Religious mission and Religious Conversion Books

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Book SynopsisThe life of a Victorian religious community, both within the privacy of the convent and in its work in the wider world, including front-line nursing.This book introduces readers to the life of a Victorian religious community, both within the privacy of the convent and in its work in the wider world, based on documents preserved by the Society of All Saints Sisters of the Poor.It begins by using the memoirs of first-generation members of the community, a colourful and human introduction to the Anglican 're-invention' of monastic life in the second half of the nineteenth century. The section on government includes the power struggles between the sisters and the religious establishment, and the community's determination to retain its identity after the death of the mother foundress. The sisters nursed with the newly-formed Red Cross in the Franco-Prussian War, work recorded in a diary which discusses the difficulties and dangers of Victorian front-line nursing. Most of all, the documents reveal the challenges and excitement of the struggle to establish awomen's community, to be unfettered in their work with the poor and suffering, and to govern themselves, in a world dominated by men largely hostile to their aspirations. SUSAN MUMM is lecturer in religious studies at the OpenUniversity, Milton Keynes.Trade ReviewTheir early legacy [captures] the reader's imagination and, by Mumm's well-selected archival study, makes an invaluable contribution to women's religious history. ENGLISH HISTORICAL REVIEW A valuable addition to the volumes of the Church of England Record Society.... It aims to give 'a snapshot of one of the earliest and most important Anglican communities' in its formative years, and does it very well. * JNL OF ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY. *Table of ContentsPart 1 Recollections of the society's early years: Memories of Sister Caroline Mary; memories of church life; memories of an old woman. Part 2 Government: The rules of 1855 and 1859; the statutes; chapter; letters on vows. Part 3 Life and training: Rules of the mistress of novices; notes on the novices' rules and regulations; rules for visitors and outer sisters. Part 4 Work: the Franco-Prussian War diary.

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Book SynopsisChristabel Pankhurst, one of the leading champions of women's suffrage in Britain, entered the evangelical world after the first world war as a preacher of the second coming. Larsen shows that the two causes, far from being automatically antagonistic, could be complementary.Christabel Pankhurst was arguably the most influential member of her famous family in the struggle to win the vote for women in the years before the First World War. Paradoxically, she has also been the most neglected subsequentlyby historians. Part of the reason for this may be that, in the years after women's suffrage had been achieved in 1918, she turned her energies to Christian fundamentalism and carved out a new career as a writer of best-selling evangelical books and as a high-profile speaker on the fundamentalist preaching circuit, particularly in the United States. In this important work Tim Larsen provides the first full account of this part of Christabel Pankhurst's life. He thus offers both a highly original contribution to Christabel Pankhurst's biography and also a fascinating commentary on the relationship between fundamentalism and feminism. His book will be essential reading for anyone interested in the Pankhursts, in the history of the women's movement, or in fundamentalism in Britain and North America. TIMOTHY LARSEN is Associate Professor of Theology, Wheaton College, USA.Trade Review[The book] reveals a nuanced picture [and] is evidently the product of considerable research. In raising the complex relationship between feminism and fundamentalist Christianity, Larsen has identified issues of central importance to scholars of both feminist history and religious studies. * AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW *Larsen restores a more understandable version of Christable Pankhurst in her later incarnation...and equips future biographers to explore more sensitively the personal and political connections between her suffragist and her Adventist years. * ALBION *Shed[s] light on a significant woman...who has not received the attention she obviously deserves. * JNL OF THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF RELIGION *Table of ContentsChristian ministry; eschatology and theology; current events; doom and hope; the fundamentalist circuit; fundamentalism and feminism in society; fundamentalism and feminism in the Church.

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Book SynopsisAn engaging and thoughtful book that guides readers into the frontiers of being a missional Christian Prodigal Christianity offers a down-to-earth, accessible, and yet provocative understanding of God''s mission of redemption in the world, and how followers of Christ can participate in this work. It speaks into the discontent of all those who have exhausted conservative, liberal, and even emergent ways of being Christian and are looking for a new way forward. It offers building blocks for missional theology and practice that moves Christians into a gospel-centered way of life for our culture and our times. Offers a compelling and creative vision for North American Christians Puts forth a theology and ten critical signposts that must be observed to follow a missional way of life: post-Christendom, missio Dei, incarnation, witness, scripture, gospel, church, sexuality, justice, pluralism Asks questions and points to issues that trouble manyTable of ContentsAbout the Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series xi Preface and Acknowledgments xiii Introduction: Following Jesus into the Far Country—the Winter of Our Discontent xix Signpost One: Post-Christendom 1 Into the Far Country: The Journey into Post-Christendom Signpost Two: Missio Dei 16 With the Prodigal God: The Journey into God’s Mission Signpost Three: Incarnation 31 On the Ground: The Journey into Everyday Life Signpost Four: Witness 48 In the World: The Journey into the World Signpost Five: Scripture 66 Living Our Story: Journeying by the Book That Is More Than a Book Signpost Six: Gospel 83 Making All Things Right: The Journey into Redemption Signpost Seven: Church 96 In Kingdom Communities: The Journey as the Body of Christ into the World Signpost Eight: Prodigal Relationships 114 With Our Brokenness: The Journey Toward Sexual Redemption Signpost Nine: Prodigal Justice 131 Among Our Neighborhoods: The Journey Toward Local Justice Signpost Ten: Prodigal Openness 148 For the Good News: The Journey into Diverse Worlds Epilogue: The Prodigal Returns 163 Notes 167 About the Authors 183 Index 185

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Book SynopsisStudying Jesus' conversations with a diversity of people during his life, Jerram Barrs draws lessons for modern evangelistic practice from the Gospels, offering believers timeless wisdom in their approach to unbelievers.

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Book SynopsisNewman offers holistic strategies for witnessing to family members and others close to us. He bases his practical advice on biblical truth and sensitivity to the difficulty of the task.

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Book SynopsisContrary to popular perception, John Calvin was passionate about the spread of the gospel and the salvation of sinners. This book clears away tired stereotypes by examining the Reformer's life, theology, and impact on the Calvinistic tradition. Part of the Refo500 line.

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Book SynopsisPart of the 9Marks Healthy Church Study Guide series, this study explains what God does and what we do in conversion, as well as the implication for us and for the church in being saved.

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Book SynopsisPart of the 9Marks Healthy Church Study Guide series, this study explores the who, what, why, and how of evangelism and equips participants to share the good news with others.

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Book SynopsisThis compelling travelogue shares stories of the bold faith and brave witness of Christians living in more than 20 of the most dangerous countries in the world, including China, Pakistan, Iraq, and Afghanistan.

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Book SynopsisThis book, written by amissions journalistas he traveled throughout 20 different countries, highlights the lives of Christians past and present whose examples of endurance, courage, sacrifice, and humility will connect readers with God's unstoppable work across the world.

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Book SynopsisThis short book for new Christians unpacks what the Bible says about evangelism, outlines what it looks like in the local church, and offers practical suggestions for making it a part of their daily Christian life. Part of the Church Questions series.

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Book SynopsisThis Confronting Jesus set pairs Rebecca McLaughlin's book with a companion study to help individuals and groups go deeper into the Gospels to learn more about the person and work of Christ.

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Book SynopsisIn Go and Do Likewise, Amy DiMarcangelo explores how the gospel compels Christians to extend God's mercy in their everyday lifedisplaying his compassion, justice, generosity, and love to those who need it most.

