Craig L. Nessan

A Fundamental Practical Theology

“The most concerted account yet of how the churches' practice might organize theological inquiry as a whole. Browning has opened up important lines of inquiry that merit further investigation.”

A Witness

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“Theodicy and martyrdom! Theodicy: Why do bad things happen to good people--each precious one killed by the earthquake, including a young man with an exquisite soul named Ben? Martyrdom: Witness to Jesus Christ--not only in dying, but in living by thin prayer and fragile hope in God's promise beyond all theodicy!”

Amending the Christian Story

Science & Faith

“Rude challenges us to amend theology through consequential integration of cosmic and evolutionary science. . . . Reimagining the Christian narrative through the lens of Abel and Cain, we must abandon broken symbols of original sin and atonement to recenter God’s mission on the sustainability of creation.”

Befriend

Work, Money & Leadership

“Jana Struková weaves together family narratives, wisdom about nonprofit development, and spiritual depth in this marvelous contribution to leadership literature. Deeply informed by trinitarian theology and the friendship of Jesus, the book elegantly translates these into practices for befriending others in holistic care. The vocation of restoring hope to community draws upon one’s own healing to build healing connections with others. This is what diaconal love looks like.”

Church and Ethical Responsibility in the Midst of World Economy

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“Chung creatively constructs a usable theological tradition to challenge the assumption of the economic status quo as our inevitable future, integrating interreligious and cross-disciplinary resources in the struggle. How can the ecumenical church serve as leaven for imagining and implementing alternatives to global business as usual?”

Church in Motion

Evangelism & Missions

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Cleansed Lepers, Cleansed Hearts

Biblical Studies & Commentaries

“Dr. Shellberg’s thesis, with its careful linking of leprosy, acceptability, and cleansing in Luke–Acts, breaks new ground in the discussion of the formation of early Christian identity. This book is a must-read for everyone interested in the process whereby early Christian communities reshaped their identities to proclaim the inclusion of Gentiles through God’s divine power and prerogative.” —Gwen Sayler Wartburg Theological Seminary “Pay attention to this emerging scholar and impassioned teacher! Pamela Shellberg writes with confidence and joy, plus she has something worthwhile to say. Adroitly bringing together the exegete’s skills, the poet’s imagination, and the theologian’s inquisitiveness, she opens up—beautifully, insightfully—how Luke, in confronting the division between Jew and Gentile, uses the cleansing of the leprosy-afflicted body to signal God’s boundary-bursting redefinition of holiness and ever-expansive love for all creation.” —Marvin M. Ellison Union Theological Seminary “Beautifully written and rich in theological significance, Shellberg’s work explores the seldom investigated cleansing theme from Luke-Acts, which served to authorize the legitimacy of mission to the Gentiles as an expression of divine power and prerogative for their authentic inclusion as God’s acceptable people.”

Contrast Community

Bible Studies & Devotionals

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Daughters of Teutobod

Fiction

“A page turner with a purpose! In this novel, Kurt Hansen weaves together a testament to the resilience of women and their strength to overcome. The narrative propels the reader through dramatic storytelling, with surprises just around the corner. Take and read!”

Dignity, Dogmatism, and Same-Sex Relationships

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“Readers will be deeply grateful to Gilbert Rossing for venturing this intellectual quest to understand homosexuality both scientifically and spiritually. This book provides clear categories for comprehending sexual identity and gender connectivity as dimensions of human being. His interpretation of the biblical and theological material dismantles stereotypes and constructs compelling ethical arguments for sexual intimacy. The sharing of personal narrative lends the entire project authenticity and makes the case compelling.”

Divine Becoming

Theology

“Divine Becoming is a beautifully articulated and carefully reasoned book, conversant with the classical theological tradition. Charlene Burns creatively incorporates interdisciplinary research into the human phenomena of entrainment, attunement, and altruism to interpret the meaning of incarnation. Where divine empathy meets the human capacity for self-transcendence on behalf of others, there deification occurs like unto Jesus.”

From Survival to Vocation

Christian Living

“In traumatic, fearful times when public discourse gives license to narcissism and sows a culture of death, Wayne Menking calls things what they are under the sign of the cross. The God of life now beckons us to reset. Through these pastoral and prophetic reflections on Luther’s Catechisms, we recur to ancient wisdom: worshiping God above things, living sacramentally, and serving vulnerable neighbors.”

Hermeneutical Theology and the Imperative of Public Ethics

Theology

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Holy Things

Preaching & Worship

“Gordon Lathrop has given the church an exquisite gift. In a time when there is much casual and thoughtless disregard for liturgy in the attempt to attract customers, Holy Things returns us to the rich and historic foundations of Christian worship which have the depth and power to effect the transformation we long for in the church.”

Interrogating the Language of “Self” and “Other” in the History of Modern Christian Mission

Evangelism & Missions

Foreword

(wrote the foreword)

Joyful Defiance

Christian Living

“Life is saturated with cause for lament. Let us count the ways! How do we ground our lives in joy when reasons for lament are so palpable? Anna Madsen risks joyful defiance as a way of life, not an ephemeral feeling. This book invites readers to journey toward joy in Christ Jesus, deeper than passion’s agony and beyond death’s silence.”

Luther's Revolution

Theology

“How was it possible that a man deemed outlaw by the empire and heretic by the papacy could over time become portrayed as a political conservative? Nathan Montover deftly probes the silences in and conventions of Luther research to unveil an alternative figure. Luther's concept of the universal priesthood of all believers, based on careful analysis of his writings, coheres best with a frontal assault on the pope's claims to temporal authority and the dismantling of late medieval political cosmology. Luther emerges from this excellent study as a thoroughly political, prophetic, and revolutionary Christian engaged in the struggle for liberation, drawing radical political consequences from foundational theological claims.”

Ministry with Persons with Mental Illness and Their Families, Second Edition

Counseling, Grief & Mental Health

“This handbook on ministry with those affected by mental illness should be accessible to every pastor. The case-study approach is compelling. The author credentials are impeccable. The wisdom for ministry is invaluable. When we consider all those suffering from depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, autism, childhood aggression, dementia, and other conditions here discussed, it has significance for every congregation.”

Moral Issues and Christian Responses

Ethics, Culture & Social Issues

“As current as it is reliable, this text immerses readers in the careful deliberation of moral dilemmas by challenging them to articulate their own well-reflected perspectives on the burning issues of our time. Sacrificing neither guiding orientation nor the complexity of the topics, the editors are masters of pedagogy in the art of ethical deliberation.”

Moving Beyond

Theology

“In the struggle against false gods, unjust power, and mammon worship, Karen Bloomquist conjures a new spirit of ‘transformative theologizing.’ Reflecting on her theological journey with Dorothee Soelle and the global church, she advocates a new genre of theological engagement, improvisational and deeply contextual, like unto the praxis of Jesus. Moving beyond fear and polarized binaries, this book discovers hope in revitalizing grassroots democracy and solidarity with neighbors through emergent practices of diakonia.”