Taking inspiration from the Spanish word for retirement--jubilacion-- veteran minister Bruce Epperly challenges and empowers clergy to see retirement as a celebration of new possibilities and not an inexorable diminishment towards irrelevance. Similar in spirit to the Jubilee year described in scripture, retirement can be a time of transformation and exploration, of freedom to try on new versions of yourself and new paths of service. In that spirit, clergy can embrace creative transformation in their relationships, neighborhoods, religious communities, and politics. No longer tethered to the politics and administrative duties of congregational leadership, they can now freely commit themselves to relational, intellectual, and spiritual growth. They can also focus on personal, community, and planetary healing and transformation. Retired clergy can become sages and wisdom givers sharing their insights and energy with seminarians and novice pastors, congregations, and communities. Bringing together the fruits of conversations with more than 100 retired clergy, theological reflection, and spiritual practices, this text provides a way forward for clergy considering retirement and retired clergy. Based on interviews from persons from diverse denominations, theological perspectives, and ethnic and racial backgrounds, this text garners wisdom from pastors on their retirement journeys, from personal preparation and public announcement to first steps following retirement and long-term adventures.

The United States was founded on a commitment to religious tolerance. Based on this commitment, it has become one of the most religiously diverse and religiously observant liberal democracies in the world. Inherent in this political reality is the question, "What is the appropriate relationship between religious beliefs and public life?" This is not a new question, but in contemporary US politics it has become a particularly insistent one. In this intelligent, wide-ranging book, Kristin Heyer provides new and nuanced answers. Prophetic and Public employs the discourse of public theology to consider what constitutes appropriate religio-political engagement. According to Heyer, public theology connects religious faith, concepts, and practices to their public relevance for the wider society. Her use of public theology concepts to address the appropriate possibilities and limits for religio-political engagement in the United States is both useful and enlightening. Heyer approaches the relationship between public morality and religious commitment through the example of the Catholic Church. She looks at two prominent Catholics-Michael Baxter and Bryan Hehir-as a way of discussing norms for practice of public theology. Heyer also analyzes case studies of three US Catholic advocacy groups: The US Conference of Catholic Bishops, NETWORK, and Pax Christi USA. Through her analysis she shows the various ways that the organizations' Catholic identity impacts their social and political efforts. From her investigations come norms that define possibilities and limits for political actions based on religious conviction. This deeply thoughtful book examines what is truly fundamental and inescapable about public life and private religious belief in the United States. In doing so, it makes skillful use of the tools of theology, philosophy, law, and advocacy to demonstrate that the Catholic Church reveals great diversity in its public theology, providing legitimate options for a faithful response to urgent political issues.

The I Love You More Workbook for Men will help you personalize the discoveries you make in I Love You More and then turn them into practical action. As you convert principles into hands-on application to meet the unique needs of your marriage, you truly will grow to love each other more knowledgeably, more effectively, and more deeply.
EXERCISES AND ASSESSMENTS Twenty-one exercises furnish you with vital insights, guidance, and tools for applying the principles you'll encounter in the book and DVD. You can turn your marriage's prickly issues into opportunities to love each other more as you learn how to:
- build intimacy while respecting personal space
- tap the power of a positive marriage attitude
- replace boredom with fun, irritability with patience, busyness with time together, debt with a team approach to your finances . . . and much, much more.
DISCUSSION GUIDE This will help your small group enjoy lively and eye-opening interaction through six sessions in the ZondervanGroupware small group DVD. As couples, you'll discuss how you can turn the problems in your marriages to your advantage, defend your relationships against six "sneak attacks," solve any problem in five realistic steps, and more. Each session links with the workbook exercises and concludes with an exercise each couple can do together over the next week.

12th Annual Outreach Resource of the Year Recommendation (Leadership) Pastors and church leaders often fall into the trap of people-pleasing. Charles Stone?s research on thousands of pastors and ministry leaders demonstrates the dangers of approval-motivated leadership. Bringing together biblical insights and neuroscience findings, Stone shows why we fall into people-pleasing patterns and what we can do to overcome these tendencies. With practical tools for individuals and teams, Stone offers concrete resources to help you and your leadership minimize people-pleasing and have more effective ministry.

