The study of Christian ethics in North America has been profoundly influenced during this century by the work of H. Richard Niebuhr. That influence is felt nowhere as keenly as in the widespread use of his classic text, Christ and Culture. Yet certain central flaws exist in Niebuhr's work on Christ and culture, particularly in its lack of concrete norms for the church's transformative engagement with the world. Scholars have long realized that further work must be done in this area if the church is to speak the word of the gospel adequately in the midst of a pluralistic and changing culture. In this book, Glen H. Stassen, D. M. Yeager, and John Howard Yoder push Christian ethical reflection beyond Niebuhr by offering an analysis and critique of Niebuhr's well-known fivefold typology of the relation of Christ to culture. They wrestle with the issue of how the actual, working church goes about being an agent of the transformation of culture. Unlike Niebuhr, whose description of the transformationist ideal had little grounding in the concrete existence of the church, the authors reflect on those practices through which congregations seek both to embody faithfulness to Jesus Christ and to be the church in their culture. As a prologue to this analytical and constructive task, the volume contains a previously unpublished essay by H. Richard Niebuhr, "Types of Christian Ethics", in which he laid out the framework of the typology he would later expand in Christ and Culture.

Gordon T. Smith contends that a chief cause of spiritual immaturity in the evangelical church is an inadequate theology of conversion. Surveying Scripture, spiritual autobiographies and a broad range of theologies of conversion, he seeks to foster in the Christian community a dynamic language of conversion that leads to spiritual transformation and mature Christian living.

Western culture is in a moment when wholly new kinds of personal transformations are possible, but authentic transformation requires both personal testimony and public recognition. In this book, Adam Ellwanger takes a distinctly rhetorical approach to analyzing how the personal and the public relate to an individual’s transformation and develops a new vocabulary that enables a critical assessment of the concept of authenticity. The concept of metanoia is central to this project. Charting the history of metanoia from its original use in the classical tradition to its adoption by early Christians as a term for religious conversion, Ellwanger shows that metanoia involves a change within a person that results in a truer version of him- or herself—a change in character or ethos. He then applies this theory to our contemporary moment, finding that metanoia provides unique insight into modern forms of self-transformation. Drawing on ancient and medieval sources, including Thucydides, Plato, Paul the Apostle, and Augustine, as well as contemporary discourses of self-transformation, such as the public testimonies of Caitlyn Jenner and Rachel Dolezal, Ellwanger elucidates the role of language in signifying and authenticating identity. Timely and original, Ellwanger’s study formulates a transhistorical theory of personal transformation that will be of interest to scholars working in social theory, philosophy, rhetoric, and the history of Christianity.

Authentic Peace is the debut memoir by Anne-Marie Zanzal, M.Div. It tells the honest and real-life account of a married woman, in mid-life, who experiences a physical and emotional awakening that opens her eyes to her sexuality and sensuality, which had long been ignored. Authentic Peace is for those who are in similar transitional stages in life, whether leaving a marriage or a relationship. This is a story of embarking on the journey of finding your true, authentic self and the book includes topics of sexuality and sensuality, marriage, parenting, parental relationships, divorce, grief, racism, politics, spirituality, religion, and more. This book continues Anne-Marie's work, which includes online coaching and support groups for people coming out later in life. Anne-Marie has dedicated her life to building community and helping people overcome societal restrictions to find and claim their authentic, true selves despite all odds.

One of the first books of its kind addressing how young adults are living in an intentional community in the Episcopal Church. Young adults (18-30) are searching for a church that demands their involvement, whether it is in mission, worship, theology, or daily life. They want a church that is relevant and offers a vision of the Divine. This book places the church in context with consumerism, freedom of choice, war and terror, and the impact of technology now dominating the worldview of young adults. Drawing upon the proven success at St. Hilda s House in New Haven, CT, this book provides stories and narratives from young adult interns, who are involved in its mission and ministry."

We've all been let down by so-called community. Why is it so hard for us to connect and grow together for the long haul? Veteran spiritual director Ruth Haley Barton helps us get personal and practical about experiencing transformation together. This interactive guide allows us to grow through and by the experience of transforming community.

As Christians, we know that we are new creations in Jesus. So we try to act differently, hoping this will make us more like Him. But changing our outward behavior doesn’t change our hearts. Only by God’s grace can we be transformed internally. Renovation of the Heart lays a biblical foundation for understanding what best-selling author Dallas Willard calls the “transformation of the spirit”—a divine process that “brings every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God.” This fresh approach to spiritual growth explains the biblical reasons why Christians need to undergo change in six aspects of life: thought, feeling, will, body, social context, and soul. Willard also outlines a general pattern of transformation in each area, not as a sterile formula but as a practical process that you can follow without the guilt or perfectionism so many Christians wrestle with. Don’t settle for complacency. Accept the challenge Renovation of the Heart offers to become an intentional apprentice of Jesus Christ, changing daily as you walk with Him.