This volume brings together the work of a wide range of scholars to explore the long and complex history of the relationships between churches and education. Christianity has always been involved in education, from the very earliest teaching of those about to be baptised, to present-day churches' involvement in schools and higher education. Christianity has a core theological concern for teaching, discipleship and formation, but the dissemination of Christian ideas and positions has not necessarily been an explicitly didactic process. Educational projects have served not only to support but also to question and even reconfigure particular versions of the Christian message, and the recipients of education have also both received and subverted the teaching offered. Under the editorship of Morwenna Ludlow, this volume explores the ways in which churches have sought to educate, catechise and instruct the clergy and laity, adults and children, men and women, boys and girls.

Ask almost any priest what his or her biggest headache is and the answer is likely to be 'coming up with ideas for including children in worship'. Here is the answer to those prayers - a whole year's worth of activities and ideas complete with artwork and visual aids. These sixty outlines have been developed and used in an Anglican parish church over the last eight years by a professional educationalist, artist and experienced children's church leader. The worship outlines include simple children's liturgies and a complete lesson or story plan that harmonizes with what the adults are doing in church on the same day. Through fun ideas, children encounter a real aspect of the Christian faith focused on a theme to be found in the Gospel of the day. Each outline includes a variety of options which make them workable with small and large groups of children or single groups of mixed ages.Illustrated throughout, the text and artwork appears on the accompanying CD Rom in full colour for downloading and printing or copying.

It takes tender strength to raise children of character and faith. What does it take to raise great kids? If you've read any books on parenting, conflicting opinions have probably left you feeling confused. Get tough! Show acceptance. Lay down the rules. Lighten up, already! There's got to be a balance between control and permissiveness. And there is. Drawing on the expert insights of counselors and award winning authors Henry Cloud and John Townsend and on the parenting wisdom of MOPS International (Mothers of Preschoolers), Raising Great Kids shows you how truth and grace go together. They are allies in your most challenging and rewarding task: raising children with character that can withstand life's rigors and make the most of its potential. Using principles described in Raising Great Kids, the Raising Great Kids Workbook for Parents of Preschoolers will guide you through those first, formative years in your child's life from infancy to age five. It's filled with sound Biblical information and expert advise. But most important, it supplies tools you can begin using today, from thought - provoking questions and self-assessments to an abundance of practical applications. Each chapter begins by introducing three or four key parenting principles, and ends with hands on exercise and a prayer that crystallize the concepts dealt with in that chapter. The Raising Kids Workbook for Parents of Preschoolers will help you start sowing the seeds of character early in your child's life for good fruit that lasts a lifetime.

La scene de la vie quotidienne qu'offre la Republique Democratique du Congo (RDC) depuis quelques decennies est marquee par une crise d'identite due a de multiples mouvements de rebellions armees et de guerres. Suivant une hermeneutique dite contextuelle qui prend au serieux la singularite de tout contexte particulier, la presente reflexion analyse ce contexte socioculturel congolais. L'auteur propose quelques pistes pour relever ces defis. La reponse sociologique, anthropologique et ethique passe par une hermeneutique adequate de la diversite humaine. La realite humaine se definit par les figures plurielles d'etre et d'action, la diversite de visions du monde et la variete des modes d'approches de ce monde. La reconciliation comme proposition dans la construction du vivre-ensemble a, en effet, son Sitz-im-Leben dans la multiplicite des visions du monde qu'implique la diversite humaine. Cette approche de la Reconciliation est centree sur une dynamique identitaire qui insiste sur le sens de la relation. Ce que nous appelons la mise en valeur de l'Alterite, autrement dit la Reconnaissance mutuelle. A l'horizon de cette demarche, il y a une volonte profonde et reelle d'ouvrir la RDC a des devenirs possibles en pensant les diverses modalites de vivre-ensemble.

and other questions about grace the law and being saved.

This book collects multiple disciplinary voices which explore current research and perspectives to discuss how spirituality is understood, interpreted and applied in a range of contexts. It addresses spirituality in combination with such topics as Christian mysticism, childhood and adolescent education, midwifery, and sustainability. It links spirituality to a variety of disciplines, including cognitive neuroscience, sociology, and psychology. Finally, it discusses the application of spirituality within the context of social work, teaching, health care, and occupational therapy. A final chapter provides an analytical discussion of the different voices that appear in the book and offers a holistic description of spirituality which has the potential to bring some unity to the meaning, expression and practice of spirituality across a variety of disciplines as well as across cultural, religious and secular worldviews. "A strength of the book is that each chapter is characterized by a fearless confronting of oppositional perspectives and use of the latest research in addressing them. The book takes the difficult topic of spirituality into almost every nook and cranny of personal and professional life. There is a persistent grasping of the contentiousness of the topic, together with addressing counter positions and utilizing updated research across a range of fields in doing this. The opening and closing chapters serve as book ends that keep the whole volume together."Terence Lovat, The University of Newcastle, Australia "The interdisciplinary nature of the work is by far the strongest aspect of this volume. It has the potential to contribute to a dialogue between different professions and disciplines. This prospective publication promises to promote a more holistic approach to the study of spirituality. This volume takes into consideration a wide variety of issues. The way the editors have structured the sequence of chapters contributes to facilitate any possible dialogue between the different areas."Adrian-Mario Gellel, University of Malta, Malta