David Anderson writes about multicultural leadership not from the perspective of an ivory tower intellectual, but as a hands-on practitioner who loves and believes in the body of Christ. . . . If you believe there is no solution to the race problem, I urge you to reconsider and to learn from someone who is on the frontlines of making multicultural ministry a reality in the church today. ---Bill Hybels, founding and senior pastor, Willow Creek Community Church Multiculturalism isn t a trend, it s a reality. Evidence of this country s rich racial mix is all around us in our schools, our stores, our neighborhoods, our recreational facilities---everywhere except our churches. Heaven may include every culture, tongue, and tribe, but in the United States, Sunday morning remains one of the last bastions of ethnic separatism. It s time to stop merely talking about multicultural worship and start living it. In this groundbreaking book, David Anderson invites us all---African-American, Asian, Caucasian, and Latino---to learn how to dance the dance of multicultural ministry. We ve all got different moves, but that s the beauty of diversity: the various gifts we bring, the wisdom of our heritages, the different creative ways we express the same Lord. Think it can t be done? Think again. As Anderson demonstrates, it is being done successfully by more and more churches. Wherever your church is now on the multicultural continuum, you can join the ranks of those moving toward a diverse and thriving ministry. Combining frontline insights with inspiring stories, Anderson takes you and your church into the strategy-level realities of what it takes to make multicultural ministry work in your setting. Do you hear the beat of the Spirit? God is calling your church to the dance of unity in diversity. Don t hold back Grab this book, get out on the dance floor, and let Multicultural Ministry show you the steps. Includes a Racial Reconciliation survey and six-session Racial Reconciliation curriculum."

It was the right thing to do. And someone had to do it. Aziz was more than an interpreter for Force Recon Marine Chad Robichaux during Chad's eight deployments to Afghanistan. He was a teammate, brother, and friend. More than once, Aziz saved Chad's life. And then he needed Chad to save his. When President Joe Biden announced in April 2021 that the United States would be making a hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan, Robichaux knew he had to get Aziz and his family out before Taliban forces took over the country. As the rescue team he'd pulled together began to go to work, they became aware of thousands more--US citizens, Afghan allies, women, and children--facing persecution or death if they were not saved from the Taliban's terrorist regime. Chad began leading the charge that would go on to rescue 17,000 evacuees within a few short weeks--12,000 of them within the first ten days. This gripping account of two heroes and a daring mission puts human hearts and names alongside the headlines of one of the most harrowing moments in our history, giving you a closer look at: The resilience of Afghanistan and its people Chad's direct interactions with the Taliban The twenty-year war that took place under four presidents Saving Aziz is a story of war and rescue. It is a story of a mission accomplished and work still to be done. It is a story of how looking into a stranger's eyes breaks down prejudice and apathy--and why risking it all is worth it when it comes to loving one another. Praise for Saving Aziz: "Saving Aziz is the story of two warriors...brought together by war and a brotherhood forged through years of battling...for the cause of freedom and captures the heroic efforts of those who took action to not only rescue Aziz and his family in the US withdrawal but thousands of others." --Tim Kennedy, New York Times bestselling author, US Army Special Forces, Sniper, UFC Fighter, Founder of Sheepdog Response, and Co-Founder of Save Our Allies

In The Roots of Pope Francis's Social and Political Thought Thomas R. Rourke traces the development of Pope Francis's thinking from his time as a Jesuit provincial through today. Meticulously researched, the book draws on decades of previously untranslated writings from Father Jorge Bergoglio, SJ, who went on to become archbishop and cardinal; this volume also references his recent writings as pope. The book explores the deepest roots of Pope Francis's thinking, beginning with the experience of the Jesuit missions in Argentina (1500s - 1700s), showing how both the success and tragedy of the missions profoundly formed his social and political views. Subsequent chapters explore influences from the Second Vatican Council through today regarding culture, politics, and economics. In Pope Francis's understanding, there is a perpetual tension between the attempts to redeem the social order through the Gospel and the never-ending attempts to dominate peoples and their lands through a variety of imperial projects that come from the powerful. What emerges is a profoundly Christian approach to the social, political, and economic problems of our time. The Pope is portrayed as an original thinker, independent of ideological currents, rooted in the Gospels and the tradition of Catholic social thought. In a time of division and violence, the writings of Pope Francis often point to the path of peace and justice.

