William David Spencer

Jeanne C. DeFazio

How does the future look to us? Well, clearly we realize we now live in a world of screens, from the microcosmic universe of to smartphone . . . to the imposing vigil of the multiplex giants, looming over us in Imax and 3-D--more "real" than real--and to all the screens in between, from computers to iPads, to muted, high definition flat-screens pouring out images in homes, restaurants, banks, businesses, schools, doctors' offices, and hospitals, and on and on everywhere we turn. We cannot change this reality, so what these Christians, and so many like them are doing is trying to find ways to redeem what we put on these screens: what message we are sending out in word and image to the watching world. So, clearly, our task, whether we have been called to create or not, is to join these artists as "screen redeemers," assisting the Holy Spirit in reconciling the world to God (2 Cor 5:18-19) through helping the pervasively influential means of the media adjust its goals to the mission of Jesus Christ.

Living Stories of Media “Ministers” Bringing the Message of Jesus Christ to the Entertainment Industry

Redeeming the Screens

Aida Besancon Spencer

Mimi Haddad

Global Voices on Biblical Equality is a fresh look at the contextualizing of gender equality throughout the world. Biblical equality is a burgeoning, global reform movement led by scholars and leaders not only in North America but also on every continental landmass in the world. What inroads is biblical equality making around the globe? What is its appeal? What still needs reform? How is biblical equality transforming each culture? In this book, female and male writers who are ethnically part of every continent explore the contextual challenges, successes, and adaptations of engaging the biblical text on gender and ministry. The contributors write on Asia (India and China) and Asian America (Korean America). They treat Africa (Zimbabwe) and African America. Writers address Indigenous America (Native America) and Latin America (Hispanic America and Brazilian America). Writers also discuss Western Europe, Australia, and North America. The editors of this volume are Aida Besancon Spencer, William David Spencer, and Mimi Haddad. Other contributors include Ellen Alexander, Beulah Wood, Cecilia Yau, Matthew D. Kim, Constantine M. Murefu, Darin Vincent Poullard, Sandra Gatlin Whitley, Awilda Gonzalez-Tejera, John Runyon, Eliana Marques Runyon, Elke Werner, Roland Werner, Kevin Giles, and Roberta Hestenes.

Women and Men Ministering Together in the Church

Global Voices on Biblical Equality

Much has been written on servant leadership, but it is not always tied to egalitarian leadership. Sometimes authority and power instead of God’s love are presented as the core of the Christian faith. The church at times derails, imitating worldly culture, emphasizing entitlement that relies on an innate or permanent human hierarchy of rank. Responding to today’s conflict over leadership, Christian Egalitarian Leadership calls us back to its biblical roots: what is Christian egalitarian leadership? Why is it biblical? How does it work? Thoughtful and devout Christian leaders carefully explain how sharing leadership follows God’s intentions and is crucial to implement today. The theoretical and practical ramifications of these concepts are extended to many areas of the Christian life by numerous qualified individuals, women and men of different races and economic and social classes. Chapters overview New Testament teachings, biblical authority, Old Testament and contemporary examples, God’s intention at creation, pagan philosophy’s influence on Christian hierarchal leadership, multicultural and multi-ethnic leadership in the United States and Africa, marriage, rearing children, equipping youth and laity, church planting, retirement, and missions, from the cradle to the mission field.

Empowering the Whole Church according to the Scriptures

Christian Egalitarian Leadership

Living Stories of Media "Ministers" Bringing the Message of Jesus Christ to the Entertainment Industry

Becky Wooley

Four ministers ignore the prophecy, REPENT OR DIE. Three of them die: -Pastor Newell Post Lawson, militaristic founder of Holy City Pre-millennial Church, suffers an on-air heart attack. -Politically ambitious Reverend Bishop, The Reverend Bishop of Greater Bennettville First Baptist/Methodist/Episcopal/Holiness Alpha and Omega International Tabernacle, succumbs to food poisoning. -Brother Thomas Alexander Willis dies dramatically in the baptistery of Bennettville One True Church after preaching against drama in worship. One survives: -Twenty-three-year-old Grit Griffin is injured in an explosion at an unconventional Christian fellowship named Deep Water. Now Grit and Thomas Willis' daughter, Grace, must stop a serial killer.

A Grit and Grace Mystery

Non-Prophet Murders

When a sudden mysterious letter summons city minister Jo Archer from New Jersey to the Caribbean, she is plunged into a world of possibilities so large and obstacles so great she could gain or lose everything she holds dear. In this contemporary adventure novel full of challenge, mystery, romance, grace, plot twists, and ultimate enlightenment, Jo’s search for her identity echoes the true story struggles of two victims who became victors: Joseph, deliverer of famine-struck Israel, and Enrique, liberator of the oppressed Taino people, from whom Jo is directly descended. As Jo confronts her own life-threatening and life-changing quest, she realizes she is “walking in every forgotten, undervalued, and marginalized woman’s dream”—a chance to become the leader whom God destined her to be, amidst the highest adventure of her life.

