Denominational Concerns
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Roots Of Reform
$65.00Add to cartVolume 1 of The Annotated Luther series contains writings that defined the roots of reform set in motion by Martin Luther, beginning with the Ninety-Five Theses (1517) through The Freedom of a Christian (1520). Included are treatises, letters, and sermons written from 1517 to 1520, which set the framework for key themes in all of Luthers later works. Also included are documents that reveal Luthers earliest confrontations with Rome and his defense of views and perspectives that led to his excommunication by Leo X in 1520.
These documents display a Luther grounded in late medieval theology and its peculiar issues, trained in the latest humanist methods of the Renaissance, and, most especially, showing sensitivity toward the pastoral consequences of theological positions and church practice.
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Compelling Convictions : Finding Our Future In A Modern World
$35.99Add to cartA fresh look at our core values
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In the twenty years since a group of Brethren in Christ pastors, educators, administrators, and laypeople first met to identify ten core values for the North American church, much has changed–including the continuing decline of the church in the west; dynamic social movements for racial, gender, and economic justice; vast advances in technology, and a worldwide pandemic.With so much happening on both the national and international stages, it seems vital that we as Brethren in Christ prayerfully reflect not only on our core values and their application, but on how those values might help our churches engage a dramatically new social context. Are these values merely sentimental slogans? Or do they constitute compelling convictions, genuine guiding lights orienting us and motivating our mission in a rapidly changing world? The answer to that all-important question depends largely on how we use them. In this forward-looking book, essays from Brethren in Christ pastors and leaders from across the globe call us into the future of the church–to unleash our creative energies, roll up our sleeves, and put these core values to good use.
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Radicals And Reformers
$34.99Add to cartWith Bibles and baptism, a movement was born.
From renegade gatherings of Christian believers in the 1500s to a global communion of more than 2.1 million members, the Anabaptist-Mennonite movement has been marked by faithfulness and failure, continuity and conflict, radicalism and reformation. In this engaging history, Radicals and Reformers traces the origins and development of the Anabaptist and Mennonite movements from their beginnings in Europe through their spread across the globe.
In this new authoritative introduction to Anabaptist history, historian Troy Osborne reflects on the ways that Anabaptists have defined their identity in new settings and in response to new theological, intellectual, geographic, and political contexts. Drawing from current scholarship and a range of written and visual sources, this book provides an overview of how Mennonites from Zurich to Zimbabwe have adapted to or resisted the world around them.
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Compelling Convictions : Finding Our Future In A Modern World
$19.99Add to cartA fresh look at our core values
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In the twenty years since a group of Brethren in Christ pastors, educators, administrators, and laypeople first met to identify ten core values for the North American church, much has changed–including the continuing decline of the church in the west; dynamic social movements for racial, gender, and economic justice; vast advances in technology, and a worldwide pandemic.With so much happening on both the national and international stages, it seems vital that we as Brethren in Christ prayerfully reflect not only on our core values and their application, but on how those values might help our churches engage a dramatically new social context. Are these values merely sentimental slogans? Or do they constitute compelling convictions, genuine guiding lights orienting us and motivating our mission in a rapidly changing world? The answer to that all-important question depends largely on how we use them. In this forward-looking book, essays from Brethren in Christ pastors and leaders from across the globe call us into the future of the church–to unleash our creative energies, roll up our sleeves, and put these core values to good use.
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Who We Are And What We Believe Companion Reader
$12.99Add to cartClear answers to common questions.
This small, simple, and shareable book about The United Methodist Church is a helpful reference guide to everything that makes The UMC distinctive. Written in a clear, accessible style by Laceye Warner, Who We Are and What We Believe: 50 Questions about the UMC contains answers to fifty common questions about who United Methodists are, what we believe and practice, and what sets us apart. Use it alone or as a companion to Knowing Who We Are: The Wesleyan Way of Grace.
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Knowing Who We Are
$18.99Add to cartDiscover what sets United Methodism apart.
In this book, Laceye C. Warner invites you to a richer understanding of Wesleyan Christianity so you can have a clear sense of identity, better express your own beliefs, and deepen your connection with The United Methodist Church. She introduces you to important values and characteristics that make the Wesleyan way distinctive, including emphasizing God’s grace for all and sanctification as tangible transformation in your life, your community, and all creation. You’ll see how The United Methodist Church today is deeply rooted in the Christian tradition and a legacy of care, compassion, and active response to injustice in the world. And you’ll find that Christian faith in the Wesleyan tradition holds together personal faith and community life, along with a commitment to justice through ministry and service. Pick up this book and study it with your small group and discover a way of being Christian that fills you with joy, moves you to follow Jesus wholeheartedly, and spurs you to live with compassion and grace. The book can be read alone or used by small groups anytime throughout the year. Components include video teaching sessions featuring Laceye Warner and a comprehensive Leader Guide, making this perfect as a six-week group study. A companion book, Who We Are and What We Believe: 50 Questions about The UMC, is also available.
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New Anabaptists : Practices For Emerging Communities
$18.99Add to cartWhat does it look like to be an Anabaptist community in the modern world? And why does it matter?
