questions for reflection or discussion.
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Evangelizacion Transformadora – (Spanish)
$10.00Add to cartBecause of the more aggressive and confrontational tactics we hear about, evangelism has developed a bad connotation. Doors are shut hurriedly, phone calls end abruptly, and e-mails left unanswered.
After all, isn’t this a task better handled by the pastor?
Perhaps it’s time to reexamine John Wesley’s model of evangelism as a full, natural circle-where it’s a communal beginning point rather than a solitary end.
The central motive of authentic evangelism is: Having received a message that’s made all the difference in our lives, we desire to share that message with others in the hope that it will transform their lives as well. Wesley models an evangelism that reaches out and welcomes, invites, and nurtures, and speaks to both head and heart.
“Evangelism is about relationship,” the authors write. “How we are in relationship to God, who is able to transform us into new beings. How we are in relationship to our neighbor, whom we must love like ourselves.”
As one reviewer says, “Knight and Powe have given us a relational book. They describe the deep connection between John Wesley’s thoughts, Charles Wesley’s hymns, scholarly thinking about evangelism and biblical understandings of the gospel-all in relation to the needs, concerns, and hopes of everyday people.”
Learn on your own or as a congregational group from this practical study on living an evangelistic life that demonstrates the transforming power of loving God and neighbor.
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Celebracion De La Eucaristia – (Spanish)
$31.95Add to cartA clear, illustrated guide for the presider and other leaders of the liturgy, contemporary in approach but based on ancient and classic principles of celebration.
Contents include: Theological and liturgical principles; Liturgical ministry and liturgical ministers; Liturgical space; Vesture, vessels, and other liturgical objects; the liturgical year; the shape of the liturgy; the sung liturgy and singing during the liturgy; the order of the Eucharist (the “heart” of the book); and the celebration of Baptism during the Eucharist.
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Liturgia – (Spanish)
$24.95Add to cartA plain language exploration of the theology of worship
La Liturgia/A House of Meanings presents liturgical theology in accessible ways, free of technical language. The book is designed for individual reading and structured to be a resource for a series of parish workshops, especially during the Easter season. Chapters conclude with a discussion guide intended to assist parishioners in developing their own sense of the value of worship and its relationship to our daily lives.
Unique and refreshing, La Liturgia/ A House of Meanings will be useful not only to congregations but to seminarians and anyone planning or evaluating worship.
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For The Life Of The World
$12.95Add to cartHow do the core actions of worship nurture life with God?
The ecumenical movement of the 20th century revealed a common pattern of worship among Christian communions, a pattern that bears the imprint of distinctive denominational emphases. In this exploration of that pattern, Samuel Torvend invites readers to delve into this flexible tradition that centers a parish in the life of God given for the life of the world.
The basics of Episcopal and Anglican worship in North America are explored in this Little Books series, which invites parishioners and newcomers to consider both the beauty of worship and Episcopal ethical commitments.
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Much Fine Gold
$12.95Add to cartWhat is the lectionary? How did it come into existence?
How does this contemporary lectionary nourish Christian faith and life? Further, why does the lectionary employ metaphor, the richest form of language, in the midst of the worshiping assembly? How do the biblical readings prepare worshippers for the church’s mission? Well-known liturgist and author Gail Ramshaw opens up the logic and purpose of this widely used resource.
The basics of Episcopal and Anglican worship in North America are explored in this Little Books series, which invites parishioners and newcomers to consider both the beauty of worship and Episcopal ethical commitments.
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Abide In Peace
$12.95Add to cartIn a world and nation marked by suffering and division, Marcus Halley invites readers to explore rituals of healing and reconciliation in parish practice.
How is Christian community fostered when healing and reconciliation are prayerfully and actively sought? How do the ancient rituals of healing practiced among us today form a community committed to the Way of Love, the Way of Healing? And how does such practice lead the Christian community to seek peace?
The basics of Episcopal and Anglican worship in North America are explored in this Little Books series, which invites parishioners and newcomers to consider both the beauty of worship and Episcopal ethical commitments.
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This Band Of Sisterhood
$18.95Add to cartGet to know the first five Black women to be elected diocesan bishops within the Episcopal Church.
During this moment, with the #metoo movement, Black Lives Matter, and the increased feelings of division in our country, Black women clergy in the Episcopal Church have voiced a need to come together, believing that their experiences and concerns may be very different than those of other clergy. That need is answered here in This Band of Sisterhood.
The five Black women bishops featured in this book can provide a compass for how to journey along these new paths. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Carlye J. Hughes, Kimberly Lucas, Shannon MacVean-Brown, and Phoebe A. Roaf offer honest, vulnerable wisdom from their own lives that speaks to this time in American life.Both women and men will find this book invaluable in discerning how God might be calling them to use their own leadership skills.
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Contours Of The Kuyperian Tradition
$35.99Add to cartAbraham Kuyper was, by any standard, one of the most extraordinary figures in modern Christian history. He was a Dutch Reformed minister, a gifted theologian, a prolific journalist, the leader of a political party, the cofounder of the Free University of Amsterdam (where he was professor of theology), a member of the Dutch Parliament, and eventually prime minister of the Netherlands.
Kuyper’s remarkable legacy lives on today in the tradition of Dutch Calvinism that he developed. As his writings become more widely available, this tradition continues to find new adherents attracted by his comprehensive vision of Christian faith. But what defines the Kuyperian tradition?
Renowned South African theologian and philosopher Craig Bartholomew has written the first systematic introduction to this tradition. Drawing on Kuyper’s entire corpus, Bartholomew has identified the key themes and ideas that define this tradition, including worldview, sphere sovereignty, creation and redemption, the public square, and mission. He also goes beyond Kuyper to show how later thinkers developed these ideas. They include, among others, Herman Bavinck, J. H. Bavinck, Gerrit C. Berkouwer, and Herman Dooyeweerd.
Widely known but little read, Kuyper is now receiving the global recognition that his fertile and influential thought deserves. Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition is an indispensable guide to one of the most significant schools of thought in the modern age.
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What Is Gods Mission In The World And How Do We Join It
$12.99Add to cartWhat does God’s mission look like? Who is supposed to carry it out–and how?
Juan F. Martinez and Jamie Pitts lead us on an inquiry into God’s mission in the world: what it is, what it is not, and who is invited to be part of it. If Jesus is truly God’s mission incarnate, we need to look at what Jesus did and how he did it. Martinez helps readers understand what mission means, why Christians in the past have made missteps, and how we can learn from Christian communities that are spreading the good news of Jesus today. Doing mission in the way of Jesus may look different from what many assume, but it is a call that the church cannot afford to miss.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
*Accessible Jesus-centered theology from an Anabaptist perspective
*Designed for use by individual readers, small groups, and Christian education classes
*Glossary of terms and discussion and reflection questions in each volume -
Who Was Jesus And What Does It Mean To Follow Him
$12.99Add to cartWho was Jesus? And what does it mean to follow him?
Nancy Elizabeth Bedford helps us consider the identity and mission of Jesus of Nazareth. Learn about the incarnation, how Christians have understood Jesus to be both human and divine, and what his radical teachings and ministry can mean for us today. Find out how Christians through the centuries have understood who Jesus is and explore communal and individual practices for following him.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
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Daily Feast Meditations From Feasting On The Word Year B
$44.00Add to cartFeasting on the Word has quickly become the most popular lectionary commentary series in use today. This is the first in a new series of daily devotionals that draws from the wealth of writing in the commentaries to present inspirational reflections, responses, and prayers for each day of the lectionary year.
Each day of the week contains Scripture passages for the coming Sunday from the Revised Common Lectionary, excerpts from the commentaries for reflection, a response, and a prayer. Additional material is provided for each Sunday.
