Bøger udgivet af Augsburg Fortress Publishers

Clergy are in startlingly bad health. Not only do they regularly report depression, stress, and serious family and financial problems, they also exhibit higher than normal incidences of being overweight, obese or having problem with cholesterol, inactivity, high blood pressure, and heart disease. How effective can professionals in ministry be with such debilities and vulnerabilities? Are clergy too busy helping others to take care of themselves? While Gwen Halaas notes many reasons for the present situation, her caring and savvy book addresses clergy health straight on: clergy have a spiritual as well as physical need to care for themselves, to live to the fullest, to ensure that they enjoy the life and gifts God gave them. Building her short, savvy book around the wellness wheel, Halaas emphasizes not just fat-free food but a whole array of life-affirming choices for clergy. She addresses substance abuse and dependence, but also spirituality; exercise but also personal resiliency; sexual boundaries but also personal fulfillment in relationship. In one short book, Halaas has provided the tools for clergy to choose life, growth, and well-being over stress, burnout, and decline. With this volume, clergy can begin to put their own lives in perspective and "keep yourself in training for a godly life" (1 Tim.).

Theologian Stanley Grenz here tells the story of trinitarian theology in the last century. He analyzes the remarkable ferment in the discipline and discusses key theologians-such as Karl Rahner, Jrgen Moltmann, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Robert Jenson, Elizabeth Johnson, Catherine Mowry LaCugna, Leonardo Boff, John Zizioulas, Hans Urs von Balthasar, and Thomas F. Torrance-on such issues as God's inner life versus God's relationship to creation (immanent and economic trinity), social versus psychological analogies for the relationships within God, the relationship between trinity and Christology, the feminist critique of classical categories, and how God's trinitarian life figures in evolution, social justice, and spirituality. Grenz's introduction places this ferment historically in the course of Christian thought from the medieval period to now, while his conclusion sets a future agenda for the doctrine and theology.

The pastor of Christmas Church, a Palestinian Lutheran congregation, Mitri Raheb here presents a powerful collection of compelling personal stories of desperation and hope in the midst of lethal conflict, bringing the Palestinian/Israeli conflict up close and personal. Raheb's lifelong commitment to his people has kept him in the legendary birthplace of Christianity, even as Bethlehem has become a flashpoint in the world's most volatile and hate-filled conflict. His passionate personal testimony lifts up the stray gesture toward friendship, the brave attempts to rebuild life and livelihood in a destroyed land, and the unquenchable desire for justice and peace.

Neyrey here interprets eight key New Testament books, providing a fresh look at theologies in the early church and introducing readers to the diverse ways in which the New Testament writers "render to God the things that are God's." He begins with two Gospels, Mark and Matthew, and moves on to the Acts of the Apostles and three of Paul's letters (Romans, 1 Corinthians, and Galatians). He then examines the formal and precise ways in which Jesus is called God in the Gospel of John and concludes with a discussion of how Hebrews uses "eternity" as a fundamental concept for understanding God. Using a social-science methodology, he offers unique perspective on the biblical text.

- Provides a fresh perspective on the Book of Acts- Editor's foreword highlights the importance of Dibelius's work- Includes updated notes and bibliographies- Indexes of ancient sources and authors

Food for Life draws on L. Shannon Jung's gifts as theologian, ethicist, pastor, and eater extraordinaire. In this deeply thoughtful but very lively book, he encourages us to see our humdrum habits of eating and drinking as a spiritual practice that can renew and transform us and our world. In a fascinating sequence that takes us from the personal to the global, Jung establishes the religious meaning of eating and shows how it dictates a healthy order of eating. He exposes Christians' complicity in the face of widespread eating disorders we experience personally, culturally, and globally, and he argues that these disorders can be reversed through faith, Christian practices, attention to habitual activities like cooking and gardening, the church's ministry, and transforming our cultural policies about food.

More than twenty years into the global AIDS pandemic, the efforts of Christian congregations and denominations have been less than minimal. This book is aimed to awaken Christian compassion in the coming years to this fathomless tragedy. The worst health crisis in the world in 700 years, global HIV/AIDS epidemic is overwhelming in scale: 40 million people are infected worldwide (75% of them in Africa); 7000 people die daily; each day 1600 persons are infected. Some 26 million people have already died. "At this unprecedented "kairos moment in human history," says Messer, "God is calling the church to a new mission and ministry." Drawing on his own involvement in global AIDS education in Asia, Latin America, and Africa, Messer uses stories, basic factual information, and theological insights to motivate lay and clerical Christians to assume leadership and form partnerships with Christians around the world in this struggle. Just as individuals must change their behavior to prevent and eliminate AIDS, so must congregations and church leaders. Compassion, not condemnation, is desperately needed, says Messer. But financial resources for education and prevention programs are also urgently required from churches. Messer shows how churches can partner with ecumenical organizations, relief agencies, volunteer mission programs, healthcare programs, and other agencies to engage global AIDS directly and effectively.

In this sequel to Creating a Healthier Church, Richardson employs the same methodology to address the roots of personal issues that may hinder pastors' ability to function effectively as leaders within their congregations, and may in fact cause them deep difficulties. He especially addresses pastors' own families of origin, a major but often hidden component in how they function emotionally in their congregations. When anxiety arises, unresolved familial issues and old family patterns return, often unhelpfully. Richardson explores these patterns, how they operate in church situations, and how pastors can do their own family-of-origin assessment. His volume will become a standard tool for analysis of patterns in ministerial behavior and developing strong personal effectiveness.

Williams's important work argues that taking the New Testament and particularly Galatians 3:28 seriously should lead the black churches to challenge sexism and racism, not only in society at large, but also in African American churches ans denominational bodies as well. Remaining true to the liberating principle of the Bible--the equality of all people before God--which has been used effectively by black churches to address racism, classism, and sexism, dictates addressing oppressive practices in African American and other churches, too. William's argument unfolds first through looking at the biblical picture, especially the figure of Jesus and his ministry and his breaking the social barriers of his day. It then shows how African American Christians have historically appropriated this lens and legacy in their own religious and social experience, and finally shows how this vision pertains to the state of black women in the churches today. A thoughtful work, Williams's book will help all Christian churches reappropriate the "magna carta of the Christian movement for today and serve as a model for how the biblical text can be responsibly employed in the churches and the public arena.

Readers: General readers (college level); college, university, and seminary students; church discussion groups

Readers: College, university, and seminary students; scholars of theology, ethics, and bioethics

This timeless little classic communicates essential teachings of Martin Luther. The subject of Freedom is both timely and poignantly relevant today. For the Christian, this freedom is liberty from sin and death, and the opportunity to serve one's neighbor. Written in a simple style, On Christian Liberty conveys significant spiritual insight into the grace of God and liberating faith in Christ Jesus. It is counter-cultural, down-to-earth, and accessible to young adult readers in an inexpensive pocket-sized book.

The Israelites and the Greeks formed "the first free societies, cultivating rain-watered fields around a fortified citadel, recording their words about the human situation in a widely-accessible alphabetic script." With a keen eye for both comparisons and contrasts, John Pairman Brown investigates relationships between ancient Israel and Greece. In this intriguing and engaging work, he addresses historical, religious, linguistic, and cultural connections between these Mediterranean cultures. With erudition and humility, the author illuminates both Israelite and Greek writings and cultures. He brings a vast knowledge of the ancient Mediterranean and its languages to these studies, which will startle and entice the reader back to the ancient texts.