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Church: Why Bother?
by Philip YanceyWHY BOTHER WITH CHURCH? Maybe you've asked yourself that question, even as you've rolled dutifully out of bed each Sunday. Or perhaps rolling out is a thing of the past. The question has long since become your answer: Why bother? In response, award-winning author and journalist Philip Yancey shares snapshots from his own pilgrimage away from and back to the church. Growing up in a strict fundamentalist church in Georgia, Yancey knows firsthand the different reasons people leave church. Many of them were the same reasons that kept him away until he took a deeper look at what the church is really about. In Church: Why Bother? Yancey offers a thought-provoking and honest portrait of God's redemptive power released through the fallible human beings that make up the church. Yancey does not whitewash the church's faults. Rather, he sets them against the overwhelming balance of its strengths: its heart for God, its care for the hurting, its outreach to the lost, and its value as family and community. And he reminds us that, for all its shortcomings, it is the body of Christ--God's chosen agent for bestowing grace on a grace-starved world.
Churched: One Kid's Journey Toward God Despite a Holy Mess
by Matthew Paul Turner"Churched" is the compelling narrative of life inside the walls of the local church building, examining what it means to "be" churched--relevant to those who are familiar with the evangelical culture.
Churches Engage Asian Traditions: A Global Mennonite History (Global Mennonite History: Asia Ser.)
by John LappChurches Engage Asian Traditions is the first comprehensive history of Mennonite and Brethren in Christ churches in Asia. From the first Mennonite church in Asia in 1851, to 265,000 Mennonites and Brethren in Christ church members in 13 countries today. From the Introduction to the volume: This vast and fascinating area, with its many centuries-old cultures and languages, its huge problems mastering the elements of nature, its immense population (problematic but also an asset), and its serious globalization efforts, is home to many competing, clashing or more often harmoniously cooperating religions. In [this book] we will see how and why Christians, and particularly Mennonites, arrived on the scene and how they have accommodated to the specific contexts of the Asian countries where they are at home.
Churches In Crisis
by Gilbert Peterson Lloyd PerryWhere does your church turn during crisis? How can you prevent it in the first place? Crisis happens. The question is, what will you do when it comes? Churches in Crisis gives wisdom and instruction to church members, pastors, and lay leaders. It includes suggestions for avoiding common issues in the life of the church, like financial issues, personal disagreements, and doctrinal disputes. It also gives instruction for what to do when those situations occur. Here is wisdom for how to avoid serious divisions and misunderstanding, draw your people together, and get a church back on track. It will help you during a crisis at your church—to know what to do and where to turn for help.
Churches In Crisis
by Gilbert Peterson Lloyd PerryWhere does your church turn during crisis? How can you prevent it in the first place? Crisis happens. The question is, what will you do when it comes? Churches in Crisis gives wisdom and instruction to church members, pastors, and lay leaders. It includes suggestions for avoiding common issues in the life of the church, like financial issues, personal disagreements, and doctrinal disputes. It also gives instruction for what to do when those situations occur. Here is wisdom for how to avoid serious divisions and misunderstanding, draw your people together, and get a church back on track. It will help you during a crisis at your church—to know what to do and where to turn for help.
Churches Online in Times of Corona: Die CONTOC-Studie: Empirische Einsichten, Interpretationen und Perspektiven
by Wolfgang Beck Arnd Bünker Thomas Schlag Ilona Nord Georg Lämmlin Sabrina Müller Johann Pock Martin RothgangelDie CONTOC-Studie hat in ökumenischer und internationaler Ausrichtung die digitale kirchliche Praxis unter den Bedingungen der Corona-Pandemie im Frühsommer 2020 erforscht. Dieser Band dokumentiert die Rahmenbedingungen und Umfrageergebnisse in den beteiligten Ländern. Daran schließen sich Perspektiven zu den zukünftigen Herausforderungen für die digitale Angebotspraxis und das Selbstverständnis der kirchlichen Akteur*innen an. Churches Online in Times of Corona. The CONTOC study: Empirical insights, interpretations and perspectives The CONTOC study has explored digital church practice under the conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic in the early summer of 2020 in an ecumenical and international way. This volume documents the framework conditions and survey results in the participating countries. This is followed by perspectives on the future challenges for the digital practice and the selfunderstanding of church actors.
