Generous Faith

Giles Goddard embodies the story of the Church of England’s struggle to be more diverse and inclusive. In Generous Faith, he reflects on his experiences of pushing the boundaries of inclusion to include refugees, those of other faiths, the street homeless, climate activists, and anyone for whom his central London church could be a place of sanctuary and hospitality. Anyone who dreams of a more generous, colourful, courageous and daring faith will find kindred spirits in Giles's community. Generous Faith tells their story through the pattern of the Christian year with its seasons of preparation, retreat and growth.

Experience the generosity of God in this very moment Learn how to live in the now, to trust, and to experience God's presence in your life. "I have seen the love and compassion of Sr. Bridget firsthand, in a ministry we have shared for years. She is a woman that not only talks about generous faith, but lives it daily. Enjoy this book - it will open your eyes to see God everywhere and in everything." - Rev. Gloria White-Hammon, MD, Co-Pastor, Bethel AME Church, Boston; and Executive Director, My Sister's Keeper "In addition to sh aring powerful stories of seemingly ordinary experiences, Sister wisely directs us to take the time to ponder, reflect, and be attentive to the ways the Lord is working on our lives. We all need to make time and space for God if we want to understand our calling and our mission. With the help of the very accessible guided meditations Sister has provided, we can all grow in faith and confidence that we can witness Christ's love to the people in our lives." - Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Archbishop of Boston This simple and joy-filled book opens our hearts to what is in the air we breathe, under our feet, and in this very moment: the abundant life, a gift from God. As Sr. Bridget says with her infectious enthusiasm, all we need to do is cultivate this awareness through three basic practices: * Living in the moment * Trusting in Divine care, and * Experiencing God's presence. This is not a how-to book of methods and techniques. Rather, it is a collection of stories that give shape and face to these three practices. The people in these stories ask us to re-examine our own journey and change our perspective. In so doing, we take a second look at our life, and realize that what we have is more than enough for it is, quite simply, most abundant.

Keller explores a life of justice empowered by an experience of grace.

A confession and manifesto from a senior leader in the emerging church movement. A Generous Orthodoxy calls for a radical, Christ-centered orthodoxy of faith and practice in a missional, generous spirit. Brian McLaren argues for a post-liberal, post-conservative, post-protestant convergence, which will stimulate lively interest and global conversation among thoughtful Christians from all traditions.In a sweeping exploration of belief, author Brian McLaren takes us across the landscape of faith, envisioning an orthodoxy that aims for Jesus, is driven by love, and is defined by missional intent. A Generous Orthodoxy rediscovers the mysterious and compelling ways that Jesus can be embraced across the entire Christian horizon. Rather than establishing what is and is not “orthodox,” McLaren walks through the many traditions of faith, bringing to the center a way of life that draws us closer to Christ and to each other. Whether you find yourself inside, outside, or somewhere on the fringe of Christianity, A Generous Orthodoxy draws you toward a way of living that looks beyond the “us/them” paradigm to the blessed and ancient paradox of “we.”

After the birth of the Protestant ecumenical movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, and following the first great wave of universal Christian ecumenism in the 1960s and 1970s after the Second Vatican Council, prominent theologians of nearly every ecclesial tradition charted new territory in the last decades of the twentieth century. They crossed boundaries within their own ecclesial traditions and built bridges to other Christian churches--churches that were once excluded from fellowship. In the development of these new programs of ecumenical theology, the theologians redefined their own confessional identities and, in many cases, crossed the liberal-conservative divide within their own traditions. This volume introduces this fascinating dynamic of theological mediation, redefinition, and generosity. It shows how the ecumenical impulses, which were directed outwardly to other traditions, had reflexive effects inwardly. Working in the realms of both historical and systematic theology, the essays in this volume provide a critical analysis of the history of this general theological sentiment and offer an outlook for its future. Contributors Brian D. McLaren, Foreword Paul Silas Peterson, Introduction Part One: Ecumenical reform theologies Andrew Meszaros, Yves Congar: The Birth of "Catholic Ecumenism" Matthew L. Becker, Edmund Schlink: Ecumenical Theology Dorothea Sattler, Otto Hermann Pesch: Ecumenical Scholasticism Ronald T. Michener, George Lindbeck: Ecumenical Unity through Ecclesial Particularity Nikolaos Asproulis, John D. Zizioulas: A Pioneer of Ecumenical Dialogue and Christian Unity Part Two: Overcoming liberal-conservative polarities Ben Fulford, Hans Frei: Beyond Liberal and Conservative Friederike Nussel, Wolfhart Pannenberg: Liberal Orthodoxy Jay T. Smith, Stanley J. Grenz: The Evangelical Turn to Postliberal Theological Method Part Three: Boundary crossings in philosophical, systematic and ethical theology William E. Myatt, David Tracy: Difference, Unity, and the Analogical Imagination Christophe Chalamet, Robert Jenson: God's Way and the Ways of the Church Victoria Lorrimar, Stanley Hauerwas: Witnessing Communities of Character Christine M. Helmer, Marilyn McCord Adams: Philosophy, Theology, and Prayer Part Four: Ecumenical theology today Wolfgang Vonday, Pentecostalism and Christian Orthodoxy: Revision, Revival, and Renewal Johanna Rahner, Shifting Paradigms - Future Ecumenical Challenges Michael Amaladoss, Theology today in India: Ecumenical or interreligious? Bernd Oberdorfer, Next Steps - and Visions? Lutheran Perspectives on Doctrinal Ecumenism

