Have you ever heard yourself cry out through the chaos, "God where are you? Why is this happening?" or perhaps even, "God, are you real?" In a tattooed pop culture world that is perpetually trying to keep up with the Kardashians, God Culture introduces a greater knowledge of God and an invitation to engage in a deeper and more intimate relationship that will transform your life. With worldwide plagues such as rampant terrorism and children shooting children, God Culture explores Jesus' true intention of reconnecting mankind with Yahweh, while revealing why God behaves as He does, how we can learn to comprehend and relate to Him, and ultimately how we can apply His wisdom to our individual present day life experience leading to our ultimate destinies. God Culture dispels the age-old myth that "God works in mysterious ways." The misunderstanding of God's true motives, methods and divine nature has left millions of people yearning for answers to such timeless questions as "Why did God allow that? Has God left me? Or does He even exist?" When "Life can only be truly understood when looking backward" those who feel lost, confused and perhaps even abandoned will discover that He actually uses the every-day challenges and chaos of life to cultivate His will while simultaneously connecting with us on a personal level. This thought-provoking discussion has been composed to help you gain a new understanding of God and to develop the knowledge of and insights into God's behavior, plan and purpose. If you have been perplexed by the daily chaos of life don't miss God Culture. As you peer into the supernatural realm of heaven the God you discover may be quite different than you could have ever imagined.

Christianity and the Christian Church of the First Three Centuries is the first volume in Baur's five-volume history of the Christian Church. It and the last volume, Church and Theology in the Nineteenth Century, are being published in new translations. This book, based on the second German edition of 1860, is the most influential and best known of Baur's many groundbreaking publications in New Testament, early Christianity, church history, and historical theology. It is divided into six main parts and discusses such matters as the entrance of Christianity into world history, the teaching and person of Jesus, the tension between Jewish Christian and Gentile Christian (Pauline) interpretations and their resolution in the idea of the Catholic Church, the opposition of gnosticism and Montanism to Catholicism, the development of dogma or doctrine in the first three centuries, Christianity's relation to the pagan world and the Roman state, and Christianity as a moral and religious principle.

Even as so-called megachurches capture the attention of many church watchers, small congregations continue to dominate America s religious landscape in both rural and urban settings. Although sometimes obscured by their larger siblings, these small churches play a prominent role and hold a unique place in both local and national cultures. How can leaders help to keep these often at-risk churches alive and to meet their potential for ministry? Small-church expert Tony Pappas has gathered a cornucopia of essays into an indispensable book for anyone interested in the rich life of these small but significant congregations. Drawing on classic and updated articles by a variety of writers from his own small-church newsletter The Five Stones; from Alban journals Action Information and Congregations; and adding new pieces developed especially for this volume, Pappas provides timeless ideas on learning to value, pastor, develop, and lead the small church. In addition to time-honored articles by the editor, other contributors to this volume include Sherry and Douglas Alan Walrath, Gary Farley, Lawrence W. Farris, Loren Mead, Caroline Westerhoff, Steven Burt, Carl Dudley, David Ray, James Lowery, and a host of others known for their work-and love-for the small church. Readers of Inside the Small Church will come away with a renewed love and appreciation for these vital congregations as well as with new skills for ministry."

Even 700 years after the suppression of the Order of the Temple and the execution of the last grandmaster, Jacques de Molay, there is no shortage of publications on this influential military order. Yet unlike other medieval institutions the Templars are subject to speculative fiction and popular myth which threaten to swamp the fruits of scholarly endeavour. Fortunately, recent years have produced a thriving academic scholarship which is challenging these myths. More and more sources are currently being edited, particularly those for the trial of the Templars (1307-1312). Others are still awaiting indepth study, among them, surprisingly, the greater part of the charters that cover more than 150 years of the Order's history. The papers in this volume step into this gap and critically evaluate new directions in Templar studies on the basis of as-yet unedited source material. Open issues and desiderata regarding the sources are discussed and from a range of inspiring results a new status quaestionis is proposed that will not only provide a better understanding of the Order's archaeological, economical, religious, administrative and military history, but also set new points of departure for the editing of charters and administrative documents. The papers here are grouped into six sections, focusing on the headquarters of the Order, its charters, manpower and finance, religious life and finally the suppression and the Order's afterlife.

From 2006 to 2011 researchers at Heythrop College and the Oxford Centre for ecclesiology and Practical Theology (OxCEPT, Ripon College Cuddesdon) worked on a theological and action research project: "Action Research - Church and Society (ARCS). 2010 saw the publication of Talking About God in Practice: Theological Action research and Practical Theology (SCM), which presented in an accessible way the work of ARCS and its developing methodology. This turned out to be a landmark study in the praxis of Anglican and Catholic ecclesiology in the UK, showing how theology in these differing contexts interacted with the way in which clergy and congregations lived out their religious convictions. This book is a direct follow up to that significant work, authored by one of the original researchers, providing a systematic analysis of the impact of the "theological action research" methodology and its implications for a contemporary ecclesiology. The book presents an ecclesiology generated from church practice, drawing on scholarship in the field as well as the results of the theological action research undertaken. It achieves this by including real scenarios alongside the academic discourse. This combination allows the author to tease out the complex relationship between the theory and the reality of church. Addressing the need for a more developed theological and methodological account of the ARCS project, this is a book that will be of interest to scholars interested not only Western lived religion, but ecclesiology and theology more generally too.

