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Books > Religion & Spirituality > Christianity > Christian institutions & organizations > Christian social thought & activity
In this spiritual memoir, a white woman in an interracial marriage
and mixed-race family paints a beautiful path from white privilege
toward racial healing, from ignorance toward seeing the image of
God in everyone she meets. Author and speaker Cara Meredith grew up
in a colorless world. From childhood, she didn't think issues of
race had anything to do with her, and she was ignorant of many of
the racial realities (including individual and systemic racism) in
America today. A colorblind rhetoric had been stamped across her
education, world view, and Christian theology. Then as an adult,
Cara's life took on new, colorful hues. She realized that white
people in her generation, seeking to move beyond ancestral racism,
had swung so far in believing a colorblind rhetoric that they tried
to act as if they didn't see race at all. When Cara met and fell in
love with the son of black icon, James Meredith, the power of love
helped her see color. She began to notice the shades of life
already present in the world around her, while also learning to
listen in new ways to black voices of the past. After she married
and their little family grew to include two mixed-race sons, Cara
knew she would never see the world through a colorless lens again.
Cara Meredith's journey will serve as an invitation into
conversations of justice, race, and privilege, asking key
questions, such as: What does it mean to navigate ongoing and
desperately needed conversations of race and justice? What does it
mean for white people to listen and learn from the realities our
black and brown brothers and sisters face every day? What does it
mean to teach the next generation a theology of justice,
reconciliation, and love? What does it mean to dig into the stories
of our past, both historically and theologically, to see the imago
Dei in everyone? Plus, Cara offers an extensive Notes and
Recommended Reading section at the end of the book, so you can
continue learning, listening, and engaging in this important
conversation.
The 2014 Christianity Today Book Award Winner (Her.meneutics)
Winner of a 2013 Leadership Journal Book Award ("Our Very Short
List" in "The Leader's Outer Life" category) Mental illness is the
sort of thing we don't like to talk about. It doesn't reduce nicely
to simple solutions and happy outcomes. So instead, too often we
reduce people who are mentally ill to caricatures and ghosts, and
simply pretend they don't exist. They do exist, however--statistics
suggest that one in four people suffer from some kind of mental
illness. And then there's their friends and family members, who
bear their own scars and anxious thoughts, and who see no safe
place to talk about the impact of mental illness on their lives and
their loved ones. Many of these people are sitting in churches week
after week, suffering in stigmatized silence. InTroubled Minds Amy
Simpson, whose family knows the trauma and bewilderment of mental
illness, reminds us that people with mental illness are our
neighbors and our brothers and sisters in Christ, and she shows us
the path to loving them well and becoming a church that loves God
with whole hearts and whole souls, with the strength we have and
with minds that are whole as well as minds that are troubled.
Every story entails a way of life and how every way of life implies
a big story. In Every Body's Story, Branson Parler focuses on three
predominant myths of sexuality in our secular age--individualism,
romance, and materialism--and three dominant myths in Christian
circles--anti-body theology, legalism, and the sexual prosperity
gospel--exploring how those stories shape our practice. Our views
of sexuality and our practices around sex are never just about sex.
How we use and view our bodies reveals who/what we think God is (or
is not) and who we are. If we truly understand the biblical logic
of marriage, sexuality, and singleness--that they are meant to
embody the gospel--then we will better understand why this witness
is so vital. As God's self-giving faithfulness is put on display by
both married and single Christians, those formed by our secular age
will have to ask: What if it's true? What if there's more? What if
God really does love us that much? Rather than viewing our
sexuality as an isolated matter of ethics, we can see how the
gospel places our sexuality in the context of God's rescue mission
of the world.
Learn to leverage privilege. Privilege is a social consequence of
our unwillingness to reckon with and turn from sin. But properly
stewarded, it can help us see and participate in God's inbreaking
kingdom. Scripture repeatedly affirms that privilege is real and
declares that, rather than exploiting it for selfish gain or
feeling immobilized by it, Christians have a responsibility to
leverage it. Subversive Witness asks us to grapple with privilege,
indifference, and systemic sin in new ways by using biblical
examples to reveal the complex nature of privilege and Christians'
responsibility in stewarding it well. Dominique DuBois Gilliard
highlights several people in the Bible who understood this kingdom
call. Through their stories, you will discover how to leverage
privilege to: Resist Sin Stand in Solidarity with the Oppressed
Birth Liberation Create Systemic Change Proclaim the Good News
Generate Social Transformation By embodying Scripture's subversive
call to leverage--and at times forsake--privilege, readers will
learn to love their neighbors sacrificially, enact systemic change,
and grow more Christlike as citizens of God's kingdom.
We have almost become immune to the reality of today's headlines:
from terrorism to natural disasters to political upheavals to
refugees to disease to nuclear threats to failing economies...and
the list goes on. People are thinking and asking, "Is this the
end?" Nobody can answer that question specifically. In fact, Jesus
warned about setting dates for the end of the age. But this we can
say: Never have so many world-level events developed so rapidly and
with such catastrophic implications. These events bring to mind the
apostle Paul's words about "birth pangs" before the end of the age.
In Is This the End? Study Guide, Pastor David Jeremiah looks at ten
major developments in America and the world that almost defy
imagination. Just a few years ago, nobody could have imagined the
things we hear about daily in the news. We need to understand these
events: what they are, what the Bible says about them, and how we
should respond as followers of Christ. Follow Dr. Jeremiah as he
unfolds five developments in America and five developments on the
international stage-all of which beg the question, "Is this the
end?"
