The Bible includes any number of “tyrannical texts†that have proved to be profoundly oppressive in the lives of many people. Among them are Pauline texts that have circumscribed the lives and ministries of women throughout Christian history. What are people who honor Scripture to do with such texts, and what does it mean to speak of biblical authority in their presence? In Encountering God in Tyrannical Texts, Frances Taylor Gench provides strategies for engaging such texts with integritythat is, without dismissing them, whitewashing them, or acquiescing to themand as potential sources of edification for the church. Gench also facilitates reflection on the nature and authority of Scripture. Encountering God in Tyrannical Texts provides access to feminist scholarship that can inform preaching and teaching of problematic Pauline texts and encourages public engagement with them.

The Bible includes any number of "tyrannical texts" that have proved to be profoundly oppressive in the lives of many people. Among them are Pauline texts that have circumscribed the lives and ministries of women throughout Christian history. What are people who honor Scripture to do with such texts, and what does it mean to speak of biblical authority in their presence? In Encountering God in Tyrannical Texts, Frances Taylor Gench provides strategies for engaging such texts with integrity- that is, without dismissing them, whitewashing them, or acquiescing to them-and as potential sources of edification for the church. Gench also facilitates reflection on the nature and authority of Scripture. Encountering God in Tyrannical Texts provides access to feminist scholarship that can inform preaching and teaching of problematic Pauline texts and encourages public engagement with them.

Hebrews and James contain useful advice for Christians struggling to live a life of faith. In this book, Frances Taylor Gench guides readers through these two relevant - and inspirational - epistles. For believers who have grown weary or disillusioned with their Christian commitment, the letter to the Hebrews offers much practical assistance. In this day of dwindling church attendance and clergy burnout, a new reading of Hebrews offers an encouraging and renewed understanding of the person and work of Jesus Christ. The letter of James deals primarily with the social and practical aspects of Christianity, reminding the reader that Christian faith touches every aspect of life. One of the most useful books in the New Testament, its concerns are grounded in day-to-day questions: How do we live? How should we live? and What are the implications of Christian faith for our lives? This epistle will challenge and encourage modern readers in search of a life of integrity.

Grieving, Brooding, and Transforming explores troubling biblical and historical texts in regards to their portrayal of women and calls for readers to identify the Spirit’s work of grieving over brokenness, brooding over chaos, and transforming the creation.

Author Warren Carter addresses the ways in which New Testament writings present God by asking four questions about how God relates to others: How is God presented in relation to Israel? How is God presented in relation to Jesus and the Spirit? How is God presented in relation to believers/disciples/the church? How is God presented in relation to “the world”? Carter uses these questions to help draw out the most important factors in each of the New Testament writings discussed. "Rarely does one exclaim, “This is a real page-turner!” when describing a book on the New Testament—but I must say it. With his characteristic concision and clarity, not to mention wit and conversational style, Carter leads us on a tour of “God-at-Work” in fifteen closely-read texts. What claims do the various texts make about God? What questions or “red flags” do these texts raise? What effect do or should these texts have upon us as readers today? Carter intrepidly takes up some of the more challenging and cryptic NT texts and asks aloud many of the uncomfortable questions we’ve wondered about but might not have voiced so pointedly. He does not provide tidy answers, but his approach entices us not to give up, but rather to dive even deeper into the texts, their world, and ours. In reading this book, I was variously educated, entertained, challenged, and even moved." -Jaime Clark-Soles Professor of New Testament and Altshuler Distinguished Teaching Professor, Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

In Living with the Sermon, readers will find a friendly companion to the preaching life. With humor, personal stories, theological musings, and practical "signposts" for those who live with the sermon, Robert Hoch-Yidokodiltona explores the highs and lows of the preaching life—you will learn not only techniques for preaching, but also how the life of the preacher is haunted by holy things. There is, according to Robert, a "wink and peek" to the preaching life, some playful mischief, some mystery—and yet, in a practical spirit, down-to-earth signposts to help along the way. Whether you have been in the pulpit for many years, or have just begun the journey, this work will add to your wisdom and joy in the preaching life.

