Kristen Deede Johnson
Biography
Kristen Deede Johnson co-wrote The Justice Calling with Bethany H. Hoang.
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15 New Testament Words of Life
Theology
“Into a parched landscape, Nijay Gupta offers these refreshing words of life. Beautifully written, his reflections on each word invite us to consider anew concepts that are central to our Scriptures and to our daily life with God. With the need for deep Christian formation apparent all around us, Gupta invites us not only to think more faithfully about these words but to live them. This book will find wide use in the classroom, in churches, and in the lives of disciples young and old who want their faith to shape their lives as they are seeking the good of the world.”
“What a rich work that encourages deep discipleship, as Tish Harrison Warren invites us to remember that learning to wait with hope is central to following Jesus Christ. In this world where darkness often seems stronger than light, Warren reminds us that throughout the centuries Advent has been a time to look honestly at the darkness while attending to the light of Christ, our true hope. In this cultural moment marked by impatience, this book encourages us to receive Advent as a training in patience and hope. Christians who have long practiced Advent and those who might be considering it for the first time will find in this volume a beautiful and timely invitation to embrace it as a means of grace.”
Christian Living
“We have so often focused our attention on millennials and the church while failing to attend to the significant realities surrounding discipleship in midlife. In this gem of a book, Michelle Van Loon issues an important wake-up call to the church to cultivate and support lifelong discipleship as she invites us to consider the particular issues being navigated by those in midlife. A powerful antidote to formulaic and quick-fix discipleship, Becoming Sage is a must-read for all in ministry and all in midlife as it calls us to nourish slow-growth disciples who can bear fruit in each season of life.”
Theology
“Looking to Abraham Kuyper as a guide who can help us navigate the complexities of this cultural and political moment, this timely volume provides an accessible introduction to Kuyper's thought as it probes ways that we can continue to learn from Kuyper's contributions. Each essay, from one among an exceptional lineup of contributors, invites us to consider what faithful Christian engagement looks like in such important areas as politics, science, and the arts. These essays not only mine the wisdom of Kuyper's thought from the past, but they urge us to imagine what it means that God is renewing and redeeming all things today. This volume will be of interest to all who believe that the gospel involves both personal devotion and public engagement.”
Christian Hospitality and Muslim Immigration in an Age of Fear
Ethics, Culture & Social Issues
“While engaging lived realities and introducing us to actual people impacted by those lived realities, Matthew Kaemingk provides a compelling vision for Christian faith to serve as a bridge, not a barrier, to loving the many different neighbors we live alongside within our contemporary pluralistic context. This extraordinary book is of tremendous import for the big questions the church needs to ask in this complex cultural moment; at the same time it affirms the significance of the small, daily ways Christians can love their neighbors through their regular lives and callings. I wish all Western Christians would engage with Kaemingk’s exceptionally readable and timely book as they wrestle with what it means to be a Christian called to love with generous hospitality in our pluralistic culture.”
Five Things Theologians Wish Biblical Scholars Knew
Theology
“In this slim but rich volume, Hans Boersma invites us to consider Christ as not just the climax of the biblical story but the starting point and goal of our engagement with the Bible. He beautifully reminds us that we engage with the Scriptures to find Christ and to be drawn further into the love of God in Christ. Provocatively suggesting that our efforts to elevate the Bible often end up devaluing it, he challenges us to wrestle with many notions that we today take for granted. While a quick read, the questions he raises and the theological vision he casts for our biblical engagement will long stay with you.”
Theology
“This is a timely work with which theologians across the spectrum need to contend--and there will be some contention. Volf and Croasmun mince no words in calling contemporary theologians to task for neglecting to offer theology that matters for the world. They want to persuade us that theologians have a calling to fulfill and they want to see theologians begin to fulfill this calling, now. Along the way they offer incisive analysis on how the conditions of contemporary Western culture affect our lives, our universities, our churches, our very ability to find meaning. I would have loved to have a book like this to expand my imagination for what theology could be as I was first discovering theology; I'm grateful to have it now.”
Theology
“We have needed this book for years, and at long last we have it--a generous, thoughtful, accessible introduction to the Reformed tradition. In this exceptionally well-written book by three 'converts,' we see the beauty of Reformed theology without overlooking its shadow side. Generously Reformed invites all Christians--not just those with Reformed inclinations--to consider how they inhabit their faith in relation to the wider beliefs and traditions of Christianity writ large. For that reason, this book is a must-read for Christians today. As those in ministry grapple with how to encourage deep roots in this complex time, as those in theological education wonder how to help their students become more grounded in their faith, as all of us seek to be rooted in Christ and bear fruit in this world, this book will be a good and trustworthy guide.”
Theology
“A powerful, practical, and grace-filled vision of discipleship that our local churches today desperately need.”
Prayer & Spiritual Formation
“This winsomely written and impeccably researched book is for all who care about what it means to live the Christian life. Combing through unpublished papers, manuscripts, and letters, and engaging with Dallas Willard's philosophical works alongside his more popular writings, this book offers the most nuanced and comprehensive view of Willard's formational theology yet published, helping us see even more fully the invaluable contribution Willard has made to the understanding and practice of Christian formation. Through the lens of Willard's work, it invites us to put to rest false dichotomies between discipleship and mission to consider how God forms us into Christlikeness so that we can embody our calling as Christians in this world. In the midst of today's crisis in Christian formation, this book could not be more timely or important.”
