Religious mission and Religious Conversion Books

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Book SynopsisWhile Evangelicalism is known for its defence of orthodoxy and resistance to liberalizing trends, it is being reshaped by the modern zeitgeist in ways that evangelicals themselves do not realize. Offering an insider’s view into British and Canadian evangelical churches, Caught in the Current explores how and why evangelicals are changing.Trade Review“Sam Reimer significantly expands our understanding of the shifting religious landscape in Canada and the UK through a comparative lens. This is particularly valuable since Canada lacks the volume of commentary on the topic that we see in the US, and in-depth analysis of evangelical convictions are generally missed by the mainstream media. Written by one of the top experts in the field, Caught in the Current is rich in data and incisive in its commentary.” Peter J. Schuurman, Global Scholars Canada and Redeemer University, and author of The Subversive Evangelical: The Ironic Charisma of an Irreligious Megachurch

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Book SynopsisWhile Evangelicalism is known for its defence of orthodoxy and resistance to liberalizing trends, it is being reshaped by the modern zeitgeist in ways that evangelicals themselves do not realize. Offering an insider’s view into British and Canadian evangelical churches, Caught in the Current explores how and why evangelicals are changing.Trade Review“Sam Reimer significantly expands our understanding of the shifting religious landscape in Canada and the UK through a comparative lens. This is particularly valuable since Canada lacks the volume of commentary on the topic that we see in the US, and in-depth analysis of evangelical convictions are generally missed by the mainstream media. Written by one of the top experts in the field, Caught in the Current is rich in data and incisive in its commentary.” Peter J. Schuurman, Global Scholars Canada and Redeemer University, and author of The Subversive Evangelical: The Ironic Charisma of an Irreligious Megachurch

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Book SynopsisTrade ReviewThis work fills a substantial gap in the existing literature. It is encyclopedic in its range, keeping in view the missionary struggles between eastern and western Christianity-the Coptic, Roman, and Orthodox churches-as well as the divisions between the Protestant denominations. Eleanor H. Tejirian and Reeva Spector Simon's history is conceived on a grand scale and draws together much of the recent enormous literature on the subject. -- Andrew Porter, King's College London This book is a handy historical survey of the history of the Christian mission in the Middle East. It is well written and has a clear and thoughtful flow. -- Nancy L. Stockdale, University of North Texas The authors succeed in showing how Christian missions have inextricably connected the religious, cultural, and political history of this region over the past two millennia. -- Heather J. Sharkey Middle East Journal ... Simon and Tejirian have done an admirable job focusing on the past 2,000 years of Christian presence and witness in the Middle East. -- Scott Bridger The Gospel Coalition ... A fascinating and useful book... -- Rene Wadlow Transnational Perspectives The end result of Tejirian and Simon's massive undertaking is a clear, succinct volume thatcovers an impressive breadth of material. It should be required reading... Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations A valuable introduction to the fascinating and conflicted history of the Christian missions in the Middle East. -- Heleen Murre-van den Berg The Catholic HIstorical ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. The Spread of Christianity: The First Thousand Years 2. The Latin West in the Middle East: Pilgrimage 3. Disintegration 4. The Great Awakening of the Protestants and the Anglicans 5. Missionaries and European Diplomatic Competition 6. The Imperialist Moment: From the Congress of Berlin to World War I 7. Achievements and Consequences: Intended and Unintended 8. World War I: Nationalism 9. Setting the Agenda: From Conversion to Witness-and Back Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisConflict, Conquest, and Conversion surveys two thousand years of the Christian missionary enterprise in the Middle East within the context of the region's political evolution. Its broad, rich narrative follows Christian missions as they interacted with imperial powers and as the momentum of religious change shifted from Christianity to Islam and back, adding new dimensions to the history of the region and the nature of the relationship between the Middle East and the West. Historians and political scientists increasingly recognize the importance of integrating religion into political analysis, and this volume, using long-neglected sources, uniquely advances this effort. It surveys Christian missions from the earliest days of Christianity to the present, paying particular attention to the role of Christian missions, both Protestant and Catholic, in shaping the political and economic imperialism of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Eleanor H. Tejirian and Reeva Spector Simon delinTrade ReviewThis work fills a substantial gap in the existing literature. It is encyclopedic in its range, keeping in view the missionary struggles between eastern and western Christianity-the Coptic, Roman, and Orthodox churches-as well as the divisions between the Protestant denominations. Eleanor H. Tejirian and Reeva Spector Simon's history is conceived on a grand scale and draws together much of the recent enormous literature on the subject. -- Andrew Porter, King's College London This book is a handy historical survey of the history of the Christian mission in the Middle East. It is well written and has a clear and thoughtful flow. -- Nancy L. Stockdale, University of North Texas The authors succeed in showing how Christian missions have inextricably connected the religious, cultural, and political history of this region over the past two millennia. -- Heather J. Sharkey Middle East Journal ... Simon and Tejirian have done an admirable job focusing on the past 2,000 years of Christian presence and witness in the Middle East. -- Scott Bridger The Gospel Coalition ... A fascinating and useful book... -- Rene Wadlow Transnational Perspectives The end result of Tejirian and Simon's massive undertaking is a clear, succinct volume thatcovers an impressive breadth of material. It should be required reading... Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations A valuable introduction to the fascinating and conflicted history of the Christian missions in the Middle East. -- Heleen Murre-van den Berg The Catholic HIstorical ReviewTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction 1. The Spread of Christianity: The First Thousand Years 2. The Latin West in the Middle East: Pilgrimage 3. Disintegration 4. The Great Awakening of the Protestants and the Anglicans 5. Missionaries and European Diplomatic Competition 6. The Imperialist Moment: From the Congress of Berlin to World War I 7. Achievements and Consequences: Intended and Unintended 8. World War I: Nationalism 9. Setting the Agenda: From Conversion to Witness-and Back Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisA daily account of enormous courage and unthinkable horror during the Nanjing MassacreTrade Review“In what was undoubtedly a labour of love, Suping Lu has provided a moving account of Wilhelmina "Minnie" Vautrin, an American missionary and educator trapped in Nanjing during the Japanese occupation. . . . This book will immediately communicate the severity of the massacre to a general audience. . . . The terrible psychological effects of the Japanese invasion on such a good-hearted person come across vividly, and are difficult to forget.”--The China Quarterly"This diary is not only an important record of a tumultuous period of wartime Nanjing, but also a valuable document about the life of a female American missionary teaching in Republican China."--Daqing Yang, coeditor of Rethinking Historical Injustice and Reconciliation in Northeast Asia: The Korean Experience"Through the harrowing stories of the victims, accounts of heroic confrontation with Japanese soldiers, and personal testimony, Minnie Vautrin's diaries provide a wealth of information on the Nanking Massacre. A close reading of her remarkable descriptions will help historians and students understand the tragic consequences of war from the vantage point of a civilian who worked helplessly to protect Chinese civilians from Japanese brutality."--Christian Henriot, author of Prostitution and Sexuality in Shanghai: A Social History, 1849-1949"A powerful account. . . .This book will immediately communicate the severity of the massacre to a general audience. . . . The terrible psychological effects of the Japanese invasion on such a good-hearted person comes across vividly, and are difficult to forget."--The China Quarterly

