Books published by Augsburg Fortress Publishers

Women haven't always had the right to vote. From such diverse voices as John Stuart Mill and Cokie Roberts, the absolute right of both women and men to vote has been affirmed. And yet, resistance to women's suffrage even by women themselves has a long and painful history. In this exciting volume, thirteen theologians and religious leaders in America look back at the historic victory in 1920 when women in the United States won the right to vote. They then assess the current situation and speak into the future.Women with 2020 Vision: American Theologians on the Vote, Voice, and Vision of Women commemorates the 100th anniversary of women in the United States obtaining the right to vote, a story that must be told and retold and reflected upon in light of the current sociopolitical-theological realities.

The Politics of Faith addresses key biblical texts and their intersection with questions of good government, social policy, and societal leadership. It speaks to Christians and others who seek to ponder and discuss the role of faith and Bible in their decisions about civic politics and faithful citizenship. This book aims to enable readers to see more clearly that the Bible does speak about the kinds of economic and social policies a nation should adopt. It will empower them to claim the message of Scripture in favor of policies that promote the good of those who are disadvantaged and the good of the community. It will help them make the argument that the Bible calls for laws and policies that expect the wealthy to contribute to the good of all, including policies and laws that are not always to their personal financial advantage. The author explores ways the Old Testament shows God's concern for social structures, the ideal early church community in Acts, and how the Gospel of Matthew shows concern for social structures in the ministry of Jesus. The final section looks at the writings of Paul, showing how they demand certain kinds of political commitments. This book will help readers talk about how a deeper understanding of Scripture can affect how one votes and the kinds of policies one supports. Each chapter ends with a set of questions for discussion that both review what is in the chapter and provoke discussion about faithful action.

Preeminent biblical scholar and preacher Walter Brueggemann says the book of Jeremiah is not a sermon, but it does sound the cadences of the tradition of Deuteronomy that serve as sermons--that is, as expositions based on remembered and treasured tradition. In this volume, Brueggemann conducts an experiment in homiletics. He wants us to wrestle with the question, What if we allow the canonical shape of the book of Jeremiah to instruct us concerning the shape and trajectory of the sermon? More specifically, he wonders: What if the book of Jeremiah is treated as a long sermonic reflection about the traumatic events that led to exile and displacement for the people of Judah? Why did it happen? Is God faithful? Does God punish? Is there any future? This theme and these questions can also be related to the crucifixion of Jesus and the displacement experienced by his followers. Brueggemann extends his wonderment further to the displacement experienced in modern American culture, as events jolt our notions of exceptionalism and chosenness. All of those same propensities were at work in ancient Israel in the wake of the displacement of Jerusalem, a wake given voice in the book of Jeremiah. Brueggemann analyzes the various parts of the sermon through the organization of the book of Jeremiah, looking at Introduction, Body, and Conclusion, comparing them to Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and Resurrection Sunday. The task of the preacher mirrors the task of the prophet who seeks to pluck and tear down, as well as to plant and to build. The preacher cannot, as he says, participate in a cover-up. The preaching task requires honesty about what God requires and a clear proclamation of what God has done and will yet do.

"In '2020s Foresight', authors Tom Sine and Dwight Friesen seek to "wake up" Christian leaders and those whom they serve to the realities that leaders in other fields must deal with all the time. We are no longer simply living in changing times. We live in the reality that we are racing into a new world of accelerating change. The authors want to enable leaders in churches and Christian organizations to learn how to lead in this time of acceleration. They focus on three vital practices: foresight (analyzing the accelerating changes and anticipating new opportunities and strategies for addressing change); reflection (discerning biblical purposes for times like these); and creating innovative ways to engage new challenges so as to advance God's purposes in our lives, congregations, and organizations in the 2020s." --

Clear, Calm, and Connected offers wisdom on leadership drawn from common ministry scenarios, family systems thinking, and Scripture. Paul E. Walters and Robert F. Holley, experienced pastors and long-time students of family systems theory, provide insights and tools to help ministry leaders--lay and ordained, as individuals and groups--view a congregation or organization and understand in fresh ways their own behavior, presence, and functioning.Through accessible stories about familiar ministry situations, readers are introduced to key elements of family systems theory: self-differentiation, cut-off, triangles, family projection, multi-generational transmission, emotional process in society, and the nuclear family emotional system. As readers grow in their understanding of these concepts, they will be able to serve congregations more effectively and conduct their personal life with more grace.Clear, Calm, and Connected is an excellent leadership training tool for boards, committees, or teams. Each chapter addresses one challenging issue, and chapters may be read in any order. Readers are encouraged to explore topics when anxiety is low, so when challenges arise and anxiety is higher, they have already practiced how to respond rather than react. It is an especially valuable resource for leaders working to discern mission, define roles, and respond to conflict.Healthy Congregations 2020 Book of the Year

Reprint: Previously published: Minnearpolis: Fortress Press, 2020.

