Re-Visioning African Pentecostal-Charismatic Ecclesiology in the Public Sphere

Re-Visioning African Pentecostal-Charismatic Ecclesiology in the Public Sphere
Author: Christian Tsekpoe
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 237
Release: 2024-09-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

Despite the current impressive numerical growth of Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity in Africa, there remain some concerns about the extent to which the church is making the desired impact in the public space. As the church grows numerically, the African continent is ironically plagued with many regrettable stories of corruption, bad governance, sexual abuse, gender discrimination and perversion, environmental degradation, robbery, economic crisis (leading to poverty and hunger), wars, and other social vices. This paradoxical increase in vices, alongside the demographic growth of the Christian population on the continent, has caused many to question the social impact of African Christianity. Re-Visioning African Pentecostal-Charismatic Ecclesiology in the Public Sphere is a response to these observations. The contributors to this volume, who are made up of seasoned academics (theological educators and missiologists) and mission practitioners, have engaged the subject from multidisciplinary perspectives, highlighting significant contributions of African Pentecostalism while pointing out critical areas for urgent attention. The volume is intended to stimulate conversations around the church’s mandate of influencing the public sphere as an agent of social transformation.

Church Together

Church Together
Author: Daniel C. Dickard
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 298
Release: 2022-01-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1666734462

Church Together is a Christian leadership book designed to give pastors, church leaders, and church members a working plan to overcome the greatest underlying threat to the church today, individualism, through five relationships of surrender which correlate to the five core values of the Church of We. Part One examines the three rotten fruits of individualism within the Church of Me—consumerism, pragmatism, and the extremes of legalism and liberalism—and how to spot each of these problems. Part Two offers a solution on what it will take for churches to make a healthy transition from the Church of Me to the Church of We. Church Together, for this reason, gives churches a manageable plan to defy the individualistic spirit of the age as they become the Church of We in the Age of Me.

Beyond Four Walls

Beyond Four Walls
Author: Michael D. O'Neil
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 260
Release: 2020-08-12
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1725278901

The church today is in many places “on the nose.” For many people, it stinks. It has passed its “use-by” date and should be relegated to the dustbins of history, and the sooner, the better. Nevertheless, the contributors to this volume believe that the church, in spite of its somewhat checkered history and its many present failures, remains an integral part of God’s redemptive purposes being worked out in the world, and that God’s call to the church is now what it has always been: to be the faithful people of God, bearing joy-filled witness to the resurrection of Jesus Christ in word, worship, and work, in its corporate life, and in the lives of each of its members. Each chapter in this book explores an aspect of what it means to be the church, both with respect to its own life, and with an eye to its presence and mission in the world.

The Bethlehem Story

The Bethlehem Story
Author: Andy McCullough
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 190
Release: 2021-04-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1725269279

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but why Bethlehem? Why should God purpose to become man somewhere so marginal, so insignificant? This book follows the unfolding story of Bethlehem through the Bible, from the death of Rachel to the birth of Jesus, uniquely combining four perspectives: a) the Bible as one developing story, b) the Bible as a Middle Eastern book, c) insights from contemporary Palestinians from Bethlehem, and d) what this means for mission. Suffering Rachel, refugee Rahab, vulnerable Ruth, overlooked David all have a connection with Bethlehem. If Bethlehem shelters refugees, then so must we. If Bethlehem welcomes strangers, so must we. If Bethlehem weeps at injustice, and takes a stand against empire, so must we. What we see in Bethlehem’s story, we apply to our own stories. We enter into Bethlehem’s story with as much cultural and geographical colour and flavour as we can muster in order to feel the crises, taste the dust, hear the lambs bleating on the hillside. And there we find the Christ-child, son of David, the Good Shepherd, Lion of Judah, Bread of Life, Lamb of God, fulfilling all the recurring themes, taking his inevitable place as rightful king.

Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political Theology

Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political Theology
Author: William T. Cavanaugh
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 665
Release: 2018-12-07
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1119133734

Offers a comprehensive survey and interpretation of contemporary Christian political theology in a newly revised and expanded edition This book presents the latest thinking on the topic of contemporary Christian political theology, with original and constructive essays that represent a range of opinions on various topics. With contributions from expert scholars in the field, it reflects a broad range of methodologies, ecclesial traditions, and geographic and social locations, and provides a sense of the diversity of political theologies. It also addresses the primary resources of the Christian tradition, which theologians draw on when constructing political theologies, and surveys some of the most important figures and movements in political theology. This revised and expanded edition provides the most comprehensive and accessible introduction to this lively and growing area of Christian theology. Organized into five sections, Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political Theology, Second Edition addresses the many changes that have occurred over the last 15 years within the field of political theology. It features new essays that address social developments and movements, such as Anglican Social Thought, John Milbank, Anabaptist Political Theologies, African Political Theologies, Postcolonialism, Political Economy, Technology and Virtuality, and Grass-roots Movements. The book also includes a new essay on the reception of Liberation Theology. Offers essays on topics such as the Trinity, atonement, and eschatology Features contributions from leading voices in the field of political theology Includes all-new entries covering fresh developments and movements like the urgency of climate change, virtuality and the digital age, the economic crisis of 2008, the discourse of religion and violence, and new modalities of war Addresses some important social movements from a theological point of view including postmodernism, grass-roots movements, and more Provides both Islamic and Jewish responses to political theology Written for academics and students of political theology, Wiley Blackwell Companion to Political Theology, 2nd Edition is an enlightening read that offers a wide range of authoritative essays from some of the most notable scholars in the field.

The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism

The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism
Author: Cecil M. Robeck, Jr
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 359
Release: 2014-08-11
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1316060640

Pentecostalism is one of the fastest-growing religious movements in the world. Groups in the United States dominated early Pentecostal histories, but recent global manifestations have expanded and complicated the definition of Pentecostalism. This volume provides a nuanced overview of Pentecostalism's various manifestations and explores what it means to be Pentecostal from the perspectives of both insiders and outsiders. Leading scholars in the field use a multidisciplinary approach to analyze the historical, economic, political, anthropological, sociological and theological aspects of the movement. They address controversies, such as the Oneness-Trinity controversy; introduce new theories; and chart trajectories for future research. The Cambridge Companion to Pentecostalism will enable beginners to familiarize themselves with the important issues and debates surrounding the global movement, while also offering experienced scholars a valuable handbook for reference.

The Suffering Body

The Suffering Body
Author: Harold D. Hunter
Publisher: Paternoster Publishing
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2006
Genre: Christian martyrs
ISBN: 9781842273784

Suffering with Christ was not only the experience of the early church but is that of much of the church today. This volume presents up to date, global reflections on the different ways in which the church suffers: from class discrimination to government persecution; from interreligious conflict to tensions between different Christian groups. With a special focus on Pentecostal/Charismatic Christianity but also bringing Roman Catholic and Orthodox perspectives into the mix, this book provides both theological and practical insight.

The Inner Church is the Hope of the World

The Inner Church is the Hope of the World
Author: Nicholas Laccetti
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 157
Release: 2018-08-09
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532619715

Throughout history, Western esoteric movements have provided meaning and power for what the Rosicrucians of the early modern period called the quest for “Universal Reformation”—the utopian restructuring of religion, science, the arts, and human society. Yet Western esotericism has been roundly ignored as a source of reflection in mainstream Christian theology, including the radical theologies of liberation that might otherwise see in esotericism a kindred spirit to their commitment to radical social change. In The Inner Church is the Hope of the World, guided by his work in contemporary movements for social change, Nicholas Laccetti puts Western esotericism in dialogue with liberation theology, treating esotericism as a legitimate source of spiritual and theological insight. If, as Gustavo Gutiérrez writes, “God is revealed in history,” then we will also encounter God within the particular history of human religious expression that is Western esotericism. And from these theological reflections, the Inner Church of the esotericists, occultists, and mystics is revealed to be the true ekklesia of all who have conformed themselves to God’s vision of freedom and liberation, and who struggle to enact that vision in human society. The Inner Church is truly the hope of the world.

The Emerging Church, Millennials, and Religion: Volume 2

The Emerging Church, Millennials, and Religion: Volume 2
Author: Terry Shoemaker
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 268
Release: 2022-03-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1725277468

Millennials and progressive Christians are continuing their work of creating alternative spaces for spiritual and religious expressions in North America. The practices and beliefs of progressive Christian movements like the emerging church and millennials, who tend toward spirituality over and against religion, have been the targets of much criticism. Yet millennials and progressive Christians continue to both curate spaces for self- and collective expression while also engaging within contexts often critical or hostile. This collection analyzes these movements from theological, religious-studies, and social-scientific perspectives to provide a more holistic view of what is taking shape in religious and spiritual trends, and it ventures to project what may lie ahead for the progressive Christianity that is emerging and enduring.