Books published by Augsburg Fortress Publishers

This book is a critique of Dalit theology, with proposals for the future directions of a theology of social transformation in India. It explores new ways of doing Christology, pneumatology, and ecclesiology, and ultimately argues for the need of a new public theology in the changing religious-political contexts of India.

Black girls are leading the way. They are starting nonprofits. Promoting diverse literature. Fighting cancer. Improving water quality. Working to prevent gun violence. From Khristi Lauren Adams, author of the celebrated Parable of the Brown Girl, comes Unbossed, a hopeful and riveting introduction to eight young Black leaders.

"The body that Robyn Henderson-Espinoza inhabits is a nonbinary body, a trans body, a body in two races--and a body continually in discovery. Theirs is also a body on sojourn invested in experience, body understanding, and engagement in and for human thriving. Henderson-Espinoza relates coming into a new body story, beginning with the deep emotional work of connecting the abstract intelligence of their mind with their body's intelligence, to explore the relationship between living and becoming, doing and listening. Combining that deep listening and living with their work in activism, Body Becoming offers us a way of understanding the body beyond constructions--political or medical-industrial-complex defined--toward cultivating the body as important in our endeavors to build a more inclusive vision for democracy. Mixing memoir and faith, somatics theory and body practice, Henderson-Espinoza steers us through territory both familiar and difficult--as we discover embodiment as the primary place of deep wisdom, where culture shifts originate and materialize--and a better world becomes, as we too become."--Amazon.

"Anxiety. It's an emotion that rears its head almost every day, from the normal worries and concerns that most of us experience, to outright fear when something scary happens, to the anxiety disorders that many kids live with daily. But what causes anxiety? And what can we do about it? All About Anxiety tackles these questions from every possible angle. Readers will learn what's going on in their brain and central nervous system when they feel anxious. They'll learn about the evolutionary reasons for fear and anxiety and that anxiety isn't always a bad thing--except for when it is! Most importantly, kids will discover new strategies to manage their anxiety so they can live and thrive with anxiety."--

The Prophets introduces students to the rise of prophecy in ancient Israel, the messages of individual prophets, the significance of the compositional history of the prophetic writings, and insights for interpreting the message of the prophets today. This textbook includes numerous images, charts, and maps to enhance the experience of the students.

Recovering Abundance invites readers to join a movement of renewal for small towns and rural communities. Andy Stanton-Henry explores twelve civic-spiritual practices, rooted in Jesus's miracle among the multitude, demonstrating how it has been embodied in ordinary leaders and how it can be applied today.

Abortion stigma is ubiquitous, even among those who identify as pro-choice. A Complicated Choice offers a call to progressive people of faith to center the lived experiences of people who have abortions. In so doing, Rev. Katey Zeh opens us to the complexities of our reproductive lives and invites us to a spiritual response rooted in compassion.

"This book introduces the life and thought of two British contemporaries who were decisive in shaping the modern ecumenical movement: the Scottish layman J. H. (Joe) Oldham (1874-1969) and the Anglican bishop G. K. A. (George) Bell (1883-1958). Their careers were rather different but closely related. Oldham was a missionary statesman, the organizing secretary of the 1910 Edinburgh World Missionary Conference, and a pioneering thinker and writer on race and social ethics who set the agenda for the crucial ecumenical conference on Church, Community, and State at Oxford in 1937. A quiet, skillful diplomat, he was the decisive mind behind the formation of the World Council of Churches (WCC). Bell was the public, prophetic voice of the ecumenical fellowship from the 1930s onward, steadfastly leading the churches' support for the Christian opposition to Hitler in Germany, tirelessly working for refugees and all victims of oppression, and after the war pioneering the work of reconciliation. After the inauguration of the World Council of Churches in 1948, he served as the first chairman of its central committee. It was widely believed that he would have become Archbishop of Canterbury but for his courageous and outspoken opposition to the British and American policy of bombing civilian populations during the war. The book outlines the life and main engagements of each figure in turn, and then provides a selection of their key writings to illustrate their thinking and their impact on ecumenism. A final chapter reflects on their pioneering significance and their relevance today."--Amazon.com

Randy Woodley, an activist, scholar, and Cherokee descendant, guides us on a one-hundred-day journey to reconnect with the land around us, with the people native to that land, and with ourselves. Meditations, epigraphs, and ideas for reflection and action help us become rooted in our relationship with creation and Creator.

A girl places an ad for a best friend, to hilarious results. Ultimately, she learns a valuable lesson about what it means to be a good friend.

Contemporary life is leaving us frazzled, overwhelmed, and out of sorts. Our life's rhythm is often borrowed from the pace of life around us. Humans have created such a loud, fast tempo of perfection and production that we often forget--if we ever knew it at all--the rhythms designed for our well-being. In The Sacred Pulse, pastor and author April Fiet invites us to examine the frantic patterns of our lives to reclaim the deeper, sacred pulses that pattern our days. Through stories, scripture, and practical guidance for daily living, she lays out twelve rhythms--including gardening, handcrafts, friendship, and holidays--that are both sustainable and sustaining. Everyday acts like mealtime and shopping, and sporadic rhythms like the occasional snow day: reclaiming these patterns can remind us of the holy movement of God in the world. In a world of hustle and bravado, silencing the noise takes practice. The Sacred Pulse shows us how to strip away all of the competing beats we have settled for so we can tap into the joyful, holy rhythms of life.

