Is the language of mission clearly evident across the broad reaches of time? Or has the modern missionary enterprise distorted our view of the past? Michael Stroope investigates how the modern church has come to understand, speak of, and engage in the global expansion of Christianity, offering a hopeful way forward in this pressing conversation.
"Mission" has become, for many North American Christians, an ambiguous and often uncomfortable term. To many it brings to mind a past in which western culture was identified with the gospel in missionary practice and programs. Distressed with this history and uncertain about how to overcome it, many prefer to ignore the New Testament mandate that the church must be in mission if it is to be the church. Others swing the other way, declaring that everything the church does is mission, depriving the idea of mission of its power to define those specific actions of God which proclaim the gospel and build God's kingdom. "The church exists by missions, just as fire exists by burning." With these words of Emil Brunner, the author reminds us that to be the church is to be in mission. After describing the various "captivities of mission" which plague North American Christianity, the author argues for a robust and engaged practice of mission, beginning in congregations and extending to the broader community.
Churches and other organizations are launching mission trips with ever-increasing frequency. Don Richter describes how those on mission can become servant-guests who embody Christ's love. He provides a number of aids to support that process, including: spiritual practices, mission trip stories, key biblical passages, activity and reflection suggestions "for the journey". Mission Trips That Matter will inspire and guide groups to reflect on their life together as they prepare for, engage in, and interpret short-term mission trips and service projects. Book jacket.
Even as the global economy of the twenty-first century continues its dramatic and unpredictable transformations, the landscapes it leaves in its wake bear the indelible marks of their industrial past. Whether in the form of abandoned physical structures, displaced populations, or ecological impacts, they persist in memory and lived experience across the developed world. This collection explores the affective and “more-than-representational” dimensions of post-industrial landscapes, including narratives, practices, social formations, and other phenomena. Focusing on case studies from across Europe, it examines both the objective and the subjective aspects of societies that, increasingly, produce fewer things and employ fewer workers.
When Margie Hunter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1999, she embarked on a journey to find wellness. In Transcending MS, she describes a breakthrough and effective approach to reducing or eliminating MS symptoms through an application of both Eastern and Western medicine and techniques-steps she used to conquer the illness. A yoga practitioner, today Hunter is symptom-free and lives a higher quality of life than before her diagnosis. She shares what MS sufferers need to know to return to balanced health: - a simple, straightforward, self-care treatment plan; - comprehensive breathing, meditation, and stress management techniques for all levels; - detailed yoga postures to incorporate into daily life; - a nutritional and supplement guide to adjust the dietary lifestyle for the better; - recommendations Hunter used to overcome MS symptoms; and - a thirty-one-day process that supports the first month toward vibrant health.
Inspired by years of scholarly training and decades of solitary retreat, Tibetan monk Gen Lamrimpa offers a concise overview of all phases of the Kalachakra practice: the preliminaries, the initiation, and finally, the stages of generation and completion. With remarkable clarity, he makes the Six-Session Guruyoga practice accessible to all practitioners, and deepens our understanding and appreciation of this sublime teaching of the Buddha. Gen Lamrimpa begins this eminently practical explanation by emphasizing the importance of a compassionate motivation for spiritual practice. He then explores the nature of suffering and the cycle of existence that traps all living beings, and concludes with a detailed account of the Six-Phase Yoga, which is meant to be recited and contemplated three times during the day and three times at night. Alan Wallace's introduction illuminates both Kalachakra's rich history and Gen Lamrimpa's unique contribution to our understanding. This book provides a clear explanation of Kalachakra as set forth within the context of the Six-Session Guruyoga, a daily meditation practice for initiates. Transcending Time presents all phases of Kalachakra practice--the preliminaries, the initiation, and finally, the stages of generation and completion.
Newly updated and expanded by Christopher J. H. Wright, John Stott's classic book presents an enduring and holistic view of Christian mission that must encompass both evangelism and social action. Through a thorough biblical exploration, Stott provides a biblically based approach to mission that addresses both spiritual and physical needs.
James F. Engel and William A. Dyrness offer a sympathetic yet courageous analysis of the challenges that North American and other Western Christian missions face.
A leading expert in the field of Christian missions encourages the church to recover the apostolic imagination that fueled the multiplication of disciples in the first century. J. D. Payne examines the contemporary practice of Western missions and advocates a more central place for Scripture in defining missionary language, identity, purpose, function, and strategy. He shows that an apostolic understanding of the church's disciple-making commission requires rethinking every aspect of missionary engagement. The book includes end-of-chapter discussion questions and action steps to help pastors and church leaders develop an apostolic imagination.
When I became a Christian, I didn't have many Christian men to look up to. There were few who could show me what a council-estate Christian looked like.' Duncan Forbes Think of the thriving evangelical churches in your area, and the chances are that they will be in the nice areas of town and their leaders will be middle class. Unreached is about reaching deprived, urban, working-class areas, often estates or housing schemes. It offers us the combined experience of the Reaching the Unreached working group www.reachingtheunreached.org.uk, an informal network of Christian leaders from different parts of the UK. This book doesn't claim to offer the final word, but it presents us with a vision of what can be done. We pray that it will start a vital process in all our hearts and minds.