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Seeking to live a Christian life in this American society can often evoke a wide range of emotions, and the precipitation sometimes looks like poetry. Times of great joy as well as times of disappointment and great sorrow are excellent catalysts for a kind of poetry that speaks in real ways to real people. This project contains both joy and sorrow, in an attempt to express different aspects of the changing atmosphere of the religious experience in the twenty-first century. I believe poetry can speak simply to deeper theological ideas in a way that is both deeply beautiful and deeply true.At times theology can be a very inaccessible subject for the average layperson, but it can also have a certain simple beauty that anyone can appreciate. As I have read and learned about theology, I've always found that the most profound ideas can be written out logically in essays and books, or they can be stated in succinct but imaginative phrases. I write with the latter category in mind.Pages Called Holy has been written over the past three years as I live, work, and learn in a local church. Most of these poems have their inspiration in the struggles of church life and the disparity between what I see happening and what I see God calling the Church to be. It is this tension that brings life to the poetry I write, and it is my hope that these poems would speak to an audience of the countless numbers of believers across all generations who feel that same tension between what is and what could be.

Effective communication with the African society in the field of missions, church planting, and social development work has been and continues to be a great challenge, particularly to people from western cultural and language orientation. Africans are a ""we"" rather than ""I"" and a ""depended on"" rather than ""independent of"" society. The worldview of a traditional African in terms of society, relationships, and communication is communal. Certainly, the African perception of communalism affects how they communicate with the people of different cultural orientation.Africa has several cultures and people differ in their communication depending on their cultural orientation. However, there are universal African cultures that act as a framework for understanding key aspects of communication with Africans for successful missions, church planting, and social development work. This book, therefore, provides a strategy of understanding communication with the African society. The discussions in this book provide readers with different cultural orientations unique perception of the African society as s/he may be planning to communicate with the African society for missions, church planting, and social development work, even doing humanitarian ministry in African society.Although literacy levels have improved tremendously in most African countries, most of Africa is not a reading society. It is imperative to understand that most Africans still communicate orally and are not time conscious. Hence, effective communication in African societies ought to be based on storytelling rather than literature distribution, although this is in transition. In fact, Africans are oratory and good listeners. Thus, this book provides an understanding to people of different cultural orientations when they plan to communicate with the people in Africa.

From Death to Life examines what happens when people die. Have you ever wondered or are you curious about end of life moments? Is there actually a splitting of the body and soul at the time of death, or is there something else? What happens to the survivors after their loved one dies, and how are they comforted in their time of sorrow and grief? In this book the words of the Holy Bible, and others like Martin Luther, will speak to you, tell you the truth, and give you words of comfort, so that you too can have the sure and steadfast anchor of the soul.

At one time when an individual wanted a direct, personal experience of God that person turned to his or her dreams. The early third century Christian defender of the faith, Tertullian, observed, "Is it not known to all people that the dream is the most usual way that God reveals himself to man?" Yet by the eleventh century, King William II of England states, "They are not good Christians that regard dreams." Why did this reversal of opinion occur, not only in Christian thinking, but in Jewish and Islamic attitudes also? God and Dreams: Is There a Connection? traces the historic connection between God and dreams and examines why this shift happened. While particular attention is given to Jewish, Christian, and Islamic thought, several secular disciplines are discussed also. After investigating the different points of view, an argument is made that the connection between God and dreams still exists.

Alice was a raven-haired beauty who fell in love with easygoing James. They dated for about eight years, during which time they were monogamous, sexually intimate, and eventually lived together. They finally married in an elegant weekend celebration only to divorce before their second anniversary. What happened?How indeed can a couple date for so long, act married in most ways, and make such a terrible mistake? What Alice and James did not know was their hearts married long before their wedding day and that, in fact, was the problem. They are just one of many couples that you will meet in My Heart Got Married and I Didn't Know It. This nonfiction, self-help book introduces and names the concept of heart marriage as a relationship in which a couple becomes intimately bound in a profound way; yet they have not clearly or intentionally articulated the desire or commitment to be married. With today's relationship trends, this occurs often, and as a result couples are short-circuiting the natural developmental process of getting to know each other in a way that is critical in deciding whether the relationship is right for the long-term commitment of marriage. Because heart marriage occurs silently and unannounced, it is a perilous path that can lead to much unhappiness. My Heart Got Married and I Didn't Know It will help couples recognize if they are heart married, discern whether ending the relationship through a heart divorce is warranted, identify strategies to prevent heart marriage from occurring, and outline steps to transition from a heart marriage into a fulfilling, committed, and legal marriage.

