Work Theology

Trendy new missions strategies are a dime a dozen, promising missionaries monumental results in record time. These strategies report explosive movements of people turning to Christ, but their claims are often dubious and they do little to ensure the health of believers or churches that remain. How can churches and missionaries address the urgent need to reach unreached people without falling for quick fixes?

In the sixth volume of the Swans Are Not Silent series, John Piper celebrates the importance of poetic effort by looking at three influential Christians whose words magnificently display a commitment to truth and a love of beauty. Examining the lives of George Herbert, George Whitefield, and C. S. Lewis, Piper helps us appreciate the importance of carefully crafted words by exploring how Christians can use them to testify to God's glory, wonder at his grace, and rejoice in his salvation.

Duane Elmer asked people around the world how they felt about Western missionaries. The response? "Missionaries could be more effective if they did not think they were better than us". The last thing we want to do in cross-cultural ministry is to offend people in other cultures. Unfortunately, all too often and even though we don't mean it, our actions communicate superiority, paternalism, imperialism, and arrogance.

Many young African Americans are disinterested in Christianity and others are leaving the church in search of what these false religious ideas appear to offer, a spirituality more indigenous to their history and ethnicity. Edited by Dr. Eric Mason and featuring a top-notch lineup of contributors, Urban Apologetics is the first book focused entirely on cults, religious groups, and ethnocentric ideologies prevalent in the black community.

In Azusa Street Mission and Revival, Cecil M. Robeck Jr. brings to bear expertise from decades of focused study in church history to reveal the captivating story of the Apostolic Faith Mission in Los Angeles, which became known as the Azusa Street Mission. From humble beginnings with few resources, this small, uniquely diverse, and inclusive congregation led by William J. Seymour ignited a fire that quickly grew into a blaze and spread across the world, giving rise to the global Pentecostal movement.

This illuminating and insightful audiobook analyzes problems with the culture's underlying worldviews and suggests how Christians can offer solutions to current problems as a way to rebuild culture and faith.

Perhaps you feel as if the work you do carries less eternal impact than the work of a pastor or missionary. But that’s not how God sees it. Whatever it looks like day to day, your work is ministry and central to God’s plans to restore fallen creation. As the days of creation reveal, God is quite familiar with work himself. He created humans with unique giftings and interests, specifically so we can pursue his redemptive work in partnership with him. The Word Before Work features 260 passages—one for every workday of the year—to help you see how your work connects to God’s work in the world.

A Concise Guide to the Work of the Trinity and the Doctrine of Inseparable Operations.

At the core of every follower of Jesus exists a priestly DNA, designed by God to be a prominent part of our self-identity. However, like a slow burning ember, our priestly nature risks remaining obscure and inconsequential unless fanned to life. This book was written to be that fan.

Ever since Jesus' commission to make disciples in his name, Christianity has transformed lives and the world at large. To those watching, it must have looked like an upstart religion led by a group of men, most of whom were martyred for their beliefs. The voice of secular culture today is no louder and no more indulgent than it was in those days. And yet much of the Western church has settled for becoming just another mass media market that's adding to the noise, instead of a movement that continues to turn the world upside down.

Ken Boa and Robert Bowman have provided a resource that tackles the most profound arguments from philosophy, science, sociology, psychology, and history...and presents 20 clear, concise, and compelling pieces of evidence that show that faith in God - and specifically Jesus Christ - is reasonable.

How does worship work? How exactly does liturgical formation shape us? What are the dynamics of such transformation? In the second of James K. A. Smith's three-volume theology of culture, the author expands and deepens his analysis of cultural liturgies and Christian worship he developed in his well-received Desiring the Kingdom. He helps us understand and appreciate the bodily basis of habit formation and how liturgical formation—both "secular" and Christian—affects our fundamental orientation to the world.

A Practical Primer on Theological Method is a "how-to" manual for doing theology and a handbook of etiquette for doctrinal discussions with other believers. This popular-level introductory audiobook presents the proper manner, mode, and means of engaging discourse concerning God, his works, and his ways.

The author of The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, R. A. Torrey (1856-1928), was an evangelist and Bible scholar. Considered a Christian classic, this work is a methodical explanation of who the Holy Spirit is and how the Holy Spirit works in the world. Torrey discusses the gifts of the Spirit, the difference between baptism with the Spirit and the filling of the Spirit, and speaking in tongues. Much of the work involves key themes like the promise of the Spirit, and the importance of seeking the Spirit according to scripture.

R.A. Torrey's book The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit holds back no punches when it comes to the glorious and powerful Holy Ghost, the third person of the Trinity. Mr. Torrey discusses the personality of the Holy Spirit, the deity of the Holy Spirit, the controversial baptism of the Holy Spirit and much more. Be encouraged and blessed by this amazing audiobook. Truly it is a gift to the body of Christ as a whole. To God be the glory!

Beginning with the biblical basics, Jeff Lockyer walks listeners through the underlying theology and practical application of how Southridge Community Church has approached ministry for nearly a quarter century. While providing a fresh approach to ministry, the book stimulates how to think - not what to think. It's written by a local church practitioner for local church practitioners.

Nothing shapes how we interpret and apply the Bible as much as our understanding of covenant. Richard Barcellos offers us a helpful blend of biblical exegesis and theological reflection on the implications of covenant theology for God’s relationship with Adam and for the Lord’s day. Though this book’s discussion is framed by debates among Baptist brethren, the issues are of great consequence to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.

In this important work addressing a significant gap in current theological literature, the authors argue that by jettisoning a doctrine of good works, the contemporary church contradicts historical Protestantism and, more importantly, biblical teaching.

Many Christians know they should be passionate about evangelism, but in reality they often find it daunting. In this concise version of God Shines Forth, Daniel Hames and Michael Reeves urge Christians to grow in their knowledge and enjoyment of God—as they know God more, they will be spurred on to authentic service through missions and evangelism. To illustrate how the nature of God influences evangelism and missions, Hames and Reeves address biblical themes such as the glory of God, Christ's sacrifice, the fallenness of man, and the church's future hope.

Do you know how to put your angels to work for you? Most people don't know how to put angels to work, and what you don't know can hinder you. Angels are in the ministry of helps. They minister in many different ways, but they always minister on direct orders from God. They work in line with the Holy Spirit and according to the Bible. Norvel Hayes powerfully writes this handbook on moving into position to allow your angels to minister.