Christians addressing racism in American society must begin with a frank assessment of how race figures in the churches themselves, leading activist Joseph Barndt argues. This practical and important volume extends the insights of Barndt's earlier, more general work to address the race situation in the churches themselves and to equip people there to be agents for change in and beyond their church communities.

The American Church in Black and White is a book born out of the authors love for Gods church. It was shaped and given form and text in the crucible of the authors experience as a pastor of several Indiana congregationscongregations that attempted to create a Christian, counter-narrative, to the tragic narrative and legacy of our nations history of slavery and racism. Cautiously optimistic in tone, the author posits that if the American church is going to live into Christs prayer request for His church to be one (John 17:21), if the church is going to deal effectively with the fallen powers and win people to the Lord, then Christians will have to face and overcome the complex and tragic history of racial antipathy in this country; also, the church will have to learn how to successfully navigate a spiritual and cultural minefield. The author has distilled the three main cultural controversies (mines) that can explode/implode the churchs intercultural hopes, down to:1) Culturally-Based Worship Preferences 2) Culturally-Based Views on Ministerial Authority, and 3) Biblical Hermeneutics in Black and White. It is the authors conviction that in spite of these areas of potential conflict, God has given the church the power to become an intercultural community that is distinctive, attractive, and authentically Christian

�C�mo llevamos el evangelio liberador de Jes�s al mundo hoy? La l�der nacional Sharon Watkins nos dice que envuelve unirnos alrededor de las diferencias, misericordia y apertura. Lo que en realidadimporta es "la relaci�n con el Dios viviente y amoroso; un Dios que nos llama a amarnos unos a los otros, a crear comunidades para cuidar y equiparnos para la plenitud de modo que el amor y la esperanza que conocemos por medio de nuestra relaci�n con Cristo pueda verdaderamente ser llevada desde nuestras puertas hasta los �ltimos confi nes de la tierra."

A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.

Resistance can be a sign of vital, high-quality, and faithful life in a congregation, and a learning opportunity for congregational leaders who recognize the value of hearing from those who resist ministry initiatives, inviting their input and listening to their response. Hobgood proposes a "continuum of interventions" that can be made by pastors and lay leaders. He also observes that the degree of resistance will intensify as the degree of change deepens, but suggests that when we try to squelch resistance, we threaten the congregation's very existence. Congregational leaders will appreciate Hobgood's positive and pastoral approach to the resistance they encounter in their own faith communities and his concrete and practical suggestions for building more constructive relationships.

What is the spiritual condition of infants? According to the Augustinian-Calvinist view, all people inherit from the first Adam both a sinful nature and his guilt. The result is that all infants are subject to the judgment of God against their nature before they knowingly commit any sinful actions. But is this the clear teaching of Scripture? In The Spiritual Condition of Infants, Adam Harwood examines ten relevant biblical texts and the writings of sixteen theologians in order to clarify the spiritual condition of infants. Although no passage explicitly states the spiritual condition of infants, each text makes contributions by addressing the doctrines of man, sin, the church, and salvation. If this biblical-historical analysis exposes the traditional Augustinian-Calvinist view to be inadequate, then is it possible to construct an alternate view of the spiritual condition of infants? Such a view should remain faithful to the biblical emphasis on humankind's connection to Adam and his sin but also recognize the guilt and condemnation of an individual only in the manner and time that God does in Scripture. That is the aim of this book.