This is a textbook on preaching from an ecumenical perspective, covering the foundations and practice of preaching. In our rapidly changing world, Christian preaching is as important as ever, but makes even greater demands of the preacher than in the past. It is being challenged by new forms of worship and communication at a time when it is becoming more difficult for preachers to address the complex issues of modern life in relation to Christianity. This book is designed to help preachers to sustain themselves and each other in their work and to realize their full potential by helping them to re-affirm the importance of preaching by rehearsing its biblical and theological basis and to understand the cycles, dynamics and rhythms of their vocation and to engage with them constructively. It offers clear guidelines on how to construct a sermon and use contemporary professional support services throughout their preaching ministry and to develop their own support networks. So the book emphasizes what preachers themselves, personally and through supportive networks, can do to sustain and develop their preaching ministries.

Two of the major parallel challenges facing businesses today are how to adapt to the changes of fast-paced, fragmenting markets and how to grow a business whilst engaging in recognisably sustainable practices. It is not enough to just be sustainable, it is about communicating it and getting the customer involved in the message. Customer-Centric Marketing shows readers how sustainable development practices and digital marketing techniques work naturally together to add value, leading to improved customer satisfaction, better professional relationships and increased effectiveness. Ideal for senior marketing professionals and students on digital marketing or marketing strategy modules who wish to utilise the benefits of sustainable development and forms of digital marketing, this accessible and straight to-the-point book uses case studies to show how the marketing theories and tools work in actual business scenarios. Customer-Centric Marketing covers contemporary issues such as the increasing use of mobile, QR codes and social network sites for consumers interested in ethical, environmental and sustainable marketing.

Develop Your PR Skills is a simple, straightforward guide to maximising your company's potential through effective PR. It will help the reader to gain a quick understanding of the concepts and principles and learn how to use them in actual business scenarios. It covers strategic public relations, public relations and the internet, working with the media, how to deal with different stakeholders and customers, dealing with a crisis, using internal communications, using research to get a competitive edge, evaluating the success of your PR, and ethics and sustainability. Direct and to the point, each chapter is concise, can stand alone and ends with a summary of key points. Readers are also be pointed towards key websites and reading materials.

Two of the major parallel challenges facing businesses today are how to adapt to the changes of fast-paced, fragmenting markets and how to grow a business whilst engaging in recognisably sustainable practices. It is not enough to just be sustainable, it is about communicating it and getting the customer involved in the message. Customer-Centric Marketing shows readers how sustainable development practices and digital marketing techniques work naturally together to add value, leading to improved customer satisfaction, better professional relationships and increased effectiveness. Ideal for senior marketing professionals and students on digital marketing or marketing strategy modules who wish to utilise the benefits of sustainable development and forms of digital marketing, this accessible and straight to-the-point book uses case studies to show how the marketing theories and tools work in actual business scenarios. Customer-Centric Marketing covers contemporary issues such as the increasing use of mobile, QR codes and social network sites for consumers interested in ethical, environmental and sustainable marketing.

Develop Your Marketing Skills is a user-friendly guide appropriate for business people for whom implementation is the key issue. It outlines the key concepts and principles which govern the subject of marketing, such as product management, market research, communications, market coverage, creating a marketing plan and pricing perspectives. It also gives key insights into how theories and tools work in actual business scenarios, shows you how to improve customer satisfaction and highlights contemporary issues, such as sustainability. There are also summary pages at the end of each chapter containing questions and suggested activities, helping you to revise the basics and increase your confidence. With many of the issues discussed being at the cutting edge of marketing research and practice, Develop Your Marketing Skills is a must for anybody wishing to enter the marketing profession, develop their current knowledge further or run their own business.

John For Today, like the author's earlier best-selling book Paul for Today, combines fresh accessible scholarship with an exploration of the gospel's significance for the contemporary Church and wider world. The Gospel's historical origins, distinctive features and literary patterns are all helpfully illuminated, including John's similarities with and differences from the other Gospels and the much-debated question of the Gospel's real author. Recent criticisms of the Gospel, such as its exclusiveness, alleged anti-semitism and predominantly male characters and language are also examined, together with its relevance for a turbulent world in which religion has become a deeply ambivalent phenomenon. The book seeks to be faithful to the gospel of John in the central position it accords to Jesus, whilst also relating this controversial gospel to the Christian orthodoxy of later centuries.It is a book written for the non-specialist reader, and 'for such a time as this'.

Paul for Today is written not only for people puzzled by the writings of the apostle Paul, but also for those who find Paul difficult, and perhaps even objectionable. In an accessible style, it draws on the latest scholarship, exploring Paul's letters against their first century background to unveil their relevance for the Church of today. Neil Richardson has taught New Testament Studies for many years, first at Lincoln Theological College, and later at Wesley College, Bristol. His books include Paul's Language about God, God in the New Testament and Preaching from Scripture. He is currently a Senior Research Scholar at The Queen's Foundation, Birmingham. With wonderful clarity, Neil Richardson takes us beyond stereotypes of Paul, illuminating his context, and applying his message to the contemporary church and world. I will be commending this book at every opportunity to students, ministers, house-group leaders and anyone who wants to take both Paul's message and our own time with complete seriousness.' Stephen Wright, Spurgeon's College, London

How should we understand the God of the Bible? How do we make sense of God's apparently changing character in the Bible theologically? God is not obvious - unlike all the animate and inanimate objects which we can see around us. God does not appear to fulfill any useful purpose; what is God for or about? Is God just a mystery? Or a problem? Or both? In" Who On Earth is God: Making Sense of God in the Bible "Neil Richardson provides the answers to these fascinating questions. Richardson tackles the hard issues surrounding some of the more problematic passages head on, looking at divine anger, violence and jealousy, and suggesting how these can be interpreted. The book engages with the difficult questions posed by contemporary issues, and the 'new atheism' pioneered by popular writers such as Richard Dawkins. This takes discussion 'beyond the bible' into later developments in thought, and notions of God in a post-modern context. This is an indispensable guide for people with or without faith, wrestling with these difficult, and eternal, questions and themes.