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Book SynopsisMillions of tourists visit Washington, D.C., every year, but for some the experience is about much more than sightseeing. Lauren Kerby's lively, engaging book takes readers onto tour buses and explores the world of Christian heritage tourism.Trade Review[An] excellent debut. . . . Thoughtfully documenting and reflecting upon the contours of a uniquely American subculture, this ethnographic study will appeal to anyone interested in the pull of American Christian nationalism.--Publishers Weekly, starred review Kerby's writing is clear and crisp, resulting in an exceptionally smooth read that is full of revealing insights. . . . Saving History is an enriching read with much to offer about the cultural reproduction of white Protestant fundamentalism and Christian nationalism.--Material Religion

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Book SynopsisIn Kincraft Todne Thomas explores the internal dynamics of community life among black evangelicals, who are often overshadowed by white evangelicals and the common equation of the “Black Church” with an Afro-Protestant mainline. Drawing on fieldwork in an Afro-Caribbean and African American church association in Atlanta, Thomas locates black evangelicals at the center of their own religious story, presenting their determined spiritual relatedness as a form of insurgency. She outlines how church members cocreate themselves as spiritual kin through what she calls kincraft—the construction of one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Kincraft, which Thomas traces back to the diasporic histories and migration experiences of church members, reflects black evangelicals'' understanding of Christian familial connection as transcending racial, ethnic, and denominational boundaries in ways that go beyond the patriarchal nuclear family. Church members also use their Trade Review"Kincraft illustrates how Black evangelicals in the United States, drawing on their own Afro-diasporic orientations and sacred imaginaries, have worked to create their own mechanisms of spiritual and relational belonging against the fixed racial and social positionalities reinscribed by White evangelical culture. Moreover, Thomas’ exploration of the spiritual and racial kinship endemic to kincraft can and should be read furthermore as an example of Africana religious agency." -- Darrius D. Hills * Reading Religion *"Kincraft is a rich, rewarding, intellectually challenging ethnographic study of a community of Afro-Caribbean churchgoers, in the Atlanta area, who were historically associated with the Plymouth Brethren. . . . Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." -- P. Harvey * Choice *"Kincraft reorients the ways we think about how religion manifests in people’s daily lives at both institutional and interpersonal levels. Thomas’ work reminds scholars how important it is to account for both ethno-racial and denominational differences when analyzing religious groups and behaviors, and what is overlooked when we do not." -- Shaonta' E. Allen * Sociology of Religion *"One of the fascinating tensions Thomas conveys is between Black evangelicals’ theological reckoning with racial struggles and a commitment to prioritize 'Christian family' over 'worldly' concerns (p. 53). The ethnographic material is robustly presented, complemented by a revealing archival analysis of the founding evangelist’s ministry career. . . . [A] powerful testimony to how centrally racialization figures in the formation and lived expression of the varieties of US evangelicalism." -- James S. Bielo * American Anthropologist *"Some books serve notice to the academy that it needs to rethink its approaches. Todne Thomas’s Kincraft is such a book which will reshape the field of African American religious studies in profound ways." -- Mary Beth S. Mathews * Journal of Contemporary Religion *"Kincraft is an intimate, revealing portrayal of the inner workings of a biblical community. . . . [T]his is an intellectually stimulating, rigorous, and important work that reveals the deeper spirituality of a church tradition that has been largely overlooked in both Black church and white evangelical circles. Thomas has done an excellent job of bringing this tradition to the foreground and, in so doing, forcing a timely reconsideration of what we define and understand as the Black church and mainstream evangelicalism." -- William Ackah * Journal of Anthropological Research *"Kincraft is a refreshing inclusion as a source for studying US religious history and culture. . . . Thomas shows how Black religious actors have tapped into their religious tradition to create meaningful communities and a sense of belonging that is unmoved by the racism of the broader evangelical movement." -- Tejai Beulah Howard * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Part One. Contextualizing the Social Dimensions of a Black Evangelical Religious Movement 1. On "Godly Family" and "Family Roots": Creating Kinship Worlds 29 2. Moving against the Grain: The Evangelism of T. Michael Flowers in the Segregated US South 57 3. Black like Me? Or Christian like Me? Black Evangelicals, Ethnicity, and Church Family 83 Part Two. Scenes of Black Evangelical Spiritual Kinship in Practice 4. Bible Study, Fraternalism, and the Making of Interpretive Community 109 5. Churchwomen and the Incorporation of Church and Home 135 6. Black Evangelicals, "the Family," and Confessional Intimacy 167 Conclusion 199 Notes 213 Bibliography 229 Index 247

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Book SynopsisIn Kincraft Todne Thomas explores the internal dynamics of community life among black evangelicals, who are often overshadowed by white evangelicals and the common equation of the “Black Church” with an Afro-Protestant mainline. Drawing on fieldwork in an Afro-Caribbean and African American church association in Atlanta, Thomas locates black evangelicals at the center of their own religious story, presenting their determined spiritual relatedness as a form of insurgency. She outlines how church members cocreate themselves as spiritual kin through what she calls kincraft—the construction of one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. Kincraft, which Thomas traces back to the diasporic histories and migration experiences of church members, reflects black evangelicals'' understanding of Christian familial connection as transcending racial, ethnic, and denominational boundaries in ways that go beyond the patriarchal nuclear family. Church members also use their Trade Review"Kincraft illustrates how Black evangelicals in the United States, drawing on their own Afro-diasporic orientations and sacred imaginaries, have worked to create their own mechanisms of spiritual and relational belonging against the fixed racial and social positionalities reinscribed by White evangelical culture. Moreover, Thomas’ exploration of the spiritual and racial kinship endemic to kincraft can and should be read furthermore as an example of Africana religious agency." -- Darrius D. Hills * Reading Religion *"Kincraft is a rich, rewarding, intellectually challenging ethnographic study of a community of Afro-Caribbean churchgoers, in the Atlanta area, who were historically associated with the Plymouth Brethren. . . . Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty." -- P. Harvey * Choice *"Kincraft reorients the ways we think about how religion manifests in people’s daily lives at both institutional and interpersonal levels. Thomas’ work reminds scholars how important it is to account for both ethno-racial and denominational differences when analyzing religious groups and behaviors, and what is overlooked when we do not." -- Shaonta' E. Allen * Sociology of Religion *"One of the fascinating tensions Thomas conveys is between Black evangelicals’ theological reckoning with racial struggles and a commitment to prioritize 'Christian family' over 'worldly' concerns (p. 53). The ethnographic material is robustly presented, complemented by a revealing archival analysis of the founding evangelist’s ministry career. . . . [A] powerful testimony to how centrally racialization figures in the formation and lived expression of the varieties of US evangelicalism." -- James S. Bielo * American Anthropologist *"Some books serve notice to the academy that it needs to rethink its approaches. Todne Thomas’s Kincraft is such a book which will reshape the field of African American religious studies in profound ways." -- Mary Beth S. Mathews * Journal of Contemporary Religion *"Kincraft is an intimate, revealing portrayal of the inner workings of a biblical community. . . . [T]his is an intellectually stimulating, rigorous, and important work that reveals the deeper spirituality of a church tradition that has been largely overlooked in both Black church and white evangelical circles. Thomas has done an excellent job of bringing this tradition to the foreground and, in so doing, forcing a timely reconsideration of what we define and understand as the Black church and mainstream evangelicalism." -- William Ackah * Journal of Anthropological Research *"Kincraft is a refreshing inclusion as a source for studying US religious history and culture. . . . Thomas shows how Black religious actors have tapped into their religious tradition to create meaningful communities and a sense of belonging that is unmoved by the racism of the broader evangelical movement." -- Tejai Beulah Howard * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Part One. Contextualizing the Social Dimensions of a Black Evangelical Religious Movement 1. On "Godly Family" and "Family Roots": Creating Kinship Worlds 29 2. Moving against the Grain: The Evangelism of T. Michael Flowers in the Segregated US South 57 3. Black like Me? Or Christian like Me? Black Evangelicals, Ethnicity, and Church Family 83 Part Two. Scenes of Black Evangelical Spiritual Kinship in Practice 4. Bible Study, Fraternalism, and the Making of Interpretive Community 109 5. Churchwomen and the Incorporation of Church and Home 135 6. Black Evangelicals, "the Family," and Confessional Intimacy 167 Conclusion 199 Notes 213 Bibliography 229 Index 247

