Church Publishing Incorporated

A 5- to 10-week study for adults and young adults with appealing video format that prompts engagement and response.

Each program in this series features two components sold separately: (1) A DVD with five 10-15 minute presentations (one per group), in this case showing Fr. Richard Rohr interacting with a small group of adults, and (2) a participant workbook containing all the material needed by class participants as well as for the facilitator (one each). In this edition, Richard Rohr explores five topics central to Franciscan theology and practice:

1. Atonement Theory
2. Eco-Spirituality
3. The Christ who Existed before Christianity
4. Orthopraxy vs. Verbal Orthodoxy (Living Like Jesus)
5. Mysticism over Moralism

Bestselling author Kathleen Norris provides a unique viewpoint of "what matters most."

Each of the five DVD sessions begins with a 10-15 minute video presentation by Kathleen Norris followed by filmed interaction with a diverse small group of adults. Sessions are the following:

Belief Matters: Why does belief matter? To what do we give our hearts? What is the core message of what we believe—creeds or commitment? To what extent is to believe also "to belove"?

The Bible Matters: The Bible is our collective story. How is that story reflected in our daily lives? What is it about the Bible that always seems to address our present moment?

Community Matters: In community, individualism and imperfection meet grace and acceptance. What is our part in the Body of Christ?

Place Matters: In what ways is faith set within the physical space of home, church, land and people?

We Matter: What it means to remain in God's image and to counter our selfishness by embracing the world and its needs?

Ideal for adult and young-adult small groups, Christian educators, clergy, chaplains and campus ministries.

Walter Brueggemann, arguably America’s leading Old Testament scholar and theologian, takes us on a wild ride through the poetic prophecy of the Hebrew Scripture, identifying cultural contexts, putting a framework to Israel’s history, and, most significantly—and at times challengingly!—drawing connections between Israel’s sociological, economic and spiritual status and that of America today.

Session 1: Moses, Pharaoh, the Prophets and Us Session 2: The Prophets as Uncredentialed Purveyors of Covenant Session 3: Moral Coherence in a World of Power, Money and Violence Session 4: The Shrill Rhetoric that Breaks Denial Session 5: The Grief of Loss as Divine Judgment Session 6: The Promissory Language that Breaks Despair This DVD contains all video content needed to conduct this six-session study. Each session begins with a 10-15 minute video presentation by Brueggemann followed by filmed interaction with a diverse small group.

SOLD SEPARATELY. Embracing the Prophets in Contemporary Culture Participants Guide.

The Newest Embracing series study features Diana Butler Bass as the latest in this best-selling series known for world-class authors and commentators.

Best-selling author, speaker, scholar, and "cultural observer" Diana Butler Bass explores what Christianity may look like "beyond religion and beyond the church." In this engaging and provocative study, Diana leads a small group of diverse adults, young adults, and youth in s fascinating discussion of how, both culturally and spiritually, we are in the midst of another of history's "great awakenings."

Session Titles:

1. Waking Up
2. Believing
3. Behaving
4. Belonging
5. Awakening

Author, historian and keen cultural observer Phyllis Tickle invites us to join her in examining the changing face of Christianity and culture. Phyllis surveys 2000 years of Western history, identifying the great upheavals that occur in Western culture and Christianity every 500 years. The last was the Great Reformation of the 1500’s; the next is happening now. What are the implications of this “Great Emergence,” both culturally and spiritually? What are the key questions and issues that need to be addressed? Where might we be headed next? And, perhaps most importantly, where are you, at this moment? Might you be an emergence Christian?

The six sessions are: 1) Emergence 101, 2) Where Now Is the Authority? 3) The 20th Century and Emergence, 4) Gifts from Other Times, 5) How Then Shall We Live? and 6) Hallmarks of Emergence

There are six sessions on the DVD. Each session begins with a video presentation by Phyllis
Tickle, lasting from 10-15 minutes. Ms. Tickle’s presentation is followed by filmed interaction with a small group. The Participant Workbook then helps your small group “join the dialogue” in your own setting.

PARTICIPANTS GUIDE SOLD SEPARATELY
The Participant’s Workbook contains all the material needed for use by class participants as well as notes for the class leader to facilitate each session; leadership can be shared among members of the group.

Phyllis Tickle, founding editor of the religion department of Publisher’s Weekly, is frequently quoted in print sources like USA Today, Christian Science Monitor, and NY Times as well as in electronic media like PBS, NPR, Hallmark Channel and innumerable blogs and websites. She is an authority on religion in America and a much sought after lecturer and workshop leader. In addition to lectures and numerous essays, Tickle is the author of over two dozen books in religions and spirituality.

This exciting six-session DVD study invites small groups and individuals to explore the lives of six Christian “saints” who risked all for the sake of the gospel.

Like Jesus, each of the featured leaders were change agents in their times: the Subversive Bridge-Builder, Barnabas; the Lovable Rebel, Francis of Assisi; the Tightrope Walker, Thomas Cranmer; the Persevering Prophet, Sojourner Truth; the Idealistic Realist, Dorothy Day; and the People’s Voice, Oscar Romero. Each session concludes with three possible endings, one for adult study groups, one for individuals, and one for vestries and other gatherings of church leaders. Illustrative slides promote conversation starters and interaction. It also includes a bonus resource: A Simple Prayer Liturgy for Use by a Small Group.

The program calls for one study guide per participant and one DVD for the individual or group, each sold separately.

Join popular speaker and author Barbara Crafton as she explores forgiveness in the newest Embracing study.

Like other programs, it features two components, purchased separately: (1) A DVD with five 10-15 minute presentations, followed by a video of the guest lecturer interacting with a small group as they discuss the issues, and (2) a participant workbook containing all the material needed by class participants as well as for the facilitator.

Embracing Interfaith Cooperation is a 5- to 10-week study for adults, young adults and high school teens.

Join interfaith commentator Eboo Patel as he explores what it means to be “literate” about other faiths, how interfaith cooperation “works” and why, the skills needed for interfaith cooperation and the significant role that our institutions, including colleges and faith communities, can play in this process. The study's appealing video-journal format invites engagement and response.

The Five Sessions: (10-15 minute presentations each by Eboo Patel, including Patel interacting with a small, diverse group of adults and young adults as they respond and discuss interfaith issues.

1. Interfaith Cooperation in American History
2. Interfaith Literacy
3. The Science of Interfaith Cooperation
4. The art of Interfaith Leadership
5. The Role of Colleges, Seminaries and Houses of Worship

Participant's Workbook sold separately.