Reconciling Practice and Theology What does reconciliation have to do with the work of missions? In today’s conflict-ridden world, the concept of reconciliation has gained traction, and Christian missions is being rethought. The whole world cries out for holistic transformation with eternal value, and God’s people are called to be his ambassadors. Ambassadors of Reconciliation lays the groundwork for exploring a new paradigm for missions. Divided into three parts, the book first establishes the theological foundations of reconciliation. The second part then shows how theory and practice go hand in hand. Finally, the third part uses case studies to highlight the importance of understanding brokenness, conflict, and culture for effective ministry in reconciliation. The contributors challenge readers to consider the church’s role in God's mission and how every Christian can become an envoy of his restoration work. They emphasize the spiritual dimension of reconciliation and offer practical guidance for effectively engaging in ministry. Whether you are a missionary, pastor, or someone interested in promoting restoration in the world, this book provides valuable insights and tools for your journey.

Both Ched Myers and Elaine Enns work for Bartimaeus Ministries in California. Myers, the author of Binding the Strong Man and Who Will Roll Away the Stone?, focuses on building biblical literary, church renewal, and faith-based witness for justice. Enns has worked for twenty years in the field of restorative justice and conflict transformation. Book jacket.

Settler churches across North America have committed to the work of conciliation and reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. Worship is a space in which these commitments are expressed and nurtured. As we are embraced by God’s reconciling love in worship, we are equipped to carry that reconciling love into our relationships beyond the worship space. Worship equips us for the work of conciliation, but the liturgy itself needs to be decolonized if it is to truly honor Christian commitments to God and neighbor. This book explores the reformed liturgy in its pattern of Gathering, Word, Table, and Sending, searching it both for colonial vestiges, and spaces of new possibility. Unsettling Worship invites the reader into a conversation about reformed worship in a setting of ongoing colonization. Worship should both unsettle us, and equip us for the essential work of making things right with Indigenous neighbors.

In this series of messages based on scripture, the author demonstrates the vital applications of the Bible for our times, dealing first with the greater words of faith such as love, grace, and reconciliation. It then sheds light on various events in Jesus' life and beyond. A third group of messages shows the Bible addressing social issues such as sexuality and violence.

Our world is broken and cries out for reconciliation. But mere conflict resolution and peacemaking are not enough. What makes real reconciliation possible? How is it that some people are able to forgive the most horrendous of evils? And what role does God play in these stories? Does reconciliation make any sense apart from the biblical story of redemption? Secular models of peacemaking are insufficient. And the church has not always fulfilled its call to be agents of reconciliation in the world. In Reconciling All Things Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice, codirectors of the Center for Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School, cast a comprehensive vision for reconciliation that is biblical, transformative, holistic and global. They draw on the resources of the Christian story, including their own individual experiences in Uganda and Mississippi, to bring solid, theological reflection to bear on the work of reconciling individuals, groups and societies. They recover distinctively Christian practices that will help the church be both a sign and an agent of God's reconciling love in the fragmented world of the twenty-first century. This powerful, concise book lays the philosophical foundations for the Resources for Reconciliation, a new series from InterVarsity Press and the Center for Reconciliation at Duke Divinity School which explores what it means to pursue hope in areas of brokenness in theory and practice.

Your life matters, and it matters on an infinite and eternal scale. That may sound like a bold claim. Maybe you spend most of your day behind a desk or chauffeuring children or repeating one of a thousand ordinary routines. Nothing about your daily life seems world-changing or history-making to you. A life-crushing loss or a humiliating setback may leave you feeling that your world is irreparably broken. Chronic illness or a stalled career may have you wondering whether you have anything truly significant to offer. You may have reached the pinnacle of success, and now you find yourself wondering, “Is this all that there is?” Nevertheless, your life matters. That is the core message of Christian hope. This book is devoted to helping its readers not only to understand the concept of hope, but more importantly to draw upon hope as the powerful force that inspires our daily lives. Christian hope is far more than wishful thinking or a positive attitude. Optimism in all its forms places its bets on what we humans can accomplish. By contrast, hope is rooted in what Christ has already achieved on the cross and what God promises to accomplish for us in the future. God connects the dots of our lives.

"What this book is concerned with are the words used in the New Testament to describe preachers and the task of preaching." - from author's preface.

The ministry of reconciliation is the new whole in holistic ministry. It must be if the Christian mission is to remain relevant in our increasingly fractured world. This book offers a fresh treatment of holistic ministry that takes the role of reconciliation seriously, rethinking the meaning of the gospel, the nature of the church, and the practice of mission in light of globalization, post-Christendom, and postcolonialism. It also includes theological and practical resources for effectively engaging in evangelism, compassion and justice, and reconciliation ministries. Includes a foreword by Ruth Padilla DeBorst and an afterword by Ronald J. Sider.

The church is called to be the agency through which God is not only known but through which his kingdom is also advanced. This book, therefore, is an attempt to examine the church’s influence on communities through social justice practices as part of advancing the gospel of the kingdom of God. The book brings out results of a study about a congregation’s significant impact on a local community through varied social justice programs. The book also provides relevant recommendations on how such initiatives can be improved for a more effective kingdom-driven ministry to local communities. It is hoped that the example of J. Jireh Ministry Church provides a case worthy of emulation by other churches, congregations, and similar faith-based community organizations for ministering to social justice needs at the local level.

Collects a year's worth of reflections from a Catholic perspective, sixty-four short essays on Christian unity as a spirituality that is nurtured by the Eucharist and celebrated throughout the liturgical seasons.