This six-session small group Bible study from Pastor Rick Warren (DVD/digital video sold separately), Everything is Possible with God, helps you recognize, understand, and cooperate in the predictable patterns and processes God uses to strengthen your faith and develop your character. How's your faith? Strong or weak? Is it steady or stretched? It's an important question, because there's a lot riding on your answer. More importantly, would you like your faith to be stronger? That's what this study from "America's most influential spiritual leader" is all about. Faith, according to Pastor Rick Warren, is like a muscle. It needs to be exercised and developed. And God uses a predictable pattern and process to build your faith. It's what Warren calls the Six Phases of Faith. Once you understand these six phases, you can cooperate with God in the process of strengthening your faith and building your character. Everything is Possible with God is a groundbreaking small group bible study that helps you uncover and participate in God's unique plan and purpose for your life. This Study Guide is filled with helpful discussion starters, video overviews, a helpful Leader's Guide and much more. It's designed to be used with the companion Everything is Possible with God DVD (sold separately). Sessions include: How God Builds Your Faith God's Dream for Your Life How to Make Wise Decisions Delayed by Design How to Deal with Difficulty From Dead End to Deliverance Designed for use with the Everything Is Possible with God Video Study (sold separately).

Since 2001, history has proven the classic and once dominant theories of secularization wrong. Instead of abandoning the subject of secularization, Niels Reeh's Secularization Revisited demonstrates how the collapse of formerly dominant secularization theories indicates fundamental conceptual challenges within sociology. Through a historical sociological case study of the political decision-making concerning the teaching of religion in Denmark from 1721 to 2006, Reeh explains why sociology of religion and sociology more generally should pay more attention to interstate relations, state-form and state-agency. The Danish state's interest in its inhabitants' religion over the last three centuries responded not only to religious motives but to concerns about foreign relations and the survival of the state.

Adapting C.S. Lewis's classic allegory, this book is a gathering of 33 instructional letters written between demons. With wit, insight and a fearless honesty, this book shows how alcohol addiction ravages human lives and relationships.

This hand sized NKJV edition is the perfect travel companion for readers who like to take their Bibles with them throughout the day. Though it fits easily into backpacks and purses, you won't have to sacrifice readability or study resources. The exclusive Thomas Nelson NKJV Comfort Print (R) typeface was designed to be easy to read at any size, so you can experience deeper engagement in God's Word. This edition also includes over 73,000 cross-references, a concordance, and full-color maps so you have everything you need for serious study at your fingertips. Features include: Presentation page Red letter words of Christ 73,000+ cross-references trace the connections in Scripture Concordance Full-color maps Satin ribbon marker Clear and readable 7-point NKJV Comfort Print Commissioned in 1975 by Thomas Nelson, 130 international and multi-denominational Bible scholars, church leaders, and lay Christians worked for seven years to create a completely new, modern translation of Scripture that retained the purity and stylistic beauty of the King James Version. The New King James Version is faithful to the original Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic text, and provides transparency to the recent research in archaeology, linguistics, and textual studies in the footnotes. The result is a Bible translation that is both beautiful and uncompromising-perfect for serious study, devotional use, and reading aloud.

Das Buch legt theologische Deutungen der Thematik Flucht, Migration und Integration, ausgehend von verschiedenen kulturellen und sozialen Kontexten, vor. Viele der Beitragerinnen und Beitrager sind an Orten tatig, in denen dieser Themenkomplex ahnlich bedeutend ist, wie in Westeuropa. Sie besprechen Flucht, Migration und Integration als Fragen an die christliche Theologie und Diakonie. Ihre individuellen Antworten und Sichtweisen bereichern die kritische Debatte uber diese aktuellen Herausforderungen. This book presents theological approaches to the subject flight, migration and integration from various cultural and social contexts. Many of the contributors are active in places where the issue of flight, migration and integration is similarly significant as it is in Western Europe. They discuss flight, migration and integration as questions for Christian theology and diaconia. Their individual responses and views illuminate and inform the critical discussion for the challenges facing today's world.

Train Up a Child explores how private schools in Old Order Amish communities reflect and perpetuate church-community values and identity. Here, Karen M. Johnson-Weiner asserts that the reinforcement of those values among children is imperative to the survival of these communities in the modern world.

Surveying settlements in Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York, Johnson-Weiner finds that, although Old Order communities have certain similarities in their codes of conduct, there is no standard Old Order school. She examines the choices each community makes -- about pedagogy, curriculum, textbooks, even school design -- to strengthen religious ideology, preserve the social and linguistic markers of Old Order identity, and protect their own community's beliefs and values from the influence of the dominant society.

In the most comprehensive study of Old Order schools to date, Johnson-Weiner provides valuable insight into how variables such as community size and relationship with other Old Order groups affect the role of these schools in maintaining behavioral norms and in shaping the Old Order's response to modernity.