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Book SynopsisIllustrates the hidden challenges embedded within the evangelical adoption movement. For over a decade, prominent leaders and organizations among American Evangelicals have spent a substantial amount of time and money in an effort to address what they believe to be the Orphan Crisis of the United States. Yet, despite an expansive commitment of resources, there is no reliable evidence that these efforts have been successful. Adoptions are declining across the board, and both foster parenting and foster-adoptions remain steady. Why have evangelical mobilization efforts been so ineffective? To answer this question, Samuel L. Perry draws on interviews with over 220 movement leaders and grassroots families, as well as national data on adoption and fostering, to show that the problem goes beyond orphan care. Perry argues that evangelical social engagement is fundamentally self-limiting and difficult to sustain because their subcultural commitments lock them into an approach that does not worTrade ReviewPerrys book is significant because it is one of the first to offer a clear window into evangelical activism from a rich sociological perspective. Perry is extraordinarily balanced in his analysis of both the strengths and weaknesses of evangelicals dominant approach to social engagement. * American Journal of Sociology *This books central tenet about the saliency of branding a church that is attractive to racially diverse professional millennials leads to interesting research questions about the effectiveness of such strategies in other Chicago churches and churches around the nation... this book serves as a useful guide for how churches may approach attracting new members in a period of increasing racial diversity and declining worship attendance. * The Review of Religious Research *Growing Gods Familyis about America as much as it is about evangelicals. Were do-gooders. We adopt orphans. We do other good things. And yet, our excessive individualism too often gets in the way. The result: we rush into rash ill-prepared activism. Growing Gods Family is marvelously well-researched and deeply disturbing. -- Robert Wuthnow,Princeton UniversityThis fascinating case study deftly captures the authentic spirit of so many American evangelical 'movements' for change, explaining with empathetic and fair but brutally honest criticism why and how religiously motivated people and activism can prove in the end to be ironically self-undermining and ineffective. A valuable contribution to our sociological understanding of American evangelicalism and religious movements and culture. -- Christian Smith,University of Notre DameGrowing Gods Familyis a strong, well-researched book, worthy of a wide academic and non-academic audience. * Sociology of Religion *

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Book SynopsisIllustrates the hidden challenges embedded within the evangelical adoption movement. For over a decade, prominent leaders and organizations among American Evangelicals have spent a substantial amount of time and money in an effort to address what they believe to be the Orphan Crisis of the United States. Yet, despite an expansive commitment of resources, there is no reliable evidence that these efforts have been successful. Adoptions are declining across the board, and both foster parenting and foster-adoptions remain steady. Why have evangelical mobilization efforts been so ineffective? To answer this question, Samuel L. Perry draws on interviews with over 220 movement leaders and grassroots families, as well as national data on adoption and fostering, to show that the problem goes beyond orphan care. Perry argues that evangelical social engagement is fundamentally self-limiting and difficult to sustain because their subcultural commitments lock them into an approach that does not worTrade Review"Perrys book is significant because it is one of the first to offer a clear window into evangelical activism from a rich sociological perspective. Perry is extraordinarily balanced in his analysis of both the strengths and weaknesses of evangelicals dominant approach to social engagement." * American Journal of Sociology *"This books central tenet about the saliency of branding a church that is attractive to racially diverse professional millennials leads to interesting research questions about the effectiveness of such strategies in other Chicago churches and churches around the nation... this book serves as a useful guide for how churches may approach attracting new members in a period of increasing racial diversity and declining worship attendance." * The Review of Religious Research *"Growing Gods Familyis about America as much as it is about evangelicals. Were do-gooders. We adopt orphans. We do other good things. And yet, our excessive individualism too often gets in the way. The result: we rush into rash ill-prepared activism. Growing Gods Family is marvelously well-researched and deeply disturbing." -- Robert Wuthnow,Princeton University"This fascinating case study deftly captures the authentic spirit of so many American evangelical 'movements' for change, explaining with empathetic and fair but brutally honest criticism why and how religiously motivated people and activism can prove in the end to be ironically self-undermining and ineffective. A valuable contribution to our sociological understanding of American evangelicalism and religious movements and culture." -- Christian Smith,University of Notre Dame"Growing Gods Familyis a strong, well-researched book, worthy of a wide academic and non-academic audience." * Sociology of Religion *

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Book SynopsisWhen sports ministry first emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, its founders imagined male celebrity athletes as powerful salespeople who could deliver a message of Christian strength: If athletes can endorse shaving cream, razor blades, and cigarettes, surely they can endorse the Lord, too, reasoned Fellowship of Christian Athletes founder Don McClanen. But combining evangelicalism and sport did much more than serve as an advertisement for religion: it gave athletes the opportunity to think about the embodied experiences of sport as a way to experience intimate connection with the divine. As sports ministry developed, it focused on individual religious experiences and downplayed celebrity sales power, opening the door for female Christian athletes to join and eventually dominate sports ministry. Today, women are the majority of participants in sports ministry in the United States. In Playing for God, Annie Blazer offers an exploration of the history and religious livesTrade ReviewPlaying for Godis a unique and interdisciplinary contribution that combines insights from a diversity of academic fields, notably religious studies, gender and 6 studies, cultural studies and American studies. * Religion and Gender *Playing for Godis a finely crafted sociology of evangelical sports ministry and Christian female athletes who participate in and help promote a particular strand of Christianity. * Sociology of Religion *[A]n excellent book which raises important issues about how contemporary sportswomen perceive themselves. * Verite Sport: International Sports Ministry *[T]he research illustrates that religion can be and is blended with and into any and all aspects of culture, with & unintended consequences for religion based on the undeniable agency of individual members. * Anthropology Review Database *[] [T]he book will generate much discussion around various issues: e.g., are fundamentalists even & evangelical, given that the heart of the gospel is kindness, love, and forgiveness? People and groups are not necessarily & evangelical, even though they may claim to be. The media need to be aware of this fact. Good notes and bibliography. * Choice *What an intimate and perceptive work of ethnographic scholarship! Playing for God takes you into the profound epistemology of athleticism. Blazer uses her conversations with Christian sportswomen to delve into the ways that all people, religious and not, understand themselves through their bodies. A first-rate exploration of the intersection between spiritual knowledge and the disciplining effects of sporting life. -- Kathryn Lofton,Yale UniversityTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Practicing Faith: Sports Ministry and Evangelicalism in America 1 Part I: Knowledge 1. Making the Save: Conversion and Witnessing 27 2. Transcendent Intimacy: The Embodied Pleasures of Sport 54 3. Spiritual Warfare and Christlikeness: Narratives of Bodies and Battlefields 78 Part II: Effects 4. Wearing Our Shorts a Little Longer: Testing the Boundaries of Evangelical Femininity 103 5. Challenging the Call: Sexual Desire and Sexual Deviance 129 6. Faith Off the Field: Negotiating Gender at Home 157 Conclusion: A Tale of Unintended Consequences 183 Notes 195 Index 223 About the Author 233