Churches That Heal
by Doug MurrenHow churches can become a source of healing for their congregants and the community at large.
Churches and Social Order in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Canada
by Michael Gauvreau Ollivier HubertBy examinng education, charity, community discipline, the relationship between clergy and congregations, and working-class religion, the contributors shift the field of religious history into the realm of the socio-cultural. This novel perspective reveals that the Christian churches remained dynamic and popular in English and French Canada, as well as among immigrants, well into the twentieth century.
Churches and Social Order in Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Canada (McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion #45)
by Michael Gauvreau Ollivier HubertBy examinng education, charity, community discipline, the relationship between clergy and congregations, and working-class religion, the contributors shift the field of religious history into the realm of the socio-cultural. This novel perspective reveals that the Christian churches remained dynamic and popular in English and French Canada, as well as among immigrants, well into the twentieth century.
Churches and Urban Government in Detroit and New York, 1895-1994: Churches And Urban Government In Detroit And New York, 1895-1994
by Ronald Brown Henry J. PrattBeginning in the 1890s, the social gospel movement and its secular counterpart, the Progressive movement, set the stage for powerful church and city governance connections. What followed during the next 100 years was the emergence of religious bodies as an important instrument for influencing City Hall on moral and social issues. Churches and Urban Government compares the governing styles of Detroit and New York City from 1895 to 1994 and looks at the steps city-wide religious bodies took to advance the interests of their communities and their local government during this chaotic period in urban history. Detroit and New York City make for a very interesting case study when casting the two cities' many similarities against their contrasting urban governance styles. What these cities share is a longstanding liberal political culture and comparable ethnic and racial diversity as well as large populations of Catholics and Protestants. Emphasizing the role of Black churches, Henry J. Pratt--with additional material from Ronald Brown--examines how immigration, the Great Depression, and the Civil Rights movement all nurtured this developing link between religion and politics, helping churches evolve into leadership roles within these metropolitan centers.
Churches in the Ukrainian Crisis
by Andrii Krawchuk and Thomas BremerThis volume explores the churches of Ukraine and their involvement in the recent movement for social justice and dignity within the country. In November of 2013, citizens of Ukraine gathered on Kyiv's central square (Maidan) to protest against a government that had reneged on its promise to sign a trade agreement with Europe. The Euromaidan protest included members of various Christian churches in Ukraine, who stood together and demanded government accountability and closer ties with Europe. In response, state forces massacred over one hundred unarmed civilians. The atrocity precipitated a rapid sequence of events: the president fled the country, a provisional government was put in place, and Russia annexed Crimea and intervened militarily in eastern Ukraine. An examination of Ukrainian churches’ involvement in this protest and the fall-out that it inspired opens up other questions and discussions about the churches’ identity and role in the country’s culture and its social and political history. Volume contributors examine Ukrainian churches’ historical development and singularity; their quest for autonomy; their active involvement in identity formation; their interpretations of the war and its causes; and the paths they have charted toward peace and unity.
Churches of Nova Scotia
by Robert Tuck Graham TuckChurches of Nova Scotia is as much a human interest book as it is about ecclesiastical buildings. Both text and photographs tell the story of more than 30 Nova Scotia churches, but in the telling, the relationship between the interior life and history of the churches and the exterior and architecture of the church buildings is explored. The book is well balanced, containing a selection of churches from all parts of the province and representing a variety of denominational and ethnic identities, time periods, and architectural styles.
Churches, Blackness, and Contested Multiculturalism
by R. Drew Smith William Ackah Anthony G. ReddieChristianity's numerical, cultural, and political predominance within Europe, North America, and the former colonial capitals of Africa has been challenged in recent decades by reconfigured social dynamics and demographics within these contexts. As large numbers of persons from Africa, Asia, and Latin America have migrated to Europe and North America, these contexts once deeply rooted in white Christian identity are being racially and religiously transformed, with embodiments and articulations of increased social difference viewed as an indicator of either healthy diversities or harmful divisions - depending upon the vantage point. Churches, Blackness, and Contested Multiculturalism assesses contemporary church responses to multicultural diversity and resisted categories of social difference, with a central focus on whether or how racial, ethnic, religious, sexual, and gender differences are validated by churches (and especially black churches) torn between competing inclusive and exclusive tendencies.
