By entering the culture wars, churchgoers in the United States have ushered the Left and the Right to even greater extremes. Battles over moral issues like abortion rights and homosexuality have now widened to include taxation and size of government, so that specific church affiliation has become an accurate predictor of political party affiliation. The extremists in American politics rely on Christians to be the engine that pushes the culture farther right or left.Allen Hilton bel...

The Mission Matrix surveys the extensive realm of Mission Theology, dissecting its terminology and discerning its profound implications regarding God’s mission (missio Dei) primarily from the Protestant mission movement perspective. The reader is invited on a personal journey of growth as a reflective practitioner, fostering integrity, creativity, openness, and curiosity within the realm of mission, scrutinizing the factors that have shaped one’s own Mission Theology. This introspection, ...

The depth and complexity of interconnected global issues facing church and mission leadership today cannot be ignored. Leaders within global church and mission movements are challenged to respond to effects of globalization and other factors upon the mission of God. Rather than modifying existing models of leadership, there is critical need to understand an emerging global missional leadership paradigm against the backdrop of a world full of discontinuous change. The purpose of this book i...

Leading Voices from across Christian Traditions Discuss the Mission of the ChurchWhat is the mission of the church? Every seminarian and church leader must wrestle with that question. No matter what designation a church uses to describe itself, it must also think critically about why it exists and what it should be doing. In this book, five leading voices representing a range of Christian traditions engage in an enlightening conversation as they present and compare...

Practical and Gospel-centered thoughts on how to have a fruitful ministry by one of America's leading and most beloved pastor.Many church leaders are struggling to adapt to a culture that values individuality above loyalty to a group or institution. There have been so many "church growth" and "effective ministry" books in the past few decades that it's hard to know where to start or which ones will provide useful and honest insight.Based on over twenty year...

This fresh perspective on the church explores its essential nature as a community of people governed by the Word and led and taught by the Spirit.

This fresh, comprehensive text fills a need for an up-to-date theology of mission. It offers creative approaches to answering some of the most pressing questions in theology of mission and missionary practice today. The authors, who are leading mission experts, discuss biblical theology of mission, provide historical overviews of the development of various viewpoints, and address theologically current issues in global mission from an evangelical perspective. This readable yet thorough text...

In this book, two leading ministry experts place the missional church conversation in historical perspective and offer fresh insights for its further development. They begin by providing a helpful review of the genesis of the missional church and offering an insightful critique of the Gospel and Our Culture Network's seminal book Missional Church, which set the conversation in motion. They map the diverse paths this discussion has taken over the past decade, identifying four prima...

I (Still) Believe explores the all-important question of whether serious academic study of the Bible is threatening to one’s faith. Far from it—faith enhances study of the Bible and, reciprocally, such study enriches a person’s faith. With this in mind, this book asks prominent Bible teachers and scholars to tell their story reflecting on their own experiences at the intersection of faith and serious academic study of the Bible.While the essays of this book will provide so...

The modern chasm between "secular" work and "sacred" worship has had a devastating impact on Western Christianity.Drawing on years of research, ministry, and leadership experience, Kaemingk and Willson explain why Sunday morning worship and Monday morning work desperately need to inform and impact one another. Together they engage in a rich biblical, theological, and historical exploration of the deep and life-giving connections between labor and liturgy. In so doing, Kaemingk and ...

Today, as Christendom weakens, worship and mission are poised to reunite after centuries of separation. But this requires the church to rethink both mission and worship. In post-Christendom mission, God is the main actor and God calls all Christians to participate. In post-Christendom worship, the church tells and celebrates the story of God, enabling members to live in hope and attract outsiders to its many tables of hospitality.In this passionate and thoughtful study, Alan Kreide...

Best Texts of Missiology, Hearts and Minds BookstoreMission--a driving force in the long Christian story--today is often cast as the embarrassing relative of tall-steeple religiosity.In our wider culture it's now tucked in the endnotes of book-club histories or forms the ghostlike ellipses in the six o'clock news. But in Introducing Christian Mission Today, Michael Goheen brings the vibrant history, motivation and challenges of Chr...