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In a fast-paced society that prizes utilitarian productivity, leisure and play can be difficult to enjoy without guilt. Rather than resist this cultural tide, the church often inadvertently baptizes such workaholism, spiritualizes the idolatry of productivity, and participates in the functional desecration of the physical creation that God declared "good." But leisure is not only fun; it is essential for our spiritual health. This issue of An Unexpected Journal explores the theological and philosophical foundations for the sacredness of play, along with lighter reflections on how various sports, hobbies, and leisure activities reveal the goodness and character of God. Contributors “The Cur...
For Generation Y, born after 1982, relationships happen over the Internet and music marks their territory. How does this generation think about the world? What does their spirituality look like? And what implications does this have for the Church? This book addresses the need for the Church to reconnect and communicate with young people.
Today's psychology with increasing openness to spirituality, multiple ways of knowing, cultural diversity, and community emphases and provides a promising context for studying Christian communities. And today's church with increasing reliance on technology and science, growing engagement with contemporary culture, and a willingness to elevate various Christian psychologists to a near-prophetic role may be more open to the influence of psychology than ever before. This book highlights exemplars who are blending the strengths of the church with the skills of psychology in applied settings to promote psychology and spiritual health. The volume is divided into five sections. The first section includes three survey and interview studies assessing psychologists' and clergy perspectives on collaboration. Each of remaining sections is comprised of three to six vignettes demonstrating how psychologists are working with the church, organised by congregation-based collaboration, clinically-focused collaboration, research-focused collaboration, and community-focused collaboration.
Addiction can take many forms and there can hardly be a minister, or a prison, college or schools’ chaplain who will not have encountered its damaging effects on individuals, their families and local communities. In the UK in 2014, there were 3,300 drug-related deaths and almost 9,000 alcohol related deaths. 70% of offenders admit to a drug problem before prison and drug use is a major problem throughout the prison system. Besides these, compulsive behaviours of all kinds damage personal and communal wellbeing. Clergy and pastoral workers are often in the front line caring for addicts and their families, usually without any professional training. This handbook from an experienced pastoral practitioner offers: - An exploration of the psychology of addiction - A theological perspective on desire - The nature of pastoral care with addicts - Practical models of pastoral care - Resources for professional care
A love letter to the sonic maelstrom that is noise rock, From Chaos to Ambiguity charts a path of exploration through a fertile but often ignored genre of music, tracing its history through roots in both punk and no wave, into the full fruition of noisy madness. This text puts these transgressive sounds into dialogue with various strains of subversive theology, inviting readers into borderland spaces where the brokenness of humanity can both be fully embraced and traversed into healing, liberation, and celebration.
Your church can thrive in this strange new world! Many church people and leaders feel like exiles in their own land. We are facing tremendous challenges. And, just as for those who came before us, the challenges are also opportunities. If we adapt to our new environment, as people and as the body of Christ. Gardens in the Desert offers local and denominational church leaders a practical, inspired, scripture-rooted vision for how we can do this—how we can become God’s church now for God’s intended future. Michael Adam Beck and Ken Carter draw from Jeremiah 29 to provide wise guidance for leaders and churches seeking to adapt and thrive. Jeremiah’s imperatives resonate deeply today, co...
"A fine collection of probing and imaginative discussions on the relation between the Incarnation and the arts." --Nicholas Wolterstorff, Yale Divinity School
Until now, Fresh Expressions has been about starting and sustaining mission initiatives among people with little or no church contact. As these projects mature, pastoral problems easily arise - how do you integrate the old with the new? How do you get an established congregation to change it views and practices? How do you cope with conflict? What if newcomers challenge set patterns of church behaviour rather than conform with them? The publication is structured for use for training in local churches, theological colleges and as a research tool in postgraduate study.
For many years Gordon Fee, one of today's foremost evangelical scholars, has been asked to bring his trusted biblical expertise together with his well-known passion for the gospel and the church. Listening to the Spirit in the Text is his answer. Gathered here are Fee's best studies and reflections on the art of attending to the biblical text critically yet with a deep spiritual sensitivity. These insightful chapters cover a wide range of contemporary topics, including the relationship between Bible study and spirituality, gender issues, worship, tongues speaking, church order and leadership, the believer and possessions, and the role of the gospel in our global society.
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