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2013 Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize presented by the American Society of Church HistoryMississippi Praying examines the faith communities at ground-zero of the racial revolution that rocked America. This religious history of white Mississippians in the civil rights era shows how Mississippians' intense religious commitments played critical, rather than incidental, roles in their response to the movement for black equality. During the civil rights movement and since, it has perplexed many Americans that unabashedly Christian Mississippi could also unapologetically oppress its black population. Yet, as Carolyn Renée Dupont richly details, white southerners' evangelical religion gave them no conceptual tools for understanding segregation as a moral evil, and many believed that God had ordained the racial hierarchy. Challenging previous scholarship that depicts southern religious support for segregation as weak, Dupont shows how people of faith in Mississippi rejectedTrade Review"I am grateful to [the author] for further recovering the central role of religion in the civil rights era." * Patheos.com *"This is an inspired and sparkling religious history of the three major white denominationsSouth Baptists, Presbyterians, and Methodistsin the state of Mississippi for the three decades of the Civil Rights movement...This is notsimply a tale about what happened in the struggle for black equality in Mississippi from 1945 to 1975. It is a mirror, reflecting what is still happening in segregated churches all over America, not just in Mississippi, not just in the South, but all over this great republic." * Baptist History & Heritage *"Carolyn Renee Duponts examination of Mississippi white evangelicals fervent support of segregation during the 1950s and 1960s offers historians a fresh interpretation of the confounding paradox of God-fearing whites condoning and even participating in massive resistance. [] This book successfully challenges the reader to think beyond a variety of biases inherent in discussion of literatures relationship with ethnic, regional, and national identities." * The Journal of Southern History *"Dupont's book is an essential companion to any study of the civil rights movement, not only for its treatment of how religion impacted the movements history but also for the way it exposes how easily oppression can be wrapped in a cloak of religiosity that blinds its adherents to injustice occurring all around them." * The Historian *"Gripping and detailed,Mississippi Prayingtells how the fight to maintain white supremacy was deeply embedded in all the states institutions, particularly its churches. Such a narrative challenges readers to understand how some forms of racism topple, while others yet persist." * Southern Spaces *"[...]Dupont has written an intriguing and impassioned book that should stimulate debate." * The American Historical Review *"By examining white Baptist, Methodist, and Presbyterian confrontations with the civil rights movement, Dupont (Eastern Kentucky Univ.) offers a compelling answer to the question of why the most religious state in the US was also its most racist." -- E.R. Crowther * CHOICE *"Dupont makes a valuable contribution to the scholarship on the intersection of race and religion by highlighting religion's centrality in the struggle for black equality. Mississippi Praying is must reading for scholars interested in religion, race, and African American studies." -- Walt Bower * Religious Research Association Review *"Duponts prose should be the envy of historians everywhere. Crisp, incisive, and thought-provoking, it moves the reader easily through nine chronological chapters. She draws on powerful examples to make her case, covering everything from Brown v. Board of Education, to the Southern Baptist Conventions conservative reconfiguration, and the splitting of Southern Presbyterians in the 1960s and 1970s." -- Marginalia"Provides a wealth of insight. . . . Dupont has offered the single best study documenting and analyzing the conflicted role of white southern Protestant churches, and their leaders, in reacting to the civil rights struggle. Her analysis is compelling, her writing forceful and fluid, and her research substantial and original." -- Paul Harvey,University of Colorado"Mississippi Praying helps us better understand how white southerners made sense of their Christian faith and their segregationist practices. Dupont shows how the evangelical faith of many white Mississippians, far from being a source of other worldly escape from the political realm, served as a bulwark in their fight to maintain white supremacy. It is a critical story for properly understanding both the southern civil rights struggle and the history of modern American Christianity." -- Joseph Crespino,Emory UniversityTable of ContentsContentsList of Illustrations ixAcknowledgments xiIntroduction: History, White Religion, and 1the Civil Rights Movement1 Segregation and the Religious Worlds of White Mississippians 152 Conversations about Race in the Post-War World 393 Responding to Brown: The Recalcitrant Parish 634 "A Strange and Serious Christian Heresy": Massive Resistance and the Religious Defense of Segregation 795 "Ask for the Old Paths": Mississippi's Southern Baptists and Segregation 1056 "Born of Conviction": The Travail of Mississippi Methodism 1277 The Jackson Church Visits: "A Good Quarter-Time Church with a Bird Dog and Shotgun" 1558 "Warped and Distorted Reflections": 181Mississippi and the North9 Race and the Restructuring of American Religion 199Conclusion: A Theology on the Wrong Side of History 231Notes 241Index 285About the Author 290

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Book SynopsisBehind the scenes at a creationist theme park with a mission to convert visitors through entertainment Opened to the public in July 2016, Ark Encounter is a creationist theme park in Kentucky. The park features an all-timber re-creation of Noah's ark, built full scale to creationist specifications drawn from the text of Genesis, as well as exhibits that imagine the Bible's account of life before the flood. More than merely religious spectacle, Ark Encounter offers important insights about the relationship between religion and entertainment, religious publicity and creativity, and fundamentalist Christian claims to the public sphere. James S. Bielo examines these themes, drawing on his unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the Ark Encounter creative team during the initial design of the park. This unique anthropological perspective shows creationists outside church contexts, and reveals their extraordinary effort to materialize a controversial worldview for the general public. TakinTrade Review"A much needed contribution to studies of American fundamentalist Christianity, and to the anthropology of fundamentalism. At the same time, [the book] gives a good insight into the place of Christianity in our contemporary Western society, its relation to popular culture and commerce, and the power of 'religious entertainment.'" * Reading Religion *"Ark Encounter is a useful contribution to the literature in anthropology, religious studies, and material religion, and situates itself within a deep literature in Fundamentalist studies. Bielo’s clear and concise writing style and structure, combined with his thoughtful analysis and discussion, produced a strong text that would be useful for scholars studying the anthropology of religion and is particularly useful for students because of his radical transparency in his research processes." * Material Religions *"Essentially this book is about the three-way relationship of the Ark, the designers, and the visitors. Within this triangle, acceptance of creationism is formed. This is such a valuable book partly because it focuses first on the corner of the triangle too often neglected in discussions of museums and visitor attractions: the designers … he describes four other promised creationist theme parks that will “teach creationists to be proud of creationism, and . . . demand that noncreationist audiences take notice." * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *"Ark Encounter is a wonderful book. Written in a straightforward and lively manner accessible to undergraduates, it is also theoretically rich enough to make it compelling reading for scholars of religion, public culture, museums, and American studies. Because each chapter deals with a discrete aspect of Ark Encounter’s project and engages different bodies of literature, it is ideal for classroom use." * American Ethnologist *"This book will interest researchers of contemporary religious culture, politics of science, and cultural production and circulation. In addition, it provides thought-provoking reading for anyone interested in the social and cultural context of Ark Encounter and biblical attractions like it." * Sociology of Religion *"The book may have appeal in many fields, including anthropology, religion, and tourism." * Choice *"Ark Encounter represents a further development of Bielo’s work of exploring the social life of scriptures, that is—how scriptures are made to perform actively in the world. Bielo has been on the forefront of this exciting development within the larger field of the anthropology of Christianity. In this latest addition to the field, Ark Encounter expands the social life of scripture to include materialization." * American Studies *"Here, as in his study of Bible study culture in Words Upon the Word, Bielo demonstrates a remarkable ability to invite his readers into a communitys processes of religious negotiation and navigation. In his hands, we discover the Ark Encounter as a story of many fascinating encounters between fundamentalism, creationism, biblical consumerism, and religious entertainment." -- Timothy Beal, Case Western Reserve University and author of The Book of Revelation: A Biography"Through his ethnographic work, Bielo makes a convincing case that the aesthetics, technologies, and professional standards of the modern entertainment industry play a big part in producing material that creationists hope to be seen as legitimate in the public sphere... a pleasure to read." -- Jonathan P. Hill * Review of Religious Research *"This thorough study of a creationist theme park explores the ramifications of intertwining religion and entertainment and provides an analysis that has fascinating implications for understanding not only conservative Christianity but also the entertainment-saturated society around it. This compelling and readable ethnography shows that creationism must stake its bid for cultural authority in terms of the largely unquestioned values and techniques of our culture of entertainment." -- Peter Stromberg, University of Tulsa"Bielo has made a valuable contribution to several subfields of anthropology. As a well‐organized, insightful book that addresses a topic that interests many students, draws on innovative fieldwork with a design team, and engages and builds on the work of a wide range of anthropologists, Ark Encounter would be an excellent addition to reading lists for courses on the anthropology of public culture, the anthropology of religion, and visual anthropology, and it will inspire further research on the ongoing evolution of fundamentalist public culture." * Visual Anthropology Review *"Complicates the religion versus science view of creationism by introducing entertainment, production of history, and taste and aesthetic judgment as analytic tools. This allows for a rich, nuanced understanding of creationist cultural products." * American Journal of Sociology *

