Gordon T. Smith

Lord's Supper. Eucharist. Communion. Sacrament. Ordinance. While it's the meal that should unite us as followers of Christ, it sometimes appears we can't even agree on what to call it, let alone how we might share a common theological view of its significance. Even if we cannot reach full agreement, how can we better understand one another and this central observance of the Christian faith? Gordon Smith has invited five representatives of differing views within Christian tradition. Each holds his or her views with conviction and makes the case for that tradition. Each responds to the other views with charity, highlighting significant areas of agreement and disagreement. The views and contributors include The Roman Catholic View--Brother Jeffrey Gros, F.S.C., Professor of Church History, Memphis Theological Seminary, Memphis, Tennessee The Lutheran View--John R. Stephenson, Professor of Historical Theology, Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catherines, Ontario The Reformed View--Leanne Van Dyk, Academic Dean and Professor of Reformed Theology, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan The Baptist View--Roger E. Olson, Professor of Theology, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Waco, Texas The Pentecostal View--Veli-Matti Kärkkäinen, Professor of Systematic Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California Here's a book that offers more light than heat on an important topic.

Five Views

The Lord's Supper

A Theological and Experiential Introduction

Welcome, Holy Spirit

Gordon T. Smith invites us to discover our vocation by listening to God and becoming coworkers with him.

Embracing Your God-Given Potential

Courage and Calling

God gives us companions on our journey. A spiritual director is one such companion, offering spiritual guidance. Whether you are a director, a directee or simply someone who wants to learn more about this ancient ministry, this comprehensive introduction to the art of both giving and receiving spiritual direction will be a helpful guide.

A Guide to Giving and Receiving Direction

Spiritual Direction

God calls us first to himself, to know and follow him, and also to a specific life purpose, a particular reason for being. This second call or "vocation" has implications not only for our work or occupation, but also includes our giftedness, our weaknesses, our life in community and what we do day to day. In this book Gordon Smith invites you to discover your vocation by listening to God and becoming a coworker with him. What is my calling? How do I live it out in the midst of difficult relationships or moral challenges? Will my vocation change as I enter a new stage of life? With competing needs and demands, how can I craft a balanced way of living? Smith addresses these questions and many more in the pages of this book. This new edition has been revised and updated throughout with two expanded chapters and a new chapter on four specific areas of calling. Here is rich insight for all who long for the ears to hear and the courage to follow God's call.

What on earth is God doing? Who are you? What is your stage of life? What are your circumstances? What is the cross you will have to bear? What are you afraid of? We ask these six critical questions—and then we ask them again—at points of transition in our lives. They all lead us to the one core question: What is the good work to which I am called? Gordon T. Smith, author of Courage and Calling, writes: "It is a good question because our work matters to us, to others and, of course, it matters to God. Work itself is good. It is vital to our human identity; and we are most ourselves, most who God calls us to be, living in what it means to know the salvation of God, when we know the grace of work well done." However, Smith acknowledges that this is not a simple question to answer in the midst of our very complicated lives. That's why he has written this brief and accessible book—to offer the support and insight we need as we ponder these six core questions in community with God and others. As a steward of your life, in attentiveness to the calling of God, how is God inviting you to engage the world?

Six Questions for Discerning Your Vocation

Consider Your Calling

What is the good work to which I am called? Gordon T. Smith acknowledges that this is not a simple question to answer in the midst of our very complicated lives. That's why he has written this brief and accessible book—to help us explore six core questions we need to ask in order to discover our calling, in community with God and others.

Theologies of justification are too numerous to count. In this book, Gordon Smith synthesizes a lifetime of writing on calling, conversion, discernment and spiritual formation in a comprehensive and compelling theology of sanctification. Smith presents holiness in its christological, sapiential, vocational, social and emotional dimensions.

An Invitation to Christian Maturity

Called to Be Saints

Christians tend to divide into three camps: evangelical, sacramental, and pentecostal. But must we choose between them? Drawing on the New Testament, Christian history, and years of experience in Christian ministry, Gordon T. Smith argues that the church not only can be all three, but in fact must be all three in order to truly be the church.

Why the Church Should Be All Three

Evangelical, Sacramental, and Pentecostal

Examines the Lord's Supper through the lens of seven words arising out of New Testament passages to give Christians a deeper appreciation of this holy meal.

