This document's purpose is to spell out the Church's understanding of the nature of revelation--the process whereby God communicates with human beings. It touches upon questions about Scripture, tradition, and the teaching authority of the Church. The major concern of the document is to proclaim a Catholic understanding of the Bible as the "word of God." Key elements include: Trinitarian structure, roles of apostles and bishops, and biblical reading in a historical context.
Stories from across North America of contemporary church leaders, parishioners and religious activists who are working to define a new environmental movement, where honoring the Creator means protecting the planet. Sacred Acts documents the diverse actions taken by churches to address climate change through stewardship, advocacy, spirituality and justice. Contributions from leading Christian voices such as Norman Wirzba and the Reverend Canon Sally Bingham detail the concrete work of faith communities such as: Englewood Christian Church in Indianapolis, IN, where parishioners have enhanced food security by sharing canning and food preservation skills in the church kitchen Georgia's Interfaith Power & Light, which has used federal stimulus funds to weatherize congregations, reduce utility bills and cut carbon emissions Earth Ministry, where people of faith spearheaded the movement to pass state legislation to make Washington State a coal-free state. Sacred Acts shows that churches can play a critical role in confronting climate change - perhaps the greatest moral imperative of our time. This timely collection will inspire individuals and congregations to act in good faith to help protect Earth's climate.
Moore asserts that Christian vocation, and the teaching vocation in particular, can be best understood as sacramental, mediating the grace of God through ordinary creation for the sanctification of human life and the well-being of all creation. She develops her argument through three important factors: a historical-theological analysis of the Christian sacraments and sacramentality; a phenomenological study of teaching events; and a description of six sacramental movements and corresponding teaching practices informed by Jewish-Christian traditions and Eucharistic practices. The nine detailed chapters include: Searching for the Sacred; Sacred Teaching; Education as Sacrament; Expecting the Unexpected; Remembering the Dismembered; Seeking Reversals; Giving Thanks; Nourishing Life; Reconstructing Community and Repairing the World; and Mapping the Future of Sacramental Teaching. "Teaching as a Sacramental Act" is ideal for students, pastors, Christian educators, spiritual directors, and pastoral caregivers who want to rethink and reshape the teaching ministry of the church.
How do we hear from God and discern His will when it’s time to make big decisions? Terry Looper shares a four-step process for doing just that - a process he has learned and refined over thirty years as a Christian entrepreneur and founder of a multi-billion dollar company. At just thirty-six years old, Terry Looper was a successful Christian businessman who thought he had it all—until managing all he had led to a devastating burnout. Wealthy beyond his wildest dreams but miserable beyond belief, Terry experienced a radical transformation when he discovered how to align himself with God’s will in the years following his crash and burn. Sacred Pace is a four-step process that helps Christians in all walks of life learn how to slow down their decision-making under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, sift through their surface desires and sinful patterns in order to receive clear, peace-filled answers from the Lord, gain the confident assurance that God’s answers are His way of fulfilling the true desires he has placed in their hearts, and grow closer to the One who loves them most and knows them best. Sacred Pace is not another example of name-it-and-claim-it materialism in disguise. Instead, it walks Christians through the sometimes-painful process of “dying to self” in their decisions, both big and small, so that they desire God’s will more than their own.
For the fifteenth anniversary of its publication, this revised edition features a new introduction from the author on the state of the church and its “radical welcome” today, along with new reflections on how it continues to reshape the church. This book is at once a theological, inspirational, and practical guide for congregations that want to move beyond diversity and inclusion to present a vision for the church of the future: one where the gifts, voices, and power of marginalized groups bring new life to the mainline church. Based on two years of work and over 200 interviews with people in congregations all around the United States—in urban, suburban, and rural settings—it asks the question: How do we face our fears and welcome transformation in order to become God’s radically welcoming people? Each chapter introduces a particular congregation and the challenges it faced, and lays out the theological underpinnings of tackling fears head-on to embrace change as a welcome part of community life. This new edition features essays from Michael B. Curry, Mark Bozzuti-Jones, Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, and Mark Richardson.
