Bøker av Paul R Dekar

This work approaches evangelism by examining the everyday pursuits of ordinary people, and demonstrates how evangelism often arises as a response to an overflow of God's love. We begin with four practices of holiness by which we humble ourselves before God. Through prayer, Sabbath observance, holy play, and discernment of God's call on our lives, we recognize God as the bedrock of our lives. With boldness, church members will come alive as they share Jesus with the world and serve as agents of God's reconciling love, inviting people to become part of God's family.

Around the world, thousands of grassroots movements are confronting issues like destruction of the environment, economic depression, human rights violations, religious fundamentalism, and war. This book tells the courageous story of one such group. Organizing in 1939, Northern Baptists formed the Baptist Pacifist Fellowship as part of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Southern Baptists formed a parallel body. Like today, it was a time when sources of hope seemed hard to find. Discerning a need to support and connect Baptist conscientious objectors in the United States, members faced hostility in congregations and the nation. For the duration of the Second World War, the Korean War, war in Vietnam and elsewhere, Baptists sustained a witness for peace and justice. By 1984, threat of nuclear weapons led to formation of a wider circle of resistance to the culture of war. Subsequently, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America has brought together Baptist peacemakers from around North America and the world. However small in numbers or reviled, members have been building a culture of peace through an interracial and international community. This book is an invaluable resource for those seeking a new world of forgiveness, respect for human rights, nonviolence, and peace.

Around the world, thousands of grassroots movements are confronting issues like destruction of the environment, economic depression, human rights violations, religious fundamentalism, and war. This book tells the courageous story of one such group. Organizing in 1939, Northern Baptists formed the Baptist Pacifist Fellowship as part of the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Southern Baptists formed a parallel body. Like today, it was a time when sources of hope seemed hard to find. Discerning a need to support and connect Baptist conscientious objectors in the United States, members faced hostility in congregations and the nation. For the duration of the Second World War, the Korean War, war in Vietnam and elsewhere, Baptists sustained a witness for peace and justice. By 1984, threat of nuclear weapons led to formation of a wider circle of resistance to the culture of war. Subsequently, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America has brought together Baptist peacemakers from around North America and the world. However small in numbers or reviled, members have been building a culture of peace through an interracial and international community. This book is an invaluable resource for those seeking a new world of forgiveness, respect for human rights, nonviolence, and peace.

In the 1930s, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer anticipated the restoration of the church after the coming second world war through a new kind of monasticism, a way of life of uncompromising adherence to the Sermon on the Mount in imitation of Christ. Since then, the renewal of Christian monasticism has become a great spiritual movement. Imbued with a love for God and neighbor, and with a healthy self-love, people are going to monasteries to deepen their relationship with God, to pray, and to find peace. While some monastic institutions are suffering a decline in traditional vocations, many Christians are exploring monastic lifestyles. This book introduces The Community of the Transfiguration in Australia, the story of a new monastic community and an inspiring source of hope for the world at another time of spiritual, social, and ecological crisis.""Western civilization was cradled by the monastic movements of the Middle Ages, and many of the discoveries of modern science have their roots in monastic gardens and infirmaries. Paul Dekar gives a glimpse into a Christian movement of our time that promises to provide new energies--from the heart of evangelical Christianity--to enliven the monastic ideal and provide a unique Christian witness to the world. Intentional Christianity, a more intense form of belief and practice, provides all Christians, and indeed all persons, with a window into the possibilities of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the prospect of a world remade.""--Brother Jeffrey Gros, FSC, Memphis Theological Seminary""The Community of the Transfiguration at Breakwater, Victoria, is one of the hidden and unexpected gems of the contemporary Australian Christian scene. Quietly but purposefully it has grown over the past twenty-five years into a vibrant, Spirit-filled Christian community standing in the great tradition of Christian monasticism. What is unexpected but all the more exciting is that this community is firmly grounded in and embraced by the Baptist Church while at the same time being thoroughly ecumenical. Paul Dekar''s book is a most timely contextualization of and tribute to the community.""Rt. Rev. Andrew St. John, DD, Rector, Church of the Transfiguration, New York, and Assisting Bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of New York.Paul R. Dekar is Niswonger Professor of Evangelism and Missions, Memphis Theological Seminary. He is author of Creating the Beloved Community: A History of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in the United States (2005) and Holy Boldness: Practices of an Evangelistic Lifestyle (2004). He and his wife Nancy are North American members of Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Australia.

