Maybe you were born to Christian parents and raised as a Christian. Or maybe you are just a part of a Christian nation. You might have attended church regularly, or maybe just on special occasions. If asked, you say that you believe in God, but you really never thought about what that means exactly. You are a well-educated person who accepts the idea of Biblical miracles, but only the more "reasonable" ones. You have read some of the Bible, mostly just parts of the New...
We think of the modern woman as sexually liberated – if anything, we’re told we’re oversexed. Yet a striking number of women are dissatisfied with their sex lives. Over half of women report having a sexual complaint, whether that’s lack of desire or difficulty reaching orgasm. But this issue doesn’t get much press; the urge is to ignore or medicalize it (witness the quest for ‘pink Viagra’). If so many ordinary women suffer from...
This book seeks to help those who doubt or can no longer believe what they've been taught about Christianity that they don't have to abandon their faith. Kenneth Arthur challenges traditional thinking and helps the reader move beyond fundamentalism by thoughtfully reflecting on theological alternatives. His life has truly been a pilgrimage, a search for meaning and purpose that includes belief and behavior as well as belonging, so he proposes a constructive theology based on his own...
There is nothing quite so valuable as a book that is rooted in difficult and real personal experience, constructed with sound theological thinking, and applied in a practical manner. That combination is rare, but Richard Voelz manages it in this book. Often those who are in ministry, in positions of leadership in the church, fail to respond to needs, or seem insensitive to them, simply because they have no idea what to say and what to do. We have celebrations and commemorations in the church...
For many, God is a distant, frightening entity. God may be personal, but they would not think of him as having a personality, much less an enjoyable, friendly, relatable personality. Author S. J. Hill has spent years studying, and more importantly experiencing this topic. He has counseled many people, young and old, whose ideas about God left them frightened and hopeless. He has also experience the presence and love of a wonderful heavenly father who has a fascinating personality. The result...
Does theology have to be dry and boring in order to be serious? Not at all! The prophet Isaiah once said, “a little child will lead them.” But, what about a character from Winnie the Pooh? Can anxious, yet adventurous, Piglet help us understand our relationship with God and one another? Theology is serious business. So serious that it can’t be left solely to adults! Bruce Epperly’s imaginative conversations with Piglet explore the contours of theological reflection from the perspective of...
What is a spiritual gifts? How can I know what gifts are spiritual gifts? The original edition of Identifying Your Gifts and Service was a program for whole church congregations, led by a teacher, to discover their gifts and place of service. It contained a survey, as does this book, but that is not a typical scientific survey designed to discover what kind of personality you have, what you feel like doing, or even what your talents are. The author believes that the key to identifying...
Sometimes going radical means getting to the root. Sometimes it means pulling something up by the roots. What is it that is keeping you from doing what God wants you to do? There are many books about how to do church «right.» There are programs for every imaginable thing you might want to improve in your church. There are at least as many measures by which you can determine whether your church is successful. Ditch the Building ditches that approach and asks you to look at what God is...
