Brand New Church? aims to make sense of what 'postmodern' actually looks and feels like in real life, and to ask what this means for the church. Over the past few years, Graeme Fancourt has travelled around the UK and USA consulting with a wide range of church leaders. He writes: The church that I have encountered is thoughtful, active and confident in the gospel . . . Though holding many different views, these leaders all appear to take seriously the need for the church genuinely to engage (positively or negatively) with what it perceives to be the postmodern condition. The author reveals and explores the diversity of thinking found in local churches, in colleges and universities, and expressed in works of contemporary theology. The result is a vibrant read, which offers a broad understanding of how the church might participate fruitfully in dialogue and mission for the sake of all God's people.

C. S. Lewis scholar Harry Lee Poe offers a comprehensive look into the final years of Lewis's life, examining the experiences and relationships that informed some of his most well known writings.

* An acolyte resource for the 21st-century Episcopal Church * Fully illustrated (black-and-white) with reproducible handouts Despite the changing landscape of the Episcopal Church, one ministry that continues but gets little attention is that of acolytes. Whether second graders or adults, the mentoring and training of acolytes is a formational experience. I Serve at God's Altar offers a simplified theology of how God is met in worship and how it affects the lives of those most engaged in it, a visual exploration of the Episcopal liturgy and its history through extensive illustrations, how acolytes fit into the work of the church in worship, and how worship affects the acolyte's discernment for ministry and Rule of Life. Illustrations include a visual exploration of church artifacts (crosses, candles, Eucharistic vessels, etc.), holds, and processes to set a standard of expectation and expertise in service according to Episcopal practice and tradition. There is a section of reproducible handouts for organizing an acolyte ministry at every size church, including scheduling, communications, installation liturgies, recruitment plans, and training outlines.

This is a thoroughly revised and updated standard work on the Canon law of the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of England. This highly useful book provides quick reference and accessibility to the current canon law of both churches. The entry for every canonical term presents its definition and the law relating to it in each canon. There are cross-references throughout to help the reader make further significant connections. Also included are terms not easily translated across the two canons, and some common terms from the Eastern Catholic Church. The appendices contain changes to the Universal law of the Roman Catholic Church which are outside the 1983 Code of Canon law. At a time when Christians are increasingly working side by side, this is an essential resource for pastoral workers, scholars and clergy in all the churches. For this new edition the content has been significantly updated and revised. Of the now 466 entries in this book, 80 have been updated or added newly.

A fascinating exposition of Christian online communication networks and the Internet's power to build a movement In the 1990s, Marilyn Agee developed one of the most well-known amateur evangelical websites focused on the "End Times", The Bible Prophecy Corner. Around the same time, Lambert Dolphin, a retired Stanford physicist, started the website Lambert's Library to discuss with others online how to experience the divine. While Marilyn and Lambert did not initially correspond directly, they have shared several correspondents in common. Even as early as 1999 it was clear that they were members of the same online network of Christians, a virtual church built around those who embraced a common ideology. Digital Jesus documents how such like-minded individuals created a large web of religious communication on the Internet, in essence developing a new type of new religious movement-one without a central leader or institution. Based on over a decade of interaction with figures both large and small within this community, Robert Glenn Howard offers the first sustained ethnographic account of the movement as well as a realistic and pragmatic view of how new communication technologies can both empower and disempower the individuals who use them. By tracing the group's origins back to the email lists and "Usenet" groups of the 1980s up to the online forums of today, Digital Jesus also serves as a succinct history of the development of online group communications.

From the struggles of the very first Christians to the challenges and scandals of today, the Catholic Church has wrestled with how to organize itself, express its beliefs, and nurture its members. The Church has grown from a handful of disciples in the first century to over one billion members in the twenty-first, resulting in profound changes that demand a theological response. In this sweeping history, renowned scholar Richard McBrien reveals the evolution of the Church's relationship to the divine, its leadership of the faithful, and its role as a global religion. "The Church" answers the questions raised by this extraordinary history, including:

Where did the idea of the pope's infallibility come from?

Why are priests celibate and women barred from the priesthood?

What inspired the Inquisition?

What was the position of the Catholic Church on Hitler's policies in World War II?

What is the Church's relationship to Islam?

How will the growth of the Church in South America, Africa, and Asia shape its future?

McBrien helps the reader understand the evolution of the Catholic Church's understanding of itself through the centuries, its leadership, and its relationship to national governments and world religions. From Jesus's apostle Peter to Pope Benedict XVI, "The Church" explains in layperson's terms the evolution of the Catholic Church, its power, its scope, its theology, and its influence.

