Showing results by author "Scot McKnight" in All Categories

When many of us hear the word theology, we conjure up visions of stuffy old guys in dark clothing, scratching a pen across paper (or maybe a quill across parchment!) and assume that it's not for us. But at its most basic, theology is just words (logos) about God (theos). Conversations, if you will, about the most important part of our lives—our good, loving, and grace-filled God.

The church should serve as a refuge for people in pain. And yet, we often end up unintentionally causing more hurt to trauma survivors. Theological platitudes and positive thinking aren't simply dismissive to those who suffer, but they inevitably retraumatize the wounded. Does the Bible have anything practical to offer for church leaders as they engage the pain in their congregations? Biblical scholar Michelle Keener shows us that the book of Job provides embodied and practical answers for the church today.

Who exactly is the Holy Spirit? What does he do in our lives? How can we know him more deeply, and is it possible to tap in to his power? Should we pray to the Holy Spirit? Is it possible to be aware of his promptings and speaking into our lives? Dr. Scot McKnight answers these questions and more in this comprehensive examination of what the Bible says about this divinely important but often confusing member of the Trinity.

There is a growing movement among young Christians returning to historic, creedal, and liturgical reflections of Christianity. Filled with stories illustrating the joy young adults have found in these ancient expressions of Christianity, Winfield Bevins introduces practices and principles that help the church engage our postmodern world.

In this new book, Bill Hull shows why our existing models of evangelism and discipleship fail to actually produce followers of Jesus. He looks at the importance of recovering a robust view of the gospel and taking seriously the connection between conversion - answering the call to follow Jesus - and discipleship - living like the one we claim to follow.

After the release of their groundbreaking book, A Church Called Tov, which recorded the stories of abuse and toxic church cultures at some of the most prominent churches in the United States, New Testament scholar and blogger for Christianity Today Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer heard from a flood of people who had experienced similar instances of abuse. In Pivot, Scot and Laura help churches to implement practices, establish priorities, and cultivate the Kingdom Gospel-centered qualities that form goodness cultures.

As a pastor in Silicon Valley, Jay Kim has experienced the digital church in all its splendor. In Analog Church, he grapples with the ramifications of a digital church, from our worship and experience of Christian community to the way we engage Scripture and sacrament. Could it be that in our efforts to stay relevant in our digital age, we've begun to give away the very thing that our age most desperately needs: transcendence? Could it be that the best way to reach new generations is in fact found in a more timeless path?

What is the 'Christian life' all about? Studying the Bible, attending church, cultivating a prayer life, witnessing to others---those are all good. But is that really what Jesus has in mind? The answer, says Scot McKnight in One.Life, lies in Jesus' words, 'Follow me.'What does it look like to follow Jesus, and how will doing so change the way we live our life---our love.life, our justice.life, our peace.life, our community.life, our sex.life---everything about our life.

In Crushing Chaos, pastor and self-proclaimed Bible nerd Manny Arango unfolds the ways that God faithfully, lovingly does just that, showing you how to conquer the chaos you’ve carried with you for far too long and restoring passion and purpose to your life. You’ll discover how a path of surrender and self-sacrifice can lead you from a place of turmoil and confusion to a place of hope and peace. The answer is in saying “yes” to a radically reordered life.

The majority of earth's inhabitants believe in angels. Yet so few of us can claim to have seen one. Why? Perhaps it's because in order to encounter one, we first have to learn what to look for and how to look! We live in a world where the natural and supernatural overlap. Angels are constantly on a mission from God and constantly at work in this world.

What is the way forward for the church? Tragically, in recent years, Christians have gotten used to revelations of abuses of many kinds in our most respected churches―from Willow Creek to Harvest, from Southern Baptist pastors to Sovereign Grace churches. Respected author and theologian Scot McKnight and former Willow Creek member Laura Barringer wrote this book to paint a pathway forward for the church.

Heaven. Eternity. The Afterlife. You mention any of these concepts, and people of all ages and from all walks of life are certain to have opinions. Maybe that's why there are so many books and movies that feature heaven-and-back experiences. But how can we know if those accounts are accurate? How can we know for sure what heaven will be like? Well, according to New Testament scholar and popular author Scot McKnight, all we need to do is to turn to scripture to answer our questions.

Filled with stories of those who have walked the path of deconstruction without losing their faith, Invisible Jesus: A Book about Leaving the Church and Looking for Christ by Scot McKnight with Tommy Phillips is a prophetic call to discern if the faith we practice and the church we belong to is representative of the Jesus we follow.

Contemporary evangelicals have built a 'salvation culture' but not a 'gospel culture.' Evangelicals have reduced the gospel to the message of personal salvation. This book makes a plea for us to recover the old gospel as that which is still new and still fresh. The book stands on four arguments: that the gospel is defined by the apostles in 1 Corinthians 15 as the completion of the Story of Israel in the saving Story of Jesus; that the gospel is found in the Four Gospels; that the gospel was preached by Jesus; and that the sermons in the Book of Acts are the best example of gospeling in the New Testament.

Does God call women to serve as equal partners in marriage and as leaders in the church? The answer to this straightforward question is deeply contested. Into the fray, Lucy Peppiatt offers her work on interpretation of the Bible and Christian practice.

How are we to live out the Bible today? In this updated edition of The Blue Parakeet, you'll be challenged to see how Scripture transcends culture and time, and you'll learn how to come to God's Word with a fresh heart and mind.

In Revelation for the Rest of Us, world renowned New Testament scholar and author Scot McKnight explores the timeless message of Revelation and how it disciples readers into dissidents of the ways of the world and empire, calling them to the courageous challenge of faithful, or allegiant, witness.

Five Views on the Gospel presents five different perspectives on the question "What is the gospel?" Presenting a variety of contemporary and tradition-based perspectives, each contributor answers key questions about the nature of the gospel.

Typical translations of the New Testament make the biblical text as accessible as possible by using the language of our own day. At times this masks the distance between the New Testament text and modern audiences. Scripture continues to speak to us but it speaks as an ancient text to the modern world. New Testament scholar Scot McKnight offers a translation of the New Testament with a daring approach to the ancient text. Clever in its expression and at times stunning in its boldness, The Second Testament will challenge listeners to experience God's Word anew.

Being a pastor is a complicated calling. Pastors are often pulled in multiple directions and must "become all things to all people" (1 Cor. 9:22). What does the New Testament say (or not say) about the pastoral calling? And what can we learn about it from the apostle Paul? According to popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight, pastoring must begin first and foremost with spiritual formation, which plays a vital role in the life and ministry of the pastor. As leaders, pastors both create and nurture culture in a church.