Description:Thomas Merton was arguably the twentieth century''s most widely published and widely read spiritual writer. This book explores Merton''s prophetic writings and experience as they offer guidance for spiritual seekers in their search to experience God, to simplify their lives, to live more humanly, and to shape Christian community in the face of alienation, consumerism, noise, and technology. The book includes parts of three previously unpublished conference contributions by Merton on technology.Endorsements:""Paul Dekar presents us in this book with a manifesto for the future of the Christian community, which he sees being renewed by intentional, contemplative, essentially lay communities that know how to connect classic monastic wisdom with the challenges of our addicted-conflicted culture. He tells us with real passion that we don''t need to fight old battles, but instead need to focus on God''s future. The chapter on Merton and technology is alone worth the price of the book. Warmly recommended, especially to Christians discouraged with the institutional church.""-Donald GraystonPast PresidentInternational Thomas Merton Society""Paul Dekar''s book is a thoughtful and comprehensive summary of Merton''s concerns about our world--ranging from ecological consciousness, war, non violence, and technology to new monasticism and a dialogue with other faiths. It is a timely book offering real guidance. Thomas Merton''s diagnosis of the ills of our time is speaking powerfully still: ''achievement neurosis,'' overspending, overwork, noise, violence, addiction to technology, and an individualism that has lost sight of the common good. The way forward? Creating ''communities of love'' in which God''s presence and the depth of our humanity--which we consistently ignore--are experienced, and where the balance between the inner and the outer life can be restored.""-Sr. MiriamCommunity of the Transfiguration About the Contributor(s):Paul R. Dekar is Professor Emeritus of Evangelism and Mission, Memphis Theological Seminary, member of a new monastic community in Australia, and a prolific author, including Community of the Transfiguration: Journey of a New Monastic Community (Eugene: Cascade, 2008). After thirty-four years of full-time teaching, he continues to teach, write, and work with communities of hope in Dundas, Ontario, Canada.

Description:In the 1930s, German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer anticipated the restoration of the church after the coming second world war through a new kind of monasticism, a way of life of uncompromising adherence to the Sermon on the Mount in imitation of Christ. Since then, the renewal of Christian monasticism has become a great spiritual movement. Imbued with a love for God and neighbor, and with a healthy self-love, people are going to monasteries to deepen their relationship with God, to pray, and to find peace. While some monastic institutions are suffering a decline in traditional vocations, many Christians are exploring monastic lifestyles. This book introduces The Community of the Transfiguration in Australia, the story of a new monastic community and an inspiring source of hope for the world at another time of spiritual, social, and ecological crisis.Endorsements:""Western civilization was cradled by the monastic movements of the Middle Ages, and many of the discoveries of modern science have their roots in monastic gardens and infirmaries. Paul Dekar gives a glimpse into a Christian movement of our time that promises to provide new energies--from the heart of evangelical Christianity--to enliven the monastic ideal and provide a unique Christian witness to the world. Intentional Christianity, a more intense form of belief and practice, provides all Christians, and indeed all persons, with a window into the possibilities of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the prospect of a world remade.""--Brother Jeffrey Gros, FSC, Memphis Theological Seminary""The Community of the Transfiguration at Breakwater, Victoria, is one of the hidden and unexpected gems of the contemporary Australian Christian scene.  Quietly but purposefully it has grown over the past twenty-five years into a vibrant, Spirit-filled Christian community standing in the great tradition of Christian monasticism.  What is unexpected but all the more exciting is that this community is firmly grounded in and embraced by the Baptist Church while at the same time being thoroughly ecumenical. Paul Dekar''s book is a most timely contextualization of and tribute to the community.""Rt. Rev. Andrew St. John, DD, Rector, Church of the Transfiguration, New York, and Assisting Bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of New York.About the Contributor(s):Paul R. Dekar is Niswonger Professor of Evangelism and Missions, Memphis Theological Seminary. He is author of Creating the Beloved Community: A History of the Fellowship of Reconciliation in the United States (2005) and Holy Boldness: Practices of an Evangelistic Lifestyle (2004). He and his wife Nancy are North American members of Holy Transfiguration Monastery in Australia.