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Trade Review"A very important work. This travel journal tells the story of a great man's baptism into other worlds of culture, language, nationhood, and appreciation for peoples outside of his purview. The more one knows about David O. McKay, the more one recognizes that this international experience changed the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."--R. Lanier Britsch, author of Moramona: The Mormons in Hawai'i"A well-researched and well-written narrative that places McKay's journey in historical context and prepares the reader to plumb its forward-looking significance. It will take its place in the extensive documentary history of the most important figure in twentieth-century Mormonism."--Gregory A. Prince, coauthor of David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"A very important work. This travel journal tells the story of a great man's baptism into other worlds of culture, language, nationhood, and appreciation for peoples outside of his purview. The more one knows about David O. McKay, the more one recognizes that this international experience changed the history of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."--R. Lanier Britsch, author of Moramona: The Mormons in Hawai'i"A well-researched and well-written narrative that places McKay's journey in historical context and prepares the reader to plumb its forward-looking significance. It will take its place in the extensive documentary history of the most important figure in twentieth-century Mormonism."--Gregory A. Prince, coauthor of David O. McKay and the Rise of Modern Mormonism

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Book SynopsisFocuses on the ways in which Christianity has become an integral part of Xiamen, a southeastern Chinese city profoundly influenced by western missionaries. Illustrates the complexities of memory and mission in shaping the city's cultural landscape, church-state dynamics, and global aspirations.Trade Review“This is a wonderful new resource for all scholars of Chinese religion and historians of China more generally. It is a beautiful example of how contemporary ethnographic work combined with historical archival research can produce some of the most pertinent and insightful portraits of state– society relations and their co-production of memory, history and identity.”—Gerda Wielander China Quarterly“Negotiating the Christian Past in China coalesces granular, deeply researched ethnographic data into a fresh and expansive take on the unique patterns of Church-state engagement and the relationship between social memory and faith identity. This story is local and global, particular and general. For anyone who has not yet visited, or cannot travel to, Xiamen, especially Gulangyu Island, this book is the next best thing.”—Joseph T. H. Lee,Pace University“Drawing on firsthand interviews, locally produced Chinese-language histories, and observation of historical celebrations, Negotiating the Christian Past in China offers a new understanding of China’s Christian past. In particular, Liu shows how this past is constructed by combining both official frameworks and unofficial nostalgias and experiences into a social memory that is actively produced without being dominated by state repression or characterized as grassroots resistance. This book takes readers as never before inside the lived world of Xiamen’s Christian present. It does so by exploring how protagonists construct its past in negotiations with other societal actors in the shadow of the state.”—Carsten Vala,author of The Politics of Protestant Churches and the Party-State in China“This book is not only a catalyst for the development of empirical Christian studies in China but also contributes to deepening the exploration of the field of Christian history and cultural memory studies.”—Wei Xiong Religious Studies Review

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Book SynopsisThe Provocative Church offers a liberating understanding of evangelism as a corporate activity, in which all the gifts needed to enact the life of the Kingdom - to stir people into asking, 'What does this mean?' - are spread throughout the whole Church. It encourages the development of a theology of conversion.Trade ReviewThe Provocative Church is one of the best, most honest, most theologically grounded and therefore most practically helpful books on evangelism to have come out in recent years * Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford *

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Book SynopsisThe inspiring story of Rich Wilson, Team Leader at Fusion and the growth of the incredible student movement he serves. Packed with real-life stories of ordinary people following an extraordinary God, this book will encourage readers to find and pursue their calling through adventure and adversity.Table of Contents1. Calling and me: hearing the call 2. Calling and history: the family tree 3. Calling and community: small groups on fire 4. Calling and Pain: a long dark night 5. Calling and Money: hustling with faith 6. Calling and Battles: I will stand 7. Calling and Perseverance: long obedience/ grace and grit 8. Calling and Adventure: fire and ice 9. Calling and Hope: I see hope 10. Calling and movement: movement makers

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Book SynopsisJesus wants to remake us; but if we barely allow Jesus through the front door, it is no surprise that we are left wondering whether this really is as good as it gets. Neil O'Boyle shows us what it means to open ourselves up, so that the light of Christ shines into the dark nooks and exposes the sagging rafters.Trade ReviewHugely engaging, deeply challenging, brilliantly creative and extremely practical. * Laura Hancock, National Ministries Director, Youth for Christ *What I like about this book is that it doesn’t settle for the ordinary but invites the reader to allow Jesus Christ to wander the corridors of our lives and check out any room that might be off limits for three simple outcomes - freedom, life and transformation, and one simple purpose - a closer relationship with Jesus Christ. * Most Revd John Sentamu, Archbishop of York *

