Orphaned Believers

Hope for the one who is weary, wandering, and wondering where things went wrong In the wake of the culture wars of the 1980s and 1990s, many young evangelical Christians found themselves untethered, disillusioned, and--ultimately--orphaned as they grappled with the legalistic, politically co-opted churches of their youth. Perhaps you are one of them. Perhaps, like Sara Billups, you have felt alone, misunderstood, and maligned in the American church, longing for a more loving, more biblical expression of the faith and discipleship taught by Jesus. Part spiritual memoir of an apocalyptic childhood and part commentary on growing up as an evangelical kid during the culture wars, Orphaned Believers follows the journey of a generation of Christian exiles reckoning with the tradition that raised them and searching for a new way to participate in the story of God. Because for all the baggage, we still belong, and a bigger, more beautiful story awaits. "As American Christianity changes, and as we change along with it, we need guides to remind us who we are and who we're not. Sara has been one such guide for me. She's brutally honest and hilarious, and her heart is wide open to the radical possibility that belonging to Jesus is identity enough for Christians. I couldn't be more grateful for her."--Jon Guerra, singer-songwriter and producer "Billups reminds us that no matter who we are or where we come from, God can move us from a place on the margins to a community of faith."--Foxy Davison, educator and activist "Sara helped me feel more 'found' than I did before--orphaned but also anchored in a much better story than the one the world's been selling me over the past decades. I needed this book more than I knew."--Chuck DeGroat, author, therapist, and professor of pastoral care and Christian spirituality at Western Theological Seminary

In his section-by-section commentary Stevick gives careful attention to the literary, structural, and theological features of the text, pointing also to how and where the Revised Common Lectionary incorporates passages from John 13-17. The distillation of a senior seminary professor's lifelong study and reflection, Jesus and His Own will be especially valuable for pastors preparing to teach or preach from John's Gospel. --Book Jacket.

How do the Greco-Roman views of ethnicity inform our reading of the Spirit in the Fourth Gospel? This study not only reviews the role of ethnicity and race in the ancient world; it also proposes a bold new understanding of Johannine pneumatology. From an ethnocritical perspective, this study argues that the Spirit was articulated for an ethnically diverse Johannine community that was dealing with the issues of race relations. The Spirit is the divine breath of God that commissions Jesus for the redemption of all ethnicities. The Spirit is involved in the maternal birth of all ethnic members who are in the family of God. The Spirit draws all people despite their ethnic lineage and heritage. And the Spirit is actively involved as an advocate for the minoritized community undergoing synagogue violence. Will the members of the Johannine community still hold onto ethnic ideologies of dehumanization that were prevalent of their age? Can the Johannine community still have the Spirit and support ideologies of ethnic division and hate? This study seeks to answer these questions.

Delve Deeper into God's Word In this verse-by-verse commentary, Robert Gundry offers a fresh, literal translation and a reliable exposition of Scripture for today's readers. In these two letters Paul compliments Christians living in Thessalonica and assures them that they will be delivered from persecution. He exhorts them to live Christianly in anticipation of Jesus' return on the Day of the Lord. Pastors, Sunday school teachers, small group leaders, and laypeople will welcome Gundry's nontechnical explanations and clarifications. And Bible students at all levels will appreciate his sparkling interpretations. This selection is from Gundry's Commentary on the New Testament.

How do we stay faithful as we wait on God? The time after Good Friday but before Easter Sunday is one of the most overlooked portions of the Bible. We tend to rush ahead to the empty tomb seeking to find the resurrected Lord, but our lives don’t come equipped with a fast-forward button. We all face seasons of waiting where we long for a new or better future. Peace in the Dark invites you to look again and acknowledge the reality of Holy Saturday. The example of the early disciples in those in-between hours offers a depth of wisdom about what to do when things have gone wrong. Their practices can serve us as we face our own disappointments, trials, and even traumatic experiences. There is a way to not just live but to experience peace when God seems silent. Rooted in Scripture, nature, and her personal experiences of years of trial, Jessica Herberger guides us through what was happening on that day, why it matters, and how we can approach our Holy Saturdays with hope and faithfulness.

In this addition to the critically acclaimed BECNT series, respected New Testament scholar Jeffrey Weima offers pastors, students, and teachers the most up-to-date and substantive commentary available on 1-2 Thessalonians. Weima, a Thessalonians expert, experienced teacher, and widely traveled speaker, presents well-informed evangelical scholarship at an accessible level to help readers understand the sociological, historical, and theological aspects of these letters. As with all BECNT volumes, this commentary features the author's detailed interaction with the Greek text, extensive research, thoughtful chapter-by-chapter exegesis, and a user-friendly design. It admirably achieves the dual aims of the series--academic sophistication with pastoral sensitivity and accessibility.

God's people are meant to be a blessing to others. Yet in the Scriptures, throughout history, and in our own times we too often see the people of God causing harm to people on the margins. Rather than caring for the widowed and the orphaned or loving the sojourner, too often we see abuse of power that breaks spirits and inflicts lasting harm. For anyone who has felt left out or pushed out of the church, Othered is your invitation to find spiritual rest and belonging in a God who loves, restores, and blesses the outcast and the marginalized. Jenai Auman draws on her experience growing up as a biracial kid in the American South as well as working within toxic ministry environments to reveal a hopeful, trauma-informed way forward. This book illuminates how hurt and betrayal in the church are longstanding problems that God neither sanctions nor tolerates. It offers holistic responses to the grief, anger, and trauma that come with being ostracized or oppressed by the church. And it shows how God provides shelter and provision in the midst of the wilderness. Because God sees, hears, and loves you--even if the church has failed you.