A Community Called Taize


Book Description

Taizé--the word is strangely familiar to many throughout the contemporary church. Familiar, perhaps, because the chanted prayers of Taizé are well practiced in churches throughout the world. Strangely, however, because so little is known about Taizé--from its historic beginnings to how the word itself is pronounced. The worship of the Taizé community, as it turns out, is best understood in the context of its greater mission. On the day Jason Brian Santos arrived in the Taizé community its leader was brutally murdered before his eyes. Instead of making Santos want to leave, the way the community handled this tragedy made him long to stay and learn more about this group of people who could respond to such evil with grace and love. In this book he takes us on a tour of one of the world's first ecumenical monastic orders, from its monastic origins in the war-torn south of 1940s France to its emerging mission as a pilgrimage site and spiritual focal point for millions of young people throughout the world. In A Community Called Taizé you'll meet the brothers of the order and the countless visitors and volunteers who have taken upon themselves a modest mission: pronouncing peace and reconciliation to the church and the world.




The Taizé Experience


Book Description




Parable of Community


Book Description




Friends in Christ: Paths to a New Understanding of Church


Book Description

"This book, for both seekers and practicing Christians, highlights the importance of friendship for human community. Beginning with stories of friendship in biblical accounts and the teachings of the early leaders of the church, Brother John describes friendship as the basis for community throughout the world and at Taizé, an international ecumenical community that draws thousands of young people from around the globe together in worship and prayer."--Back cover.




Taizé, a Meaning to Life


Book Description




Love, Imperfectly Known


Book Description

This unique work analyzes the crisis in modern society, building on the ideas of the Frankfurt School thinkers. Emphasizing social evolution and learning processes, it argues that crisis is mediated by social class conflicts and collective learning, the results of which are embodied in constitutional and public law. First, the work outlines a new categorical framework of critical theory in which it is conceived as a theory of crisis. It shows that the Marxist focus on economy and on class struggle is too narrow to deal with the range of social conflicts within modern society, and posits that a crisis of legitimization is at the core of all crises. It then discusses the dialectic of revolutionary and evolutionary developmental processes of modern society and its legal system. This volume in the Critical Theory and Contemporary Society by a leading scholar in the field provides a new approach to critical theory that will appeal to anyone studying political sociology, political theory, and law.




The Younger Evangelicals


Book Description

Robert E. Webber has led worship workshops in every major city in the United States and Canada. Through his conversations and contacts with a network of emerging church leaders he calls the "younger evangelicals," Webber sees how this new generation and their style of leadership is bringing change and renewal to the evangelical church. These leaders, who include those young in spirit as well as young in age, have important insights to offer all generations faced with "doing church" in a rapidly changing postmodern culture. The Younger Evangelicals explores the characteristics of these emerging leaders and provides an outlet for their stories. Beginning with a brief overview of twentieth-century evangelicalism, Webber examines what is different about the twenty-first century younger evangelicals' way of thinking about faith and practicing church. He allows them-Ph.D.s and laypeople-to speak in their own words on issues such as communication, theology, apologetics, pastoral leadership, evangelism, worship, and spiritual formation. Thought provoking, energizing, and timely, The Younger Evangelicals is a landmark book for pastors and church leaders, culture watchers, ministry students, and worship leaders who want to prepare for and respond to the new evangelical awakening brought on by our changing cultural context.




How to Be a Christian without Going to Church


Book Description

As many--young people especially--leave the traditional church in droves, they often still long for a genuine Christian community in which to practice their faith and share their spiritual journeys with others. They want to be faithful but struggle to find a place where they flourish. Whether they've already left the church behind or are merely considering it, readers will find here both heartfelt encouragement and practical steps for finding or creating a community of faith that honors God and offers rest, love, and communion with other believers. Author Kelly Bean broadens our definition of church to include many alternative forms of Christian community. With true stories of those who have given up on church and what they're doing now, this book is also helpful for pastors and churchgoers to help them understand why people leave the church--and what might be done to help them stay.




Worship Feast Taize Songbook


Book Description

SERVE A NEW MIXED MENU OF WORSHIP Worship Feast Taize Songbook: A Unique Menu of Songs in the Taize Tradition Serve a multi-sensory worship experience to your youth, mixing a cornucopia of ancient contemplative rituals with modern elements. The Worship Feast Taize Songbook was specifically designed as a companion piece for use with Worship Feast: Complete Services in the Spirit of Taize. The songbook includes 15 popular and easy-to-sing Taize songs that will lead youth and youth workers to a deeper prayer experience. Melody lines and simple chords for guitars or keyboards make this a very approachable and easy-to-use resource, even if you are new to Taize music. Worship Feast Taize resources provide tools for youth and youth workers who want to experience worship services in the unique tradition of Taiz, but don't know how to get started. Christians all over the world are catching on to the ancient monastic Taize style worship. Worship services in the spirit of Taize are contemplative in nature and include meditations, repetitive singing, Scripture readings, prayers, and extended periods of silence. Worship Feast was especially designed for youth workers and pastors who want to reach young people in their worship services by taking the sacred traditions of the worshiping church and blending them with current experiences. Serve your youth a worship menu that leaves them inspired and full.




The Word of God for the People of God


Book Description

This book fills a real need for pastors and students. Though there is currently a large body of material on the theological interpretation of Scripture, most of it is highly specific and extremely technical. J. Todd Billings here provides a straightforward entryway for students and pastors to understand why theological interpretation matters and how it can be done. / A solid, constructive theological work, The Word of God for the People of God presents a distinctive Trinitarian, participatory approach toward reading Scripture as the church. Billings's accessible yet substantial argument for a theological hermeneutic is rooted in a historic vision of the practice of scriptural interpretation even as it engages a wide range of contemporary issues and includes several exegetical examples that apply to concrete Christian ministry situations.