What Does It Mean To Be Welcoming

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Is your church wrestling with LGBT questions? Travis Collins has walked congregations through the complex issues surrounding gay Christians. In this practical resource, readers will hear from gay friends and dig into Scripture with interpreters on both sides, considering the implications of their convictions for life and ministry. Let's examine how we might welcome everyone into the church while calling for all to be transformed.

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Do you ever ask yourself why the first celebration of Holy Communion that we have says nothing about the forgiveness of sins, why the Apostle Paul is very careful about the way he describes the cup as a new covenant, or why doesn’t he demand that the leader of the congregation in Corinth straighten these folk out? What happened that caused Holy Communion today to become all about the forgiveness of sin? Would those Corinthians have any conception of a charge that they had caused Jesus to die for them? Paul doesn’t accuse them. The True Meaning of the Last Supper: Welcoming Others seeks answers for these and other questions. Developments in church life in the first century described in the pages of the New Testament—but also gleaned from the history of that first century and succeeding years—may change your understanding of Communion today.

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The purpose of this book is to combine perspectives of scholars from Africa on Child Theology from a variety of theological sub-disciplines to provide some theological and ministerial perspectives on this topic. The book disseminates original research and new developments in this study field, especially as relevant to the African context. In the process it addresses also the global need to hear voices from Africa in this academic field. It aims to convey the importance of considering Africa’s children in theologising. The different chapters represent diverse methodologies, but the central and common focus is to approach the subject from the viewpoint of Africa’s children. The individual authors’ varied theological sub-disciplinary dispositions contribute to the unique and distinct character of the book. Almost all chapters are theoretical orientated with less empirical but more qualitative research, although some of the chapters refer to empirical research that the authors have performed in the past. Most of the academic literature in the field of Child Theologies is from American or British-European origin. The African context is fairly absent in this discourse, although it is the youngest continent and presents unique and relevant challenges. This book was written by theological scholars from Africa, focussing on Africa’s children. It addresses not only theoretical challenges in this field but also provides theological perspectives for ministry with children and for important social change. Written from a variety of theological sub-disciplines, the book is aimed at scholars across theological sub-disciplines, especially those theological scholars interested in the intersections between theology, childhood studies and African cultural or social themes. It addresses themes and provides insights that are also relevant for specialist leaders and professionals in this field. No part of the book was plagiarised from another publication or published elsewhere.

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This book develops a theology of childhood both from a theoretical basis in biblical theology (especially the gospel of Mark) and practical experience in children and youth ministry. Mercer builds on classical theologians such as Augustine, Calvin, Barth, and Rahner as well as modern feminist theologians such as Brock and Russell. She gains insights from pastoral theologians such as Capps and Couture and from contemporary cultural criticism. Mercer challenges approaches to educational and liturgical practices with children in congregations that segregate children from the rest of the church and its key practices of service, mission, worship, care, and learning. She reframes ministries with children as processes through which the church as a "community of practice" forms children into an alternative identity that resists surrounding consumerist culture and walks in the ways of Jesus. This book offers strategies for educational practices with children in congregations as it seeks to address the question, "What might educational practices that welcome children and contribute to their flourishing look like in the context of a faith community where children's learning happens in collaboration with experienced practitioners of faith?" Outlining a feminist practical theology of childhood, it explores five basic theological claims: (1) children as gifts and parenting as a religious practice of stewardship; (2) welcoming those who welcome and care for children; (3) children as already fully human; (4) children as part of the purposes of God; and (5) acknowledging and transforming the sufferings of children.

