What does it mean to evangelize ethically in a multicultural climate? Following his successful Evangelism after Christendom, Bryan Stone addresses reasons evangelism often fails and explains how it can become distorted as a Christian practice. Stone urges us to consider a new approach, arguing for evangelism as a work of imagination and a witness to beauty rather than a crass effort to compete for converts in pluralistic contexts. He shows that the way we lead our lives as Christi...

This Reader presents a diverse and ecumenical cross-section of ecclesiological statements from across the twenty centuries of the church's existence. It builds on the foundations of early Christian writings, illustrates significant medieval, reformation, and modern developments, and provides a representative look at the robust attention to ecclesiology that characterizes the contemporary period. This collection of readings offers an impressive overview of the multiple ways Christians have ...

How do persons come to faith in our time? Are they active seekers or brought in by others? Is it a journey? Or is it a more sudden conversion? Are spouses, relatives, and friends most important to the process? Do clergy matter? What sorts of values, practices, and lifestyles tend to change for those who newly come to faith? What are the differences among the various religious traditions in how one comes to faith? This book presents the findings of a multi-year study on how people come to f...

Christianity and Horror Cinema explores ways that Christian beliefs, spiritualities, practices, and symbols provide the religious and existential "depths" out of which the monsters of Western horror cinema have emerged, arguing that they are, in several respects, the monsters for which Christians are responsible. Horror cinema preys on Christianity’s narrative, moral, cultural, and aesthetic traditions; reverses them; upends them; inverts them; and offends them. But it also reflec...

An exploration of Jewish history in the Lone Star State, from the Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition to contemporary Jewish communities.Texas has one of the largest Jewish populations in the South and West, comprising an often-overlooked vestige of the Diaspora. The Chosen Folks brings this rich aspect of the past to light, going beyond single biographies and photographic histories to explore the full evolution of the Jewish experience in Texas....

Most people think of evangelism as something an individual does--one person talking to one or more other people about the gospel. Bryan Stone, however, argues that evangelism is the duty and call of the entire church as a body of witness. Evangelism after Christendom explores what it means to understand and put to work evangelism as a rich practice of the church, grounding evangelism in the stories of Israel, Jesus, and the Apostles. This thorough treatment is marked by an astute ...

How can something that grounds us and keeps us here on this earth be so invisible and mysterious? We're not talking about anything abstract and undetectable. We're talking about GRAVITY! Gravity is a force that affects everyone and everything. Gravity is something we can easily understand, even kids, especially if they have the right tools to teach them.Explore Gravity! With 25 Great Projects will introduce kids ages 6-9 to the basics of gravity, including concepts of matt...

Does your coat have a zipper? Did you eat breakfast with a fork? You’re using simple machines!From butter knives to seesaws, rolling pins to catapults, we are surrounded by simple machines!Simple Machines! With 25 Science Projects for Kids astounds readers with the ingenuity they already possess and inspires them to look differently at the objects they use every day.What do a fork and an axe have in common? How do pulleys get a flag up a flagpole?Simple Machine...

What did you have for breakfast this morning? Toast, cereal, juice, and fruit? Thank the honey bees! About one out of every three mouthfuls we eat is affected by honey bee pollination. In Explore Honey Bees! With 25 Great Projects, young readers learn about honey bee colonies, why honey bees live in hives, how honey bees communicate with each other, and why they are so important to human lives.Colony collapse disorder first appeared in 2006 and since then beekeepers have s...

In Explore Colonial America!, kids ages 6-9 learn about America's earliest days as European settlements, and how the colonists managed to survive, build thriving colonies, and eventually challenge England for independence.How did the colonists build homes, feed and clothe themselves, and get along with the Native Americans who were already here? This accessible introduction to the colonial period teaches young children about the daily lives of ordinary colonists and offers...

Have you ever wished on a shooting star? Shooting stars often appear when the earth passes through the dust and debris left by a passing comet. Explore Comets and Asteroids! With 25 Amazing Projects takes readers ages 7 to 10 on a fantastic journey through space, where they investigate comets, asteroids, and lesser-known space wonders through 25 experiments and activities designed for curious kids.Readers learn about everything from the first asteroid discovered to many cu...

From puddles to lakes, streams to rivers, and bogs to swamps, each body of water contains an amazing treasure chest of life. There is an abundance of plant and animal life hiding in every freshwater habitat. But freshwater habitats are also fragile and valuable resources that need to be protected and conserved.Explore Rivers and Ponds! with 25 Great Projects, introduces kids to the fascinating world of freshwater habitats and the creatures they contain. Combining hands-on ...