A new incarnation of Anabaptism is emerging, but not where we might expect. In the United Kingdom–a post-Christendom context with little historical Anabaptist presence–Christian communities are embodying fresh expressions of Anabaptist faith and practice. In this companion to The Naked Anabaptist, author Stuart Murray identifies twelve common practices of such churches and communities that are shaped by an Anabaptist vision.
Murray explores how these practices–which include encouraging economic radicalism in the face of rampant consumerism, truth-telling in a “post-truth” society, and accountability in an individualistic culture that knows little about the Christian story–might shape emerging Christian communities and inspire those seeking fresh expressions as cultural changes accelerate. The book concludes with three on-the-ground reports from ministry leaders pursuing this Anabaptist vision in their own post-Christendom contexts.
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The New Anabaptists provides foundational resources for followers of Jesus in many different settings as they rise to the challenge of faithful and radical discipleship in local communities. -
New Anabaptists: Practices For Emerging Communities
$35.99Add to cartWhat does it look like to be an Anabaptist community in the modern world? And why does it matter?
A new incarnation of Anabaptism is emerging, but not where we might expect. In the United Kingdom–a post-Christendom context with little historical Anabaptist presence–Christian communities are embodying fresh expressions of Anabaptist faith and practice. In this companion to The Naked Anabaptist, author Stuart Murray identifies twelve common practices of such churches and communities that are shaped by an Anabaptist vision.
Murray explores how these practices–which include encouraging economic radicalism in the face of rampant consumerism, truth-telling in a “post-truth” society, and accountability in an individualistic culture that knows little about the Christian story–might shape emerging Christian communities and inspire those seeking fresh expressions as cultural changes accelerate. The book concludes with three on-the-ground reports from ministry leaders pursuing this Anabaptist vision in their own post-Christendom contexts.
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The New Anabaptists provides foundational resources for followers of Jesus in many different settings as they rise to the challenge of faithful and radical discipleship in local communities. -
Upward : Wesleyan Formation In Three Movements
$19.99Add to cartA guide for new and longtime United Methodists. This book thorougly and methodically walks the reader through the distinctives of the Wesleyan way–the theology, practices, habits, and attitudes that characterize Methodist people. It is a book of both instruction and celebration, offering the equivalent of a course on Wesleyan living and a beautiful reminder of the ways that life is most gracious and lovely. Features:
–Clear framework with small segments; easy for readers to follow
–Practical Methodist theology for today, for real people
–The content can easily be adapted for different formats, such as articles, single chapters, and key points for Ministry Matters Exchange
Benefits:
–Helps readers correct misconceptions about Wesleyan theology-their own and those in their congregations
–Helps readers clarify and reclaim Wesleyan theology-or to learn it for the first time
–Gives readers the vocabulary and a helpful new framework for sharing Wesleyan theology with others
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Methodist Book Of Daily Prayer
$21.99Add to cartDaily payer the Wesleyan way.
Prayer is a spiritual practice, and daily prayer uses the repetition of forms and words to cultivate a deep, meaningful ritual, drawing the individual into an ever-closer relationship with God. This book is organized by liturgical season, but is undated, so the individual is free to begin using it at any point during the year. The book is concise and easy to use and includes the words of scripture and other necessary text. It is a simple, frictionless tool for spiritual health.
The Methodist Book of Daily Prayer provides complete texts for Morning Prayers and Evening Prayers, with a new set of texts for each week of the year. Each week is anchored in its liturgical season: Advent, Christmastide, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Eastertide, Pentecost, Sow & Rest (Ordinary Time), and Harvest & Create (Ordinary Time).
Each set of prayers centers on a scripture passage, with an emphasis on the Psalms. The prayers draw from familiar historic, classic, and ancient Christian texts, and from Methodism’s rich hymnody. They also feature fresh, original words from new writers. This book facilitates deep daily connection with God–a method for spiritual sustenance.
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Silenced : The Forgotten Story Of Progressive Era Free Methodist Women
$100.00Add to cartSilenced: The Forgotten Story of Progressive Era Free Methodist Women explores gender debates within the Free Methodist Church of North America from 1890-1920. This interdisciplinary work reconstructs the lives of women who served as Free Methodist evangelists and deacons, illustrating their struggle for recognition and acceptance.
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Multiplying Love : Vision Of United Methodist Life Together
$14.99Add to cartA Vision of United Methodist Life Together.
Our world needs love during these desperate days of radical polarization and division. Our United Methodist churches yearn to embrace love more completely because God first loved us. Our “faith” (including doctrine) is important; Christian “hope” (including renewal) is important; “love” of God and neighbor is more important. Multiplying Love underscores what matters most and stands in contrast to divisive misreadings of essential Methodist teachings. Chilcote helps us embrace anew the Wesleyan vision of love of Jesus as central to what we believe and how we live.
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Being United Methodist Christians
$16.99Add to cartLearn what it means to be a United Methodist Christian.
How may we describe United Methodists? Where do we come from? What do we believe? How do United Methodists act? What are our distinctive characteristics? What is required to be a member of our denomination? How do we grow as disciples of Jesus Christ within this great communion?
