The church can be uncertain of itself in our digital age. Some Christians denounce the twenty-first century's media culture while others embrace the latest gadgets and apps as soon as they appear. Many of us are stumbling along amidst the tweets, status updates, podcasts, and blog posts, wondering if we have ventured into a realm beyond the scope of biblical wisdom. Though there is such a thing as 'new media', Andrew Byers reminds us that the actual concept of media is ancient, theological, and even biblical. In fact, there is such a thing as the media of God. 'TheoMedia' are means by which God communicates and reveals himself - creation, divine speech, inspired writings, the visual symbol of the cross, and more. Christians are actually called to media saturation. But the media that are to most prominently saturate our lives are the media of God. If God creates and uses media, then Scripture provides a theological logic by which we can create and use media in the digital age. This book is not an unqualified endorsement of the latest media products or a tirade against media technology.Instead, Byers calls us to rethink our understanding of media in terms of the media of God in the biblical story of redemption.

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. Here's an astonishing claim. John 3:16 appears on everything from fridge magnets to sports stars' faces. But what does it actually mean? And how does it relate to you and me? With warmth, personal stories and humour, the author explains God's love, his Son, his sacrifice, and the all-important connection with us today. This is an invitation for anyone to dive straight in and take the first step in an exciting, life-transforming journey of faith.

Now revised and updated to incorporate numerous new materials, this is the major source for researching American Christian activity in China, especially that of missions and missionaries. It provides a thorough introduction and guide to primary and secondary sources on Christian enterprises and individuals in China that are preserved in hundreds of libraries, archives, historical societies, headquarters of religious orders, and other repositories in the United States. It includes data from the beginnings of Christianity in China in the early eighth century through 1952, when American missionary activity in China virtually ceased. For this new edition, the institutional base has shifted from the Princeton Theological Seminary (Protestant) to the Ricci Institute for Chinese-Western Cultural Relations at the University of San Francisco (Jesuit), reflecting the ecumenical nature of this monumental undertaking.

For many, missions is the story of heroes, martyrs, and the advance of the gospel. For others, it's the story of colonialism and missionary disasters. So how do we respond to God's call to love our neighbors as a new era emerges? Subversive mission is submission-to God and local leaders. Subversive mission offers a new way forward for outsiders called to crosscultural ministry by serving as humble alongsiders. Join Craig Greenfield on this inspiring journey in Asia and beyond as he rediscovers the fivefold missional gifts of apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor, and teacher, and demonstrates how each of these must look radically different in a crosscultural context. Along the way, you'll discover your own missional type through the Missional Type Inventory and come face to face with the five most common pitfalls that Westerners face in crosscultural settings. By the end of this story, you'll be inspired by a radically different way of working for change in the world. Come alongside. And join God in what he is already doing.

A story of Florence's mission to the Kanakas in Australia and the Solomon Islands.

The Being With course is an introduction to Christianity with a difference. At its heart is the idea that God's greatest desire is to be with us in Jesus. Grounded in the conviction that we already have a wealth of understanding of truth, beauty and goodness that signify God's presence in our lives and everyday experiences, it aims to enable participants to discover dimensions of this presence and to live abundantly with God, with one another and with creation. This Leaders' Guide provides: * an introduction to the theological perspective underpinning the course; * an explanation of its structure and an overview of each session; * practical guidelines for leading a group; * complete materials for hosting its ten 90-minute sessions in person or online. The sessions focus on the themes of Meaning; Essence; Jesus; Church; Bible; Mission; Cross; Prayer; Suffering and Resurrection. Drawing on the practices of Godly Play, the course uses storytelling, wondering and reflection to encourage and welcome the insights that each person brings. The Being With course was devised and created by Samuel Wells and Sally Hitchiner. It is one of many initiatives of St Martin-in-the-Fields, alongside HeartEdge, the Nazareth Community, the classical music and arts programmes and work with those experiencing homelessness. Located in London's Trafalgar Square, St Martin's is a community of hope, transforming church and society through commerce, culture, compassion and congregational life.

It's easier than you may think to make intelligent replies to skeptics - with a little training. Answering Skeptics covers all the major objections in chapters that are both compact and compelling, with helpful summaries. If you find yourself reaching out only to lapsed Christians, your horizons are about to broaden. Engage agnostics, atheists, and members of the world religions with confidence.

This book investigates the role of the laity in the Asian Church. Lay people have three responsibilities: proclaiming the Gospel, be a witness of life, and the triple dialogue with the cultures, the religions, and the poor. Focusing on the triple dialogue, the bishops of Asia have offered fresh ideas to address three global trends in society: the revolution in communications technologies which blurs the cultures; the conflicts between followers of different religions; and the advance of globalisation which leaves in its aftermath the poverty of the masses.