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How should I respond when a teen comes out? Do I have to tell their parents? What does it mean to be transgender? And how do I talk to a trans youth? These are the kinds of tough questions facing Christian communities everywhere. It's not enough for faith leaders to improvise their way through these questions. Leaders need concrete tools to navigate the LGBTQ+ landscape. Welcoming and Affirming: A Guide to Supporting and Working with LGBTQ+ Christian Youth is one of those tools. A handbook for pastors, youth workers, church leaders, educators, and other adults in Christian settings, the book provides answers to the most pressing questions about sexuality, gender, mental health, safe sex, and more. Written by a team of LGBTQ+ adults, Welcoming and Affirming features first-hand, personal testimonials from queer young adults who have experienced the joys and hardships of being queer and Christian. You'll walk away with a lot of insight, prepared to love, affirm, and accept the LGBTQ+ teens in your community the way God does--exactly as they are. Welcoming and Affirming is a companion book to Queerfully and Wonderfully Made: A Guide for LGBTQ+ Christian Teens.

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The Christian school community has a unique impetus for impacting the lives of students with special needs. Doctors Lane and Kinnison present this groundbreaking guide for administrators to lay foundational components in order to develop a successful and sustainable special needs program in a Christian school. Kinnison outlines God's purpose for bringing children with special needs into the world. Lane provides step-by-step guidelines for fostering an inclusive and sustainable school environment. This book seeks to support Christian school educators, parents of children with special needs, and disability ministries servants in their quests to transform an under-equipped, private educational institution into the indefatigable arms of Jesus that welcome. This book provides guidance to individuals who have and those who intend to develop a special needs program. Special education professors and researchers will find this text vital for working with pre-service Christian educators who wish to serve children with special needs. Christian schools--especially those that may have attempted and failed, or continue to struggle with developing their programs--will find this text an oasis for frustrated spirits. The past applications of these principles have achieved remarkable success. Now, with this text, leaders and innovators have a succinct, well-ordered guide for expediting their successes.

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Six Words Fresh Off the Boat marries the phenomenon of Larry Smith's successful Six-Word Memoirs with ABC and 20th Century Fox Television's hit comedy Fresh Off the Boat. The book captures hundreds of takes on the immigration experience, from every-day people as well as world-famous celebrities including Aziz Ansari, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Julianne Moore, Mario Batali, George Takei, Neil Gaiman, Amanda Palmer, Billy Collins, Junot Díaz, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta. This book will have you thinking in sixes and challenging others to share six words about their lives.

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Imagine your life transforming from: Selfishness to others-focused service Getting to giving Inertia to energy Complaining to overflowing gratitude Plodding to laser-focused purpose This is what you will experience as a member of a real welcoming church as revealed in this book. Based on imitating God (Ephesians 5:1) and thinking like Jesus (Philippians 2:5), this book leads each reader into an honest self-examination and church evaluation, based completely on God’s Word, and into four key life stages: Stage 1. Struggling church: Start where you are and discover what keeps you and your church from joyful growth and continually bearing much fruit for Jesus. Stage 2. Godly church: Discover how God wants you and your church to think, act, and welcome others as you interact with Old and New Testament principles. Stage 3: Inviting church: Explore the signs, evidences, processes and results of the real welcoming church through which Jesus expresses His loving, empowering heart. Stage 4. Inspiring church: Learn 9 steps to practise on a daily basis so God can inspire others through you and your church as you pray, support, worship and work together.

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One of the most influential and controversial thinkers of the twentieth-century, Jacques Derrida’s ideas on deconstruction have had a lasting impact on philosophy, literature and cultural studies. Jacques Derrida: Basic Writings is the first anthology to present his most important philosophical writings and is an indispensable resource for all students and readers of his work. Barry Stocker’s clear and helpful introductions set each reading in context, making the volume an ideal companion for those coming to Derrida’s writings for the first time. The selections themselves range from his most infamous works including Speech and Phenomena and Writing and Difference to lesser known discussion on aesthetics, ethics and politics.

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Warm and Welcoming tackles institutionalized biases and barriers to inclusion within Jewish communities, offering stories and context about the issues facing Jews of all backgrounds, as well as practical, concrete advice to change how Jewish institutions of all sizes, capacities, and histories engage with diverse populations.

