Christianity Today 2020 Book Award (Award of Merit, Theology/Ethics) Outreach 2020 Recommended Resource of the Year (Theology and Biblical Studies) The question of what makes life worth living is more vital now than ever. In today's pluralistic, postsecular world, universal values are dismissed as mere matters of private opinion, and the question of what constitutes flourishing life--for ourselves, our neighbors, and the planet as a whole--is neglected in our universities, our churches, and our culture at large. Although we increasingly have technology to do almost anything, we have little sense of what is truly worth accomplishing. In this provocative new contribution to public theology, world-renowned theologian Miroslav Volf (named "America's New Public Intellectual" by Scot McKnight on his Jesus Creed blog) and Matthew Croasmun explain that the intellectual tools needed to rescue us from our present malaise and meet our new cultural challenge are the tools of theology. A renewal of theology is crucial to help us articulate compelling visions of the good life, find our way through the maze of contested questions of value, and answer the fundamental question of what makes life worth living.

Animal rights is animal theology. The author argues that historical theology, creatively defined, must reject humanocentricity. He questions the assumption that if theology is to speak on this issue, 'it must only do so on the side of the oppressors.' His theological query investigates not only the abstractions of theory, but also the realities of hunting, animal experimentation, and genetic engineering. He is an important, pioneering, Christian voice speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Fifty years of preaching excellence in one volume. The Living Pulpit collects sermons from representative preachers in the Stone-Campbell Movement--pastors affiliated with the Churches of Christ, the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)--over the past 50 years. The fourth volume in a series that began in 1868, this collection of sermons from 40 ministers, reviewed by a diverse team of scholars, captures the theological themes and changing approaches to preaching across the Movement’s three streams. Emerging from an era of mutual suspicion, the three streams have developed a better understanding, shared mutuality and respect for each stream’s unique qualities, and cooperated in many venues, qualities reflected in this collection. The Living Pulpit 2018 helps preachers and scholars recognize where preaching has been--and why it has been there--in each stream, and where preaching appears to be going in a new mission field for Christianity and the Unity Movement. General Editor: Mary Alice Mulligan Contributing Editors: Ronald Allen, Dave Bland, David Fleer, Joseph Grana II, Tim Sensing, Bruce Shields, Casey Sigmon, Richard Voelz Contributors: Jimmy Allen, Lynn Anderson, Gene Appel, Dean Barham, Batsell Barrett Baxter, Russell Blowers, Laura Buffington, Delores Carpenter, Janet Casey-Allen, Mike Cope, Fred Craddock, Lisa Davison, Glenn Elliott, Mark Frost, Joseph Grana II, Andrew Hairston, Cynthia Hale, Allen Harris, Jodi Hickerson, Cal Jernigan, Sandhya Jha, David Kagiwada, Michael Kinnamon, Roy Lawson, Marshall Leggett, Jim McGuiggan, Bob Mink, José Morales, Ronald Osborn, Derek Penwell, Norman Reed, Mary Louise Rowand, Rob Russell, Landon B. Saunders, Mark Scott, Tim Sensing, Bob Shannon, Rubel Shelly, Bruce Shields, Casey Sigmon, Myron Taylor, Samuel Twumasi-Ankrah, Richard Voelz, Paul Watson, J.S. Winston

Fifty years of preaching excellence in one volume. The Living Pulpit collects sermons from representative preachers in the Stone-Campbell Movement--pastors affiliated with the Churches of Christ, the Christian Churches/Churches of Christ, and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)--over the past 50 years. The fourth volume in a series that began in 1868, this collection of sermons from 40 ministers, reviewed by a diverse team of scholars, captures the theological themes and changing approaches to preaching across the Movement’s three streams. Emerging from an era of mutual suspicion, the three streams have developed a better understanding, shared mutuality and respect for each stream’s unique qualities, and cooperated in many venues, qualities reflected in this collection. The Living Pulpit 2018 helps preachers and scholars recognize where preaching has been--and why it has been there--in each stream, and where preaching appears to be going in a new mission field for Christianity and the Unity Movement. General Editor: Mary Alice Mulligan Contributing Editors: Ronald Allen, Dave Bland, David Fleer, Joseph Grana II, Tim Sensing, Bruce Shields, Casey Sigmon, Richard Voelz Contributors: Jimmy Allen, Lynn Anderson, Gene Appel, Dean Barham, Batsell Barrett Baxter, Russell Blowers, Laura Buffington, Delores Carpenter, Janet Casey-Allen, Mike Cope, Fred Craddock, Lisa Davison, Glenn Elliott, Mark Frost, Joseph Grana II, Andrew Hairston, Cynthia Hale, Allen Harris, Jodi Hickerson, Cal Jernigan, Sandhya Jha, David Kagiwada, Michael Kinnamon, Roy Lawson, Marshall Leggett, Jim McGuiggan, Bob Mink, José Morales, Ronald Osborn, Derek Penwell, Norman Reed, Mary Louise Rowand, Rob Russell, Landon B. Saunders, Mark Scott, Tim Sensing, Bob Shannon, Rubel Shelly, Bruce Shields, Casey Sigmon, Myron Taylor, Samuel Twumasi-Ankrah, Richard Voelz, Paul Watson, J.S. Winston

What should a church do? Look at your church’s calendar and you will learn something of its mission. But how do you know it’s the mission Jesus gave? In The Life of the Church, Joe Thorn explains the mission of the church and the three rhythms for fulfilling it. The result is a simple, memorable model for church life and ministry, grounded in Scripture and aligned with historic practices. Useful for training in membership class, discipleship groups, and elder boards—and even for devotional reading—The Life of the Church is at once theological, practical, and experiential. Readers will not simply be informed, but led to a deeper conviction about their role in the body of Christ. Pastors will be equipped to refocus their ministries, and Christians to fulfill their purpose: be and make disciples. If you wonder what it means to be saved into a body of believers, why the various parts of a worship service matter, and how to engage in the world as a citizen of heaven, then The Life of the Church is for you. It answers this critical question: “Why does the church exist, and how does it shape my life?”