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Book SynopsisBehind the scenes at a creationist theme park with a mission to convert visitors through entertainment Opened to the public in July 2016, Ark Encounter is a creationist theme park in Kentucky. The park features an all-timber re-creation of Noah's ark, built full scale to creationist specifications drawn from the text of Genesis, as well as exhibits that imagine the Bible's account of life before the flood. More than merely religious spectacle, Ark Encounter offers important insights about the relationship between religion and entertainment, religious publicity and creativity, and fundamentalist Christian claims to the public sphere. James S. Bielo examines these themes, drawing on his unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to the Ark Encounter creative team during the initial design of the park. This unique anthropological perspective shows creationists outside church contexts, and reveals their extraordinary effort to materialize a controversial worldview for the general public. TakinTrade ReviewA much needed contribution to studies of American fundamentalist Christianity, and to the anthropology of fundamentalism. At the same time, [the book] gives a good insight into the place of Christianity in our contemporary Western society, its relation to popular culture and commerce, and the power of 'religious entertainment.' * Reading Religion *Ark Encounter is a useful contribution to the literature in anthropology, religious studies, and material religion, and situates itself within a deep literature in Fundamentalist studies. Bielo’s clear and concise writing style and structure, combined with his thoughtful analysis and discussion, produced a strong text that would be useful for scholars studying the anthropology of religion and is particularly useful for students because of his radical transparency in his research processes. * Material Religions *Essentially this book is about the three-way relationship of the Ark, the designers, and the visitors. Within this triangle, acceptance of creationism is formed. This is such a valuable book partly because it focuses first on the corner of the triangle too often neglected in discussions of museums and visitor attractions: the designers … he describes four other promised creationist theme parks that will “teach creationists to be proud of creationism, and . . . demand that noncreationist audiences take notice. * Journal of the American Academy of Religion *Ark Encounter is a wonderful book. Written in a straightforward and lively manner accessible to undergraduates, it is also theoretically rich enough to make it compelling reading for scholars of religion, public culture, museums, and American studies. Because each chapter deals with a discrete aspect of Ark Encounter’s project and engages different bodies of literature, it is ideal for classroom use. * American Ethnologist *This book will interest researchers of contemporary religious culture, politics of science, and cultural production and circulation. In addition, it provides thought-provoking reading for anyone interested in the social and cultural context of Ark Encounter and biblical attractions like it. * Sociology of Religion *The book may have appeal in many fields, including anthropology, religion, and tourism. * Choice *Ark Encounter represents a further development of Bielo’s work of exploring the social life of scriptures, that is—how scriptures are made to perform actively in the world. Bielo has been on the forefront of this exciting development within the larger field of the anthropology of Christianity. In this latest addition to the field, Ark Encounter expands the social life of scripture to include materialization. * American Studies *Here, as in his study of Bible study culture in Words Upon the Word, Bielo demonstrates a remarkable ability to invite his readers into a communitys processes of religious negotiation and navigation. In his hands, we discover the Ark Encounter as a story of many fascinating encounters between fundamentalism, creationism, biblical consumerism, and religious entertainment. -- Timothy Beal, Case Western Reserve University and author of The Book of Revelation: A BiographyThrough his ethnographic work, Bielo makes a convincing case that the aesthetics, technologies, and professional standards of the modern entertainment industry play a big part in producing material that creationists hope to be seen as legitimate in the public sphere... a pleasure to read. -- Jonathan P. Hill * Review of Religious Research *This thorough study of a creationist theme park explores the ramifications of intertwining religion and entertainment and provides an analysis that has fascinating implications for understanding not only conservative Christianity but also the entertainment-saturated society around it. This compelling and readable ethnography shows that creationism must stake its bid for cultural authority in terms of the largely unquestioned values and techniques of our culture of entertainment. -- Peter Stromberg, University of TulsaBielo has made a valuable contribution to several subfields of anthropology. As a well‐organized, insightful book that addresses a topic that interests many students, draws on innovative fieldwork with a design team, and engages and builds on the work of a wide range of anthropologists, Ark Encounter would be an excellent addition to reading lists for courses on the anthropology of public culture, the anthropology of religion, and visual anthropology, and it will inspire further research on the ongoing evolution of fundamentalist public culture. * Visual Anthropology Review *Complicates the religion versus science view of creationism by introducing entertainment, production of history, and taste and aesthetic judgment as analytic tools. This allows for a rich, nuanced understanding of creationist cultural products. * American Journal of Sociology *

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Book SynopsisHow music makes worship and how worship makes music in Evangelical churches Music is a nearly universal feature of congregational worship in American churches. Congregational singing is so ingrained in the experience of being at church that it is often misunderstood to be synonymous with worship. For those who assume responsibility for making music for congregational use, the relationship between music and worship is both promising and perilous promise in the power of musical style and collective singing to facilitate worship, peril in the possibility that the experience of the music might eclipse the worship it was written to facilitate. As a result, those committed to making music for worship are constantly reminded of the paradox that they are writing songs for people who wish to express themselves, as directly as possible, to God. This book shines a new light on how people who make music for worship also make worship from music. Based on interviews withTrade ReviewShout to the Lord is a remarkable book, beautifully written and analytically careful. Music is the heart of evangelical experience, so the book helps to explain that religion. But the book does more. It explains the way music can become prayer, and why it moves us. -- TM Luhrmann,author of When God Talks BackSongs and music are used in worship to help congregants reach an individual experience of God. But, as Ari Kelman shows, that individual experience only comes about because of the work of songwriters, marketers, and music producers who mediate individual religious experience. Shout to the Lordis a study of that work. Drawing on ethnography, interviews and participation in church services Kelman explores how worship music is produced, performed and experienced in U.S. evangelical churches. In doing so he masterfully draws out a series of fundamental tensions between entertainment and worship, technical skill and spirit, commerce and faith, and the danger troubling Christian musicians that they might & sing well but worship poorly. -- Brian Larkin,author of Signal and Noise: Media, Infrastructure & Urban Culture in NigeriaThis is a fascinating book. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and dozens of interviews with songwriters, worship leaders, and record producers, Kelman reveals the immense cultural work that goes into producing evangelical Christian worship music. He is a sensitive guide, treating his subjects sympathetically while remaining keenly attuned to the tensions that underlie their work. He is at his best in explaining how his subjects understand the essential role that music plays in worship even as they disavow its necessity. -- Isaac Weiner,author of Religion Out Loud: Religious Sound, Public Space, and American PluralismIn Shout to the Lord, Kelman meticulously elucidates for his academic readership the internal logics that undergird American evangelical cultural production. Because the study reflects the author’s generosity and responsibility toward his interlocutors, evangelical musical practitioners will find their histories and perspectives presented with patient nuance. This monograph on evangelical worship music, read in careful conjunction with the extant and burgeoning literature in Christian congregational music studies, promises to be an especially productive read for students and researchers of American religion, Christian liturgy, and popular music. -- Reading ReligionAn insightful and well-researched examination of the creation of worship music in American evangelicalism and the worship music culture it has birthed. Kelman’s work is not just an analysis of religious and sociological scholarship—it is an experiment in understanding where he immersed himself into various corporate worship settings that span several years. * Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies *

