The first in the all new Christian Cornerstone Series offers a comprehensive but concise tour of the crucial events and outstanding personalities that have marked the growth of the Christian church over the last 2,000 years. Renowned evangelical scholar Howard Vos summarizes the most up-to-date information and statistics available on worldwide Christianity.
Christianity's roots, distinctiveness, and cultural implicationsare highlighted in this multi-dimensional resource, providing anintroductory understanding of the richness of the faith andchurch.
Dallas Seminary Professors Make Basic Theology Accessible for All Theology doesn't have to be complicated. In this book, trusted Dallas Seminary professors present a concise systematic theology that distills the essential spiritual truths in a way that makes sense to readers--students, lay people, and pastors. Here are introductions, overviews, and reviews of key tenets of orthodox protestant evangelical doctrines. The book also includes an annotated list of key applicable Bible texts, a quick-paced story of doctrine throughout church history, heresies or distortions to be aware of, and more. Exploring Christian Theology is useful for discipleship, catechism, membership training, preview or review of doctrine, or quick personal reference. It can also be used by ministry training programs, Bible colleges, or seminaries as an introductory primer to orient students in preparation for a more in-depth study of theology.
During the past twenty years the phenomenon of church growth--especially as it has been known under the dynamic leadership of Donald McGavran and the School of World Mission, Fuller Theological Seminary--has resulted in an impressive array of books, articles, reports, and theses. While freely acknowledging their debut to the church growth school, the contributors to this volume wish to explore further the premises, principles, and goals of church growth. Firmly convinced that church growth is more than empirical data and effective methods, and that there is nothing approaching a complete book of church growth, they aim not simply to offer definitive answers but rather to open up fresh lines of inquiry--historical, experiential, methodological, and theological. Thus, while interacting with previous studies, the authors view their work as a constructive contribution to the search for a more adequate understanding of church growth patterns. Contributors to this volume include Alfred C. Krass, Harvie M. Conn, Orlando E. Costas, John H. Yoder, Harry R. Boer, and C. RenŽ Padilla.
Church historians have long known and appreciated Christianity's global history. Until recently, however, introductory textbooks on the history of Christianity focused almost exclusively on Europe and North America. Robert Bruce Mullins's A Short World History of Christianity, by contrast, offers a panoramic picture of the history of Christianity in its Western and non-Western expressions. It tells the story of the early church in the Greek East as well as the Latin West; of Christianity's spread into Asia as well as Europe during the Middle Ages; and its explosion around the world during the modern period. Mullins's highly readable narrative explores why global perspectives have emerged so strongly in our understanding of the story of Christianity and how they have impacted Christianity's perspective on its place in the world. This newly revised edition adds information on such global phenomena as early Syriac-speaking Christianity; the growth of Pentecostalism around the world, especially in the southern hemisphere; and recent trends in Christianity, including the elevation of the first pope born in the Americas. A time line of key dates, call-out boxes, and other helpful study materials are also provided. Beginning students will appreciate this memorable introduction to the most important events in the history and development of Christianity.