From a master chronicler of legal and financial misconduct, a magnificent investigation nine years in the making, this book traces the political intrigue and inner workings of the Catholic Church. Decidedly not about faith, belief in God, or religious doctrine, this book is about the church's accumulation of wealth and its byzantine entanglements with financial markets across the world. Told through 200 years of prelates, bishops, cardinals, and the Popes who oversee it all, Gerald Posner uncovers an eyebrow-raising account of money and power in perhaps the most influential organization in the history of the world. God's Bankershas it all: a rare expose and an astounding saga marked by poisoned business titans, murdered prosecutors, mysterious deaths of private investigators, and questionable suicides; a carnival of characters from Popes and cardinals, financiers and mobsters, kings and prime ministers; and a set of moral and political circumstances that clarify not only the church's aims and ambitions, but reflect the larger dilemmas of the world's more recent history. And Posner even looks to the future to surmise if Pope Frances can succeed where all his predecessors failed: to overcome the resistance to change in the Vatican's Machiavellian inner court and to rein in the excesses of its seemingly uncontrollable financial quagmire. Part thriller, part financial tell-all, this book shows with extraordinary precision how the Vatican has evolved from a foundation of faith to a corporation of extreme wealth and power.

In Anglicanism Reimagined Andrew Shanks challenges all who are tempted to erect boundaries around their faith. Far more important than dogma and metaphysics, he argues, is the need to be open to all, and to engage with people who hold views at odds with our own. He shows how a commitment to this ideal can create fresh energy and new ways forward for the Church.

Contrary to charges of religious "dogma," Christian actors in international politics often wrestle with the lack of a clear path in determining what to do and how to act, especially in situations of violence and when encountering otherness. Lynch argues that it is crucial to recognise the ethical precarity of decision-making and acting. This book contextualizes and examines ethical struggles and justifications that key figures and movements gave during the early modern period of missionary activity in the Americas; in the interwar debates about how to act vis-a-vis fascism, economic oppression and colonialism in a "secular" world; in liberation theology's debates about the use of violence against oppression and bloodshed; and in contemporary Christian humanitarian negotiations of religious pluralism and challenges to the assumptions of western Christianity. Lynch explores how the wrestling with God that took place in each of these periods reveals ethical tensions that continue to impact both Christianity and international relations.

You pray it. But do you understand it? The Lord's Prayer has become so familiar to us that we don't think about what we're praying. It's a portrait of Jesus' heart. And in it Christians from different times, places, and traditions have been united. We pray it, but do we actually believe it? When Jesus taught his followers how to pray, he emphasized how uncomplicated it should be. There's no need for pretense or theatrics. Instead, simply ask for what you need as though you were speaking with your earthly father. This opens a window into Jesus' prayer life and presents us with a portrait of his heart for his followers. Wesley Hill re-introduces the Lord's Prayer. He shows us a God who is delighted to hear prayer. Petition by petition, in conversation with the Christian tradition, he draws out the significance of Jesus' words for prayer today.

This is a substantially expanded and completely revised verision of Bradshaw's classic account, first published in 1993. Traditional liturgical scholarship has generally been marked by an attempt to fit together the various pieces of evidence for the practice of early Christian worship in such a way as to suggest that a single, coherent line of evolution can be traced from the apostolic age to the fourth century. Bradshaw examines this methodology in the light of recent developments in Jewish liturgical scholarship, of current trends in New Testament studies, and of the nature of the source-documents themselves, and especially the ancient church orders. In its place he offers a guide to Christian liturgical origins which adopts a much more cautious approach, recognizing the limitations of what can truly be known, and takes seriously the clues pointing to the esssentially variegated character of ancient Christian worship.