Churches, Cultures and Leadership: A Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities
by Mark Branson Juan F. MartinezAs the church continues to hear and heed Christ's call to reflect the multiethnic character of his people, pastors and lay leaders need to gain skills and competencies to serve in those contexts. The multicultural team of Juan Martinez and Mark Branson has written this book to equip such leaders to create environments that make God?s reconciling initiatives apparent in church life and in our missional engagement with neighborhoods and cities. Generated by courses they teach at Fuller Theological Seminary, Branson and Martinez take an interdisciplinary approach that integrates biblical and theological study with the disciplines of sociology, cultural anthropology and communications. The result is a rich blend of astute analysis with guidance for practical implementation of a deeper intercultural life for the church. Case studies, Bible studies and exercises for personal reflection and classroom use connect the real life and everyday challenges that inevitably arise in multi-ethnic contexts. Martinez and Branson offer not static model but a praxis of "paying attention," reflection and study that can lead to a genuine reconciliation and shared life empowered by the gospel that is personal, interpersonal, cultural and structural.
Churches, Cultures, and Leadership: A Practical Theology of Congregations and Ethnicities
by Mark Lau Branson Juan F. MartinezWe live in a culturally diverse society. As the church continues to heed Christ's call to reflect the multiethnic character of his people, pastors and lay leaders need to gain skills and competencies to serve in multicultural contexts, both inside and beyond their congregations. With this book, Mark Lau Branson and Juan F. Martínez equip leaders to create environments that make God's reconciling initiatives apparent in church life and in missional engagement with their neighborhoods and cities. Drawing on courses they've taught at Fuller Theological Seminary, Branson and Martínez take an interdisciplinary approach that integrates biblical and theological study with sociology, cultural anthropology, leadership studies, and communications. The result is a rich blend of astute analysis and guidance for the practical implementation of a deeper intercultural life for the church. Case studies, Bible studies, and exercises for personal and group reflection address real-life challenges and opportunities that arise in multiethnic contexts. Churches, Cultures, and Leadership offers not a static model but a praxis of paying attention, study, and discernment that can lead to genuine reconciliation and shared life empowered by the gospel. This new edition is updated throughout to address current trends and sources, particularly emphasizing the continuing power of racism and how churches should respond.
Churches, Memory and Justice in Post-Communism (Memory Politics and Transitional Justice)
by Lavinia Stan Lucian TurcescuThis book is the first to systematically examine the connection between religion and transitional justice in post-communism. There are four main goals motivating this book: 1) to explain how civil society (groups such as religious denominations) contribute to transitional justice efforts to address and redress past dictatorial repression; 2) to ascertain the impact of state-led reckoning programs on religious communities and their members; 3) to renew the focus on the factors that determine the adoption (or rejection) of efforts to reckon with past human rights abuses in post-communism; and 4) to examine the limitations of enacting specific transitional justice methods, programs and practices in post-communist Central and Eastern Europe and the Former Soviet Union countries, whose democratization has differed in terms of its nature and pace. Various churches and their relationship with the communist states are covered in the following countries: Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Russia and Belarus.
Churches, Temples, and Financial Crimes: A Judicial Perspective of the Abuse of Faith
by Fausto Martin De SanctisThis eye-opening volume examines ways in which religious institutions can be misused to mask illegal financial dealings, and steps law enforcement can take to combat these criminal activities. The chapters review legal rights and responsibilities of churches and the types of loopholes that can allow unscrupulous practices to flourish. This book offers local and global proposals for the study and practice of improving financial transparency for religious organizations, and assessing and curbing monetary crimes within their ranks. A sampling of criminal cases of financial wrongdoing by churches and temples spotlights the ingenuity involved in such scams as well as in the ongoing fight against them. Included in the coverage: * Religious freedom in the U. S. and Brazilian constitutional orders * Government regulation of religious organizations * Criminal investigations and cases involving financial crimes practiced by and through religious institutions * International religious activities and legal cooperation for repatriation of assets * Payments through illegal and disguised means, and the misuse of churches, temples, and charitable organizations *Proposals to improve the war against financial crimes within temples and churches Its unique subject matter and depth of information makes Churches, Temples, and Financial Crimes distinctly useful for professionals involved in efforts to curb this form of crime, particularly law enforcement personnel, prosecutors, and judges.
