The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World

The Virtual Body of Christ in a Suffering World

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  • Author: Deanna A. Thompson
  • Publisher: Abingdon Press
  • ISBN: 1501815199
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 131

We live in a wired world where 24/7 digital connectivity is increasingly the norm. Christian megachurch communities often embrace this reality wholeheartedly while more traditional churches often seem hesitant and overwhelmed by the need for an interactive website, a Facebook page and a twitter feed. This book accepts digital connectivity as our reality, but presents a vision of how faith communities can utilize technology to better be the body of Christ to those who are hurting while also helping followers of Christ think critically about the limits of our digital attachments. This book begins with a conversion story of a non-cell phone owning, non-Facebook using religion professor judgmental of the ability of digital tools to enhance relationships. A stage IV cancer diagnosis later, in the midst of being held up by virtual communities of support, a conversion occurs: this religion professor benefits in embodied ways from virtual sources and wants to convert others to the reality that the body of Christ can and does exist virtually and makes embodied difference in the lives of those who are hurting. The book neither uncritically embraces nor rejects the constant digital connectivity present in our lives. Rather it calls on the church to a) recognize ways in which digital social networks already enact the virtual body of Christ; b) tap into and expand how Christ is being experienced virtually; c) embrace thoughtfully the material effects of our new augmented reality, and c) influence utilization of technology that minimizes distraction and maximizes attentiveness toward God and the world God loves.


Glimpsing Resurrection

Glimpsing Resurrection

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  • Author: Deanna Thompson
  • Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
  • ISBN: 1611648823
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 175

In Glimpsing Resurrection, Deanna A. Thompson combines recent trauma research with compelling first-person narrative to provide insight into the traumatic dimensions of living with a serious illness. Her aim is to help those who are ill and those who care for and minister to them deepen their understanding of how best to offer support. “The tendency for Christians to move almost immediately from death to proclamations of new life risks alienating those for whom healing and new life seem out of reach,†says Thompson. Glimpsing Resurrection focuses less on the “why†to help readers instead come to terms with the “how†of living with a serious disease. In particular, Thompson provides a framework and concrete suggestions for how to be a church where those who are undone by illness can be undone, as well as a place that can love and support them to hope.


Crossing the Divide

Crossing the Divide

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  • Author: Deanna A. Thompson
  • Publisher: Fortress Press
  • ISBN: 9781451406290
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 204

Over the last two decades, traditional formulations of the idea of atonement have come under heavy attack from feminist theologians and others. They argue that the traditional view valorizes suffering and encourages people to acquiesce in needless self-sacrificing, that it is unseemly to think of God as demanding suffering of his son, and that the theology of the cross needs to be rethought in light of the whole life, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus. Equally committed to the insights of the theology of the cross and feminist theology, Deanna Thompson takes up these contentious issues here in a creative and nuanced way. Her work emerges from direct engagement with Martin Luther and the Heidelberg Disputation as well as with the architects of reformist feminism. She finds surprising common ground on issues of suffering, abuse, atonement, reform, ethics, and the import of Jesus, and her book culminates in a constructive and promising feminist theology of the cross.


Hoping for More

Hoping for More

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  • Author: Deanna Thompson
  • Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
  • ISBN: 1621892050
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 166

"We tend to use words like miracle and mystery in the context of serendipity. In this frank and eloquent account of life transformed by cancer, Deanna Thompson explores these articles of faith as they are also wont to appear--on the hard edges of hope and the dark side of joy." --Krista Tippett, from the Foreword Hoping for More is a story of a young religion professor with a stage IV cancer diagnosis and a lousy prognosis for the future. Amid the grief and the grace of her fractured life, this theologian--who is also a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend--searches for words adequate to express her faltering faith. More Anne Lamott meets Harold Kushner than the teller of a pious, God-saved-me-from-cancer tale, Thompson unpacks the messy realities that arise when faith and suffering collide. Told in shimmering prose, Hoping for More takes readers on an unsentimental journey through the valley of the shadow of cancer--beyond the predictable parameters of prayer, the church, even belief in life after death. What emerges is a novel approach to talking faith and accepting grace when hope is all you've got.


Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy

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  • Author: Deanna A. Thompson
  • Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press
  • ISBN: 0664233430
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 290

In this fresh commentary, Deanna A. Thompson makes this important Old Testament book come to life. Recounting God’s foundational relationship with Israel, Deuteronomy is set in the form of Moses’ speeches to Israel just before entry into the promised land. Its instructions in the form of God’s law provide the structure of the life that God wants for the people of Israel. Although this key Old Testament book is occasionally overlooked by Christians, Deuteronomy serves as an essential passing down to the next generations the fundamentals of faith as well as the parameters of life lived in accord with God’s promises. Thompson provides theological perspectives on these vital themes and shows how they have lasting significance for Christians living in today’s world. Thompson’s sensitivity to the Jewish context and heritage and her insights into Deuteronomy’s importance for Christian communities make this commentary an especially valuable resource for today’s preacher and teacher.


