This is not 52nd Street. The rich, white academics will no longer be given their structured, easy-to-listen-to jazz. This is Milton's Playhouse. This is the heart of music. Structure time form and proper scales are dead here. This is the place that jazz progresses. 52nd Street is stale and lifeless. The bridge to 52nd Street has been burned down. This is Improvisational Writing. It lives through every typo misspelling misuse and grammatical mistake. It is music without sound. Without measures. Without Scales. Without time. Without prisons. It is a hope to give life to something that has become so confined it can no longer breathe. It may be one continuous mistake. But it is honest true uncompromising and unconfined. In a world that has a million bookshelves lined with street maps to 52nd Street, this is a fresh note. It may be a flat note, nonetheless, it is a note.

In an age when the Bible has been stripped of its sacredness and functional biblical illiteracy reigns, this book makes the case that we must work to re-enchant the text in order to return the Bible to its rightful place in the lives of Christians. Cheryl Bridges Johns explains how the Enlightenment's turn to the rational human subject made it possible to objectify the Bible and has distorted our interpretations of Scripture. This move generated a belief that studying the Bible was primarily a means of supporting facts and providing evidence of competing visions of reality. This "modern" version of the Bible does not trouble our nights with apocalyptic images. It has been stripped of its power. She also shows that both "liberal" and "fundamentalist" interpretation are failed forms of disenchanted readings. Johns argues that we must rediscover the Bible as a sacred, dangerous, mysterious, and presence-filled wonderland to counteract biblical illiteracy in an increasingly post-Christian landscape.

Although you may see yourself as merely one among millions of Christian women, God has great plans for you to leave an eternal impression on others. He has created and called you to spiritually influence those around you—your children, friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. This practical guide will help you grow in the six fundamentals of spiritual leadership and encourage you on your own journey from ordinary woman to spiritual leader. “I not only recommend this book, I know I will be using it as I minister to women.” —Dr. Beverly Hislop, author of Shepherding a Woman’s Heart and Shepherding Women in Pain “Kay’s own experience and the stories of women that are included illustrate how powerful these truths are and how crucial they are for women who truly desire to serve God in an extraordinary way.” —Susie Hawkins, author of From One Ministry Wife to Another

This new edition replaces both The Pursuit of Holiness (ISBN 9781576839324) and the study guide (ISBN 9781576839881) by combining both resources into one volume "Be holy, for I am holy," commands God. But holiness is something that is often missed in the Christian's daily life. According to Navigator author Jerry Bridges, that's because we're not exactly sure what our part in holiness is. In The Pursuit of Holiness, he helps us see clearly just what we should rely on God to do--and what we should take responsibility for ourselves. As you deepen your relationship with God, learn more about His character, and understand the Holy Spirit's role in holiness, your spiritual growth will mature. The included study guide contains 12 lessons.

From the inside scoop on goddesses, Amazons, and ancient matriarchal societies, to feminist theology and pagan rituals--Women’s Spirituality offers a comprehensive survey of what is happening in women’s spirituality today. Mary Faulkner also provides a sweeping historical and social overview of women’s spiritual experience from the dawn of civilization to present day: Goddesses, amazons, priestesses and Magicthe history of early matriarchal societiesecofeminismPagan and New Age ritualsWiccan, Celtic, Jewish, Christian, native peoples, and other spiritual traditions Faulkner also highlights the work of well-known writers, theologians, and academics who have contributed to the field, including Barbara Walker, Marija Gimbutas, Luisah Teish, Starhawk, Alice Walker, Rosemary Ruether, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Sallie McFague, Mary Daly, Judith Plaskow, Carol Christ, Sue Monk Kidd, and many more. For the novice, adept, or the simply curious, this book offers both a sweeping history and an inside view of one of the most profound movements and moving religious impulses of today.

“A treasure...a wise and entertaining book that should appeal to the spiritual pilgrim in all of us, no matter what the faith and no matter whether believer or nonbeliever.” – Chicago Tribune The New York Times bestselling author of The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything and Jesus: A Pilgrimage turns his attention to the relationship between LGBT Catholics and the Church in this loving, inclusive, and revolutionary book. A powerful call for tolerance, acceptance, and support—and a reminder of Jesus' message for us to love one another. In this moving and inspiring book, Martin offers a powerful, loving, and much-needed voice in a time marked by anger, prejudice, and divisiveness. On the day after the Orlando nightclub shooting, James Martin S.J. posted a video on Facebook in which he called for solidarity with our LGBT brothers and sisters. "The largest mass shooting in US history took place at a gay club and the LGBT community has been profoundly affected," he began. He then implored his fellow Catholics—and people everywhere—to "stand not only with the people of Orlando but also with their LGBT brothers and sisters." Father Martin's post went viral and was viewed more than 1.6 million times. Adapted from an address he gave to New Ways Ministry, a group that ministers to and advocates for LGBT Catholics, Building a Bridge provides a roadmap for repairing and strengthening the bonds that unite all of us as God's children. Martin uses the image of a two-way bridge to enable LGBT Catholics and the Church to come together in a call to end the "us" versus "them" mentality. Turning to the Catechism, he draws on the three criteria at the heart of the Christian ministry—"respect, compassion, and sensitivity"—as a model for how the Catholic Church should relate to the LGBT community. WINNER OF THE LIVING NOW BOOK AWARD IN SOCIAL ACTIVISM/CHARITY.

Taking a critical look at feminism and exploring its explicit and implicit spiritual dimensions, this revised and updated new edition of Women and Spirituality engages in a reflective dialogue with contemporary women's voices. It asks to what extent patriarchal oppression and androcentric thinking are inherent not only in Christianity but in all religious beliefs, practices and institutions. This is the only book which provides a comprehensive survey of current discussions in feminist theology and spirituality and offers a wide-ranging account of women and world religions and raising thought-provoking questions about the spiritual dimensions of human life.