Books by New Zealand) Habets

The doing of theology comes in many different guises and styles. This volume is concerned with Integrative Theology, a discipline which serves participation in the mission of God. It is a practice of discernment by which we aim to be attentive to God in God's world, God's word, and God's work, so as to grow in our understanding of what God wants for and is doing in the world. We seek this knowledge so that we may align ourselves with God's desire in relation to specific realities and issues and serve what we discern to be God's purpose with wisdom and courage. When we do that, we are participating in the mission of God. By means of an explanation of Integrative Theology, its aims, goals, and methods, and then through a series of essays illustrating the results of such a theology, this volume serves as a textbook for doing Integrative Theology. Students and faculty alike will find in this volume a valuable resource for doing theology in the early twenty-first century.

This collection of over forty narrative sermons illustrate the science and art of taking a text of Scripture, almost any text, and crafting it into a narrative that effectively and affectively communicates the content of Holy Scripture in ways that impact the congregation. Spanning the canon of Holy Scripture the present volume represents a snapshot of current preaching by Baptist women and men from Aotearoa New Zealand in an attempt to teach by illustration what narrative sermons may look like, and to model the potential they have to communicate God's Word written. Originally preached to a diverse range of congregations, each sermon has been re-written for publication and illustrates biblical fidelity, imaginative creativity, and contextual sensitivity. Kiwimade Narrative Sermons is a key resource text for classes on homiletics, a refresher course for seasoned ministers of the Word, and a devotional aid in its own right.

Spirit Christology complements Logos Christology in the same way in which Christ and the Spirit are mutually constitutive. Or at least this should be the case. The history of Christian thought shows that Logos Christology has dominated, resulting in both an eclipse of Trinitarian doctrine and a diminution of pneumatology. Recently there have been calls to reclaim a theology of the Third Article in order to present a Trinitarian theology that is faithful to Scripture, the Great Tradition, and one that is existentially viable. While studies examine various aspects of Spirit Christology there has yet to appear a work that introduces the doctrine, examines the various mutually exclusive proposals, and offers a constructive trinitarian proposal. The present work does just this, introducing the constituent features of a Spirit Christology that is Trinitarian, orthodox, and contemporary. The current work proposes a model of Spirit Christology that complements rather than replaces Logos Christology and does so in a robustly Trinitarian framework. Within contemporary theology a pneumatically oriented approach to Christology is being advanced across denominational and traditional lines. Those wanting to navigate their way through the many competing proposals for a Third Article theology will find a comprehensive map here.