Ministry in the Digital Age

Ministry in the Digital Age

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  • Author: David T. Bourgeois
  • Publisher: InterVarsity Press
  • ISBN: 0830856617
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 145

David Bourgeois offers a step-by-step guide for discerning and implementing a digital strategy in your ministry. Presenting Christianity itself as a grand communication event, he helps Christians see that the advent of electronic media is truly good news for the world.


What God Has to Say about Our Bodies

What God Has to Say about Our Bodies

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  • Author: Sam Allberry
  • Publisher: Crossway
  • ISBN: 1433570181
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 191

"God's eternal plan for us involves our body. We can't write off our physical life as spiritually irrelevant." — Sam Allberry There's a danger in focusing too much on the body. There's also a danger in not valuing it enough. In fact, the Bible has lots to say about the body. With the coming of Jesus, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us"—flesh that was pierced and crushed for the sins of the world. In What God Has to Say about Our Bodies, Sam Allberry explains that all of us are fearfully and wonderfully made, and should regard our physicality as a gift. He offers biblical guidance for living, including understanding gender, sexuality, and identity; dealing with aging, illness, and death; and considering the physical future hope that we have in Christ. In this powerfully written book, you'll gain a new understanding for the immeasurable value of our bodies and God's ultimate plan to redeem them.


Church After the Corona Pandemic

Church After the Corona Pandemic

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  • Author: Kyle K. Schiefelbein-Guerrero
  • Publisher: Springer Nature
  • ISBN: 3031237315
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 198

This book explores the church's engagement with worship and theology as a result of the pandemic, especially as it relates to digital worship and the means of grace. Organized around the four-fold pattern of Sunday worship—Gathering, Word, Meal, Sending—this collection of essays provides source material for both theological discernment and practical implementation. Topics include preparing and theologizing worship no matter the modality, engaging the questions of embodiment as related to the incarnation of Christ, and looking at the theology of church in a digital age. Renowned scholars in the field explore how online worship provides for the visibility of the gospel, how to lament and pray in the midst of pandemic and future crises, and how the mission of the church through its worship can continue regardless of physical restrictions. This timely collection appeals to researchers, professionals, and practitioners in the field.


The Cyberdimension

The Cyberdimension

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  • Author: Eric Trozzo
  • Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
  • ISBN: 153265121X
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 278

In 2013, Edward Snowden released a trove of documents revealing the extent of government electronic surveillance. Since then, we have been inundated with reports of vicious malware attacks, election hacking, data breaches, potential cyberwars, fights over Net Neutrality, and fake internet news. Where once discussion of cyberspace was full of hope of incredible potential benefits for humanity and global connection, it has become the domain of fear, anxiety, conflict, and authoritarian impulses. As the cloud of the Net darkens into a storm, are there insights from Christian theology about our online existence? Is the divine present in this phenomenon known as cyberspace? Is it a realm of fear or a realm of hope? In The Cyberdimension, Eric Trozzo engages these questions, seeking not only a theological means of speaking about cyberspace in its ambiguity, but also how the spiritual dimension of life provokes resistance to the reduction of life to what can be calculated. Rather than focusing on the content available online, he looks to the structure of cyberspace itself to find a chastened yet still expectant vision of divinity amidst the political, economic, and social forces at play in the cyber realm.


Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today’s Church

Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today’s Church

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  • Author: John Roberto
  • Publisher: Liturgical Press
  • ISBN: 081466802X
  • Category : Religion
  • Languages : en
  • Pages : 144

Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today's Church is designed for pastors and parish leaders who wish to initiate or enhance their use of digital tools and methods to further their mission and ministries. No matter your level of confidence, comfort, and competency in digital ministry, you will find ideas, strategies, and next steps for you and for your church community. Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today's Church provides concrete ways to create and foster digitally integrated ministry and faith formation, extending the ministry of the local church into online spaces and communities where more and more people gather to nurture, explore, and share their faith today. Digital Ministry and Leadership in Today's Church was created by a team of experienced leaders who bring years of experience in utilizing digital tools, methods, and media in church life and especially faith formation. Margaret Babcock brings a special focus and experience in curation and website development for a Catholic diocese. Deanna G. Bartalini is a parish minister and writes about how to use technology to spread the Gospel. Claudia McIvor is the cofounder of Digital Discipleship Boot Camp. Bill Miller brings decades of experience in faith formation at the local and national levels and is an author and spiritual director. John Roberto is an author, teacher, and founder of Lifelong Faith Associates, and he has over a decade of experience in applying digital tools, methods, and media in lifelong faith formation. Tim Welch is an author and has served as the specialist in educational media/technology for a Catholic diocese.