These handsome volumes will be packaged in a soft leather-like cover with rounded corners, a stamped cover, and a sewn-in ribbon to help you keep your place.
Feasting on the Word is a twelve-volume lectionary commentary series that presents brief essays on each of four perspectives–exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical–for each of the four Sunday readings. The series is edited by Barbara Brown Taylor and David L. Bartlett with a distinguished editorial board, and has been produced in partnership with Columbia Theological Seminary. For more information about the series and other related projects, visit FeastingontheWord.net.
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Im Black Im Christian Im Methodist
$16.99Add to cartTen personal narratives reveal the shared and distinct struggles of being Black in the Church, facing historic and modern racism.
It’s uncertain that Howard Thurman made the remark often attributed to him, “I have been writing this book all my life,” but there is little doubt that he was deeply immersed in reflection on the times that bear an uncanny resemblance to the present day, which give voice to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Our “life’s book” is filled with sentence upon sentence of marginalization, pages of apartheid, chapters of separate and unequal. Now this season reveals volumes of violence against Blacks in America.
Ten Black women and men explore life through the lens of compelling personal religious narratives. They are people and leaders whose lives are tangible demonstrations of the power of a divine purpose and evidence of what grace really means in face of hardship, disappointment, and determination. Each of the journeys intersect because of three central elements that are the focus of this book. We’re Black. We’re Christians. We’re Methodists. Each starts with the fact, “I’m Black,” but to resolve the conflict of being Christian and Methodist means confronting aspects of White theology, White supremacy, and White racism in order to ground an oppositional experience toward domination over four centuries in America.
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What Does Justice Look Like And Why Does God Care About It
$12.99Add to cartWhat does justice look like? And why does God care about it?
Colin and Judith McCartney take us on a bold exploration of justice through the lens of scripture and the life of Jesus. Find out how Christians across the centuries have understood and lived God’s call to justice. Discover communal and individual practices for living a life of justice in our time and place.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
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Who Are Our Enemies And How Do We Love Them
$12.99Add to cartWho are our enemies? And what would it mean to love them?
Hyung Jin Kim Sun leads us on an exploration of God’s call to love our enemies. What did Jesus demonstrate and teach about loving enemies? How is nonviolence connected to Christian faith and spirituality? Isn’t violence sometimes necessary? Does loving our enemies really work? What is the goal of enemy love and how can it be applied in our everyday lives? This book won’t answer every question about a Christian practice of nonviolence, but it will lead toward a deeper faith as we consider how to live with enemies in a violent world.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The
Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness. -
Silence
$14.95Add to cartThis illustrated book for children captures the mindfulness, measured pace, and pauses that children experience in the Godly Play(R) circle or a supplement to any child’s bookshelf.
Silence is important for children; it is the stillness–both internal and external–that children need in today’s frenzied world. Godly Play founder Jerome Berryman offers children (and those who love them) a means to contemplate words and images, to develop a comfort level with silence that creates a foundation for wonder and the creative process. “Contemplative Silence” is a core component of Godly Play as found in all sacred story, parables, and liturgical action lessons presented to children. In each lesson, children encounter silence during entering, the lesson, wondering, art and material responses, the feast, and saying good-bye.
This companion to the Complete Guide to Godly Play volumes will find a home in all Godly Play rooms as well as other formation settings for children: homes, churches, Episcopal schools, and hospitals.
Age range: 3 – 8 years old
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Where The People Go
$19.99Add to cartA barn raising. A quilting bee. A credit union. A socially responsible investment.
Where the People Go tells the story of Anabaptist-Mennonite efforts to enable communal forms of sharing. Mutual aid, stewardship, and generosity are deeply embedded in the Christian faith and have been actively nurtured among Anabaptist-Mennonite groups. Spontaneous forms of assistance–a barn raising, a quilting bee, shared meals–are the best-known expressions of such compassion and generosity, but the commitment to “sharing one another’s burdens” has also found expression in more formal structures.
Seventy-five years ago, Mennonite Mutual Aid emerged to organize the principle of sharing within a growing Mennonite denomination. A dynamic organization from the beginning, MMA moved quickly from a burial and survivor’s aid plan to include health, property, and automobile insurance. In coming decades, the organization shifted its focus from mutual aid to stewardship and generosity, symbolized by a growing emphasis on socially responsible investment programs, wholistic health, financial planning, and services associated with its member-owned credit union. Always an agency of the Mennonite church, MMA, now known as Everence, has balanced its spiritual commitments with an increasingly complex regulatory environment, the national strains associated with the health-care debate, the shifting sensibilities of its customers, and the organizational complexities of a major corporation.
This story of Everence captures the stresses and idealism of a church-related institution committed to mutual aid, stewardship, and generosity during its seventy-five-year history.
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They Also Serve
$29.99Add to cartWhen a bishop is elected-as is done in The United Methodist Church-it is not only the one elected who is asked to serve but his or her spouse and family as well. Hear the stories of the women and men whose commitment to service often meant leaving behind careers and lives of their own to embark on a life-changing journey revolved around the ministry of their spouse. Through hardships, celebrations, and everyday struggles, these spouses found their own paths of ministry, answering the calls that were also placed upon their lives.
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What Is The Trinity And Why Does It Matter
$12.99Add to cartHow is the one God also three persons? How is Jesus fully God and fully human? Who in the world should we pray to? And why does any of it matter?
Steve Dancause offers a succinct and profound investigation into how what we think about God as Trinity matters in our faith, our work, and our love. It matters because the walls of our churches are cracking around us. We can keep patching things up, but it is better to go to the foundation and do the hard digging. With the right foundation, the structure holds, and it stands the test of eternity. And it is only in Jesus, and the Trinity he reveals to us, that we build our lives on solid rock. Let’s dig down together.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
*Accessible Jesus-centered theology from an Anabaptist perspective
*Designed for use by individual readers, small groups, and Christian education classes
*Glossary of terms and discussion and reflection questions in each volume -
Why Do We Suffer And Where Is God When We Do
$12.99Add to cartThe Jesus Way series helps readers encounter big questions about the reign of God in the world. Concise and practical books deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Start small.
Cancer, hurricanes, hunger, suicide: suffering is the most profound challenge to faith that many people will face.
Valerie G. Rempel leads readers into a gentle meditation on the many questions surrounding why we suffer. How can God be all-loving and all-powerful? Why don’t prayers seem to work? Is pain always redemptive? And what do the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus reveal about suffering? We may not find answers to all our questions, but we can lean into the God big enough to absorb all of them.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
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Welcome To The Church Of The Nazarene
$8.99Add to cartWelcome to the Church of the Nazarene is an engaging introduction to church membership, written in everyday language for the new Christian or for the Christian who is new to the Church of the Nazarene.
Readers will learn about:
The history of the Church of the Nazarene: of the church to the ministry of Phineas F. Bresee, a short but complete history of the Church of the Nazarene’s early days.
What Nazarenes believe: The Articles of Faith of the Church of the Nazarene and basic Christian doctrines from a Wesleyan perspective, explained in everyday language.
How the church is organized: From global to local, how the church is organized in leadership, finances, and ministry.
What it means to be a member of the Church of the Nazarene: Topics include growing as a Christian, tithing your income, serving in ministry, and sharing your faith.
How Nazarenes live as Christians: How Nazarenes respond to controversial social issues.
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What Is Evangelism
$12.95Add to cartAn engaging, entertaining, faithful and contagious Episcopal vision for sharing the Christian faith.
