The seventh volume of this Companion series is devoted to the writings ascribed to Paul but widely thought not to be genuiinely from the Apostle. These are of particular importance in showing how Paul's authority was exploited in the Early Church, and the topics addressed often deal with Christian discipline and hierarchy. Hence there is a particularly strong feminist agenda to be explored here.The Pastoral Epistles, Ephesians and Colossians are prominent among the writings addressed in this sparkling collection, and the authors include David Scholer, Luise Schottroff, Bonnie Thurston, Lilian Portefaix, Sara Winter and Ingrid Rosa Kitzberger.

According to Eberhard Busch, Karl Barth's theology is "characterized by being...in constant movement and transformation." And a Christian's path is marked by self-correction in order to learn how to live out the same thing again and again in a better and more appropriate way. Likewise the church, like her God, is always on the move.

In this follow up to Laukaitis' Denominational Higher Education During World War II (Palgrave 2018), this collection investigates connections between religion, student activism, and higher education to reveal the complexity of public reactions to the controversies around the Vietnam War. Historical treatments of how the Vietnam War generated tensions on campuses across the country remain centered on public universities such as University of California-Berkeley, Kent State, and University of Wisconsin-Madison. Missing from the historical analysis is how the Vietnam War affected the campuses of Christian liberal arts colleges. This work centers on how Christian liberal arts colleges across the landscape of the United States encountered the national crisis in relationship to their Christian tenets and how particular religious communities and student bodies responded to the war.

Partners in Covenant is a guide for the personal formation and spiritual growth of those who seek to become more effective spiritual companions. Filled with concrete experiential examples and reflection tools, Barbara Sheehan's resource provides a practical way for individuals or groups to enter into a peer program. Her sensitivity to a wide variety of cultures and spiritual expressions enhances the book's ability to revitalize the spiritual caring ministry of Christian communities.

Millions of people recognize the religious painting know as Head of Christ, of which an estimated five hundred million prints have been sold. Very few, however, know the artist, Warner E. Sallmann. Sallman's lack of notoriety in professional art circles can be explained by the fact that he made little or no attempt to put himself forward as a Chicago or even a Swedish American artist. He had no exhibitions of his works, and his public life consisted largely of appearances before church and community groups to do chalk drawings. More important was his attitude regarding personal fame. Sallman let the Christ he painted be in the foreground, while the artist remained in the background. "The time has come," argues Jack Lundbom, "for a broader public to know the man who stands behind the painting and the other artwork bearing the Sallman signature." Master Painter is a fascinating story of a gifted man with humble beginnings who overcame disappointment, ill health, and personal limitations in order to live out a vision: that his art serve not only for the enjoyment of humankind, but the practical end of instructing persons in the ways of God. Readers who know the art can now know the artist. It is a story eminently worth telling and one a broad public will be interested to know.

"The Strangers in Our Midst tells the story of how American evangelicals have responded to refugees and immigrants - ranging from the Cuban refugee influx in the 1960s, to the Southeast Asian refugees in the 1980s, to undocumented immigrants from Latin America in the 1990s and 2000s. Evangelical Christians have been a pillar of US immigration and refugee policy since the end of World War II in two key ways: by acting as refugee sponsors and by offering legalization assistance to undocumented immigrants. They developed an elaborate evangelical theology of hospitality, which emphasized scriptural commands to "welcome the stranger." Initially, evangelicals did not distinguish between legal immigrants and refugees and "illegal," undocumented immigrants. However, a growing anti-immigrant consensus in American society at large and their political alignment with the Republican Party caused them to shed their welcoming approach to immigrants in the 1990s. Evangelicals were now divided in their stances on immigration, as conservative evangelicals viewed only legal immigrants as deserving of their aid, while progressive evangelicals-led by their Latinx coreligionists-emphasized the need for Christians to help all immigrants. In the twenty-first century, a group of Latinx evangelical leaders resurrected and reshaped the evangelical theology of hospitality in an effort to turn the tide in the evangelical debate on immigration. The results are mixed: Unprecedented numbers of evangelicals favor a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Yet as the 2016 presidential election showed, this preference had no impact on their political choices"--

Inside the Gates of Heaven is one of the most compelling accounts of an individuals encounters with God in this generation. Not only does this account take you on a journey through the gates of glory, it answers some of the questions long asked by many about our eternal destination. I have personally read and re-read this account in light of what the Lord is revealing to many of us in this hour and find that Brother Oden was a forerunner for many of us. His words and experiences have been repeated through many others who have had similar experiences. The Lord is truly trying to encourage this generation with the reality that awaits all of us - Heaven, our eternal destiny. Bruce Allen For those unsure of the existence of Heaven, Oden Hetrick’s detailed account of his visits to the place we all long for serves as a true doubt-demolisher and faith-injector. The fact that Oden led an exemplary righteous, Christian life lends further credence to his written testimony. It was my honor both to have known him as a friend and to have been inspired by his great faith. Steve Jones Extra Mile Ministries www.extramileministries.net The Hetrick family is very special to me. They adopted me into their family like a daughter and sister, and have blessed me in many ways. Dad Hetrick was a genuine man of God with a gentle spirit. I trust you will be blessed and edified by what the Lord has revealed to him. I look forward to experiencing the exciting glories of Heaven soon that he has left on record for our encouragement and instruction. Arlene A. Cober

This longstanding annual favourite brings a wide variety of preaching voices together to offer a resource for preaching at the principal and the second service (for which preaching resources are scarce) every Sunday of the coming year, plus on principal feast days and seasonal services. Ideal for preachers wherever the 3-year lectionary is used, it also includes sermons for holy days, major saints’ days and special occasions such as Mothering Sunday, harvest, rogation and Christmas services. Hymn suggestions are provided throughout. It also includes an introductory essay to help build preachers’ skills and confidence, this year by Mark Oakley . If preparation time is short, the sermons are complete and can be used as they are, but they will also act as a springboard or framework for creating your own sermon texts. A boon for hard-pressed clergy, readers and local preachers everywhere.

Although American Protestants often claim that they are opposed to the use of devotional images in their religious life, they in fact draw on a vast body of religious icons to disseminate confessional views, to teach, and to celebrate birthdays, baptisms, confirmations, and sacred holidays. This fascinating book focuses on the production, marketing, and reception of one such set of religious illustrations, the art of Warner Sallman (1892-1968), whose 1940 Head of Christ has been reproduced an estimated five hundred million times. Five scholars--three art historians, a church historian, and a historian of material culture--investigate various aspects of Sallman's career and art, in the process revealing much about the role of imagery in the everyday devotional life of American Protestants since the 1940s. The chapters examine Sallman's work in terms of the visual sources, media, and forms of use that shaped its making; its mass production, marketing, and distribution by publishers and vendors; and the commercial nature of Sallman's training and his work as an illustrator. Other chapters explore the reception of his religious imagery among those who admired it and saw in it a vision of the world as they would have it exist; the religious and theological context of conservative American Protestantism in which the imagery flourished; and its critical reception among liberal Protestant intelligentsia who despised Sallman's work and what it represented in popular Christianity. By placing Sallman's art in theological, ecclesiastical, and aesthetic perspective, the book sheds light on the evolving shape of twentieth-century American evangelicalism and its influence on modern American culture.