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Re-enchanting the Text: Discovering the Bible as Sacred, Dangerous, and Mysterious
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Cheryl's new book, "Re-enchanting the Text" is out and is getting great reviews. For the academics among us, it describes and defends the ancient ontology of Scripture. For the rest of us, it is a passionate and prophetic call to rediscover the Bible as the living Word of God, the Spirit-Word of God that is continually wooing us into God's presence to hear his voice and discover his frightening goodness toward us.
The book is highly academic in that she dialogues with great Christian thinkers from throughout church history and from the present. As one of our elderly parishioners often said of us, "I love my pastors because they are highly educated, but you can't tell it. They talk with all of us, and we can understand them." "Re-enchanting" is very readable. I am convinced that God has guided her throughout the writing of this call to the entire church to return to the Bible and enter into God's enchanting presence. |
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Dear Church of God Family: Letters of Love and Concern by Jackie David Johns
This book is a series of essays in the form of “letters” addressing my concerns for the Church of God (Cleveland). These letters contain many of the themes of my life and ministry. Their content has been my heartbeat for decades. For those who follow my "Just a Thought" page, there is little that is new. Perhaps I am more open about my concerns and my writings are weighted toward current issues. I deeply believe we are at a crossroads in our movement, one that will determine our future; we will either reclaim our deep Pentecostal spirituality or we will sell our birthright for a chance to be seated at the head table with those members of society who can barely tolerate our existence.
In these letters, I address issues related to the nature of the church, holiness, the Scriptures, women in ministry, besetting sins in our midst, higher education, etc. Some of the addressed areas of concern have been with us from our beginnings and others are more recent in origin. I have endeavored to be faithful to the high calling of Christ by naming sin without denigrating sinners.
These are essays and not research papers. The vast majority of what I have written is drawn from a lifetime of experience and study. I have checked a few facts and tried to note when I did. This is not an academic thesis; I am not arguing for my views even if I do offer some defense of my statements. These are letters full of assertions that flow out of personal convictions and not researched arguments. I guess the Biblical term is "exhortations." I am from my heart exhorting my Church of God family to renew our covenant to be the church of God.
In these letters, I address issues related to the nature of the church, holiness, the Scriptures, women in ministry, besetting sins in our midst, higher education, etc. Some of the addressed areas of concern have been with us from our beginnings and others are more recent in origin. I have endeavored to be faithful to the high calling of Christ by naming sin without denigrating sinners.
These are essays and not research papers. The vast majority of what I have written is drawn from a lifetime of experience and study. I have checked a few facts and tried to note when I did. This is not an academic thesis; I am not arguing for my views even if I do offer some defense of my statements. These are letters full of assertions that flow out of personal convictions and not researched arguments. I guess the Biblical term is "exhortations." I am from my heart exhorting my Church of God family to renew our covenant to be the church of God.
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Seven Transforming Gifts of Menopause: An Unexpected Spiritual Journey
by Cheryl Bridges Johns, Ph.D.
by Cheryl Bridges Johns, Ph.D.
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Menopause is a dramatic but largely overlooked developmental window to the second half of life. Although today's women are more aware of and actively involved in mapping their menopausal journey than generations before, many still do not see menopause as a time of important psychological and spiritual transformation.
This book goes far beyond hot flashes and gets to the very heart of the midlife journey, helping women find their unique voice and speak their truth in an era of #MeToo and #ChurchToo. Coming alongside readers as a wise spiritual guide, pastor and theologian Cheryl Bridges Johns identifies seven key developmental "tasks" of menopause and gives practical ways women can embrace each one. She encourages women to view these tasks as gifts as they experience the remarkable physical, emotional, and spiritual transformation that occurs in this stage of life. Written in a warm and conversational tone, this book helps women chart a course for the future, leading them to a renewed sense of identity, a more focused vision for life, and a deeper spirituality. Each chapter includes guided questions for personal reflection and study questions for group discussion. |
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I Am Not A Poet: Journeys in Faith and Self-Discovery by Jackie David Johns, Ph.D.
This book is a collection of poems, each written by the author. They were composed over a period of more than twenty years. Most were not written to be read by others. They were instead exercises
in self-discovery.
The author began writing them at a point of great despair. His faith was under tremendous strain. Everything he thought he knew about God and his self was being challenged at the core of his being.
He thought he had been faithful. He was doing his part, but God wasn’t doing His, or so it seemed. Like Jacob long ago, he was wrestling with God and God was winning. Out of those experiences, he discovered some truths about himself, his God, and the Christian life.
As exercises in self-discovery, these poems are in a sense autobiographical. A few of them are explicitly narrative in nature, tracing issues through the seasons of the author's life. Further, except for the first and last pieces, the writings appear in the order in which they were written. That arrangement is in one sense also autobiographical, tracing the author's evolution in themes for writing.
in self-discovery.
The author began writing them at a point of great despair. His faith was under tremendous strain. Everything he thought he knew about God and his self was being challenged at the core of his being.
