Hopeful Lament

We need to rediscover lament to heal and hope again. We've lost the practice of lament. Most people don't know how to process personal or communal mourning and instead struggle to honor their tears, vulnerability, and the full weight of these disillusioning times. But tending our grief might be exactly what we need to reimagine a way forward. Tracing her difficult experiences of a catastrophic home fire, a threat to her child's well-being, and other devastating losses and upheavals, Terra McDaniel offers a clear framework for expressing heartache and burdens. McDaniel says, "Lament is surprisingly hopeful. As strange as that may sound now, I promise it’s true. It's an act of trust both that we can face pain and survive, and that God cares about our anger, confusion, doubt, grief, and fear. Lament refuses to bury pain or, just as dangerous, to give in to despair." Hopeful Lament makes space for the powerful act of crying out before a loving God and offers provoking reflection questions, embodied practices, and applications for families with children. Learn how to journey gently through suffering.

Profound reflection on lament and hope arising out of Africa's immense suffering There is no more urgent theological task than to provide an account of hope in Africa, given its endless cycles of violence, war, poverty, and displacement. So claims Emmanuel Katongole, a recognized, innovative theological voice from Africa. In the midst of suffering, Katongole says, hope takes the form of "arguing" and "wrestling" with God. Suchlamentis not merely a cry of pain it is a way of mourning, protesting, and appealing to God. As he unpacks the rich theological and social dimensions of the practice of lament in Africa, Katongole tells the stories of courageous Christian activists working for change in East Africa and invites readers to enter into lament along with them."

The most popular source of theological hope for modern Christians is that of Jurgen Moltmann. Preachers, teachers, and lay people reflect Moltmann's influence, with their hope in a this-worldly eschatology and suffering God. However, an exclusive reliance on that hope deprives the church of crucial resources in the face of global economic, environmental, and military crises. Our Only Hope explores Moltmannian hope and considers its costs before looking elsewhere for additional contributions, from Thomas Aquinas' theological virtue of hope to nihilism and beyond, in order to encourage the church to sustain and practise hope in Jesus Christ, our only hope.

C. S. Lewis famously penned the phrase “God in the Dock” and proposed that there was a “great divide” between ancient and modern humans, in that our ancestors would have rightly seen themselves “in the dock” before God, while we moderns have placed God there before us. But what if what God's love most desires for us, the gospel or “good news” of the only way of life for humanity, has been “in the dock” before us from the time of Adam and Eve? And what if it is also the case that the gospel is often “in the dock” as though it is not good—even for the church? This book builds upon and expands the “life and death” stakes Lewis proposed by demonstrating that the gospel way of faith itself has been placed in the dock by us and in many ways ruined our relationships with God, with our own selves, with one another, and even with the natural world itself which we are meant to “steward” for its good. In these pages the reader will discover why the gospel that requires faith is good news, but why we so tragically default to our divisive and self-destructive ways.

The complete guide to spirit-filled speech and speaking with spirit This book is a spiritual guide to using the holy gift of speech. It is a ... how-to ... grounded in a humble way of being, expressing an attitude of gratitude toward the tongue, in the knowledge that speech is a gift from God and we have a choice to use our mouths virtuously, in the most humble and searching sense of that word. —from the Introduction So much of our time is spent in conversation, yet little time is devoted to thinking about the words we choose to use, or the manner in which we speak. Taking the time to make our words count—to make our speech sacred—can lead to positive changes in our lives, and improve our relationships with others. Sacred Speech is a personal, warm-hearted approach to a complex matter—how we can use speech in holy ways. Drawing support from literary and spiritual sources, Rev. Donna Schaper offers compelling advice from her own experience as a clergyperson, teacher, partner, and parent, empowering us to: Acknowledge the Divine in the words we use Use speech to maximize the possibility of love and care Use speech to minimize fear Link, connect, and contact with others through words A clear invitation to improve our communications with others, Sacred Speech is ideal for spiritual and religious leaders, professionals who work in multifaith settings, the politically correct and the not-so politically correct, and anyone who wants to do more than simply "watch what they say."

This book challenges Christian communities to engage in lament—a mode of existence characterized by impassioned expression, witnessing, and personal or social protest in the face of evil and injustice, reflecting a profound yearning for God’s saving presence. Divine lament responds to, and expresses solidarity with, human suffering, unveiling multiple facets of God’s image and demonstrating a profound sense of divine compassion. Drawing on the Book of Lamentations, Korean concepts related to suffering (han and hanpuri), the Paschal Triduum narratives, and recent homiletic discourses on suffering, the author investigates how complex issues related to grief and hope can be addressed in preaching without diminishing the harsh reality of affliction. Designed to assist preachers, this book encourages a more intentional approach to addressing suffering, specifically by advocating for lament as a transitional space between affliction and hope. Furthermore, readers are invited to contemplate the significance of the church, which, within a world in decline, embodies the body of Christ, manifesting both the demise and resurrection of God.

A bold new interpretation of Augustine’s virtue of hope and its place in political life When it comes to politics, Augustine of Hippo is renowned as one of history’s great pessimists, with his sights set firmly on the heavenly city rather than the public square. Many have enlisted him to chasten political hopes, highlighting the realities of evil and encouraging citizens instead to cast their hopes on heaven. A Commonwealth of Hope challenges prevailing interpretations of Augustinian pessimism, offering a new vision of his political thought that can also help today’s citizens sustain hope in the face of despair. Amid rising inequality, injustice, and political division, many citizens wonder what to hope for in politics and whether it is possible to forge common hopes in a deeply polarized society. Michael Lamb takes up this challenge, offering the first in-depth analysis of Augustine’s virtue of hope and its profound implications for political life. He draws on a wide range of Augustine’s writings—including neglected sermons, letters, and treatises—and integrates insights from political theory, religious studies, theology, and philosophy. Lamb shows how diverse citizens, both religious and secular, can unite around common hopes for the commonwealth. Recovering this understudied virtue and situating Augustine within his political, rhetorical, and religious contexts, A Commonwealth of Hope reveals how Augustine’s virtue of hope can help us resist the politics of presumption and despair and confront the challenges of our time.

Experience Transformation When You Pray the Psalms with Your Whole Self Feeling hopeless? Lonely? Anxious? Do you want to experience the presence and love of God through every joy and struggle of life? Do you long to enrich your prayer life and grow your relationship with God? The Psalms will guide you into fresh encounters and a lasting deeper attachment to God. You may have read or studied the Psalms. In Nearing a Far God: Praying the Psalms with Our Whole Selves, you'll experience the Psalms in fresh, personal, and life-changing ways: Discover how the Psalms can draw you into dialogue with God no matter your pain, struggle, or doubt Practice transformative writing and prayer exercises that engage and impact the whole brain and the whole self Reclaim ancient practices of movement and bodily postures to heighten your worship and deepen attachment to God Masterful teacher and award-winning author Leslie Leyland Fields has helped thousands of God-seekers around the world experience spiritual breakthroughs by expressing their life stories through the lens of Scripture. Whether you read and practice Nearing a Far God on your own, with a local group, or with a cohort organized by Fields, you too can experience profound change, hope, and the always near presence of a loving God.