"Rich and compelling. . .Lynskey’s account of the reach of 1984 is revelatory.” --George Packer, The Atlantic An authoritative, wide-ranging, and incredibly timely history of 1984--its literary sources, its composition by Orwell, its deep and lasting effect on the Cold War, and its vast influence throughout world culture at every level, from high to pop. 1984 isn't just a novel; it's a key to understanding the modern world. George Orwell's final work is a treasure chest of ideas and memes--Big Brother, the Thought Police, Doublethink, Newspeak, 2+2=5--that gain potency with every year. Particularly in 2016, when the election of Donald Trump made it a bestseller ("Ministry of Alternative Facts," anyone?). Its influence has morphed endlessly into novels (The Handmaid's Tale), films (Brazil), television shows (V for Vendetta), rock albums (Diamond Dogs), commercials (Apple), even reality TV (Big Brother). The Ministry of Truth is the first book that fully examines the epochal and cultural event that is 1984 in all its aspects: its roots in the utopian and dystopian literature that preceded it; the personal experiences in wartime Great Britain that Orwell drew on as he struggled to finish his masterpiece in his dying days; and the political and cultural phenomena that the novel ignited at once upon publication and that far from subsiding, have only grown over the decades. It explains how fiction history informs fiction and how fiction explains history.

Focusing on pastoral leadership within local churches or groups of churches, Derek Tidball provides a comprehensive survey of the variety of ministry models and patterns found in the New Testament with applications for today's ministry.

ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR “The best science-fiction nonfiction novel I’ve ever read.” —Jonathan Lethem "If I could get policymakers, and citizens, everywhere to read just one book this year, it would be Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future." —Ezra Klein (Vox) The Ministry for the Future is a masterpiece of the imagination, using fictional eyewitness accounts to tell the story of how climate change will affect us all. Its setting is not a desolate, postapocalyptic world, but a future that is almost upon us. Chosen by Barack Obama as one of his favorite books of the year, this extraordinary novel from visionary science fiction writer Kim Stanley Robinson will change the way you think about the climate crisis. "One hopes that this book is read widely—that Robinson’s audience, already large, grows by an order of magnitude. Because the point of his books is to fire the imagination."―New York Review of Books "If there’s any book that hit me hard this year, it was Kim Stanley Robinson’s The Ministry for the Future, a sweeping epic about climate change and humanity’s efforts to try and turn the tide before it’s too late." ―Polygon (Best of the Year) "Masterly." —New Yorker "[The Ministry for the Future] struck like a mallet hitting a gong, reverberating through the year ... it’s terrifying, unrelenting, but ultimately hopeful. Robinson is the SF writer of my lifetime, and this stands as some of his best work. It’s my book of the year." —Locus "Science-fiction visionary Kim Stanley Robinson makes the case for quantitative easing our way out of planetary doom." ―Bloomberg Green

Arguing that what is needed is a provisional approach to ministry which recognises that all forms of ministry are, and always have been a response to social and cultural context, 'Ecclesianarchy' brings theological and practical insight to bear on the question of ministry's provisionality.

Is it appropriate, or even legal, for government to provide spiritual care for its citizens? Winnifred Fallers Sullivan shows that courts and administrative agencies have, for better or for worse, already decided this question. Religious freedom in American today means government affirmatively providing opportunities for Americans to encounter their religious selves and realize their religious commitments. How did this happen? The answer, Sullivan shows, is an emerging religious practice--the ministry offered by chaplains in secular settings, generally called a ministry of presence. In this eye-opening book, Sullivan details the legal recognition and regulation of the spiritual care delivered by governmental and quasi-governmental chaplaincies, as well as by chaplaincies within ostensibly private but regulated industries, such as hospitals and colleges. Across America today, there are chaplains in airports, fire departments, prisons, hospitals, the military, unions, and even businesses and workplaces. Chaplains operate at the intersection of the sacred and the secular, brokers responsible for ministering to the wandering souls of a globalized economy while sacralizing institutions we generally consider unmarked by any religious identity. A book with profound implications for how we understand the relationship between religion and law in contemporary America, "A Ministry of Presence" will interest readers in legal studies, religious studies, sociology, and public policy. "

Many Christians believe that church history belongs in the past. Pastor Dayton Hartman disagrees. He argues that church history is not old news, but a tradition that brings depth and vitality to today's ministry. In Church History for Modern Ministry, Hartman explores the importance of church history and its relevance for addressing contemporary church issues. He discusses the impact of the early church fathers and the value of incorporating the creeds into weekly worship. Today's believers have much to gain from learning the history of the church. Their faithfulness, discipleship, and perseverance have built a strong foundation from which we can take the message of the gospel into the future.--Publisher description.

Politicians and pundits alike have complained that the divided governments of the last decades have led to legislative gridlock. Not so, argues Keith Krehbiel, who advances the provocative theory that divided government actually has little effect on legislative productivity. Gridlock is in fact the order of the day, occurring even when the same party controls the legislative and executive branches. Meticulously researched and anchored to real politics, Krehbiel argues that the pivotal vote on a piece of legislation is not the one that gives a bill a simple majority, but the vote that allows its supporters to override a possible presidential veto or to put a halt to a filibuster. This theory of pivots also explains why, when bills are passed, winning coalitions usually are bipartisan and supermajority sized. Offering an incisive account of when gridlock is overcome and showing that political parties are less important in legislative-executive politics than previously thought, Pivotal Politics remakes our understanding of American lawmaking.

Pagan traditions are the fastest-growing religious group in America, or so it has often been said since British witchcraft arrived in the late 1950s. Numbers are tricky to come by, but we know that contemporary Pagans report themselves as living in every American state, and in countries around the world. Historian Ronald Hutton is fond of pointing out that witchcraft is the one new religion that England has produced and shared globally.This volume reviews the shifting landscape of current Pagan spirituality, the unique culture and needs which must be understood in order to engage with contemporary Pagans, and the implications for future leadership, including organizational models, training and educational needs. The author has interviewed Pagan leaders about their own experiences and looks at data from the Pagan Engagement and Spiritual Support survey of 2016 to answer questions such as What does "ministry" mean for Pagans? Who do Pagans turn to for spiritual support? Who ought to be providing that support? Do Pagans want leaders who are trained for ministry? What kind of training do they need, and how do they get it?If you are a Pagan who wishes to support others in these ways, you will find here a framework for your own work, including stories and examples. If you are an interfaith minister, a chaplain, or a spiritual leader who finds that Pagans are intersecting with your work, you will become acquainted with the culture of this old-but-new spirituality. If you are an educator, may you find Constellated Ministry useful in teaching seminarians and students of religious studies.

After traveling the globe and speaking to thousands of churches worldwide, Paul David Tripp has discovered a serious problem within pastoral culture. He is not only concerned about the spiritual life of the pastor, but also with the very community of people that trains him, calls him, relates to him, and restores him if necessary. Dangerous Calling reveals the truth that the culture surrounding our pastors is spiritually unhealthy—an environment that actively undermines the wellbeing and efficacy of our church leaders and thus the entire church body. Here is a book that both diagnoses and offers cures for issues that impact every member and church leader, and gives solid strategies for fighting the all-important war that rages in our churches today.