In this resource, we offer answers to these questions and others in broad strokes as we describe our United Methodist Church. We will introduce you to how United Methodists live and think as followers of Jesus Christ.
The United Methodist Church possesses the characteristics of many other Christian traditions but has its own distinctive profile. Our denomination combines knowledge and vital piety, believing that serious theological reflection and spiritual practices are both part of the Christian life. United Methodists link personal and social holiness, expecting high personal integrity and deep concern for social justice. We are both evangelical and sacramental, showing concern for people who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and honoring the transforming power of Baptism and Holy Communion. We welcome people with many different theological perspectives. Finally, United Methodists are both local and connectional, expressing our faith in local congregations, regional associations, and global missions, so that we might do more together than any of us could do separately.
This book will help readers:
* hear and claim for themselves the story of God’s love, God’s redemption, and God’s ongoing presence and power through Jesus Christ.
* explore and claim for themselves the unique beliefs and emphases of United Methodist Christians.
* identify ways to live day by day as United Methodist Christians as individuals and in community with other Christians.
We invite you to claim for yourself the continuing story of God’s mighty acts of creation, redemption, and power through Jesus Christ within our great denomination. As you begin or continue to see yourself within this living, dynamic part of the universal body of Jesus Christ, we invite you to live, be, and grow as a United Methodist Christian.
The book includes Small-Group Study and Leader Helps at the end of each chapter, including questions.
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Works Of John Wesley 28
$77.99Add to cartThe correspondence presented in this fourth volume of Wesley’s letters casts light on the growth of his movement, documenting (for example) the emergence of connexion-wide financial campaigns and continuing debates over the desire of lay preachers for ordination. It covers the decisive split between the Wesleyan and Calvinist wings of Methodism, including the ways in which Charles Wesley drew closer to his brother through these developments. The volume includes over 100 items not found in previous editions of Wesley’s letters. All Works of John Wesley volumes are designed to keep the pages clean and in place for years to come., with casebound non-cloth hardcover, dust jacket, and secure adhesive binding.
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American Methodism Revised And Updated (Revised)
$39.99Add to cartThe essential guide to American Methodism revised and updated through 2020.
Four of Methodism’s most respected teachers give us a vivid picture of 260 years of Methodist experience in America. The revised edition updates the Methodist movement’s story through 2020, including the social, political, economic, technological, and global disruptions that cause faith communities and denominations to pull apart.
American Methodism Revised and Updated begins with the explosion of evangelical Pietism and revolutionary Methodism, the First Great Awakening, as an independent nation was formed.
It then highlights key 19th century themes and Methodist contributions, such as spreading scriptural holiness through missions and literature, planting tens of thousands of Sunday schools and churches by Circuit Riders, the pivotal Methodist schism between abolitionists and enslavers, the innovative building of schools and hospitals into the next century, and the revivalism of the Second Great Awakening.
Finally it explores the movements of 20th century Methodism, including the expansion of home and foreign missions, the Methodist drive for Prohibition, the decision for nationwide reunification on the cusp of World War II, reunification with the United Brethren during the Vietnam War, the Methodist ordination of women during the 1950s, Black Methodist leadership in the 1960s Civil Rights movement, and the liturgical renewal or reformation of worship (ancient and future).
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Shaped By Worship
$10.95Add to cartThe newest book in the Little Books on Liturgy series, focused on the intersection of liturgy and formation.
Juan Oliver, Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer, outlines why rituals and liturgy have great meaning in forming individuals and communities. His work is focused on topics such as the sacraments, worship, mystery and the sacred.
Ideal for group or individual study in churches, seminaries, and schools of ministry.
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Dont Look Back
$18.99Add to cartHope and help for pastors and congregations who are asking, What now? And What’s next?
Some pastors and congregations have managed remarkable innovation, creation of new ministries, courageous pruning of old programs, and rediscovery of core Wesleyan convictions in recent years. Others have experienced a long, slow-motion, downward cycle of loss.
We might be tempted to ‘sit down’ wherever we are, looking back at all that’s happened, shaking our heads in disbelief. But it’s time to stand up, to move forward. Will Willimon shows what that could look like. He spent a year committed to asking questions and careful listening in conversations with clergy, organizational leaders, and parishioners across the U.S. What’s next for Methodist church folk?
As you read, join in the process of asking and listening. The honesty, wisdom, and inspiration you find here may point you in new directions. What do you think God is up to in the present moment? What should we stop doing and begin doing, responding to God’s call now? What are the biblical texts, stories from our past, and core Wesleyan convictions that might guide us from this point?
And are we at Good Friday or at Easter?
As Willimon writes in his Introduction, “Let’s have a decent burial for yesterday’s good intentions and then partner with the Holy Spirit in creating tomorrow’s church.” This is a book to read and reflect on with colleagues, congregants, and Methodist friends.
