Stephen McCutchan

Broschiertes Buch

GOOD NEWS FOR A FRACTURED SOCIETY

MATTHEW SPEAKS TO DIVISIONS OF POWER, WEALTH, GENDER, AND RELIGIOUS PLURALISM

Beschreibung

Given the ideologically divided, tension-filled world in which we live, imagine hearing someone tell you how God can work through these divisions in a way that offers hope and healing for the world. The author suggests that this is exactly what Matthew sought to do in his gospel. The Hebrew Scriptures tell the story of how God chose to accomplish a divine work of reconciliation through a chosen people who demonstrated the same strengths and weaknesses as most people in the world today. Matthew interpreted the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus as the midrash, or commentary on these Hebrew Scriptures, that revealed how God works with both the shadow side and the bright side of our human nature to accomplish the divine purpose. The contemporary church, in a similar manner to Matthew's congregation, must determine the church's response to a world divided between the powerful and the powerless (Chapter 1), the Christian faith and other faiths (Chapter 2), male and female (Chapter 3), and the wealthy and the poor (Chapter 4). Following an interpretation of how Matthew found hope in the face of such divisions, the fifth chapter recognizes that most contemporary churches feel helpless in the face of such overwhelming realities. The author then describes Matthew's understanding of how God works through resistance and even betrayal to transform the world. The final chapter explores God's intention to bring about a common witness of Jews and Christians in the reconciliation of the entire world. This book will provide a vision of hope that will enable Christians to respond with strength to the challenges of the world and have confidence that their efforts are not in vain. A study guide is included in the introduction. You may reach the author on his web page at www.smccutchan.com.

Autor

Biography for Steve McCutchansteve@smccutcacan Steve spent thirty-eight years in the pastoral ministry interpreting the Gospel to lay people who experience the tension of division in their world. For twenty-three years, he combined ministry with his middle-class congregation with monthly involvement in counseling the poor in his city. He helped found the Presbyterian Inter-Racial Dialogue that in November 2012 celebrated twenty years working with six Presbyterian churches, three predominantly black and three predominantly white, building cprimixommunity that breaks down the barriers of racism. His book, Let's Have Lunch, Conversation, Race, and Community: Celebrating 20 Years of the Presbyterian Inter-Racial Dialogue recounts that journey. He also helped establish a Hispanic ministry in Winston-Salem. His church has participated in regular activities with the Jewish community. Five times the church shared in an interfaith, interracial Habitat build that included Christians, Jews, and Muslims; Caucasians, Blacks, and Hispanics. He has been a featured speaker at Moravian, Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Presbyterian convocations.The author published Experiencing the Psalms with Smyth & Helwys in 2000 that received the Jim Angell award from the Presbyterian Writer's Guild. He has published three devotional books based on the lectionary, and a commentary on Matthew, Good News for a Fractured Society. He has coauthored two plays exploring racism, one of which has been performed several times. Since retirement in 2006, he has focused on developing resources to assist in the care of clergy. These include two CDs, A Deep Well for the Pastor, and Laughter From the Well. The latter builds on his interest in performing standup comedy. He has published nine books in a Healthy Clergy Make Healthy Congregations series. His first novel, A Star and a Tear, explores the symbiotic relationship between sexuality and spirituality. His second novel Blessed Are the Peacemakers, explores how the church confronts the violence of our society. His third novel, Shock and Awe, addresses violence in society. His fourth novel, Hospitality for Alien Strangers, expands neighborly love throughout the universe. He blogs regularly on various aspects of the support of clergy www.smccutchan.com and is passionate about how congregations can discover spiritual depth in confronting racism.He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida. In addition, to continuing with his twice weekly blog, he is developing a video guide and booklet to enable pastors to guide church members in their spiritual development. If he can assist you, contact him at [e-mail]

Produktdetails

• Verlag: Primix Publishing
• Seitenzahl: 172
• Erscheinungstermin: 16. Dezember 2024
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 229mm x 152mm x 10mm
• Gewicht: 259g
• ISBN-13: 9798891940604
• Artikelnr.: 72648288