Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs

Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs
Author: James C. Howell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 196
Release: 1999
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9780835809061

"These vivid and touching accounts are not only inspirational and enlightening, but they also broaden our perspective of what characterizes a hero." --Jimmy Carter Former U.S. president, winner of 2002 Nobel Peace Prize Do you wonder how you can make a difference? Worry whether you have the courage to dare the impossible? Take heart! Everyone has wrestled with thoughts of inadequacy and fallibility at some point in their lives-even spiritual "giants." Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs gives you a glimpse inside the lives of regular, everyday people who made a profound impact on the world through their service to God. "This is a book of stories, my personal favorites, really," writes Howell. "These friends of God are not superhuman or the elite. They are flesh and blood, just like you and me. And that is the point. It's important to remember that the most ordinary soul possesses the most extraordinary gift." Read about Dorothy Day and Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who devoted their lives to helping those who could not help themselves. Experience the stories of Sojourner Truth and Billy Graham. Learn about singing saints Charles Wesley, Isaac Watts, and John Newton. Meet misfit Francis of Assisi and Clarence Jordan, creator of The Cotton Patch Bible. An engaging page-turner, Servants, Misfits, and Martyrs proves that God blesses every one of us with a special gift we can use to light the world. Discover a world of saints whose faith, hope, and action will encourage and inspire you to make a difference. Dare to attempt great things for God!

The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon

The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon
Author: Stephen R. Haynes
Publisher: Fortress Press
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2004
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781451418552

Stephen Haynes's provocative study articulates the many motives and agendas that readers and scholars have brought to their study of Bonhoeffer, making it difficult to assess objectively the relationship of his political and religious commitments, the real meaning of his theology, and his words and actions on behalf of Jews. Reading Haynes's book helps us learn not only what Bonhoeffer has to teach us but also what it is we most desire to learn.

The Battle for Bonhoeffer

The Battle for Bonhoeffer
Author: Stephen R. Haynes
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2018-09-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467451320

The figure of Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906–1945) has become a clay puppet in modern American politics. Secular, radical, liberal, and evangelical interpreters variously shape and mold the martyr’s legacy to suit their own pet agendas. Stephen Haynes offers an incisive and clarifying perspective. A recognized Bonhoeffer expert, Haynes examines “populist” readings of Bonhoeffer, including the acclaimed biography by Eric Metaxas, Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. In his analysis Haynes treats, among other things, the November 2016 election of Donald Trump and the “Bonhoeffer moment” announced by evangelicals in response to the US Supreme Court’s 2015 decision to legalize same-sex marriage. The Battle for Bonhoeffer includes an open letter from Haynes pointedly addressing Christians who still support Trump. Bonhoeffer’s legacy matters. Haynes redeems the life and the man.

Ordinary Saints

Ordinary Saints
Author: Stuart C. Devenish
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 197
Release: 2017-03-08
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1532614276

How does God manifest himself in the world? Through the righteous lives of his holy people (the saints). As a religion of witnesses, Christianity is dependent upon its saints (defined as activated disciples) to "testify" to the grace of Christ and the kingdom of God. Their lives are walking billboards of the value of Jesus' teaching and authenticity of Christianity as an ancient spiritual pathway. This is a book about saints who are alive now, and whose everyday acts of kindness and goodness announce that God is at work in the world. Like Jesus, their Master, they are the message, the messenger, and the working model of the kingdom of God, in a lesser key. In following Jesus, ordinary saints are willing to give away their lives in order to convey the substance of their faith to a watching world. If ever there was a time when saints need to live courageously for Christ in the world, it is now. But it will take conviction, credibility, and a great deal of audacity. Ordinary Saints explores what it means to be a saint in the twenty-first century, by exploring the depth-dimensions of saints' lives, bodies, emotions, values, and relationships.

The Beatitudes for Today

The Beatitudes for Today
Author: James C. Howell
Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
Total Pages: 140
Release:
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780664235451

In this volume of the For Today series, author and pastor James Howell takes us on an engaging exploration of the Beatitudes. Howell considers each of the well-known phrases in these passages from Matthew and creatively applies Jesus' teachings to our contemporary world and Christian lives. The For Today series was designed to provide reliable and accessible resources for the study and real life application of important biblical texts, theological documents, and Christian practices. The emphasis of the series is not only on the realization and appreciation of what these subjects have meant in the past, but also on their value in the present--"for today." Thought-provoking questions are included at the end of each chapter, making the books ideal for personal study and group use.

