This collection of essays spans the breadth of the United Church of Christ: its roots; its polity, ministry, and worship issues; and its theological issues and movements. The revised and updated edition includes a new preface; a new chapter title for Chapter 18 The United Church of Christ Tomorrow: A View from 1990; and the addition of a new chapter, Chapter 19: Into a New Century.
This book, in light of the fractures within the United Church of Christ (UCC), encourages the members of the UCC to have meaningful discussions about the word "covenant". It is the author's hope that her resource will bring people together around this one word and show that, even with a diversity of views, people have more things in common than not in common. It contains nine thought-provoking sessions that explore the concept of covenant as it relates to the Hebrew Testament; Jesus Christ; God; our UCC heritage; the wider UCC; autonomy; and more.
"The Evolution of a UCC Style: Essays in the History, Ecclesiology, and Culture of the United Church of Christ" focuses on the development of themes that define the United Church of Christ (UCC). Randi Walker examines the ethos and culture of the UCC rather than simply describing its structures, and addresses the themes of inclusiveness; diversity of theological heritage (Reformation, Enlightenment, and Pietism); congregational polity (the one and the many); liberal theological approach; and ecumenical spirit. Walker also takes a look at the tensions and boundaries contained within each theme.
This book discusses the relationship between faith, formation and education. Rooted in a variety of discourses, the book offers original insights into the education and formation of the human person, both theoretical and practical. Issues are considered within a context of contemporary tensions generated by an increasingly pluralist society with antipathy to religious faith, and debated from interdenominational Christian perspectives. Including chapters by an international team of experts, the volume demonstrates how Christian faith holds significance for educational practice and human development. It argues against the common assumption that there can be a neutral approach to education, whilst at the same time advocating a critical dimension to faith education. It brings fresh thinking about faith and formation, which demands attention given the fast-changing political, educational and socio-cultural forces of today. It will appeal to students and researchers involved in Christian educational practice.
The staff of Balaam's Courier, the unofficial General Synod daily publication since 1975, provides a handbook of the basics of the UCC for new member and confirmation classes and anyone who has ever struggled to explain the UCC to others. Written with a light touch, but a passion for the life and work of the UCC-and sprinkled with black-and-white cartoon illustrations-it gives historical, biblical, and theological insights into issues that have challenged the church throughout the ages. Book jacket.
The author wrote a compelling story of how the United Church of Christ took shape in the mid-twentieth century. During this time, church unions were a prominent feature of the movement toward Christian unity and secular models of organization dominated denominational development. Charles Shelby Rooks has expanded this classic text by bringing the United Church of Christ story to the forty-year mark. Today the United Church of Christ has grown into a denomination that strives to become a multicultural and multiracial church. Rooks's additional chapter provides reflections on five themes woven throughout the church between 1977 and 1998. The documentation cited will provide helpful guidance to anyone seeking to pursue additional study of the United Church of Christ. An interpretive essay in the history of American Christianity, this book is also a narrative account of the church union process itself. In that respect it is of significance for Protestant Christianity in general.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of the world’s most influential spiritual thinkers, a long-awaited book exploring what it means that Jesus was called “Christ,” and how this forgotten truth can restore hope and meaning to our lives. “Anyone who strives to put their faith into action will find encouragement and inspiration in the pages of this book.”—Melinda Gates In his decades as a globally recognized teacher, Richard Rohr has helped millions realize what is at stake in matters of faith and spirituality. Yet Rohr has never written on the most perennially talked about topic in Christianity: Jesus. Most know who Jesus was, but who was Christ? Is the word simply Jesus’s last name? Too often, Rohr writes, our understandings have been limited by culture, religious debate, and the human tendency to put ourselves at the center. Drawing on scripture, history, and spiritual practice, Rohr articulates a transformative view of Jesus Christ as a portrait of God’s constant, unfolding work in the world. “God loves things by becoming them,” he writes, and Jesus’s life was meant to declare that humanity has never been separate from God—except by its own negative choice. When we recover this fundamental truth, faith becomes less about proving Jesus was God, and more about learning to recognize the Creator’s presence all around us, and in everyone we meet. Thought-provoking, practical, and full of deep hope and vision, The Universal Christ is a landmark book from one of our most beloved spiritual writers, and an invitation to contemplate how God liberates and loves all that is.
Mark Shaw offers ideas from the most significant Christian leaders of the last five hundred years, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, Jonathan Edwards, William Carey, John Wesley, Richard Baxter and Dietrich Bonhoeffer.
