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Incline Your Ear: Cultivating Spiritual Awakening in Congregations introduces faith communities and individuals to the centuries-old principles and practices of spiritual direction. Spiritual direction, as Chad R. Abbott and Teresa Blythe practice and teach it, emphasizes four aspects of the faith journey: becoming more aware of the presence of the Holy in our daily lives, reflecting on that awareness and deepening our relationship with God, discerning where God is leading, and sharing our spiritual gifts with the world. Abbott and Blythe also share simple ways to evaluate the outcomes of spiritual awakening: "fruits of the Spirit." As a middle judicatory minister and spiritual director who ...
Rock music and organized religion have suffered a tense relationship for over sixty years. Rockers accuse religious people of being too rigid and irrelevant. People of faith have labeled rock the devil's music" and say that nothing good can come of it. But what if both of these groups are wrong? What if rock music can actually aid one's religious faith and spiritual life? Few styles of music engage the human body as much as rock and roll. From toe tapping to air guitar, listening to rock music, like religious ritual, requires attention to the present moment and can help the listener (or believer) reclaim a sense of identity as a creature of God. In addition, several social causes include both rockers and religious advocates. During some of the most tumultuous times the world has experienced, both groups have given succor and hope to millions. No matter what side of the religion/rock debate you are on, perhaps it is time to bury the hatchet (or pick up your axe!) and start rocking your religion!
Vocation is most often linked with a specific calling for those in professional ministry. Doing More with Life explores the way higher education can expand this limited understanding of vocation. Specifically, this volume shows that higher education can clarify how God calls all people, allow mentoring across specific vocations, and inspire future generations to think of their lives as vocations.
Issues of religion and sexuality elicit passionate debate, as witnessed in the well-researched, provocative essays contained in this volume. Cutting-edge scholars representing radically different traditions and positions wrestle with controversial and even taboo subjects in modern American culture. Oral sex, polygamy, homosexuality, and clergy celibacy and boundaries are addressed as editor C. K. Robertson facilitates a lively conversation that will be of interest to students of religion and popular culture or anyone wishing to explore what is on- and off-limits in today's increasingly pluralistic, yet strongly spiritual, society.
In this unique and engaging book of meditations, pastor Lisa Nichols Hickman delves into the life of worship, seeking to reveal its rhythms and order. There are twenty chapters, each a meditation on an element of worship, reflecting on how that particular element plays out not only in a service of worship but, more importantly, in everyday life.
Jim Clarke draws on his forty-two years of experience in pastoral ministry to explore common questions and struggles faced by most of us in daily life: relationships, meaning, work, faith issues, prayer, money, aging, understanding God’s ways, bringing faith to life and life to faith, etc. Each chapter begins with a question culled from his studies and professional training, as well as from parishioners and students. As always, Fr. Jim brings the abstract down to earth as he writes in a conversational, easily readable format, using stories, analogies, and jokes to help the reader to engage with the topics.
Becoming a Praying Congregation is designed to help leaders teach, inspire and example deeper prayer life for the entire congregation through worship, study, ministry teams and individual devotion. Using ideas and examples from congregations with active prayer ministries, leaders will be inspired to develop deeper prayer practices in: worship decision-making groups prayer ministry team age-level classes households Tools include: worship prayer activities DVD planning ideas for Sunday School or small groups for children, youth and adults guidelines for building or reviving a prayer ministry team help for special services like healing prayer services, meditations, prayer for the church and its mission Rueben Job's When You Pray can be used as a daily devotional for individuals and small groups participating in the program.
“Contemplative Youth Ministry is refreshing rain for dry youth workers and barren youth ministries. More than the same old youth ministry tips and tricks, it gives principles and practices to soak in God’s grace, love, and power. I wish I had read it 15 years ago.” - Kara Powell, Ph.D., executive director, Center for Youth Ministry and Family Ministry, Fuller Theological Seminary “Mark invites readers to be encountered by the presence of Jesus who is always near. This book is transparent about the challenges that churches and families face as they desire to be effective in youth ministry. The book is filled with the honest stories of different kinds of youth ministries representing t...
Exploring the blurred boundary between religion and pop culture, God in the Details offers a provocative look at the breadth and persistence of religious themes in the American consciousness. This new edition reflects the explosion of online activity since the first edition, including chapters on the spiritual implications of social networking sites, and the hazy line between real and virtual religious life in the online community Second Life. Also new to this edition are chapters on the migration of black male expression from churches to athletic stadiums, new configurations of the sacred and the commercial, and post 9/11 spirituality and religious redemption through an analysis of vampire drama, True Blood. Popular chapters on media, sports, and other pop culture experiences have been revised and updated, making this an invaluable resource for students and scholars alike.
"This multidisciplinary book focuses on the intersection between religion and science fiction. Several perspectives are addressed by scholars from different disciplines: theology, literature, history, music, and anthropology. From Frankenstein, by way of Christian apocalyptic, to Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica, and much more, and from the United States to China and back again, the authors who contribute to this volume serve as guides in the exploration of religion and science fiction as a multifaceted, multidisciplinary, and multicultural phenomenon."