Bücher der Reihe House of Prisca & Aquila

Joy Through the Night uniquely combines personal experience and scholarship in order that readers may face the most difficult questions Christians can ask: If God is good and all-powerful, how can the world be so shot through with evil? What about the pain of so many children and other innocent people? And why is God letting me hurt so much, so long?Aida and William Spencer draw on the suffering they have faced--including chronic disease and the untimely death of a sibling--to ask these questions on a practical, down-to-earth level. But they also draw on their extensive theological training and ministry experience to present biblical resources for dealing with suffering.In the end, this is a book both realistic and hopeful, offering reassurance that even in the midst of pain we can know joy as we learn to rely on God and the communal care of the church. It will prove a valuable aid to those who minister to them.Aida Besancon Spencer is Professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and author of Beyond the Curse. Her spouse, William David Spencer, is a pastor, Adjunct Associate Professor of Theology and the Arts at Gordon-Conwell, and author of Mysterium and Mystery.

Domestic abuse is a horror. It lurks beneath the surface of our collective existence, sometimes raising its ugly head where least expected-in the church or within families of faith. Are we-individually or collectively-ready to respond? What can, or should, congregations and their pastoral leaders do? And, as we survey the Christian landscape across the United States and Canada, are we as the community of faith stepping up to the challenge presented by violence in the family?There is no easy answer to the problems that surface when abuse impacts the Christian family. But each of the authors contributing to this volume believes fervently that it is imperative that followers of Jesus and their spiritual shepherds respond to the cries for help. To respond well necessitates both knowledge and a willingness to act.This book is here to help. It represents a collective effort to bring all of us a step farther in our journey of walking with Christ over a sea of troubled waters. None of us know as much as we should, but all of us can learn from one another. Throughout the collection we provide an opportunity to examine a diversity of perspectives, with the hope that each will in some way advance our understanding of the complexity of domestic violence issues in our midst-within our churches and the communities where our churches minister.Nancy Nason-Clark is Professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Canada. She is the author of many books including, The Battered Wife: How Christians Confront Family Violence (1997), No Place for Abuse: Biblical and Practical Resources to Counteract Domestic Violence (2nd edition, 2010; with Catherine Clark Kroeger), and Refuge from Abuse: Hope and Healing for Abused Religious Women (2004; with Catherine Clark Kroeger). Catherine Clark Kroeger was Adjunct Associate Professor of Classical and Ministry Studies at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. With James Beck she edited Women, Abuse, and the Bible (1996), and with Mary Evans she edited the IVP Women's Bible Commentary (2002). She is a co-founder of Christians for Biblical Equality, and with her late husband Richard Kroeger, she wrote I Suffer Not a Woman (1992).Barbara Fisher-Townsend is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of New Brunswick in Fredericton, Canada. Since 2005 she has been involved in the Lilly funded RAVE Project. She co-edited Beyond Abuse in the Christian Home: Raising Voices for Change (2008). At present, she is working on a co-authored book manuscript with Nancy Nason-Clark on religious men who act abusively.

Do the little things we do and say really make a difference in the lives of others? Some Men Are Our Heroes answers this question with a resounding "yes" as eight accomplished Christian women tell the stories of the men in their lives who helped them achieve remarkable things for God's kingdom. These touching stories of women from around the world and the fathers, husbands, brothers, pastors, colleagues, and friends who encouraged, strengthened, and challenged them along their life journeys will warm the hearts of women and men alike.

Description:Creative Ways to Build Christian Community is exactly what its title says it is: a very personal, practical response to the present and future prospect of isolation, a treasure trove of examples and suggestions about how to accomplish the Great Commission from community builders telling how, over the years and the ministries, they have implemented creative ways to build up churches and organizations to develop more intensive Christian fellowship and, thereby, create community. --Dr. William David SpencerEndorsements:""Creative Ways to Build Christian Community invites the reader to remember and act on the foundational need of the church to build community. Such a need may seem obvious, but too many of us today do not give community-building the attention and recognition it deserves. This is a delightful, homey, practical, and personal presentation of how community is encouraged through special meetings, meals, the arts, and prayer in the church and outside it. . . . This book is a banquet of approaches to foster the church as a nourishing, active Christian community; Christ himself invites us to the Supper.""--Aída Besançon Spencer, Professor of New Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological SeminaryAbout the Contributor(s):Jeanne C. DeFazio holds a MA in Religion from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. She is currently an Athanasian Teaching Scholar at Gordon-Conwell''s Center for Urban Ministerial Education, in Boston and a coauthor, with Teresa Flowers, of How to Have an Attitude of Gratitude on the Night Shift (2011).John P. Lathrop holds a MA in Urban Ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is an ordained minister with the International Fellowship of Christian Assemblies and author of four books: Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, and Teachers Then and Now (2008); The Power and Practice of the Church: God, Discipleship, and Ministry (2010); Answer the Prayer of Jesus: A Call for Biblical Unity (2011); and Dreams & Visions: Divine Interventions in Human Experience (2012).