We are born in the image of a loving and generous God; we are born to be generous. In this 4-week group study, those seeking to live a more generous life will be exposed to and inspired by cultural, generational, and family attitudes towards generosity. Aimed at those who are regularly in the pews, but who have not yet committed to financial giving, the study offers a weekly reading, accompanied by seven days of challenges in the forms of self-assessment, journaling, and prayer, as well as leader helps to facilitate the group experience. After 28 days, readers will be encouraged to embrace the life-giving journey toward generosity and provided a road map on how to get there. Additional resources include a 4-session DVD to spark discussion within the small group.

Committed Christians may respond differently to gay and lesbian Christians. How can we engage those with whom we might disagree and navigate our journey together in a way that nurtures unity, hospitality, humility, and justice? Through her extensive experience in ministering to gay and lesbian Christians, Wendy VanderWal-Gritter has come to believe we need a new paradigm for how the church engages those in the sexual minority. She encourages generous spaciousness, a hope-filled, relational way forward for those in turmoil regarding a response to gay and lesbian Christians. This book offers a framework for discussing diversity in a gracious way, showing that the church can be a place that welcomes a variety of perspectives on the complex matter of human sexuality. It also offers practical advice for implementing generous spaciousness in churches and organizations.

YOU ARE RICH 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, Yet for your sake [Christ] became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. But what does that mean? What does it mean that we have become rich through Christ? In Our Generous God, author Joel Bruce explores how God has made us rich in Christ and demonstrates how generous God has been to us through Him. Our God has abundantly blessed His children. If you are in Christ, you are truly rich, because God has lavished His gifts on you. Throughout the book, youll discover the five gifts you receive as a follower of Christ: salvation, adoption, spiritual family, position as an heir, and an inheritance. Any one of those gifts alone would be incredibly valuable, but we are given all five gifts when we receive Christ. And each of those gifts is yours, free of charge. You receive them when you place your faith in Christ. The gifts we have are much more valuable than any material possession we could own. Our gifts from God are priceless and eternal. Many Christ followers go through life thinking they are poor. Or they keep hoping for the day when they will become rich. But as youll discover in Our Generous God, your Father in heaven has already made you far richer in things that matter. In fact, He has generously given to you because you are His child and He loves you. Our God has given us so much in Christ. When you read Our Generous God, youll come away with a greater appreciation for who God is. Your Father is incredibly generous to you, because His generosity is an expression of His very nature. And you have received so much from Him because He is generous.

The general practices related to church funding aren’t producing the same results they have in the past. There is a general acceptance that something has changed but little talk or interest is coming from traditional church leader training sources such as denominational entities and seminaries. Pastors are largely left to their own devices to “figure this out.” They need a lifeline. While some churches are experiencing exponential growth, some churches - despite their best efforts - have been unsuccessful at moving beyond survival mode. Coupled with increased competition from other nonprofits and a decline in the commitment to give to the church first, churches risk losing the funding they need. A growing number of leaders are beginning to discover there is another way and are struggling to understand what makes one church generous and another not. There is a need in the market to offer a simple, working definition of “generosity” and reveal the “secrets” some church leaders seem to have simply stumbled upon which are resulting in unexplainable ministry growth and unprecedented church funding even in the midst of tough economic times. The content of this material was developed and refined by Jim Sheppard and Chris Willard through years of ministry leadership in the local church, consulting with church leaders across a broad spectrum of church settings, and through participation in and leadership of the Generous Church Leadership Community facilitated by Leadership Network. Of particular benefit will be the collection of observations and best practices gleaned during the Generous Church Leadership Community that originated within real-life church leadership situations and scenarios by highlighting specific challenges, methods, and successes.