Mission in Marginal Places: The Theory PDF Download

Author: Michael Pears
Publisher: Authentic Media Inc
ISBN: 1842279157
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 293

View

Book Description
This first book in the series presents a thought-provoking foundation for contemporary mission. Drawing on key theological, missiological and social scientific ideas it discusses the fundamentals that provide a basis for place dependent, reflective praxis amongst people occupying social margins. This fascinating work re-energises debate around questions of why and how mission in marginal places should be planned and implemented.

Author: Michael Pears
Publisher: Authentic Media Inc
ISBN: 1842279165
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 271

View

Book Description
The second book in the series focuses on participation and practice, and discusses a range of ways in which Kingdom-centred mission can be embedded in the actually existing realms of activity and need in marginal places. The book explores five different realms of practice, each presenting opportunities for innovative expressions of incarnational attentiveness to marginalized communities and people. It seeks to inspire prayerful and discerning activity that tunes into what Jesus is doing in local places, rather than providing any kind of "off-the-shelf" checklist of prefigured mission tactics. It challenges readers to take their faith-praxis beyond orthodox congregational settings and out into the everyday realms of life in marginal places.

Author: Paul Cloke
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317367634
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 406

View

Book Description
This book explores the hopeful possibility that emerging geographies of postsecularity are able to contribute significantly to the understanding of how common life may be shared, and how caring for the common goods of social justice, well-being, equality, solidarity and respect for difference may be imagined and practiced. Drawing on recent geographic theory to recalibrate ideas of the postsecular public sphere, the authors develop the case for postsecularity as a condition of being that is characterised by practices of receptive generosity, rapprochement between religious and secular ethics, and a hopeful re-enchantment and re-shaping of desire towards common life. The authors highlight the contested formation of ethical subjectivity under neoliberalism and the emergence of postsecularity within this process as an ethically-attuned politics which changes relations between religion and secularity and animates novel, hopeful imaginations, subjectivities, and praxes as alternatives to neoliberal norms. The spaces and subjectivities of emergent postsecularity are examined through a series of innovative case studies, including food banks, drug and alcohol treatment, refugee humanitarian activism in Calais, homeless participatory art projects, community responses to the Christchurch earthquakes in New Zealand, amongst others. The book also traces the global conditions for postsecularity beyond the Western and predominantly Christian-secular nexus of engagement. This is a valuable resource for students in several academic disciplines, including geography, sociology, politics, religious studies, international development and anthropology. It will be of great interest to secular and faith-based practitioners working in religion, spirituality, politics or more widely in public policy, urban planning and community development.

Author: Andrew R. Hardy
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532657331
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 133

View

Book Description
The largest missional challenge facing the church of Christ in the West is to equip every member to engage in missionary endeavor in third places. Third places are those social zones in society like coffee shops, gyms, shopping malls, pubs, etc., that everyone and anyone can meet in as commonly owned spaces. The authors argue that for too long the church has not equipped and trained its members to engage in mission in the public square. The mobilization of every member to become the hands and feet of the missional sacramental body of Christ to carry the message of God's generous love to not-yet-Christians is vital, if we want to witness the kingdom reign of God extend into their lives. Places are important to the sovereign Lord of mission and this book challenges the churches of Christ to become what they properly need to be, equipping agencies for every member mission and ministry.

Author: Sue M. Holdsworth
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN:
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193

View

Book Description
Many churches actively seek to welcome migrants through various church-based activities such as language lessons, cooking, or gardening clubs. These and similar activities often aim to be missional or evangelistic, seeking to communicate the love of God and neighbor. The author explores how the love of God and neighbor can be expressed effectively through the implementation of pastoral care principles and practices. These include expressing love through empathy, hospitality, group prayer, and spiritual formation. When the functions of pastoral care are evident, mission and evangelism occur naturally and at the appropriate time. This book is the result of the author’s PhD study of four church-based intercultural initiatives aimed at welcoming migrants. Two churches offering English conversation classes, a sewing club, and employment training classes were observed. Volunteers and pastoral staff were interviewed, and church documents were examined. This empirical research demonstrates that when volunteers are trained in principles and practices of pastoral care, when church systems and supervision support them in their tasks, and when group planning and reflection occur, the love of God and neighbor will be effectively expressed to migrants attending these initiatives.