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Book SynopsisA new brand of apostolic ministry for today's world The Permanent Revolution is a work of theological re-imagination and re-construction that draws from biblical studies, theology, organizational theory, leadership studies, and key social sciences.Table of ContentsAbout the Jossey-Bass Leadership Network Series xiii Foreword by Darrell L. Guder xv Preface: A Briefing for the Journey xix Introduction: The Crisis of Infertility and What to Do About It xxvii Part One Ephesians 4:1–16: Frameworks for Ministry 1 Activating the Theo-Genetic Codes of APEST Ministry 3 2 An Elegant Solution: Distributed Intelligence in the Body of Christ 27 3 Better Together: The Synergy of Difference 55 4 Missional Ministry for a Missional Church: A Church Where Everyone Gets to Play 73 Part Two Apostolic Ministry 5 Custody of the Codes: Mapping the Contours of Apostolic Ministry 97 6 Come Back, Peter; Come Back, Paul: The Relation Between Nuance and Impact 119 7 Living from the Center: Apostolic Ministry and the Renewal of Christianity 137 Part Three Apostolic Leadership 8 The Enterprise of Movement and the Movement of Enterprise 159 9 The Spirit of Innovation: Creating New Futures for the Jesus Movement 183 Part Four Apostolic Organization 10 Movements R Us: Thinking and Acting Like a Movement 205 11 Apostolic Architecture: The Anatomy of Missional Organization 227 Conclusion 249 Afterword by Mike Breen 251 Appendix: A Question of Legitimacy: The Restoration of the Apostolic Ministry 255 Notes 273 The Authors 307 Index 309

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Book SynopsisExamines contemporary Passion plays, biblical theme parks, Holy Land recreations, creationist museums, and megachurches in order to understand how they serve their evangelical believer-users while also shaping larger cultural and national dialogues. The book examines how performative media support specific theologies and core beliefs by creating sensual, live experiences for those who use them.Trade ReviewAn engrossing and richly detailed study of the way evangelicalism performs itself—and its adherents—into being by intimately recoding participants’ bodies, feelings, and yearnings. The book deserves a wide and appreciative readership in religious studies, theatre and performance studies, affect studies, and media studies as well.” —Ann Pellegrini, New York University

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Book SynopsisThis study of the conversion of tribal peoples to Christianity combines case studies with the contributors' theories, challenging anthropologists and sociologists to reassess the varieties of religious experience and the convergent processes involved in religious change.Table of ContentsRobert W. Hefner, Introduction Howard Clark Kee on the Early Church Terence Ranger on Southern Africa Robert W. Hefner on Java William L. Merrill on Mexico Donald K. Pollock on Amazonia John Barker on Papua, New Guinea Aram A. Yengoyan on Australia Charles F. Keyes on Thailand David K. Jordan on China Peter Wood, Afterword

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Book SynopsisLooks at the language of the chastity movement and discovers a savvy campaign that uses sex to 'sell' abstinence. Drawing from interviews with evangelical leaders and teenagers, this title examines the strategy to shift from a negative 'just say no' approach to a positive one: 'just say yes' to great sex within marriage.Trade Review"An excellent qualitative examination of how religious persons make sense of their sexuality within contemporary society." -- Kelsy C. Burke Sociology Of Religion "Making Chastity Sexy is important and perceptive in a profound way... Brilliant." -- Frank Schaeffer Huffington Post "Making Chastity Sexy offers a convincing critique ... will appeal to a broad audience." Sociology Of ReligionTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Abstinence, AIDS, and Evangelicals: An Introduction 1. From Abstinence to Purity: The Changing Tropes of Chastity 2. Of Purity Rings and Pop Stars: Using Sex to Sell Abstinence 3. "Someday My Prince Will Come": The Fairy-tale Narrative and Female Power 4. Disciplining Sexuality: How American Evangelical Youth Are Committing to Abstinence--and Sticking with It 5. The Fractured Fairy Tale: When True Love Doesn't Wait 6. Fearing God, Not AIDS: Abstinence in Africa 7. The Condom Conflict: Saving Lives or Promoting Promiscuity? 8. What's Not So Great about Great Sex Appendix: List of Interviewees Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisLooking at American Christianity in relation to globalization, this book shows that American Christianity is increasingly influenced by globalization and is, in turn, playing a larger role in other countries and in US policies and programs abroad. It refutes that US churches have turned away from the global church and overseas missions.Trade Review"A clear and systemic discussion of a topic that has too often been dominated by polemics." -- Timothy Renick Christian Century "Compelling... a vivid portrait of the interaction between American Christianity and the rest of the world and the future of this relationship." Foreword "Wuthnow's latest sociological masterpiece." -- Richard Fox Young Theology Today "An erudite and readable account." Publishers Weekly "Offers an abundance of interesting and highly relevant material... Like [Wuthnow's] earlier works, Boundless Faith can be recommended without hesitation." Journal American Academy Of Religion/ Jaar "Eminent" Books & Culture: A Christian Rvw "Wuthnow's thoughtful and sometimes surprising treatment of available data-statistics about membership, mission, and growth in Christian communities-makes it clear why this kind of scholarship matters." -- Marilyn McEntyre Sojourners: Faith, Pol & Culture "[Wuthnow] brings something different to the field of study." -- Todd Johnson Church History Stds In Christiany And CultureTable of ContentsPreface Introduction 1. At Home and Abroad The Changing Contours of American Religion 2. The Global Christianity Paradigm From Cultural Connection to Demographic Distance 3. Four Faces of Globalization Debating Heterogeneity and Inequality 4. The Evolution of Transnational Ties Changing Patterns of Social Organization 5. The Global Role of Congregations Bridging Borders through Direct Engagement 6. Faith and Foreign Policy Does Religious Advocacy Matter? 7. The Challenges Ahead Good for America, Good for the World? Appendix Notes Selected Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisThrough two years of ethnographic fieldwork at a megachurch, sociologist Sarah Diefendorf investigates the ways in which the evangelical church is working to grow during a time in which cultural shifts are leading young people to leave religion behind. In order to expand, the church has revisited topics long understood as external threats to the organization, such as feminism, gender equality, racial inclusivity, and queer lifetopics Diefendorf classifies as the imagined secular in the minds of evangelicals. The Holy Vote shows, however, that the church continues to uphold already privileged identities even as it reworks its messages to appear more welcoming, offering insight into how White evangelical understandings about sex and families have shaped a political movement that has helped remake the Republican Party and transform American politics. In this enlightening work, Diefendorf highlights the complex origins of these understandings and considers their intersections with contemTrade Review"A keenly perceptive ethnographic study. . . . it should attract a wide range of readers, not just those interested in sociology of religion or White evangelicals, but anyone interested in the endurance of social inequalities." * Social Forces *Table of ContentsContents Acknowledgments 1. Good and Godly in Trump’s America 2. The Fear of Religious and Cultural Decline 3. The Imagined Secular: Confronting Feminism, Gender, and Family Life 4. White Evangelicals: Emotion Work and Racial Inequality 5. Sacred Sex: Marriage and Heterosexuality 6. We Aren’t the Extremists: Same-Sex Marriage and Changing Ideas of Sin 7. Enduring Inequalities in Unsettled Times Appendix A: Navigating Prayer, Positionality, and Institutional Review Appendix B: Participant Overview Notes References Index