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Book SynopsisHow music makes worship and how worship makes music in Evangelical churches Music is a nearly universal feature of congregational worship in American churches. Congregational singing is so ingrained in the experience of being at church that it is often misunderstood to be synonymous with worship. For those who assume responsibility for making music for congregational use, the relationship between music and worship is both promising and perilous promise in the power of musical style and collective singing to facilitate worship, peril in the possibility that the experience of the music might eclipse the worship it was written to facilitate. As a result, those committed to making music for worship are constantly reminded of the paradox that they are writing songs for people who wish to express themselves, as directly as possible, to God. This book shines a new light on how people who make music for worship also make worship from music. Based on interviews withTrade ReviewShout to the Lord is a remarkable book, beautifully written and analytically careful. Music is the heart of evangelical experience, so the book helps to explain that religion. But the book does more. It explains the way music can become prayer, and why it moves us. -- TM Luhrmann,author of When God Talks BackSongs and music are used in worship to help congregants reach an individual experience of God. But, as Ari Kelman shows, that individual experience only comes about because of the work of songwriters, marketers, and music producers who mediate individual religious experience. Shout to the Lordis a study of that work. Drawing on ethnography, interviews and participation in church services Kelman explores how worship music is produced, performed and experienced in U.S. evangelical churches. In doing so he masterfully draws out a series of fundamental tensions between entertainment and worship, technical skill and spirit, commerce and faith, and the danger troubling Christian musicians that they might & sing well but worship poorly. -- Brian Larkin,author of Signal and Noise: Media, Infrastructure & Urban Culture in NigeriaThis is a fascinating book. Drawing on extensive fieldwork and dozens of interviews with songwriters, worship leaders, and record producers, Kelman reveals the immense cultural work that goes into producing evangelical Christian worship music. He is a sensitive guide, treating his subjects sympathetically while remaining keenly attuned to the tensions that underlie their work. He is at his best in explaining how his subjects understand the essential role that music plays in worship even as they disavow its necessity. -- Isaac Weiner,author of Religion Out Loud: Religious Sound, Public Space, and American PluralismIn Shout to the Lord, Kelman meticulously elucidates for his academic readership the internal logics that undergird American evangelical cultural production. Because the study reflects the author’s generosity and responsibility toward his interlocutors, evangelical musical practitioners will find their histories and perspectives presented with patient nuance. This monograph on evangelical worship music, read in careful conjunction with the extant and burgeoning literature in Christian congregational music studies, promises to be an especially productive read for students and researchers of American religion, Christian liturgy, and popular music. -- Reading ReligionAn insightful and well-researched examination of the creation of worship music in American evangelicalism and the worship music culture it has birthed. Kelman’s work is not just an analysis of religious and sociological scholarship—it is an experiment in understanding where he immersed himself into various corporate worship settings that span several years. * Pneuma: The Journal of the Society for Pentecostal Studies *

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Book Synopsis2015 Smith/Wynkoop Book Award presented by the Wesleyan Theological Society2014 Choice Outstanding Academic TitleDuring the Progessive Era, a period of unprecedented ingenuity, women evangelists built the old time religion with brick and mortar, uniforms and automobiles, fresh converts and devoted protégés. Across America, entrepreneurial women founded churches, denominations, religious training schools, rescue homes, rescue missions, and evangelistic organizations. Until now, these intrepid women have gone largely unnoticed, though their collective yet unchoreographed decision to build institutions in the service of evangelism marked a seismic shift in American Christianity. In this ground-breaking study, Priscilla Pope-Levison dusts off the unpublished letters, diaries, sermons, and yearbooks of these pioneers to share their personal tribulations and public achievements. The effect is staggering. With an uncanny eye for essential details and a knack for historical nuance, Pope-LevisoTrade Review"I really enjoyed this book. It is well organized, well written, and full of interesting detailsa sign, no doubt, of many hours of research. . . . Scholars of American Christianity, the Progressive Era, the holiness movements, and American women's history (religious or otherwise) would all benefit from Pope-Levison's work in Building the Old Time Religion." -- Paul Putz * Religion in American History blog *"Pope-Levison, professor of theology at Seattle Pacific University, has been fascinated with the history of Christian women for decades. The theologian, author, and ordained United Methodist minister shares her discoveries unearthed over the last 20 years through painstaking research in Building the Old Time Religion: Women Evangelists in the Progressive Era.Building the Old Timefeatures in-depth accounts of the lives, accomplishments, and controversies of influential Christian leaders such as Amanda Berry Smith, Evangeline Booth, Helen Sunday, Aimee Semple McPherson, Jennie Fowler Willing, Martha Lee, Anna Prosser, Minnie Draper, and numerous others." -- Nicola Menzie * The Christian Post *"Priscilla Pope-Levisons (Seattle Pacific University) new book Building The Old Time Religion: Women Evangelists in the Progressive Era is the most significant contribution to the collective memory of women evangelists in the United States since Janette Hasseys 1986 No Time for Silence. There are so few books that focus on the contributions of women evangelists who were both amazingly gifted preachers and gifted institution builders. Pope-Levisons achievement is that she is able to create a compelling narrative focused not on a single woman, but on many womens contributions to ministry during this important time in American history. Building The Old Time Religion is an effortless read; so captivating that it might be easy to overlook the amount of painstaking archival research put into this book project . . . . Pope-Levison draws attention to the fact that it wasnt just one woman who was breaking down barriers and opening doors for women to preach; it was countless women, upon whose shoulders we all stand." -- Christy Mesaros-Winckles,Free Methodist Historical Society"Priscilla Pope-Levisons lively account takes our understanding of gender and American religion to the next level, demonstrating the permanent impact of women on the institutional shape of twentieth-century Christianity. She introduces us to an unforgettable cast of characters, high-profile female evangelists and lesser-known toilers who founded schools, hospitals, and even denominations on a shoe-string. The women Pope-Levison brings to life are a colorfuland essentialpiece of the larger story of religion in the United States." -- Margaret Bendroth,Executive Director, Congregational Library"Argues that historians have ignored the significant number of independent religious organizations founded by evangelical and Catholic women in the progressive era. This institution-building by progressive-era women was fundamental to reshaping American Christianity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as it moved from 'itinerant to institutional revivalism.' A great strength of this work is to bring to the fore stories that are either not as well known as they need to be, or not known at all, a testament to the huge amount of archival research done by the author. This will be a significant contribution to American religious history." -- Paul Harvey,University of Colorado"Readers without detailed knowledge of the US political, social, and ecclesiological context will need to hold on tightly, but will be richly repaid through the sheer accessibility of the stories and, through them, the clearly presented context." * Wesley Methodist Studies *""Brings to life a series of fascinating, charismatic, and innovative women religious leaders. Priscilla Pope-Levisons careful research, engaging narrative, and smart arguments make this an invaluable study for scholars in the fields of religion, gender, and the progressive era, as well as for general readers interested in the ways in which women have transformed American religious life. " -- Matthew Avery Sutton,author of Aimee Semple McPherson and the Resurrection of Christian America"In her book, Pope-Levison explores the role of women evangelists as institution builders of evangelic enterprises, churches and denominations, religious training schools and benevolence ministries...Pope-Levinson utilizes an ecumenical approach in exploring religious institutions built by women during the Progressive Era." * Pneuma *"This deeply engaging book will interest audiences ranging from general readers (particularly those with an interest in women and Christianity, or Christianity during the Progressive Era) to students and scholars. It will be valuable in undergraduate or graduate classrooms." * Choice *"This study suggests scholars can better understand woman as institution builders in American religion, even women as varied as Phoebe Palmer and Mother Angelica." * The Journal of American History *"[Pope-Levisons] rich and detailed history of these religious institutions has brought to life an understudied set of female evangelists who had a significant influence on American religious history by building lasting but sometimes forgotten religious organizations." * The Historian *"Readers without detailed knowledge of the US political, social, and ecclesiological context will need to hold on tightly, but will be richly repaid through the sheer accessibility of the stories, through them, the clearly presented context." * Wesley and Methodist Studies *"Pope-Levison builds on work by Margaret Lamberts Bendroth, Matthew Avery Sutton, and Catherine A. Brekus to create further understanding of the ways female evangelists of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries pushed back against patriarchal norms to create spaces for themselves. Pope-Levision adds to previous scholarship by arguing that these women also pushedforward, founding churches, religious training institutes, and denominations." * Register of the Kentucky Historical Society *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction: Converted, Called, Commissioned: A Phalanx of Institution Builders 1. Tents, Autos, Gospel Grenades: Evangelistic Organizations 2. Mothers, Saints, Bishops: Churches and Denominations 3. Biblical, Practical, Vocational: Religious Training Schools 4. Soap, Soup, Salvation: Rescue Homes and Rescue Missions Conclusion Appendix: Evangelists and Institutions Notes BibliographyIndex of Names and Subjects Index of Scripture ReferencesAbout the Author

