How are we to proclaim Christ in different cultures? This question was central to a landmark study on worship and culture conducted by the Lutheran World Federation between 1992 and 1999. Much has changed in the years since then: the world today more than ever is a multicultural global village. Worship and Culture revisits that LWF study and publication, shedding new light on the question from recent theological and sociological scholarship to expand and enrich the texts in the original three-volume work. This book includes texts from the main statements that came out of the original project as well as updated essays from some of the original contributors. It also adds new essays, prayers, and hymns to the conversation, inviting readers to consider what the life of the church should look like in today’s hybrid, multicultural world. Contributors Julio Cezar Adam Scott Anderson Mark P. Bangert Thomas F. Best Stephen Burns Anscar J. Chupungco, OSB Joseph A. Donnella II Norman A. Hjelm Margaret Mary Kelleher, OSU Dirk G. Lange Gordon W. Lathrop Anita Monro Martha Moore-Keish Melinda A. Quivik Gail Ramshaw S. Anita Stauffer Benjamin M. Stewart Glaucia Vasconcelos Wilkey Joyce Ann Zimmerman, CPPS

This 50th-anniversary edition, with a new foreword by the distinguished historian Martin E. Marty, who regards this book as one of the most vital books of our time, as well as an introduction by the author never before included in the book, and a new preface by James Gustafson, the premier Christian ethicist who is considered Niebuhr’s contemporary successor, poses the challenge of being true to Christ in a materialistic age to an entirely new generation of Christian readers.

Malls, stadiums, and universities are actually liturgical structures that influence and shape our thoughts and affections. Humans--as Augustine noted--are "desiring agents," full of longings and passions; in brief, we are what we love. James K. A. Smith focuses on the themes of liturgy and desire in Desiring the Kingdom, the first book in what will be a three-volume set on the theology of culture. He redirects our yearnings to focus on the greatest good: God. Ultimately, Smith seeks to re-vision education through the process and practice of worship. Students of philosophy, theology, worldview, and culture will welcome Desiring the Kingdom, as will those involved in ministry and other interested readers.

Christianity Today 2023 Book Award Finalist (Bible & Devotional) Sheltering Mercy helps us rediscover the rich treasures of the Psalms--through free-verse prayer renderings of their poems and hymns--as a guide to personal devotion and meditation. The church has always used the Psalms as part of its prayer life, and they have inspired countless other prayers. This book contains 75 prayers drawn from Psalms 1-75, providing lyrical sketches of what authors Ryan Whitaker Smith and Dan Wilt have seen, heard, and felt while sojourning in the Psalms. While each prayer corresponds to a particular psalm and touches on its themes and ideas, it is not a new translation of the Psalms or an attempt to modernize or contextualize their content or language. Rather, the prayers are responses to the Psalms written in harmony with Scripture. These prayers help us quiet our hearts before God and welcome us into a safe place amid the storms of life. This artful, poetic, and classic devotional book features compelling custom illustrations and beautiful hardcover binding, offering a fresh way to reflect on and pray the Psalms.

This wide-ranging collection of essays takes up the pathbreaking study of worship and culture sponsored by the Lutheran World Federation in the last decade of the twentieth century and carries the conversation forward into the twenty-first century.

Pastors and church leaders are constantly faced with strategic questions. How much staff does the church need? How many workers are needed in the nursery this month? When is the right time to start a second worship service? How many people should we train for evangelism this year? How does seating and parking impact worship attendance? When church leaders have questions about planning, running, or growing their churches, they need answers fast! What Every Pastor Should Know offers pastors and leaders 101 valuable rules and "sacred" laws to help answer real-life ministry questions. From advertising to facilities to visitation, this valuable book offers the practical help that leaders need, just when they need it most. This comprehensive guide will become one of the most valuable books in a leader's library. Never again will they wonder if they based critical decisions on the right information. They'll get the answers they're looking for all in one place.

This popular expanded study version of the 1997 synodical report on worship helps readers understand the dynamics of bibical worship in our changing culture. Includes discussion of contemporary forces affecting worship, as well as the theology and dynamics of worship. Also includes discussion questions and suggestions for using this report with worship committees and consistories, or as an adult education course.

2013 Word Guild Award (Academic) How does worship work? How exactly does liturgical formation shape us? What are the dynamics of such transformation? In the second of James K. A. Smith's three-volume theology of culture, the author expands and deepens the analysis of cultural liturgies and Christian worship he developed in his well-received Desiring the Kingdom. He helps us understand and appreciate the bodily basis of habit formation and how liturgical formation--both "secular" and Christian--affects our fundamental orientation to the world. Worship "works" by leveraging our bodies to transform our imagination, and it does this through stories we understand on a register that is closer to body than mind. This has critical implications for how we think about Christian formation. Professors and students will welcome this work as will pastors, worship leaders, and Christian educators. The book includes analyses of popular films, novels, and other cultural phenomena, such as The King's Speech, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest, and Facebook.