Religion and Security: The New Nexus in International Relations focuses on a groundbreaking theme. In global security today, religion is not only part of the problem but also part of the solution. This book explores positive nexus points between religion and security, paying particular attention to the resources within the Abrahamic faith traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam that foster sustainable peace. Religion and Security is a lively and insightful collection of analyses by distinguished scholars and practitioners in security, diplomacy, conflict resolution, human rights and theology. As states and nongovernmental organizations alike reconsider their strategies for being relevant in the 21st century, this book provides a practical framework through which both can work toward reducing violence and promoting human dignity. Divided into four parts, Religion and Security addresses themes of war and terrorism, pluralism and stability, military intervention and conflict resolution, and religious freedom and civil society. It underscores a crucial irony: nations that violate religious human rights in the name of "security" will ultimately be vulnerable to a number of significant threats to stability. This volume is a timely guide to the intersection of religion and security for human rights organizations, security experts, scholars of religion and politics, government and non-government staffers and decision-makers, and students in the disciplines of international affairs.

New York Times bestselling author and Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson exposes the destructive nature of American politics and calls on Christians to actively participate in advancing the Kingdom of heaven on earth. We live in a fractured country, a country in which identity politics, creeping socialist policies, toxic social media, and the vast partisan divide threaten the very fabric of America. After decades of political decay and of losing sight of our first principles, the American people are suffering from runaway debt, increased rates of depression, broken families, moral decay, and more. In Jesus Politics, Phil Robertson provides an alternate path: a radical call for Christians to use their freedoms to advance the agenda of the King and win back the divided soul of America. Exploring the problems facing our country and how Jesus would respond to each, Robertson offers a clear strategy, showing us how to do good by King Jesus, bringing the kingdom of heaven to our homes, neighborhoods, churches, communities, and country. Robertson also gives you the tools you need to apply the lessons of Jesus Politics in the voting booth and in our everyday lives, reminding us that above all, we're called to: Love God Love our neighbors Do whatever it takes to bring, maintain, and protect his kingdom on earth as it is in heaven Join Robertson as he takes a closer look at the problems facing America and shares how we can use our time, talents, resources, and votes to solve them as members of the kingdom. Explore a new way of thinking and acting, a way that protects and advances the policies of the King. And, if enough of us do, maybe we can become a nation that proclaims, "In the King we trust."

In the first anthology of its kind, Thomas O'Brien and Scott Paeth have gathered unique pieces from across religious perspectives to illustrate the growing influence and contribution of religion to the field of business ethics. Events in the recent past make clear people in business urgently need to focus on the moral dimension of practices and behaviors. Courses in business ethics are increasingly more prevalent in business schools and in departments of philosophy and religious studies, and yet texts for these courses normally pay scant attention to the much-needed religious perspective on what constitutes ethical practice and behavior. O'Brien and Paeth now fill that need with this new text Tackling such wide-ranging subjects as Jewish environmental ethics, Zen in the workplace, and Christian social ethics, this text is a valuable addition to any business ethics course.

From a powerful new voice on racial justice, an eye-opening account of growing up Black, Christian, and female in middle-class white America.

Austin Channing Brown's first encounter with a racialized America came at age 7, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, Austin writes, "I had to learn what it means to love blackness," a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America's racial divide as a writer, speaker and expert who helps organizations practice genuine inclusion.

In a time when nearly all institutions (schools, churches, universities, businesses) claim to value "diversity" in their mission statements, I'm Still Here is a powerful account of how and why our actions so often fall short of our words. Austin writes in breathtaking detail about her journey to self-worth and the pitfalls that kill our attempts at racial justice, in stories that bear witness to the complexity of America's social fabric--from Black Cleveland neighborhoods to private schools in the middle-class suburbs, from prison walls to the boardrooms at majority-white organizations.