Author: Edward Adams
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
ISBN: 1467466611
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 520

View

Book Description
For those inspired by Barclay’s Paul and the Gift Over the course of his academic career, John M. G. Barclay has transformed how we think about Paul. Barclay’s contributions to Pauline Studies reached a new height with the publication of his award-winning Paul and the Gift, in which he presents a sophisticated reading of Paul’s theology of grace within the context of gift-giving in the Greco-Roman world. But where does Pauline scholarship go from here? Featuring a diverse group of internationally renowned scholars, The New Perspective on Grace collects essays inspired by Barclay’s magnum opus. These essays broadly explore the implications of grace and gift across a variety of fields: biblical studies, theology, reception history, and theology in practice. Topics include: • Paul’s soteriology • The role of grace in Paul’s life and ministry • Implications of the New Perspective on Paul • Divine giving in the Gospels • Gift-giving and Christian aesthetics • Interpretations of Pauline grace from the patristic period to the present • Self-giving and self-care • Grace and ministry in marginalized communities The New Perspective on Grace is essential reading for all students and scholars who want to understand the current state of Pauline scholarship. Contributors: Edward Adams, Dorothea H. Bertschmann, Ben C. Blackwell, David Briones, Marion L. S. Carson, Stephen J. Chester, Susan Grove Eastman, Troels Engberg-Pedersen, Simon Gathercole, Beverly Roberts Gaventa, John K. Goodrich, Judith M. Gundry, Jane Heath, David G. Horrell, Jonathan A. Linebaugh, Joel Marcus, Orrey McFarland, Dean Pinter, Todd D. Still, Paul Trebilco, Michael Wolter

Author: Pete Ward
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 1119756936
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 564

View

Book Description
A unique introduction to the developing field of Theology and Qualitative Research In recent years, a growing number of scholars within the field of theological research have adopted qualitative empirical methods. The use of qualitative research is shaping the nature of theology and redefining what it means to be a theologian. Hence, contemporary scholars who are undertaking empirical fieldwork across a range of theological subdisciplines require authoritative guidance and well-developed frameworks of practice and theory. The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Theology and Qualitative Research outlines the challenges and possibilities for theological research that engages with qualitative methods. It reflects more than 15 years of academic research within the Ecclesiology and Ethnography Network, and features an international group of scholars committed to the empirical and theological study of the Christian church. Edited by world-renowned experts, this unprecedented volume addresses the theological debates, methodological complexities, and future directions of this emerging field. Contributions from both established and emerging scholars describe key theoretical approaches, discuss how different empirical methods are used within theology, explore the links between qualitative researchand adjacent scholarly traditions, and more. The companion: Discusses how qualitative empirical work changes the practice of theology, enabling a disciplined attention to the lived social realities of Christian religion and what theologians do Introduces theoretical and methodological debates in the field, as well as central epistemological and ontological questions Presents different approaches to Theology and Qualitative research, highlighting important issues and developments in the last decades Explores how empirical insights are shaping areas such as liturgics, homiletics, youth ministry, and Christian education Includes perspectives from scholars working in disciplines other than theology The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Theology and Qualitative Research is essential reading for graduate students, postgraduates, PhD students, researchers, and scholars in Christian Ethics, Systematic Theology, Practical Theology, Contemporary Worship, and related disciplines such as Ecclesiology, Mission Studies, World Christianity, Pastoral Theology, Political Theology, Worship Studies, and all forms of contextual theology.