Cilka's Journey: A Novel (Tattooist of Auschwitz #2)
by Heather MorrisCilka is just sixteen years old when she is taken to Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp in 1942, where the commandant immediately notices how beautiful she is. Forcibly separated from the other women prisoners, Cilka learns quickly that power, even unwillingly taken, equals survival. <p><p> When the war is over and the camp is liberated, freedom is not granted to Cilka: She is charged as a collaborator for sleeping with the enemy and sent to a Siberian prison camp. But did she really have a choice? And where do the lines of morality lie for Cilka, who was send to Auschwitz when she was still a child? <p> In Siberia, Cilka faces challenges both new and horribly familiar, including the unwanted attention of the guards. But when she meets a kind female doctor, Cilka is taken under her wing and begins to tend to the ill in the camp, struggling to care for them under brutal conditions. <p> Confronting death and terror daily, Cilka discovers a strength she never knew she had. And when she begins to tentatively form bonds and relationships in this harsh, new reality, Cilka finds that despite everything that has happened to her, there is room in her heart for love. <p> From child to woman, from woman to healer, Cilka's journey illuminates the resilience of the human spirit—and the will we have to survive. <p> <b>A New York Times Bestseller</b>
Cincinnati Haunted Handbook
by Michael Morris Jeff MorrisThe first book in the new Haunted Handbook line within the popular America's Haunted Road Trip series, Cincinnati Haunted Handbook offers a plethora of eerie spots in the Queen City. Each of the places in Cincinnati Haunted Handbook is presented in a two-page spread that includes directions, a brief history, details about the paranormal activity, and advice on seeing it in person. Sites are organized into sections, including schoolhouses, roads and bridges, hotels and inns, and others. From the winding curves of the spooky Buffalo Ridge Road to the ghost of Music Hall, from the moans heard by the Miamitown bridge to the wispy form that flits through Spring Grove Cemetery, this book offers creepy hideaways that even Cincinnati natives don't know about. Equally suitable as a travel guide or as a diverting read for casual dipping, Cincinnati Haunted Handbook sorts out what creeps and crawls in the Ohio night.
Cinco marcas de un metodista: Five Marks of a Methodist Spanish
by Steve HarperCinco marcas de un metodista confirman nuestra identidad como seguidores genuinos y fructiferos de Cristo: 1. Un metodista ama a Dios 2. Un metodista se regocija en Dios 3. Un metodista da gracias 4. Un metodista ora sin cesar5. Un metodista ama a su projimo Este breve libro, disenado para ser compartido con otras personas, ofrece una meditacion sobre cada una de estas caracteristicas. Con oracion, apliquelos en su peregrinaje con Jesus. Si usted es parte de la familia metodista o wesleyana de todo el mundo, estas cinco marcas le otorgaran un mayor conocimiento y aprecio de por que y como seguir a Jesus. Si usted se encuentra en otra parte del cuerpo de Cristo, puede emerger con una base solida y fuerte para mantener su fundamento espiritual. Las personas cristianas que sigan estas cinco marcas, tienen caracter. Cada capitulo termina con preguntas para reflexion o discusion. Now available in Spanish! Five marks confirm our identity as genuine and fruitful followers of Christ: 1. A Methodist Loves God 2. A Methodist Rejoices in God 3. A Methodist Gives Thanks 4. A Methodist Prays Constantly 5. A Methodist Loves Others This brief book, suitable for sharing with others, provides a meditation on each of these characteristics. Prayerfully apply them to your journey with Jesus. If you are part of the worldwide Methodist or Wesleyan family, these five marks will grant a greater knowledge and appreciation for why and how you follow Jesus. If you are located in another part of the body of Christ, you can emerge with a solid foundation to keep your spiritual house standing strong. Christians marked by these five habits, when taken together have character.Each chapter ends with questions for reflection or discussion.
