Recently, if not in the last twenty years, several evangelical Christians have begun to convert to a more traditional aspect of Christianity, few have seemed to notice the thread connecting all these conversions to be a need for deeper meaning in worship. Thomas Howard's book Evangelical Is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament speaks to those longing as well as how to satisfy them through the liturgy. Tom Howard's whole aim is to direct the reader to understand that every church needs to identify its roots and appreciate the two-thousand year old history behind communion. Furthermore he does an excellent job in breathing life into doctrines and practices of both the evangelical and catholic world, that many of us lose the sight…
Through three separate panels of a collage styled piece of art, Theodore A. Harris brings the viewers’ attention to the injustices in America’s society. Can These Bones Live, created in 2008 by Harris, tells a story. Although the three panels are independent from one another, they are not disconnected by any means. One can notice this through the repetition of the unstable composition, same figures, and ink drippings in his work of art. An analysis of Can These Bones Live reveals that the integration of these components gives the viewer feelings of apprehension and melancholy.…
(Liberation as Pastorial Prasis, 2003)book when these things are not considered there is a real psychological response titled “learned…
Heroes are people who are determined to do what’s right for their comrades or community. They are determined to follow their dreams; they are determined to reach a goal that they set for themselves, and they do. The hero of “The Four Feathers” is Harry Feversham, the descendant of a long line of military heroes, who is expected to carry on the tradition of his overbearing authoritarian father. He was a true figure for the Victorian fantasy of war as a manly endeavor. In the book Salvage the Bones, Esch had surpassed her security stage of life for survival.…
The struggles within the church can become a powerful tool in the healing of many wounds. A healing church is one who recognizes their total dependency on Christ and extends that love and acceptance to all who come through their doors. Epilogue Doug Murren wants the reader to remember this. “I came to realize I could sum it up in one word: Jesus. Churches that heal look like Jesus!”…
This comprehensive approach allows one to see a greater picture using a scripturally based and theologically sound approach. One considers the personal and the corporate and includes the human and the spiritual. One can audit all aspects of evangelization. Such modes can include celebration, study, prayer, interpersonal relations, and social constructs. An actual totality of witness, including the Holy Spirt, is considered.…
Spiritual disciplines are something that take a lot of work, they are things that don’t always come easy, and they often require practice to develop. As a believer, it is easy to just assume the role of a mediocre Christian who often overlooks spiritual growth, thinking that going to church every Sunday is enough to effectively grow in ones walk with Christ. Through study, it becomes obvious that Sunday Christianity is not enough, it takes work as a Christian to truly change and grow, and to make that work happen, we have to develop disciplines that will take root in our lives, so that Christ will ultimately change us and grow us as we seek to follow and please him. This paper is going to be a book review of Donald S. Whitney’s book, “Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life”. Whitney dives into the subject of spiritual disciplines and looks to scripture bringing up many key points that make the easy to understand for the reader and he gives practical understanding for the different disciplines.…
Foster, Richard J. Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. New York, NY: HarperCollins, 1998. 9780060628390. Content Summary…
The Westminster Confession of Faith and the Baptist Faith & Message 2000 are two documents that influenced the writing of this confession. Both of them give excellent summaries of the Church be, while also giving ample Scriptural support. One key biblical text to explain the Church doctrine is 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, which talks about the Church as a human body. All members of the Church, whether they believe they have a small role or a big role, play a part in God’s Church, whether they are a hand, an eye, or an ear. Another key text is Colossians 1:18-20, where Christ is depicted as the head of the Church.…
The fourth and final mark is apostolicity; the church is the same as that of the apostles. The church’s value rests on what God does, not on what people do; Donatist believed the opposite of this to be true. The next big conclusion made is that Christian faith and church are missionary in behavior. The chapter concludes by discussing sacraments, special gifts from God that are visible signs of spiritual grace. Sacramental life in the church is key to the goodness of sacred…
“Salvage the Bones” is a very influential piece of modern literature which tells the story of courage, bravery, self-realization, and coming of age. This is the second novel by the renowned author Jesmyn Ward. The book was a major success and was critically acclaimed. The books success resulted in Ward receiving the National Book Award for Fiction in 2011 for her work. The story is set in the fictional town of Bois Sauvage, Mississippi.…
The concept of spiritual formation has been an issue of discussion for centuries. Theologians, clergy, and lay-people have sought to understand the process and procedure of a person being transformed. Although it may be difficult to articulate how an individual undergoes spiritual formation or the disciplines that will lead to spiritual formation, still individuals throughout church history has sought to discover spiritual formation. Albeit, the term spiritual formation is a relatively new term, the concept is as old as the church itself.…
Henri Nouwen’s book The Wounded Healer: Ministry In Contemporary Society provides a valuable introspective approach to providing pastoral care and serving in Christian leadership in contemporary society. Nouwen provides a great overview of the wounds and suffering that plagues modern society, the current generation, individual people, and the Christian ministers who are called to serve those in need. (Nouwen, 3)…
Shepherding God’s People Book Summary 28 December, 2016 Lori Tharp A Summary and Analysis of Pastor: The Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry By William H. Willimon In the book, Pastor, A Theology and Practice of Ordained Ministry, Willimon sets the stage in his introduction for those of us who begin to read it. He tells us that this book is the fruit of many years of ministry experience, and it is an attempt to answer the questions of H. Richard Niebuhr about pastoral ministry. Basing his mindset on The Acts of the Apostles, Willimon reflects on specific topics within pastoral ministry. This book provides great wisdom, practical knowledge, truth, encouragement and inspiration for the difficult task we have before us as ministers,…
Introduction The concept of “church” was started as the tabanacle where the Ark of Covenent was placed (Old Testament). Then it was transferred into the “Temple building” where people experienced God’s presence. When Jesus came to dwell among people, He was the Temple instead of the building. He confirmed it; “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days” (John 2:19 NIV).…