Harris shows the practical impact of suffering upon church leaders as they seek to forge a path forward to address this troubling issue. Black Suffering is a call to consciousness, a work that begins a larger conversation for correcting the historical weight of suffering carried by Black people.

Previous edition: Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 2009.

Grace and Gigabytes: Being Church in a Tech-Shaped Culture explores change and ministry at the intersection of technology, culture, and church. In today's tech-shaped culture, we learn and we know through questions, connection, collaboration, and creativity--the networked values of the digital age. Drawing on experiences from a career as an instructional designer in the technology industry and a lifetime of leadership in the Lutheran church, Ryan M. Panzer argues that digital technology is not a set of tools, but a force for cultural transformation that has profound implications for ministry.Grace and Gigabytes explores shifts in culture that have heightened amid accelerated adoption and use of digital media. Just as previous revolutions in technology have disrupted culture, especially processes of cultural meaning-making related to faith and spirituality, so we are living through a powerful revolution of digital technology, culture, and spiritual thought. This revolution calls the church to change. This needed change requires not so much a shift in tactics: launching a website, building a podcast, or starting a social media page. The change is a philosophical pivot: prioritizing collaboration, making the flow of knowledge more dynamic, celebrating connection and creativity, and always affirming the question. Panzer discusses each of these philosophical pivots, describing their technological origins. He tells stories of ministries that have aligned to this cultural moment. And he provides concrete recommendations for the practice of ministry in a digital age.

Competing for Caesar brings together key scholars working on various issues related to religion and public life in Zambia. They explore the interplay between religion and politics in Zambian society and how these religions manage and negotiate their identities in public life. This book analyzes recent religious dynamics in the nation's political life, and considers what constructive role religion could play to promote an alternative political vision to subvert neo-colonialism.

In Finding Our Way to the Truth, Sarah Ciavarri explores lies of a particularly insidious sort--lies masquerading as truths. These lies can be so engrained in how we were raised, the culture we live in, and the type of thinking that has kept us safe that we don't notice how they inform our decisions and affect the way we lead, work, parent, and live. The lies Ciavarri examines aren't the obvious ones. They are sneaky--lies that can be benign, even helpful, such as "I should finish what I start," "People must like me," and "I'm responsible for it all." But these lies can keep us from owning our ideas and strengths, following a dream, confronting dysfunction, or enjoying deeper, more honest relationships. They can replace a sense of well-being and hope with regret and resentment. Ciavarri tells engaging personal stories to help readers recognize seven common lies that leaders often tell themselves. She then demonstrates a three-step process for unmasking each lie: pay attention, examine, and apply the learning. We do better when we stop listening to the lies. God wants better for us, and we were created for better. Finding Our Way to the Truth shows us the way.

Speak It Plain: Words for Worship and Life Together delivers prayers, blessings, litanies, and liturgies for key moments in corporate worship and intimate gatherings of God's people. This collection is intended as a companion to other resources already being used for planning worship and living together in Christian community. Meta Herrick Carlson invites pastors and other leaders to pay attention to the great theology that sometimes is hidden beneath our high church language, patriarchal customs, and insular questions. Her language models healthy boundaries and marks life events, such as separation or divorce, political or civic grief, and anointing people in transition. She hopes her prayers and litanies will help you speak it plain, that the weight of unspoken trauma will lose its power, the work of the people will be reclaimed by the people, and the assembly will be inspired to deeper connections between worship and the questions we are asking today.The book includes prayers for many occasions, seasonal blessings, and a variety of litanies and liturgies for use in various worship settings and special services. Selections intended for group use with group responses will be available for download for all purchasers of the book.

