Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist Marilynne Robinson is one of the most eminent public intellectuals in America today. In addition to literary elegance, her trilogy of novels (Gilead, Home, and Lila) and her collections of essays offer probing meditations on the Christian faith. Many of these reflections are grounded in her belief that the sixt… Read more…
What if empathy could save us?
Belinda Bauman was living a comfortable life as a wife, mother, and nonprofit leader—but her soul was checked out. Then she met Esperance. An assault survivor living in one of the poorest, most dangerous countries in the world, Esperance and other Congolese women shared their harrowing stories with Belinda. … Read more…
The Christian faith depends to a great degree on persuasion. In one of his letters to early Christians, the apostle Paul wrote, "Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone" (Col. 4:6). Yet rhetoric—the art of persuasion—has been largely ignored by most Christians.
In thi… Read more…
Carol Berry and her husband met and befriended Henri Nouwen when she sat in his course on compassion at Yale Divinity School in the 1970s. At the request of Henri Nouwen's literary estate, she has written this book, which includes unpublished material recorded from Nouwen's lectures.
As an art educator, Berry is uniquely situated to develop Nouwe… Read more…
Christianity Today's 2020 Book of the Year Award of Merit - Spiritual Formation
What if our memories are like shells we gather on a beach?
According to pastor and spiritual director Casey Tygrett, "We—and all those who have come before us—pick up the experience and we s… Read more…
Young adult ministry scares us.
Young adults seem like the elusive Holy Grail demographic in Christian ministry. We often treat them like another species, with an inscrutable culture all their own. To have a thriving ministry to young adults, we're told, we'll need to be up-to-date on all the latest trends. We'll need to change … Read more…
Christian Book Award® program
Biblical Foundations Book Awards Finalist
New Testament introductions fall into two categories: those that emphasize the history behind the text through discussions of authorship, dating, and audience, and those that explore the content of the text itself. Few introductions weave the Old Testament… Read more…
The theology of the apostle Paul is complex, set forth in numerous occasional letters, and subject to a seemingly endless variety of interpretations. How should students of Scripture engage the challenging task of discerning the shape of Paul's thought? In Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in Christ, Thomas R. Schreiner seeks to unearth Paul… Read more…
Church planting is hard work. Planters face a thousand pressures related to leadership, finances, identity, and more. Quick fixes don't produce sustainability. How can church planters and their congregations flourish for the long haul?
Sent to Flourish is a unique guide to accompany current and prospective church planters as they respon… Read more…
The Gospel Coalition Book Award
What does the good news of Jesus mean for economics?
Too often, Christian teaching and ministry have focused only on the gospel's spiritual significance and ignored its physical, real-world ramifications. But loving our neighbor well has direct economic implications, and in our diverse and stratified … Read more…
Named a "Book of the Century" by Christianity Today
Who is Jesus Christ? While Jesus and his teaching continue to hold appeal, many people question the plausibility or relevance of the Christian faith. Is it reasonable to believe that Jesus was truly divine? If so, what does it mean f… Read more…
Open theism has reached its adolescence. How did it get here? And where does it go from here?
Since IVP's publication of The Openness of God in 1994, evangelical theology has grappled with the alternative vision of the doctrine of God that open theism offers. Responding to critics who claim that it proposes a truncated version of God th… Read more…
The theme of justice pervades the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. And all Christians agree that justice is important. We often disagree, however, about what justice means, both in Scripture and for us today. Many turn to Old Testament laws, the prophets, and the life of Jesus to find biblical guidance on justice, but few think of searching th… Read more…
For many Christians today, the notion that demons should play a role in our faith—or that they even exist—may seem dubious. But that was certainly not the case for John Chrysostom, the "golden-tongued" early church preacher and theologian who became the bishop of Constantinople near the end of the fourth century. Indeed, references to demon… Read more…
Beyond the familiar lions' den and fiery furnace, much of the book of Daniel seems baffling to modern readers. The first half recounts stories full of ancient Near Eastern protocol and imperial court drama; the second half features apocalyptic visions of monstrous beasts and cosmic conflict. Many Christians misunderstand or simply avoid the… Read more…
How can we understand God's revelation to us?
Throughout the church's history, theologians have often answered this question by appealing to a doctrine of illumination whereby the Holy Spirit shapes our knowledge and understanding of Scripture. Without denying the role of the Holy Spirit or the cognitive role of illumination, Ike Mi… Read more…
"If I were to become a Christian, it would mean not only changing my religion but changing my whole identity, and bringing shame upon my family. My whole family is Muslim, and my society and culture were Muslim. . . . Changing from Islam to Christianity would mess up my life forever."
So writes Abu Atallah, who grew up in Cairo as an ordinary Egyptian Mu… Read more…
Biblical Foundations Book Awards Finalist
Deep within the human psyche lies a sense that we were made for something more than this broken world. We all share an experience of exile—of longing for our true home.
In this ESBT volume, Matthew S. Harmon explores how the theme of sin and exile is developed throughout Scripture. He… Read more…
Who are you becoming? And how will you get there?
