The American evangelical church today faces profound political and cultural challenges. It is vitally important for the church to understand these challenges more fully and to think about them more theologically. It is also important for the church to repent of how we have failed to be the edifying and countercultural influence we ought to be, and craft an approach to public and political life that bears authentic and life-giving witness to who our God is and what he is like. In this book, the author shows how Justin Martyr, a prominent second-century church leader, provides a useful and powerful...

For decades, Christian scholarship has been shaped by worldview approaches that frame faith primarily as an intellectual system. Re-imagining the Kingdom invites a starting point rooted in desire, formation, and the embodied practices that shape the Christian imagination. Chapters explore how Christian scholarship might move beyond worldview approaches to embrace practices that cultivate trust, credibility, relational presence, and spiritual depth. Emerging from a dialogic unconference hosted by the Christianity and Communication Studies Network by the same name, and drawing on the insights of James K. A. Smith, this volume gathers scholars and educators who are rethinking academic life through the...

Going to the Movies with C.S. Lewis is an edited collection exploring the thought and theology of C.S. Lewis as it relates to film and media. Lewis’s insights have had a profound effect on Christian life and thought for almost 80 years, and this book is an attempt to take some of those insights and apply them to film and media studies. It makes connections between Lewis’s work and film theory, specific films, and adaptations of his work. In many ways it is a book meant to explore how Lewis’s thought can help us view films as well as how...

In our rapidly evolving digital landscape, our lives are changed in ways we frequently fail to notice. We work faster and longer, but at what cost? This book explores seven pivotal terms—Authenticity, Buzzfeed, Connectivity, Device, Environment, Instagram, and Productivity—that define our digital interactions and reshape our consciousness. But there’s hope. For each term, Cali introduces a counter-term—Accompaniment, Beauty, Communitas, Dasein, Encounter, Inscape, and Presence—that guides us toward a more balanced and meaningful existence. This journey is both a diagnosis of the digital age's challenges and a practical guide for reclaiming our humanity amidst the noise.

What sets this book apart?...

Stressful. Overwhelming. Too much. If these words describe the tone of your everyday life, it's time for a change. In the midst of a fast-paced world we need strong friends and family relationships more than ever. The digital devices used to connect us often inhibit even the best efforts to communicate effectively, pulling us into more remote exchanges that isolate us rather than bring us together. This book addresses these challenges head-on. With stories from Scripture and real life, the author helps readers find help and inspiration for love and friendship that flourish rather than simply survive.

Since the publication of Mark Noll's The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (1994) and George Marsden's The Outrageous Idea of Christian Scholarship (1997), Christian educators have worked to challenge anti-intellectualism within American evangelicalism and to demonstrate how religious and theological commitments can deepen our understanding of the world. Yet questions remain about the lasting impact of these efforts: How much progress has been made? To what extent does anti-intellectualism still hinder evangelical thought? And what new challenges and opportunities face faith-informed scholars today? From the Outrageous to the Scandalous explores these questions through a rich and wide-ranging collection of essays....

Kipper Kidd and crew help Jennifer and Amy learn that being kind online, and unplugging from time to time, help us stick together. Kids learn how phones can push us apart or pull us together in this primer on using phones responsibly.

Words that Shape Us explores evangelicalism's influence on the nation's cultural and political discourse through the lens of its main independent news publications. Waters delves into the pages of evangelical periodicals that reveal a movement at a crossroads. This book offers an unprecedented look at the internal debates and divergent paths that could redefine the future of American politics and religion. Waters uncovers the widening gap between evangelical elites and those claiming the faith through meticulous analysis of four key independent evangelical publications. From the 2016, 2020, and 2024 Presidential elections to pressing social issues like immigration, racism, and healthcare,...

In this updated and expanded edition, Schultze and invited guests consider the moral and social costs of today's sophisticated technology, arguing that the benefits of a cyberculture can be better appreciated by refocusing on the traditional Judeo-Christian values of discernment, moderation, wisdom, humility, authenticity, and diversity. Contributors reflect on Schultze's original offering --first published more than 20 years ago--and evaluate its arguments in light of today's fast-paced, ever-changing technological landscape. Contributors suggest ways in which Schultze's original arguments and critiques offer continued hope and a clear path forward in digital environs filled with personal and institutional burdens. Theoretical connections between...

In this updated and expanded version of Dr. Spencer's classic offering, we are treated to new insights and expressions of wisdom. Big, colorful virtues like courage and decisiveness in crisis easily get our attention. But sometimes it's those everyday values that shape us much more profoundly. Lost in our noisy, flashy, gaudy world are the quiet virtues that work behind the scenes--molding our character, guiding our actions, enriching our lives. Greg Spencer unfolds the beauty and nature of each, showing us how to take notice of discernment, innocence, generosity, authenticity and more. In this book you'll discover how far from...

In this updated and expanded edition, the author invites professors of communication and media to reflect on each chapter in light of our current cultural challenges and technological advancements over the past two decades. The collection of voices and conversations offer a discerning introduction to communication theory that guides readers through an interesting, creative, and biblical study of communication. Thoroughly grounded in a Christian worldview, Communicating for Life explores the implications of individual human communication and the influence of communication on community.

In the summer of 1864, an entrepreneur built an observation tower just outside the walls of the federal prison at Elmira, New York. He charged 15 cents for citizens to climb the tower and observe the Confederate prisoners below. Ginger cakes and drinks were sold. The venture paid for itself in a matter of weeks. Then winter came. Shortly afterward another observation tower was constructed by another business interest, and competition being what it is, the cost for admission was driven to 10 cents. Business was booming. A generation ago, television entertainment ventured into shock modes regarding outlandish relational turmoil...