Books published by InterVarsity Press

The task of bearing faithful witness to Jesus in our post-Christian society is complicated. What should our interactions with the dominant cultural ethos look like? How might we be both persuasive and civil? Integrating communications and theology, this model for cultural engagement offers a compelling vision of public engagement that is both shrewd and gracious.

Humans are created in the image of God, yet by choosing to rebel against God we become unfaithful bearers of his image. But Jesus, who is the image of God, restores the divine image in us. At the intersection of theology and culture, these essays offer a unified vision of what it means to be truly human and created in the divine image in the world today.

This Changes Everything

14th Annual Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year, Cross-Cultural Category

Does God want to write your love story? Maybe not! Margaret and Dwight Peterson help us sort out the difference between how our surrounding culture often depicts marriage and how Christians really should approach this particular gift of God to all humanity.

McDonald draws on her own experiences to offer guidance for other women on building a life as a healthy, happy single.

"e;I have seen and I testify . . ."e; (John 1:34)The idea of giving one's testimony often evokes summer church camps, evangelistic revivals, mission trips and baptisms. Like an eyewitness called to testify in a courtroom, sharing a testimony of faith is for specific people at special moments. But what if our view of testimony is all wrong? According to Amanda Drury, testimony is not merely about describing something that happened in the past. It is a practice that forms our present and future identity. Testimony changes us, and without it we risk having a stunted and stale faith. Drawing on work in sociology, psychology and theology, Drury develops an understanding of testimony as an essential practice for Christian spiritual formation, especially for adolescents who are in the process of developing their identity. Recent studies reveal a staggering inability for adolescents to articulate their religious beliefs. Now more than ever, churches need to recover the practice of testimony as an integral part of communal worship.

Everyone believes something. But how and why do people believe? What counts as evidence? How much can be assumed or believed by faith alone? When it comes to religious faith, the questions become at once more difficult and more important. Over the centuries, Christians have offered different approaches to explaining or defending the Christian faith, a discipline known as apologetics. But it has not always been clear how different apologetic methods work, or what each approach has to offer. In this comprehensive survey, Brian Morley provides an overview of Christian apologetic approaches and how they differ. He explores the historical and philosophical underpinnings of key figures and major schools of thought, from the presuppositionalism of Cornelius Van Til to the evidentialism of Gary Habermas. Moving beyond theory, Morley also covers apologetic application, demonstrating how each view works out in practical terms. This guide covers the complexities of apologetics in a way that is accessible to the nonspecialist. Even-handed and respectful of each apologist and their contribution, this book provides the reader with a formidable array of defenses for the faith.

What does salvation in the New Testament look like? "The New Testament does not develop a systematic doctrine of salvation," writes Brenda Colijn. "Instead, it presents us with a variety of pictures taken from different perspectives. From one angle, the human predicament is rebellion against God. Salvation looks like living under God's universal reign. From another angle, the human predicament is bondage to both internal and external forces. Salvation looks like freedom from those forces. From yet a third angle, the human predicament looks like alienation from God, from other people, from creation and even from one's own best self. Salvation looks like the restoration of those relationships." Colijn, who holds degrees in English literature as well as theology, embraces a critical-realist methodology that incorporates New Testament theology, literary criticism and theological interpretation. She advocates listening to the individual authors of Scripture in their own social-cultural and historical settings, while looking for how the texts work both individually and collectively at a literary level. Students of the New Testament and of theology will both find their vision broadened and their understanding deepened by this rich, informative study. As the author seeks to understand their implications for people of faith, she uncovers how New Testament images provide the building blocks of the master story of redemption.

Written by a team of 21st-century scholar-practitioners, Discovering the Mission of God explores the mission of God as presented in the Bible, expressed throughout church history and demonstrated in cutting-edge best practices being used around the world today.

The books of Ezekiel and Daniel are rich in imagery that is taken up afresh in the New Testament. It is no wonder these books, despite the difficulties in interpreting them, took hold on the imagination of the early church. In this ACCS volume, over forty church fathers are cited and four extant works are included, providing a wealth of insight.

Preaching's Top Books on PreachingLet your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways. ,,, Proverbs 4:25-26Preaching is difficult enough under the best of circumstances. But what are we to do when it seems that all of us,,,hearers and preachers alike,,,are constantly distracted?Veteran preacher and homiletics professor J. Ellsworth Kalas offers wise insights for effective preaching in an age of distraction. He examines how people have been distracted in every era and explores how God can meet people precisely at the point of their distraction. Regardless of whatever new technologies come our way, this call to pastoral attentiveness, creativity and excellence provides avenues for connecting with congregations with a countercultural clarity of focus. Rediscover how the proclamation of the Word still speaks profoundly to distracted hearers. Invite your congregation to a renewed attention to the things of God.

Charles Stone's research on thousands of pastors and ministry leaders demonstrates the dangers of approval-motivated leadership. Bringing together biblical insights and neuroscience findings, Stone shows why we fall into people-pleasing patterns and what we can do to overcome these tendencies for more effective ministry.