Quick, before you make another move, pastor, read this Journal!If you're thinking of leaving your church for another, start with Michael Lawrence's article on leaving wisely. In fact, look at Matt Schmucker's even before you think about leaving. Have you looked yet? Okay, what about now? I've seen enough pastors come and go to know that Lawrence and Schmucker just might shift your paradigm.Or maybe the process of searching has begun. Mark De-ver, Bobby Jamieson, Walter Price, and Dennis Newkirk will help you to avoid common mis-takes and pursue the next pastor wisely.Then again, maybe you should not make a move at all. Jeramie Rinne and Mark Dever will tell you why. Pastor Rinne, in fact, would rather see you dead right where you are. What a pastor!

In the last decade, 45% of all marriages in the U.S. were between people of different faiths. The rapidly growing number of mixed-faith families has become a source of hope, encouraging openness and tolerance among religious communities that historically have been insular and suspicious of other faiths. Yet as Naomi Schaefer Riley demonstrates in 'Til Faith Do Us Part, what is good for society as a whole often proves difficult for individual families: interfaith couples, Riley shows, are less happy than others and certain combinations of religions are more likely to lead to divorce. Drawing on in-depth interviews with married and once-married couples, clergy, counselors, sociologists, and others, Riley shows that many people enter into interfaith marriages without much consideration of the fundamental spiritual, doctrinal, and practical issues that divide them. Couples tend to marry in their twenties and thirties, a time when religion diminishes in importance, only to return to faith as they grow older and raise children, suffer the loss of a parent, or experience other major life challenges. Riley suggests that a devotion to diversity as well as to a romantic ideal blinds many interfaith couples to potential future problems. Even when they recognize deeply held differences, couples believe that love conquers all. As a result, they fail to ask the necessary questions about how they will reconcile their divergent worldviews-about raising children, celebrating holidays, interacting with extended families, and more. An obsession with tolerance at all costs, Riley argues, has made discussing the problems of interfaith marriage taboo. 'Til Faith Do Us Part is a fascinating exploration of the promise and peril of interfaith marriage today. It will be required reading not only for interfaith couples or anyone considering interfaith marriage, but for all those interested in learning more about this significant, yet understudied phenomenon and the impact it is having on America.

Explore the challenges and blessings of interfaith families. For couples of different faiths, navigating issues of marriage and child-rearing add a layer of complexity on the road to happily ever after. Inside Intermarriage is Jim Keen's personal journal as the Christian partner in an interfaith marriage. From deciding to have a Jewish wedding, to raising his children Jewish, to learning about a new culture while maintaining his own religious identity, Keen's candid exploration of the challenges and opportunities offers comfort and strategies to couples starting down a similar road. Complete with stories of other interfaith families, and a discussion guide to help couples consider how to resolve dilemmas around holiday celebrations and family relationships, Inside Intermarriage offers a warm, humorous, and ultimately hopeful message about the power of family connection.

"Join former NBC newsman and Meet the Press moderator David Gregory as he probes various religious traditions to better understand his own faith and answer life's most important questions: who do we want to be and what do we believe? While David was covering the White House, he had the unusual experience of being asked by President George W. Bush "How's your faith?" David's answer was just emerging. Raised by a Catholic mother and a Jewish dad, he had a strong sense of Jewish cultural and ethnic identity, but no real belief--until his marriage to a Protestant woman of strong faith inspired him to explore his spirituality for himself and his growing family. David's journey has taken him inside Christian mega-churches and into the heart of Orthodox Judaism. He's gone deep into Bible study and asked tough questions of America's most thoughtful religious leaders, including evangelical preacher Joel Osteen and Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Catholic Archbishop of New York. It has brought him back to his childhood, where belief in God might have helped him through his mother's struggle with alcoholism, and through a difficult period of public scrutiny and his departure from NBC News, which saw his faith tested like never before. David approaches his faith with the curiosity and dedication you would expect from a journalist accustomed to holding politicians and Presidents accountable. But he also comes as a seeker, one just discovering why spiritual journeys are always worthwhile"--