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Book SynopsisWhen sports ministry first emerged in the 1950s and 1960s, its founders imagined male celebrity athletes as powerful salespeople who could deliver a message of Christian strength: If athletes can endorse shaving cream, razor blades, and cigarettes, surely they can endorse the Lord, too, reasoned Fellowship of Christian Athletes founder Don McClanen. But combining evangelicalism and sport did much more than serve as an advertisement for religion: it gave athletes the opportunity to think about the embodied experiences of sport as a way to experience intimate connection with the divine. As sports ministry developed, it focused on individual religious experiences and downplayed celebrity sales power, opening the door for female Christian athletes to join and eventually dominate sports ministry. Today, women are the majority of participants in sports ministry in the United States. In Playing for God, Annie Blazer offers an exploration of the history and religious livesTrade ReviewPlaying for Godis a unique and interdisciplinary contribution that combines insights from a diversity of academic fields, notably religious studies, gender and 6 studies, cultural studies and American studies. * Religion and Gender *Playing for Godis a finely crafted sociology of evangelical sports ministry and Christian female athletes who participate in and help promote a particular strand of Christianity. * Sociology of Religion *[A]n excellent book which raises important issues about how contemporary sportswomen perceive themselves. * Verite Sport: International Sports Ministry *[T]he research illustrates that religion can be and is blended with and into any and all aspects of culture, with & unintended consequences for religion based on the undeniable agency of individual members. * Anthropology Review Database *[] [T]he book will generate much discussion around various issues: e.g., are fundamentalists even & evangelical, given that the heart of the gospel is kindness, love, and forgiveness? People and groups are not necessarily & evangelical, even though they may claim to be. The media need to be aware of this fact. Good notes and bibliography. * Choice *What an intimate and perceptive work of ethnographic scholarship! Playing for God takes you into the profound epistemology of athleticism. Blazer uses her conversations with Christian sportswomen to delve into the ways that all people, religious and not, understand themselves through their bodies. A first-rate exploration of the intersection between spiritual knowledge and the disciplining effects of sporting life. -- Kathryn Lofton,Yale UniversityTable of ContentsContents Acknowledgments ix Introduction: Practicing Faith: Sports Ministry and Evangelicalism in America 1 Part I: Knowledge 1. Making the Save: Conversion and Witnessing 27 2. Transcendent Intimacy: The Embodied Pleasures of Sport 54 3. Spiritual Warfare and Christlikeness: Narratives of Bodies and Battlefields 78 Part II: Effects 4. Wearing Our Shorts a Little Longer: Testing the Boundaries of Evangelical Femininity 103 5. Challenging the Call: Sexual Desire and Sexual Deviance 129 6. Faith Off the Field: Negotiating Gender at Home 157 Conclusion: A Tale of Unintended Consequences 183 Notes 195 Index 223 About the Author 233

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Book SynopsisIf there is one question that haunts Indian Christians, it is ‘What does it mean to be Indian and Christian?’ This matter of identity presents a unique challenge. This book offers a unique path forward by studying the rise and character of Indian-initiated churches, Christian movements founded by Indians to address Indian issues.Table of Contents Editor's Preface Introduction 1 The Origins of Indian-Initiated Churches 2 Revivals and the Reframing of Indian Christianity 3 The Indian Pentecostal Church of God and The Independence Movement 4 The Bakht Singh Assemblies and the Independence Movement 5 Bhakti Devotion and the Rise of the India Bible Mission 6 Yesu Darbar: Spiritual Power and Popular Hinduism 7 New Life Fellowship: Re-forming the Church in Urban India Conclusion: Christianity Made in India

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Book SynopsisCome Now, Let Us Argue It Out provides a look into a community that challenges common narratives about what it means to be LGBTQ and Christian in the contemporary United States. Based on his participant-observation fieldwork with a faith-based organization called the Reformation Project, Jon Burrow-Branine provides an ethnography of how some LGBTQ and LGBTQ-supportive Christians negotiate identity and difference and work to create change in evangelicalism.Come Now, Let Us Argue It Out tells the story of how this activism can be understood as a community of counter-conduct. Drawing on a concept proposed by the philosopher and historian Michel Foucault, Burrow-Branine documents everyday moments of agency and resistance that have the potential to form new politics, ethics, and ways of being as individuals in this community navigate the exclusionary politics of mainstream evangelical institutions, culture, and theology. More broadly, Burrow-Branine conTrade Review“Come Now, Let Us Argue It Out is an extremely important and timely work. The book not only sheds light on the strategies and tactics of a major LGBTQ Christian organization, the Reformation Project, but also provides compelling insights into the intersections of religion, gender, sexuality, and social activism more generally. This is a phenomenal book that deserves a wide readership.”—Jonathan Coley, author of Gay on God’s Campus: Mobilizing for LGBT Equality at Christian Colleges and Universities“This is a topic of tremendous importance, pointing to massive changes afoot in evangelical America. Many younger Christians in particular are keeping their faith in God but losing faith in churches that are hostile to their LGBTQ friends and loved ones. . . . This is a fascinating contribution to American studies, sociology, anthropology, and religion studies.”—Dawne Moon, author of God, Sex, and Politics: Homosexuality and Everyday TheologiesTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Grace-Filled Conversations and Public Things 2. The Problem of Scripture 3. The Sexual Self and Spiritual Health 4. Transgender Figures and Trans Inclusion 5. Academies of Racial Justice Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisCome Now, Let Us Argue It Out provides a look into a community that challenges common narratives about what it means to be LGBTQ and Christian in the contemporary United States. Based on his participant-observation fieldwork with a faith-based organization called the Reformation Project, Jon Burrow-Branine provides an ethnography of how some LGBTQ and LGBTQ-supportive Christians negotiate identity and difference and work to create change in evangelicalism.Come Now, Let Us Argue It Out tells the story of how this activism can be understood as a community of counter-conduct. Drawing on a concept proposed by the philosopher and historian Michel Foucault, Burrow-Branine documents everyday moments of agency and resistance that have the potential to form new politics, ethics, and ways of being as individuals in this community navigate the exclusionary politics of mainstream evangelical institutions, culture, and theology. More broadly, Burrow-Branine conTrade Review“Come Now, Let Us Argue It Out is an extremely important and timely work. The book not only sheds light on the strategies and tactics of a major LGBTQ Christian organization, the Reformation Project, but also provides compelling insights into the intersections of religion, gender, sexuality, and social activism more generally. This is a phenomenal book that deserves a wide readership.”—Jonathan Coley, author of Gay on God’s Campus: Mobilizing for LGBT Equality at Christian Colleges and Universities“This is a topic of tremendous importance, pointing to massive changes afoot in evangelical America. Many younger Christians in particular are keeping their faith in God but losing faith in churches that are hostile to their LGBTQ friends and loved ones. . . . This is a fascinating contribution to American studies, sociology, anthropology, and religion studies.”—Dawne Moon, author of God, Sex, and Politics: Homosexuality and Everyday TheologiesTable of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgments Introduction 1. Grace-Filled Conversations and Public Things 2. The Problem of Scripture 3. The Sexual Self and Spiritual Health 4. Transgender Figures and Trans Inclusion 5. Academies of Racial Justice Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisLesslie Newbigin, one of the twentieth century's most important church leaders, offered insights on the church in a pluralistic world that are arguably more relevant now than when first written. This volume presents his ecclesiology to a new generation. Michael Goheen clearly articulates Newbigin's missionary understanding of the church and places it in the context of Newbigin's core theological convictions. Suitable for students as well as church leaders, this book offers readers a better understanding of the mission of the church in the world today. Foreword by N. T. Wright.Table of ContentsContentsForeword N. T. WrightIntroduction1. The Biblical Story as Universal History2. The Good News of the Kingdom and the Missionary Church3. The Missionary Church and Its Vocation in the World4. The Missionary Church and Its Life Together5. A Missionary Encounter with Culture6. A Missionary Encounter with Western Culture7. Lesslie Newbigin's Legacy for TodayIndex