For readers who have engaged with America's legacy on race through the writing of Ta-Nehisi Coates and Michael Eric Dyson, I'm Still Here is an illuminating look at how white, middle-class, Evangelicalism has participated in an era of rising racial hostility, inviting the reader to confront apathy, recognize God's ongoing work in the world, and discover how blackness--if we let it--can save us all.

GREEN WITNESS is a work in theological ethics, addressed to theologians and seminarians, but also to clergy and church study groups. Yordy approaches the topic of Christian environmental work not from the perspective of a global crisis that must be solved, but from the perspective of God's promise of the Kingdom. She argues that Christians can and should work for the wholeness of the biophysical environment whether or not their efforts bear immediate visible fruit, because God always welcomes and makes good use of faithful discipleship. This is good news to religious environmentalists who have grown weary of struggling to "make a difference" amid ever-louder announcements of environmental destruction. The eschaton is clearly a realm of interspecies peace, abundance, and diversity, and part of the church's mission is to demonstrate these aspects of God's plan for the world, although only God can and will consummate the Kingdom. LAURA RUTH YORDY is Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Bridgewater College in Virginia. "Often confronted by the so-called 'environmental crisis, ' many are led to despair that nothing can be done. Drawing on profound theological insights, Laura Yordy helps us see that something can be done because Christ's redemption is sure and good. Hopefully this book will find its way into many congregational discussions of how we can better live as witnesses to God's glorious creation." STANLEY HAUERWAS, Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School, Duke University "Yordy encourages us to think the meaning of creation in terms of the inbreaking Kingdom of God. With this eschatological reading of our environmental troubles she invites us to a more exacting and merciful discipleship that is patterned on the Trinitarian God who brings all creation into being and sustains it until its final redemption in Christ. Yordy's views will challenge established patterns of thinking, and inspire churches to be more faithful witnesses to the healing presence of God in our world." NORMAN WIRZBA, Author of The Paradise of God: Renewing Religion in an Ecological Age

14th Annual Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year, Social Justice No one said pursuing justice would be easy. The road can be so challenging and the destination so distant that you may be discouraged by a lack of progress, compassion or commitment in your quest for justice. How do you stay committed to the journey when God's kingdom can seem so slow in coming? Kent Annan understands the struggle of working for justice over the long haul. He confesses, "Over the past twenty years, I've succumbed to various failed shortcuts instead of living the freedom of faithful practices." In this book, he shares practices he has learned that will encourage and help you to keep making a difference in the face of the world's challenging issues. All Christians are called to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly in the world. Slow Kingdom Coming will guide and strengthen you on this journey to persevere until God's kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven.

In Corona Crisis, professor Mark Hitchcock shares how the current coronavirus outbreak is related to the vivid, end-time biblical prophecies about plagues, pestilences, and pandemics.

• Jesus listed “pestilences in various places” as a sign of his coming (Luke 21:11).
• In the prophecy of the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, the fourth rider kills one-fourth of the earth with pestilence and the “wild beasts of the earth.”
• Many believe that “wild beasts” refers to plagues that come from animals, as we’ve seen in recent decades with AIDS, SARS, MERS, the bird flu and swine flu, and now COVID-19.

American Evangelicalism is ablaze. This is an inevitable result of divisions along ethnic and cultural lines, which have long tarnished the movement's witness. Doctrinal identity unites black and white evangelicals, but rifts afflict the camp, so the movement is waning. In A Burning House, Brandon Washington contends that deliberate and sacrificial integration is the sole solution to bolster evangelicalism's foundation. In the 1950s and '60s, with desegregation on the horizon, Martin Luther King Jr. said, "I've come to believe that we are integrating into a burning house." As with the country, if we hope to move toward integrating the American Evangelical church, we must do so as firefighters. Washington is not calling American Evangelicalism to become something new. Rather, he challenges the movement to realize what it has always been in Christ. The selfless integration of Evangelicalism will result in a holy witness to humanity and a greater understanding of Shalom--peace, justice, wholeness--in the world. These are the inevitable fruits of espousing and preaching a comprehensive gospel message.

