Stott challenges readers to move with the times, while standing firmly on the truth of God's Word. He reflects here on many of his favorite themes from decades of preaching and teaching: the human paradox, authentic freedom, evangelism and social action, the pastoral ideal, dimensions of renewal, and more.

For many churches today, music has become one of the most important factors in attempting to reach unbelievers with the gospel. Writing from his own personal experience as a former worship leader, Dan Lucarini questions the use of contemporary music in the worship of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Apostles of Rock is the first objective, comprehensive examination of the contemporary Christian music phenomenon. Some see CCM performers as ministers or musical missionaries, while others define them as entertainers or artists. This popular musical movement clearly evokes a variety of responses concerning the relationship between Christ and culture. The resulting tensions have splintered the genre and given rise to misunderstanding, conflict, and an obsessive focus on self-examination. As Christian stars Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith, DC Talk, and Sixpence None the Richer climb the mainstream charts, Jay Howard and John Streck talk about CCM as an important movement and show how this musical genre relates to a larger popular culture. They map the world of CCM by bringing together the perspectives of the people who perform, study, market, and listen to this music. By examining CCM lyrics, interviews, performances, web sites, and chat rooms, Howard and Streck uncover the religious and aesthetic tensions within the CCM community. Ultimately, the conflict centered around Christian music reflects the modern religious community's understanding of evangelicalism and the community's complex relationship with American popular culture.

Chronicling the amazing rise of this genre from its gospel roots to today's diverse musical sound, this guide offers a complete capsule encyclopedia of Contemporary Christian artists as well as an introduction to the music form. 40 illustrations.

These essays provide bandmember lists, complete discographies, lists of awards, artist-website addresses, biographies of the artists, and reviews of their work."--BOOK JACKET.

This book reconstructs the connection between religion and migration, drawing on post-colonial perspectives to shed light on what religion can contribute to migrant encounters. Examining the resources and motives for hospitality as lived in Christian contexts in the Nordic region, it addresses the content of talk about religion in public discourse, the concept having become something of an empty signifier in debates surrounding migration. Multidisciplinary in approach, this volume demonstrates that religion is not, in fact, an empty signifier, but gains substance through practice and interpretation. Considering the undeveloped potentiality of religion and the manner in which the unseen religious perspective in secularity becomes manifest in practice, this volume will appeal to social scientists and scholars of religion with interests in migration, refugee studies, theology, and Christian practice.

Though the acceptance of popular culture (and in the case of music, pop music) within the Christian church is now an established fact, its very normality across the face of virtually every variety of Christian theological persuasion is telling. In a climate of extreme multi-culturalism, pluralism, and relativism satiated with the notion that music is value-neutral and worldview-free, church music has been cut off from history, tradition, theology, aesthetic norms, and ultimately the Word. The result has been a breakdown of church music standards along with a collateral weakening in other areas of life as well.

Contemporary Christian musiccommonly referred to by the acronym CCMis a catchall term that describes a wide range of types of music, encompassing work produced in the late 1960s to the 21st century, and incorporating rock and folk music influences. Contemporary Christian music enjoys widespread popularity, despite being unfamiliar to many modern music listeners; in recent years, sales of CCM have exceeded other more mainstream categories like jazz, Latin, and classical. This book tells the story of contemporary Christian music over the course of more than half a century--a parallel music universe that the average person knows little about, but whose worldwide impact cannot be overemphasized. Christian theology has had a tremendous impact and influence on world civilization in the 20th and 21st centuries, and music has often acted as a catalyst in the evolution of the culture and religious thought of Western civilization. Similarly, contemporary Christian music has shaped other seemingly unrelated forums of modern music, and thereby influenced our society at large. Jesus Rocks the World: The Definitive History of Contemporary Christian Music is organized chronologically, beginning in the 1960s and concluding with present-day developments in CCM. The core of the book is formed around the author's 40 years of direct experience with CCM, condensed into cultural and musical histories that explore every aspect of the genre, including the key artists, CCM-specific record companies, epic concerts and unforgettable festivals, groundbreaking albums, and its underlying philosophy and theology. Special attention is also paid to the intersection of contemporary Christian music with general market pop music, making mention of top artists such as Bob Dylan, Amy Grant, and U2. Bob Gersztyn has been a freelance photojournalist and writer since 1994. He was previously an ordained minister who became involved in the Jesus movement in Los Angeles, CA, in 1971.Publisher's note.

The Christian life, concerned with both spirituality and doctrine, aims not at rationally defensible truth but at life-transforming love. Greater understanding of the truth will not settle the restlessness in a human spirit; only the redemptive power of relationship with God can calm the soul. The crux of Kierkegaard's presentation of Christianity is not that doctrine is unimportant, but that it is ultimately insufficient for a life lived in relationship with God. In Contemporary with Christ, Joshua Cockayne explores the Christian spiritual life with Søren Kierkegaard (in the guise of his various pseudonyms) as his guide and analytic theology as his key tool of engagement. Cockayne contends that the Christian life is second-personal: it seeks encounter with a personal God. As Kierkegaard describes, God invites us to live on the most intimate terms with God. Cockayne argues that this vision of Christian spirituality is deeply practical because it advocates for a certain way of acting and existing. This approach to the Christian life moves from first-reflection, whereby one acquires objective knowledge, to second-reflection, whereby one attains deeper self-understanding, which fortifies one's relationship with God. Individuals encounter Christ through traditional practices: prayer, the Eucharist, and the reading of Scripture. However, experiences of suffering and mortality that mirror Christ's own passion also enliven this life of encounter. Spiritual progress comes through a reorientation of one's will, desire, and self-knowledge. Such progress must ultimately serve the goal of drawing close to God through Christ's presence. Engaging philosophy, theology, and psychology, Cockayne invites us to join in a conversation with Kierkegaard and explore how the spiritual disciplines provide opportunities for relationship with God by becoming contemporary with Christ. --C. Stephen Evans, University Professor of Philosophy and Humanities, Baylor University