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Book SynopsisSouth Korea is home to some of the largest evangelical Protestant congregations in the world. This book investigates the meaning ofand the reasons behinda particular aspect of contemporary South Korean evangelicalism: the intense involvement of middle-class women.

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Book SynopsisDrawing on extensive archives of teachers’ letters and accounts, Zimmerman’s narrative explores the teachers’ shifting attitudes about their country and themselves, in a world that was more unexpected than they could have imagined.Trade ReviewTeaching abroad, [Zimmerman's] book shows, often led Americans to a deeper understanding of cultural relativity and the imperfections of their own society. -- David Espey * Peace Corps Writers *This charming history of the missionaries, Peace Corps volunteers, and other idealists who taught in the four corners of the world over the past 100 years is billed by the author and publisher as an examination of our shifting understanding of "culture"...For readers interested in education, though, it offers an even more delicious treat: countless scenes of progressive teachers thwarted in their efforts to export dubious ideas. * Education Next *In Innocents Abroad, Jonathan Zimmerman provides both an important contribution to historical scholarship and a fascinating glimpse at the lives of a unique group of Americans. This book examines Americans in the twentieth century who went overseas to teach, whether under the auspices of missionary groups or as members of secular groups, most especially the Peace Corps. This is a gracefully written, thoroughly researched, and creatively organized study. It provides a thoughtful and imaginative perspective on how Americans who served as teachers overseas conceived of the American project overseas. -- Fritz Fischer * Journal of American History *Through historical analysis and comments on teaching in the new global age, Zimmerman gives readers of Innocents Abroad much to consider. -- Christine Ogren * Teachers College Record *With Innocents Abroad, Jonathan Zimmerman establishes himself as one of the more adroit thinkers among contemporary educational and cultural historians...More than simply a study of Americans teaching overseas throughout the "American Century," then, Innocents Abroad offers a fresh way to think about the seemingly irreconcilable tension underlying the universalist and relativist approaches to culture prevalent in the world today...Offering us insight into the ways that we might value freedom and equality for all people while also respecting diverse worldviews, Innocents Abroad makes a significant contribution to educational and cultural history as well as to our efforts to understand the post-9/11 world in which we live. -- Charles Dorn * History of Education Quarterly *This is an eloquent history that provides a unique window on American citizen diplomacy during the twentieth century. As American citizens, overseas teachers were often conscious of mediating political worlds, even as they were conscious at personal levels of mediating professional duties, social identities, and moral responsibilities. Zimmerman effectively maps both sets of intersections, thereby thickening descriptions of citizen diplomacy. Overseas teachers were also deployed by organizations in most cases, and the teacher perspectives Zimmerman assembles are important angles of vision on organizational channels of citizen diplomacy, including the U.S. Peace Corps and Christian mission organizations. These aspects of Zimmerman's study will be of interest well beyond the academy, including policy makers and practitioners concerned with international development, church missions, and voluntary sector activities. This is a valuable study, and it deserves a wide readership. -- R. Drew Smith * American Historical Review *Zimmerman offers frank analysis of their impressions, ambitions and anxieties--and the cultural and international forces that shaped them. Taking its name from Mark Twain's 1869 work on American encounters overseas, Zimmerman's book shows how what began as a heaven-sent mission to spread the light of American education to the benighted races became, over the course of the century, a source of shame and anxiety for American teachers overseas. -- Rebecca O'Brien * Forbes.com *Table of Contents* Acknowledgments * Introduction: Aboard the USS Thomas I. American Dilemmas * The American Method * he American Curriculum * Schooling for All? II. American Critiques * Teacher Professionalism and Its Critics * Church-State Relations * The Problem of Empire * Epilogue: American Teachers in a Global Age * Notes * Index

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Book SynopsisHeather D. Curtis lays bare the theological motivations, social forces, cultural assumptions, business calculations, and political dynamics that shaped America's ambivalent embrace of evangelical philanthropy. In the process she uncovers the seeds of today's heated debates over the politics of poverty relief and international aid.Trade Review[Curtis’s] book shows that evangelicals have always displayed a mixture of innocence and partisan zeal. -- D. G. Hart * Wall Street Journal *Provides an illuminating lens into evangelical culture at the turn of the 20th century…Curtis explores the ways in which evangelical philanthropy created and curated the images of helpless people abroad. -- David C. Kirkpatrick * Marginalia *But how did [photographs of ‘sponsored’ children in developing countries]—not to mention the acts of transnational giving that they are intended to motivate—become so ubiquitous in American evangelical households? And how did evangelical institutions become such important players in international relief and development work in the first place? [Curtis] answers these questions and more in her brilliant new book…which shows that evangelical leadership in these realms significantly predated the tidal wave of postwar generosity that gave rise to organizations such as World Vision… [S]he underscores the urgency of ongoing moral reflection: After all, as her story makes clear, love of one’s global neighbor has sometimes come with dubious strings attached. -- Heath W. Carter * Christianity Today *A stellar study of the popular Christian Herald and its outsized importance in the emergence of American evangelical media, philanthropy, and global engagement at the turn of the twentieth century. This is a colorful, compelling narrative. -- Darren Dochuk, author of From Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical ConservatismA remarkable achievement. Holy Humanitarians offers valuable insights into issues of domestic inequality, Christian–Muslim encounters abroad, and Americans’ ambivalent attitudes about the suffering of distant others. This thoughtful, nuanced exploration of the contradictions of humanitarian sentiment is rich and compelling. -- Melani McAlister, author of The Kingdom of God Has No Borders: A Global History of American EvangelicalsA wonderfully written and powerfully insightful book that stretches and deepens our understanding of how religion helped shape America’s engagement with the world. Historians have recently explored humanitarianism and philanthropy around the turn of the twentieth century, yet Curtis shows that we’ve only just scratched the surface. -- Andrew Preston, author of Sword of the Spirit, Shield of Faith: Religion in American War and DiplomacyDeeply researched and cogently argued, Holy Humanitarians is a major contribution to the literature on the American missionary impulse and philanthropy. Curtis is a master stylist; her book is a model of how to write with beauty and grace. -- Grant Wacker, author of America’s Pastor: Billy Graham and the Shaping of a Nation