Taps into the Episcopal Church’s priorities and “The Way of Love ” Readers will find in this book a strong and uplifting argument that the Episcopal Church’s theology, sacramental ministry, and commitment to social justice have an essential role to play in mainline Christianity and in the public square. This book will help readers to understand that what it means to be an Episcopalian and how evangelism is a fruit of that identity, not a mere marketing strategy or an end in itself. This book is an approachable and inspiring presentation of the theological rationale and resource for sharing the faith as well as an argument that sharing the faith increases our own. It addresses basic questions that are buzzing in the church today and lays out a series of stories from faith communities across the Episcopal Church, both physical and digital ministries.
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Speaking Of God
$18.99Add to cartDo you ever think you’re forgetting how to talk about God? Or never learned how?
Theology is nothing more–and nothing less–than speaking together about God. Still, a lot of us don’t know where to start.In Speaking of God, pastor and theologian Anthony Siegrist helps readers recover a basic language around Christian theology. The sweeping epic of Scripture serves as the scaffold for this accessible book. In vivid and even humorous writing, Siegrist introduces us to scholars and pilgrims and traditions that disclose essential truths about God and Jesus Christ, as well as concepts like creation, sin, redemption, the church, and discipleship. By plumbing the works of theologians such as Augustine, Julian of Norwich, Antonia Gonzalez, and Kazoh Kitamori, Siegrist offers readers an introduction to Christian theology throughout the ages, emphasizing common threads of thought and practice across traditions.
Learning to talk about God requires courage and humility; this handbook of Christian theology will help you gain both. Join the deepest, longest conversation in the world.
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What Is The Bible And How Do We Understand It
$12.99Add to cartReading the Bible is one thing. Understanding how the Bible came to be and how it can guide our faith and life? That’s quite another.
Dennis R. Edwards offers a succinct and profound investigation of Scripture. By holding up Jesus as the interpretive key and inviting us to read the Bible with the marginalized, Edwards challenges us to a Christ-centered approach to hermeneutics. What does it mean to read the Bible with Jesus at the center? How does Scripture illuminate the work of God in the world? Edwards shines light on contemporary debates about the Bible and calls us to faithful, loving interpretations and applications of the Word of God.
The Jesus Way series delves into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
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Why Did Jesus Die And What Difference Does It Make
$12.99Add to cartWhy did Jesus die? And how does his death change us and our world? These questions stand at the center of our faith. But that doesn’t mean they are simple or straightforward.
Michele Hershberger helps us peer deeply into the meaning of the cross by sifting through Scripture and the life of Christ. Learn about theological concepts like sin, salvation, and atonement. Find out how Christians across the centuries have thought about Jesus’ death. Discover how Jesus’ life, crucifixion, and resurrection change everything.
The Jesus Way series delves into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
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Speaking Of God
$31.99Add to cartDo you ever think you’re forgetting how to talk about God? Or never learned how?
Theology is nothing more–and nothing less–than speaking together about God. Still, a lot of us don’t know where to start.
In Speaking of God, pastor and theologian Anthony Siegrist helps readers recover a basic language around Christian theology. The sweeping epic of Scripture serves as the scaffold for this accessible book. In vivid and even humorous writing, Siegrist introduces us to scholars and pilgrims and traditions that disclose essential truths about God and Jesus Christ, as well as concepts like creation, sin, redemption, the church, and discipleship. By plumbing the works of theologians such as Augustine, Julian of Norwich, Antonia Gonzalez, and Kazoh Kitamori, Siegrist offers readers an introduction to Christian theology throughout the ages, emphasizing common threads of thought and practice across traditions.
Learning to talk about God requires courage and humility; this handbook of Christian theology will help you gain both. Join the deepest, longest conversation in the world.
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Camino Wesleyano (Student/Study Guide) – (Spanish) (Student/Study Guide)
$15.99Add to cartEn este estudio emocionante e inspirador, Scott J. Jones ayuda a quienes buscan a Dios y a creyentes a imaginar y practicar el discipulado como una forma de vida. Al presentar el cristianismo desde una perspectiva wesleyana, Jones invita a los participantes a un compromiso mas profundo, mas reflexivo y mas activo con Cristo. Este estudio de ocho sesiones ayuda a los participantes a enfocarse en como, a traves del discipulado con Jesucristo, nos convertimos en parte de la obra de Dios para la transformacion del mundo. Cada semana un presentador diferente comparte su experiencia de fe personal. Entre los presentadores se encuentran Adam Hamilton, Olu Brown, Felicia Hopkins, Jessica Moffat Seay, Jorge Acevedo, Rob Fuquay, y el autor, Scott Jones.
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Receiving Jesus : The Way Of Love
$18.95Add to cartPractical and inspiring ways to practice a Jesus-centered life
So often we think of the Christian faith as an obligation or as a set of beliefs that we must hold. With this outlook, we can lose sight of what is most important: the invitation to experience a loving, personal relationship with God. It’s a relationship we can trust, where we can find refuge and solid ground upon which to stand. The Way of Love set forth by the Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop Michael Bruce Curry is the journey of a lifetime. It’s a way of knowing God, receiving and sharing Jesus’ love, and being a blessing to the world. Mariann Edgar Budde shares her thoughts on how the reader can come to know–to receive–Jesus more deeply in practicing the Way of Love. Through the seven practices that have been put before us: to turn, to learn, to pray and to worship, to bless, to go, and to rest, she will share biblical stories, wisdom from the Christian tradition, and her own personal stories of spiritual growth.
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Skilfully Woven Knot
$27.99Add to cartThe noted preacher and spiritual writer Michael Mayne wrote extensively about Anglicanism’s distinctive theology and ethos, and how it could help the church speak to contemporary society.
This collection of his unpublished writings and lectures offers a vintage distillation of his wisdom and pastoral understanding that remains extraordinarily relevant. Michael Mayne’s wisdom calls the church back to its deepest spiritual identity and purpose, exploring:
-The nature of moderation and tolerance;
-The influence of daily prayer;
-What happens when Anglicans disagree;
-Unity in Christ despite diversity in practice;
-Learning from controversies. -
Planning For Rites And Rituals Year A 2019-2020
$39.95Add to cartAll-in-one liturgical season planner for worship
Advent 1 2019 through Christ the King Sunday 2020 Planning for Rites and Rituals is the indispensable companion for worship planning for the Episcopal Church, following the three-year Revised Common Lectionary cycle and the church calendar. Presiders and preachers, worship team leaders, musicians, Christian educators, sacristans, and altar guilds will find this to be the perfect resource, putting all the elements for planning worship and seasonal observances in one handy volume. SEASONAL HELPS for each season of the Christian year:
– Introductions and approaches to preparing liturgies for the season
– Ideas for creating an environment appropriate to the season
– Rites, blessings, prayers, and litanies for the season
– Pageants and festivals for notable days
– Seasonal checklist WEEKLY HELPS for every Sunday and feast day of the church year:
– Introductions to the day: overview, color, preface, collect
– Summary of the readings and psalm, including both lectionary tracks
– Inclusive intercessions for the Prayers of the People
-Ideas for the day for worship and formation
– Hymn suggestions for the day from The Hymnal 1982; Wonder, Love, and Praise; and Lift Every Voice and Sing II -
Essential Forde : Distinguishing Law And Gospel
$50.00Add to cartNo twentieth-century American understood Luther’s law-gospel distinction better than Gerhard O. Forde, who was professor of theology at Luther Theological Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Because Forde kept this Lutheran distinction razor sharp, his theological writings are an essential inheritance for us today. This volume, The Essential Forde, aims to provide the essence of Forde’s writing centered upon Luther’s and Scripture’s essential distinction, that is, the distinction between law and gospel.