John Wesley, founder of the Methodist Church, is one of the world's greatest religious figures. A practical rather than systematic theologian, he wrote and preached for the common man. He is well known as a man of one book (the Bible) but he read like no other during his time. We are left with fourteen volumes of his works and eight each of his letters and journals. His brother became the troubadour of Methodism, writing countless hymns. John also took classic Christian works and edited them for the common man to read. And if this were not enough, he preached thousands of times both indoors and out.In John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms', J. Robert Ewbank examines what Wesley thought about other religions. Did he think all religions were from God and therefore there was little difference between them, or did he think that there is uniqueness in Christianity? Was he concerned about other philosophies and thoughts about religion popular in his day? What did he think about Natural Man, the Indians, the Deists, the Jews, the Roman Catholics, and the Mystics? Were they also fine with him, or did he discuss the differences between them, revealing where he found them wrong?Furthermore, what did Wesley think about the possibility of salvation for all those who held to these other positions? Did he find that it is possible for them to be saved by a loving God, or have they stepped outside of the bounds, therefore requiring extreme difficulty to be saved?

Attention Online Instructors--this one is for you! Have you ever felt alone as an online instructor? Have you ever wondered why students email you with excuses about their late assignments and expect pardon? Have you ever doubted whether anyone understands the challenges you face with online students? Have you ever questioned your class setup or simply needed some direction? If your answers are an emphatic "yes," then this book is for you! Who Let this Disaster in My Classroom? provides you the long overdue answers to your questions as an online instructor. It provides skills, strength, and the gift of laughter as I chronicle my own experiences as an online instructor. This book will help you make it through your classes and reaffirm that you are not alone in cyberspace. It is a "must have" for online instructors, as it provides real-life examples and practical tips to help you through this innovative, wonderful, virtual platform called distance education.

Written in the high art style of prophetic witness, The Scroll of Anatiya reveals a new kind of biblical heroine who is fiercely passionate and sensual. In this first-person, honest, and vulnerable account of an orphaned, passion-driven disciple of Jeremiah--perhaps a prophetess in her own right--Anatiya reveals herself to be a rare window into an incredible world and a beautiful mind. Out of a century of war, wrath, starvation, and exile, Anatiya's epic love poem unleashes a timeless theology of love. In this unique work, the contemporary imagination of Rabbi Zoe Klein meshes seamlessly with the world of Jeremiah in an unforgettable story of passion, poetry, and love.

Idealistic farm girl Teresa can't wait to leave home, to escape the ugliness. College offers her a soft landing place, but her history and genetics haunt her. Later, propelled by shame and possibilities, she rides away on her motorcycle. But one cannot escape the wounds of the past, or the God of creation. A fighter, Teresa finds inspiration in a little known place--five thousand year old poetry known as the Psalms. Immerse yourself in Teresa's world; see the battles of the world unfold in her path. Can love overcome fear? Can hope overcome depression? How does one find hope? Is healing possible? This inspiring true story includes helpful sidebars containing how-to information and assurance. Here is a close-up of the Holy Spirit in action.P.S.I wrote this book for you. I don't know you, but I know suffering intimately.If this book helps you find what I've found, my suffering will have been worth it. You see, I never thought life could be good; joy possible; hope present; or that healing would be around the corner. I believed I might as well be dead. If people knew who I really was, they would despise me.Now, I am glad to be alive. I am more than a survivor. The journey has been worthwhile. For a quick glimpse of my life, go to www.newpathways.us.