The Lord's Supper in the Life of the Church

A Holy Meal

This volume offers much-needed theological reflection on the phenomenon of conversion and transformation. Gordon Smith provides a robust evaluation that covers the broad range of thinking about conversion across Christian traditions and addresses global contexts. Smith contends that both in the church and in discussions about contemporary mission, the language of conversion inherited from revivalism is inadequate in helping to navigate the questions that shape how we do church, how we approach faith formation, how evangelism is integrated into congregational life, and how we witness to the faith in non-Christian environments. We must rethink the nature of the church in light of how people actually come to faith in Christ. After drawing on ancient and pre-revivalist wisdom on conversion, Smith delineates the contours of conversion and Christian initiation for today's church. He concludes by discussing the art of spiritual autobiography and what it means to be a congregation.

Rethinking the Language and Contours of Christian Initiation

Transforming Conversion

How can we cultivate both fresh understanding and fresh experience of the Holy Spirit, no matter what our theological tradition? This much-needed master class on pneumatology from Gordon Smith encourages us to hold biblical convictions firmly but gracefully as the guiding principles of discernment and humility help us intentionally live Spirit-responsive lives day by day.

Robert O. Hickel

Preliminary Investigation of Hollow-bladed Turbines Having Closed and Open Blade Tips

We are not alone. God is present with us. And God gives us companions on the journey. A spiritual director is one such companion, offering spiritual guidance to help make sense of the faith journey interpret the significant markers on the road encourage us, particularly through the more difficult transitions and valleys of our pilgrimage and, most of all, to notice the ministry of the Spirit in our lives Gordon Smith writes: Even if we have been Christians and maturing in our faith for many years, we still need the encouragement and guidance that might come through spiritual direction. . . . Genuine humility is evident in our realization that we need a companion, a fellow pilgrim and Christian, who can help us discern and foster an attentiveness to God's presence in our lives. This is the gift of spiritual direction. Whether you are a director, a directee or simply someone who wants to learn more about this ancient ministry, you will find this book to be a helpful guide.

"A personal day of prayer is a wonderful opportunity to find two things: renewed focus and clarity to our lives and renewed joy and peace in Christ. It comes to us as a gift in the midst of the challenges, opportunities and perplexities of our lives. As opportunity and gift, the day of prayer enables us to find spiritual and emotional space for an intentional encounter with Christ. Through this encounter we come to a renewed experience of the presence of the Spirit in our lives." This small booklet is intended to teach Christians how to spend a full day in the presence of Christ. Readers are given the opportunity to practise various spiritual disciplines and then to journal what God is speaking to them. Gordon T. Smith is president of Overseas Council Canada, which works with other Overseas Council affiliates to support and enable excellence in theological education in the developing world. He previously served as the dean and associate professor of spiritual theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.

A Guide to a Personal Day of Prayer

Alone With the Lord

Mark J. Boda

This volume is a major resource for the interpretation, theology, and practice of communal and individual penitence. It gives teachers, preachers, and serious students of theology an exhaustive source of information and inspiration for renewing the initial call of Jesus to "Repent and believe in the Gospel" (Mark 1:15).

Repentance in Christian Theology

Lord's Supper. Eucharist. Communion. Sacrament. Ordinance.While it's the meal that should unite us as followers of Christ, it sometimes appears we can't even agree on what to call it, let alone how we might share a common theological view of its significance. Even if we cannot reach full agreement, how can we better understand one another and this central observance of the Christian faith?Gordon Smith has invited five representatives of differing views within Christian tradition. Each holds his or her views with conviction and makes the case for that tradition. Each responds to the other views with charity, highlighting significant areas of agreement and disagreement. The views and contributors include The Roman Catholic View--Brother Jeffrey Gros, F.S.C., Professor of Church History, Memphis Theological Seminary, Memphis, Tennessee The Lutheran View--John R. Stephenson, Professor of Historical Theology, Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catherines, Ontario The Reformed View--Leanne Van Dyk, Academic Dean and Professor of Reformed Theology, Western Theological Seminary, Holland, Michigan The Baptist View--Roger E. Olson, Professor of Theology, George W. Truett Theological Seminary, Waco, Texas The Pentecostal View--Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Professor of Systematic Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California.

Building on the rich spiritual tradition that spans the diversity of history and theology from Ignatius Loyola to John Wesley to Jonathan Edwards, Gordon T. Smith helps open your ears and heart to the depths of the inner witness of the Spirit. By learning to attend to the Spirit, Smith urges, you will learn to hear and heed the voice of Jesus in everyday life.

Gordon T. Smith

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