James Smith
Showing 13–23 of 23 results
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Kingdom And The Cross
$16.00Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
We believe a lot of false narratives about the nature of God, things like “God helps those who help themselves”; “God blesses the righteous”; “God might not be out for your good, and you might be missing something.” But pastor and professor James Bryan Smith points us to the truth of who God is, revealed by Jesus: A God who loves to help the helpless. A God who doesn’t play favorites, whether righteous or unrighteous. A God who is, in his essence, self-sacrificing–even to death–to save a people he loves. In six short chapters, The Kingdom and the Cross zooms in on Christ’s work on the cross and what it all means about who God is and how we’re to live as his people. A soul training exercise is included for each chapter to help the new true narrative take root in our hearts. And a discussion guide at the end makes this complement to The Apprentice Series perfect for groups to work through together, especially during the season of Lent. Understanding Christ’s work on the cross is crucial for any apprentice of Jesus. Here is a resource to help you see–and believe–more fully, that you might live more faithfully in his kingdom.
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Letters To A Young Calvinist (Reprinted)
$16.00Add to cartWho would have guessed that something as austere as Calvinism would become a hot topic in today’s postmodern culture? At the 500th anniversary of John Calvin’s birth, new generations have discovered and embraced a “New Calvinism,” finding in the Reformed tradition a rich theological vision. In fact, Time cited New Calvinism as one of “10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now.” This book provides pastoral and theological counsel, inviting converts to this tradition to find in Calvin a vision that’s even bigger than the New Calvinism might suggest. Offering wisdom at the intersection of theology and culture, noted Reformed philosopher James K. A. Smith also provides pastoral caution about pride and maturity. The creative letter format invites young Calvinists into a faithful conversation that reaches back to Paul and Augustine, through Calvin and Edwards, extending to Kuyper and Wolterstorff. Together they sketch a comprehensive vision of Calvinism that is generous, winsome, and imaginative.
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Good And Beautiful Community
$27.00Add to cartIntroduction
1 The Peculiar Community
Soul Training: Two-by-Four
2 The Hopeful Community
Soul Training: Sharing Your Faith
3 The Serving Community
Soul Training: Treasuring Our Treasures
4 The Christ-Centered Community
Soul Training: Loving Those We Disagree With
5 The Reconciling Community
Soul Training: Experiencing Reconciliation
6 The Encouraging Community
Soul Training: Finding An Accountability Friend
7 The Generous Community
Soul Training: Stewardship Of Resources
8 The Worshiping Community
Soul Training: Worship
9 Writing A Rule For Life And Living In Community
Appendix: Small Group Discussion Guide
Notes
AcknowledgmentsAdditional Info
In his third and final book in the Apprentice Series, James Bryan Smith helps us know how to live in relationship with others as apprentices of Jesus. “Apprentices of Jesus are not part-time do-gooders,” he writes. “They live in continuous contact with the kingdom of God, and are constantly men and women in whom Christ dwells. They do not sometimes tell the truth, sometimes live sacrificially or sometimes forgive. There are myriad opportunities for us to impact the world in which we live.” Yet many times we’ve gotten it wrong, tending to emphasize personal faith over social justice or vice versa. In these pages Jim Smith shows us how to bring spiritual formation and community engagement together, and then once again offers spiritual practices that root new, true narratives about God and the world in our souls. His insight and humility as a fellow learner with us will lead us to live in authentic ways as a good and beautiful community of Christ-followers, shining the light of the Spirit into every relationship. -
Beyond Pentecostalism : Crisis Of Global Christianity And The Renewal Of Th
$35.99Add to cartAt the beginning of the twenty-first century, Christianity faces one of its greatest opportunities as well as one of its greatest challenges – the formulation of a global theology. In Beyond Pentecostalism Wolfgang Vondey argues that Pentecostal thought and praxis represent an indispensable catalyst for the realization of this task.