Looks at the character of Paul, one of the most transformed characters from the New Testament.

The Church in the Modern World: Fifty Years after Gaudium et Spes commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council's Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. Featuring scholars from the Joan and Ralph Lane Center for Catholic Studies and Social Thought, this book offers a future-orientated analysis by highlighting contemporary social issues through the lens of Gaudium et Spes. In part I, authors examine the historical, political, and social significance of the document. Part II presents interdisciplinary perspectives on current social issues in light of Gaudium et Spes and contemporary Catholic social thought. The book covers such topics as immigration, women in the Church, environmental ethics, human rights, economic justice, the Church in Africa, and liberation theology.

Thirteen European and American theologians treat the entire historical development and theological significance of a major Roman Catholic doctrine in The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception published (University of Notre Dame Press, 1958). Edward 0'Connor, C.S.C., has edited the 700-page volume which includes an exhaustive bibliography, a number of documents, and over fifty illustrations. A specialist in mediaeval theology, Father O'Connor notes in the preface that the subject of the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception was first discussed about the year 1100. The doctrine was defined by Pope Pius IX in 1854 after about 75 years of "what was perhaps the most prolonged and passionate debate that has ever been carried on in Catholic theology," O'Connor writes. The importance of any doctrine, however, he emphasizes, "does not lie chiefly in its history, but it its intrinsic significance as truth, and in its rank in the hierarchy of truth, which do not depend on historical contingencies." From this point of view, the Immaculate Conception is of immense importance, O'Connor observes, not only for Mariology, but also for the theology of the Redemption and of the Church. The Dogma of the Immaculate Conception is not merely a collection of miscellaneous essays on the subject. The various chapters deal with all the major aspects of the doctrine and range from "Scripture and the Immaculate Conception" to "The Immaculate Conception in Art."

This work treats of the Phenomenology of Mary and the Church as persons of faith in relation to the Wojtilian phenomenology of the human being as an acting person. According to John Paul II, Mary is an ideal person in/for the Church, and the Church, as a personal communion, has Her as a mirror and concrete evidence of the Church's call, being and mission. As far as the vocation of the Church is concerned, it will always be far from complete if it is studied, proclaimed or believed in without placing Mary as part of the unavoidable persons and personality in its unfolding. Mary and the Church are related in the mystery of the Church as personal subjects of faith. They owe their being and vocation to the Trinity and have a direct connection with Judaism. Christ is the centre of this relationship and this goes on to highlight ecumenism and also the place of the laity and women in the life of the Church.

Debate about church order has gone on for centuries within Christianity, and an end is nowhere in sight. Perhaps that is good, since the debate shows the weaknesses of many ideas that need correction. Corporate Decision-Making in the Church of the New Testament examines church order from a careful exegetical perspective, with particular attention to the social world of the New Testament. While most works about church government address structure and qualities of leadership, Jeff Brown deals with the interaction of the people of the church, both with their leaders and with one another, in setting policy. In brief, though all believers in the young church of the New Testament revered Christ and his Word as authoritative, not all church decisions were "from the top down" from earthly leaders. On the contrary, many were "from the bottom up". This should come as no surprise to those familiar with Jesus' admonition in the Gospels, "You have one teacher, and you are all brothers".

Ministry leaders possess the compassion, creativity, and knowledge about community needs that grant funders appreciate. Yet ministry groups are often less experienced than other types of nonprofit organizations in discerning which funding to seek, understanding how to build relationships with funders, and putting together proposals. This book offers a pathway to strengthening new and existing ministries. Joy Skjegstad is an experienced grant-proposal writer who has successfully raised money for a variety of nonprofits over the past 20 years, including a number of ministry organizations. She shows how fundraising can be an integral part of ministry--forcing us into deeper conversation with God, expanding our relationships with others, and building both our faith and our discipline. Providing detailed guidance on the practical aspects of seeking grants from foundation and corporate funders, Skjegstad describes approaches for researching potential funders, developing a case statement, putting together an effective grant proposal, and following up with grant makers. She explains the types of grants available and how to determine which are a good fit with your ministry. For faith-based ministries, faith is the groundwork for fundraising--the most important thing to consider while developing fundraising values and strategies. Skjegstad helps faith communities identify their own cultural beliefs, follow spiritual disciplines, and cultivate generous hearts as they work toward integrating their faith and their fundraising.

Clergy, worship or music committees, organists, and choir or music directors will find this a practical and invaluable guide to the role and power of music to express and form faith. Clark researched twenty-four Episcopal and United Methodist congregations to discover how churchgoers express their faith through music. Discover how music can either enhance or detract from tradition and faith experience. Explore how it can shape your congregation's character.