A major new biography of Huldrych Zwingli-the warrior preacher who shaped the early Reformation Huldrych Zwingli (1484-1531) was the most significant early reformer after Martin Luther. As the architect of the Reformation in Switzerland, he created the Reformed tradition later inherited by John Calvin. His movement ultimately became a global religion. A visionary of a new society, Zwingli was also a divisive and fiercely radical figure. Bruce Gordon presents a fresh interpretation of the early Reformation and the key role played by Zwingli. A charismatic preacher and politician, Zwingli transformed church and society in Zurich and inspired supporters throughout Europe. Yet, Gordon shows, he was seen as an agitator and heretic by many and his bellicose, unyielding efforts to realize his vision would prove his undoing. Unable to control the movement he had launched, Zwingli died on the battlefield fighting his Catholic opponents.

Although many refer to the American South as the "Bible Belt," the region was not always characterized by a powerful religious culture. In the seventeenth century and early eighteenth century, religion-in terms both of church membership and personal piety-was virtually absent from southern culture. The late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, however, witnessed the astonishingly rapid rise of evangelical religion in the Upper South. Within just a few years, evangelicals had spread their beliefs and their fervor, gaining converts and building churches throughout Virginia and North Carolina and into the western regions. But what was it that made evangelicalism so attractive to a region previously uninterested in religion?
Monica Najar argues that early evangelicals successfully negotiated the various challenges of the eighteenth-century landscape by creating churches that functioned as civil as well as religious bodies. The evangelical church of the late eighteenth century was the cornerstone of its community, regulating marriages, monitoring prices, arbitrating business, and settling disputes. As the era experienced substantial rifts in the relationship between church and state, the disestablishment of colonial churches paved the way for new formulations of church-state relations. The evangelical churches were well-positioned to provide guidance in uncertain times, and their multiple functions allowed them to reshape many of the central elements of authority in southern society. They assisted in reformulating the lines between the "religious" and "secular" realms, with significant consequences for both religion and the emerging nation-state.
Touching on the creationof a distinctive southern culture, the position of women in the private and public arenas, family life in the Old South, the relationship between religion and slavery, and the political culture of the early republic, Najar reveals the history behind a religious heritage that remains a distinguishing mark of American society.

How should we reflect theologically about culture? Tim Gorringe presents a threefold, and interrelated, reflection organised around culture, power and mission. First, Gorringe interrogates culture through contemporary cultural studies but also through the contribution of the great eighteenth century theologian, J.G. Herder. He concludes by considering the question of cultural imperialism. Secondly, Gorringe asks where power is located in culture, and how the church relates to that, arguing that the central theses of liberation theology are far from dead. The third part turns to questions of mission, asking whether this is morally feasible in a culturally pluralist world and considering the implications of Samuel Huntington's notorious thesis of the 'clash of civilizations'. Gorringe argues that mission is in fact a vital part of a respectful multicultural society.

How should we reflect theologically about culture? Tim Gorringe presents a threefold, and interrelated, reflection organised around culture, power and mission. First, Gorringe interrogates culture through contemporary cultural studies but also through the contribution of the great eighteenth century theologian, J.G. Herder. He concludes by considering the question of cultural imperialism. Secondly, Gorringe asks where power is located in culture, and how the church relates to that, arguing that the central theses of liberation theology are far from dead. The third part turns to questions of mission, asking whether this is morally feasible in a culturally pluralist world and considering the implications of Samuel Huntington's notorious thesis of the 'clash of civilizations'. Gorringe argues that mission is in fact a vital part of a respectful multicultural society.

Missio Alliance Essential Reading List One of Seedbed's 10 Notable Books The gospel of Jesus has not always been good news for Native Americans. The history of North America is marred by atrocities committed against Native peoples. Indigenous cultures were erased in the name of Christianity. As a result, to this day few Native Americans are followers of Jesus. However, despite the far-reaching effects of colonialism, some Natives have forged culturally authentic ways to follow the way of Jesus. In his final work, Richard Twiss provides a contextualized Indigenous expression of the Christian faith among the Native communities of North America. He surveys the painful, complicated history of Christian missions among Indigenous peoples and chronicles more hopeful visions of culturally contextual Native Christian faith. For Twiss, contextualization is not merely a formula or evangelistic strategy, but rather a relational process of theological and cultural reflection within a local community. Native leaders reframe the gospel narrative in light of post-colonization, reincorporating traditional practices and rituals while critiquing and correcting the assumptions of American Christian mythologies. Twiss gives voice to the stories of Native followers of Jesus, with perspectives on theology and spirituality plus concrete models for intercultural ministry. Future generations of Native followers of Jesus, and those working crossculturally with them, will be indebted to this work.