In recent years Christian scholars have become increasingly aware
of their responsibility to recognize and respond to the challenges
posed by ethnic and racial diversity. Similarly, historically white
Christian colleges, universities, seminaries and congregations are
struggling to transform themselves into communities that are
welcoming to minorities and sensitive to their needs. This
collection of all-new essays is meant to enable those who are
engaged in these initiatives to understand the historical linkage
of race, ethnicity and Christianity and to explore the ways in
which constructive change can be achieved. The volume is the
product of a long-term study funded by the Wabash Center for
Teaching and Learning in Theology. In the course of this study it
emerged that many Christian institutions now offer courses on race
and ethnicity, but that there is very little relevant literature
written from the standpoint of rigorous Christian scholarship. This
book is intended to fill that gap. The authors address such
questions as: What has been the history of Christian churches and
leaders in relation to slavery, segregation, and apartheid? Which
biblical texts and doctrines have historically been employed on
behalf of racial projects, and which are relevant to the racial and
ethnic crises of our day? How have religious leaders constructively
engaged such crises? How do congregations shape the values, civic
commitments, understandings and sensitivities of their membership?
How can local congregations be sites for racial reconciliation and
justice initiatives? Are there positive models for how churches and
other religious institutions have helped to bring healing to racial
and ethnic tensions and divides? How might Christians in the
professions work to bring justice to business, education,
government, and other areas of society? When good intentions fail
to accomplish desired ends, how do we analyze what went wrong?
Written by an interracial and interethnic team of scholars
representing diverse disciplines, this book will meet a pressing
need and set a new standard for the discussion of race and
ethnicity in the Christian context.
Where does your chocolate come from? Does it matter if your coffee
is fair trade or not? It matters--more than you might think. Julie
Clawson takes us on a tour of everyday life and shows how our
ordinary lifestyle choices have big implications for justice around
the world. She unpacks how we get our food and clothing and shows
us the surprising costs of consumer waste. How we live can make a
difference not only for our own health but also for the well-being
of people across the globe. The more sustainable our lifestyle, the
more just our world will be. Everyday justice is one way of loving
God and our neighbors. We can live more ethically, through the
little and big decisions we make every day. Here's how.
In the "The Misunderstood Jew," scholar Amy-Jill Levine helps
Christians and Jews understand the "Jewishness" of Jesus so that
their appreciation of him deepens and a greater interfaith dialogue
can take place. Levine's humor and informed truth-telling provokes
honest conversation and debate about how Christians and Jews should
understand Jesus, the New Testament, and each other.
16th Annual Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year Is your church
wrestling with LGBT questions from membership to marriage? Travis
Collins has been there. A pastor who has walked congregations
through the complex issues surrounding gay Christians, he knows
firsthand the confusion and hurt that often follow. He has also
seen churches have these conversations with grace and
understanding. In this practical resource, readers will gain
insight into relevant biblical passages and, while the author is
working from a traditional perspective, he offers insights from
interpreters on both sides of the debate. They will consider the
implications of their convictions for ministry practice,
relationships, church policy, and more. They will hear testimonies
from gay friends and family members about their experiences in the
church. Collins calls readers to both grace and truth, with
humility. What Does It Mean to Be Welcoming? considers how we might
welcome everyone into the church while calling for all to be
transformed.
"There's something I need to tell you...I'm gay." These are hard
words to hear from a beloved family member. But as hard as they are
to hear, they are also hard for the same-sex-attracted person to
utter. No matter the relationship-parent, child, grandparent,
spouse, sibling, or other, that admission will likely mark a change
in the way you and your loved one understand each other. These can
be difficult waters to navigate, but Joe Dallas knows the rough
waters firsthand and offers answers to the questions you need
answered. How do I show my love for my same-sex attracted family
member and yet remain faithful to the Bible's admonitions about
homosexuality? Should I attend my loved one's gay wedding? What
caused his or her homosexuality? Am I to blame? Can people change
their sexual orientation? From his many years of helping families
answer tough questions about homosexuality, Joe Dallas offers you
sound, compassionate, and biblically accurate advice as you take a
journey you never anticipated. Revised edition.
Environmental issues have in recent years come to the centre stage
of political and ethical debate. This is a crucial topic to engage
in this series. Moreover, there has long been the charge,
classically formulated by Lynn White Jr, that the biblical and
Christian tradition has legitimated and encouraged humanity's
aggressive domination of nature to serve human interests. Biblical
visions of the future, with destruction for the earth and rescue
for the elect, might also seem to discourage any concern for the
earth's future or the welfare of future generations. In this
volume, David Horrell sets out this context for discussion, and
illustrates the diverse ways in which the Bible has been
interpreted in relation to issues of ecology and the environment. A
wide range of biblical texts are discussed, from "Genesis" to
"Revelation", and competing interpretations are contrasted and
evaluated. This analysis shows that the Bible provides a thoroughly
ambivalent legacy, which cannot straightforwardly provide positive
teaching on care for the environment, but nor can it simply be seen
as an anti-ecological book. Finally, then, Horrell argues that what
is needed is the explicit development of an 'ecological
hermeneutic'. This involves constructing certain interpretative
lenses which both arise from the engagement between our
contemporary context and the biblical text and also generate a new
reading of the biblical tradition appropriate to face the
challenges of the ecological issues that face humanity at the
beginning of the third millennium.
The Luminous Darkness is a commentary on what segregation does to
the human soul. First published in the 1960s, Howard Thruman's
insights apply today as we still try to heal the wound of those
days. Thurmna bares the evil of segregation and points to the
ground of hope which an bring all humanity together.
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