The great burden of Al Baker's life, that which drives him in Christian ministry more than anything else, is to see the church of the Lord Jesus Christ rise up and become mighty as she has been so often in past years. One thing has become very clear to Baker--the western church is in big trouble. Many pastors are terribly discouraged in their ministries. So are their people. Pastors have been told that they can model their ministries after whoever the latest and hottest preacher is, and all will be well with them, that they can expect exponential growth in their churches. With few exceptions, this has not been their experience. They have attended the seminars and read the latest books, but they have little to show for their efforts. As a pastor, Baker is heartbroken over the vastness of people's problems in today's church--everything from incest, child molestation, homosexuality, pornography, severe depression, suicide, divorce, wayward children, adultery, fornication, and more. The pastoral problems are epidemic. The Christian faith in American churches is woefully lacking. Church people are generally no different from those of the world. What are we to do? We need revival. We need a revival culture in the western church. We need, like Israel laboring under Egyptian bondage, to become intolerable of our circumstances. Israel cried out to the Lord when their slavery became intolerable to them. May God move us to divine discontent, to be dissatisfied with the status quo!

What? Another dictionary? Or really an anthology, organized alphabetically by virtue of a particular conversation. The idea for this project emerged from a free-for-all conversation around breakfast one morning. We had invoked any number of authors living and dead, and had spanned spirituality, leadership, education, philosophy, ecclesiology, and even cosmology. We heard from Augustine and Barth, Jim Wallis and Dallas Willard, referencing chaos and culture. Someone had even shared an ancient koan!Why . . . that's it. Why not a roving, eclectic dictionary that is both ridiculously current and particular, and at the same time broadly inclusive, reaching back to Augustine and St. Benedict. Why not write the ABCs of the emerging and missional conversation: this is Wishful Thinking (Buechner) meets A for Abductive (McLaren and Sweet) meets Soul Survivor (Yancey). And maybe there is just a touch of Brian McLaren in A Generous Orthodoxy.The rules are simple: no more than five words per letter; names and personalities can occur on either side, attached to a definition or as referencing a word or concept, and while the overall interest is theological, the focus is life and mission, not theory.Leave your luggage behind, climb aboard and join a journey of exploration that will enrich, challenge, and bring a smile to your face.

For centuries Christians believed that God granted humanity dominion over the animal kingdom, meaning that we had a moral right to kill, manage, and eat animals including wildlife. Recently, however, environmental and animal rights activists have assaulted this traditional perspective. They argue that dominion as expressed in meat eating and hunting has resulted in species extinction and environmental degradation. Christian Animal Rights (CAR) activists suggest that the church must reevaluate its traditional beliefs in light of the fact that God's original creation was free of human on animal violence. God, they argue, did not want man's dominion to be expressed through trapping, killing, and eating of animals. These violent activities only came about after the Fall, as God condescended to our hardness of heart. CAR activists point to Christ's sacrificial work of reconciliation as a model for modern Christian behavior: as Christ sacrificed for us, we should avoid eating meat and hunting as ways we can participate in Christ's non-violent work of reconciling creation to himself. In this book, Stephen Vantassel investigates the biblical, ethical, and scientific arguments employed by the CAR movement concerning human-wildlife relations. In this regard, the book engages in practical theology by addressing several important questions: How should Christians treat our wildlife neighbors? Has the Church been wrong in its understanding of human dominion? Does God want Christians to avoid hunting, trapping, fishing, and adopt a vegetarian lifestyle? This book provides answers to these questions by detailing a theology the author calls, ""Shepherdism.""

The book is organized into three divisions, and as the title implies, there is a brief letter in the form of a New Testament epistle to the contemporary church, a portion of which begins each chapter. The first division reexamines the gifts and redemptive possibilities of anger and conflict. The barriers to healthy anger-conflict are considered and addressed. In the second, attention is given to conflicts surrounding the Bible. There is a chapter on conflict and reconciliation in the Bible, followed by suggestions on how people who read the Bible differently from each other can resolve some of those differences. Consideration is also given to discovering biblical priorities for the contemporary church. The third division offers "vistas of change and reconciliation." Parables of hope and promise are provided. Insights from the studies of persons and communities as well as ethics and theology are summarized. There is reflection on those unresolved conflicts that continue in spite of our best efforts. Then moral imagination is engaged to visualize the opportunities for a church that moves beyond its present stalemates.

