Books in the Word & World series

MLK and the Practice of SpiritualityThe scholarship on Martin Luther King Jr. is seriously lacking in terms of richly nuanced and revelatory treatments of his spirituality and spiritual life. This book addresses this neglect by focusing on King's life as a paradigm of a deep, vital, engaging, balanced, and contagious spirituality. It shows that the essence of the person King was lies in the quality of his own spiritual journey and how that translated into not only a personal devotional life of prayer, meditation, and fasting but also a public ministry that involved the uplift and empowerment of humanity. Much attention is devoted to King's spiritual leadership, to his sense of the civil rights movement as "a spiritual movement," and to his efforts to rescue humanity from what he termed a perpetual "death of the spirit." Readers encounter a figure who took seriously the personal, interpersonal, and sociopolitical aspects of the Christian faith, thereby figuring prominently in recasting the very definition of spirituality in his time. King's "holistic spirituality" is presented here with a clarity and power fresh for our own generation.

Rural contexts are often over-looked, treated as "flyover land." But because everyone must eat, rural communities and their work in food production are vitally important to the whole of society. Mark Yackel-Juleen spent many years in rural ministry and is the founder and executive director of Shalom Hill Farms, and so offers valuable insight on the present issues of food production and environmental sustainability, and connects it in profound and practical ways to the biblical and theological tradition. The result is a clear set of powerful and actionable tools for rural leaders and ministers to help them address issues of sustainability and land use in their ministry. Everyone Must Eat masterfully shows how one can integrate the sociology of community, the secular realities of economics and public policy, and the powerful presence of God's word in order to practice faithful leadership.

In Future Faith: Ten Challenges Reshaping the Practice of Christianity, author Wes Granberg-Michaelson provides a lucid view of how the top ten winds of change blowing through global Christian faith are reshaping the practice of Christianity today. He is uniquely qualified to identify and interpret connection points between global Christian trends and the American church.Drawing on the stories, examples, and personalities of pastors and congregations from throughout the U.S. as well as those from Africa, Asia, Latin America, who are the faces of Christianitys future, Future Faith is designed to inform and empower followers of Jesus to seek new ways of becoming the face of Christ to a rapidly changing world. Leaders and practitioners in church growth, renewal, and planting will be a primary audience for this book. Students of religion from Catholic, evangelical, Pentecostal, and historic Protestant streams will find this book an informative and stimulating resource for pondering together the future of their faith. Small groups engaged in congregational nurture and growth will find in the author a welcome companion for guiding them through the multi-cultural landscape of contemporary faith.

Riding the age wave with graceIn this inspiring book, Roland D. Martinson draws on the folk wisdom and experience of over fifty persons between the ages of sixty-two and ninety-seven. He puts this wisdom in conversation with scriptural and theological understandings of elders in the last third of life and sets forth perspectives on aging for individuals, groups, civic organizations, and congregations to utilize in developing a vital, resilient, and productive quality of life for elders.The book explores some current age-wave numbers and explores elderhood in relation to Scripture, theology, and the wisdom of "pioneers and pathfinders." Practical direction is given for conversation and action based on exploring elder identity, presence, partnerships, passions, purpose, powers, and promise.Martinson lays out a process for helping communities, including faith communities, become "vital aging centers" where elders are called to look honestly and hopefully at life's third chapter and to make it a time of discovery, adventure, and capacity. The volume will help congregations better serve the needs of elders and integrate elder wisdom and capacity in their mission and ministry.

Biblical theologian Terence E. Fretheim weaves key insights from Scripture with theological reflections on the nature and activity of God, God''s relationship to the world, and the natural order. Relational language and images fill the various forms of communication that ministry leaders must use to speak about God and God''s presence and activity in the world. Fretheim shows the importance of using this kind of language to speak to the realities of life and faith. Each chapter of the book explores a unique aspect of God''s relationship with humanity and the world, including God''s faithfulness, concern for our entire selves, promise to be present in both good and bad times, willingness to listen, sharing of power, and desire to allow an open future for all. Filled with authentic reflections and helpful insights, this is a must-read for all want to know and experience more about the nature of God.