Spiritual transformation is not a one-size-fits-all journey. Each of us has a particular identity, gifts, values, roles, and purpose. Thus we each need distinct spiritual rhythms that are designed to help us live out that vocation and calling.
In this practical book Alastair Sterne shows… Read more…
The Bible is meant to be read in the church, by the church, as the church.
Although the practice of reading Scripture has often become separated from its ecclesial context, theologian Derek Taylor argues that it rightly belongs to the disciplines of the community of faith. He finds a leading example of this approach in the theology of Dietr… Read more…
Every student asks questions about life beyond the classroom:
What does it mean to be in community?
How can I discern my vocation?
How should I understand marriage and sex?
How should I relate to money and power?
What happens if I doubt my faith?
… Read more…
Many discussions of Christian spirituality draw on a range of traditions and "disciplines." Little attention, however, appears to have been given to the Bible itself for its teaching on this theme or as a source of spirituality. Similarly, it is commonly assumed that, when it comes to spirituality, the evangelical tradition has little to offer.
In respon… Read more…
"Tethered to the cross" is how the renowned nineteenth-century English Baptist minister Charles H. Spurgeon (1834–1892) described the task of ministry and his approach to preaching.
For nearly four decades, Spurgeon served as the pastor of the church at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. But what specifically guided the reading of Scr… Read more…
Biblical Foundations Book Awards Finalist
The closely related biblical themes of covenant and law have often been debated. Yet they are among the most important topics in Scripture—theologically and practically. They address how God graciously relates to us and how we ought to live on a daily basis.
In this ESBT volume, Brand… Read more…
Fresh out of college, hating her job, and searching for meaning, Meghan Tschanz left everything to join a mission trip around the globe, and quickly witnessed oppression experienced by women that she never thought possible.
Over the next several years, she befriended women around the globe who had survived sex trafficking, female genital mu… Read more…
It's a long way from the research carrel to the classroom. No matter your personality, your prior experience, or the specifics of your situation, the transition from graduate studies to teaching involves a set of challenges for which no one is ever fully prepared. In this practical guide Michael Kibbe, author of From Topic to Thesis, provid… Read more…
How do we think? What does a faithful use of logic look like?
Without even pausing to think about it, we exercise our capacity for rational thought. But how exactly does logic work? What makes some arguments valid and others not?
In this Questions in Christian Philosophy volume, philosopher Forrest Baird offers an introduction to logic.… Read more…
The history of the Christian church is a fascinating story.
Since the ascension of Jesus and the birth of the church at Pentecost, the followers of Christ have experienced persecution and martyrdom, established orthodoxy and orthopraxy, endured internal division and social upheaval, and sought to proclaim the good news "to the end of the ea… Read more…
Biblical Foundations Book Awards Finalist
Through all of John's works, a consistent message is woven: being a Christian is about abiding in Christ and in his words. The Gospel of John, the epistle of 1 John, and the Apocalypse all begin in the same way: by pointing to the importance of knowing the Word, both written and incarna… Read more…
There's a ticking time bomb in your ministry. Is it you?
The pressures of pastoring are endless, leading many to burnout and depression, sexual misconduct, or substance abuse. But moral failures can be averted and shipwrecked ministries can be repaired. Counselor Michael MacKenzie, a longtime expert in helping pastors at risk, deals wit… Read more…
God calls Christians to participate in his redemptive mission in every sphere of life. Every corner, every square inch of society can flourish as God intends, and Christians of any vocation can become agents of that flourishing.
Amy Sherman offers a multifaceted, biblically grounded framework for enacting God's call to seek the shalom o… Read more…
The American church is at a critical crossroads. Our witness has been compromised, our numbers are down, and our reputation has been sullied, due largely to our own faults and fears. The church's ethnocentrism, consumerism, and syncretism have blurred the lines between discipleship and partisanship.
Pastor Eric Costanzo, missiologist Da… Read more…
Discover your gifts! All of us have gifts that can be used for the common good. The Discover Your Gifts Workbook has sessions on twelve different kinds of gifts, from artistic and technical gifts to entrepreneurial and civic gifts. Every session defines and describes what each gift looks like and gives examples of how the gift can be used in fo… Read more…
The Christian faith is not only about belief and practices, it is also about the kind of people that we become. Yet some of the biggest barriers to our transformation come from our toxic self-narratives. These narratives shape the way we see ourselves and the way we interact in the world. God designed us with a deep longing in our souls to be w… Read more…
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945) was one of the most compelling theologians of the twentieth century. A complex mix of scholarship and passion, his life and writings continue to fascinate and challenge Christians worldwide.
He was a pastor and profound teacher and writer on Christian theology and ethics, yet was also involved in the resistance against Hit… Read more…
With over 60,000 copies in print since its original publication in 1984, Ethics has served numerous generations of students as a classic introduction to philosophical ethics from a Christian perspective. Over the years the philosophical landscape has changed somewhat, and in this new edition Arthur Holmes adjusts the argument and information throughout, comp… Read more…