Accentuating Pentecostalism as a manifestation of what he calls the crisis of global Christianity, Vondey describes the elements of this crisis – manifested chiefly in theology’s turn toward a performance-oriented enterprise – and suggests that the task of overcoming the crisis demands an integration of Pentecostalism in the global theological agenda. This task will inevitably push Christianity beyond the boundaries of the classical Pentecostal tradition. In fact, Vondey suggests, Pentecostalism itself is in the process of going beyond its own historical, theological, sociocultural, and institutional boundaries.
Informing Vondey’s study throughout is the provocative metaphor of theology with Pentecostal resources as closer to “play” than to “performance.” He therefore engages the social sciences, psychology, philosophy, and ritual and cultural studies as major dialogue partners in developing the theological task for both the Pentecostal and the broader ecumenical global community. Vondey’s goal is not a “pentecostalization” of Christianity but rather a renewal of the theological landscape in light of the significance of Pentecostal voices, thoughts, and practices worldwide.
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Justified In The Spirit
$35.99Add to cartA pneumatological, Pentecostal-friendly theology of justification by faith – broadly Trinitarian, ecclesiological, and eschatological in orientation
The classic debate on justification by grace through faith has historically been limited to the question of whether justification is the reception of forgiveness by faith alone (classically Protestant) or the personal transformation that occurs as we cooperate with grace (traditionally Catholic). While some more recent ecumenical discussions have sought to link the two, many of these efforts have been criticized as patchwork solutions that do not develop precisely how forgiveness and personal transformation via grace find integration under the larger notion of the justification of the sinner. Frank Macchia here seeks to fill that lacuna.
Inspired by the typically Pentecostal accent on the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, Justified in the Spirit sets both Protestant and Catholic views within a larger framework, namely, the Spirit of Life as the realm of God’s favor. Since the Holy Spirit is the power of love and communion within the Trinity and between us and God, a pneumatological accent ultimately locates the justification of the sinner within the embrace of the Triune God as a communion of persons. Therefore, the Christological, eccelesiological, social, and ecological implications of justification can be fruitfully developed from the broad spaces of this Trinitarian communion.
In identifying divine favor with the realm of the Holy Spirit, Macchia here constructs a unique pneumatological theology of justification by faith that is broadly Trinitarian, ecclesiological, and eschatological in orientation.
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Thinking In Tongues
$22.99Add to cartIn this inaugural volume of the groundbreaking, cutting-edge Pentecostal Manifestos series, James K. A. Smith offers considered advice to pentecostal philosophers and, even more, pertinent pentecostal advice to Christian philosophers.
Maintaining that implicit in pentecostal and charismatic spirituality is a tacit worldview or “social imaginary,” Smith unpacks and articulates the key elements of this pentecostal worldview and then explores their implications for philosophical reflection on ontology, epistemology, aesthetics, language, science, and philosophy of religion. In each case, Smith demonstrates how the wisdom of pentecostal spirituality makes unique contributions to current conversations in Christian philosophy.
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Good And Beautiful Life
$27.00Add to cartIntroduction
How To Get The Most Out Of This Book
1 An Invitation To The Good Life
Soul Training: Writing A Letter To God
2 Getting Heaven In Us
Soul Training: Play
3 An Invitation To Blessedness
Soul Training: Hospitality
4 Learning To Live Without Anger
Soul Training: Keeping The Sabbath
5 Learning To Live Without Lust
Soul Training: Media Fast
6 Learning To Live Without Lying
Soul Training: Silence
7 Learning To Bless Those Who Curse Us
Soul Training: Praying For The Success Of Competitors
8 Learning To Live Without Vainglory
Soul Training: Secret Service
9 Learning To Live Without Avarice
Soul Training: Deaccumulation
10 Learning To Live Without Worry
Soul Training: Prayer
11 Learning To Live Without Judging Others
Soul Training: A Day Without Gossip
12 Living In The Kingdom Day By Day
Soul Training: Living One Day DevotionallyAppendix: Small Group Discussion Guide
Notes
AcknowledgmentsAdditional Info
James Bryan Smith believes we have bought into false notions of happiness and success. We find ourselves caught up in self-serving decisions that lead us further into the vices that cause ruin: anger, lust, lying, worry and judging. In this follow up to his first book, The Good and Beautiful God, Smith traces through the Sermon on the Mount and helps us look behind these sins to replace our false beliefs with Jesus’ naratives about life in the kingdom of God. -
Politics Of Discipleship
$32.00Add to cartIn this fourth volume in the Church and Postmodern Culture series, internationally acclaimed theologian Graham Ward examines the political side of postmodernism in order to discern the contemporary context of the church and describe the characteristics of a faithful, political discipleship. His study falls neatly into two sections. The first, which is the more theoretical section, considers “the signs of the times.” Ward names this section “The World,” noting that the church must always frame its vision and mission within its worldly context. In the second section, “The Church,” he turns to constructive application, providing an account of the Christian practices of hope that engage the world from within yet always act as messengers of God’s kingdom.
