Roley was once a rising star in the contemporary Christian music scene, but then he felt called to racial reconciliation and moved to a disadvantaged neighborhood where he embodies the ideals that are needed to forge a just society.

The Photographs in this book were taken in God's Neighborhood in pure Michigan. This book was written to show appreciation for all the beautiful miracles God has created for us to enjoy. This book was meant to be a learning tool for young children; to aid in literacy development, give reading experiences and allow them to see what some of God's Neighborhood, Michigan looks like.

There are many holy cities in India, but Mumbai is not usually considered one of them. More popular images of the city capture the world’s collective imagination—as a Bollywood fantasia or a slumland dystopia. Yet for many, if not most, people who live in the city, the neighborhood streets are indeed shared with local gods and guardian spirits. In The Neighborhood of Gods, William Elison examines the link between territory and divinity in India’s most self-consciously modern city. In this densely settled environment, space is scarce, and anxiety about housing is pervasive. Consecrating space—first with impromptu displays and then, eventually, with full-blown temples and official recognition—is one way of staking a claim. But how can a marginalized community make its gods visible, and therefore powerful, in the eyes of others? The Neighborhood of Gods explores this question, bringing an ethnographic lens to a range of visual and spatial practices: from the shrine construction that encroaches on downtown streets, to the “tribal art” practices of an indigenous group facing displacement, to the work of image production at two Bollywood film studios. A pioneering ethnography, this book offers a creative intervention in debates on postcolonial citizenship, urban geography, and visuality in the religions of India.

Justice, mercy, and the public good all find meaning in relationship--a relationship dependent upon fidelity, but endlessly open to the betrayals of infidelity. This paradox defines the story of God and Israel in the Old Testament. Yet the arc of this story reaches ever forward, and its trajectory confers meaning upon human relationships and communities in the present. The Old Testament still speaks. Israel, in the Old Testament, bears witness to a God who initiates and then sustains covenantal relationships. God, in mercy, does so by making promises for a just well-being and prescribing stipulations for the covenant partner's obedience. The nature of the relationship itself decisively depends upon the conduct, practice, and policy of the covenant partner, yet is radically rooted in the character and agency of God--the One who makes promises, initiates covenant, and sustains relationship. This reflexive, asymmetrical relationship, kept alive in the texts and tradition, now fires contemporary imagination. Justice becomes shaped by the practice of neighborliness, mercy reaches beyond a pervasive quid pro quo calculus, and law becomes a dynamic norming of the community. The well-being of the neighborhood, inspired by the biblical texts, makes possible--and even insists upon--an alternative to the ideology of individualism that governs our society's practice and policy. This kind of community life returns us to the arc of God's gifts--mercy, justice, and law. The covenant of God in the witness of biblical faith speaks now and demands that its interpreting community resist individualism, overcome commoditization, and thwart the rule of empire through a life of radical neighbor love.

The burgeoning missional church movement is a sign that believers are increasingly feeling the call to impact their communities, which is a good thing. But, says Alan J. Roxburgh, these conversations still prioritize church success over mission--how can being missional grow my church? But to focus on such questions misses the point. In Missional, Roxburgh calls Christians to reenter their neighborhoods and communities to discover what the Spirit is doing there--to start with God's mission. He then encourages readers to shape their local churches around that mission. With inspiring true stories and a solid biblical base, Missional is a book that will change lives and communities as its message is lived out.

The purpose of this book is to provide a theologically sound yet easy-to-use resource, based on the image of God, that can help congregations engage relationally in their neighborhoods. Rather than using the neighborhood as a resource to help make congregations successful, The Neighborhood Church contends that God places congregations in neighborhoods to help make neighborhoods successful in accordance with God's vision. This book is intended as a resource for pastors and other church leaders who pour significant amounts of energy into their congregations but feel frustrated with the results. The problem isn't with church leaders' energy or commitment. On the contrary, it's a lack of awareness as to how that energy and commitment can be channeled within God's call, mission, and movement. This book is a crucial resource for congregations having difficulty navigating the treacherous waters of what it means to be successful according to God's vision.

The lights are dim. The crowd is hushed.And a dozen teens start laughing hysterically, piling into a human "boat" that helps set up the mind-blowing miracle of Jesus walking on the stormy Sea of Galilee.Maybe you’re after a booster shot for midweek youth group meetings that feel "same old, same old." Or you’ve just been asked (last minute, of course) to run the service at the shelter during your mission trip, and you need a jolt of energy that’ll draw kids into your lesson. Whatever your creative need, Spontaneous Melodramas 2 will fill the bill. Continuing where its predecessor--Spontaneous Melodramas--left off, this volume offers another two dozen tales from the Old and New Testaments that bring the biblical accounts to life . . . with distinctive, contemporary twists!Although these no-rehearsal skits will leave your students in stitches, the humor never buries the message of Scripture. So you can be confident when bringing your kids--whether or not they’re familiar with the Bible--into sketches like:The Sumptuous Spare Rib (Adam and Eve)Touched by an Angel (Jacob’s wrestling match)Love on a Threshing Floor (Ruth and Boaz)The Wizard of Eyes (Jesus heals the blind man)The Great Pool Party (Healing at the pool)Dead Man Walking (Jesus raises Lazarus)Spontaneous Melodramas 2 is full of flexible skits that youth workers, Sunday school teachers, camp counselors, and retreat directors can use for discussion starters, icebreakers, or talk intros. And they’re natural fits for Bible study programming, all-nighters, mission trips, camps, retreats, parent meetings, and many other events.More than a year’s worth of slapstick, pratfalls, and fun, Spontaneous Melodramas 2 will make the Bible--and its unforgettable characters and adventures--extra memorable for your students.