Cinco promesas de Dios para tiempos difíciles
by James MacdonaldDespués de escudriñar la teología de las promesas de Dios, el pastor MacDonald revela cinco categorías principales de promesas en la Biblia y las cinco áreas sobre las que Dios hace promesas reiteradamente. Desde qué hacer con el miedo y la duda hasta la bondad de Dios, su ayuda, y la victoria en Él, la Biblia tiene mucho que decir acerca de la presencia de Dios en medio de nuestras dificultades.By way of digging into the theology of God's promises, Pastor James uncovers five major categories of promise in the Bible and the five areas about which God repeatedly makes promises. From what to do with fear and doubt to God's goodness, help, and victory-the Bible has much to say about God's presence in our difficulty.Available in English from Moody Publishers.
CinderGirl: My Journey Out of the Ashes to a Life of Hope
by Christina MeredithGrowing up, she rarely heard her own name. Today, she's here to help you claim the inherent worth that is yours.Born into a large working-class family in upstate New York, Christina Meredith endured years of abuse before entering the foster care system as a teenager. With nowhere to turn after she graduated from high school, Christina lived in her car for almost a year, working three jobs to survive.As she prayed in her car every day, Christina had no idea that in just a few years, she would be crowned Ms. California. She had no idea that her suffering would one day help others find healing. But she did know that she was destined for more, and she would not give up hope no matter the circumstance.In CinderGirl, Christina tells her piercing and poignant story of leaving behind homelessness to become Ms. California and the founder of a nonprofit organization that provides advocacy for foster care children. With stunning vulnerability, Christina invites us into her childhood home and the heart of a child longing to be loved. She asks us to journey with her across the country and deep into a growing faith. She invites us to dig deeper into our own personal courage, even in the most grim of conditions.CinderGirl is the riveting story of one young woman's determination to overcome hardship in order to help others know they are not alone and that they too can achieve anything they dream.
Cinderella and Her Sisters: The Envied and the Envying
by Barry Ulanov Ann UlanovSeated in her nest of ashes, Cinderella embodies human misery. The essence of inner and outer nobility, she is the envy of her cruel stepmother and her ugly sisters. Using this familiar story, Ann and Barry Ulanov explore the psychological and theological aspects of envy and goodness. In their interpretation of the tale, they move back and forth between internal and external issues--from how feminine and masculine parts of persons fit or do not fit together to how individuals conduct their lives with those of the same and opposite sexes: how they conflict, compete, or join harmoniously.
Cinderella: An Islamic Tale
by Fawzia Gilani"It's easy to feel a sense of peace after completing Fawzia Gilani's Cinderella. This humble version of the classic fairy tale is a gentle reminder that victory comes as much from a peaceful soul as a beautiful dress and a dramatic confrontation." - Luxury ReadingCinderella is one of the oldest, best-known, and most loved stories worldwide, with hundreds of cultural variants and re-tellings from ancient Egypt and China to the present day. In this version we follow the trials and tribulations of the sweet, gentle, and pious Zahra when her parents die and she is left at the mercy of an uncaring stepmother and stepsisters. This is a well-crafted Islamic version of the classic tale in which faith, goodness, and prayer are rewarded in the end. The charming, richly detailed illustrations of Shireen Adams, set in medieval Andalusia, help bring the text to life.
Cinema Nirvana
by Dean SluyterMovie fans and spiritual seekers, unite! In Cinema Nirvana, meditation teacher and award-winning film critic Dean Sluyter illuminates the hidden enlightenment teachings of Casablanca, Jaws, The Graduate, The Godfather, Memento, and ten other classic films, revealing spiritual wisdom in everything from 007's secret weapons to the colors of the Seven Dwarfs' eyes. So grab your popcorn, sit back, and prepare to have your mind opened.