A two-volume study in the strategy of Christian evangelism as developed by two of its greatest exponents, set in the framework of biographical studies, which stand in their own right as scholarly contributions to the literature of their respective subjects. Although far separated in time and tradition, Pascal and Kierkegaard both insisted that self-complacent humanity needs first to be disturbed, and then comforted, by the Gospel. Most of the book is occupied by a thorough review of the lives and works of the two men, in such a way as to ring out their significant place in the spiritual history of modern Europe. But the author's purpose throughout is not merely biographical. He goes on to compare the conception and execution of their evangelistic tasks in a way which brings out the remarkable consensus between them; and in an epilogue he draws conclusions relating this historical study to the tasks and methods of modern evangelism.

If you've read the book or viewed the course, now lead your church in study with this workbook approach to Alban's Inviting Church materials. Its fifteen sessions are designed to help clergy or lay leaders guide committees or study groups through a dynamic exploration of their congregation's IQ (invitation quotient). Discover how well you invite, welcome, and incorporate new members. As participants uncover the inviting elements of your church, they develop a personal witness style that emerges comfortably from their individual gifts.

An introduction to the preaching of John Calvin, showing how he developed out of an earlier tradition of preaching, and how his sermons influenced those of later preachers, particularly in English.

This book seeks to shed new light on the development of the ecclesiology of Jonathan Edwards from the writings of his youth until his Stockbridge treatises, setting this within the context of Reformation and Puritan debates, and his experience of the revivals during his Northampton ministry. Bezzant contends that Edwards repristinated an ossified New England ecclesiology by acknowledging the church's dynamic relationship with the created order, history and the nations, and by advocating renewal in ecclesial life through revivals, itinerancy, Concerts of Prayer, missionary initiatives outside of the local congregation, and doctrinal clarification. Bezzant shows that Edwards accommodated the Christendom model of ecclesiology to the new philosophical, political and social realities of the mid-eighteenth-century British Atlantic world. His ecclesiology can be aptly summarized as prophetic, in as far as the church makes identification with its social context, while yet providing an alternative millennial vision for human flourishing. Edwards's Gospel is preached within a larger vision of transformed society and the glory of God, for whom the church is an orderly but not ordinary instrument to promote visible union between believers and Christ.

Since the original publication of this title, the twelfth-century Calabrian Abbot Joachim of Fiore has been accorded an increasingly central position in the history of medieval thought and culture. In this classic work Marjorie Reeves shows the wide extent of Joachimist influence from the thirteenth to the sixteenth centuries and demonstrates the continuity between medieval and Renaissance thought in the field of prophecy. Reeves pinpoints some of the most original aspects of Joachim's theology of history and traces his reputation and influence through succeeding centuries. She also explains how his vision of a final age of the spirit in history became a powerful force in shaping expectations of the future in Western Europe. The book traces in detail the development of the three great images in which these expectations came to be focused: New Spiritual Men, Angelic Pope, and Last World Emperor. In addition, Reeves illuminates how the pervading influence of Joachim's concepts of a future golden age forms the basis for an understanding of prophetic visions in later centuries.

Learning how to attend to what God is doing right now is the lifelong work of (and play) of the person of faith. Helping people to attend to God is the central work of the congregation. It all begins with learning to listen to God as a community and to notice what God is doing in our life together. John Ackerman offers two four-step models and several additional tools that help us attend to the mystery at the center of our lives and our congregations.

This study is a comprehensive history of the papacy, the oldest elective office in the world, and how it has managed over the centuries the most complex voluntary association of faith. The book argues that in fact through most of its existence, the papacy has adapted managerial models of the secular world and applied them to the Catholic Church. Since its emergence from the Jewish synagogues to a persecuted minority in the Roman Empire to becoming the established religion of the West, the Church and the papacy engaged the world on its own terms. It is only after the Council of Trent did the Church become somewhat more divorced and estranged from the environment around it. This book focused on those changes and on the great popes across the centuries who reformed and altered Catholicism. Special attention is directed to Gregory I, Innocent I, Innocent III, Pius IX, Leo XIII, Pius XI, Pius XII, John XXVII, Paul VI, and John Paul II. The conclusion is that the persistence of the Catholic Church for so many centuries was due to its ability to preserve the faith, but re-establish its forms and managerial class.

Drawing on the resources of five other volumes in the series, Transforming Vestries creates a single source designed specifically for this governing body. The chapters highlight the nature - and the needs - of vestry membership: stewardship, leadership, evangelism, discipleship, and vital congregational life.

Using inside sources and extensive field reporting about the secretive, high-stakes world of international diplomacy, Vatican reporter Victor Gaetan takes readers to the Holy See to explicate Pope Francis's diplomacy, show why it works, and to offer readers a startling contrast to the dangerous inadequacies of recent U.S. international decisions.