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What Kind Of Christianity
$30.00Add to cartLike most Americans, Presbyterians in the United States know woefully little about the history of slavery and the rise of anti-Black racism in our country. Most think of slavery as a tragedy that “just happened” without considering how it happened and who was involved. In What Kind of Christianity William Yoo paints an accurate picture of the complicity of the majority of Presbyterians in promoting, supporting, or willfully ignoring the enslavement of other human beings. Most Presbyterians knew of the widespread physical and sexual violence that enslavers visited on the enslaved, and either approved of it or did nothing to prevent it. Most Presbyterians in the nineteenth century-whether in the South or the North–held racist attitudes toward African Americans and put those attitudes into daily application. In short, during that period when the Presbyterian church was establishing itself as a central part of American life most of its members were promoting slavery and anti-Black racism. In this important book William Yoo demonstrates that to understand how Presbyterian Christians can promote racial justice today, they must first understand and acknowledge how deeply racial injustice is embedded in their history and identity as a denomination.
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Presbyterian Polity For Church Leaders Updated Fourth Edition
$28.00Add to cartNewly updated for the revised Directory for Worship.
This detailed, comprehensive interpretation of the Presbyterian Book of Order is the most complete resource of its kind. Joan S. Gray updated this best-selling book to include the revised Directory for Worship. It explains the system of Presbyterian government, from sessions to presbyteries to synods to the General Assembly itself.
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Amidst Us Our Bleoved Stands
$24.99Add to cartWhen it comes to baptism and the Lord’s Supper, many Baptists reject the language of sacrament. As a people of the book, the logic goes, Baptists must not let tradition supersede the Bible. So Baptists tend to view baptism and Communion as ordinances and symbols, not sacraments.
But the history of Baptists and the sacraments is complicated. In Amidst Us Our Beloved Stands, Michael A. G. Haykin argues that earlier Baptists, such as Charles Spurgeon, stood closer to Reformed sacramental thought than most Baptists today do. More than mere memorials, baptism and Communion have spiritual implications that were celebrated by Baptists of the past. Haykin calls for a renewal of sacramental life in churches today-Baptists can and should be sacramental.
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5 Means Of Grace
$10.99Add to cartWesley showed us ways to reorder our lives through the “means of grace.” Recharge. Reboot. Reorder. Whatever you want to call it, we need a process that helps us continuously renew our relationship with God so that we don’t drift away from our faith. Based on The Wesley Covenant for Renewal, Five Means of Grace is a six-week, video-based study that will show you how to reorder your life through prayer, searching Scripture, receiving the Lord’s Supper, fasting, and conferencing (worshiping together). You’ll learn how to recognize and affirm the outward signs, words, and actions of an invisible divine grace, deepening your relationship with God and making your faith more complete. A Leader Guide and DVD are also available.
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Presbyterian Ruling Elder Updated Edition
$18.00Add to cartThis valuable resource on the role of the Presbyterian elder covers many basic topics. It examines the Presbyterian and Reformed understanding of the Christian faith as well as the qualifications for the office of elder, its importance for the church, and the functions of the office.
?It discusses the role of the elders in the session and in the presbytery and their relationships to pastors and to the whole church.
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5 Marks Of A Methodist
$10.99Add to cartFive clear practices for anyone who identifies as a Christian.Five marks confirm our identity as genuine and fruitful followers of Christ:
1. A Methodist Loves God
2. A Methodist Rejoices in God
3. A Methodist Gives Thanks
4. A Methodist Prays Constantly
5. A Methodist Loves OthersThis brief book, suitable for sharing with others, provides a meditation on each of these characteristics. Prayerfully apply them to your journey with Jesus. If you are part of the worldwide Methodist or Wesleyan family, these five marks will grant a greater knowledge and appreciation for why and how you follow Jesus. If you are located in another part of the body of Christ, you can emerge with a solid foundation to keep your spiritual house standing strong. Christians marked by these five habits, when taken together have character.
Each chapter ends with questions for reflection or discussion.
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Abide In Peace
$10.95Add to cartIn a world and nation marked by suffering and division, Marcus Halley invites readers to explore rituals of healing and reconciliation in parish practice.
How is Christian community fostered when healing and reconciliation are prayerfully and actively sought? How do the ancient rituals of healing practiced among us today form a community committed to the Way of Love, the Way of Healing? And how does such practice lead the Christian community to seek peace?
The basics of Episcopal and Anglican worship in North America are explored in this Little Books series, which invites parishioners and newcomers to consider both the beauty of worship and Episcopal ethical commitments.
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This Band Of Sisterhood
$14.95Add to cartGet to know the first five Black women to be elected diocesan bishops within the Episcopal Church.
During this moment, with the #metoo movement, Black Lives Matter, and the increased feelings of division in our country, Black women clergy in the Episcopal Church have voiced a need to come together, believing that their experiences and concerns may be very different than those of other clergy. That need is answered here in This Band of Sisterhood.
The five Black women bishops featured in this book can provide a compass for how to journey along these new paths. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Carlye J. Hughes, Kimberly Lucas, Shannon MacVean-Brown, and Phoebe A. Roaf offer honest, vulnerable wisdom from their own lives that speaks to this time in American life.Both women and men will find this book invaluable in discerning how God might be calling them to use their own leadership skills.