Old Testament scholar and interpreter Brent A. Strawn focuses on the importance of honesty in preaching, especially around three challenging Old Testament themes: sin, suffering, and violence. He makes the case that preaching honestly is critical in the church today. Without honesty regarding these topics, there is no way forward to reconciliation, health, and recovery. Further, it is imperative for today's preachers to deal with the questions of faith arising from these themes in the biblical text itself. In addition to key scripture passages, he turns to several contemporary authors and works as dialogue partners on the three themes. Asserting that keeping secrets can lead to a kind of sickness, Strawn uses texts from the Pentateuch and the Psalms to model honesty about sin, without which there can be no reconciliation, and honesty about suffering, without which there can be no healing. He also looks at the book of Joshua and various psalms to model honesty about violence, which can serve as a way to contain, limit, and ultimately transcend violence. Strawn frames these themes specifically for working preachers, so they can create sermons that speak to these thorny themes with depth and clarity.

Minimalism doesn't always mean a perfectly curated home that is always tidy. Messy minimalism is less about perfection and more about purpose. Rachelle Crawford lays out strategies for reducing waste, curbing consumption, decluttering, and finding lots more joy in the way that best supports your family.

Women who don't fit in amid cultural expectations, because of life transitions or changes in their body, mind, or gender identity, are carving out new ways of being in and remaking the world. Drawing on the wisdom of women mystics, this book explores how transitional eras can be both spiritually challenging and excitingly freeing.

"The moon is out, the air has cooled, and you are ready for bed. You know that scrolling on your phone does not draw you toward sleep but adds to your worries. In these pages, author Jennifer Grant offers gentle meditations that help you direct your gaze away from screens and uncertainties and toward the natural world. Replace anxiety with awe, distraction with focus, and worry with true rest. Calm your mind and settle into stillness. It is time to dim the day." --

As Winter Warmup approaches, all but one of the woodland friends are bundled up for the snowy season ahead. When Squirrel discovers that her favorite sweater no longer fits, her friends help her navigate this change and turn her sweater into something new.

Turn from fear and find peace. In Feed the Wolf, author and Saint Francis scholar Jon M. Sweeney explores fifteen spiritual practices from the essential wisdom of Saint Francis for us to apply to our twenty-first-century lives.

"America's economy does not currently live up to our country's core values. We are a nation founded on the ideals of coming together across differences to forge a common future. Yet over the past fifty years, our economy has been pulling us apart at unprecedented rates. By allowing top income earners and the wealthiest Americans to hoard wealth like almost never before, we belie what makes our country great. This is a threat to our well-being, our democracy, and our values. Brian C. Johnson combines accessible scholarship on wealth and income inequality in America with deeply personal accounts of six Americans of diverse backgrounds who are each wrestling with what it means to survive and thrive in this new economic world. In so doing, he offers a solution that is as visionary as it is practical. Dubbed the Citizen Dividend, this revolutionary model assumes that economic growth is built off of the wealth we have created together as a country, and together we all reap its benefits. In Our Fair Share, Johnson lays the groundwork for implementing this solution, detailing what the Citizen Dividend is, offering examples of similar existing models, outlining the benefits of such systems, tackling some of the common concerns that arise, and offering a path toward making it a reality. Ultimately, Our Fair Share calls on each of us to claim what is uniquely American, building a common future that embraces and celebrates our differences. This is our revolutionary inheritance. May we all benefit from it."--Provided by publisher.

Athena to Barbie explores the vexed nature of being a woman. It maps the four corners of impossible choice a female faces because of the female body--her body as spiritual space (Mary), as political space (Athena), as erotic space (Venus), and as materialist space (Barbie). The book tracks the difficulty women face in understanding themselves as someone who has, but is not only, a body. The question of identity is particularly fraught and complicated when it comes to women--because the ability to bear children is a double-edged sword. Across time (including right now), having a womb has shaped how women are viewed and treated in negative ways, and women's childbearing abilities have been used to stereotype, oppress, and constrain them. Pregnancy is powerful, but the possibility of pregnancy comes with impossible pressures and choices. This book takes on the task of reconciliation--how women can understand themselves in light of their bodies--through an intense dive into history, art, literature, theology, and, particularly, philosophy.

As Asia is the cradle of many religions, the New Testament writings should be interpreted by accepting its pluriform religious and ideological aspects. The existence of multiple Christian denominations also demands balanced interpretation. This book demonstrates inclusive biblical claims within multireligious and multidenominational contexts.

"An artist's captivating and quirky illustrated coming-of-age memoir of surprising first love, coming out, and coming to embrace her queer Christian identity"--

With a relatable story and warm characters, Big Bear Was Not the Same gently introduces children to the impact that a traumatic event can have on even the strongest and bravest among us.

"In a world that doesn't always welcome big questions, a persistent and inquisitive girl keeps asking them anyway--because asking questions is how we learn and grow"--

For years Elle Dowd considered herself an advocate for justice, but her well-meaning support always took a back burner to what Martin Luther King Jr. called the tension-free, ordered ""negative peace"" of white moderates. Then Michael Brown, a Black man, was murdered by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, and the subsequent Uprising changed everything. In Baptized in Tear Gas, minister and activist Elle Dowd tells the gripping story of her transformation into an Assata Shakur-reading, courthouse-occupying abolitionist with an arrest record, hungry for the revolution.