The Power of a Focused Heart

The Power of a Focused Heart
Author: Mary Lou Redding
Publisher: Upper Room Books
Total Pages: 214
Release: 2017-09-15
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0835817598

Looking to simplify your life? quiet your mind? find your unique spiritual gift(s) and make a difference? Turn to the Beatitudes! Sometimes teachings from well-known biblical passages are so obvious and preached so often that we overlook other helpful, not-so-obvious lessons. The Beatitudes are celebrated as being the template for humble Christian living. Dig deeper and you'll also find practical applications for living a simpler yet more spiritually engaged life, especially in this distraction-heavy and frenzied world. "…the Beatitudes are not easy sayings we can glibly incorporate in our way of life," writes Redding. "Like so much of what Jesus said, they invite us to move beyond first impressions and surface meanings. They challenge us to explore." Using Jesus' teachings about the kingdom of heaven and how that message spurs us to critically evaluate our priorities, Redding says we must learn to say no to some things to say yes to God. The book's brief chapters are just-right for today's busy schedules and can be read in minutes. Daily exercises following each chapter will help you consider and practice lessons learned and respond to scripture in a self-guided study. Also included are meeting plans for an 8-session small-group study of the book.

The Life We Claim

The Life We Claim
Author: Rev. James C. Howell
Publisher: Abingdon Press
Total Pages: 275
Release: 2011-07-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 142673378X

Using the Apostles’ Creed as the “primary text” this book explores what we believe as Christians and how those beliefs are relevant today. The author’s goal is to help pastors educate and transform members of their congregations. He examines the Creed phrase by phrase in brief sections suitable for congregational study or for emailing to the congregation. For each phrase in the Creed, a "deeper reflection" provides material for preaching a 13-sermon series or for further congregatonal study. A detailed appendix includes recommendations of hymns and songs related to each phrase in the Creed; the suggestions are keyed to several hymnals and songbooks.

Struck from Behind

Struck from Behind
Author: James C. Howell
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2012-11-29
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1621894894

Struck from Behind is a memoir--but not the usual narrative of events. James Howell tells intriguing stories from childhood, romantic life, travel, friendships, tragedies, and wonders, and how God was there, although unnoticed or uninvited at the time. By sharing in retrospect how he now understands God's presence in seemingly mundane moments, we begin to sense something of God's way in the world, and in our own lives. Howell has been a successful pastor and published theologian. In Struck from Behind he opens up his own private life as a window into God's hidden activity. When he remembers, then we too remember God, and begin to notice, and become grateful.

Living on Hope while Living in Babylon

Living on Hope while Living in Babylon
Author: Tripp York
Publisher: Lutterworth Press
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2009-05-28
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0718842960

Christian anarchy, the belief that in Jesus teachings may be found an inherent opposition to systematic secular rule and an inclinations towards war and oppression, is a credence that dates back as far as Christianity itself. York focuses on the movement's modern manifestations and their potential as models for contemporary Christian life. The author examines a few twentieth century Christians from varying religious traditions who lived such a witness, including the Berrigan brothers, Dorothy Day, and Eberhard Arnold. These witnesses can be viewed as anarchical in the sense that their loyalty to Christ undermines the pseudo-stereological myth employed by the state. While these Christians have been labeled pilgrims, revolutionaries, nomads,subversives, agitators, and now, anarchists, they are more importantly seekers of the peace of the city whose chief desire is for those belonging to the temporal cities to be able to participate in the eternal city, the city of God.

Job Descriptions and Leadership Training in the United Methodist Church 2013-2025

Job Descriptions and Leadership Training in the United Methodist Church 2013-2025
Author: Betsey Heavner
Publisher: Upper Room Books
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2015-10-14
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0881778370

Job Descriptions and Leadership Training is a handbook for congregations to develop leaders as a vital part of their discipleship system. The first portion of the book provides a framework for a nominating committee to build a culture of leadership development, including suggestions for ministry organization. It contains an exploration of both biblical roots and contemporary research for training leaders. The second part of the book has one-page job descriptions for positions suggested in the Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. Purchasers receive permission to reproduce individual job description pages for use in church workshops. Each job description includes the following information: Ministry Result Expected from This Position Spiritual Gifts and Qualifications Helpful for This Position Responsibilities of the Position Tips for Getting Started Resources for Help, Including People and Websites A great resource for helping United Methodist church leaders understand the difference between job and ministry!