The editors of this volume have chosen some of the most definitive writings of the renowned Gerhad Forde, whose influence continues to grow. The list of works trace the contours of Forde’s theological argument. Organized around “Law and Gospel,” the selections start off with some historical background on that doctrinal locus, but for the most part express Forde’s own views of the law and the gospel, including death and resurrection, the bondage of the will, good works, preaching, and the sacraments. Besides these essential writings, the book will provide a definitive introduction by the editors, which includes a brief biography of Forde, an essay regarding his doctrinal interpretation, and a sketch of the Forde legacy. Also contained in the volume will be a comprehensive bibliography of all of Forde’s published works plus work published about him.
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Anglican Evangelists : Identifying And Training A New Generation
$22.99Add to cartFor twenty years, the Archbishops’ College of Evangelists has affirmed and supported Anglican evangelists. This book, marking the College’s twentieth anniversary relaunch, relaunches the College with a clear focus on identifying and training new evangelists. This book then, marks a significant transition. The thirteen authors work in a range of contexts and come from different traditions within the church. Their focus in this book, is less on the nature of evangelism, and more on the calling and gifting of the evangelist. In different ways they reflect on the questions: what is an evangelist? How should the church identify and affirm evangelists? How do we train evangelists? How do we enable evangelists to equip all God’s people to witness to the kingdom of God? The thirteen contributors are all practitioners, and this is reflected in their range of experience and writing styles. Some take a deeply biblical and theological approach. Others reflect on their personal journey and learning. Others offer practical insights and a helpful reframing of the initial questions. All of them are fervent in their plea to the church to recognise the unique calling and gifting of the evangelist and reflect on how this gift is received and passed on within the church.
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In Conversation 2
$21.95Add to cart* Second volume of the In Conversation series * Insights into the art of listening from former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and author Greg Garrett How is God speaking into our lives today? How do Christians discern what they’re being called to do? How do literature and culture intersect with the Scriptures and our tradition? And what might the work of the artist teach us about both spiritual practice and the vocational tasks of preaching and teaching? Be a fly on the wall and listen in as dear friends-one who happens to be the past Archbishop of Canterbury, the other, “one of the Episcopal Church’s most engaging evangelists” (Barbara Brown Taylor)-discuss their longtime passions and shared interests. In this new volume of the “In Conversation series,” Rowan Williams and Greg Garrett talk about friendship, the Church, the gift of great novels, the importance of Shakespeare, the art of writing poetry and fiction, the preaching event, engaging popular culture, the relationship between faith and politics, the practice of prayer, and the necessity of sacred community, modeling for us in the process both the vanishing art of conversation and an active engagement with faith, culture, and real life.
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Transforming Vestries
$26.95Add to cartDrawing on the resources of five other volumes in the series, “Transforming Vestries” creates a single source designed specifically for this governing body. The chapters will highlight the nature – and the needs – of vestry membership: stewardship, leadership, evangelism, discipleship, and vital congregational life.
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Women Bishops Of The United Methodist Church
$20.99Add to cartBishop Sharon Zimmerman Rader and Margaret Ann Crain interviewed and collected stories from each of the women bishops elected in The United Methodist Church, the first denomination with women elected to the episcopacy. Through these stories, they seek to answer the following question:
What was it about these women that enabled them to persevere, claim authority, define leadership in their own ways, and rise to the episcopacy?
How did their presence challenge and change the church?
Their stories reveal how these clergywomen changed the Church while they blazed leadership trails both before and after their election to the episcopacy. The book will share inspirational stories and pivotal moments that illustrate how women manage the complexities of family, faith, and authority. It is about both realized and unrealized differences that women bishops made/make/will make in The United Methodist Church.
Their stories reveal how these clergywomen changed the Church while they blazed leadership trails both before and after their election to the episcopacy. The book will share inspirational stories and pivotal moments that illustrate how women manage the complexities of family, faith, and authority. It is about both realized and unrealized differences that women bishops made/make/will make in The United Methodist Church.
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Re Membering God
$21.95Add to cart* Reflections on tradition and change for the twenty-first-century church * Something for both newcomers and those familiar with liturgy and spirituality Like the scribe and master of the household cited by Jesus in Matthew 13, Re-membering God “brings out of treasure what is new and what is old,” and empowers us to go and do likewise. As both critique and encouragement for the church in the early part of the twenty-first century, it seeks to reclaim the foundational riches of the church’s liturgy and spirituality in the face of cul-tural change. These resources, some lost or neglected and others under-utilized, can help rebuild the church, raising up what has been cast down and renewing what has grown old. This series of reflections explore with discernment what is “fashionable,” and acknowledge the deepest and most endur-ing human needs and hopes, which only God can answer. Re-membering God puts liturgical and spiritual practice into terms easily understood by both newcomers and seasoned devotees, for the benefit of this and future generations. Understanding the value of the past and with an eye to the future, this book will inform our next conversations about evangelism and church growth.
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Boy A Magician And A Harlot
$22.95Add to cartInvites the reader behind the scenes of Bible stories – Opens new perspectives for individuals, study groups, and sermon writers What was the reaction of the head waiter at the wedding at Cana when he realized the wine had run out? What gave the man the idea to lower his paralyzed friend through the roof to see Jesus? What were the young men who accompanied Abraham and Isaac on the journey to the mountain thinking? Much of scripture is comprised of individuals who are unnamed but have important roles to play in biblical stories. This illustrated book offers first person accounts of twenty-one Bible stories (Old Testament, New Testament, and apocrypha) from the perspectives of bystanders or “sup-porting” characters, giving us an opportunity to imagine: how would we react? What would we say or do given similar circumstances today? This imaginative collection includes thought-provoking discussion questions for congregational or individual reflection, and can be invaluable for fresh perspectives in sermons and study groups.
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How Luther Became The Reformer
$35.00Add to cartNo story has been more foundational to triumphalist accounts of Western modernity than that of Martin Luther, the heroic individual, standing before the tribunes of medieval authoritarianism to proclaim his religious and intellectual freedom, “Here I stand!” How Luther Became the Reformer returns to the birthplace of this origin myth, Germany in the late nineteenth century, and traces its development from the end of World War I through the rise of National Socialism. Why were German intellectuals-especially Protestant scholars of religion, culture, and theology-in this turbulent period so committed to this version of Luther’s story? Luther was touted as the mythological figure to promote the cultural unity of Germany as a modern nation; in the myth’s many retellings, from the time of the Weimar Republic forward, Luther attained world-historical status. Helmer finds in this construction of Luther the Reformer a lens through which to examine modernity’s deformations, among them anti-Judaism, anti-Semitism, and anti-Catholicism. Offering a new interpretation of Luther, and by extension of modernity itself, from an ecumenical perspective, How Luther Became the Reformer provides resources for understanding and contesting contemporary assaults on democracy. In this way, the book holds the promise for resistance and hope in dark times.
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Presbyterian Worship Questions And Answers
$18.00Add to cartPresbyterian worship is known for its balance between form and freedom, seeking to be faithful to the leading of God’s Word and open to the movement of God’s spirit. For those who plan, lead, and participate in worship, living within this tension can be a creative challenge, one that poses many questions for our liturgical theology and practice.
Presbyterian Worship Questions and Answers draws on the author’s scholarly insights, pastoral instincts, and decade of experience in the Presbyterian denomination’s Office of Theology and Worship to provide accessible answers to the questions people frequently ask about Presbyterian worship along with a few we ought to ask more frequently. From the philosophical-What is worship and what does it have to do with real life?-to the practical-Why is there a pink candle and when do we light it?-Presbyterian Worship Questions and Answers seeks to shed new light on the meaning and mystery of worship in the Reformed tradition.
