Deep Memory Exuberant Hope

The leading Old Testament theologian reflects on the meaning of the gospel in today's world.These studies on a variety of biblical texts focus deftly on reading, listening to, and proclaiming the gospel in a broken, fragmented, and "post-Christendom" world. Brueggemann explores how these traditions have the potential to continually resonate in our contemporary communities and individual lives.

We resist change less when we associate it with mission and fortify it with hope. So argues longtime congregational consultant Peter Steinke in his fourth book, A Door Set Open, as he explores the relationship between the challenges of change and our own responses to new ideas and experiences. Steinke builds on a seldom-explored principle posited by the late Rabbi Edwin Friedman: the 'hostility of the environment' is proportionate to the 'response of the organism.' The key, Steinke says, is not the number or strength of the stressors in the system--anxiety, poor conditions, deteriorating values--but the response of the individual or organization to 'what is there.' Drawing on Bowen system theory and a theology of hope, as well as his experience working with more than two hundred congregations, Steinke makes the case that the church has entered an era of great opportunity. Theologian and sociologist Ernst Troeltsch said the church had closed down the office of eschatology. Steinke reopens it and draws our attention to God's future, to a vision of hope for the people of God. The door is set open for exploration and new creation.

Walking through Psalm 23 phrase by phrase, therapist and author K.J. Ramsey explores the landscape of our fear, trauma, and faith. When she stepped through her own wilderness of spiritual abuse and religious trauma, K.J. discovered that courage is not the absence of anxiety but the practice of trusting we will be held and loved no matter what. How can we cultivate courage when fear overshadows our lives? How do we hear the Voice of Love when hate and harm shout loud? This book offers an honest path to finding that there is still a Good Shepherd who is always following you. Braiding contemplative storytelling, theological reflection, and practical neuroscience, Ramsey reveals a route into connection and joy that begins right where you are. The Lord is My Courage is for the deconstructing and the dreamers, the afraid and the amazed, for those whose fear has not been fully shepherded but who can't seem to stop listening for their Good Shepherd's Voice.

Endorsements: Christian leaders help other Christians see and understand everything in their lives in spiritual terms. ""Scott Cormode is a pioneer in understanding church leadership with the theological disciplines of the faith. Making Spiritual Sense captures in a marvelous way the distinctive character of church leadership as the Christian leader is defined as theological interpreter."" -Lovett H. Weems Jr., Distinguished Professor of Church Leadership at Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC, and author of Take the Next Step: Leading Lasting Change in the Church ""Those who know Scott Cormode well and have long respected his teaching and leadership in church and academy have eagerly anticipated the publication of his first in-depth study of leadership. At last our hopes have been rewarded--and generously so. This book demonstrates a rare breadth of scholarly knowledge and possesses the humility and confidence that characterizes the best leadership today. It invites those who lead to remember that the best leaders give people the tools to think for themselves, a fact that any leader neglects at the greatest of peril."" -Michael Jinkins, Dean and Professor of Pastoral Theology, Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Austin, TX ""This is a profoundly important book. Finally someone has taken seriously the need to deeply integrate social science perspectives in relation to a Christian understanding of leadership. Cormode creatively integrates key theoretical insights within a theological framework in helping Christian leaders understand how to lead by making spiritual sense. Extensive use of narrative stories brings his argument to life and provides accessible ways for readers to further develop their own repertoire of meaning for leading through sense making."" -Craig Van Gelder, Professor of Congregational Mission, Luther Seminary, Saint Paul, MN About the Contributor(s): Scott Cormide is the Hugh De Pree Associate Professor of Leadership Development at Fuller Theological Seminary and the De Pree Leadership Center. He is an ordained Presbyterian minister and the founder of both the Academy of Religious Leadership and the Journal of Religious Leadership.

Music, dance, drama, visual art, writing - what role do the arts play in our spiritual life? Some people believe the arts are essential to their spiritual practice because they bring moments of insight and transformation to their journey. Creating Change explores the many ways the arts cultivate spiritual depth and transformation. Stories from artists and congregations reveal how the arts breathe new life into prayer, worship, theological reflection, and the work of justice. It looks at how the arts allow us to express our spirituality with an individuality and depth that truly celebrates our connection to God.

Rhetoric ad Social Justice in Isaiah applies a literary methodology to the book of Isaiah in order critically to explore the nature and sources of the social justice encoded in the world created by the text. After a close reading of Isaiah 1: 16 & 17, Gray establishes grounds for a trajectory to Isaiah 58, preparatory to examining if it offers a deepening of the concept of social justice in the Isaianic corpus. Gray raises the issue of divine reliability to assess the impact on the theme of social justice of the rhetoric of universal punishment by the divine/prophetic voice. He evaluates the ways the stark Isaianic dichotomy between reliance on God and anything of human origin is affected by trust in God being destabilized: if trust in God is demonstrated to be difficult on account of legitimate doubts about divine justice, then the way is opened for retaining an active human role in the search for justice. Gray demonstrates the ways that social justice attains primacy in Isaiah, the ways that humanity if given a role in pursuing social justice, and the ways that Isaiah 58 impinges upon the idea of social justice within the book as a whole.

Annotation. Patrick Miller is widely known as an educator, editor, President of the Society of Biblical Literature, and academic who is concerned to ensure that academics and the life of the church are not torn asunder in this era of fragmentation. This volume honors him for his life's work, presenting 24 essays by students and colleagues on themes dear to Miller: (1) the Psalms and God's nearness to his people, and (2) Torah (Deuteronomy, in particular) and God's connection with his people in their lives together.

"It's hard to be the only one." That single sentence from a teenage congregant sums up the conviction that motivated Christian Theology for a Secular Society. In these dying days of Christendom, the reality that most Western Christians face is living out their faith as a minority in the midst of a culture that is at every level--personal, institutional, and societal--secular in nature. While most living in Western societies still affirm belief in God and often other vaguely recognizable Christian beliefs, these affirmations frequently have little to do with how daily life is lived. The idea that the God best known to us in Jesus Christ is actually in charge of life is foreign. For most, Christianity simply does not form an overarching system of meaning that shapes life. Instead, life is lived largely without reference to God. And to live any other way is often "hard." In this volume, Mark McKim sets out to "do" theology in this context. How does one explain the core historic Christian doctrines in a way that makes sense in a secular culture--and in a way that will gain a hearing? What does it mean to be the church in this new situation? Throughout, McKim asks the question, so what? as he relates Christian teachings to a secular society and to what is actually happening in the local church. McKim's goal is to enable the singing of the Lord's song in the new and strange land of a secular society.

A Scripture-based exploration of the Christian story of salvation as a food story which provides nourishment for those engaged in living out the food and justice challenges of the Gospel. The book highlights the power of our Biblical and theological traditions to name the root issues of our day, shape our hope and define the horizons for action. It is a resource for study and prayer. The author explores in her ministry how individuals and parishes may live out the food and justice dimensions of the Gospel.

Written by prominent professor and skilled interpreter Charles Cousar,An Introduction to the New Testamentprovides a concise overview of the content and purpose of the books of the New Testament within the context of the church's early development. This cogent introduction gives serious attention to the history of earliest Christianity but always returns to the texts' theological meaning and significance, highlighting the relevance of these books for the church today.