The perspectives of integral theory and practice, articulated by Ken Wilber, help uncover the integral approach that Jesus advocated and demonstrated in the metaphors of his time and that traditional Christianity has largely been unable to see. Smith incorporates elements of traditional, modern, and postmodern theological viewpoints, including progressive, New Thought, and emerging/emergent ones. However, he goes beyond all of them and moves to a Christianity that is devoted to following both the historical Jesus and the Risen Christ whose Spirit beckons to us from the future. Smith says, "The oldest thing you can say about God is that God is always doing something new. Jesus pushed his own religion to newness by including the best of its past, and transcending the worst of its present. He calls us to do the same, whatever our religion is today."

    Hall is true both to the reality of suffering and to the affirmation that God creates, sustains, and redeems.Creative is his view that certain aspects of what we call suffering -- loneliness, experience of limits, temptation, anxiety -- are necessary parts of God's good creation. These he distinguishes from suffering after the fall, the tragic dimension of life.Unique is his structure:creation-suffering as becomingthe fall--suffering as a burdenredemption--conquest from within.Professor Hall succeeds in moving the reader beyond the customary way of stating the problem: How can undeserved suffering coexist with a just and almighty God? He also evaluates five popular, leading thinkers on suffering: Harold Kushner, C.S. Lewis, Diogenes Allen, George Buttrick, and Leslie Weatherhead.

    Acknowledging the size of the task, as well as its importance, Dr. John F. Walvoord has written this systematic presentation of the person and work of Christ from eternity past to eternity future.Beginning with an analysis of modern trends in the study of Christology, Dr. Walvoord shows that "contemporary Christology has in many respects confused rather than clarified the extended revelation of the Word of God." The Word of God forms the solid basis for Dr. Walvoord's entire study. Analyzing the Old Testament, he shows Christ in its history, typology, and prophecy. Then, in the New Testament, he examines the life and work of the incarnate Christ. The doctrines of atonement, redemption, propitiation, and reconciliation are thoroughly and clearly discussed. The book concludes with an examination of the present and future work of Christ, thus giving the reader a comprehensive study of Christology.

    Those roots are lodged in the Universal Church's and local church's Christ-imaging roles as a prophetic witness, a priestly witness, and a kingly witness. The authors, both PCA (Presbyterian Church in America) ordained pastors and long-time campus ministers, Brian Habig and Les Newsom, assert that when the Church, and local churches, again major on its primary roles, health will be restored and a shine will go froth that is impossible to ignore. Nothing is more important to Christ than his Bride, pure and spotless! This book is devoted to that end.The Authors:Brian Habig, Vanderbilt University. A graduate of Covenant Theological Seminary (Master of Divinity) and Mississippi State University, Brian Habig has served as an ordained minister of the PCA and a campus minister for Reformed University Fellowship for six year. He is a regular conference speaker in addition to this primary pastoral role as campus minister at Vanderbilt University. Habig is currently completing a Master of Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary.Les Newsom, University of Mississippi. A native of Memphis, Les Newsom received his Master of Divinity degree from Reformed Theological Seminary. He has served as an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America for seven years. The first five years were spent as the campus minister for RUF at The University of Memphis. He now serves at The University of Mississippi. A regular conference speaker, Les has taught philosophy of ministry classes at Reformed Theological Seminary."The Enduring Community succinctly shows that Christians with a church-optional mindset are as vulerable as a chorister without a choir."Marvin OlaskyEditor, World magazineSenior Fellow, Acton Institute

    In this 7-week study, you will explore the “I am” sayings of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. This study will help you find and form an answer to the most essential question in the Christian faith: “Who do you say I am?”