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Community Rules : An Episcopal Manual
$18.95Add to cart* Practical guide to church community life Taking the approach of Michael Pollan’s Food Rules, Community Rules seeks to distill the basics of “good church” into a set of memorable rules. Working with three sections, the authors draw on their years of combined experience in academic and church administration to identify the basic Christian principles that underpin Episcopal community and then apply them to actions and relationships. The book seeks to explicate the best personnel practices, as well as good governance and communal life together, alongside a framing within the Christian worldview. The goal is to provide a text that can serve as a guide for any and all members of a parish, most especially those who serve on vestries or as volunteers.
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Hacia Una Mentalidad Misionera – (Spanish)
$17.00Add to cartDouglas Ruffle writes Towards a Missionary Mentality using the timeless principles of E. Stanley Jones and transfers them for their use today. Ruffle teaches us to approach the mission field as if we were from a different country and to learn a new culture, a new form of communication and a new way of connecting people with the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
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Will Willimons Lectionary Sermon Resource Year C Part 2
$26.99Add to cartWill Willimon is widely acclaimed as one of the top ten preachers in the world. For each Sunday of the Christian year, Will provides just what you need to begin the journey toward a sermon. This guide will stoke, fund, and fuel your imagination while leaving plenty of room to insert your own illustrations, make connections within your congregational context, and speak the Word in your distinctive voice. Guidance from Will Willimon is like sitting down with a trusted clergy friend and asking, “What will you preach next Sunday?” Year C Part 2 is part of a six-volume set that includes years A, B, and C (2 volumes per year) in the Revised Common Lectionary. Each week of sermon resources includes: 1. Readings 2. Theme title 3. Introduction to the Readings 4. Encountering the Text 5. Proclaiming the Text 6. Relating the Text
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Luthers Outlaw God Volume 1
$39.00Add to cartIn this first of three volumes addressing Luther’s outlaw God, Steven D. Paulson considers the two “monsters” of theology, as Luther calls them: evil and predestination. He explores how these produce fear of God but can also become the great and only comforts of conscience when a preacher arrives.
Luther’s new distinction between God as he is preached and God without any preacher absolutely frightened all of the schools of theology that preceded it, and for that matter all that followed Luther, as well. That fear coalesced in various opponents like Eck and Latomus, but in a special way in Desiderius Erasmus.
For Paulson, bad theology begins with bad preaching, and since the church is what preaching does, bad preaching hides the church under such a dark blanket that it can hardly be detected. He argues that the primary distinction of naked/clothed or unpreached/preached radiates out in all directions for Luther’s theology, and shows what difference this makes for current preaching. Specifically, Paulson takes up the central question of all theology (and life): What is God’s relation to the law, and the law’s relation to God? Luther’s answers are surprising and will change the way you preach.
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Church Creation And The Common Good
$14.95Add to cart* A youth and adult study * Engages participants in how we should now live into this time of climate change crisis It is hard to be hopeful in the face of climate crisis. The problem is on a scale difficult for us to understand. Actions needed to address the crisis require a radical change in way of life. Does the Church have anything unique to offer? Is there something in our life of community, worship, and prayer that suggests a different way through this time? Church, Creation, and the Common Good is a program resource offering a hopeful answer to these challenges. Through scripture, tradition, and Christian practice, it guides church communities into deeper understanding of their role as the Church in the world and how they might be communities for the common good in this time. This curricular resource is sure to foster rich conversations and provide a path toward love of all creation and our particular places as we face the climate crisis together.
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Surrendering My Ordination
$20.00Add to cartIn May 2017, after sixty years as an ordained United Methodist minister, Rev. J. Philip Wogaman surrendered his ordination, choosing to exit a community of clergy who will not allow an openly gay person to join. By surrendering his ordination, he chose to join the group of devoted Christians outside the clergy who welcomed gay and lesbian individuals.
Beginning with an examination of ordination and what is means theologically, ethically, and pastorally, Wogaman then describes the action itself and its aftermath. Surrendering My Ordination also explores how The United Methodist Church can move forward, beyond the polarized present situation found in many contemporary Christian churches.
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Protestant Reformation Of The Church And The World
$55.00Add to cartFrom a distinguished assembly of twelve internationally acclaimed scholars comes this rich, interdisciplinary study that explores the Protestant Reformation and its resultant effects on the church as well as the world.
The Reformation extended from the church to revolutionize art, music, literature, architecture, and aesthetics and transformed economics, trade, and banking; these transformations shifted power away from the church to the state as they unleashed radical new campaigns for freedom, equality, democracy, and constitutional order.
Each contributor to this volume draws on distinctive methods and themes in an effort to understand the Reformation on its own complex terms, as well as to reconstruct its teachings and warnings for our day.
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Scripture And The Wesleyan Way Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$15.99Add to cart1. What Is The Bible’s Message?
2. How Can I Be Saved?
3. Am I A Real Christian?
4. Do I Have To Obey The Law?
5. Am I A Sinner?
6. How Can I Connect With God?
7. Why Is The Christian Life No Easier?
8. What About My Money?Additional Info
The Bible was central to John Wesley’s faith and the Christian movement he founded. In Scripture and the Wesleyan Way, you will discover a Wesleyan approach to the Bible and the Christian life through a Bible study using Wesley’s own words. In this study, authors Scott and Arthur Jones use John Wesley’s sermons to illuminate the Bible passages at the heart of Wesley’s understanding of what it means to be a real Christian. Each chapter explores a key Scripture text and one of Wesley’s sermons on it. Through their insightful and engaging study, Bishop Jones and his son Arthur show how the teachings of Wesley address questions that many of us in the twenty-first century still struggle with today. The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the eight-week study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options. -
Works Of John Wesley 32
$77.99Add to cartFrom the beginning of his ministry John Wesley was committed to nurturing in his own life and in the communities he served “health of body and of soul.” This volume provides a window into his concern for “health of body” by collecting all of his writings related to health and wellness. These range from his best-selling home guide to health care, the Primitive Physic, through his recommendation of electrical-shock therapy, to his concern for nervous disorders. The volume will be of keen interest to all who are committed to recovering Wesley’s holistic understanding of salvation and ministry in the present church, as well as to those seeking a better understanding of medical care in the eighteenth century. John Wesley published a collection of advice for preserving health and treating diseases, and his Primitive Physick, went through twenty-three editions in Wesley’s lifetime-among the highest number of anything that he published-and stayed in print (and use!) continuously into the 1880s. Those who are aware of this collection, and have glanced at a few of his prescriptions for ailments tend to dismiss it in bemusement. Far from being an amusing avocation, John Wesley’s interest in health and healing was a central dimension of his ministry and of the mission of early Methodism. Moreover, when considered in its historical context, Wesley’s precedent provides a model of the concern for holistic health and healing that is instructive for his present ecclesial heirs. As a primary record of one of the founders of the Wesleyan/Methodist movement, John Wesley’s Medical Writings are crucial to an understanding of the beginnings of that movement, its reflection of the context from which it emerged, and its lasting impact on English and American Methodism and the broader culture. It is likewise absolutely essential for anyone in any of the potential reader groups listed above who wants to understand the context and sensibility around issues of bodily health and Christian salvation out of which Wesleyan theology, worship, spirituality, hymnody, and conferencing emerged. For a church or movement that declares salvation and wholeness as works of divine presence impacting embodied life in the real world, Wesley’s reflections on human health are not just relics of a pre-medical age but reveal a deeper sensibility about spiritual health pertinent to the Church’s ongoing commitment to flesh and blood human health and flourishing in the real world.
