How might our worship recapture and reflect the enchanted world of God's nearness in Jesus Christ? In this first volume in IVP Academic's Dynamics of Christian Worship series, John D. Rempel offers a vision for this kind of transformative worship. A theologian and minister in the Mennonite Church, Rempel considers the role of the sacraments and ritual within the Free Church tradition. While the Free Churches rightly sought to cleanse the church of the abuses of sacramentalism, in that process they also set aside some of the church's historic practices and the theology behind them, which ultimately impoverished their worship. In response to this liturgically thin space, Rempel appeals to the incarnation of Christ, whose taking on of flesh can help us perceive the sacramental nature of our faith and worship. By embracing life-giving and peacemaking practices, the worship of not only the Free Church tradition but of the whole body of Christ might be transformed and become enchanted once again. The Dynamics of Christian Worship series draws from a wide range of worshiping contexts and denominational backgrounds to unpack the many dynamics of Christian worship-including prayer, reading the Bible, preaching, baptism, the Lord's Supper, music, visual art, architecture, and more-to deepen both the theology and practice of Christian worship for the life of the church.

Writings compiled in the sixteenth century provide a glimpse into the spiritual life of one fellowship during the Radical Reformation. Scholars have been fascinated by Pilgram Marpeck and his circle since the rediscovery of the long-lost legacy of their writings, and that interest has not abated. This volume offers another part of that legacy to English-speaking readers, not only scholars but also inquiring general readers who might find theological insight and spiritual depth in the diverse writings that make up this anthology. The didactic poems, passionate meditations, pastoral letters, and confessions in the Kunstbuch open a door into an intimate community. Maler’s collection is like an album of photographs taken over a period of thirty years, documenting the life of a family and its friends. In rare detail it records the existence of one kind of Anabaptism, preserving for posterity the personalities and issues, the brilliance and the tragedy that made it what it was. The writing and compiling of the Kunstbuch arose from impassioned attempts to be the body of Christ faithfully and to trust God utterly in the midst of terrifying insecurity. In their faithfulness and trust, Marpeck’s people are a cloud of witnesses who have a claim on us today. This is the twelfth volume in the Classics of the Radical Reformation, a series of Anabaptist and Free Church documents translated and annotated under the direction of the Institute of Mennonite Studies.

The Gospel Places Peacemaking at the center of Christian identity. Over the centuries, however, churches have divided over the role and place of the peacemaking imperative in their lives and teachings. This volume offers deep ecumenical discussion of the relationship of the church to its peacemaking mission from the standpoints of history and the contemporary context. Contributors representing ten major faith traditions -- Lois Y. Barrett, Alexander Brunett, Murray W. Dempster, Donald F. Durnbaugh, John H. Erickson, Eric W. Gritsch, Jeffrey Gros, Paul Meyendorff, Lauree Hersch Meyer, Thomas H. Olbricht, Thomas D. Paxson Jr., James F. Puglisi, John D. Rempel, Alan P. F. Sell, and Glen H. Stassen -- address this crucial topic from the perspective of their own churches and explore paths that could lead to the reconciliation of existing differences.