    . . you’re cleaning and setting tables, and preparing for the lunch rush. The front door swings open—and four men quickly stumble in as if taking refuge.Taken aback, you study their faces. One is a kind-faced Asian man with a shaved head, another looks as ancient as the hills with shocking white hair and beard, and the other two, well, they look awfully familiar. If you were a betting person, you would put down money that they were Jesus, Moses, the Buddha and Mohammed . . . but then again, this is Sunset Strip, so it could just be reality TV.Meet Crystal—a waitress who ends up in just this predicament. What seems like the beginning of an old joke turns into the conversation of a lifetime.THE GIRL WITH THE DOVE TATTOO—a tale about religion, violence, peace, and identity. A new story by Brian D. McLaren.

    Expository preaching is the best approach for accurately explaining and applying God’s Word, and for maintaining a God-centered focus in preaching. It also offers wonderful spiritual benefits to both the preacher and congregation. To be faithful expositors today, we must avoid the common problems associated with expository preaching such as boredom, irrelevancy, and Christless messages. Faithful preachers will usher the people through the text passionately and authentically, pointing them to Christ.”

    Each chapter covers a specific facet of this doctrine and also has study questions accompanying each chapter making this an accessible introduction to the doctrine of divine impassibility for lay people in the Church.

    The one faith became two churches, East and West, and the course of world history was forever changed. And it all swirled around one Latin word in the Nicene Creed, filioque, that indicated the Holy Spirit proceeded both from God the Father "and from the Son." From the time that phrase was officially instituted onward, the Holy Spirit's place in the Trinity and role in the lives of believers would be fiercely debated, with ramifications being felt through the centuries to this very day.In this fascinating book, readers will encounter not just the interesting historical realities that have shaped our faith today but also the present resurgence of interest in the Holy Spirit seen in many churches across the theological spectrum. Tickle and Sweeney make accessible and relevant the forces behind the current upheaval in the church, taking readers by the hand and leading them confidently into the Age of the Spirit.

    In this book, Allen hopes to supply more of the information (pieces of the puzzle) that are needed if a person is to make sense of the Christian understanding of God and our life in the universe. More philosopher than theologian, Allen writes for a troubled believer, dealing with issues and questions that emerge during Christians' daily lives and in the course of contemplating Christian faith.

    This book is for students of biblical Greek whose trouble understanding English grammar hampers their ability to learn Greek.

    God wasn’t bothered by Jim Crow. Baby Jesus had white skin. Meet Plantation Jesus: a god who is comfortable with bigotry, and an idol that distorts the message of the real Savior. That false image of God is dead, right? Wrong, argue the authors of Plantation Jesus, an authoritative new book on one of the most urgent issues of our day. Through their shared passion for Jesus Christ and with an unblinking look at history, church, and pop culture, authors Skot Welch and Rick Wilson detail the manifold ways that racism damages the church’s witness. Together Welch and Wilson take on common responses by white Christians to racial injustice, such as “I never owned a slave,” “I don’t see color; only people,” and “We just need to get over it and move on.” Together they call out the church’s denials and dodges and evasions of race, and they invite readers to encounter the Christ of the disenfranchised.With practical resources and Spirit-filled stories, Plantation Jesus nudges readers to learn the history, acknowledge the injury, and face the truth. Only then can the church lead the way toward true reconciliation. Only then can the legacy of Plantation Jesus be replaced with the true way of Jesus Christ.

    The author addresses laypeople and pastors with a concise explanation of the science of textual criticism and refutes the proposition that the King James Version is superior to contemporary translations.

    On Christian Doctrine is an introduction to the interpretation & explanation of the Bible which exerted an enormous influence throughout the Middle Ages.

    . . and Why We Don't Get It. This engaging book probes the meaning of salvation – peace, forgiveness, grace, reconciliation - spoken of in the New Testament as a "mystery."Reminding his readers, sometimes in startling ways, that salvation is a gift rather than a transaction, Capon uses a variety of dialogues to drive home the truth that "there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Along the way he explores guilt, forgiveness, love, anger, romance, grief, spiritual contentment, the Incarnation, reincarnation, resurrection, and more - and manages to make salvation something fresh and new in the process.