Life Questions Every Student Asks
Christian Living
“To have within a single volume twelve different experts, whose own lives and callings have been indelibly shaped by their Christian faith, winsomely and honestly translate their expertise into practical wisdom for following Jesus in the contours, struggles, and questions of everyday life—the result is a pearl of great price, one book worth innumerable other books. I can think of so many Christians navigating the very present questions and challenges that arise over the course of life, from confronting suffering to figuring out if church really matters to engaging in activism, who I would want to benefit from the wisdom of this book. The importance of the topics that are engaged, the ways those topics are shaped by the real-life experiences of those writing, and the clear compassion that permeates the engagement combine together to make this a must-read book for college students, twenty- and thirtysomethings, and those well beyond.”
Biblical Studies & Commentaries
“Christians are formed through Scripture to be literate citizens of the gospel who bear witness to the light of Christ in the world as they are transfigured into the likeness of Christ. This clarion call is a must-read for pastors, seminary professors and administrators, and all who care about deep Christian formation.”
Theology
“An eloquent and compelling exploration of the reality of God's grace in Christ Jesus, this book is a must-read for anyone who wants to grapple with the full extent of what Jesus' humanity means for our humanity, our discipleship, our prayers, and our proclamation of the gospel . . . In the process, he shows us that we can fully, freely, and joyfully respond to God because we are God's beloved children, thanks to the mediating role of Christ and the gift of the Spirit. This is theology at once profoundly gracious and immensely practical.”
Bible Studies & Devotionals
“This is a book for which I've been longing—a biblically rooted, theologically rich, warm and engaging invitation into the Christian faith that I will without a doubt use in my own home, share with my church and children's minister, and incorporate into my teachings on the importance of creative, thoughtful contemporary catechesis. Stephen Schaffer joins a larger movement of Christians exploring what wisdom we can glean from those who’ve gone before us in the faith. With this devotion, he offers the classic wisdom of the Heidelberg Catechism in a form that, by God’s grace, can and will bear real fruit today.”
Church Leadership & Ministry
“Drawing on years as a scholar of Paul, in this book Tim Gombis translates and applies his scholarship to contemporary pastoral realities, shaped by his own decades of ministry involvement. The result is a goldmine of biblical and practical wisdom. In an age filled with pressures towards image cultivation, platform building, and power hoarding, Gombis offers a powerful biblical corrective: the call to lead is actually a call to cruciform ministry. This is Pauline wisdom the church today urgently needs to hear. I hope this book shapes the pastoral imagination of every current pastor and seminary student.”
Theology
“This book offers a real contribution to the wider landscape of public theology. It is also a page-turner! Engaging many of today's lived and complex realities through the lens of the Reformed faith, this volume has wisdom to offer Christians from every tradition as well as concerned citizens of the world. I hope it is read far and wide.”
ReSourcing Theological Anthropology
Theology
“Over the course of this extraordinary book, Marc Cortez engages some of the biggest questions of today while remaining thoroughly rooted in Scripture and tradition. He develops his constructive contribution to theological anthropology in conversation with an impressively wide range of contemporary voices. While never compromising his engagement with high-level thought, his book is exceptionably accessible and readable. Every Christian needs to wrestle with the questions engaged in this book: What does it mean to be human? How does Jesus Christ help us understand who we are? What does it mean to be made in the image of God? How does Jesus Christ help us understand gender and sexuality? What does Jesus Christ contribute to our conceptions of race and ethnicity today? And as they wrestle with these questions, they could have no better guide than Marc Cortez.”
Preaching & Worship
“What an extraordinary volume with its invitation into rude praise—as surprising as it is necessary. God invites us to be absolutely honest in our prayers, and this exceptional group of preachers helps us to wrestle with, and then to accept, God’s invitation. As they probe some of the harsh and honest words of the Bible, the words of these sermons give us permission to embrace the biblical tradition of rude praise for ourselves and in our time. With endless reasons for lament and anger, for grief and despair swirling around us, this volume offers a pathway forward in prayer that we all need.”
Preaching & Worship
“This is a gem of a book. A gem because it is rare: part devotion, part reflective essay, a combination of deep biblical and theological wisdom, wise conversation partners, and cultural engagement. And also a gem because its content deserves to be mined and treasured as we seek to follow Jesus in this complex cultural and political moment. Constructively building on other recent efforts to retrieve the liturgical calendar as a part of the re-formation of our Christian imaginations, faithful engagement with this book will surely help its readers orient their lives around the Son in this secular, pluralistic age.”
Theology
“I have literally been waiting for years for this book—a book that explores in depth what the sanctification of Jesus Christ means for the sanctification of humanity. In this excellent, accessible, and innovative work, Jeff McSwain carefully examines how Karl Barth reappropriates the classic doctrine simul iustus et peccator while also creatively imagining ways Barth’s understanding could enliven the life and ministry of the church today. This is a beautiful contribution to the growing theological literature on sanctification and discipleship.”
NOTE: Only includes books currently in our catalog; not necessarily a complete list.
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