Called a "must read for Christians paralyzed in survival mode," Holy Currencies teaches you how your ministry can become sustainable, grow, and thrive. Money is not the only currency your ministry needs. Author Eric H. F. Law shows us how the six blessings of time and place, gracious leadership, relationship, truth, wellness, and money flow through successful missional ministries. And they can flow through your ministry too! Learn how to use these gifts to rejuvenate, recirculate, regenerate, and expand your ministry through Law's insightful stories, instruction, processes, exercises, and activities. Tools in the book help evaluate how your church uses each gift and enables church members to measure and value the six blessings. Holy Currencies will push you to think beyond your church's current boundaries and create rich, sustainable missional ministries.
Learn how to face your fears and and live into courageous and faithful action with Fear Not. Americans live in a culture of fear, whether we know it or care to admit it. Who will attack us next? Who will steal our jobs? Whose relationship undermines the sanctity of mine? In an era when manipulative messaging is unavoidable, politicians, media, marketers, and even faith leaders play on our fears and use them to win elections, gain attention, sell products, and influence the way you view those around you — all in the name of claiming power. Fear Not subverts insidious fear-based messaging with the creation of courageous communities committed to truth-telling, grace, hope, and love. Drawing on decades as a community-building and church growth leader for churches and nonprofit organizations, Eric H.F. Law shares practical resources and processes for bringing diverse people together to build authentic relationships and share their truth. Each chapter includes suggested activities and questions for discussion and tips for creating small discussion groups.
Are you a leader, clergy or lay, in a Catholic parish wrestling with how to bridge the multiple ethnic, linguistic, and racial communities that increasingly comprise your parish? With these cultural backgrounds frequently come diverse perspectives on everything from how to communicate with each other to how to understand God. In addition, such cultural divisions all too often manifest differences in the access these communities have to parish decision-making structures. In Building Bridges, Not Walls - Construyamos puentes, no muros, John Francis Burke highlights the dramatic impact the growing Latino presence is having in parishes across the country, considers the theology of inculturation and intercultural ministry, and provides practical pastoral ministry suggestions on doing intercultural ministry. Includes full text in both English and Spanish. ¿Eres un líder, clérigo o laico que trabaja en una parroquia católica y que lucha todos los días por llegar a las diversas comunidades étnicas, lingüísticas y raciales cada vez más presentes en su parroquia? Estos grupos poseen como parte de su cultura diversas formas de ser y de pensar, desde cómo comunicarse con los demás hasta la misma concepción de Dios. Además, esas diferencias culturales a menudo implican una mayor o menor posibilidad de acceder a las estructuras de gobierno dentro de la parroquia. En Construyamos puentes, no muros – Building Bridges, Not Walls, John Francis Burke muestra el impacto tan grande que los latinos están teniendo en las parroquias del país; explica la teología de la inculturación y del ministerio intercultural; y ofrece sugerencias prácticas para quienes trabajan en este último. Incluye texto complete en Inglés y Español.
"Inclusion," says the author, "is a discipline of consciously extending the boundaries of our communities to embrace and affirm people of diverse backgrounds and experiences." In this resource for ministers and church leaders, Law provides models, theories, and strategies that are both practical and theologically sound for moving faith communities toward greater inclusion.
Best-selling author Eric Law shows how to work with the dynamics of diverse cultures to create a truly inclusive community. In his widely acclaimed The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb, Eric H. F. Law explores the dynamics of multicultural misunderstandings and how different cultures perceive and use power. Here he shows how to work with those dynamics to create a truly inclusive community. sing Exodus 3 as a theological starting point, Law explains in detail how leaders can: understand and resolve difference in communication styles, recognize and avoid the "Golden Calf Syndrome," reconcile high-context and low-content elements in the group, use mutual invitation, and build dialogue through liturgy. Following Law's practical guidelines, we can, in the end, build multicultural structures everyone can live and thrive in.
