This book offers an upper-level introduction to the Christian doctrine of the Church. This book is a rigorous comprehensive introduction to the doctrine of the Church by taking the tack of walking readers through the internal logic of ecclesiology. Rather than simply offering a compendium of perspectives on each issue that arises, the authors seek to teach and model thinking theologically, with the grain of scripture and ecclesial reflection, about the Church. The chapters are peppered with two to three excurses per chapter which consider a particularly pertinent issue that arises from the doctrine's development (e.g. the move from Jesus to the Church, schism and the rise of denominations, sacramental mediation) or contemporary concerns (e.g. the question of other religions, contemporary ecumenical questions, the emerging church). While the overall tone and content of the book articulate and invite discussion on the problematics of ecclesiology, these excurses will provide ample opportunity to examine and (where appropriate) untangle ecclesiological knots. "Continuum's Guides for the Perplexed" are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging - or indeed downright bewildering. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material.

A classic revisited--revised and expanded. For over twenty-five years, Howard Snyder's Community of the King has set the standard for a penetrating look at the relationship between the kingdom of God and the earthly church. Biblically and practically Snyder helps us think through such crucial questions as What is the kingdom of God? What role does it play in history? What does it mean for the church to be an agent of the kingdom? Once we grasp the nature of the kingdom, Snyder helps us explore its implications for the church as we experience it in daily life. The church, he argues, is part of God's dramatic plan to reconcile all things to himself. The church that is true to its calling will emphasize the God-given gifts of all its members and develop structures and strategies that reflect God's reign in the world. In addition to a completely new chapter on developments in Christian thinking on the church since its first publication, this new edition of Community of the King contains a fully updated bibliography and is revised throughout. Here is a classic book for all concerned with church life and growth.

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.

Character development for communities of faith Mark Olson believes that trying to meet unrealistic expectations for church growth, along with expectations that pastors be all things to all people, has resulted in low morale, even burnout, among clergy and dissension within congregations.Olson's book argues that church-growth models exemplify and exacerbate the tendencies of the modern age and Constantinian Christianity, holding the church hostage to technique and marketing. These assumptions set up pastors and churches for disappointment and failure. But they also, in his opinion, miss an opportunity to envision a faithful alternative to the consumeristic church.Olson's valuable book calls church leaders to faithful, bold, and courageous rethinking of congregational life and witness in substance, purpose, and style. His own 20 years of ministry in rural, suburban, and urban congregations inform an alternative rooted deeply in the past and anchored in strong leadership and worship, but also profoundly compassionate and engaged in the surrounding community. In this model, pastors' primary responsibilities are not to fix everything and everybody but to enable people to be present to each other and to provide hope.

It is estimated that only a small fraction, less than 1 per cent, of ancient literature has survived to the present day. The role of Christian authorities in the active suppression and destruction of books in Late Antiquity has received surprisingly little sustained consideration by academics. In an approach that presents evidence for the role played by Christian institutions, writers and saints, this book analyses a broad range of literary and legal sources, some of which have hitherto been little studied. Paying special attention to the problem of which genres and book types were likely to be targeted, the author argues that in addition to heretical, magical, astrological and anti-Christian books, other less obviously subversive categories of literature were also vulnerable to destruction, censorship or suppression through prohibition of the copying of manuscripts. These include texts from materialistic philosophical traditions, texts which were to become the basis for modern philosophy and science. This book examines how Christian authorities, theologians and ideologues suppressed ancient texts and associated ideas at a time of fundamental transformation in the late classical world.

This is a must read for all Politicians and all Christians. As a Politician, you will see how exposed you are to the dark side. As a Christian, you will understand more fully one of the spiritual challenges our Politicians face while serving In their positions. The author claims no significant stature as an authority of spiritual matters, only that he is a student of the Bible, though not a scholar. He believes that anything can be accomplished through faith that is bathed in prayer and fasting. Hal Heis has been a student of the bible for 40 years. He has taught and preached for many years. He and his wife Daphne are directors of Here Am I Inc, a mission in Haiti that includes a church and a school with over 500 students. A clinic is almost completed. He lives in Alabama with his wife.

Focusing on writers who approach the Bible as a source that is both instructive and dangerous, "Subverting Scriptures" seeks to provide an academic analysis of cultural biblical saturation at a time when measured voices are necessary to counterbalance politically motivated religious rhetoric. Using as its point of departure the current political landscape - where the Bible is drawn on freely and unabashedly without critical reflection to legitimate and justify all manner of agendas - the contributors in this collection engage the Bible in new, imaginative, and critical ways, in the hopes of creating a new space for dialogue.