Living Toward A Vision

This is a basic Bible study book for Doing the Word. If we are to do God's word as well as talk about it, we need a vision to guide our doing and acting. Church folk already have a number of visions to be found in the Bible, but we need them interpreted, explained and applied to our daily lives to guide our attempts to work for justice, mercy and peace. - from Editor's Preface to the First Edition.

In this volume Walter Brueggemann explores biblical texts from the story of the exodus to Jesus' teachings about peace and the reign of God. He specifically addresses the witness of Jesus and Jesus' proclamations about God's desired future more than in his other books, clarifying a full biblical theology of peace and an understanding of what God has done in Jesus and is doing in the church today.

The North American church is struggling. Our society seems to be coming apart at the seams and Christianity appears on the verge of losing its voice, its leadership, and its youth. The church's calling is to cooperate with her Creator in the repair of the world. Instead, we struggle in the loss of the simplicity of the natural images of Jesus which compel us to engage tension, dependency, and the lesson of being on the margins. Until we learn to take our cues from a world we did not build, our actions will continue to prop up a society struggling from the weight of its own ethos. Part history, part cultural dialogue, part travelogue--always in conversation with the ancient and compelling biblical vision of shalom--Landscape of the Soul will encourage you to see beyond the shells of your constructed world to those places where dynamic spiritual rhythms can still be found.

In this timely and powerful book of reflections, Father Philip Linder shares his personal struggles and experiences of God in light of 9/11. God speaks through Father Linder in a way that invites others into a closer and more profound relationship with God. These short reflections point to the simple and poignant ways that we may come to know and experience God, and finally live in God in the midst of both war and peace. Philip Linder, a noted teacher of the spiritual life, opens his heart and inner thoughts to assist all who travel the spiritual path. At once theological and personal, A Priest's Journal of Hope --God and 9/11-- allows us to see our own questions of faith identified, as well as the possibility for new inquiries--all of which have the potential for transforming our collective 9/11 experiences into a deeper life in God.

Responding to the current preoccupation with assisted suicide, the author discusses society's moral confusion over the meaning of death and gives a Christian alternative consistent with traditional ascription of value to human life.

How can a church in the richest and most powerful nation on earth respond to the needs of the poor, the hungry, and the oppressed? The authors of this book describe this issue with clarity and power, and explore the biblical perspectives that offer guidance toward a viable and more equitable future for both church and society.The authors call for a radical change in life-style based on a revolution in perspective and basic values.

In this powerful and challenging book, David W. Smith identifies a crisis at the heart of the church. It is the crisis of triumphalism – the tendency to avoid honest engagement with brokenness and suffering, privileging victory while rejecting the practice of lament. This imbalance, Smith argues, threatens to undermine the credibility of faith for a watching world, alienating those experiencing hardship and oppression; those wrestling with doubt, uncertainty, and loss. In Stumbling toward Zion, Smith reclaims the importance of lament throughout Scripture – from the Old Testament to the gospel narratives and Paul’s letters – and explores the history and impact of its loss within certain church traditions. World Christianity, with its heartlands in contexts of poverty, war and persecution, has a crucial role to play in recovering an understanding of God’s love for a suffering creation capable of restoring the credibility of Christian witness in the midst of our brokenness. Containing practical application for church life and mission, Smith offers an opportunity to reengage with biblical lament, rediscover neglected aspects of Christian faith, and reawaken to God’s heart for a suffering world.