Genocide. Terrorism. Hate crimes. In a world where racism is far from dead, is unity amidst diversities even remotely possible? Sharing from his own experiences growing up in the segregated South, pastor John Piper thoughtfully exposes the unremitting problem of racism. Instead of turning finally to organizations, education, famous personalities, or government programs to address racial strife, Piper reveals the definitive source of hope -- teaching how the good news about Jesus Christ actively undermines the sins that feed racial strife, and leads to a many-colored and many-cultured kingdom of God. Learn to pursue ethnic harmony from a biblical perspective, and to relate to real people different from yourself, as you take part in the bloodline of Jesus that is comprised of "every tongue, tribe, and nation."--Publisher.

A theologian explores the holidays and rituals of his wife’s Jewish faith in an “accessible and engaging” memoir told “with humor and a scholar’s insight” (Los Angeles Times). As a member of an interfaith household, eminent Christian theologian, and religion scholar, National Book Award finalist Harvey Cox has had ample opportunity to reflect upon the essence of Judaism and its complex relationship to Christianity. Organized around the Jewish calendar from Rosh Hashanah to Yom ha-Atzmaíut, Common Prayers illuminates the meanings of Jewish holidays as well as traditions surrounding milestone events such as death and marriage. Describing in elegant, accessible language the holidays’ personal, historical, and spiritual significance and the lessons they offer us, Cox “is instructive and enlightening, revealing the depth and passion of his religious thought and practice” (Boston Herald). As seen through his eyes, the Jewish holidays offer a wellspring of discovery and reflection for every reader, Jewish and non-Jewish alike. “Cox not only provides a clear guide to Judaism for ‘perplexed gentiles’ but convincingly argues that ‘appreciating Judaism, both its history and its present manifestation, is essential to a full understanding of Christianity’ . . . An important new book by a major theologian; highly recommended.” —Library Journal “Cox’s insights into Judaism and Christianity, as both an insider and an outsider, are dazzling.” —Orlando Sentinel

Islam, Christianity, and Judaism share several common features, including their historical origins in the prophet Abraham, their belief in a single divine being, and their modern global expanse. Yet it is the seeming closeness of these “Abrahamic” religions that draws attention to the real or imagined differences between them. This volume examines Abrahamic cultures as minority groups in societies which may be majority Muslim, Christian, or Jewish, or self-consciously secular. The focus is on the relationships between these religious identities in global Diaspora, where all of them are confronted with claims about national and individual difference. The case studies range from colonial Hong Kong and Victorian London to today’s San Francisco and rural India. Each study shows how complex such relationships can be and how important it is to situate them in the cultural, ethnic, and historical context of their world. The chapters explore ritual practice, conversion, colonization, immigration, and cultural representations of the differences between the Abrahamic religions. An important theme is how the complex patterns of interaction among these religions embrace collaboration as well as conflict—even in the modern Middle East. This work by authors from several academic disciplines on a topic of crucial importance will be of interest to scholars of history, theology, sociology, and cultural studies, as well as to the general reader interested in how minority groups have interacted and coexisted. “This is a groundbreaking collection of original, learned, and cutting-edge essays on various aspects of the three major monotheistic religions in modern times. The subjects of the essays range across the globe, from Hong Kong and South Asia to Victorian Britain and Weimar Germany, and teach us to see each tradition, and all three traditions together, in new and original ways. A distinctive contribution.” —Steven T. Katz, Boston University “Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is remarkable for bringing together accessible scholarly essays, each with keen insight, exploring the diverse ‘Abrahamic’ cultures and their complex interactions. As the human landscape of Europe continues to evolve, this superb series of engagements with the past and present is an indispensable guide.” —Michael Berkowitz, University College London “Gilman remains an unparalleled expert at identifying cutting-edge, interdisciplinary research. The essays in this superb volume provide urgently needed comparative and theoretical examinations of the constructed natures of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism, and the complex and challenging relationships they engender.” —Lisa Silverman, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

With this careful, nuanced exegetical volume in the New Studies in Biblical Theology, J. Daniel Hays provides a clear theological foundation for life in contemporary multiracial cultures and challenges churches to pursue racial unity in Christ.