Church Theology

This book explores classical topics of Christian theology in relation to the Holy Spirit and the Church from a Wesleyan-Arminian perspective.

Neither "everything's fine" nor "burn it all down", Stringer offers a thoughtful appreciation of evangelicalism's history, identity, and strengths, but also lament for its blind spots, toxic brokenness, and complicity with injustice. From this complicated space, we can move forward with informed vision rather than resignation and with hope for our future together.

A cross-section of five frontline leaders in the controversial emerging church movement shed informative light on their beliefs and basic message to help us understand whether it’s all about new methods or a new message or both.

The Dark Ages was a millennium, running from approximately 500 (Rome fell in 476) to 1500 AD (Martin Luther’s 95 Theses were written in 1517); being a three-fold darkness: spiritual, physical, and educational. “One must be accustomed to the light, at least in some measure, to be able to judge of the darkness. A blind man can have no idea of the extent of the darkness around him. It is the same as to moral and spiritual darkness. A person must have some acquaintance with the light of scripture in order to discern the darkness around him. Thus, alas, during the ages under consideration, ...

The purpose of Law and Society, this second of three volumes of The Institutes of Biblical Law, is to show how God’s law applies to every aspect of our lives and world. There are in God’s word specified consequences, curses and blessings, for disobedience and obedience. We cannot understand history apart from that fact.

Many today have given up on church. But God has not and does not give up on the church. The church is God's idea. And once we truly understand what God has in mind for his people, we can become who he wants us to be. Bishop Claude Alexander shows how the original Christians did not always understand what the church was supposed to be, but God worked in them anyway to become the community that he intended.

In Rethinking Church, veteran church leader, theologian, and professor Ron Highfield tells the story of how he came to the conclusions that most institutions we call “churches” are really parachurch organizations, much of the “church work” we do focuses on making something happen on Sunday mornings, and much of the money we give goes to pay staff to keep the parachurch functions running. Highfield writes for older believers who feel burned out and disillusioned by years of institutional maintenance. He addresses young people who have never seen the relevance of institutional ...

Who is Jesus? And why does the church He started matter today? The answers to these questions are practical, profound, and liberating - and also inextricably connected. The closer you get to Jesus, the more you love people; and the more you love people, the more you become like Jesus. Drawing on biblical teaching and over 45 years of ministry experience, Pastor Mel Mullen brings clear, practical understanding to Jesus’ message and the community of Jesus-followers we call the church.

In this book, Thomas Dwight Witherspoon lays out the core ideas of Presbyterian ecclesiology in five points, and sets forth the beauty of this biblical system of church government.

Ever since Jesus' commission to make disciples in his name, Christianity has transformed lives and the world at large. To those watching, it must have looked like an upstart religion led by a group of men, most of whom were martyred for their beliefs. The voice of secular culture today is no louder and no more indulgent than it was in those days. And yet much of the Western church has settled for becoming just another mass media market that's adding to the noise, instead of a movement that continues to turn the world upside down.

This Very Short Introduction provides both the believer and non-believer with a balanced survey of the central questions of theology. David Ford's approach draws us in to considering the principles underlying religious belief, including the centrality of salvation to most major religions; the concept of God in ancient, modern, and postmodern contexts; the challenge posed to theology by prayer and worship; and the issue of sin and evil. He also probes the nature of experience, knowledge, and wisdom in theology, and discusses what is involved in interpreting theological texts.

O'Malley shows what it means to foster a parish culture where the Eucharist infuses the worldview, priorities, and practices of its members. O'Malley leads you through discovery and discernment about how to create a parish culture where each person is called to holiness and receives the spiritual, theological, and pastoral help they need to meet Christ fully present in the Eucharist and to become a witness to him in the world.

Teaching to Live: Black Religion, Activist-Educators, and Radical Social Change interrogates the stories of African American activist-educators whose faith convictions inspired them to educate in radical and transformative ways. Almeda M. Wright explores the connections between religion, education, and struggles for freedom within twentieth-century African American communities by telling the stories of key African American teachers.

To the Coptic Orthodox Church, Dogmas are not merely theological concepts concerning God, man, Church, eternal life, heavenly creatures, demons, etc., to be discussed among clergymen, scholars, and laymen. But dogmas are, in essence, daily experiences each member of the Church has to live. In other words, dogmas representing our faith in God through various aspects have one message, i.e., our communion with God the Father in Jesus Christ, the incarnate Word of God, by His Holy Spirit. Thus, we conceive of our redemption, our membership in the Church, a deep understanding of the Holy Bible, ...

God called. He wants his church back. Many Christians have begun to recognize that God desires his church to function as an organism rather than an organization. After over 11 years of experience founding and facilitating a house church, author Keith Giles shares the insights he developed in the trenches. Filled with practical, real-world examples of how to plant and nurture an organic gathering, listeners will find a wealth of information to help them bring Jesus back to the forefront of every meeting.

John Locke's theory of toleration is generally seen as advocating the privatization of religion. This interpretation has become conventional wisdom: secularization is widely understood as entailing the privatization of religion, and the separation of religion from power. This audiobook turns that conventional wisdom on its head and argues that Locke secularizes religion, that is, makes it worldly, public, and political. In the name of diverse citizenship, Locke reconstructs religion as persuasion, speech, and fashion.

The church today faces great challenges, from outside and from within. Popular culture tempts Christians to compromise truth in the name of relevance and to ignore sin under the guise of tolerance. At the same time, serious doctrinal errors threaten to undermine the authority of God's word, leading to all sorts of unbiblical practices. Right Thinking in a Church Gone Astray offers responses from trusted evangelical voices on 15 timely issues.

In this six-session audio Bible study, Lysa TerKeurst’s follow-up to the New York Times bestseller, Made to Crave, Lysa helps you discover how to put into action, those things you learned through the Made to Crave book and small group study. Trying to get healthy can seem overwhelming and complicated. Eat carbs… don’t eat carbs. Eat fish… don’t eat fish. Pay attention to calories… don’t pay attention to calories. All this conflicting information can be daunting and confusing.

The Bible and the Ballot demonstrates the proper use of scripture in contemporary political discussions. Christians regularly invoke the Bible to support their positions on many controversial political topics - gay marriage, poverty, war, religious liberty, immigration, the environment, etc. - and this book will help facilitate those conversations. Tremper Longman provides a hermeneutical approach to using the Bible in this manner, then proceeds topic by topic, citing important scriptures to be taken into consideration in each case and offering an evangelical interpretation.

Seasoned pastor and church leader Will Willimon excels at creating thought-provoking, accessible books for working pastors and seminarians. In Aging, he takes a theologically rich look at numerous aspects of growing old. Drawing on scripture, literature, current research, and his experiences as an aging adult, Willimon reflects on aging as a spiritual journey. He explores the challenging realties as well as the rewarding joys of growing old and shows pastors how to help their congregants grow old gracefully and in good Christian hope.