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Book SynopsisEmerson and the Transcendentalists get credit for revolutionizing religious life in America by introducing a new appreciation of nature. But in this reconsideration of faith in the antebellum period, Brett Malcolm Grainger argues that it was evangelical revivalists who transformed everyday religious life and spiritualized the natural environment.Trade ReviewWhile we sometimes attribute an enlightened ecology to the New England Puritans, [Grainger] shows how the many millions of evangelicals of the same period had a similar sensibility. The book shows what an approach to religion that strays from the titanic intellectuals and texts can do. In lieu of a rereading of Thoreau, Grainger offers us a fine-grained account of the hymns, sermons, and poetry that constituted the commonsense worldview of a people. -- James G. Chappel * Boston Review *Grainger…demonstrates in his trenchant debut that the American spiritualist origin story of Transcendentalists seeking the divine in the woods and fields doesn’t hold up…Readers of American history and Christian theology will enjoy Grainger’s history, and fans of Emerson and Thoreau will find much to intrigue and challenge them. * Publishers Weekly *Evangelicals today may be relatively out of tune with the environment and sanguine about what is happening to it. But as Brett Grainger shows in this timely work, they have not always been insensitive to communications from nature…Succeeds wonderfully in conveying the emotional engagement with nature experienced by antebellum evangelicals and the sparkling quality of their religiosity. -- Amanda Porterfield * Church History *In Grainger’s work, contemporary Christians might find a resource for understanding themselves as nature worshipers, and thus also as potential stewards of that nature…Through a focus on the nature motifs that pervaded evangelical piety, Grainger points to the fundamental eclecticism of American evangelical history. -- Dana Wiggins Logan * Reading Religion *This elegant book uncovers the vital piety at the heart of modern nature spirituality. Grainger provides a deeply intellectual and profoundly feeling portrait of evangelical romanticism. -- Kathryn Lofton, author of Consuming ReligionBrett Grainger’s Church in the Wild is tremendously exciting work, both in the stories it tells and the ways it tells them. Grainger shows the impossibility of separating theology and devotion, learned discourse and popular practice, and—even more fundamentally—evangelical Christianity and the myriad other religious and secular domains from which it acquires new vocabularies, concepts, and practices. -- Amy Hollywood, author of Acute Melancholia and Other EssaysChurch in the Wild makes the surprising revelation that nineteenth-century evangelicals were key to the spiritualization of nature in the United States. This is an extraordinary book about the American desire to find God in the natural world. -- Catherine Brekus, author of Sarah Osborn’s World: The Rise of Evangelical Christianity in Early AmericaIn this extraordinary book, Brett Grainger writes beautifully about how antebellum evangelicals saw ‘field, forest, and stream’ as suffused with the immediate presence of Christ. Church in the Wild convincingly argues that nature spirituality was as much an everyday practice for evangelicals as Bible piety. Readers will come away from this profound reinterpretation with a changed understanding of evangelicals as practitioners of outdoor worship, natural theology, and vital piety. -- Lincoln A. Mullen, author of The Chance of SalvationReaders discover a portrait of early American lived religion that centers [on] the great outdoors. If we have often ceded the natural world to histories of unorthodox, elite seekers such as the New England Transcendentalists, we lose sight of a wider range of religious and cultural experiences in which religious people made sense of their surroundings. -- Monica L. Mercado * Anxious Bench *The original, significant contribution of Grainger’s study is to map in graphic detail the evolution and varieties of religious experience that immersion in the nonhuman world spawned for all sorts and conditions of evangelical believers from this period. The book succeeds admirably…A fresh perspective on the manifold versions of nature reverence in America that flourished in nineteenth-century American beyond the more celebrated ‘Concord philosophy’ of Transcendentalist New Englanders like Emerson and Thoreau. -- John Gatta * Journal for the Study of Religion, Nature, and Culture *Masterful…The implications of this study are significant. Against longstanding scholarly characterizations of Protestants as agents of disenchantment, Grainger highlights the multiplicity of ways in which Evangelicals popularized the idea of divine immanence in nature. -- David Mislin * Journal of Ecclesiastical History *

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Bowler (Everything Happens for a Reason), professor at the Duke Divinity School, explains in this excellent analysis how some evangelical women have managed to become mega-ministry celebrities by transforming the limited roles allotted to women in evangelical culture into positions of power. Framing these women's work as that of wives, mothers, homemakers, and teachers—rather than pastors or business leaders—Bowler reveals how figures including Joyce Meyer, Beth Moore, and Victoria Osteen wield enormous power in their husbands' ministries, both on stage and behind the scenes. . . . [This] wonderful work provocatively considers what women gain and lose in becoming 'market-ready' for evangelical communities." * Publishers Weekly, starred review *"A fascinating examination of the way conservative Christian women wield power in an ultimately patriarchal faith." * Library Journal *"Bowler, the author of the wildly popular Every­thing Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I’ve Loved, is a thorough researcher and witty writer."---LaVonne Neff, Christian Century"[Bowler writes] with empathy and also humour. . . . This book opens up for many of us a new world. It shows the pressures faced by talented evangelical women and raises by implication questions about how women in general, religious or not, are treated today."---Paul Richardson, Church of England Newspaper"Bowler brings forward fresh evidence and significant insights. . . . An interesting read and an important contribution to itssubject area."---G. M. Ditchfield, Politics, Religion & Ideology"Written with wit and empathy . . . Bowler brilliantly unveils the complex negotiation of power by preachers’ wives in the spotlight."---Lieke L. Schrijvers, PentecoStudies"This is a book well-worth reading if one wants a broader understanding of the many evangelical movements as a whole and the rise of the religious celebrity"---Andrea Johnson, Pneuma"Well-researched. . . . A fascinating read and well worth the time."---Scott M. Gibson, Journal of the Evangelical Homiletics Society

