For most people, their 60s is a time to slow down and smell the roses. Not for Alvin and Jean Witten, however. Instead, they went to Mozambique to search for churches.

In relentless heat, by car and by motorbike, on foot, and bicycle, they delved into every corner of this vast country, negotiating swollen rivers and broken bridges, roads that could hardly be called roads, hair-raising overnight accommodations, meals that were hard to stomach, bureaucracy, corruption and incompetence, in order to hunt down and officially count the 1 300+ congregations known to exist there.

For five years they gave up their closeness to family, friends and creature comforts in pursuit of this mission, experiencing joy and pain, learning things about themselves along the way, and forging lifelong bonds.

“We thank you for the inspiration and strength

That you have given to Madiba,

Enabling him, over so many years, to draw out the best in others,

rousing us always, by word and example,

to seek the highest good for every child of this nation.”

So prayed Archbishop Thabo Makgoba with Nelson Mandela in his home in 2009 at the request of Graca Machel. This marked the start of an unusual relationship between southern Africa’s Anglican leader and Mandela in his quietening years. Join Makgoba in his journey towards faith, from his boyhood in Alex as the son of a ZCC pastor to Bishopscourt and praying with Mandela. He shares his feelings about his pastoral approach to the world icon, and how they influenced his thinking on ministering to church and nation in the current era. What did praying with those nearest and dearest to Mandela mean? What was his spirituality? In trying to answer these questions, Makgoba opens a window on South Africa’s spiritual make-up and life.

Heralding a new era in literary studies, the Oxford English Literary History breaks the mould of traditional approaches to the canon by focusing on the contexts in which authors wrote and how their work was shaped by the times in which they lived. These are books that every serious student and scholar of the period will need on their shelves.

James Simpson covers both high medieval and Tudor writing, showing how the coming of the Renaissance and Reformation displaced the earlier, hospitably diverse literary culture. Out went the flourishing variousness of medieval writing (Chaucer, Langland, the 'mystery' plays, feminine visionary writing); in came writing - by Wyatt, Surrey, and others - that prized coherence and unity, even while reflecting a sense of what had been lost.

Before he was a civil rights leader, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a man of the church. His father was a pastor, and much of young Martin's time was spent in Baptist churches. He went on to seminary and received a Ph.D. in theology. In 1953, he took over leadership of Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Atlanta. The church was his home. But, as he began working for civil rights, King became a fierce critic of the churches, both black and white. He railed against white Christian leaders who urged him to be patient in the struggle-or even opposed civil rights altogether. And, while the black church was the platform from which King launched the struggle for civil rights, he was deeply ambivalent toward the church as an institution, and saw it as in constant need of reform. In this book, Lewis Baldwin explores King's complex relationship with the Christian church, from his days growing up at Ebenezer Baptist, to his work as a pastor, to his battles with American churches over civil rights, to his vision for the global church. King, Baldwin argues, had a robust and multifaceted view of the nature and purpose of the church that serves as a model for the church in the 21st century.

Deepen your biblical and theological knowledge without the time, expense, and formality of seminary.

Take Your Theological Education to the Next Level

Deepen your biblical and theological knowledge without the time, expense, and formality of seminary. In this extensively updated book, discover all the major topics in a typical seminary master's program authoritatively taught by respected professors, authors, and leaders. This introduction to a biblical studies degree is ideal for the layperson or anyone in vocational ministry who lacks the time or finances to attend classes, who lives where formal training is unavailable, or whose previous education is primarily secular. Study what you want, when you want. Subjects include:

· systematic theology

· surveys of the Old and New Testaments

· apologetics

· world religions

· church history

· homiletics

· leadership

· Christian education

· and more

The Diaconal Church presents a highly topical debate about an innovative model of church described in David Clark's book Breaking the Mould of Christendom. Thirteen scholars from different denominations discuss the themes which underpin the model of the diaconal church. In the final chapter, Clark argues that the diaconal church has a contribution of paramount importance to make to sacred and secular institutions alike.

Eugenio Pacelli, Pope Pius XII, is one of the most studied but least understood popes of the twentieth century while his pontificate remains the most turbulent and controversial. Although there is a general consensus that he faced serious problems during his tenure-fascist aggression, the Second World War, the Nazi genocide of the Jews, the march of communism, and the Cold War-there is disagreement on his response to these developments. Applauded by some as an "apostle for peace" for his attempt to prevent the outbreak of war, he has been denounced by others as an "advocate of appeasement" for this same effort. Praised by both Christian and Jews for his "Crusade of Charity" during the war, he was denounced by many for his "silence" during the Holocaust. These conflicting interpretations, dubbed the Pius Wars, are often narrow in focus, lack objectivity, and have shed more heat than light. Written by one of the foremost historians of Pius XII, the present biographical study, unlike the greater part of the vast and growing historiography of Pope Pius XII, is a balanced and nonreactive account of his life and times. Its focus is not on the pope's silence during the Holocaust, though it does address the issue in a historical and objective framework. This is a biography of the man as well as the pope. It probes the roots of his traditionalism and legalism, his approach to modernity and reformism in Church and society, and the influences behind his policies and actions. This book is the first biography of Eugenio Pacelli to appear in English since the opening of the papers of the pontificate of Pius XI (1922-1939), in which Pacelli served as nuncio to Germany and secretary of state, along with the publication of the memories of figures close to Papa Pacelli.

In a world in which resources are unjustly distributed, identities are under threat and solidarity is fragile, the toughest task facing humanity is the quest for community. Yet the contribution of the church to that task is undermined because its message and organization remain stuck in the past. Christians fail to grasp that in the gifts of the kingdom community - life, liberation, love and learning - they hold the key to what the search for community is all about. This book describes those gifts and how a servant church, through the creation of its diaconate as an order of mission, might offer a fragmented world new hope.The Methodist Church in Britain is taken as a model of what could be achieved.

Classic reflections on gospel wisdom from a modern martyr show the ongoing relevance of the gospel in an age of idolatrous power and capricious violence.

Archbishop Doye Agama influences the church and community ministry of some 15,000 active clergy on four continents. Around 10,000 people may read his online postings and musings in a single week. This series of handbooks will give you insights into the journey of wisdom that has made the Apostolic Pastoral Congress and its remarkable leader, one of the most significant emerging church movements of our generation; and perhaps this century.

Archbishop Doye Agama influences the church and community ministry of some 15,000 active clergy on four continents. Around 10,000 people may read his online postings and musings in a single week. This series of handbooks will give you insights into the journey of wisdom that has made the Apostolic Pastoral Congress and it's remarkable leader, one of the most significant emerging church movements of our generation; and perhaps this century.

This book is founded on the premise that being a servant of 'the kingdom community' must become the heart of the church's mission. Unless this happens Christians will have little to offer to a world now facing an ultimate choice between community and chaos. To fulfil this mission the mould of Christendom needs to be broken so that a new form of church - the diaconal church - can come into being. This will mean a church open to dialogue, a laity liberated from clericalism and the creation of a servant leadership. The book includes an informative evaluation of five original case-studies of the diaconal church in action and the diaconal potential of five worldwide Christian 'renewal movements'.

This book series examines issues of Faith and Order, and to some extent issues of life and work, from the perspective of leadership in a modern Pentecostal church movement. The series addresses the harnessing of ethnicity nationality and personal history in the search for church unity. It tries to answer questions such as what is means to be Apostolic in 21st Century Pentecostalism. It looks at how these charismatic churches can renew their historic roots and seek greater local unity with other Christians while remaining authentic as Pentecostals. The author also encourages greater contributions of convergence Pentecostals to the community cohesion, and to peace and justice.