Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination searches through biblical scholarship, theology, economics, sociology, politics, ecology, and history to discern the strands of God's justice and reconciliation at work in the contemporary world. Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination challenges Christians to engage the most troubling social problems of our time by first drinking deeply from the well of the historic prophetic traditions. Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination witnesses to a God that raises up prophets to speak at critical moments in every time, and to what it might look like for the Church to nurture the soil from which such prophetic voices spring. Rarely do such a wide variety of authors from such different backgrounds and vocations get together to name what the prophetic work of God looks like in our midst. The radical justice and reconciliation of God can be found in every corner of life, if we know where to look for it; Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination provides some guidance in this direction. Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination celebrates and seeks to build upon the legacy of eminent biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann's seminal work The Prophetic Imagination, first published in 1978, by assessing the core insights and themes he develops through a number of different lenses. These include contemporary biblical scholarship, theology, economics, sociology, politics, ecology, and church history. Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination also discusses the extent to which the Christian prophetic tradition continues to speak meaningfully within the contemporary world and thereby seeks to be a source for inspiring future generations of Christian prophets to do likewise.

Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination searches through biblical scholarship, theology, economics, sociology, politics, ecology, and history to discern the strands of God's justice and reconciliation at work in the contemporary world. Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination challenges Christians to engage the most troubling social problems of our time by first drinking deeply from the well of the historic prophetic traditions. Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination witnesses to a God that raises up prophets to speak at critical moments in every time, and to what it might look like for the Church to nurture the soil from which such prophetic voices spring. Rarely do such a wide variety of authors from such different backgrounds and vocations get together to name what the prophetic work of God looks like in our midst. The radical justice and reconciliation of God can be found in every corner of life, if we know where to look for it; Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination provides some guidance in this direction.Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination celebrates and seeks to build upon the legacy of eminent biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann's seminal work The Prophetic Imagination, first published in 1978, by assessing the core insights and themes he develops through a number of different lenses. These include contemporary biblical scholarship, theology, economics, sociology, politics, ecology, and church history. Nurturing the Prophetic Imagination also discusses the extent to which the Christian prophetic tradition continues to speak meaningfully within the contemporary world and thereby seeks to be a source for inspiring future generations of Christian prophets to do likewise.

Walter Brueggemann declares that the necessary character of truly prophetic preaching today is "a contestation between narratives." If the dominant narrative of our time promotes national self-sufficiency (through militarism) and personal self-sufficiency (through consumerism), it must be opposed by a different narrative. Prophetic preaching takes its stand in a world claimed by a God who is gracious, uncompromisingand real. Brueggemann writes here for leaders in faith communities who bear the responsibility of preaching. He describes the discipline of a prophetic imagination, in an unflinchingly realistic, unwaveringly candid manner.

In Taking on Practical Theology, Courtney T. Goto explores the regnant paradigm that shapes knowledge production and that preserves power, privilege, and historic communal injury even as scholars intend to enlighten and transform communities. Approaching “context” as a case study, Goto illumines how this commonly used, taken-for-granted concept is “idolized.” Though practical theologians are sensitive to context, researchers often fail to consider how their own assumptive world dictates and influences their practices of research, teaching, and engaging in scholarly conversations. These practices unwittingly validate scholars who enjoy the most social capital while inflicting harm on both communities they research and on colleagues and students who do not fit (or fit less well) the norms of the majority.

In Prophecy today: reflections from a Southern African context, a group of theologians and scholars of religion from Zambia and South Africa reflects upon these questions. Anthropologists, Biblical scholars, practical theologians and others shine their light on what prophecy can mean today in this context. This book aims at stimulating a continuing Southern African discourse on this very interesting and relevant aspect of Christianity in our region. The book consists of 15 different articles by well-known scholars and has been ably compiled and edited by Dr Hermen Kroesbergen, lecturer in Systematic Theology and Philosophy of Religion at Justo Mwale University, Lusaka, Zambia.

Contents Announcement of the 2014 Symposium Abbreviations Introduction Klyne Snodgrass Visions of Horror, Visions of Hope: An Orientation for Urban Ministry from the Book of Amos M. Daniel Carroll R. Response to Carroll Nathan Bills Early Christian Communities in the Greco-Roman City: Perspectives on Urban Ministry from the New Testament Paul Trebilco Response to Trebilco Stephen Chester The Necessity of Lament for Ministry in the Urban Context Soong-Chan Rah Response to Rah Jessica Rivera Good Citizenship: A Study of Philippians 1:27 and Its Implications for Contemporary Urban Ministry Dennis R. Edwards Response to Edwards Kurt N. Fredrickson Love Yourself: Urban Ministry and the Challenge of Self-Love Chanequa Walker-Barnes Prophet, Pagan, Prayer: Urban Theology of Reversal in the Story of Jonah David Leong Response to Leong Daniel White Hodge The Ministerial Significance of Early Syriac Theology Vince L. Bantu Response to Bantu Armida Belmonte Stephens "No Shortcut to the Promised Land": The Fosdick Brothers and Muscular Christianity Amy Laura Hall Response to Hall Reggie Williams The Lord of the Rings Isaias Mercado Annotated Bibliography on Urban Ministry Presenters and Respondents Ex Auditu - Volumes Available