First published in 1997, The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship is a landmark work that offered a bold call to re-establish Christian perspectives in academia. For this second edition, George M. Marsden has added a new preface as well as an entirely new chapter reflecting on the changing landscape of academia in the quarter century since the book first appeared.
Winner of the Christianity Today Book of the Year Award (1995) “The scandal of the evangelical mind is that there is not much of an evangelical mind.” So begins this award-winning intellectual history and critique of the evangelical movement by one of evangelicalism’s most respected historians. Unsparing in his indictment, Mark Noll asks why the largest single group of religious Americans—who enjoy increasing wealth, status, and political influence—have contributed so little to rigorous intellectual scholarship. While nourishing believers in the simple truths of the gospel, why have so many evangelicals failed to sustain a serious intellectual life and abandoned the universities, the arts, and other realms of “high” culture? Over twenty-five years since its original publication, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind has turned out to be prescient and perennially relevant. In a new preface, Noll lays out his ongoing personal frustrations with this situation, and in a new afterword he assesses the state of the scandal—showing how white evangelicals’ embrace of Trumpism, their deepening distrust of science, and their frequent forays into conspiratorial thinking have coexisted with surprisingly robust scholarship from many with strong evangelical connections.
Tween girls have access to an unbelievable amount of media and information with just a simple click of the remote or mouse. Every outlet they turn to attempts to subtly influence their worldview...and what they believe about themselves directly affects how they live. Wynter Pitts, founder of For Girls Like You magazine, gives girls a new devotional showing them a correct definition of themselves, opening their eyes to God's truth and the difference it makes in their lives. Each daily devotion includes a prayer to help girls apply the lesson. "If you've wondered whether there is anything left on the planet to entertain your young beauties that promotes morals you'd approve of, look no further" —Author and speaker Priscilla Shirer
'Katie radiates positivity! A book for those who need daily uplifting affirmations from one of the most inspiring women I know. A must read to brighten up your days.' -- Laura Whitmore 'Katie Piper is such an empowering person. Anyone who has struggled with adversity and fought their way out of tough situations can take comfort and inspiration from her approach to life.' -- Matt Haig 'Katie personifies both heart, courage, endurance and hope as the extraordinary woman she is. It is beautifully expressed in this gift of a book that everyone of us can learn and grow from.' -- Julia Samuel A Little Bit of Faith is the perfect daily devotional for anyone wanting to fill their days with hope, faith and positivity. Providing 365 bite-sized affirmations, Katie Piper encourages us to see that heartbreak and hardship can become fuel for your fight. Whatever life has thrown at you lately, you can fall countless times and still get back up again - all you need is a little bit of faith. Full of hope and warmth, this lovely daily devotional draws on Katie's own faith to show how spirituality has brought greater confidence and meaning to her life. Katie invites you to journey with her through the year, with seasonal thoughts for every day that break down the things we all struggle with and show how, with faith and positivity, we can face and overcome them. Beautifully designed and wonderfully uplifting, this 365-day devotional is easy to dip in and out of. It will help you find strength and confidence when you need it most, and also makes a delightful gift. Packed with hard-won words of wisdom and practical advice, A Little Bit of Faith is the companion every reader needs to grow and glow right where you are.
'Tim Alford has learnt these lessons not in the classroom but in the hurly-burly, heart breaking, inspiring world of Christian leadership. It’s required reading for every leader who wants to leave a legacy of fired up leaders who totally follow Jesus. Is there really anything more important than that?' Andy Hawthorne OBE, Director of The Message Trust Youth and childrens' ministry is impacted by many things – from training and resources to demographic. But ultimately it is leadership skills that determine how fruitful our ministries can be. Leadership 101 is a manual designed to equip youth and kids workers with the tools they need not just to lead, but to lead well. Taking a holistic look at leadership, Tim Alford, national director of Limitless, explores the principles of self-leadership, culture and team building, vision and strategy and offers practical, experienced advice how to implement those principles in our Christian leadership. Thoroughly readable and entirely applicable, Leadership 101 is the perfect leadership book for childrens' and youth workers to refer to again and again as you lead your ministry into a brighter, more fruitful, future.
The Puritans called Baptists "the troublers of churches in all places" and hounded them out of Massachusetts Bay Colony. Four hundred years later, Baptists are the second-largest religious group in America, and their influence matches their numbers. They have built strong institutions, from megachurches to publishing houses to charities to mission organizations, and have firmly established themselves in the mainstream of American culture. Yet the historical legacy of outsider status lingers, and the inherently fractured nature of their faith makes Baptists ever wary of threats from within as well as without. In Baptists in America, Thomas S. Kidd and Barry Hankins explore the long-running tensions between church, state, and culture that Baptists have shaped and navigated. Despite the moment of unity that their early persecution provided, their history has been marked by internal battles and schisms that were microcosms of national events, from the conflict over slavery that divided North from South to the conservative revolution of the 1970s and 80s. Baptists have made an indelible impact on American religious and cultural history, from their early insistence that America should have no established church to their place in the modern-day culture wars, where they frequently advocate greater religious involvement in politics. Yet the more mainstream they have become, the more they have been pressured to conform to the mainstream, a paradox that defines--and is essential to understanding--the Baptist experience in America. Kidd and Hankins, both practicing Baptists, weave the threads of Baptist history alongside those of American history. Baptists in America is a remarkable story of how one religious denomination was transformed from persecuted minority into a leading actor on the national stage, with profound implications for American society and culture.
Since the 1972 publication of Dean M. Kelley's Why Conservative Churches Are Growing, discussion of the Protestant mainline has focused on the tradition's decline. Elesha J. Coffman's The Christian Century and the Rise of Mainline Protestantism tells a different story, using the lens of the influential periodical The Christian Century to examine the rise of the mainline to a position of cultural prominence in the first half of the twentieth century.
Arguing from Scripture and history, the author makes a compelling case that getting too close to any political or national ideology is disastrous for the church and harmful to society.