Jaime Clark-Soles takes readers on a dynamic journey deep into the heart of John in this lively reading of the Fourth Gospel. This book is not simply a commentary but a spiritual companion to be read alongside the Bible. Clark-Soles provides important historical and literary insights while illuminating the dramatic characters in John and emphasizing the Gospel's unique themes and symbols. Her engaging writing style will generate enthusiasm and investment in John's message. Readers will also appreciate the addition of prayers as well as questions for individual study and/or group discussion. This excellent guide will enrich our spiritual journeys while opening ourselves up to Jesus through the words, stories, questions, symbols, and characters we encounter in John's Gospel.

The distinct subjects of eschatology and gender equality have seen an explosion of interest in recent decades, particularly within Pentecostal scholarship. Pentecostalism is regarded ideally as both an eschatological and egalitarian movement. However, many Pentecostals have lamented the inconsistency between the early egalitarian impulse of the movement and its current restrictive practices. This situation has been described as the so-called Pentecostal “gender paradox,” referring to the conflicting freedoms and limitations experienced by Pentecostal women. Pentecostals have also recognized the waning eschatological fervor within the movement and its shifting eschatological convictions, leading to calls to rediscover the eschatological heart of the movement. Despite the renewed interest in both eschatology and women's equality, little research has been done to put these two areas into conversation with each other: eschatological convictions are often absent in the debate on gender roles in the church. For Pentecostals, eschatology has often been about urgency in “saving souls” rather than attending to social issues, but could Pentecostal eschatology be the key to (re)discovering greater equality for women in the church? Is the waning of both eschatology and women's equality within Pentecostalism potentially interrelated? For over one hundred years the role of women in Pentecostalism has been debated without a firm consensus. By examining gender solely through an eschatological lens in history, Scripture, and praxis, this work provides a valuable and creative contribution to one of the most important theological and global issues of our time, women's (in)equality. This book is also one of the first comprehensive studies to approach a single social issue solely through an eschatological lens and to provide attention to developing a thorough and methodologically connected eschatological praxis. By uncovering the unified eschatological-egalitarian narrative thread within both the Pentecostal and biblical story, this work suggests that the present end of women's inequality begins with fidelity to the future eschaton of gender equality.

Contributing Authors: Fr. John Behr Dr Spyridoula Athanasopoulou-Kypriou Dr. Dionysios Skliris Fr. Andrew Louth Dr Mary Cunningham Met Kallistos Ware Rev Dr Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Dr Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald Dr Carrie Frederick Frost Dr Paul Ladouceur Luis Josué Salés This book—a collaborative, international initiative, involving academic theologians and practitioners—invites the reader into a conversation about the ordination of women in the Orthodox Church. It explores questions relating to the significance of being human, Eve’s curse, sexed bodies, the place of Mary, the nature of priesthood, the role of the deacon, and the task of being a priest in the twenty-first century. The reflections move across three main areas of discussion: issues of theological anthropology, particular questions pertaining to the priesthood and the diaconate, and contemporary practices. In each area the implications for ordaining women in the Orthodox Church today are explored.

First of a two-volume work providing a framework for understanding the life and thought of the apostle Paul In this methodological tour de force, Luke Timothy Johnson offers an articulate, clear, and thought-provoking portrait of the life and thought of the apostle Paul. Drawing upon recent developments in the study of Paul, Johnson offers readers an invitation to the Apostle Paul. Rather than focusing on a few of Paul’s letters, Johnson lays out the materials necessary to envision the apostle from the thirteen canonical letters of Paul and the Acts of the Apostles. Constructing Paul thus provides a framework within which an engagement with Paul’s letters can take place. Johnson demonstrates the possibility of doing responsible and creative work across the canonical collection without sacrificing literary or historical integrity. By bringing out the facets of the apostle from the canonical evidence, Johnson shows the possibilities for further and better inquiry into the life and thought of Paul. This first volume imagines a plausible biography for Paul and serves as an introduction to the studies in the second volume. Constructing Paul addresses all the pertinent questions related to the study of Paul. Johnson uses the canonical material as building blocks to make a case for why Paul ought to be heard today as a liberating rather than oppressing voice.