Community Theology

The role of personal prayer, worship in common, everyday work, and Christian service is treated in simple, almost biblical, words. Life Together is bread for all who are hungry for the real life of Christian fellowship.

Fellowship among believers is more than just talking over coffee after church service. Biblical fellowship in New Testament times - or koinonia - had rich and varied meanings, including covenant relationship, partnership in the gospel, communion with God and others, and the sharing of earthly possessions. In True Community, best-selling author Jerry Bridges guides you through koinonia and its implications for today’s church.

Every church, every organization, has experienced them: betrayal, deception, grumbling, envy, exclusion. They make life together difficult and prevent congregations from developing the skills, virtues, and practices they need to nurture sturdy, life-giving communities.

Researchers have uncovered the following three trends: First, distrust of institutions, including the church, is at an all-time high. Second, young people raised in the church are leaving at alarming rates and not returning. Third, loneliness and social isolation are at pandemic levels. What’s the connection? It appears that an entire generation is starving for the very thing the church is called to provide but has chosen to look for it elsewhere. Why is this happening?

Muslims who come to Christ face momentous spiritual, psychological and social obstacles that drive many to abandon their faith. Often conversion and discipleship are framed by individualistic Western models that do not acknowledge the communal cultural forces that constrain and shape new believers. Effective discipleship requires a more relational, holistic process of Christian identity development and spiritual formation in community.

In the United States, to be a Black American is to be a Black Christian. And there’s something to this assumption in that the vast majority of African Americans are Christian. However, in recent years a growing number of African Americans have said they claim no particular religious affiliation—they are Black “nones.” And of these Black “nones,” the most public and vocal are those who claim to be humanists.

It is woven into the fabric of modern evangelicalism. The subject of numerous books, conferences, and sermons every year, it’s promoted as essential for a vibrant relationship with Christ, and a measure of the maturity of your faith. What is it? Hearing God speak personally, outside of Scripture.

Leading Strategic Community Change explores the dynamics of leadership and strategic community change for churches and faith-based organizations. In doing so, it incorporates principles and practices from the fields of strategic planning, leadership, and organizational development. At the end of chapters there are exercises designed to reinforce the concepts discussed in the chapter. The appendices also include activities for churches and faith-based organizations to use with their congregations, boards, and executive ministry teams to develop a more effective plan for engaging the ...

We know that Urban isn't just a place but a culture now. Followers of Jesus face many challenges to their faith, among them the rising influence of contemporary cults, alternative theologies, and ethical issues that challenge traditionally held beliefs and practices. Urban Apologetics: Cults and...

Unique among most debates on homosexuality, this book presents a constructive dialogue between people who disagree on significant ethical and theological matters, and yet maintain a respectful and humanizing posture toward one another. Few topics are more divisive today than homosexuality. Two...

The Rule of St. Benedict has governed monastic communities for centuries, but it is far more than a standard religious text. The Rule is, above all, a handbook for living a deliberate life - no matter your religious background or beliefs. It teaches the importance of contemplation and silence, of solitude, and the power of community and unity.

In Part Two of this series, Rev. John goes deeper into his UU faith. Through fresh sermons, honest reflections, and bold new teachings, he shows what it means to live our faith out loud: to anchor our lives in shared values with Love at the center, to wrestle with our evolving principles and sources, to build the Beloved Community Dr. King dreamed about — right here, right now. Drawing wisdom from history, pop culture, and his own journey as a Black Unitarian Universalist minister, Rev. Crestwell invites new UUs, longtime members, and spiritual seekers alike to remember that this is a ...

In this study Wilmer Estrada-Carrasquillo constructs a Pentecostal lived ecclesiology by exploring how lived faith informs the way people interact in their lived spaces. Because of their eschatological vision, Pentecostals have been caricatured as detached from surrounding culture and unconcerned about contemporary events. Yet this study uncovers the Pentecostal voices and churches that are thinking seriously about the ways their spirituality impacts the public sphere. Estrada-Carrasquillo argues that Pentecostalism needs to ‘revision’ itself constantly and that the topic of theology ...

The book of Revelation is filled with angels and dragons, fantastic beasts and golden cities, bottomless pits and mysterious numbers. It’s dramatic, sure - but what exactly does that have to do with the tests we face today? Actually, a lot. When the apostle John penned the book of Revelation, believers lived in a time of deception and injustice. But his message doesn’t just reflect their cries for things to be made right; it reveals heaven’s perspective of the bigger picture.

Today, many of us have lost our appreciation of the beauty of covenant theology and covenant community, and this has had dire consequences for us, resulting in misunderstandings of theology and individualism and isolationism in the church. Author Sarah Ivill believes that a key solution to this problem is a robust understanding of covenant theology, which will deepen our knowledge of Scripture and enable us to truly serve our sisters by pointing them to Christ.

I HAVE accepted with grateful pleasure the privilege of meeting you upon two evenings and talking to you upon Tolerance. I chose that subject because I had long vaguely thought of lecturing upon it, and also because it seemed to me as if there were no group of men to whom one could so fitly speak upon it as a gathering of students of theology. To them more than to other men must come the puzzling problems and interesting suggestions which the whole subject of tolerance involves. I want to speak this evening about the nature and the history and the hope of tolerance. In my other lecture I ...

We were created for community. So why do we want to be alone? The Bible tells the story of the immense power of human relationships and God's love for the church. Douglas Bursch presents a timely, insightful and practical theology of community. He examines the relational implications of human existence, sin, salvation, discipleship, evangelism, and other key biblical concepts. Doug also shares unfiltered stories concerning his personal weaknesses and the relational struggles he has faced as a pastor.

En 2001, Kathy Baldock, una cristiana evangélica conservadora y heterosexual, conoció a Netto Montoya, una aborigen americana lesbiana, mientras estaba haciendo senderismo en las caminerias cercanas a su casa en las montañas de Sierra Nevada. Su amistad desafió las creencias culturales y religiosas de Baldock sobre las personas gay, lesbianas, bisexuales y transgénero.

Hyper-individualism and consumerism are failing to satisfy our hunger for meaning. We face an identity crisis in which real community is increasingly hard to find. The culture wars have been painful and polarizing and have proved a poor way to agree any kind of moral standards. Is it even possible to find a vision for goodness that can bring us together? Rumors of a Better Country addresses our hunger for justice and a better way of living by awakening our moral imagination to the potential of a trusting community.

How can we love our neighbors amid so much division and hurt? Loving your neighbor as yourself would be easy if your neighbors were all people you understood, people you agreed with, people like you. But what about playground bullies, colleagues, refugees, online adversaries? They're all our...