In Mapping Christian Education: Approaches to Congregational Learning, Jack L. Seymour provides the most up-to-date insights about the various aspects of Christian education. Ecumenical in scope, and unified in process, his work includes chapters on schooling, faith communications, human development, social transformation, and future agenda. Contributors include: Elizabeth Caldwell, Margaret Ann Crain, Maria Harris, Donald E. Miller, Gabriel Moran, Robert O'Gorman, Daniel Schipani, and Jack Seymour.

By reading Mapping Christian Education:

- Seminarians will learn the fundamentals of educational theory

- Professors will discover a reliable textbook to be included in their curriculum

- Directors of Christian Education will enjoy a refresher course in recent developments and advances in the field

Many environmentalists believe that religion has been a major contributor to our ecological crisis, for Judeo-Christians have been taught that they have dominion over the earth and so do not consider themselves part of a biotic community. In this book a philosopher of environmental ethics acknowledges that religion may contribute to environmental problems but argues that religion can also play an important role in solving these problems-that religion can provide an ethical context that will help people to become sensitive to the environment and to elect leaders who are genuinely responsive to the ecological crisis. Examining a broad range of Western religious traditions-from conservative Christianity and orthodox Judaism to Goddess feminism and nature religion-Max Oelschlaeger provides a sociolinguistic analysis of their creation stories and finds environmentally positive aspects in each of them. He asserts that religious discourse in the public arena can offer a way for such environmental issues as biodiversity, pollution, and population to be addressed outside the realm of special-interest politics. And he urges local churches to make "caring for creation" a theme for worship in their services; the majority of Americans, says Oelschlaeger, will discover an environmental ethic only through their religious faith.

The greatest challenge to ecumenical dialogue has come not from discussions on justification by faith or papal primacy or even infallibility, but from discussions related to the Virgin Mary. This remarkable assertion is the reason behind noted theologian and ecumenist George Tavard's historical and ecumenical investigation of the image of Mary. Mary belongs not only to Christians but to Jews and Muslims as well. In a broad sense she can also be seen in relation to female symbols of the Absolute not as divinity but as divine. Time and changes in dogma have also affected the way Mary is perceived. Tavard has therefore divided his investigation into five parts. He gathers insights from Scripture (Part I), Tradition (Part II), the Reformation (Part III), the Modern Age (Part IV), and World Religions (Part V). Together these perspectives clarify and enhance the Theotokos and her ties with the people of God. George H. Tavard, a member of the Augustinians of the Assumption, professor emeritus of theology at the Methodist Theological School in Ohio, and distinguished professor of theology at Marquette University, was a peritus at Vatican Council II, where he was involved in preparing the decree on ecumenism. He has participated in several international and American ecumenical dialogues and has written extensively on theology and ecumenism.

If church is like a family, it fights like one too As in any family, conflict in the church family is natural and inevitable. But the way the church family handles its fights can make or break ministry. By using stories and examples of real problems at actual churches, Cosgrove and Hatfield have applied family-systems theory to help us identify the hidden structural boundaries in any group relationship. They show how the dynamics and 'family rules' operating in the informal family-like church system powerfully influence how church members relate to each other.

English text with Spanish, German, and French translations. This volume presents the policy statement on ecumenical commitment of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America adopted in 1991 by the ELCA's second churchwide assembly.

This book attempts to outline a theology of the Church for the twenty-first century. Starting from a principle that was enunciated in Paul VI's first encyclical (Ecclesiam suam), it finds its focus in the awareness of being the Church that is implied in the profession of the Christian faith. It takes full account of the contemporary manner of reading Scripture, and it sees the tradition as an unfinished forward movement. The ecumenical dialogues and the encounter with religions that were the fruits of Vatican Council II contribute to the discussion. The future of the Church is anticipated in light of scientific findings regarding the shape and history of the universe. This ecclesiology is profoundly Cathohlic, experiential, and Trinitarian.

For some thirty years Eric Dean, as a layman, husband, parent, Presbyterian minister, Lafollette Professor of Humanities at Wabash College, and as an ecumenical oblate of a Benedictine abbey has reflected on and put into practice the Rule of St. Benedict. In Saint Benedict for the Laity he comments on how the Rule "has important things to say even to those of us who - because we are already committed to lives in the secular sphere - can never think of a monastic vocation. The rule can speak to us of values which, even apart from the daily structures of monastic life, are relevant to our own lives in 'the outside world.' "

This unique work - no other work yet available in English treats this subject - illustrates the contribution of these Councils in the development and formulation of Christian beliefs. It then shows how their legacies lingered throughout the centuries to inspire - or haunt - every generation.

In the face of competing religious claims in our shrinking world, many turn to dialogue as a hopeful way of fostering understanding and reducing violence. But why does actual dialogue so often fail? This provocative essay investigates the possibilities and limits of interreligious dialogue. By showing the significant obstacles for dialogue within Christianity, the book also proposes ways in which these obstacles may be overcome from within. Major themes include Humility, Conviction, Interconnection, Empathy, and Generosity.

In recent years many books have been published in the area of Christology (who is Jesus in himself?) and soteriology (what did he do as Saviour?). A number of notable, ecumenical documents on Christian ministry have also appeared. But in all this literature there is surprisingly little reflection on the priesthood of Christ, from which derives all ministry, whether the priesthood of all the faithful or ministerial priesthood. This present work aims to fill that gap by examining, in the light of the Scriptures and the Christian tradition, what it means to call Christ our priest.
Beginning with a study of the biblical material, the book then moves to the witness to Christ's priesthood coming from the fathers of the Church, Thomas Aquinas, Luther and Calvin, the Council of Trent, the seventeenth-century 'French School', John Henry Newman, Tom Torrance and the Second Vatican Council. The two concluding chapters describe and define in twelve theses the key characteristics of Christ's priesthood and what sharing in that priesthood, through baptism and ordination, involves.

Examines the importance of collaboration between black majority churches and British historical churches and offers practical ways in which they might overcome some of the inherent challenges and respond to opportunities. Case studies and real-life examples will help readers break down barriers and engage in incarnational mission.

'In this short by acute book, Bishop Newbigin unmasks the unspoken and concealed conditions that have intimidated and effectively held Christians in check, making their taming by modern cultural forces easy and comprehensive. It follows from this that any home for renewal of mainline Christianity cannot take place without the kind of critical probing of those unspoken conditions that Bishop Newbigin presents here. This book begins the process by turning the searchlight on Christians themselves, charting a course between the fundamentalist reaction and postmodernist radical nihilism. Whether or not the book results in the long-overdue shake-up Newbigin calls for, it is bound to be included in the arsenal of any meaningful response to the contemporary challenge.