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Contours Of The Kuyperian Tradition
$35.99Add to cartAbraham Kuyper was, by any standard, one of the most extraordinary figures in modern Christian history. He was a Dutch Reformed minister, a gifted theologian, a prolific journalist, the leader of a political party, the cofounder of the Free University of Amsterdam (where he was professor of theology), a member of the Dutch Parliament, and eventually prime minister of the Netherlands.
Kuyper’s remarkable legacy lives on today in the tradition of Dutch Calvinism that he developed. As his writings become more widely available, this tradition continues to find new adherents attracted by his comprehensive vision of Christian faith. But what defines the Kuyperian tradition?
Renowned South African theologian and philosopher Craig Bartholomew has written the first systematic introduction to this tradition. Drawing on Kuyper’s entire corpus, Bartholomew has identified the key themes and ideas that define this tradition, including worldview, sphere sovereignty, creation and redemption, the public square, and mission. He also goes beyond Kuyper to show how later thinkers developed these ideas. They include, among others, Herman Bavinck, J. H. Bavinck, Gerrit C. Berkouwer, and Herman Dooyeweerd.
Widely known but little read, Kuyper is now receiving the global recognition that his fertile and influential thought deserves. Contours of the Kuyperian Tradition is an indispensable guide to one of the most significant schools of thought in the modern age.
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What Is Gods Mission In The World And How Do We Join It
$12.99Add to cartWhat does God’s mission look like? Who is supposed to carry it out–and how?
Juan F. Martinez and Jamie Pitts lead us on an inquiry into God’s mission in the world: what it is, what it is not, and who is invited to be part of it. If Jesus is truly God’s mission incarnate, we need to look at what Jesus did and how he did it. Martinez helps readers understand what mission means, why Christians in the past have made missteps, and how we can learn from Christian communities that are spreading the good news of Jesus today. Doing mission in the way of Jesus may look different from what many assume, but it is a call that the church cannot afford to miss.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
*Accessible Jesus-centered theology from an Anabaptist perspective
*Designed for use by individual readers, small groups, and Christian education classes
*Glossary of terms and discussion and reflection questions in each volume -
Anglicanism : A Reformed Catholic Tradition
$23.99Add to cartWhat is Anglicanism? There are many associations that come to mind. Whether it is the buildings, the unique history, the prayers, or church government, often we emphasize one aspect against others. Is the Anglican church a Protestant church with distinctive characteristics, or a Catholic Church no longer in communion with Rome? In Anglicanism: A Reformed Catholic Tradition, Gerald Bray argues that some theological trajectories are more faithful than others to the nature and history of the Church of England. Readers looking to understand the diversity, nature, and future of Anglicanism will be helped by Bray’s historical examination.
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Who Was Jesus And What Does It Mean To Follow Him
$12.99Add to cartWho was Jesus? And what does it mean to follow him?
Nancy Elizabeth Bedford helps us consider the identity and mission of Jesus of Nazareth. Learn about the incarnation, how Christians have understood Jesus to be both human and divine, and what his radical teachings and ministry can mean for us today. Find out how Christians through the centuries have understood who Jesus is and explore communal and individual practices for following him.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
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Daily Feast Meditations From Feasting On The Word Year B
$44.00Add to cartFeasting on the Word has quickly become the most popular lectionary commentary series in use today. This is the first in a new series of daily devotionals that draws from the wealth of writing in the commentaries to present inspirational reflections, responses, and prayers for each day of the lectionary year.
Each day of the week contains Scripture passages for the coming Sunday from the Revised Common Lectionary, excerpts from the commentaries for reflection, a response, and a prayer. Additional material is provided for each Sunday.
These handsome volumes will be packaged in a soft leather-like cover with rounded corners, a stamped cover, and a sewn-in ribbon to help you keep your place.
Feasting on the Word is a twelve-volume lectionary commentary series that presents brief essays on each of four perspectives–exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical–for each of the four Sunday readings. The series is edited by Barbara Brown Taylor and David L. Bartlett with a distinguished editorial board, and has been produced in partnership with Columbia Theological Seminary. For more information about the series and other related projects, visit FeastingontheWord.net.
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Im Black Im Christian Im Methodist
$16.99Add to cartTen personal narratives reveal the shared and distinct struggles of being Black in the Church, facing historic and modern racism.
It’s uncertain that Howard Thurman made the remark often attributed to him, “I have been writing this book all my life,” but there is little doubt that he was deeply immersed in reflection on the times that bear an uncanny resemblance to the present day, which give voice to the Black Lives Matter movement.
Our “life’s book” is filled with sentence upon sentence of marginalization, pages of apartheid, chapters of separate and unequal. Now this season reveals volumes of violence against Blacks in America.
Ten Black women and men explore life through the lens of compelling personal religious narratives. They are people and leaders whose lives are tangible demonstrations of the power of a divine purpose and evidence of what grace really means in face of hardship, disappointment, and determination. Each of the journeys intersect because of three central elements that are the focus of this book. We’re Black. We’re Christians. We’re Methodists. Each starts with the fact, “I’m Black,” but to resolve the conflict of being Christian and Methodist means confronting aspects of White theology, White supremacy, and White racism in order to ground an oppositional experience toward domination over four centuries in America.
