To some, the notion of mixing religious groups and community organizing may seem a pleasing prospect, an idea long overdue. To others, it may be anathema. Like it or not, however, this blending is a reality that has been forged in streets and meeting halls day by day, from the very beginnings of our country to the present-day touchstones of President Barack Obama.

At a time when participation in democratic governance exhibits a decrease among the less well-off and an increase of power among the elite, one big question concerns how to reverse this trend. Wood and Fulton have devoted this book to finding ways to build democratic participation by low-income and working families, and to create cross-racial alliances. Here s where faith-based organizations enter the picture. These organizations have been significant players in shaping health-care reform, financial reform, and immigration reform at higher levels of government, aimed at benefitting working families. It is a movement which directly addresses economic inequality, policy paralysis, and racial injustice in the United States. Faith-based organizing, the authors show, offers important lessons for an American public struggling to combine universalist democratic ideals with an increasingly multicultural reality in what will soon be a thoroughly multicultural society, as new immigrant arrivals and demographic diffusion spread diversity into settings that were once bastions of white subculture. Models for community organizing have been supplied over time by Saul Alinsky, Cesar Chavez, and Martin Luther King, Jr. "A Shared Future" has a distinctly empirical focus on one of the most important sponsoring networks for faith-based organizations: PICO (Pacific Institute for Community Organizations), which shifted neighborhood-based organizations to congregation-based organizations. They achieved a high profile during the formation of health care policy that found its way into Obamacare legislation, and have also been an important agent for addressing racial equity. Wood and Fulton here address a new generation of faith-based community organizers, seeking to ground the movement in what they call ethical democracy, and fleshing out an approach to addressing economic inequality and political paralysis."

Theological field education, in which a ministry student steps out of the classroom and begins practicing with the supervision of a mentor, is a critical part of accredited ministry programs. Engage equips both students and their supervisor-mentors to engage in this important opportunity with energy and imagination, and it prepares students for the challenging work of integrating theory into real-world practice. Engage provides coaching from recognized experts in the arts of ministry: preaching, administration, evangelism, pastoral care, public ministry, leadership, faith formation, liturgical arts and more. Other chapters address themes such as race, gender, and ministry across faith traditions (or no faith tradition). The book addresses field education in a range of contexts—from churches to non-profits. Engage offers a valuable resource for students making the most of their transition from the classroom into real world ministry with all its joys and many challenges.

How do international encounters in Nicaragua connect spiritual formation and liberation theology to transform communities? Seekers of justice from around the world found inspiration in the Nicaraguan revolution and struggle for freedom. After recognizing the patronizing, neocolonial structure of missionary models of aid, pastor Leslie Penrose founded a nonprofit organization, JustHope, with core values of solidarity, mutuality, collaboration, and sustainability in partnership. Hundreds of participants have joined this quest to enact the compassionate and just ethics of the Hebrew prophets and the liberating power of Jesus. Inspiring stories of Nicaraguan-led creativity exploring a new future with volunteers from the U.S. are told by pastoral theologian and ethicist Kathleen McCallie. Framed as an interdisciplinary case study of seminary students traveling for solidarity to explore social justice with JustHope, the book offers glimpses of one group’s journey. Readers explore possibilities for an international partnership between U.S. volunteers and Nicaraguan community organizers. The Nicaraguan base-community model offers critiques of and alternatives to the church in the U.S. and neoliberal development. McCallie contributes to academic and activist discourses about dismantling abusive theology, racism, sexism, and U.S. hegemony.

2nd Expanded Edition All too frequently studies of the gifts of the Spirit consist largely of answering two questions: "What are the gifts?" and "Which ones do I have?" In many cases studies go on to a third question: "How can I get more?" In response, institutional churches and theologically and intellectually respectable Christians often tend to avoid the work of the Holy Spirit in the church entirely. It's much easier to simply close the doors and windows than it is to deal with the wind (John 3:8). After all, they've seen the wind blow out the candles, disarrange the altar vestments, and send a chill through the congregants. Author, pastor, and church historian Bob Cornwall has experienced all of this for himself. He has seen traditional churches and worship. He has seen Pentecostal worship. He has led congregations in difficult times. For more than 30 years, he has studied, practiced, prayed, and lived the work of the Holy Spirit in the church. The result is Unfettered Spirit: Spiritual Gifts for the New Great Awakening. Here he avoids both the errors of replacing the freedom of the Spirit with human whim and of trying to tame or confine the Spirit that will not be fettered. He asks: "Do you truly believe that God is present in the world? And, do you believe that God is working through us to break down the walls that divide us from God, from each other, and from the world? And if you do, do you believe that you have been gifted and empowered to participate in this ministry that takes down the walls of egoism, suspicion, greed, self-interest, and hatred?" If you can say "yes" to these questions, jump right in. This is the book for you. If you are hesitant, or if the idea of the Holy Spirit working unfettered in your congregation and community frightens you, read the first four chapters carefully as Bob lays the theological foundation. You may find your "maybe" or even your "no" turned into a "yes." Building on this foundation, Bob continues with five chapters on the gifts of the Spirit as described in Scripture. These are practical discussions that will let you keep your bearings in discussions of the Spirit and, more importantly, in a community where the Spirit is active. Finally, he concludes with a discussion of how to lead and pastor a church where the gifts of the Spirit are active. Whether you are a Pentecostal, an evangelical, a mainliner, a progressive, or any other label you might find for yourself or your church, you will profit from reading this book.

Theology is often seen as a discussion of dry doctrines, suitable mostly for academic institutions, but separated from the practice of faith. In this third volume of the Academy of Parish Clergy's Conversations in Ministry series Dr. Bob Cornwall, church historian, theologian, and pastor, shows the ways in which one's theology shapes one's ministry in the church and in the world. Besides discussing the theological roots of ministry and mission, this book is firmly placed in the 21st century, looking at the virtual world as our parish as well as more traditional connections. Practical. Systematic. Spiritual. Down-to earth. If you are looking for a way to put more life, focus, and meaning into your ministry as a pastor or church leader, this is the book for you.

Despite talk of a "naked public square," religion has never really lost its place in American public life. As the twenty-first century opened, it was re-emerging in unexpected and paradoxical ways. Religious institutions were considered for expanded roles in welfare and education, at the same time that the limits of religious pluralism—as, for example, in the relation of Islam to American values—became a question of urgent public concern. Religion Returns to the Public Square;Faith and Policy in America explores how and why religion has to be mixed up with American politics. Uncovering philosophical, historical, legal, and social roots of this relationship, these essays go beyond hot-button issues to reflect on the current interactions and future possibilities of religion and politics in America.