Popular Christianity in India explores Indian Christianity as crafted and expressed through lived experience, providing an important balance to currently available, typically theological, studies. Drawing from many disciplines, this volume unearths the multifaceted terrain of festivals, rituals, saints, miracle workers, missionaries, and visionaries in Christian India, providing a wonderful glimpse of its richness and complexities. The contributors reveal the ways in which local Christian traditions deftly challenge assumed divisions and power imbalances between East and West, Hindu and Christian, foreign and indigenous, and elite and local expressions. Whether forging complicated religious, caste, and national identities, employing religious hybridity to promote well-being, or asserting autonomy within oppressive social and religious structures, local Christianity provides a crucial means for its participants to manage their earthly needs and desires.

This Confronting Jesus set pairs Rebecca McLaughlin's book with a companion study to help individuals and groups go deeper into the Gospels to learn more about the person and work of Christ.

Prepare for your guests this Easter with a wonderful evangelistic booklet by Nicky Gumbel. Like Gumbel's Why Jesus?, this booklet is a concise and easy-to-read study of the very real questions surrounding Jesus that people might be thinking about at Easter: Who is Jesus? Why do we need him? Why did he have to die? Why does he matter to my life today? With hearts particularly open in the Easter season, these booklets are an effective evangelistic tool to pass out to guests at your services, sharing the Gospel in a warm and relevant way. Alpha is based on a pattern found in the New Testament of people bringing their friends, family, and work colleagues to meet Jesus. Alpha is an easy way to say to friends, "Come and see, come and explore your questions, come and hear about Jesus, come and see for yourself." Everyone is welcome at Alpha, but the program is designed especially for people who would not describe themselves as Christians or church-goers.

Scottish theologian, educator, astronomer and popularizer of science, Thomas Dick (1774-1857) promoted a Christianized form of science to inhibit secularization, to win converts to Christianity, and to persuade evangelicals that science was sacred. His devotional theology of nature made radical claims for cultural authority. This book presents the first detailed analysis of his life and works. After an extended biographical introduction, Dick's theology of nature is examined within the context of natural theology, and also his views on the plurality of worlds, the nebular hypothesis and geology. Other chapters deal with Dick's use of aesthetics to shape social behaviour for millennial purposes, and with the publishing history of his works, their availability and their reception. In the final part, the author explores Dick's influence in America. His pacifism won him Northern evangelical supporters, while his writings dominated the burgeoning field of popular science, powerfully shaping science's cultural meaning and its uses.

'Faithfulness and the Purpose of Hebrews' offers fresh answers to unresolved questions by employing that branch of social psychology known as social identity theory. Who were the addressees? With the categories of social identity theory, this study argues that the addressees arranged the world into two groups: 'us' and 'them'. They understood their group, the 'us', to be the 'faithful'. They understood 'them' (a symbolic outgroup of 'all others') to be the 'unfaithful'. Faithfulness, then, is the primary identity descriptor for the addressees and plays an essential role throughout the text. How did the addressees understand the faithfulness of Jesus? The author of Hebrews describes the faithfulness of Jesus as 'prototypical'. The faithfulness of all others is described in relation to Jesus' faith, and together they are integrated into an ongoing narrative of devotion. What is the meaning of the promised 'rest'? Utilizing a model of present temporal orientation, the study interprets the dynamic relationship between the 'antecedent' faithfulness of many witnesses and the 'forthcoming' promised rest of the addressees. The addressees of Hebrews were encouraged to 'understand their futures by looking to the past.' What is the purpose of the text? Social identity theorists explain that groups with a negative social identity have two broad options: social mobility or social change. The study concludes that the author of Hebrews provides internal constraints in order to prevent social mobility. Marohl uses social creativity (an aspect of social change) to provide a positive social identity for the addressees. 'Marohl's welcome study represents an accomplished application of social identity theory to the text of Hebrews. His methodological attentiveness is mature and responsible, resulting in an articulate analysis that recognises the faithfulness of Jesus to be the theological centre that informs the socio-religious programme advocated by the author of Hebrews.' - Bruce Longenecker, University of St. Andrews Matthew J. Marohl teaches New Testament at Augustana College, Illinois and is the author of 'Joseph's Dilemma: Honour Killing in the Birth Narrative of Matthew'.