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What Does Justice Look Like And Why Does God Care About It
$12.99Add to cartWhat does justice look like? And why does God care about it?
Colin and Judith McCartney take us on a bold exploration of justice through the lens of scripture and the life of Jesus. Find out how Christians across the centuries have understood and lived God’s call to justice. Discover communal and individual practices for living a life of justice in our time and place.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
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Who Are Our Enemies And How Do We Love Them
$12.99Add to cartWho are our enemies? And what would it mean to love them?
Hyung Jin Kim Sun leads us on an exploration of God’s call to love our enemies. What did Jesus demonstrate and teach about loving enemies? How is nonviolence connected to Christian faith and spirituality? Isn’t violence sometimes necessary? Does loving our enemies really work? What is the goal of enemy love and how can it be applied in our everyday lives? This book won’t answer every question about a Christian practice of nonviolence, but it will lead toward a deeper faith as we consider how to live with enemies in a violent world.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The
Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness. -
Where The People Go
$19.99Add to cartA barn raising. A quilting bee. A credit union. A socially responsible investment.
Where the People Go tells the story of Anabaptist-Mennonite efforts to enable communal forms of sharing. Mutual aid, stewardship, and generosity are deeply embedded in the Christian faith and have been actively nurtured among Anabaptist-Mennonite groups. Spontaneous forms of assistance–a barn raising, a quilting bee, shared meals–are the best-known expressions of such compassion and generosity, but the commitment to “sharing one another’s burdens” has also found expression in more formal structures.
Seventy-five years ago, Mennonite Mutual Aid emerged to organize the principle of sharing within a growing Mennonite denomination. A dynamic organization from the beginning, MMA moved quickly from a burial and survivor’s aid plan to include health, property, and automobile insurance. In coming decades, the organization shifted its focus from mutual aid to stewardship and generosity, symbolized by a growing emphasis on socially responsible investment programs, wholistic health, financial planning, and services associated with its member-owned credit union. Always an agency of the Mennonite church, MMA, now known as Everence, has balanced its spiritual commitments with an increasingly complex regulatory environment, the national strains associated with the health-care debate, the shifting sensibilities of its customers, and the organizational complexities of a major corporation.
This story of Everence captures the stresses and idealism of a church-related institution committed to mutual aid, stewardship, and generosity during its seventy-five-year history.
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They Also Serve
$29.99Add to cartWhen a bishop is elected-as is done in The United Methodist Church-it is not only the one elected who is asked to serve but his or her spouse and family as well. Hear the stories of the women and men whose commitment to service often meant leaving behind careers and lives of their own to embark on a life-changing journey revolved around the ministry of their spouse. Through hardships, celebrations, and everyday struggles, these spouses found their own paths of ministry, answering the calls that were also placed upon their lives.
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What Is The Trinity And Why Does It Matter
$12.99Add to cartHow is the one God also three persons? How is Jesus fully God and fully human? Who in the world should we pray to? And why does any of it matter?
Steve Dancause offers a succinct and profound investigation into how what we think about God as Trinity matters in our faith, our work, and our love. It matters because the walls of our churches are cracking around us. We can keep patching things up, but it is better to go to the foundation and do the hard digging. With the right foundation, the structure holds, and it stands the test of eternity. And it is only in Jesus, and the Trinity he reveals to us, that we build our lives on solid rock. Let’s dig down together.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
*Accessible Jesus-centered theology from an Anabaptist perspective
*Designed for use by individual readers, small groups, and Christian education classes
*Glossary of terms and discussion and reflection questions in each volume -
Why Do We Suffer And Where Is God When We Do
$12.99Add to cartThe Jesus Way series helps readers encounter big questions about the reign of God in the world. Concise and practical books deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Start small.
Cancer, hurricanes, hunger, suicide: suffering is the most profound challenge to faith that many people will face.
Valerie G. Rempel leads readers into a gentle meditation on the many questions surrounding why we suffer. How can God be all-loving and all-powerful? Why don’t prayers seem to work? Is pain always redemptive? And what do the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus reveal about suffering? We may not find answers to all our questions, but we can lean into the God big enough to absorb all of them.
The Jesus Way: Small Books of Radical Faith delve into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
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Welcome To The Church Of The Nazarene
$8.99Add to cartWelcome to the Church of the Nazarene is an engaging introduction to church membership, written in everyday language for the new Christian or for the Christian who is new to the Church of the Nazarene.
Readers will learn about:
The history of the Church of the Nazarene: of the church to the ministry of Phineas F. Bresee, a short but complete history of the Church of the Nazarene’s early days.
What Nazarenes believe: The Articles of Faith of the Church of the Nazarene and basic Christian doctrines from a Wesleyan perspective, explained in everyday language.
How the church is organized: From global to local, how the church is organized in leadership, finances, and ministry.
What it means to be a member of the Church of the Nazarene: Topics include growing as a Christian, tithing your income, serving in ministry, and sharing your faith.
How Nazarenes live as Christians: How Nazarenes respond to controversial social issues.
