Books published by InterVarsity Press

Richard Lamb blends scriptural insights, stories of recent graduates and his own life experience to offer sound advice and practical encouragement for spiritual growth during the postcollege years.

How can we discover God's will for the complicated decisions of time, money, relationships, education and career? How do we know which is best among a variety of "good" options? In this updated and substantially expanded edition, M. Blaine Smith shows how God unfolds his plan for our lives-through the Bible, prayer, reason, abilities, circumstances, desire and the counsel of others.

In this book Harvie M. Conn and Manuel Ortiz address the vital work of the urban church as they trace the history of the city around the world, examine the biblical basis for urban mission, unpack the multifaceted identity of the city and discuss particular issues and needs of urban leadership. Now in paperback!

PreachingWe often turn to the book of Job when we encounter suffering. We look for an explanation for the questions "e;Why me?"e; or "e;Why her?"e; But what if it turns out that although Job does suffer, the book is not really about his suffering?If ever a book needed a "e;How to Read"e; instruction manual, it is the book of Job. And when two respected Old Testament scholars team up-both of whom have written commentaries on Job-we have a matchless guide to reading and appreciating the book. From their analysis of its place in the wisdom literature of the Bible and the ancient Near East to their discussions of its literary features and relationship to history, Walton and Longman give us the best of their expertise. They explore the theology of Job, placing it within Israelite religion and Old Testament theology. And they coach us in how to read Job as Christians. When it turns out the book is not what we thought it was, our reading is richly layered and more satisfying.How to Read Job

Thomas Oden calls for a radical reassessment of early church tradition by directing our attention to Africa, where a memory of St. Mark survives as the North African founder of the church in Alexandria. The result is an illuminating portrait that challenges long-standing assumptions in the West.

The Leadership Ellipse

In order to reach today's youth with the gospel, you need to hear what they're saying and understand where they're coming from. Walt Mueller translates contemporary youth culture into a functional ministry resource for pastors, educators and parents.

Bob Sjogren and Gerald Robison reflect on the God-given traits of cats ("you exist to serve me") and dogs ("I exist to serve you"), and point out the same dichotomy at work in the theological attitudes of many Christians. Unlike the house pet, however, human beings are capable of rethinking their relationship with the Master.

Theologians have long assumed that Karl Barth's doctrine of election is supralapsarian. Challenging decades of scholarship, Shao Kai Tseng argues that despite Barth's stated favor of supralapsarianism, his mature lapsarian theology is complex and dialectical, critically reappropriating both supra- and infralapsarian patterns of thinking. Barth can be described as basically infralapsarian because he sees the object of election as fallen humankind and understands the incarnation as God's act of taking on human nature in its condition of fallenness. Tseng shows that most of Barth's Reformed critics have not understood his doctrine of election accurately enough to recognize his affinity to infralapsarianism and, conversely, that most Barthians have not understood Reformed-orthodox formulations of election with sufficient accuracy in their disagreement with the tradition. Karl Barth's Infralapsarian Theology offers a clear understanding of both the historic Lapsarian Controversy and Barth's distinct form of lapsarianism, providing a charitable dialogue partner to aid mutual understanding between Barth and evangelicals.

The 2015 Missiology Lectures at Fuller Theological Seminary marked the fiftieth anniversary of the School of Intercultural Studies. The papers from that conference explore the developments and transformations in the study and practice of mission, as contributors chart the current shape of mission studies and its prospects in the twenty-first century.