A Novel

Cave of Little Faces

Aída Besançon Spencer

Steven Tracy

Celestia Tracy

Have you ever wondered how egalitarian and complementarian marriages play out differently on a day-to-day level? In this unique book AÍda and William Spencer and Steve and Celestia Tracy, two couples from the differing perspectives of egalitarianism and soft complementarianism, share a constructive dialogue about marriage in practice. They cover a variety of topics like marriage discipleship, headship and submission, roles and decision-making, and intimacy in marriage. Also included are responses from three additional cultural frameworks: North American Hispanic, Korean American and African American. Whether you're still working out your views on marriage or have found an approach you're comfortable with, this book will help you better understand the two perspectives on the ground level. While the theological starting points are different, you may be surprised to see the degree of convergence on practical issues as the dialogue unfolds.

Couples in Conversation About Discipleship, Gender Roles, Decision Making and Intimacy

Marriage at the Crossroads

Bruce Whitney Herman

An accessible introduction enabling Christians to approach the arts with enjoyment and discernment.

Glimpses from the Arts

God Through the Looking Glass

A reprint of the first book on the topic of the cleric as a crime-solver in fiction. Mysterium and Mystery by William David Spencer is a primary reference of meticulous scholarship for anyone interested in mystery literature.

The Clerical Crime Novel

Mysterium and Mystery

Much has been written on servant leadership, but it is not always tied to egalitarian leadership. Sometimes authority and power instead of God's love are presented as the core of the Christian faith. The church at times derails, imitating worldly culture, emphasizing entitlement that relies on an innate or permanent human hierarchy of rank. Responding to today's conflict over leadership, Christian Egalitarian Leadership calls us back to its biblical roots: what is Christian egalitarian leadership? Why is it biblical? How does it work? Thoughtful and devout Christian leaders carefully explain how sharing leadership follows God's intentions and is crucial to implement today. The theoretical and practical ramifications of these concepts are extended to many areas of the Christian life by numerous qualified individuals, women and men of different races and economic and social classes. Chapters overview New Testament teachings, biblical authority, Old Testament and contemporary examples, God's intention at creation, pagan philosophy's influence on Christian hierarchal leadership, multicultural and multi-ethnic leadership in the United States and Africa, marriage, rearing children, equipping youth and laity, church planting, retirement, and missions, from the cradle to the mission field.

Donna F.G. Hailson

Catherine Clark Kroeger

The Goddess Revival is a Christianity Today Book Award Winner, 1996. "All of the authors are clearly sympathetic to the problems women have faced in the church throughout its history. They empathize with women who shun the patriarchal oppression of their churches to turn to goddess spirituality. They are also solidly grounded in the Scriptures, Christian theology and church history. They recognize the bondage imposed by goddess worship. This book presents a scholarly and clear consideration of the issues involved and builds a strong case for Christianity as the most woman-friendly alternative. While providing a comprehensive study of goddess spirituality and examining the roots of the movement, the authors focus primarily on God and the way people have understood God through the centuries--in both paganism and the Judeo-Christian tradition--as both male and female. They demonstrate how the uniqueness of God contrasts with the multiplicity of gods and goddesses in pagan spiritualities, while comparing the values in both traditions that are similar (that is, a search for what is good, inner empowerment, unity, positive social change). In the process of building a clear Christian theology, they gently counter the arguments of their pagan opponents. In the end, the reader is left with a glorious picture of the one true God and a clear apologetic for those in nursing who insist that the Christian God is too oppressive and patriarchal to merit our allegience. The appendixes provide a powerful case study of a young woman drawn into witchcraft. She explains why it appealed to her, then how it enslaved her and destroyed her marriage and other relationships. . . The two final appendixes offer some excellent biblical studies on the issues raised in the book. The total package provides an outstanding resource" -- Journal of Christian Nursing

A Biblical Response to God(dess) Spirituality

The Goddess Revival

Nathaniel Samuel Murrell

Adrian Anthony McFarlane

This anthology explores Rastafari religion, culture, and politics in Jamaica and other parts of the African diaspora. An Afro-Caribbean religious and cultural movement that sprang from the streets of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1930s, today Rastafari has close to one million adherents. The basic message of Rastafari—the dismantling of all oppressive institutions and the liberation of humankind—even has strong appeal to non-believers who are captivated by reggae music, the lyrics, and the "immortal spirit" of its enormously popular practitioner, Bob Marley. Probing into Rastafari's still evolving belief system, political goals, and cultural expression, the contributors to this volume emphasize the importance of Africana history and the Caribbean context. Author note:Nathaniel Samuel Murrellis Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington, and Visiting Professor at the Caribbean Graduate School of Theology in Kingston, Jamaica.William David Spencerserves as Pastor of Encouragement at Pilgrim Church in Beverly, MA, and was an Adjunct Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary's Center for Urban Ministerial Education in Boston. He has authored, co-authored, or editedThe Prayer of Life of Jesus, Mysterium and Mystery: The Clerical Crime Novel, God through the Looking Glass, Joy through the Night, 2 Corinthians: Bible Study CommentaryandThe Global God.Adrian Anthony McFarlaneis Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY. He is author ofA Grammar of FearandEvil–A Husserlian-Wittgensteinian Hermeneutic.

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