He thought he had been faithful. He was doing his part, but God wasn’t doing His, or so it seemed. Like Jacob long ago, he was wrestling with God and God was winning. Out of those experiences, he discovered some truths about himself, his God, and the Christian life.
As exercises in self-discovery, these poems are in a sense autobiographical. A few of them are explicitly narrative in nature, tracing issues through the seasons of the author's life. Further, except for the first and last pieces, the writings appear in the order in which they were written. That arrangement is in one sense also autobiographical, tracing the author's evolution in themes for writing.
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Publisher : Center for Pentecostal Ministry (November 26, 2011)
Language : English Paperback : 70 pages Item Weight : 3.36 ouncesISBN-13: 978-0615570648 (Custom) ISBN-10: 061557064X List Price: $5.95 |
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The Pedagogy of the Holy Spirit According to Early Christian Tradition
By Jackie David Johns, Ph.D.
Early Christian literature reveals that the church perceived its teaching ministry, indeed its entire existence, as being under the close supervision of the Holy Spirit. However, little attention has been given in modern times to the role of the Holy Spirit in church pedagogy. This doctoral dissertation sets forth an inter-disciplinary descriptive analysis of pedagogical issues associated with the Holy Spirit in the literature of early Christianity and it offers a brief paradigm for Christian education based upon that analysis.
The method of this study was to ask a series of questions from the perspectives of historical theology and pedagogy. Three theological questions concerning the Holy Spirit were linked to six questions from educational philosophy as a means of probing into the historical record. The core question being, in the eyes of the ante-Nicene church, who was the Spirit and how did the Spirit work in the church to form believers?
The method of this study was to ask a series of questions from the perspectives of historical theology and pedagogy. Three theological questions concerning the Holy Spirit were linked to six questions from educational philosophy as a means of probing into the historical record. The core question being, in the eyes of the ante-Nicene church, who was the Spirit and how did the Spirit work in the church to form believers?
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Publication Date: Jun 27 2012
ISBN/EAN13: 0615606016 / 9780615606019 List Price = $11.95 Page Count: 180 Binding Type: US Trade Paper Trim Size: Related Categories: Religion / Christian Theology / Pneumatology |
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Pentecostal Formation: A Pedagogy Among the Oppressed by Cheryl Bridges Johns, Ph.D.
The Pentecostal movement has been subject to some negative external assumptions, among them the misconception that they do not form people in the Christian faith. In this enlightening and challenging book, Cheryl Bridges Johns argues that, in fact, Pentecostals employ a powerful process of formation and catechesis, which has enabled millions of believers to own and articulate the Christian story. She engages dialectically with the work of Paulo Freire, a specialist in education among the marginalized. She looks broadly at the nature of all catechesis and offers a model of formation that moves beyond the rationalism that constrains a praxis epistemology.
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Series: Journal of Pentecostal Theology Supplement Series
Paperback: 154 pages Publisher: Wipf & Stock Pub (November 1, 2010) Language: English ISBN-10: 1608998991 ISBN-13: 978-1608998999 Product Dimensions: 6 x 0.4 x 9 inches Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces List Price: $20.00 |
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Re-Enchanting the Text: Rediscovering the Bible as Sacred, Dangerous, and Mysterious by Cheryl Bridges Johns, Ph.D.
In an age when the Bible has been stripped of its sacredness and functional biblical illiteracy reigns, this book makes the case that we must work to re-enchant the text in order to return the Bible to its rightful place in the lives of Christians.
Cheryl Bridges Johns explains how the Enlightenment's turn to the rational human subject made it possible to objectify the Bible and has distorted our interpretations of Scripture. This move generated a belief that studying the Bible was primarily a means of supporting facts and providing evidence of competing visions of reality. This "modern" version of the Bible does not trouble our nights with apocalyptic images. It has been stripped of its power. She also shows that both "liberal" and "fundamentalist" interpretation are failed forms of disenchanted readings.
Johns argues that we must rediscover the Bible as a sacred, dangerous, mysterious, and presence-filled wonderland to counteract biblical illiteracy in an increasingly post-Christian landscape.
Available May, 2023
Cheryl Bridges Johns explains how the Enlightenment's turn to the rational human subject made it possible to objectify the Bible and has distorted our interpretations of Scripture. This move generated a belief that studying the Bible was primarily a means of supporting facts and providing evidence of competing visions of reality. This "modern" version of the Bible does not trouble our nights with apocalyptic images. It has been stripped of its power. She also shows that both "liberal" and "fundamentalist" interpretation are failed forms of disenchanted readings.
Johns argues that we must rediscover the Bible as a sacred, dangerous, mysterious, and presence-filled wonderland to counteract biblical illiteracy in an increasingly post-Christian landscape.
Available May, 2023
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Publisher : Baker Academic (May 16, 2023)
Language : English Paperback : 192 pages ISBN-10 : 1540965139 ISBN-13 : 978-1540965134 Item Weight : 1.11 pounds List Price: $22.99 |
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