REL 255: Spiritual Formation for Ministry

New Monasticism is a growing movement of committed Christians who are recovering the radical discipleship of monasticism and unearthing a fresh expression of Christianity in America. It's not centered in a traditional monastery--many New Monastics are married with children--but instead its members live radically, settling in abandoned sections of society, committing to community, sharing incomes, serving the poor, and practicing spiritual disciplines.

Evangelicals are increasingly turning their attention toward issues such as the environment, international human rights, economic development, racial reconciliation, and urban renewal. This marks an expansion of the social agenda advanced by the Religious Right over the past few decades. For outsiders to evangelical culture, this trend complicates simplistic stereotypes. For insiders, it brings contention over what "true" evangelicalism means today. The New Evangelical Social Engagement brings together an impressive interdisciplinary team of scholars to map this new religious terrain and spell out its significance.

This book explores the movements in religious life today, particularly the currents that are emerging among the cohorts of younger religious. After tracing the history of religious life, Amy Hereford examines some of the theological sources for the reinvention of religious life today, and explore how religious life will fit into an emerging church. Book jacket.

Young leaders of the new monastic movement introduce their vision for contemplative life--one that draws from the long traditions of East and West but also seeks an interreligious and "interspiritual" dimension to intentional living in our time. An introduction to the "new monastic movement," offering the authors' intellectual and spiritual reflections on vocation, dialogical conversation, the relationship with traditional religious paths, and the building of intentional communities.

Already with decades of experience speaking prophetically into the charged racial climate of the American south, John Perkins began to see a need for organized thinking and collaborative imagination about how the church engages urban ministry. And so the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) was born, with Wayne Gordon an immediate and enthusiastic participant. Nearly thirty years later CCDA's eight key components of community development still set the bar for how churches, parachurches and nonprofits engage cities with the whole gospel.

Common Prayer helps today's diverse church pray together across traditions and denominations. With an ear to the particulars of how various liturgical traditions pray, and using an advisory team of liturgy experts, the authors have created a tapestry of prayer that celebrates the best of each tradition. The book also includes a unique songbook composed of music and classic lyrics to over fifty songs from various traditions, including African spirituals, traditional hymns, Mennonite gathering songs, and Taize chants.

In this updated 10th Anniversary Edition of Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne uses unconventional examples from his own life to stir up questions about the church and the world, while challenging readers to truly live out their Christian faith. With new material throughout the book and a full new chapter, Shane brings readers up to date on the "revolution" - adding new stories, sharing what his community looks like now, and bringing fresh inspiration to live out this message in practical ways.

Activists Shane Claiborne and Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove show how prayer and action must go together. Their exposition of key Bible passages provides concrete examples of how a life of prayer fuels social engagement and the work of justice. Phrases like "give us this day our daily bread" and "forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" take on new meaning when applied to feeding the hungry or advocating for international debt relief.If you hope to see God change society, you must be an ordinary radical who prays--and then is ready to become the answer to your own prayers.