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Christian Doctrine : 50th Anniversary Edition (Anniversary)
$40.00Add to cartChristian Doctrine has introduced thousands of laity, students, and theologians to the tenets of the Christian faith. This edition reflects changes in the church and society since the publication of the first edition and takes into account new works in Reformed theology, gender references in the Bible, racism, pluralism, ecological developments, and liberation theologies.
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Man Called Mark
$26.95Add to cart* Well-known and well-loved bishop of the Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion This official biography tells the compelling story of the Rt. Rev. Mark Dyer: Irish Catholic boy from New Hampshire, U.S. Navy vet, Roman Catholic then Episcopal priest, bishop, and seminary professor-and one of the most influential, beloved leaders of the American Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. Following a dispute with ecclesiastical authorities, Dyer left the Roman Church for the Anglican Church of Canada. Later received as priest in the Episcopal Church, his gifts as teacher, preacher, and pastor were recognized with election as Bishop of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. There, he established a new model of leadership, delegating administrative duties to concentrate on spiritual direction, pastoral care, and creating mission projects at every church in his diocese. Also renowned as a story-teller, many of his favorite stories appear here, told in his own voice. Called by leadership of the Anglican Communion to a variety of roles, for more than 20 years Bishop Dyer was on the front lines of the most contentious issues facing the church throughout the world, including ordination of women and gay people. He also was co-chair of the ecumenical dialogue between the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches, which produced a landmark agreement after 17 years of meetings.
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Together At The Table
$20.00Add to cartTogether at the Table is the personal story and public message of Bishop Karen Oliveto, the first openly LGBTQ person to be elected a bishop in The United Methodist Church. Her election was and is controversial, with opponents seeking to have her removed and some even threatening violence against her. The denomination has been debating the inclusion of LGBTQ people for decades and will be gathering in February 2019 to determine whether it can agree to let conferences within the church ordain as they see fit and let congregations decide what weddings to hold or whether conservative and liberal factions will break off from the denominational body.
Bishop Oliveto believes that the church can stay together-that people of different convictions can remain in communion with one another. Woven together with her own story of coming out and following God’s call to ordained ministry is her guidance for how to live together despite differences-by practicing empathy, living with ambiguity, appreciating the diversity of creation, and embracing unity without uniformity.
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Homespun : Amish And Mennonite Women In Their Own Words
$15.99Add to cart37 Chapters
Additional Info
Ever wish you could visit with a group of Amish or Mennonite women over a cup of coffee? In the pages of Homespun, Amish and Plain Mennonite women swap stories and spin yarns while we listen in. Lorilee Craker, bestselling author of Money Secrets of the Amish, collects these personal writings about hospitality, home, grief, joy, and walks with God. Hear from one woman who struggles with feeling inferior to her sister, from another about her longing for a baby, and from a third who accidentally bought stretchy material to sew her husband’s pants. Each woman’s story is a testament to the grace of God and the blessings of community. Behind Amish romance novels and tourist spots and television shows stand real people, with longings and loves just like the rest of us. Every Amish and Mennonite woman has a story. In Homespun, you get to hear some of them. -
Life In Christ
$24.95Add to cart* Background on spiritual practices for Episcopalians * Noted spiritual director shares wisdom from Anglican tradition With its great heritage from English mystics, the Episcopal Church has been “spiritual” since before it was trendy, and modern Episcopalians have been in the forefront of exploring practices beyond Anglican boundaries. Yet, perhaps only rarely do they grasp the implications of the theology embedded in these practices or in the liturgies of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which has shaped Episcopalians in this country with its emphasis on baptismal spirituality and the centrality of the Eucharist. Julia Gatta wants to change that with her new book, Life in Christ. Applying her years of experience as pastor and spiritual director combined with her study of the spiritual wisdom of the past, she explores common Christian practices and their underlying theology through an Episcopal lens. In the tradition of Esther de Waal, Martin Smith, and Martin Thornton, with particular reference to scripture, The Book of Common Prayer, and the wisdom of the Christian spiritual tradition, she illuminates methods readers may already be practicing and provides insight and guidance to ones that may be new to them.
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Making Disciples Confirmands Journal
$14.99Add to cartMaking Disciples is a 13-session mentor-based confirmation program that pairs confirmands with adult mentors and guides them through a variety of learning experiences that will strengthen the student’s understanding of the faith while connecting him or her with the community of believers in a personal way. It can be used as a stand-alone program, or in conjunction with your current curriculum as a special experiential unit. This is a confirmation program that is more like a process and less like a reading assignment, more engaging and congruent with the nature of the Christian faith than existing programs. Using an “apprenticeship” approach to confirmation Will Willimon produced a series of learning experiences where adult mentors and confirmands are both teachers and learners at the same time. This time-tested approach has been extensively revised and updated for usage in today’s churches that take seriously Christ’s command to be engaged in disciple making. The Confirmand’s Journal is a place where an individual can write down highlights, memories, and details of their confirmation journey. This journal is a guided journal. Which means the confirmand will be given directions on things to do, and questions to reflect on, which will help them get started in their writing. Topics explore the basics of Christian faith: -God -Jesus -the Holy Spirit -worship -the Bible -gifts -ministry -baptism -spiritual life -death and resurrection -the church
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Making Disciples Mentor Guide
$17.99Add to cartMaking Disciples is a 13-session mentor-based confirmation program that pairs confirmands with adult mentors and guides them through a variety of learning experiences that will strengthen the student’s understanding of the faith while connecting him or her with the community of believers in a personal way. It can be used as a stand-alone program, or in conjunction with your current curriculum as a special experiential unit. This is a confirmation program that is more like a process and less like a reading assignment, more engaging and congruent with the nature of the Christian faith than existing programs. Using an “apprenticeship” approach to confirmation Will Willimon produced a series of learning experiences where adult mentors and confirmands are both teachers and learners at the same time. This time-tested approach has been extensively revised and updated for usage in today’s churches that take seriously Christ’s command to be engaged in disciple making. The bulk of the Mentor Guide is exactly the same as the Confirmand’s Journal. You are encouraged to work through the activities right along with the confirmands and to complete the activities and writing assignments just as he or she does. By working along with your confirmand you will demonstrate the need to keep learning and growing. Topics explore the basics of Christian faith: -God -Jesus -the Holy Spirit -worship -the Bible -gifts -ministry -baptism -spiritual life -death and resurrection -the church
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Disciples Path Leader Guide With Download (Teacher’s Guide)
$27.99Add to cartA Disciple’s Path is an engaging approach to discipleship from a distinctly Wesleyan perspective that is perfect for a new member class or other small group. The six-week program guides individuals to take the next step in discipleship and become dynamic followers of Jesus Christ and engaged, vital members of the local church. The study combines a Wesleyan understanding of our growth in God’s love and grace with the time-tested practices of spiritual discipline expressed in the membership vows to uphold the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Participants will develop spiritual practices, discover their unique gifts, and become engaged in ministry that brings transformation in their own lives, the lives of others, and the world. This Leader Guide provides group facilitators with helpful tips for leading a group, material for leading an introductory session or pastor’s coffee, and six ready-to-use session guides. Also included is a link to downloadable resources, along with previews of these online tools, including sample e-mails handouts, including customizable templates that can be modified for any congregation,and PowerPoint presentations.
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Joy Project : An Introduction To Calvinism With Study Guide (Expanded)
$11.99Add to cartTrue happiness is not found. It finds you.
We think of our chase for joy as a fundamental right-and it’s no surprise. By nature we are pleasure-seekers, though chronically unsuccessful at finding the type of joy that will endure for more than a passing moment.
But what if long-lasting joy isn’t found at all? What if the deepest and most durable happiness breaks into our lives, overcomes our boredom, and ultimately finds us? What if true joy is out of our reach, but reaches for us?