Tribe explores the issues of reciprocity in cross-race and cross-class relationships using stories, narrative, and sociological insights and perspectives derived from urban fieldwork and the author's own life. The volume examines the social and structural barriers to the formation of these kinds of relationships, as well as the transformations that can take place as these barriers are overcome. Stories, interviews, and empirically driven narratives are interwoven with theory from the fields of adult education, economics, sociology, ethics, theology, and history.After exploring the barriers to the formation of these relationships and the potential of adults for learning new ways of thinking and being, the book makes the case that there are communal and individual benefits to these relationships that far outweigh the difficulties in forming them. The book is set up to answer the questions Why does it matter if all my friends look just like me? and How do I leave behind a siloed existence to live a fully transformational and socially aware life?

In Called into the Mission of God, Roji George argues that Paul's primary interest was neither doctrinal teaching nor the articulation of an anti-imperial discourse. Instead, he contends that amidst the many problems that faced the local Thessalonian community--problems arising out of eschatological fears, ethical difficulties in the community, and persecution from outside groups--Paul brought primarily a missional concern to impart ethical exhortation and eschatological teaching in a political language. The book will be helpful to those theologians, scholars, teachers, and students grappling with the message of Paul in his own time and in ours.Called into the Mission of God represents an increasing commitment on the part of Fortress Press to support the wide dissemination of the best theological and biblical writing by the best scholars from the Global South.

When Bear struggles to get the hang of riding his bike, his friends are there to support him by practicing together and cheering him on as he learns a new skill. Includes bike safety tips.

Good Grief has helped millions find comfort and rediscover hope after loss for more than fifty years. For those grieving the death of a loved one or other life transition, this bestseller is a proven companion. Within the pages, you will learn the ten stages of grief and find support. This large-print edition allows greater accessibility.

For more than fifty years, Good Grief has helped millions of readers find comfort and rediscover hope after loss. Exploring ten stages of grief and recognizing that grief is complex and deeply personal, we learn there is no "right" way to grieve. For anyone grieving a death or other loss, this hardcover edition makes a heartfelt gift.

Lenny Duncan is the unlikeliest of pastors. Formerly incarcerated, he is now a black preacher in the whitest denomination in the United States: the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). Shifting demographics and shrinking congregations make all the headlines, but Duncan sees something else at work--drawing a direct line between the church''s lack of diversity and the church''s lack of vitality. The problems the ELCA faces are theological, not sociological. But so are the answers.Part manifesto, part confession, and all love letter, Dear Church offers a bold new vision for the future of Duncan''s denomination and the broader mainline Christian community of faith. Dear Church rejects the narrative of church decline and calls everyone--leaders and laity alike--to the front lines of the church''s renewal through racial equality and justice.It is time for the church to rise up, dust itself off, and take on forces of this world that act against God: whiteness, misogyny, nationalism, homophobia, and economic injustice. Duncan gives a blueprint for the way forward and urges us to follow in the revolutionary path of Jesus.Dear Church also features a discussion guide at the back--perfect for church groups, book clubs, and other group discussion.

Most of us are going through the motions when it comes to faith, either believing we''ve found all the relevant answers to life''s questions or believing none can be found. We shy away from our deepest questions about God because we fear the uncertainty on the other side. But when we make certainty and correct belief the end goal of faith, we miss out on the chance to know God more deeply and to participate in God''s work in the world.Pastor Steph shows us how to lean into our questions and embrace a life of curiosity. Taking Jesus''s life as a model, we can confront our fears, be set free from our anxiety, ask new questions, and live into an adventurous life of curiosity. After all, Jesus was a question man, not an answer man.Our questions, and even our doubts, can push us closer to a God we can actually believe in--rather than further from a God we think we can contain.In Stay Curious, Pastor Steph walks readers through common obstacles and road blocks to curiosity, and offers practical strategies for embracing even the most intimidating questions.

Being human is hard. Being a good human is even harder. Practicing kindness, honesty, and self-awareness in the face of doubt, failure, ambiguity, and vulnerability can feel insurmountable.How to Human is here to help. Alice Connor draws on nearly a decade of experience as a college chaplain to provide a tender and irreverent take on one of life''s most fundamental questions: how to be a better human in a world dead set against it.Connor offers sage wisdom and no-nonsense realism through real-life examples that strike right at the rashes and rubs of the human experience. She''ll take you by the hand, tell you what you need to hear, and encourage you to embrace the chaos. How to Human will help you see life as an experiment--not a quest for the right answers.