This volume considers three issues — outreach, ecumenism, and pluralism — that have confounded the witness of faith in the Presbyterian Church. Examples are given of the interlocking and sometimes interfering interplay among outreach, ecumenism, and pluralism in the quest for distinctive Presbyterian discipleship.
Walt Kallestad talks about leadership in the sense of influence, asserting that such virtues as love, grace, and an affirming spirit are more powerful tools than authority and command.
From the Preface: At the present time, when the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) must learn to live with the reality of its ‘cultural disestablishment,’ the French Confession is a helpful conversation partner. It is more than a mere historical curiosity, for although the French Confession is a product of 16th century Europe, it is neither out […]
Mike Graves begins this book with the question “If preaching is intended to enliven the church, why is it killing so many ministers?” His answer? Because it has become divorced from the vitality and diversity of the preacher’s daily life. He invites preachers to discover how preaching can be renewing rather than draining. Graves includes […]
Over the past several years, churches have engaged in an ongoing debate between two different styles of worship — ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary.’ Here, Ronald Byars argues that many of the differences between the two styles are superficial. Authentic worship, being wholly theocentric, can and must be both responsive to contemporary culture and grounded in history […]
From the Starred Review: “It is easy to see the religious imagery in movies like The Passion of the Christ and The Mission, but much more difficult to uncover it in mainstream Hollywood films. Garrett, professor of English at Baylor University and popular author, analyzes dozens of films and extracts their religious and spiritual themes. […]
Religion journalist Pinsky offers a thoughtful and genuinely entertaining review of faith and morality as reflected through the irreverently sweet comedy of The Simpsons, drawing on a wide if not encyclopedic knowledge of key episodes and interviews with the series’ creators. The animated series is unique in many ways, including its longevity and creative freshness, […]
This is an invitation to a conversation on the pastoral life from one of America’s most respected clergy. Dean Lueking shares the fruits and foibles of his 50 years in parish minstry, 44 of them in the same congregation, Grace Lutheran in River Forest, Illinois. A lively storyteller, Lueking writes as the wise friend and […]
Faced with crisis, lack of direction, or just plain “stuckness,” many congregations and their leaders are content to deal only with surface issues and symptoms – only to discover that the same problems keep recurring, often in different, and more serious, ways. In The Hidden Lives of Congregations, Christian educator and consultant Israel Galindo takes leaders […]
Alban Senior Consultant Alice Mann draws on her lengthy experience in helping congregations deal with the hurdles and anxieties of expansion or contraction in size. Often, congregations experiencing size change do not recognize the need to change culture and form as part of the successful adaptation process. Mann details the adjustments in attitude – as […]