Leading theologian Terry Cross articulates the doctrine of the church's ministry from a Pentecostal perspective, demonstrating how Pentecostals can contribute to and learn from the church catholic. This companion volume to Cross's previous book, The People of God's Presence, proposes a radical revision of the structural framework of the local church within the often-overlooked corporate priesthood of all believers. Cross explores principles for leadership and ministry from the New Testament and the early church, helping all believers to do the work of ministry.

Individuals who are in religious leadership positions will immediately recognize the dilemmas or paradoxes described in this book. The good news is that Malony offers sound practical advice on how to deal with them. This book is accurately descriptive and helpfully prescriptive.
--Douglas Lewis, Wesley Theological Seminary

Malony suggests ways to turn destructive conflict into creative tension. A helpful guide for every religious leader struggling to make sense out of the colliding interests that buffet many congregations and other not-for-profit institutions.
--William E. Hull, Samford University

As a leader you must also challenge individuals to make uncomfortable choices in the service of doing God's work in the world.

Maloney identifies eight central paradoxes that all religious leaders--both lay and ordained--must confront. The author shows how these paradoxes, when viewed as either/or choices or struggled against, can whipsaw the leader, tearing the ministry apart. However, embracing paradox and accepting it as a gift allows religious leaders to deal successfully with conflict in their roles, and in so doing, break through to a more powerful connection with those to whom they minister.

H. Newton Malony is senior professor of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary, a licensed psychologist, and an ordained United Methodist minister.

The American fixation with marriage, so prevalent in today's debates over marriage for same-sex couples, owes much of its intensity to a small group of reformers who introduced Americans to marriage counseling in the 1930s. Today, millions of couples seek help to save their marriages each year. Over the intervening decades, marriage counseling has powerfully promoted the idea that successful marriages are essential to both individuals' and the nation's well-being.

Rebecca Davis reveals how couples and counselors transformed the ideal of the perfect marriage as they debated sexuality, childcare, mobility, wage earning, and autonomy, exposing both the fissures and aspirations of American society. From the economic dislocations of the Great Depression, to more recent debates over government-funded "Healthy Marriage" programs, counselors have responded to the shifting needs and goals of American couples. Tensions among personal fulfillment, career aims, religious identity, and socioeconomic status have coursed through the history of marriage and explain why the stakes in the institution are so fraught for the couples involved and for the communities to which they belong.

Americans care deeply about marriages their own and other people's because they have made enormous investments of time, money, and emotion to improve their own relationships and because they believe that their personal decisions about whom to marry or whether to divorce extend far beyond themselves. This intriguing book tells the uniquely American story of a culture gripped with the hope that, with enough effort and the right guidance, more perfect marital unions are within our reach.

In this study of the manner in which medieval nuns lived, Penelope Johnson challenges facile stereotypes of nuns living passively under monastic rule, finding instead that collectively they were empowered by their communal privileges and status to think and act without many of the subordinate attitudes of secular women. In the words of one abbess comparing nuns with monks, they were "different as to their sex but equal in their monastic profession."
Johnson researched more than two dozen nunneries in northern France from the eleventh century through the thirteenth century, balancing a qualitative reading of medieval monastic documents with a quantitative analysis of a lengthy thirteenth-century visitation record which allows an important comparison of nuns and monks. A fascinating look at the world of medieval spirituality, this work enriches our understanding of women's role in premodern Europe and in church history.

Learn how to lay aside fleshly plans and pursuits to experience the true moving of God's Spirit!

The most comprehensive Zionist collection ever published, The Zionist Ideas: Visions for the Jewish Homeland—Then, Now, Tomorrow sheds light on the surprisingly diverse and shared visions for realizing Israel as a democratic Jewish state. Building on Arthur Hertzberg’s classic, The Zionist Idea, Gil Troy explores the backstories, dreams, and legacies of more than 170 passionate Jewish visionaries—quadruple Hertzberg’s original number, and now including women, mizrachim, and others—from the 1800s to today. Troy divides the thinkers into six Zionist schools of thought—Political, Revisionist, Labor, Religious, Cultural, and Diaspora Zionism—and reveals the breadth of the debate and surprising syntheses. He also presents the visionaries within three major stages of Zionist development, demonstrating the length and evolution of the conversation. Part 1 (pre-1948) introduces the pioneers who founded the Jewish state, such as Herzl, Gordon, Jabotinsky, Kook, Ha’am, and Szold. Part 2 (1948 to 2000) features builders who actualized and modernized the Zionist blueprints, such as Ben-Gurion, Berlin, Meir, Begin, Soloveitchik, Uris, and Kaplan. Part 3 showcases today’s torchbearers, including Barak, Grossman, Shaked, Lau, Yehoshua, and Sacks. This mosaic of voices will engage equally diverse readers in reinvigorating the Zionist conversation—weighing and developing the moral, social, and political character of the Jewish state of today and tomorrow.  

In an age where much of the Bible is frequently proclaimed to be irrelevant, perhaps it is the prophets of the Old Testament who are the least regarded of all. What significance could these obscure historical figures from a small nation -- at best, examples of moral uprightness and devotion -- have for us today? Emil Bock argues that they are, in fact, hugely relevant. He shows that it was among the Israelite-Jewish people of the last pre-Christian millennium that the true pulse of the spirit of the age was beating. For that period, they were the brightly-illuminated centre of world history, a focus for all the life and endeavours of humankind. He paints a picture of the Old Testament prophets as being guided from above by the spirit of Christ, preparing the way for his human incarnation. In a parallel analogy, he also shows how the prophets help prepare our own souls to meet Christ.

With a biblically based approach, this groundbreaking textbook for life coaching explores a new coaching model, how-to sections field-tested for more than eight years, custom forms coaches can use, and more.

We might be relieved if God placed our sanctification only in the hands of trained professionals, but that is not his plan. Instead, through the ministry of every part of the body, the whole church will mature in Christ. Paul David Tripp helps us discover where change is needed in our own lives and the lives of others. Following the example of Jesus, Tripp reveals how to get to know people, and how to lovingly speak truth to them.

Diana Lewis has been a devotee of the spiritual leader and philanthropist Sai Baba for more than twenty years and supports his mission to lead humanity back on to the spiritual path by teaching us who we really are, where we have come from and why we are here. She has written My Mission is to Spread Happiness to help disseminate Sai Baba's teachings to the rest of the world.

You ve heard lots of biblical answers, but the question remains . . . How Do You Grow? Our desire to grow runs deep. Yet the issues in our lives that we wish would change often stay the same, even with our best efforts to build ourselves up spiritually. What does growth look like---and how can we grow? Unpacking the practical and passionate theology that forms the backbone of their counseling, Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend shatter popular misconceptions about how God operates and how growth happens. You ll discover .What the essential processes are that make people grow .How those processes fit into a biblical understanding of spiritual growth and theology .How spiritual growth and real-life issues are one and the same .What the specific tasks and tips are that will help pastors, counselors, and others who assist people in growing---and what your own responsibilities are in your personal growth Shining focused light on the great doctrines and themes of Christianity, How People Grow shows why all personal growth is spiritual growth. Designed for use with How People Grow, the How People Grow Workbook will help you translate biblical principles into a practical path of growth in all the vital areas of your life---your relationship with God, your marriage and family life, your friendships, your sticking points, your personal development, and everything that life is about. Suitable for personal or small group use, this fascinating, hands-on volume is filled with true-life examples, questions for reflection or discussion, Tips for Growers, and probing insights that can help you experience the kind of change and growth you ve longed for---and that Jesus has promised."