Merit winner in the 2006 Christianity Today Book Awards! "As the Father has sent me, so I send you." Those of us called to Christian ministry are commissioned and sent by Jesus, just as he himself was called and sent by the Father. Thus we naturally pattern our ministries after Christ's example. But distinctively Christian service involves the Spirit as well, just as Jesus himself accomplished his ministry in the power of the Spirit. Thus the whole Trinity--Father, Son and Holy Spirit--gives shape to truly authentic Christian ministry. Though as Christians we all affirm the doctrine of the Trinity, many of us might struggle to explain how understanding the Trinity could actually shape our ministry. Stephen Seamands demonstrates how a fully orbed theology of the Trinity transforms our perception and practice of vocational ministry. Theological concepts like relationality and perichoresis have direct relevance to pastoral life and work, especially in unfolding a trinitarian approach to relationships, service and mission. A thoroughly trinitarian outlook provides the fuel for our ministry "of Jesus Christ, to the Father, through the Holy Spirit, on behalf of the church and the world." Essential reading for pastors, parachurch workers, counselors, missionaries, youth ministers and all who are called to any vocation of Christian ministry.

Misunderstandings about what it means for humans to be created in God's image have wreaked devastation throughout history -- for example, slavery in the U. S., genocide in Nazi Germany, and the demeaning of women everywhere. In Dignity and Destiny John Kilner explores what the Bible itself teaches about humanity being in God's image. He discusses in detail all of the biblical references to the image of God, interacts extensively with other work on the topic, and documents how misunderstandings of it have been so problematic. People made according to God's image, Kilner says, have a special connection with God and are intended to be a meaningful reflection of him. Because of sin, they don't actually reflect him very well, but Kilner shows why the popular idea that sin has damaged the image of God is mistaken. He also clarifies the biblical difference between being God's image (which Christ is) and being in God's image (which humans are). He explains how humanity's creation and renewal in God's image are central, respectively, to human dignity and destiny. Locating Christ at the center of what God's image means, Kilner charts a constructive way forward and reflects on the tremendously liberating impact that a sound understanding of the image of God can have in the world today.

ccording to Scripture, humankind was created in the image of God. Hoekema discusses the implications of this theme, devoting several chapters to the biblical teaching on God's image, the teaching of philosophers and theologians through the ages, and his own theological analysis. Suitable for seminary-level anthropology courses, yet accessible to educated laypeople. Extensive bibliography, fully indexed.

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.

The declining religious participation among young adults, or “Rise of the Nones,” has signaled alarms across American Christianity. A closer look into the faith lives of thirty young adults who are, or were at one time, connected with a church, however, shows an articulate and aesthetically embodied faith life that seeks out connection with others, expression of their identity, and an openness to encountering God. Young adults see themselves, and all people in this pluralistic world, as bearing the image of God. They see creativity, in their own lives and in the lives of others, as evidence of this identity. This book is not an appeal to put more art into congregations, but rather an invitation to attend to aesthetic, embodied ways of knowing that exist among all people.

The million-copy bestselling introduction to the healing ministry, re-issued with a beautiful new cover. Does healing happen today? Why is there prejudice against the healing ministry? Why are some people not healed? These topical and vital questions are just some of the issues addressed by Francis MacNutt in Healing. A wideranging and broad-based overview, it is essential reading for all involved in the healing ministry. 'Prayer for healing is so central to the gospel, ' writes MacNutt, 'that it should be an integral part of the life of every community of believers. My heart cries out to see it restored to the place it had in the early Christian church.