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What Is Evangelism
$10.95Add to cartAn engaging, entertaining, faithful and contagious Episcopal vision for sharing the Christian faith.
Taps into the Episcopal Church’s priorities and “The Way of Love ” Readers will find in this book a strong and uplifting argument that the Episcopal Church’s theology, sacramental ministry, and commitment to social justice have an essential role to play in mainline Christianity and in the public square. This book will help readers to understand that what it means to be an Episcopalian and how evangelism is a fruit of that identity, not a mere marketing strategy or an end in itself. This book is an approachable and inspiring presentation of the theological rationale and resource for sharing the faith as well as an argument that sharing the faith increases our own. It addresses basic questions that are buzzing in the church today and lays out a series of stories from faith communities across the Episcopal Church, both physical and digital ministries.
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Speaking Of God
$18.99Add to cartDo you ever think you’re forgetting how to talk about God? Or never learned how?
Theology is nothing more–and nothing less–than speaking together about God. Still, a lot of us don’t know where to start.In Speaking of God, pastor and theologian Anthony Siegrist helps readers recover a basic language around Christian theology. The sweeping epic of Scripture serves as the scaffold for this accessible book. In vivid and even humorous writing, Siegrist introduces us to scholars and pilgrims and traditions that disclose essential truths about God and Jesus Christ, as well as concepts like creation, sin, redemption, the church, and discipleship. By plumbing the works of theologians such as Augustine, Julian of Norwich, Antonia Gonzalez, and Kazoh Kitamori, Siegrist offers readers an introduction to Christian theology throughout the ages, emphasizing common threads of thought and practice across traditions.
Learning to talk about God requires courage and humility; this handbook of Christian theology will help you gain both. Join the deepest, longest conversation in the world.
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What Is The Bible And How Do We Understand It
$12.99Add to cartReading the Bible is one thing. Understanding how the Bible came to be and how it can guide our faith and life? That’s quite another.
Dennis R. Edwards offers a succinct and profound investigation of Scripture. By holding up Jesus as the interpretive key and inviting us to read the Bible with the marginalized, Edwards challenges us to a Christ-centered approach to hermeneutics. What does it mean to read the Bible with Jesus at the center? How does Scripture illuminate the work of God in the world? Edwards shines light on contemporary debates about the Bible and calls us to faithful, loving interpretations and applications of the Word of God.
The Jesus Way series delves into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
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Why Did Jesus Die And What Difference Does It Make
$12.99Add to cartWhy did Jesus die? And how does his death change us and our world? These questions stand at the center of our faith. But that doesn’t mean they are simple or straightforward.
Michele Hershberger helps us peer deeply into the meaning of the cross by sifting through Scripture and the life of Christ. Learn about theological concepts like sin, salvation, and atonement. Find out how Christians across the centuries have thought about Jesus’ death. Discover how Jesus’ life, crucifixion, and resurrection change everything.
The Jesus Way series delves into big questions about God’s work in the world. These concise, practical books are deeply rooted in Anabaptist theology. Crafted by a diverse community of internationally renowned scholars, pastors, and practitioners, The Jesus Way series helps readers deepen their faith in Christ and enliven their witness.
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Speaking Of God
$31.99Add to cartDo you ever think you’re forgetting how to talk about God? Or never learned how?
Theology is nothing more–and nothing less–than speaking together about God. Still, a lot of us don’t know where to start.
In Speaking of God, pastor and theologian Anthony Siegrist helps readers recover a basic language around Christian theology. The sweeping epic of Scripture serves as the scaffold for this accessible book. In vivid and even humorous writing, Siegrist introduces us to scholars and pilgrims and traditions that disclose essential truths about God and Jesus Christ, as well as concepts like creation, sin, redemption, the church, and discipleship. By plumbing the works of theologians such as Augustine, Julian of Norwich, Antonia Gonzalez, and Kazoh Kitamori, Siegrist offers readers an introduction to Christian theology throughout the ages, emphasizing common threads of thought and practice across traditions.
Learning to talk about God requires courage and humility; this handbook of Christian theology will help you gain both. Join the deepest, longest conversation in the world.
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Receiving Jesus : The Way Of Love
$17.95Add to cartPractical and inspiring ways to practice a Jesus-centered life
So often we think of the Christian faith as an obligation or as a set of beliefs that we must hold. With this outlook, we can lose sight of what is most important: the invitation to experience a loving, personal relationship with God. It’s a relationship we can trust, where we can find refuge and solid ground upon which to stand. The Way of Love set forth by the Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop Michael Bruce Curry is the journey of a lifetime. It’s a way of knowing God, receiving and sharing Jesus’ love, and being a blessing to the world. Mariann Edgar Budde shares her thoughts on how the reader can come to know–to receive–Jesus more deeply in practicing the Way of Love. Through the seven practices that have been put before us: to turn, to learn, to pray and to worship, to bless, to go, and to rest, she will share biblical stories, wisdom from the Christian tradition, and her own personal stories of spiritual growth.
