As we enter a new millennium, there is a growing vacuum of leadership among the younger generation. The need is great for young men and women who will rise to the challenge--in the face of great opportunities and great obstacles--to be obedient to the call of leadership. This is the rallying call Paul Borthwick puts forth inLeading The Way. He asserts that leadership is not just reserved for those with the right education, abilities, status or background. Rather, God is calling all young Christians who have the vision and responsibility to persevere, to fill this growing leadership vacuum.

Is it possible to capture, in brief, the fundamental changes that affected the role of religion within modern Western society? For a long time, many scholars would have answered that question in the positive; most of them would certainly have counted increasingly tolerant attitudes towards forms of religion that were once been regarded as unacceptable, as being one of those central features. In the light of the current revision of the established 'truths' concerning modern religion, it is now possible to once again address the wide-spread belief that modernity meant the gradual victory of more 'liberal' religious attitudes without running the risk of being accused of only dealing with commonplaces. Was modernity only dominated by growing tolerance? And if so, what were the forces that prompted that development? What was the nature of that sentiment? This book approaches these questions by studying the popular Protestant British view of John Henry Newman between the time of his secession 1845 and his death in 1890. It draws on a wide range of sources with a particular focus on the newspaper and periodical press. It argues that changes in popular attitudes were integral parts of the internecine religious disputes of, above all, the 1850s and 1860s. A tolerant discourse came henceforth to live side by side with traditional Protestant rhetoric. Nevertheless, and in spite of expanding horizons, accepting attitudes became an effective vehicle for expressing a sense of Protestant superiority.

Archbishop Romero and Spiritual Leadership in the Modern World presents a contemporary and integrated understanding of one of the most remarkable pastoral leaders of our time. This bishop, Oscar Romero of El Salvador, experienced deeply the overwhelming sufferings of the Salvadoran people, as well as those within himself. He cried out in vain to Presidents Carter and Reagan, "no more arms to El Salvador," but his pleas were not heard at that time. Knowing that he would soon be murdered, Romero promised that he would rise again in the Salvadoran people. This book illustrates how this is happening and conclusively demonstrates that by respecting transparency and with dogged perseverance, a nonviolent public leader can become an influential leader, even in times of the most savage repression and marginalization. Archbishop Romero accomplished precisely that through determination, courage, and honing his public skills, while simultaneously conducting himself in deeply spiritual ways.

Pope Francis confuses many observers because his papacy does not fit neatly into any pre-established classificatory schemes. To gain a deeper appreciation of Francis's complicated papacy, this volume proposes that an interdisciplinary approach, fusing concepts derived from moral theology and the social sciences, may properly situate Pope Francis as a global political entrepreneur. The chapters in this volume ask what difference it makes that he is the first pope from Latin America, how and why different countries in the world respond to him, how his understanding of scripture informs his ideas on economic, social, and environmental policy, and where politics meets theology under Francis. In the end, this volume seeks to provide a more robust understanding of the enigmatic papacy of Francis.