Shalom Church
Shalom Church

Author: Craig L. Nessan

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2010-08-02

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 1451405405

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Craig Nessan's important new work retrieves biblical metaphors of the body of Christ and, following Dietrich Bonhoeffer, sees church today as "Christ existing as community." To theological probing Nessan then adds contextual analysis and describes the four chief imperatives that mark Christ's presence in the world today: peacemaking, justice-making, care for creation, and engagement with the other. He then unfolds the real-life implications of this paradigm of Christian community for the local church structure, strategies for partnering, public witness, and interreligious engagement.

What Is the Mission of the Church?
What Is the Mission of the Church?

Author: Kevin DeYoung

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2011-09-08

Total Pages: 290

ISBN-13: 143352693X

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Social justice and mission are hot topics today: there's a wonderful resurgence of motivated Christians passionate about spreading the gospel and caring for the needs of others. But in our zeal to get sharing and serving, many are unclear on gospel and mission. Yes, we are called to spend ourselves for the sake of others, but what is the church's unique priority as it engages the world? DeYoung and Gilbert write to help Christians "articulate and live out their views on the mission of the church in ways that are theologically faithful, exegetically careful, and personally sustainable." Looking at the Bible's teaching on evangelism, social justice, and shalom, they explore the what, why, and how of the church's mission. From defining "mission", to examining key passages on social justice and their application, to setting our efforts in the context of God's rule, DeYoung and Gilbert bring a wise, studied perspective to the missional conversation. Readers in all spheres of ministry will grow in their understanding of the mission of the church and gain a renewed sense of urgency for Jesus' call to preach the Word and make disciples.

Energizing the Congregation
Energizing the Congregation

Author: Carl S. Dudley

Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press

Published: 1993-01-01

Total Pages: 136

ISBN-13: 9780664253592

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Dudley and Johnson show how churches are revitalized by claiming the symbols that best articulate self-identity. They describe five images of churches' relationships to their communities over time--the survivor, prophet, pillar, pilgrim, and servant styles--found in a wide variety of congregations and situations.

Re-Imagining the Church
Re-Imagining the Church

Author: Robert J. Suderman

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2016-09-30

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 1498290949

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The church. What has it become? What was it meant to be? Does it pave the way or get in the way? Are we suspicious of the institutionalization of church bureaucracy? Or thrilled with the relevant impact of its presence? Robert J. Suderman writes about the church as a practitioner. His inspiration emerges out of the crossroads of biblical vision and human sincerity always tempered with frailty. Years of ministry, never a stranger to complexity, only serve to sharpen the vision of possibility. His imagination of what can be is never divorced from the realities of what is. He does not bow to the common assumption that "you can't get there from here." "Here" is the only possible point of origin for us. In his succinct, easy to understand writing style, Suderman provides insightful and thought-provoking perspectives to what it means to be the church. To be a people "called out" to participate together in God's activity in the world, and to create programs and structures needed for effective ministry are two sides of the same coin. This book is for dreamers and bureaucrats alike; indeed, it assumes that the two are indispensable pieces of God's coming presence. Introduction by: Tom Yoder Neufeld

Shalom Sistas
Shalom Sistas

Author: Osheta Moore

Publisher: Herald Press

Published: 2017-10-03

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781513801513

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Like a lot of women, blogger Osheta Moore loved the idea of shalom: God’s dream for a world that is whole, vibrant, and flourishing. But honestly: who's got the time? So one night she whispered a dangerous prayer: God, show me the things that make for peace… In Shalom Sistas, Moore shares what she learned when she challenged herself to study peace in the Bible for forty days. Taking readers through the twelve points of the Shalom Sistas’ Manifesto, Moore experiments with practices of everyday peacemaking and invites readers to do the same. From dropping “love bombs” on a family vacation, to talking to the coach who called her son the n-word, to spreading shalom with a Swiffer, Moore offers bold steps for crossing lines between black and white, suburban and urban, rich and poor. What if a bunch of Jesus-following women catch a vision of a vibrant, whole, flourishing world? What happens when Shalom Sistas unite? Free downloadable study guide available here.

Becoming a Just Church
Becoming a Just Church

Author: Adam L. Gustine

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2019-02-12

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0830873406

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How should the local church think about justice? Adam Gustine provides a theological vision for the church's identity as a just people, where God's character and the pursuit of shalom infuses every aspect of our congregational DNA. In this renewed vision, the church becomes a prophetic alternative to the broken systems of the world and a parable of God's intentions for human flourishing and societal transformation.

Hospitality
Hospitality

Author: Freddy James Clark

Publisher: Hamilton Books

Published: 2007-07-18

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 1461626544

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The term hospitality describes a state of generosity, accommodation, and consideration towards others. The Shalom Church, which views hospitality as a gift, seeks not to control the gift, but to share and celebrate it in practice. When the practice is intentional it will become embedded in one's lifestyle. This adherence is reached when one considers hospitality as a biblical and moral obligation, where every encounter with the other will be viewed through the lens of hospitableness. Fortunately, humanity always moves from host/stranger to stranger/host. In Christian theology, the giver and receiver are one of equal regard. Since there are no permanent positions in life, persons are always moving in and out of situations where they sometimes experience being the host, and other times the stranger. Hospitality becomes the means by which equal regard and moral obligation are exercised. Proclamation is the tool that shapes the practice and develops a committed relationship with hospitality.

Peace (ubt Series)
Peace (ubt Series)

Author: Walter Brueggemann

Publisher: Chalice Press

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 220

ISBN-13: 9780827230248

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In this volume Walter Brueggemann explores biblical texts from the story of the exodus to Jesus' teachings about peace and the reign of God. He specifically addresses the witness of Jesus and Jesus' proclamations about God's desired future more than in his other books, clarifying a full biblical theology of peace and an understanding of what God has done in Jesus and is doing in the church today.

Finding God Among our Neighbors, Volume 2
Finding God Among our Neighbors, Volume 2

Author: Kristin Johnston Largen

Publisher: Fortress Press

Published: 2017-02-01

Total Pages: 253

ISBN-13: 1506423302

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For too many students, Christian theology is learned in isolation from other religions traditions. With this, the second volume of her important work, Kristin Johnston Largen returns to expand the systematic theology she began in the original volume. Largen places the work of Christian theology soundly within the interreligious dialogue that is the defining feature of our time. In doing so, she prepares students of theology for the task of understanding and articulating their Christian beliefs in the context of a religiously and culturally diverse world. In the original volume, Largen focused her work on three loci—God, Creation, and Humanity. In this second volume she expands the project to include salvation, the Church, and the Holy Spirit. As before, each locus is set within the broader context of interreligious dialogue by considering how the varied beliefs of the world’s religious traditions inform our understanding of our own tradition. This volume explores indigenous religions, Sikhism, Confucianism, and Daoism, in particular.

Holy War in Ancient Israel
Holy War in Ancient Israel

Author: Gerhard von Rad

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2000-04-17

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 1579103464

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Since the beginning, holy war has been viewed as a 'sacred institution' and a 'cultic act of religious community' by the people of Israel. Appearing here in English for the first time, Gerhard von Rad has provided a definitive study of the theory of holy war and its development throughout biblical history. Von Rad gives a definitive and articulate exposition of a typically disturbing theme within the Old Testament, arguing that holy war is not only Yahweh acting alone, but inspired Israelites, who because they envisioned God fighting on their behalf, felt obligated and inspired to fight even more fervently.