By first defining the core tasks (or mission) of the Church in biblical and theological terms, Paul Avis then goes on to ask how these tasks can best be carried out in the conditions of modernity and post-modernity.

The inspiring story of evangelicals in Cincinnati struggling to bridge racial divides in their own church, their community, and across the nation In 2016, even as Ohio helped deliver victory to presidential candidate Donald Trump, Cincinnati voters also passed a ballot initiative for universal preschool. The margin was so large that many who elected Trump must have—paradoxically—also voted for the initiative: how could the same citizens support such philosophically disparate aims? What had convinced residents of this Midwestern, Rust Belt community to raise their own taxes to provide early childhood education focused on the poorest—and mostly Black—communities? When political scientist Hahrie Han set out to answer that question, her investigations led straight to an unlikely origin: the white-dominant evangelical megachurch Crossroads, where Pastor Chuck Mingo had delivered a sermon the prior year that set in motion a chain of surprising events. Raised in the Black church, Mingo felt called by God, he told Crossroads parishioners, to combat racial injustice, and to do it through the very church in which they were gathered. The result was Undivided, a faith-based program designed to foster antiracism and systemic change. The creators of Undivided recognized that any effort to combat racial injustice must move beyond recognizing and overcoming individual prejudices. Real change would have to be radical—from the very roots. In Undivided, Han chronicles the story of four participants—two men, one Black and one white, and two women, one Black and one white—whose lives were fundamentally altered by the program. As each of their journeys unfolded, in unpredictable and sometimes painful ways, they came to better understand one another, and to believe in the transformative possibilities for racial solidarity in a moment of deep divisiveness in America. The lessons they learned have the power to teach us all what an undivided society might look like—and how we can help achieve it.

Too often, the demands of pastoral ministry in a small community can bury a persons soul under the rubble of countless needs and not enough solutions. These stories, taken from thirty years of ministry in an isolated, desert community with a diverse population, offer points of hope in the middle of struggle for those in similar situations. Although the details of life are random, there is a connection across the stories where grace and mercy brought hope and renewed eyes rested by time in the community. This is no step-by-step program for improvementjust a simple trek alongside others encountering grace and mercy together. Along with sadness there is joy. Coupled with laughter there are points of mourning. Throughout the book is the story unfolds of a pastor who learned to stay and be changed by grace. Dane Miller wrote the most rewarding and enriching account of a desert oasis in Rest Stop! I learned the idea of reciprocity of confession and forgiveness. This is real living without pretense! It ought to be celebrated by all! Isaac M. Kikawada, retired, Near Eastern Studies, University of California, Berkeley On the Back Side of Nowhere meets life head-onlife that could be described as theology with calluses. It is unscripted, off-key, and covered with spiritual warts. It is pastor-shepherd and a flock of unruly sheep at their most honest. Nik Ripken, author of The Insanity of God and The Insanity of Obedience, has lived most of the last thirty years overseas with his family.

This volume in the landmark Oxford History of the Laws of England series, spans three centuries that encompassed the tumultuous years of the Norman conquest, and during which the common law as we know it today began to emerge. The first full-length treatment of all aspects of the early development of the English common law in a century, featuring extensive research into the original sources that bring the era to life, and providing an interpretative account, a detailed subject analysis, and fascinating glimpses into medieval disputes. Starting with King Alfred (871-899), this book examines the particular contributions of the Anglo-Saxon period to the development of English law, including the development of a powerful machinery of royal government, significant aspects of a long-lasting court structure, and important elements of law relating to theft and violence. Until the reign of King Stephen (1135-54), these Anglo-Saxon contributions were maintained by the Norman rulers, whilst the Conquest of 1066 led to the development of key aspects of landholding that were to have a continuing effect on the emerging common law. The Angevin period saw the establishment of more routine royal administration of justice, closer links between central government and individuals in the localities, and growing bureaucratization. Finally, the later twelfth and earlier thirteenth century saw influential changes in legal expertise. The book concludes with the rebellion against King John in 1215 and the production of the Magna Carta. Laying out in exhaustive detail the origins of the English common law through the ninth to the early thirteenth centuries, this book will be essential reading for all legal historians and a vital work of reference for academics, students, and practitioners.