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Book SynopsisBringing Pentecostal theology into the Bible and mission conversation, Amos Yong identifies the role of the divine spirit in God's mission to redeem the world. As he works through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, Yong emphasizes the global missiological imperative: "People of all nations reaching out to people of all nations." Sidebars include voices from around the globe who help the author put the biblical text into conversation with twenty-first-century questions, offering the church a fresh understanding of its mission and how to pursue it in the decades to come.Table of ContentsContentsSeries PrefaceIntroduction: On the Pneumatological and Missiological Interpretation of ScripturePart 1: Divine Wind and the Old Testament: Ruahic Witness across Ancient Israel1. Torah and the Missio Spiritus: The Winds of Creational Mission2. The Spirits of Ancient Israel: Ambiguity in Mission3. The Postexilic Ruah: Rewriting and Renewing Mission4. The Breath of the (Writing) Prophets: Centripetal and Centrifugal WitnessPart 2: Divine Breath and the Christian Scriptures: Pneumatic Witness after Pentecost5. The Witness of the Evangelistic Spirit: Gospel Mission6. Pauline Testimony in the Spirit: Apostolic Mission7. The Witness of the Eternal Spirit: Catholic Mission8. Johannine Paraclete and Eschatological Spirit: Mission for and against the WorldConcluding Late Modern "Prescript": Missio Spiritus--Triune Witness in a Post-Mission WorldIndexes

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Book SynopsisA leading scholar offers an up-to-date articulation of the theological grounding of the missionary endeavor. Lalsangkima (Kima) Pachuau argues that theology of mission deals with God's work in and for the world, which is centered on salvation in Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit. Pachuau brings a global perspective to mission theology, explains how theology of mission is related to theology as a discipline, and recognizes recent critiques of "missions," offering a compelling response rooted in the very nature of God.Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction: A Theological Viewpoint on Christian Missions1. The Triune God in Mission2. God's Mission of Salvation (1): Biblical Images and Christological Motifs of Salvation3. God's Mission of Salvation (2): Dimensions and Scope of Salvation4. The Living Church in God's Mission5. Fully God and Fully Human: Theology and Culture in the Mission of GodConclusion: A Summary of a Theology of MissionIndex

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Book SynopsisThe Gospel Coalition 2022 Award of Distinction (Missions & The Global Church) A leading expert in the field of Christian missions encourages the church to recover the apostolic imagination that fueled the multiplication of disciples in the first century. J. D. Payne examines the contemporary practice of Western missions and advocates a more central place for Scripture in defining missionary language, identity, purpose, function, and strategy. He shows that an apostolic understanding of the church's disciple-making commission requires rethinking every aspect of missionary engagement. The book includes end-of-chapter discussion questions and action steps to help pastors and church leaders develop an apostolic imagination.Table of ContentsContentsIntroductionPart 1: Foundations1. What Is the Apostolic Imagination?2. Challenges to the Imagination3. Apostolic Identity in the New Testament4. Apostolic Function in the New TestamentPart 2: Reimagining Contemporary Missions5. Reimagining Language6. Reimagining Identity7. Reimagining Priority8. Reimagining Function9. Reimagining Location10. Reimagining Strategy11. Reimagining the WestConclusion: A Word to PastorsIndexes

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Book SynopsisJohn Piper's bestselling book on missions draws on key biblical texts to demonstrate that worship is the ultimate goal of the church and that proper worship fuels missionary outreach. Piper offers a biblical defense of God's supremacy in all things, providing readers with a sound theological foundation for missions. This 30th anniversary edition of a contemporary classic, now in paperback, incorporates insights from the author's refined thinking over the past 10 years. Used extensively as a textbook for missions courses and a resource for ministries, Let the Nations Be Glad! provides a passionate plea for God-centeredness in the whole enterprise of world evangelization and explores the role of prayer and spiritual warfare. The book is essential reading for those involved in or preparing for missions work. It also offers enlightenment for students, pastors, youth workers, campus ministers, and all who want to connect their labors to God's global purposes.Table of ContentsContentsPart 1: Making God Supreme in Missions: The Purpose, the Power, and the Price1. The Supremacy of God in Missions through Worship2. The Supremacy of God in Missions through Prayer3. The Supremacy of God in Missions through SufferingPart 2: Making God Supreme in Missions: The Necessity and Nature of the Task4. The Supremacy of Christ as the Conscious Focus of All Saving Faith5. The Supremacy of God among "All the Nations"Part 3: Making God Supreme in Missions: The Practical Outworking of Compassion and Worship6. A Passion for God's Supremacy and Compassion for Man's Soul: Jonathan Edwards on the Unity of Motives for World Missions7. The Inner Simplicity and Outer Freedom of Worldwide WorshipPart 4: Making God Supreme in Missions: Global Shifts and Wartime Living8. Exulting in Global, Not Gospel, ShiftingConclusionAfterword: The Supremacy of God in Going and Sending by Tom StellerIndexes

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Book SynopsisBorn into a sharecropping family in New Hebron, Mississippi, in 1930, and only receiving a third-grade education, John M. Perkins has been a pioneering prophetic African American voice for reconciliation and social justice to America's white evangelical churches. Often an unwelcome voice and always a passionate, provocative clarion, Perkins persisted for forty years in bringing about the formation of the Christian Community Development Association--a large network of evangelical churches and community organizations working in America's poorest communities--and inspired the emerging generation of young evangelicals concerned with releasing the Church from its cultural captivity and oppressive materialism.John M. Perkins has received surprisingly little attention from historians of modern American religious history and theologians. Mobilizing for the Common Good is an exploration of the theological significance of John M. Perkins. With contributions from theologians, historians, and activists, this book contends that Perkins ushered in a paradigm shift in twentieth-century evangelical theology that continues to influence Christian community development projects and social justice activists today.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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