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Skilfully Woven Knot
$27.99Add to cartThe noted preacher and spiritual writer Michael Mayne wrote extensively about Anglicanism’s distinctive theology and ethos, and how it could help the church speak to contemporary society.
This collection of his unpublished writings and lectures offers a vintage distillation of his wisdom and pastoral understanding that remains extraordinarily relevant. Michael Mayne’s wisdom calls the church back to its deepest spiritual identity and purpose, exploring:
-The nature of moderation and tolerance;
-The influence of daily prayer;
-What happens when Anglicans disagree;
-Unity in Christ despite diversity in practice;
-Learning from controversies. -
Planning For Rites And Rituals Year A 2019-2020
$39.95Add to cartAll-in-one liturgical season planner for worship
Advent 1 2019 through Christ the King Sunday 2020 Planning for Rites and Rituals is the indispensable companion for worship planning for the Episcopal Church, following the three-year Revised Common Lectionary cycle and the church calendar. Presiders and preachers, worship team leaders, musicians, Christian educators, sacristans, and altar guilds will find this to be the perfect resource, putting all the elements for planning worship and seasonal observances in one handy volume. SEASONAL HELPS for each season of the Christian year:
– Introductions and approaches to preparing liturgies for the season
– Ideas for creating an environment appropriate to the season
– Rites, blessings, prayers, and litanies for the season
– Pageants and festivals for notable days
– Seasonal checklist WEEKLY HELPS for every Sunday and feast day of the church year:
– Introductions to the day: overview, color, preface, collect
– Summary of the readings and psalm, including both lectionary tracks
– Inclusive intercessions for the Prayers of the People
-Ideas for the day for worship and formation
– Hymn suggestions for the day from The Hymnal 1982; Wonder, Love, and Praise; and Lift Every Voice and Sing II -
Essential Forde : Distinguishing Law And Gospel
$50.00Add to cartNo twentieth-century American understood Luther’s law-gospel distinction better than Gerhard O. Forde, who was professor of theology at Luther Theological Seminary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Because Forde kept this Lutheran distinction razor sharp, his theological writings are an essential inheritance for us today. This volume, The Essential Forde, aims to provide the essence of Forde’s writing centered upon Luther’s and Scripture’s essential distinction, that is, the distinction between law and gospel.
The editors of this volume have chosen some of the most definitive writings of the renowned Gerhad Forde, whose influence continues to grow. The list of works trace the contours of Forde’s theological argument. Organized around “Law and Gospel,” the selections start off with some historical background on that doctrinal locus, but for the most part express Forde’s own views of the law and the gospel, including death and resurrection, the bondage of the will, good works, preaching, and the sacraments. Besides these essential writings, the book will provide a definitive introduction by the editors, which includes a brief biography of Forde, an essay regarding his doctrinal interpretation, and a sketch of the Forde legacy. Also contained in the volume will be a comprehensive bibliography of all of Forde’s published works plus work published about him.
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Anglican Evangelists : Identifying And Training A New Generation
$22.99Add to cartFor twenty years, the Archbishops’ College of Evangelists has affirmed and supported Anglican evangelists. This book, marking the College’s twentieth anniversary relaunch, relaunches the College with a clear focus on identifying and training new evangelists. This book then, marks a significant transition. The thirteen authors work in a range of contexts and come from different traditions within the church. Their focus in this book, is less on the nature of evangelism, and more on the calling and gifting of the evangelist. In different ways they reflect on the questions: what is an evangelist? How should the church identify and affirm evangelists? How do we train evangelists? How do we enable evangelists to equip all God’s people to witness to the kingdom of God? The thirteen contributors are all practitioners, and this is reflected in their range of experience and writing styles. Some take a deeply biblical and theological approach. Others reflect on their personal journey and learning. Others offer practical insights and a helpful reframing of the initial questions. All of them are fervent in their plea to the church to recognise the unique calling and gifting of the evangelist and reflect on how this gift is received and passed on within the church.
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In Conversation 2
$19.95Add to cart* Second volume of the In Conversation series * Insights into the art of listening from former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and author Greg Garrett How is God speaking into our lives today? How do Christians discern what they’re being called to do? How do literature and culture intersect with the Scriptures and our tradition? And what might the work of the artist teach us about both spiritual practice and the vocational tasks of preaching and teaching? Be a fly on the wall and listen in as dear friends-one who happens to be the past Archbishop of Canterbury, the other, “one of the Episcopal Church’s most engaging evangelists” (Barbara Brown Taylor)-discuss their longtime passions and shared interests. In this new volume of the “In Conversation series,” Rowan Williams and Greg Garrett talk about friendship, the Church, the gift of great novels, the importance of Shakespeare, the art of writing poetry and fiction, the preaching event, engaging popular culture, the relationship between faith and politics, the practice of prayer, and the necessity of sacred community, modeling for us in the process both the vanishing art of conversation and an active engagement with faith, culture, and real life.
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Transforming Vestries
$25.95Add to cartDrawing on the resources of five other volumes in the series, “Transforming Vestries” creates a single source designed specifically for this governing body. The chapters will highlight the nature – and the needs – of vestry membership: stewardship, leadership, evangelism, discipleship, and vital congregational life.