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Book SynopsisBestselling author Dutch Sheets will inspire and encourage readers with this clear, revelatory study of God''s appointed times and seasons. Going beyond the basic definitions of kairos and chronos, Sheets brings fresh insight to the subject, examining Scripture to show how kairos (strategic) times and chronos (general) times are not two separate and unrelated seasons in our lives but, rather, are often simply different phases of the same process. He discusses how God brought about His divine shift in the lives of men and women throughout the Bible and the many ways in which God used these seasons of change to deepen His people''s understanding of Him.

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Book SynopsisJesus's earthly ministry reached for people on the margins. As he extended himself in compassion to meet their needs, people turned their hearts to him. Love Like Jesus will help you follow Jesus's pattern for changing lives.

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Book SynopsisMoving and inspirational, America's Great Revivals offers the stirring history of spiritual awakenings in America spanning from 1734 through 2000, and presents the ministry history of Jonathan Edwards, Charles Finney, Billy Graham, and more! May the stories of what God did in these centuries encourage you to pray for a new season of great revival.

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Book SynopsisThis book examines Anglican missionary work in nineteenth-century British Columbia at several scales: the local ethnographic literature; histories of contact and conflict in mainland B.C. from the early nineteenth century; the theology and sociology of mission; and the recent critical literature on European colonialism.Trade ReviewImportant contribution to the growing literature on culture contact and conflict between Native societies and European settlers .. Christophers is careful to expand understanding of the contexts that had bearing on Good's mission, and one learns much about Nlha7kapmx life and the impact of European contact. -- L.H. Hoyle * Choice *A thoughtful contribution to the vexed study of Christianity and imperialism. It is particularly refreshing to have a book which takes religious ideas seriously. It is a testimony to the interest of this short book that one mostly wishes it were longer. -- Elizabeth Elbourne * Letters in Canada 1998 *This well-researched book examines the role of the missionary on the colonial frontier. It presents a measured and subtle picture of a figure who has more often been caricatured, dismissed as an overconfident and blundering proponent of Christianity and imperialism. Doing so, it contributes to a broader post-colonial deconstruction of imperial binaries. -- Richard Phillips * Ecumene 2000 7 (1) *Brett Christophers' account of the life and times of an Anglican missionary in the wilds of British Columbia a hundred and fifty years ago is an excellent case study in thehistory of cross-cultural contacts and conflicts ... Christophers‚ account is well-researched, and in this regard persuasive. * Association of Contemporary Church Historians *Table of ContentsFiguresAcknowledgmentsIntroductionAbbreviations1 Beginnings2 Redemption3 Reproduction4 Space5 Conversion6 Morals7 DissolutionNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisSet against a backdrop of war and revolution, this book brings sixty years of missionary nursing out of the shadows by examining how Canadian nurses shaped health care in the province of Henan and how China, in turn, influenced the nature of missionary nursing.Trade ReviewGrypma constructs a historical account of Canadian nurses’ work in China while exploring the interplay of professional nursing with issues such as religion, gender, culture, health, and nation. […] Supported with excellent documentation and evidence, Healing Henan is well-written and exciting reading, and it sheds new light on the significance of the efforts by nurses and doctors in a Chinese province. The book also provides the reader with a close view of the ambitions, struggles, and accomplishments of Canadian nurses in Henan, and it will appeal to anyone interested in the history of religious nursing. -- Anne Marie Overgaard * Nursing History Review, 2009 *The author, Associate Professor of Nursing at Trinity Western University, left no research stone unturned […]. Dr. Sonya Grypma brought to life the character and personality of the nurses, the nature and importance of their work, their length of service, and the impact of their work. There has been little written about nursing in China. Most history has been dedicated to individual profiles instead of unified efforts by a group of professionals. The author has changed that in this book. The publication should be of interest to students of Chinese history, nursing history, and especially to medical missionaries that are planning a clinic, hospital, or short-term medical team to an undeveloped field. -- William L. Capps * Missiology, An International Review *This ambitiously titled and carefully worked study by Sonya Grypma, a historian of nursing, documents a period in the history of medical missions in China involving Canadian nurses working in Henan who were members of the so-called North China Mission of the former Presbyterian Church (since 1925, the United Church) of Canada.[…] Grypma is to be thanked for lifting such a veil of forgetting, giving names and (by inserting photographs) faces to the otherwise anonymous nurses, Canadian mainly, but also Chinese. -- Christoffer H. Grundmann * International Bulletin of Missionary Research *Table of ContentsList of IllustrationsForewordAcknowledgmentsList of SpellingsList of AbbreviationsIntroduction1 The Gospel of Soap and Water, 1888-19002 Visions Interrupted, 1901-203 Modern Nursing at Last, 1921-274 Golden Years, 1928-375 Scattered Dreams, 1937-406 War Years, 1941-457 The Last Days, 1946-47Conclusion: Creating a Cloistered SpaceEpilogue: Return to Henan, 2003AppendicesAppendix 1: List of Missionary Nurses at North China MissionAppendix 2: List of WMS Nurses Who Resigned to be MarriedAppendix 3: Three Types of Missionary NursesAppendix 4: Missionary Nurse EducationAppendix 5: Summary of 1947 Confidential ReportNotesBibliographyIndex