Ward’s study accomplishes two related goals. First, he provides an accessible guide to contemporary postmodernism and its wide-ranging implications. Second, he elaborates a discipleship that informs a faith seeking understanding, which Ward describes as “the substance of the church’s political life.”
Ward is well known for his thoughtful engagement with postmodernism and contemporary critical theology. Here he provides a broader audience with an engaging account of the inherently political nature of postmodernity and thoughts on what it means to live the Christian faith within that setting.
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Desiring The Kingdom (Reprinted)
$26.99Add to cartPhilosopher James K. A. Smith embarks on a journey to reshape the whole notion of Christian education in Desiring the Kingdom. This text is the first of three volumes that will ultimately provide a comprehensive theology of culture. The entire set will address crucial concerns in ontology, anthropology, epistemology, and political philosophy. Desiring the Kingdom focuses on the themes of liturgy and desire. The author contends–as did Augustine–that human beings are “desiring agents”; in other words, we are what we love. Postmodern culture is saturated with liturgy, but in places such as malls, stadiums, and universities. While these structures influence us, they do not point us to the best of ends. Smith aims to recover a worldview based on counter-formation to these secular liturgies. His ultimate purpose is to re-vision Christian education as a formative process and redirect us to the summum bonum (the highest good)–namely, God himself. Desiring the Kingdom will reach a wide audience; professors and students in courses on theology, culture, philosophy, and worldview will welcome this contribution. Pastors, ministers, and other church leaders will appreciate Desiring the Kingdom as well.
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Good And Beautiful God
$27.00Add to cartIntroduction
How To Get The Most Out Of This Book
1. What Are You Seeking?
Soul Training: Sleep
2. God Is Good
Soul Training:Silence And Awareness Of Creation
3. God Is Trustworthy
Soul Training: Counting Your Blessings
4. God Is Generous
Soul Training: Praying Psalm 23
5. God Is Love
Soul Training: Lectio Divina
6. God Is Holy
Soul Training: Margin
7. God Is Self-Sacrificing
Soul Training; Reading The Gospel Of John
8. God Transforms
Soul Training: Solitude
9. How To Make A Pickle
Soul Training: Slowing Down
Appendix: Small Group Discussion Guide
Notes
AcknowledgmentsAdditional Info
Turning to the Gospels, James Bryan Smith invites you to put your ideas about God to the test to see if they match up with what Jesus himself reveals about his Father. Once you’ve discovered the truth in Scripture, Smith leads you through a process of spiritual formation that includes specific activities aimed at making these new narratives real in your body and soul as well as your mind. -
Whos Afraid Of Postmodernism (Reprinted)
$22.00Add to cartThe philosophies of French thinkers Derrida, Lyotard, and Foucault form the basis for postmodern thought and are seemingly at odds with the Christian faith. However, James K. A. Smith claims that their ideas have been misinterpreted and actually have a deep affinity with central Christian claims. Each chapter opens with an illustration from a recent movie and concludes with a case study considering recent developments in the church that have attempted to respond to the postmodern condition, such as the ”emerging church” movement. These case studies provide a concrete picture of how postmodern ideas can influence the way Christians think and worship. This significant book avoids philosophical jargon and offers fuller explanation where needed. It is the first book in the Church and Postmodern Culture series, which provides practical applications for Christians engaged in ministry in a postmodern world.