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A philosophical exploration of birth, maternity, and reproduction. Winner of the 2007 Symposium Book Award presented by Symposium: Canadian Journal of Continental Philosophy

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The gentle and powerful way to turn feelings of distress into helpful action ‘Life can be demanding enough without us causing ourselves greater upset because we “don’t feel happy”. Instead, let’s welcome all our feelings of distress, all our thoughts and beliefs about life’s challenges, and focus on transforming these in a way that is helpful for us.’ In How to Cope, psychologist and clinical director of depression awareness charity Aware Dr Claire Hayes takes a good look at our thoughts and how they can affect us, demonstrating how each of us can use cognitive behavioural principles to help us cope. In a very clear, practical way she shows us how to make sense of our distressing feelings, to become aware of our unhelpful thoughts and our core beliefs, and most of all, to focus on what we can actually do to improve things for ourselves. Rather than trying to suppress or ignore negative thoughts and feelings of distress, she invites us to welcome them as messengers asking us to do something helpful to improve things. Using her unique techniques such as the ‘Coping Triangle’ and ‘Coping Sentences’, Dr Hayes shows us how to proactively manage life’s challenges, such as pressure, rejection, loss, failure, success and change. Real-life case studies illustrate the success of Dr Hayes’s approach, while practical exercises and advice make it accessible to all readers. How to Cope is the ideal book is for anyone who has suffered from stress, anxiety or depression, and for their friends and family. ’Thoughts, no matter how awful they seem, cannot do us any harm unless we actually believe them! Think it’s not that easy? Well, maybe it is!’ ‘A standout volume that will prove a timely resource for those navigating the pressures of daily living in a society that is in danger of burning out.’ Dr Declan Lyons, Consultant Psychiatrist in St Patrick’s Hospital, Dublin

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“Welcome to the European family!” When East European countries joined the European Union under this banner after 1989, they agreed to the free movement of goods, services, capital, and persons. In this book, Anca Parvulescu analyzes an important niche in this imagined European kinship: the traffic in women, or the circulation of East European women in West Europe in marriage and as domestic servants, nannies, personal attendants, and entertainers. Analyzing film, national policies, and an impressive range of work by theorists from Giorgio Agamben to Judith Butler, she develops a critical lens through which to think about the transnational continuum of “women’s work.” Parvulescu revisits Claude Lévi-Strauss’s concept of kinship and its rearticulation by second-wave feminists, particularly Gayle Rubin, to show that kinship has traditionally been anchored in the traffic in women. Reading recent cinematic texts that help frame this, she reveals that in contemporary Europe, East European migrant women are exchanged to engage in labor customarily performed by wives within the institution of marriage. Tracing a pattern of what she calls Americanization, Parvulescu argues that these women thereby become responsible for the labor of reproduction. A fascinating cultural study as much about the consequences of the enlargement of the European Union as women’s mobility, The Traffic in Women’s Work questions the foundations of the notion of Europe today.

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From the bestselling author of Welcome to Forever (“Full of heart and emotion!”—Lori Wilde) comes a sweet, sexy novel about breaking all the rules. In Seaside, North Carolina, the boys on the base are heroes—but that doesn’t mean they’re always well-behaved. As a preacher’s daughter, Valerie Hunt only dates the very respectable, very boring men who meet her father’s strict standards. In private, however, she leads a double life as a romance writer of steamy stories about the least respectable sorts of men. Valerie has always kept her hottest fantasies separate from her real life, but when she nearly runs a hot-blooded biker off the road, the lines begin to blur. Even though Valerie almost killed him, Griffin Black can’t be angry after he learns the reason for her distracted driving: an unruly puppy belonging to her ailing friend. As a member of the military police K-9 unit, Griffin insists on training the dog himself. But he soon wonders how he’s ever going to stay disciplined around the most alluring, down-to-earth, and totally unattainable woman he’s ever met. Valerie is the ultimate good girl. And Griffin is going to need all his old tricks to unleash her wild side. Praise for Welcoming the Bad Boy “Hot and sweet and adorable and steamy and sexy all at the same time . . . This story captured my heart and left me enamored.”—Books and Spoons Blog “A wonderful series that will have you swoon, laugh, maybe even shed a tear or two at some points, and warm your heart all the way down to your toes (watch out for a bit of heat here and there, too!). . . . The men of Seaside will sweep you off your feet.”—Roberta’s Dream World “Readers (and dog lovers!) who like their romance on the sweet and light side will love this one.”—Girl Plus Books “The read was light, fast, sweet, and hit the spot.”—The Book Junkie “With Welcoming the Bad Boy, you are getting a lot more than a bad boy romance or even a military romance. . . . I love absolutely everything about this book.”—Cara’s Book Boudoir “Enjoy the fun and try not to fall for Griffin . . . it appears he’s already taken.”—Reviews from the Heart Includes an excerpt from another Loveswept title.