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Book SynopsisIn The Missional Leader, consultants Alan Roxburgh and Fred Romanuk give church and denominational leaders, pastors, and clergy a clear model for leading the change necessary to create and foster a missional church focused outward to spread the message of the Gospel into the surrounding community. The Missional Leader emphasizes principles rather than institutional forms, shows readers how to move away from church as usual, and demonstrates what capacities, environments, and mindsets are required to lead a missional church.Trade Review"The Missional Leader paints a realistic picture ... of what life could look like among churches willing to enter the chaos [of the world] and make lasting change little by little." (Christianity Today, Fall 2006)Table of ContentsAbout Leadership Network ix Foreword xi Introduction xv Part One: The Context and Challenge of Missional Leadership 1 1 Six Critical Issues for Missional Leadership 3 2 Cultivating the Imagination of the Missional Leader 15 3 Change and Transition: Navigating the Challenges 37 4 The Big Picture: Understanding the Context of the Missional Congregation 61 5 The Missional Change Model 79 Part Two: The Missional Leader 109 6 Missional Readiness Factors and the Nature of Leadership 111 7 The Character of a Missional Leader 125 8 Cultivating the People of God for a Missional Future 143 9 Forming a Missional Environment and Culture 165 10 Engaging Context with a Christian Imagination 171 11 Conclusion: Putting Together a Team for Leadership Development 183 Notes 207 Acknowledgments 211 About the Authors 213 Index 215

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Book SynopsisWritten by church consultant Will Mancini expert on a new kind of visioning process to help churches develop a stunningly unique model of ministry that leads to redemptive movement. He guides churches away from an internal focus to emphasize participation in their community and surrounding culture. In this important book, Mancini offers an approach for rethinking what it means to lead with clarity as a visionary. Mancini explains that each church has a culture that reflects its particular values, thoughts, attitudes, and actions and shows how church leaders can unlock their church''s individual DNA and unleash their congregation''s one-of-a-kind potential.Trade Review"[Mancini] gives a compelling rationale for the church to move on and accompanies this rationale with instructive support and church-wide challenge. All mission boards and vestries would benefit from the materials contained therein." —The Rev. Jeffrey A. Mackey, The Living Church magazine (Sept. 2008) Mancini (founder, Auxano consulting group) believes that all churches need not be megachurches like Willowcreek (IL) or Saddleback (CA). Here, he avoids a mere discussion of churches worthy of emulation and further crosses denominational lines, having himself worked alongside Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans, and others. Mancini eschews the title consultant , preferring instead vision navigator . In short, he helps leaders focus on their own unique cultures and congregational fingerprints. Once churches grasp that they are one of a kind-much like galaxies, fossils, DNA, and sandbanks-they can then, Mancini writes, unleash their full potential. The book, complete with an appendix as well as logos and icons illustrating various churches' visionary thinking, is strengthened by numerous flow charts, diagrams, graphics, and pithy quotes. It has the potential to unseat Rick Warren's The Purpose-Driven Church in popularity. Yet academic libraries may want to pass on this title for its admitted lack of supporting empirical evidence. Public libraries, on the other hand, would be wise to purchase a copy. With a foreword by inspirational giant Max Lucado. —C. Brian Smith, Arlington Heights Memorial Lib., IL (Library Journal, May 1, 2008)Table of ContentsAbout Leadership Network xvii Foreword xix Introduction xxi PART ONE Recasting Vision 1. Unoriginal Sin: Neglecting Uniqueness 5 2. The Fall of Strategic Planning: Obscuring the Essence 17 3. The Iniquity of Church Growth: Caging the Kingdom 27 4. Lost Congregations: How Churches Adapt to the Vision Vacuum 40 PART TWO Clarifying Vision 5. The Good News of Clarity: Why Believe in Vision Today? 51 6. Clarity Pre-Evangelism: Softening Your Heart for Clarity 61 7. The Alpha and Omega of Clarity: The Ultimate Source of Vision 69 8. Hear the Cloud of Witnesses: Learning from Vision Legacies 75 9. Discover Your Kingdom Concept: How to Ascertain Vision 83 10. Take a Closer Look: Navigating Your Discovery Process 99 PART THREE Articulating Vision 11. See with New Eyes: Defining Your Vision Frame 111 12. Carry the Holy Orders: Mission as Missional Mandate 119 13. Feel the Common Heartbeat: Values as Missional Motives 128 14. Show Me the Way: Strategy as Missional Map 136 15. Talk the Walk: Measures as Missional Life Marks 151 16. Frame the Future: Preparing for a Vision Lifestyle 164 17. Speak with New Tongues: Articulating Vision Proper 178 PART FOUR Advancing Vision 18. Wage War Against the Status Quo: From Articulation to Traction 197 19. Meet Long in the Upper Room: The Secret of Attunement 207 20. Transform the Future: Delivering Vision Daily Parting Thoughts 215 21. Resurrect Your Uniqueness: If You Copy Someone Else’s Vision, Who Will Accomplish Yours? 234 Appendix A Logos and Strategy Icon Examples 237 Appendix B Vision Path Examples 243 Notes 247 Bibliography 255 Acknowledgments 259 About the Author 261 Index 263

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Book SynopsisRobert E. Coleman shows readers Christ's strategy for evangelism, pointing out the unchanging, simple, yet profound biblical principles we can follow to emulate Christ to others.

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Book SynopsisAn inspirational, biblical, and empowering manual for the next generation of revivalists. Transformation happens when we see the unreached as Jesus sees them and when we make revival a part of our lives rather than an event.

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Book SynopsisApologetics experts show readers how to answer objections to classic Christianity. Now revised and updated to address current issues and recent attacks on the faith.

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Book SynopsisA practical approach to church planting that uses cultural and experiential data to facilitate the founding of new churches in unreached areas of the world.