A Time To Be Deborah is a study of the Biblical Book of Judges focusing on the account of the prophetess Deborah and the Israelite military general, Barak. It is a political and historical work that compares and contrasts today's American political scene with that of the Israelites, circa 1200 B.C., complete with pointed commentary and detailed statistics of the day.This book is a call to arms intended for contemporary Christian women supporting a need for education, activism, and a return to Christian values in our nation. Further, it is a plea for obedience to God's laws and commands coupled with a faithful desire for deliverance.This book reiterates a timeless warning that is as sobering in twenty-first century America as it was in twelfth century B.C. Israel. That warning may very easily herald the removal of God's hand from this land if historical lessons learned are not now applied. Do not consider entering the voting booth without assimilating this information and committing yourself to the prevention of the demise of this great land.

In Lost but Making Excellent Time, Jody Seymour reminds readers that the ways and pace of our fast-track world lead to a place where we discover that we are traveling at breakneck speed but that our spirits are being left behind. Seymour uses prose and poetry to reclaim the ancient cycle of the Christian year as a new way to slow down and discover who we really are. The Christian year becomes a kind of compass to be used so that travelers through our rat-race existence can become aware that we are really fashioned by a Master Hand not to be tourists but pilgrims. The words of this book can become a kind of ""pilgrim's guide"" to keep readers from being lost while making excellent time.

Description:Relationships in their comic and dramatic variety are at the core of this collection of what playwright Victor L. Cahn calls ""chamber plays."" All dramatize relationships between two people: sometimes to find love, sometimes to find self-assurance or power. All are also distinguished by an elegant wit and stylistic sophistication that makes these works literary as well as theatrical delights.Endorsements:About ROSES IN DECEMBER:""Cahn serves up something of a bona fide thriller along with the genuinely wise psychological insights that lie at the heart of ROSES IN DECEMBER, keeping us riveted until the final word has been read.""--nytheatre.comAbout BOTTOM OF THE NINTH:""This is a beautifully written and crafted miniature . . . Rarely have beer and peanuts been so well deserved."" --Clive Barnes, The New York PostAbout SHERLOCK SOLO:"". . . brilliantly acted, exceptionally written, and engages the intellect from start to finish."" --New Theater CorpsAbout the Contributor(s):Victor L. Cahn is Professor of English at Skidmore College. His scripts have been presented Off Broadway and throughout the Capital Region of New York. He has also the author of several books on Shakespeare, critical studies of Harold Pinter and Tom Stoppard, and the forthcoming memoir, Classroom Virtuoso: Recollections of a life in Learning.

When Paul came to Corinth he found a culture emerging from the ashes of Roman power. As Julius Caesar rebuilt the fallen city he brought Roman culture to this Greek community. Likewise, Paul's message of salvation in Jesus rebuilt the fallen lives of people dominated by a culture of power. This power was displayed in violence, discrimination, sexuality, and spirituality. As this city emerged from the ashes of humiliation the church emerged, by God's hand, from of the humiliation of Jesus and the cross.Today the church emerges in a culture of power, humiliation, and fear. Paul's challenge for the church is to be mature and practice unconditional love. This love is permanent. This love develops and empowers others. This love causes us to be in relationship with God and others. Through this love God's people see face to face. The church can emerge to radiate love, peace, and empowerment.