(This updated edition now includes a Study Guide for each chapter.)
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Disciples Path Daily Workbook (Workbook)
$15.99Add to cartA Disciple’s Path is an engaging approach to discipleship from a distinctly Wesleyan perspective that is perfect for a new member class or other small group. The six-week program guides individuals to take the next step in discipleship and become dynamic followers of Jesus Christ and engaged, vital members of the local church. The study combines a Wesleyan understanding of our growth in God’s love and grace with the time-tested practices of spiritual discipline expressed in the membership vows to uphold the church with our prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. Participants will develop spiritual practices, discover their unique gifts, and become engaged in ministry that brings transformation in their own lives, the lives of others, and the world. This Daily Workbook contains six weeks of daily readings (five per week) that guide participants in learning and practicing seven essential spiritual disciplines: Prayer Scripture Corporate Worship Small-group Community Financial Generosity Gifts-based Service Invitational Evangelism Each day’s reading includes a Scripture, a message for the day, questions and prompts for personal reflection (with space provided for recording responses), and prayer. A special introductory section includes material on the history, beliefs, and structure of the church and answers to frequently asked questions. Whether you’re just setting out or are further along the path of discipleship, this excellent resource will help you to take the next step. – Roger Scholtz, Senior Pastor, Manning Road Methodist Church, Durban, South Africa A Disciple’s Path has the potential to revolutionize the way we view our participation in the church. Following this ‘path’ can transform us from wanderers into pilgrims. – Dr. Steve Harper, Professor of Spiritual Formation, Asbury Theological Seminary
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Preguntas Presbiterianas Respu (Revised) – (Spanish) (Revised)
$18.00Add to cartChristian faith itself. Featuring a unique question- and-answer format, Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers is an accessible and concise treatment that provides a sampling of these questions on important topics and brief but complete answers from a distinguished Presbyterian theologian.
Fully updated for the changes to the Presbyterian new Form of Government, this revised edition also includes updated entries and six new questions and answers. Arranged according to doctrinal topics, the book is ideal for individual and group study, church officer training, new member and confirmation classes, and all those who are interested in Presbyterian theology.
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Questions And Answers About The United Methodist Church (Revised)
$5.99Add to cartMcAnally has revised Questions & Answers About the United Methodist Church to update statistics and information throughout the book, along with new frequently asked questions not in the current edition. This book is a useful guide that answers the most frequently asked questions about the beliefs, practices, and history of The United Methodist Church. The information is brief, and is presented in an easy question-and-answer format. It is great for those new to the United Methodist Church or those who want to know more. Revised to update statistics and information throughout the book. Also, updated with the answers to the current most commonly asked questions.
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Alleluia Is Our Song
$20.99Add to cartAlleluia is our Song draws together a collection of profound and beautiful seasonal reflections for the great fifty days from Easter Day to Pentecost, arguably the greatest season of the Church’s year.
Michael Mayne was one of Anglicanism’s most compelling and attractive voices, a gifted preacher and writer whose works have remained popular.
These unpublished writings come from a large archive and are offered as an inspirational resource for preaching at a time of the year when many preachers seek fresh ways of opening up familiar texts, and also for individual devotional reading.
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Playing With Holy Fire
$15.99Add to cartIn this book Dr. Michael L. Brown addresses some of the most glaring problems in the Pentecostal-Charismatic church both in America and worldwide-but with the broken heart of a caring father in the faith, not with a rod of condemnation. An even greater harvest is upon us.
The church has been plagued by repeated instances of sexual immorality, financial corruption, doctrinal error, personal flakiness, spiritual gullibility, prophetic abuse, celebrity leadership, and more, all under the cloak of liberty in the Spirit. Because of this critics have mocked us, and sincere believers have lost their faith.
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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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Mennonite Encyclopedia 3
$99.99Add to cartVolume 3 of the Mennonite Encyclopedia, containing entries I-N.
This gigantic resource covers the 435-year history of the faith, life, and culture of Anabaptists in Europe and Mennonites throughout the world. Presented are people, movements, and places in their relation to Mennonites. A few of the many articles covered are Argentina, Arminianism, Baptism, Baptist, Brazil, Calvin, Church, Communion, Congo, Deaconess, Education, Farming, Furniture, Grebel, Hubmaier, Hymnology, Industry, Literature, Marriage, Publishers, Reedley, Ukraine, and Zurich.
The Mennonite Encyclopedia was jointly edited by historians and scholars of the Mennonite Church, General Conference of Mennonites, and Mennonite Brethren Church. More than 2,700 writers contributed articles to this reference work. Volume V includes updates on materials in the first four volumes plus nearly 1,000 new articles edited by Cornelius J. Dyck and Dennis D. Martin
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Pentecost Paradigm : Ten Strategies For Becoming A Multiracial Congregation
$18.00Add to cartHow do churches build immunity from racial and ethnic tensions that threaten to divide rather than unite congregations? Jacqui Lewis and John Janka believe that the answer lies in the development of multiracial, multicultural communities of faith.
Born of the authors’ work with The Middle Project, an institute that prepares ethical leaders for a more just society, Paradigm is a collection of wisdom and best practices. Here you will find lessons, questions for conversation, and spaces for journaling. Use the workbook with your planning team, board members, lay leaders, and staff.
Ten essential strategies are presented to help build communities that celebrate racial/ethnic and cultural diversity:
* Embracing Call and Commitment* Casting the vision * Managing Change and Resistance * Creating Congregational Identity * Building Capacity * Cultivating Community * Celebrating in Worship * Understanding Congregational Conflict * Communicating and Organizing * Collaborating in the Public SquareIn welcoming communities of faith where everyone is accepted just as they are, we can lead the way toward racial reconciliation and dismantle the prejudices that segregate our houses of worship.
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Small Church Checkup
$16.00Add to cartMany small membership churches today are faced with the sobering reality of attendance loss and overall decline. This resource provides a guide to help you find hope, alternatives, and the possibility of a new beginning. Included are tools to help you measure your church’s vitality, evaluate the results, and diagnose your church’s condition, along with several options for treatment plans as you seek to faithfully serve your community. Remember that we can choose our story. If we believe in our hearts there is another possibility, we can be faithful in choosing intentional pathways forward that honor God, the church founders, and generations to come. Follow the steps outlined in these pages to evaluate where you are and what the next steps on your journey need to be as you seek to be a “not yet big church,” “a stable, small church,” or a church that chooses to close and be repurposed for unexpected new life.
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Crispina And Her Sisters
$29.00Add to cartDiscovering reliable information about women in early Christianity is a challenging enterprise. Most people have never heard of Bitalia, Veneranda, Crispina, Petronella, Leta, Sofia the Deacon, and many others even though their catacomb and tomb art suggests their authority was influential and valued by early Christian communities. This book explores visual imagery found on burial artifacts of prominent early Christian women. It carefully situates the tomb art within the cultural context of customary Roman commemorations of the dead. Recent scholarship about Roman portrait sarcophagi and the interpretation of early Christian art is also given significant attention. An in-depth review of women”s history in the first four centuries of Christianity provides important context. A fascinating picture emerges of women”s authority in the early church, a picture either not available or sadly distorted in the written history. It is often said “a picture is worth a thousand words.” The portrait tombs of fourth-century Christian women suggest that they viewed themselves and/or their loved ones viewed them as persons of authority with religious influence.