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This practical book by pastor and writer Henry G. Brinton studies the biblical basis for Christian hospitality and how it is practiced in congregations today.

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Jessicah Krey Duckworth presents the stark differences between the established congregation, which cares for current members and congregational identity, and the disestablished one, which gains purpose and identity in the task of relating to the newcomer. By allowing the questions, insights, and experiences of newcomers to reverberate through the entire congregation, both they and the church are changed. Wide Welcome does far more than point out the faults and weaknesses in current practice. Duckworth intentionally lays out possible designs for newcomer welcome that are local and particular. Book jacket.

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What does it mean to experience and engage in religious ritual? How does liturgy structure time and space? How do our bodies move within liturgy, and what impact does it have on our senses? How does the experience of ritual affect us and shape our emotions or dispositions? How is liturgy experienced as a communal event, and how does it form the identity of those who participate in it? Welcoming Finitude explores these broader questions about religious experience by focusing on the manifestation of liturgical experience in the Eastern Christian tradition. Drawing on the methodological tools of contemporary phenomenology and on insights from liturgical theology, the book constitutes a philosophical exploration of Orthodox liturgical experience.

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Mastering the Hospitality in You ​Recent events have dramatically changed how we conduct our lives. As a result, rediscovering who we are is essential to enhancing our everyday interactions, finding our purpose, and improving the lives of others. In these evolving times, the universal principles of hospitality are not just beneficial to those in the industry, but to anyone seeking to have an enriched life and a thriving business. Equipped with over three decades of expertise in the restaurant and wine industry, author Eddie Heintz will guide you through his personal journey collecting vital information across multiple disciplines to help you mindfully connect with others and the world around you. Drawing on his own experiences and the wisdom of authors such as Danny Meyer, Don Miguel Ruiz, and Eckhart Tolle, among others, you will learn: • To connect with your style of hospitality • The art of not taking things personally • How the pineapple became the universal symbol of hospitality • How hospitality supports the practice of living in the moment • How to alter situational energy to benefi t yourself and others • And much more In these unprecedented times, helping to ease fears and give comfort to family, friends, neighbors, and strangers alike is paramount. The author’s professional wisdom will guide your passions and leadership development so you can reach your full potential and become the embodiment of hospitality.

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Synagogues should be effective and relevant centers of Jewish life but too often the focus is on programs not people, on revenue not relationships. The end result is frequently a corporate atmosphere where membership lacks commitment, core leadership and spiritual fulfillment. In this empowering, practical guide, Dr. Ron Wolfson shows you how to transform your synagogue congregation into a sacred community by focusing on strategies for successful change. Using a case-study format for creating an inviting spiritual center, Wolfson defines the welcoming congregation and the fundamental materials that are involved in building one. He addresses the services a welcoming congregation should provide, the themes the congregation should focus on, and the standards that a vital spiritual community should uphold. Tapping into his experiences as co-developer of Synagogue 2000, the transdenominational project designed to envision and implement the ideal synagogue of the spirit for the twenty-first century, Wolfson also provides essential problem-solving tools that you can use to alleviate roadblocks along the way.

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Maxie Dunnam reminds us that accepting the invitation begins with a few quiet moments each day spent on deepening our relationship with God. Accept the invitation today!