When he was asked to summarize his philosophy, Plato reportedly said: "Practice dying," which seems a rather strange, even morbid, comment until one realizes that every life consists of passages, some smooth and some not. Within these passages are what John Morgan calls "thin places." On a trip to Wales, Morgan discovered that the term "thin places" is part of Celtic culture. Thin places are those places where the eternal and the temporal touch, if only for a brief glimpse; where you know that life is more than just the obvious. Thin places can be of great beauty, where life's meaning breaks through by the ocean or in the mountains; but thin places can also arise in the life of every person, whether with the birth of a child or the death of a family member. John Morgan believes that being fully awake to such times and places holds a clue to living more deeply and with greater wisdom about what's really important. His poems express this understanding.

Trajectory of the Twenty-first Century explores what many prophets of the twentieth century, such as Oswald Spengler, Paul Tillich, Aldous Huxley, Jacques Ellul, and others, have predicted would transpire in the current century. Their vision included an out-of-control technological system and a return to religious sentiment that will ultimately undermine the system to which it is reacting.This book aims to accurately present their positions and draw certain logical conclusions from them that pertain to the course of history in our time. The book's theme argues that modernity is a secularized version of millennial Christianity, which reaches its fullest development in the twenty-first century and will regress into what Russian philosopher Nicholas Berdyaev called ""the new Middle Ages"" or a new religious period. This will mean the twilight of modern technological society, as its values of rationalism give way to a postrationalist society.Ironically, decline will come through further technological advance. Omnicide threatens through religious world war driven by transcendent values and modern weaponry. Jihadist thinking and posthumanist technology both establish the omnicidal mentatlity. New technologies such as genetic engineering and artificial intelligence created under millennial inspiration to reach for immortality could potentially bring an end to the human species either through a slow, steady obsolescence or through environmental catastrophe. The titanic forces of technological progress and regress are on a direct collision course in the twenty-first century.

This study looks at the formation of theology as it emerges out of biography. Indeed, the biography of the theologian is the key to unlocking the meaning of his or her writings, and a valuable tool for a thorough investigation of their work. There will be a focus on the biography of Karl Barth and how this relates to his theological writings. Attention will then be turned on a group of North American theologians to analyze how Barth's theology has influenced their personal experiences and corresponding theologies. The personal experience of the theologian provides the background to the theological judgments she or he makes, and therefore provides valuable insight into what she or he has written. Experiences in the theologian's life determine how she or he forms and communicates the ideas that the experiences have given rise to. Indeed, theologians profoundly connect with readers as they write theology as an expression of their experiences of faith. Therefore, this book contends that there is a necessary connection to be made between the theologian as a person and the theology that emerges out of her or his unique biography. Indeed, it will be argued that theology is born out of the lived encounters of the theologian that develop into the kind of personal convictions, passions, concerns, questions, and a motivation to connect with others that is evident in her or his writing. Consequently, theology and theologian are inseparable.

The shadow of eternity looms over the mind and heart of every reflective Christian. Amidst the constant demands, pressures, and uncertainties of the present world, how necessary it is that the one who knows Jesus Christ be focused on the eternal state and on preparation for that certain future? And yet, how difficult it is to compile all that Scripture says about heaven into a harmonious blend with the ethical and spiritual preparation necessary for the best enjoyment of that great hope.In I to I, Louis Igou Hodges envisions a future context to draw together the various strands of biblical teaching regarding eternity. As he describes heaven from the perspective of a settled, glorified inhabitant, he places himself at the same point where every person will most certainly be one day. This glorified inhabitant describes the experiences of seeing prophecy fulfilled, enduring the Judgment Seat of Christ, and adjusting to life in the new heavens and the new earth.A careful and reflective reading of this book ought to produce a paradigm shift in one's thinking, and should produce a transformation of the reader's values and goals. It ought to motivate the faithful reader to begin to lay up treasures in heaven, to use earthly resources to heavenly advantage, and to walk in such a way that he will hear His Master's, ""Well done, good and faithful servant.""

