Reclaiming Our Roots Volume 2

The most inclusive church history text on the market today — it pays special attention to Christianity in the southern hemisphere, Eastern Orthodoxy, the church among minority cultures in North America, and the role of women in church history.

Reclaiming Our Roots, the most inclusive church history textbook on the market today, pays special attention to such matters as Christianity in the southern hemisphere, Eastern Orthodoxy, the church among minority cultures in North America, and the role of women in church history. It includes not just names, dates, and events in church history, but also sophisticated theological analyses of the issues that have made history, making it useable as a text for both history of Christian thought as well as introduction to church history courses. Readers are exposed to a variety of credible, scholarly interpretations of issues, events, and major figures, and encouraged to make their own judgments based upon the evidence and with the help of suggested primary source readings. Leading questions that open doors for group discussion and individual reflection on the core issues follow each section.

This second volume of Reclaiming Our Roots carries readers on a whirlwind journey from the eve of the Reformation to developments in Christianity in the twentieth century. As in the first volume, Mark Ellingsen gives special attention to the history of Christianity in the southern hemisphere, the church among minority cultures in North America, and the role of women in church history. Ellingsen's careful and critical eye ranges over the entire panorama of modern church history. He provides balanced theological analyses of major movements and figures as well as the interactions between them. Ellingsen presents church history as an opportunity to enter into a dialogue with the church's richly diverse heritage. He sees the role of church history as: Community builder--teaching the faithful their heritage, Safety patrol--sensitizing church leaders to the errors of the past that they must still confront, Liberating instrument--learning to look at reality from the perspective of the other, no longer chained to one's own suppositions and cultural biases, and Source of theological creativity--providing access to the stimulating insights of the great theological minds of the past. This thought-provoking book offers readers a sympathetic exposure to a variety of credible, scholarly interpretations of major figures and encourages them to make their own judgments with the help of suggested primary source readings. Ellingsen closes each chapter with questions that lead readers to ponder the deeper meanings of various events in the history of Christianity.

Christianity Today 2013 Book Award Winner Winner of The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship's 2012 Award of Excellence 2011 Book of the Year, Christianbook.com's Academic Blog Most modern prejudice against biblical miracle reports depends on David Hume's argument that uniform human experience precluded miracles. Yet current research shows that human experience is far from uniform. In fact, hundreds of millions of people today claim to have experienced miracles. New Testament scholar Craig Keener argues that it is time to rethink Hume's argument in light of the contemporary evidence available to us. This wide-ranging and meticulously researched two-volume study presents the most thorough current defense of the credibility of the miracle reports in the Gospels and Acts. Drawing on claims from a range of global cultures and taking a multidisciplinary approach to the topic, Keener suggests that many miracle accounts throughout history and from contemporary times are best explained as genuine divine acts, lending credence to the biblical miracle reports.

Seeking the Lost, Keeping Them, Making Them Disciples By: Dr. Benoit Petit-Homme God bless Dr. Benoit Petit-Homme for all the work he has done in putting this book together. I believe that any church or leader who will follow these biblically-grounded principles will see beautiful results in changed lives for the kingdom. Teresa L. Reeve, PhD, Associate Dean, Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary, Associate Professor of New Testament Contexts, Andrews University, United States of America Dr. Benoit Petit-Homme’s contribution to the discipleship crisis is a compelling re-examination of scripture, church history, and 21st century pastoral experience. Practical and convincing, his straightforward style brings real solutions to the evangelistic Achilles’ heels of attrition. He reminds us of what has been forgotten and calls us back to our relational roots. Pr. Ron Kelly, Senior Pastor, Village Seventh-day Adventist Church, Berrien Springs, Michigan, United States of America Seeking the Lost, Keeping Them, Making Them Disciples by Dr. Benoit Petit-Homme is a handy Christ-based discipleship resource that will contribute to the mission of training and equipping church ministry leaders in the evangelistic work of reaping, retaining, and nurturing new believing Christians. This is a must-read for church officers, pastors, and ministry directors in the Christian church. Ron C. Smith, PhD., D.Min, President, Southern Union Conference of SDA Every year, many thousands of people hear the Good News of Jesus Christ and choose to be baptized and join a church community. Unfortunately, it is also true that every year many new converts leave a church relatively shortly after joining. The specific reasons that each person leaves the church could fill a book by themselves, but they all boil down to one thing: a lack of focus on the part of the church community on turning converts into disciples of our Savior. A disciple of Christ does more than attend church services. A disciple is an active member of the church community. A disciple is a witness to others. A disciple seeks to grow the church by seeking to lead everyone they meet to Christ. Dr. Benoit Petit-Homme is a committed disciple of Christ, and after extensive study of exactly why new converts leave the church, he has developed a process by which any church can make disciples. All it takes is a little extra work, a bit of encouragement, and an unwavering faith in the Lord.

Social postmodernism and systematic theology can be considered the new pair in some of the most creative discussions on the future of theological method on a global scale. Both in the academy and in the public square, as well as in the manifold local and pastoral moments of ministry and community social activism, the social, the postmodern, and the theological intermingle in engaging and border-crossing ways. The Community of the Weak presents a new kind of jazzy fundamental theology with a postmodern touch, using jazz as a metaphor, writing ethnographically messy texts out of the personal windows of lived experiences, combining fragments of autobiography with theological reconstruction. A comparative perspective on North American and European developments in contemporary systematic theology serves as a hermeneutical horizon to juxtapose two continents in their very different contexts. The author proposes a systematic and fundamental theology that is more jazzy, global, and narrative, deeply embedded in pastoral ministry to tell its postmodern story.

"A timely and groundbreaking take on the roots of the Christian church and its place in the entirety of God's kingdom. . . . There is no better time than now to learn about and become firmly grounded within your spiritual heritage." —from the foreword by Perry Stone The early church was made up of Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus, and the church's culture was rooted in Judaism and a Jewish understanding of God's relationship to His people. Over time, however, Christianity became increasingly more Roman than Jewish, and the church lost its identity. Rabbi Curt Landry's personal story is remarkably similar. Born to a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, Landry was put up for adoption, and for more than thirty years he had no understanding of his heritage, his roots, or who his parents were. But when he discovered the truth of his story, his life changed completely. The key to a life of power and purpose is understanding who you are. In this revelatory book, Curt Landry helps Christians discover their roots in Judaism, empowering them to walk in the revelation of who they really are and who they are born to be. Reclaiming Our Forgotten Heritage reveals the mysteries of the church, letting Christians grasp the power that comes from connecting with their true identity.

The definitive guide to the major events of Methodist history, displayed in sequence and placed in political, social, and cultural context.