This book explores the Bible's ongoing relevance in contemporary discussions around rape culture and gender violence. Each chapter considers the ways that biblical texts and themes engage with various forms of gender violence, including the subjective, physical violence of rape, the symbolic violence of misogynistic and heteronormative discourses, and the structural violence of patriarchal power systems. The authors within this volume attempt to name (and shame) the multiple forms of gender violence present within the biblical traditions, contesting the erasure of this violence within both the biblical texts themselves and their interpretive traditions. They also consider the complex connections between biblical gender violence and the perpetuation and validation of rape culture in contemporary popular culture. This volume invites new and ongoing conversations about the Bible's complicity in rape-supportive cultures and practices, challenging readers to read these texts in light of the global crisis of gender violence.

Completely revised and updated for the postmodern age, So What's the Difference? gives you easy-to-understand, nonjudgmental answers to the question, "How does orthodox biblical Christianity differ from other faiths?" Here Fritz Ridenour explains the basic tenets of Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Jehovah's Witnesses, Christian Science, New Age, Mormonism, and other religions and belief systems of the world. You will also learn why relative thinking--the idea that there is no objective, absolute truth--has become the predominant mindset in our culture, and how you can respond. This bestselling guide will help you recognize the real differences between the Christian faith and other viewpoints and make it easier for you to explain and share your faith with others.

Never before have we read such jarring headlines, distressing news analyses, or dire predictions concerning the world's financial future. The American housing market -- or, more sentimentally, the American dream -- began to collapse in 2006, taking with it large chunks of the global financial system. Millions of jobs worldwide have vanished forever. Did Bible prophecy predict this catastrophe? Are there biblical clues to how soon, if ever, a viable, long-term recovery can be sustained? Is the financial collapse just one of several signs that we are living in the final days of Earth's history In THE COMING ECONOMIC ARMAGEDDON, David Jeremiah says we can know the meaning behind what we see in the daily news -- and understand and prepare for living in the New Global Economy.

Western civilization is becoming increasingly pluralistic, secularized, and biblically illiterate. Many people today have little sense of how their lives have benefited from Christianity s influence, often viewing the church with hostility or resentment. How Christianity Changed the World is a topically arranged Christian history for Christians and non- Christians. Grounded in solid research and written in a popular style, this book is both a helpful apologetic tool in talking with unbelievers and a source of evidence for why Christianity deserves credit for many of the humane, social, scientific, and cultural advances in the Western world in the last two thousand years. Photographs, timelines, and charts enhance each chapter. This edition features questions for reflection and discussion for each chapter."

For Christian parents, there is no greater joy than seeing their children learn to walk with the Lord. And there is no greater fear than that their children will walk away from God. After serving together in pastoral ministry for forty years, Phil and Diane Comer know those hopes and fears well. Thirty-seven years ago, they became parents themselves. And like all new parents, they were intimidated and unsure about how to take on the task of spiritually training their young children. Now, with all four of their children grown and establishing their own households of faith, Phil and Diane have embarked on a quest to help the next generation of parents raise passionate Jesus followers. Drawing on years of pastoral counseling, teaching, leading, and decades of watching families from the perspective of pastors and leaders in ministry, Phil and Diane instruct, guide, encourage, and offer hope and practical help to Christian parents. Raising Passionate Jesus Followersis a manual full of practical, biblically based guidelines that parents will be able to turn to again and again through each stage of their children's development. Starting at birth, into grade school, through the daunting teenage years, to launching them into college, and finally letting go, this book contains the why's and the how's parents need. This book will serve as an invaluable resource for any parent whose greatest longing is to shepherd their children into a vibrant faith in God.

Explores the history of American left-wing Christians who discovered the convergence between radical politics and Christian faith. This book examines the histories of individuals, movements, and organizations that encompass more than a century of American history, and discusses the role of religious activism in movements of social transformation.