Author: Helen Paynter
Publisher: Zondervan Academic
ISBN: 0310125553
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 349

View

Book Description
This volume in Biblical Theology for Life series dives deeply into the topic of human violence. Before exploring what the Bible says about violence, Old Testament scholar Helen Paynter sets out the contours for the study ahead by addressing the various definitions of violence and the theories of its origins, prevalence, and purpose. What is violence? Is there such a thing as "natural violence"? Is violence a human or social construct or can we describe natural phenomena as violent? How does the concept of violence relate to the concept of evil? Violence is everywhere; is it escapable? How do we resist violence? Having queued up the questions, Paynter takes us to the Bible for answers. Starting with the creation narratives in Genesis considered in comparison with the ancient Near Eastern myths and moving to the conquest of Canaan--the most problematic of biblical narratives--she investigates how these deep myths speak to the origins of human violence and its consequences. The prevalence of violence through biblical history is inescapable. Scripture reveals the hydra-like nature of human violence, investigating types of violence including but not limited to: structural violence, verbal violence, sexual violence, violence as public /political act, racialised violence, including "othering." Through the voices of the prophets and then in the teaching of Jesus, the Bible reveals that the seeds of violence exist within every human heart. Even though we see evidence of resistance movements in the Bible, such as the responses to attempted genocide in Exodus and Esther, it is only on the cross that an absorption of violence by God takes place: a defeat of violence by self-sacrifice. Along the way, Paynter considers other relevant biblical themes, including the apocalypse, "crushing the serpent's head," and the concept of divine vengeance, culminating in the resurrected Christ's lack of vengeance against those who did him to death. In light of the New Testament, we will consider how the first Christians responded to the structural violence of slavery and patriarchy and how they began to apply Jesus' redemptive, non-vengeful theology to their own day. The book concludes by discussing of what this means for Christians today. For many of us who live without routine encounters with or threats of violence, we must consider our responsibility in a world where our experience is the exception. With attention to the multi-headed hydra that is violence and the concealed structures of violence in our own Western society, Paynter challenges readers to consider their own, perhaps inherited, privilege and complicity. The question of how we regard "others," both as individuals and as societies, is a deeply relevant and urgent one for the church: The church can and should be a wholly non-othering body. So what implications does this have for the church and, for example, Black Lives Matter or the rampant xenophobia in our society or immigration and global migration issues? How do we resist evil? What does it mean to turn the other cheek when the cheek that has been slapped is not our own? How do we resist the monster without becoming the monster?

Author: Christopher R. Baker
Publisher: SCM Press
ISBN: 0334056950
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 163

View

Book Description
From wealth creation to wealth distribution and social ethics, from urban mission to religious studies and psychology the work of John Atherton was breathtaking in scope and variety. Unifying all of his work however, was a concern with engaging the work of theology with wider society.With contributions from some of the leading lights in public theology today, this book offers not only an appreciation of John Atherton's work within a prodigiously large array of disciplines, but also an attempt to ask 'what next', taking his work forward and considering where the future of public theology might lie. John Atherton's last published article is also reproduced.

Author: John Heathershaw
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532615345
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 318

View

Book Description
We live in the wealthiest and most heavily defended world in history, so why do we feel so insecure? In a secular world, what does Christian theology have to say about this problem? Security after Christendom combines practical examples, social scientific research, and an ecumenical approach to political theology to answer these questions. It argues that Christendom was a plural phenomenon of imagined security communities of East and West whose unravelling continues to have implications for global politics today, as dramatically illustrated by Russia's war in Ukraine. While notions of a new Christendom are idolatrous and delusional, secular imaginaries of national security or the liberal international order are both destructive and unstable. True security--radical inclusion, nonviolent protection, and abundant provision--is an eschatological phenomenon, inaugurated by Christ. Security after Christendom is neither found in faithful government nor an exclusive church-as-polis approach but in relations of tension where the fallen powers are continuously confronted by prophetic practices. A post-Christendom community expresses its love for the world by seeking its security, providentially limiting the disorders of the secular age, and offering glimmers of a new earth.