Brain-Based Worship


Book Description

A new understanding of learning based on the findings of neuroscience can propel the teaching ministry of the Church to new levels of effectiveness. Neuroscience is offering fresh insight into how humans learn. The resulting teaching paradigmbrain-based learningis plotting a fresh model for teaching that is proving to make teaching more memorable, more applicable, and more likely to result in changed thought and behavior. It is also refusing to relegate learning to the brain as it re-enlists the human body as an instrument of learning. Entrusted with the teaching ministry of Jesus, no one needs to employ brain-based teaching methodology more than those who teach Christ crucified, yet in the course of our prime teaching time, the worship service, we often violate every guideline. This book is written to educate and empower those who plan worship to understand and use brain-based teaching strategies. Paula Champion-Jones is a triple threat. She has been designing creative worship services for years, she has an enormous heart to see Gods church succeed, and now she has the neuroscience to back up how shes invested her own creative gifts. You cannot go wrong by reading this book. It will open your eyes, give you new ideas, make you rethink stuff that needs rethinking...in short, it will teach the most experienced pastors and the most jaded churchgoers to see worship planning in an inspiring new way. I cant wait to assign it to students in my worship class! Laura K. Simmons, Professor of Christian Ministries, George Fox Seminary




Renovated


Book Description

Outreach Magazine’s 2021 Resource of the Year in the Church Category Christianity tends to focus on beliefs and choices as the keys for personal growth. But biblical evidence and modern brain science tell a different story. Combining faith with the latest developments in neuroscience and psychology, Renovated offers a groundbreaking and refreshing perspective of how our attachment to God impacts our minds and hearts. You’ll find that our spiritual growth is about more than just what we believe—it’s about who we love. Drawing from conversations he had with Dallas Willard shortly before Dallas’s death, Jim Wilder shows how we can train our brains to relate to God. Transformative and encouraging, this book offers practical insight for deepening your relationship with God through the wondrous brain and soul that He has given you. “Elegant, clear and bountiful in hope . . . if transformation for yourself and your community is what you seek, I can think of no better place to start.” —Curt Thompson, author of Anatomy of the Soul “Jim Wilder offers genuine hope. He uniquely combines the truth of Scripture with the truth in developing brain science to give us a path of renewal and restoration.” —Dudley Hall, president of Kerygma Ventures “A breakthrough on so many levels. Renovated is a must-read for everyone who is serious about discipling people and seeing life transformation.” —Bob Roberts, pastor and founder of GlocalNet




The Synaptic Gospel


Book Description

In this book, Christopher D. Rodkey asks how the brain worships and responds by engaging ideas from neurological science, philosophy, ritual theory, and religious education. From this exploration, two new paradigms for pastoral ministry emerge. First, Rodkey proposes a “pan-generational” principle, advocating an empathy-based approach for fostering faith communities, a principle that is radically inclusive to all generations. Second, Rodkey argues that worship and religious education should converge to include a shared goal of teaching individuals to “live liturgically.” In The Synaptic Gospel, Rodkey argues that living and thinking liturgically are learned behaviors that may be promoted through pan-generational worship. The book concludes with a special emphasis on practical suggestions for youth ministry. The Synaptic Gospel will prove to be a useful theoretical tool for pastors, religious educators, youth ministers, church music professionals, and seminary students.




Gene Worship


Book Description

The authors criticise the new, genetic explanations for human behaviour. They describe the theory of biology, and the reality in which a gendered world and the women's biology and the consequences are described. In the chapter 'Perpetuity' they discuss the gay and queer gene.




Minds, Brains, Souls and Gods


Book Description

In this hypothetical correspondence, Malcolm Jeeves urges Christian students to enter the brave new world of neuroscience ready to have their faith examined and their experiences of God put to the test. When we do this, he argues, being mindful of oversimplifications as we go, the integration of Christianity and psychology becomes possible.




The Other Half of Church


Book Description

Could brain science be the key to spiritual formation? Why does true Christian transformation seem fleeting? And why does church often feel lonely, Christian community shallow, and leaders untrustworthy? For many Christians, the delight of encountering Christ eventually dwindles—and disappointment sets in. Is lasting joy possible? These are some of the questions Michel Hendricks has considered both in his experience as a spiritual formation pastor and in his lifetime as a Christian. He began to find answers when he met Jim Wilder—a neurotheologian. Using brain science, Wilder identified that there are two halves of the church: the rational half and the relational half. And when Christians only embrace the rational half, churches become unhealthy places where transformation doesn’t last and narcissistic leaders flourish. In The Other Half of Church, join Michel and Jim's journey as they couple brain science with the Bible to identify how to overcome spiritual stagnation by living a full-brained faith. You'll also learn the four ingredients necessary to develop and maintain a vibrant transformational community where spiritual formation occurs, relationships flourish, and the toxic spread of narcissism is eradicated.




Brain & Belief


Book Description

From its beginnings in prehistoric religion to its central importance in Western faith traditions, the soul has been a constant source of fascination and speculation. Brain & Belief seeks to understand mankind's obsession with life, death, and the afterlife. Exploring the latest insights from neuroscience, psychopharmacology, and existential psychology, McGraw exhaustively researches the various takes on the human soul and considers the meaning of the soul in a postmodern world. The ambitious scope of the book is balanced by a deeply personal voice whose sympathy for both science and religion is resonant.




Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods


Book Description

Religions and mythologies from around the world teach that God or gods created humans. Atheist, humanist, and materialist critics, meanwhile, have attempted to turn theology on its head, claiming that religion is a human invention. In this book, E. Fuller Torrey draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to propose a startling answer to the ultimate question. Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods locates the origin of gods within the human brain, arguing that religious belief is a by-product of evolution. Based on an idea originally proposed by Charles Darwin, Torrey marshals evidence that the emergence of gods was an incidental consequence of several evolutionary factors. Using data ranging from ancient skulls and artifacts to brain imaging, primatology, and child development studies, this book traces how new cognitive abilities gave rise to new behaviors. For instance, autobiographical memory, the ability to project ourselves backward and forward in time, gave Homo sapiens a competitive advantage. However, it also led to comprehension of mortality, spurring belief in an alternative to death. Torrey details the neurobiological sequence that explains why the gods appeared when they did, connecting archaeological findings including clothing, art, farming, and urbanization to cognitive developments. This book does not dismiss belief but rather presents religious belief as an inevitable outcome of brain evolution. Providing clear and accessible explanations of evolutionary neuroscience, Evolving Brains, Emerging Gods will shed new light on the mechanics of our deepest mysteries.




Your Brain Goes to Church


Book Description

The ever-provocative author and presenter Bob sitze explores the question: What does the human brain have to do with the beliefs, practices, and structures of congregations? Weaving together clear, accessible explanations about the workings of the human brain. Sitze shows how a congregation's identity and behaviors are shaped by the work of individual members' brains as well as "the collected brain" of the congregation. Study groups will enjoy the "Big Question" Sitze asks throughout the book, as well as the discussion questions and follow-up activities included at the end of each chapter.




The Worship Mall


Book Description

Religion today is in competition with the leisure and entertainment industries. Gen Y, the postmodern generation, is open to spirituality; but most of todays young adults have not been born into faith communities where they feel any lasting allegiance. Studies suggest that for the young, belief in God is an optional matter, a virtual consumer choice. As a result, different trends in worship and worship styles are offered by different churches to suit lifestyles, attitudes, and personal taste.