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Will Willimons Lectionary Sermon Resource Year B Part 2
$26.99Add to cartWill Willimon is widely acclaimed as one of the top ten preachers in the world. For each Sunday of the Christian year, Will provides just what you need to begin the journey toward a sermon. This guide will stoke, fund, and fuel your imagination while leaving plenty of room to insert your own illustrations, make connections within your congregational context, and speak the Word in your distinctive voice. Guidance from Will Willimon is like sitting down with a trusted clergy friend and asking, “What will you preach next Sunday?” Year B, Part 2 is part of a six-volume set which includes years A, B, and C (2 volumes per year) in the Revised Common Lectionary. The sermon resources include: 1. Readings 2. Theme title 3. Introduction to the Readings 4. Encountering the Text 5. Proclaiming the Text 6. Relating the Text
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Tracking Down The Holy Ghost
$24.95Add to cart* First-person narrative of significant years in the life of the Episcopal Church * Former Presiding Bishop, well-known throughout the Anglican Communion Frank Griswold writes out of his understanding that “all things have the potential to reveal the Divine and the mystery of love that lies at the heart of the universe . . . ” Though a teacher, preacher, recognized ecumenical and interfaith leader, and former head of the Episcopal Church, he describes himself as a seeker still, “a person under construction.” Griswold’s opening words set the tone: “These pages are the fruit of my effort to gather up fragments from what I have learned along the way about myself, about love and longing, about God and God’s ways with us. If you are drawn, as I have been, to follow lines of spiritual motion, perhaps the stories and reflections in these pages will be an encouragement along the way. You may discover revelatory moments in your own life you have overlooked because they seem so ordinary and mundane . . . ” Though not a memoir, the book includes autobiographical material to give readers a sense of the writer as a friend and companion who shares their journey. It also illustrates and brings to life various teachings drawn from the Great Tradition as well as contemporary authors and spiritual guides.
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Strength For The Journey (Revised)
$28.95Add to cart* Updated version of spiritual autobiography from an important voice in the church * Insights on how parishes have confronted issues of change As a standard in the field of spiritual autobiography, Diana Butler Bass’ Strength for the Journey has been a guide for thousands of Christians who have also found themselves “journeying” along a path toward a faith different from that discovered in childhood. This new edition will retain all that drew readers to its pages alongside the voice of those next generation Christians now walking that path for themselves. In Strength for the Journey, Diana Butler Bass illustrates the dynamic strength and persistence of mainline Protestantism. While many baby boomers left the church, only to come back later in life, Bass was a “stayer” who witnessed the struggles and changes and found much there that was meaningful. Offering thought-provoking portraits of eight parishes she attended over two decades, she explores the major issues that have confronted mainline denominations, congregations, and parishioners during those years-from debates over women clergy to conflicts about diversity and community to scrimmages between tradition and innovation.
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Telling The Old Testament Story
$40.99Add to cartWhile honoring the historical context and literary diversity of the Old Testament, Telling the Old Testament Story is a thematic reading that construes the OT as a complex but coherent narrative. Unlike standard, introductory textbooks that only cover basic background and interpretive issues for each Old Testament book, this introduction combines a thematic approach with careful exegetical attention to representative biblical texts, ultimately telling the macro-level story, while drawing out the multiple nuances present within different texts and traditions. The book works from the Protestant canonical arrangement of the Old Testament, which understands the story of the Old Testament as the story of God and God’s relationship with all creation in love and redemption-a story that joins the New Testament to the Old. Within this broader story, the Old Testament presents the specific story of God and God’s relationship with Israel as the people called, created, and formed to be God’s covenant partner and instrument within creation. The Old Testament begins by introducing God’s mission in Genesis. The story opens with the portrait of God’s good, intended creation of right-relationships (Gen 1-2) and the subsequent distortion of that good creation as a result of humanity’s rebellion (Gen 3-11). Genesis 12 and following introduce God’s commitment to restore creation back to the right-relationships and divine intentions with which it began. Coming out of God’s new covenant engagement with creation in Gen 9, this divine purpose begins with the calling of a people (who turn out to be the manifold descendants of Abraham and Sarah) to be God’s instrument of blessing for all creation and thus to reverse the curse brought on by sin. The diverse traditions that comprise the remainder of the Pentateuch then combine to portray the creation and formation of Israel as a people prepared to be God’s instrument of restoration and blessing. As the subsequent Old Testament books portray Israel’s life in the land and journey into and out of exile, the reader encounters complex perspectives on Israel’s attempts to understand who God is, who they are as God’s people, and how, therefore, they ought to live out their identity as God’s people within God’s mission in the world. The final prophetic books that conclude the Protestant Old Testament ultimately give the story of God’s mission and people an open-ended quality, suggesting that God’s mission for God’s people continues and
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Stride : Creating A Discipleship Pathway For Your Church
$14.99Add to cartChurches of all types around the country are struggling. The more programs they try the more evident it becomes that there is no quick fix or secret formula to help them out of their rut. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Movement, once said, “The way to keep a Methodist alive is to keep him moving.” It is time to recapture this simple yet profound truth and get back to the basics of making fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ. The authors developed and launched a highly successful pathway to discipleship in their church (Morning Star UMC, in St.Louis). Here, they show others how to create a successful discipleship pathway for their own particular contexts, based on the principles developed at Morning Star. Willard and Scheiner share the process of developing a discipleship pathway that meets individual people where they are. They provide examples of each element and practical instruction on how to plan, implement and sustain the discipleship pathway. The authors are teaching this material in conferences around the UM connection, from New Mexico to Missouri. They also share examples of how the pathway works in other churches.
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Handbook For Todays Disciples In The Christian Church (Revised)
$10.99Add to cartA revised edition of a Disciples classic, A Handbook for Today’s Disciples (Fifth Edition) is an overview of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) as the denomination approaches 2020. This handbook provides concise information on Disciples history, thought, worship, mission, and structure?a valuable resource for lifelong Disciples, newcomers to the Disciples’ ministry of Christian unity, and those who simply want to know more about the church. Cummins, a noted Disciples historian, illustrates his summaries of Disciples traditions with excerpts from Disciples documents and scripture, bringing a major American religious movement into sharp focus. The fifth edition includes the denomination’s history and changes through 2017, including an examination of the Disciples’ changing ethnic diversity in the context of contemporary North America.
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Popes And Feminists
$16.00Add to cartBefore the time of the Reformation, in the eyes of the Roman Catholic Church, a wife or mother was not a holy vocation. The only spiritual calling for women was to be found in a convent. The Reformers confronted the bad theology which lead to this (and other worse abuses, like priest-patronized brothels) and returned to the Bible to develop a theology of vocation that began to free women to be “holy” no matter their occupation. But today, modern feminist claims about vocation have more in common with the pre-Reformation popes than anything else — except feminists have replaced the nunnery with the hallowed corporate workplace. Christian women wondering about their place in society and comparing feminism with the Bible should start with the teaching of the Reformers and the lives of many exceptional women of the Reformation.
Part history and part contemporary reflection, Popes and Feminists argues that women today have some of the same choices facing them as women in the sixteenth century. In this fascinating book, published on the five hundredth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, Elise Crapuchettes shows how the Reformation changed the lives of Christian women as it turned them away from trying to earn their salvation in the convent towards a joyful, liberating view of vocation and work. And that changed their families and the world.
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More Presbyterian Questions More Presbyterian Answers (Revised)
$18.00Add to cartPresbyterians often have questions about Presbyterian theology and beliefs that are basic to Christian faith itself. Featuring a unique question- and-answer format, More Presbyterian Questions, More Presbyterian Answers is an expansion of the best-selling Presbyterian Questions, Presbyterian Answers. It is an accessible and concise treatment that provides a sampling of these questions on important topics and brief but complete answers from a distinguished Presbyterian theologian.
Fully updated for the changes to the Presbyterian new Form of Government, this revised edition also includes updated entries and six new questions and answers.