This elegant Bible edition honors the beauty and richness of the New King James Version in a convenient portable size with essential study tools and traditional red-letter text for the Words of Christ. The New King James Version in the Sovereign Collection reflects the legacy and majesty of the King James Version Bible produced more than 400 years ago, but in language updated for today. This beautiful Bible, which contains design flourishes that pay tribute to the Bible produced in 1611, comes in a convenient portable size with essential study tools and traditional red-letter text for the Words of Christ. The Sovereign Collection continues Thomas Nelson's long history and stewardship publishing Bibles, featuring elegant letter illustrations leading into each chapter combined with clear and readable Comfort Print (R), connects you to the legacy of faith, and inspires your time in the Word to be enjoyable and fruitful. Features include: Line-matched classic 2-column format for a comfortable reading experience Book introductions provide a concise overview of the background and historical context of the book about to be read Words of Christ in red help you quickly identify Jesus' teachings and statements Extensive end-of-page cross references allow you to find related passages quickly and easily Translation notes provide a look into the thinking of the translators with alternative translations that could have been used and textual notes about manuscript variations Presentation page to personalize this special gift by recording a memory or a note Concordance for looking up a word's occurrences throughout the Bible Full-color maps show a visual representation of Israel and other biblical locations for better context Two satin ribbon markers for you to easily navigate and keep track of where you were reading Gilded page edges help protect the edge of the page and provide a polished look Durable and flexible Smyth-sewn binding so the Bible will lay flat in your hand or on a desk Easy-to-read 9.5-point NKJV Comfort Print (R)

What is the church? Why are there so many different expressions of church throughout time and space, and what ties them all together? Ecclesiology-the doctrine of the church-has risen to the center of theological interest in recent decades. In this text, theologian Veli-Matti Karkkainen provides a wide-ranging survey of the rich field of ecclesiology in the midst of rapid developments and new horizons. Drawing on Karkkainen's international experience and comprehensive research on the church, this revised and expanded edition is thoroughly updated to incorporate recent literature and trends. This unique primer not only orients readers to biblical, historical, and contemporary ecclesiologies but also highlights contextual and global perspectives and includes an entirely new section on interfaith comparative theology. An Introduction to Ecclesiology surveys major theological traditions, including Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic, Reformed, and Pentecostal ecclesiological insights from Latin American, Africa, and Asia distinct perspectives from women, African Americans, and recent trends in the United States key elements of the church such as mission, governance, worship, and sacraments interreligious comparison with Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, and Buddhist communities As the church today encounters challenges and opportunities related to rapid growth in the Majority World, new congregational forms, ecumenical movements, interfaith relations, and more, Christians need a robust ecclesiology that makes room for both unity and diversity. In An Introduction to Ecclesiology students, pastors, and laypeople will find an essential resource for understanding how the church can live out its calling as Christ's community on earth.

This selection of writings from the most important moments in the history of Christianity has become established as a classic reference work, providing insights into 2000 years of Christian theological and political debate.
While retaining the original material selected by Henry Bettenson, Chris Maunder has added a substantial section of more recent writings. These illustrate the Second Vatican Council; the theologies of liberation; Church and State from 'Thatcher's Britain' to Communist Eastern Europe; Black, feminist, and ecological theology; ecumenism; and inter-faith dialogue. The emphasis on moral debate in the contemporary churches is reflected in selections discussing questions about homosexuality, divorce, AIDS, and in-vitro fertilization, amongst other issues.
This further expanded fourth edition brings the anthology up-to-date with a new section looking at issues facing the twenty-first century churches. This includes extracts exploring the churches' responses to questions of social justice, international politics, trade and debt, environmental change, and technological development. New material also covers the global growth of Christianity, the progress of Christian unity, and mission in multi-faith and postmodern societies.

"This book is extremely valuable. Shupe et al. have done an excellent job...highly recommended; it is a must-read."--"Criminal Justice Review"

""Bad Pastors" raises all the good questions and provides many hypothetical answers, and for these reasons alone it should be read by all sociologists of religion with an interest in wrongdoings."
--"Sociology of Religion"

Child-molesting priests, embezzled church treasures, philandering ministers and rabbis, even church-endorsed pyramid schemes that defraud gullible parishioners of millions of dollars: for the past decade, clergy misconduct has seemed continually to be in the news.

Is there something about religious organizations that fosters such misbehavior? Bad Pastors presents a range of new perspectives and solidly grounded data on pastoral abuse, investigating sexual misconduct, financial improprieties, and political and personal abuse of authority. Rather than focusing on individuals who misbehave, the volume investigates whether the foundation for clergy malfeasance is inherent in religious organizations themselves, stemming from hierarchies of power in which trusted leaders have the ability to define reality, control behavior, and even offer or withhold the promise of immortality. Arguing that such phenomena arise out of organizational structures, the contributors do not focus on one particular religion, but rather treat these incidents from an interfaith perspective.

Bad Pastors moves beyond individual case studies to consider a broad range of issues surrounding clergy misconduct, from violence against women to the role of charisma and abuse of power in new religious movements. Highlighting similarities between otherforms of abuse, such as domestic violence, the volume helps us to conceptualize and understand clergy misconduct in new ways.