New expressions of church, including so-called insider movements, are proliferating among non-Christian religious communities worldwide. Drawing on the growing social-scientific work on emergent theory, Darren Duerksen and William Dyrness explore how all Christian movements have been and are engaged in a "reverse hermeneutic," where the gospel is read and interpreted through existing cultural and religious norms.

In a net-savvy world, there is no question of whether or not digital marketing should play a role in a companys overall marketing strategy. But how do the rules of the online playground affect such traditional institutions as the Church? How can church ministries learn and adapt to these popular new models? Author Kevin W. Shorter delivers an upbeat, easy-to-implement guide to search engine optimization for churches in his new book, Church Search: How to Get Your Ministry to Show Up in Search Engines. The theory of if you build it, they will come does not work online, writes Shorter on the motivation behind writing his new guide. Potential visitors to the website need to be able to find it. Most prospective visitors to a church will go online to research the choices before walking through the door. Realizing a hole in the outreach programs of most churches, Shorter set to work to educate readers about the importance of an online presence. Among other lessons, Church Search instructs readers on how to: * Leverage the power of search engines * Determine whether your website is user-friendly * Uncover how new users are finding your site and how to generate more users * Utilize keyword analysis, blogs and customized web-material Ideally used as a complement to the work of traditional ministries, Church Search offers readers a tool to reach both non-believers and Christians new to a particular area. As Shorter writes: Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. If you are not thinking with regards to search engine traffic, you might be leaving it up to other people to tell your story.

This timely book, which arises out of consultations under the auspices of the Centre for the Study of the Christian Church, examines the Church of England's decision to ordain women to the priesthood and to make pastoral provision for those opposed. It attempts to discover and define the theological principles underlying both the ordination of women and the determination of the Church to maintain communion when these developments provoke fundamental disagreements.

Asylum-Seeking, Migration and Church addresses one of the most pressing issues confronting contemporary society. How are we to engage with migrants? Drawing on studies of church engagement with asylum seekers in the UK and critical immigration and refugee issues in North America, Snyder presents an extended theological reflection on both the issue of asylum-seeking and the fears of established populations surrounding immigration. This book outlines ways in which churches are currently supporting asylum seekers, encouraging closer engagement with people seen as 'other' and more thoughtful responses to newcomers. Creatively exploring biblical and theological traditions surrounding the 'stranger', Snyder argues that as well as practising a vision of inclusive community churches would do well to engage with established population fears. Trends in global migration and the dynamics of fear and hostility surrounding immigration are critically and creatively explored throughout the book. Inviting more complex, nuanced responses to asylum seekers and immigrants, this book offers invaluable insights to those interested in Christian ethics, practical theology, social work, mission and faith and social action, as well as those working in the field of migration.

Compiled by world- class leaders in the field of collaborative information retrieval and search (CIS), this book centres on the notion that information seeking is not always a solitary activity and working in collaboration to perform information-seeking tasks should be studied and supported. Covering aspects of theories, models, and applications the book is divided in three parts: · Best Practices and Studies: providing an overview of current knowledge and state-of-the-art in the field. · New Domains: covers some of the new and exciting opportunities of applying CIS · New Thoughts: focuses on new research directions by scholars from academia and industry from around the world. Collaborative Information Seeking provides a valuable reference for student, teachers, and researchers interested in the area of collaborative work, information seeking/retrieval, and human-computer interaction.

Society in Britain has changed dramatically in the last 30 years, especially in terms of our understanding of community and how we relate to one another. One of the responses of the Church has been to plant new churches and create 'fresh expressions' of church; churches that relate to our changing context. With a new foreword by the Rt Revd Graham Cray, this detailed, practical and well-researched report: gives an overview of recent developments in church planting; describes varied and exciting 'fresh expressions' of church; offers practical help and advice; looks candidly at where lessons can be learned; proposes a framework and methodology for good, effective church planting; includes recommendations to make possible the visions of a vibrant future Church. Each chapter has a set of questions and challenges to help local parish churches engage with the issues.

One family's journey through Autism. See how God healed their bodies, changed their minds and awakened their spirits.

Concern about church growth and decline is widespread and contentious, yet theological reflection on church growth is scarce. Leading international scholars, including Alister McGrath, Benedicta Ward and C. Kavin Rowe, provide rich resources from scripture, doctrine and tradition, to underpin action to promote church growth and to stimulate further theological reflection on the subject.

Is the reform we have seen in the wake of the pedophilia scandals in the Catholic Church meaningful? Have our conversations about the causes of these scandals delved as deeply as they need to? For those questioning the relations between hierarchical power, secrecy, and sexuality in institutional religion, Mark D. Jordan's eloquent meditations on what truths about sexuality need to be told in church-and the difficulty of telling any truths-will be a balm and a revelation.