Ten-year-old Gertie Larson shares three of her most exciting real-life adventures experienced in her hometown of Richfield, Utah, in the early 1900s. In her first adventure, her disappointment at not having a birthday party is unexpectedly overcome when she, her two sisters, her best friend, and a mentally handicapped youth she befriends are given a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ride Jumbo the elephant in the circus parade! In her second adventure, a little Ute Indian girl, a ""What I Have to Be Thankful For"" essay contest, and a spooky encounter in an abandoned mine with ""the thing,"" move her story along to the third and final adventure. Gertie's third adventure climaxes her two previous ones and includes a community birthday parade for an unlikely birthday celebrant; Gertie's being the ""volunteer"" in a demonstration of the pain-relieving properties of a new drug, Novocain; and a surprise wedding. Woven throughout Gertie's adventures are lessons of faith, love, and family unity. How these lessons affect Gertie, her family, and her friends make Gertie's Real-Life Adventures joyful reading.

In this book Donovan Roebert provides a path for Christians and Buddhists who wish to better understand the essential, living tenets of their own faith while exploring how these two great religious paths can provide insights of real benefit to adherents of either. Without lapsing into syncretism or demanding a departure from orthodoxy, this book provides a sound and thorough basis on which Christians and Buddhists - and all those seeking greater insight into faiths other than their own - can explore the rich possibilities for learning from one another. Beyond describing in detail the doctrines and practices of Christianity and Buddhism, this book describes the authentic human path of religious development with a strong focus on the problem of 'self' or 'ego' in spiritual growth, discussing obstacles to growth and exploring their remedies. Brief histories of both religions are provided, enabling the reader to understand how diversity is an inevitable consequence of historical development and, rather than standing as a problem in religious dialogue, is always a means to spiritual enrichment.The Gospel for Buddhists and the Dharma for Christians is the fruit of a personal spiritual journey of thirty years. It demonstrates that the search for religious freedom becomes richer and more rewarding when a spacious mind engages with, rather then flees from, religious paths outside of its own tradition. Finally, it is a plea for sincere friendship across factitious religious divides.

In his Gospel, John presented Jesus as the Son of God by painting portraits, pictures, of him. The author of this volume displays twenty-nine of these portraits for us to look at and even study. The reader who observes these portraits carefully will come to know the Lord Jesus Christ in new and deeper ways. After each portrait is examined, there are applications for daily living and simple study questions drawn from the portrait. This book is all about Jesus the Living Word set forth in the Written Word and is intended for individual and group use.

A basic question in philosophy is, ""how do we know what we think we know? Constructivists answer this question as follows: categories for constructing reality reside in the human mind, so reality cannot escape the mind's limitations. Human beings constantly assimilate new knowledge and experience.Constructivists apply the same logic to the question of truth. What we claim to be true is always provisional. New information and breakthroughs may supplant what we presently hold to be true. Ultimate or absolute truth is unknowable.In The Flipside of Godspeak, John Crosby applies the principles of philosophical and theological constructivism to theistic belief. The idea of God is a constructed idea.We come to think that we know there is a God because we have internalized stories, images, and historical accounts passed on to us by people with authority.In these pages, however, and without reference to an authoritarian deity, Crosby considers questions of ethics and morality. An ethic of eudaemonism or ""well-being is posited to be based on the principles of equality, honesty, and responsibility to self and others. Implications of the meaning and purpose of human existence are considered from the existential perspective, that is, from the viewpoint that we oursleves invent, create, and construct meaning.

The author would take his readers on a ride from the Self-Revelation of the I-AM that the Lord God is with Moses, through King David, to the I-AM of the Messiah of Israel and of the Incarnation, and to the I-AM of the Dogma of the Church as the People of God. It is argued that the Grace and Truth of the Lord God cannot rightly be grasped in all of their depth in the world without becoming able to integrate both the continuity and the discontinuities of this Revelation with us, even in our own times.

DIVINE DISCLOSUREBy Robert Paul RothTable of Contents1. Sounds and Silence, Colors, Touch, and Fragrance2. The Sinking Sadness of Death3. Power and Pain4. Time For, Place Where5. And Gladly Wolde He Lerne and Gladly Teche6. Paradox and Contradiction7. A Water Droplet Yearning8. Two Loves9. God Calling Yet10. Ad Futurum et Mysterium