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Book SynopsisIn this major work, two world religion and mission experts present a new relational model for Christians interacting with people of other faiths.Table of ContentsIntroduction Part 1: Context, Text, and Pre-Texts1. The Context of World Religion Today 2. Text: What the Bible Says3. Pre-Texts: Theology and PersonalityPart 2: Practices: Beyond Competition and Cooperation4. Universality: Reaching Out to All, Including Christians5. Fellowship: Belonging Precedes Believing6. Localization: Focusing on Questions and Concerns of the Local Community7. Commitment: Holding Ideas with Conviction; Acting Decisively on Those Ideas; Not Letting Those Ideas Be Divisive8. Freedom: Honoring the Principle of Religious Choice as Free and Uncoerced9. Effectiveness: Allowing the Context to Determine the Form of Witness10. Consistency: Striving for Consistency between Methods and Goals11. Variety: Communicating the Gospel in Many Forms, Verbal and Nonverbal12. Respect: Not Disparaging Others in Order to Champion Your Own; Not Disparaging Your Own in Order to Respect Others13. Charity: Loving Those to Whom We Witness14. Missional Ecumenicity: Practicing Mission as the Joint Project of the Church, Not an Occasion for Competition15. Jesus, Mission Innovator: Jesus' Model of Giftive MissionPart 3: Method: How Do We Do It?16. The Spiral of Knowledge Acquisition: Learning about New Cultures and New Religions17. Experiencing: The Influence of Our Personal Histories18. Bracketing: Putting Convictions on Hold19. Encountering: Learning from a New Culture and Religion20. Evaluating: Appraising the New Culture and Religion from Our Christian Point of View21. Integrating: Reshaping Our Own Views and Mission Practices Part 4: Giftive Mission22. Metaphors for Mission23. The Four Gifts24. Giftive MissionAppendix A: Biblical Inter-Religious EncountersAppendix B: Inter-Religious Encounter Mode InstrumentReference ListScripture IndexSubject Index

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Book SynopsisLeading evangelical mission experts offer a comprehensive theology of mission text, providing biblical, historical, and contemporary perspectives.Table of ContentsIntroductionPart One: Biblical Foundations of Mission1. God and the Nations in the Old Testament2. God and the Nations in the New Testament3. The Justification of Mission: Missio Dei4. The Purpose and Nature of Mission5. The Task of Missions: Convictions and Controversy6. The Task of Missions: Convergence and ConclusionsPart Two: Motives and Means for Mission7. The Motivation for Missions8. Church and Mission9. The Missionary Vocation10. Spiritual Dynamics and MissionPart Three: Mission in Local and Global Context11. Contextualization and Mission12. Christian Encounter with Other Religions: Toward an Evangelical Theology of Religions13. The Necessity of Mission: Three Uncomfortable QuestionsReferencesIndexes

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Book SynopsisLeading missionary scholars portray the sweep of missions history, revealing how God has fulfilled his promise to bless all the nations.Table of ContentsContents1. Missions in the Early Church2. Encountering Church of the East Missions3. Encountering Celtic Missions4. Encountering Orthodox Missions 5. Encountering Dominican and Franciscan Missions6. Encountering Medieval Renewal Missions7. Encountering Reformation Missions8. Encountering Jesuit Missions9. Encountering Pietist Missions10. Encountering Moravian Missions11. Encountering Methodist Missions12. The Great Century of Protestant Missions, Part I13. The Great Century, Part II14. The Twentieth Century15. Missionary Councils and Congresses16. Specialized Missions17. The Church Growth Movement18. In Retrospect and ProspectReference ListIndex

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Book SynopsisA leading evangelical anthropologist/missiologist provides students of intercultural ministry with an understanding of worldview and a strategy for effective, long-term ministry.Table of ContentsIllustrationsIntroductionPart 1: Theoretical Foundations1. Changing Views2. Missional TheologyPart 2: Exegeting Humans3. Changing Images4. Early Anthropology5. Recent Anthropology6. A Systems Approach7. Research MethodsPart 3: Mission as Intercultural Mediation8. Missions as Glocal Mediation9. Missionaries as Global MediatorsIndex

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Book SynopsisThis accessible overview shows how the Bible provides an overarching story about God the King and explains how the Christian gospel and mission address the totality of human life.Table of ContentsContentsIntroduction1. Creation: God the King and His Good Creation2. Fall: Human Sin and Its Aftermath3. Redemption: Covenant and Kingdom4. Redemption: New Covenant and Consummated Kingdom5. Interlude: Worldview, Gospel, and Mission6. A Theological Mission: Radical Monotheism for a Secular Age7. A Social Mission: Relational Monotheism for an Individualistic Age8. A Cultural Mission: Restorational Monotheism for a Decadent Age9. A Global Mission: Realized Monotheism for an International AgeIndexes

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Book SynopsisAn excellent introductory survey of Christian missions from A.D. 30 to the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisNearly ten million Americans have recently said they are 'absolutely committed' to both the Christian faith and to sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with others. Still, many people don''t know where to start, what to say, or how to say it. The Complete Evangelism Guidebook is a comprehensive resource on everything a person needs to know about sharing his or her faith. Well-known evangelists such as Rick Warren, Josh McDowell, and Luis Palau combine their knowledge into one comprehensive and easy-to-read handbook. This practical guide will explain how to define, demonstrate, declare, and defend faith with almost anyone from almost any background--friend, co-worker, atheist, agnostic, or someone else. With more than seventy articles written by nearly sixty evangelism experts, The Complete Evangelism Guidebook will make sharing the faith easier than ever!

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Book SynopsisThis accessible introduction explains what the missional church movement is all about and offers church leaders workable ways of implementing change.

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Book SynopsisFollowing his well-received Ancient-Future Faith, Robert Webber presents a new model for evangelism and discipleship, the first in a series of four books applying his theoretical ideas to practical situations. Part 1 of Ancient-Future Evangelism surveys evangelism and Christian formation throughout the church and then translates the process for twenty-first-century Christians. Webber presents evangelism as four distinct stages and suggests three accompanying rites of passage that can be easily adapted to any church tradition. Part 2 underscores how the four-fold process of faith formation is interwoven with three theological principles: Christ as victor over evil, the church as witness to God''s salvation, and worship as a witness to God''s mission accomplished in Jesus. Ancient-Future Evangelism will appeal to both emerging evangelicals as well as traditional church leaders. It relates faith to Christian practice by drawing wisdom from the past and translating

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