Theology: Resources with a significant focus on theology.
Body and Soul: We Belong
Room for All, 2014 (format: On-line Video)
This series of 6 videos is produced by Room for All, the welcoming church program similar to GLAD in the Reformed Church in America. Each video examines a theological topic such as faith, baptism, and scripture. Although the discussion in the video sometimes focuses on creed and catechism in ways unfamiliar to Disciples, the questions asked are deeply familiar and the resulting discussion honors Christian tradition in ways that any Disciple can appreciate. Each video is about 10 minutes long and there’s a study guide available, making this an excellent resource for a Sunday School or Bible study group.
(categories: All, Beginning the Journey, General Introduction, The Curious, Theology)Controversies in Queer Theology
Susannah Cornwall, Lisa Isherwood, 2011 (format: book)
Queer theology is a significant new development and central to much current teaching and thinking about gender, sexuality and the body. Controversies in Queer Theology provides an overview of the main areas of difference and debate in queer theologies, engaging with and critiquing all the major writers working in this area. Susannah Cornwall shows how this field is still in flux and the highlights implications for employing queer methodologies across theological work.
(categories: All, Theology)Doing Justice: Congregations and Community Organizing
Dennis A. Jacobsen, 2001 (format: book)
Doing Justice is an introductory theology of congregation-based community organizing rooted in the day-to-day struggles and hopes of urban ministry and in the author’s 14 years of personal experience in community organizing ministries. Recommended for any interested in a biblically and theologically grounded foundation for justice work.
(categories: All, Going Deeper, Justice Work, Theology)From Sin to Amazing Grace: Discovering the Queer Christ
Patrick S. Cheng, 2012 (format: Book)
Struggling with the doctrines of sin and grace, Cheng argues that people need to be liberated from the traditional crime-based model of sin and grace and proposes a Christ-centered model that is based upon the ancient doctrine of theosis, or deification, in which sin and grace are defined in terms of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. This accessible work will serve as a useful resource for all people who struggle to make sense of the traditional Christian doctrines of sin and grace in the twenty-first century.
(categories: All, Going Deeper, Theology)Jesus’ Family Values
Deidre Good, 2006 (format: Book)
Professor of New Testament at the General Theological Seminary in New York, Good asks: What are Christian family values? Why are there so many interpretations of what Jesus actually taught and said? and Which biblical values should guide our lives?
(categories: All, Bible Study, Christian Family and Community, Christian Marriage and Equal Marriage, Theology)Justice Calls: Sermons of Welcome and Affirmation
Phil Snider, 2016 (format: book)
In Justice Calls, Disciples Pastor Phil Snider collects sermons that add compelling clarity to the growing chorus of Christian voices that are passionate about LGBTQ justice and equality–not in spite of their faith but precisely because of it.
With a combination of pastoral sensitivity, scholarly insight, and courageous vision, these sermons are a must-read not only for LGBTQ people longing to know they don’t have to deny their religious convictions in order to embrace their sexuality and/or gender identity, but also for people of faith who wonder if they have to disregard the Bible in order to fully accept their LGBTQ neighbors, friends, and family members.
Justice Calls includes sermons and essays from many well known Disciples pastors and scholars: Rita Nakashima Brock, Derek Penwell, Sandhya Rani Jha, Christian Piatt, Glen Miles, and a host of other excellent writers.
This volume is an ideal resource for small groups, Sunday school classes, preachers, church leaders, and all people everywhere who are interested in recognizing how the rich resources in the Bible can be cultivated in order to celebrate–rather than condemn–LGBTQ friends and neighbors.
Starting with the call for equality and ending with a call for the transformation of the church, this volume walks the journey of God’s affirming love for all with both care and courage.
(categories: All, Being an Ally, Going Deeper, Inclusion and Welcome, Personal Stories, Preaching Resources, Reflections and Musings, The Curious, Theology)Liberating Sexuality: Justice Between the Sheets
Miguel A. De La Torre, 2016 (format: book)
Liberating Sexuality by Miguel A. De La Torre and published by Chalice Press is a collection of essays on gender, sexism, heterosexism, and healthy sex. Dr. De La Torre brings his sharp mind and theological insights to topics and biblical texts that often, in our churches, are used to control and condemn. These essays open up new insights into Biblical justice making and liberation. This book will serve as a resource to inspire many a sermon and can certainly provide food for thought for a Sunday School or book study group.
(categories: All, Bible Study, Preaching Resources, Theology)Peculiar Faith: Queer Theology for Christian Witness
Jay Emerson Johnson, 2014 (format: book)
This book provides a resource for both students and clergy to reinterpret Christian theology and re-imagine Christian faith in the twenty-first century.
The author seeks “to encourage and equip Christian faith communities to move beyond the decades-long stalemate over human sexuality and gender identity” because “Queer gifts emerge in Christian communities when lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people no longer feel compelled to justify their presence in those communities.”
Useful in both seminary classrooms and in congregational settings, the book is a contribution to the still-emerging field of queer theology, translating the rigors of scholarly research into transforming proposals for faith communities.
(categories: All, Preaching Resources, Theology)Queering Christianity: Finding a Place at the Table for LGBTQI Christians
Robert Everett Shore-Goss, Thomas Bohache, Patrick S.Cheng, Ramona Faye West, 2013 (format: Book)
This compilation of essays by LGBTQI scholars in religion summarizes LGBTQI theology and explores its relationship to traditional Christianity. Contributors contrast the “radically inclusive” thinking of LGBTQI theology with the “exclusivity” practiced by many Christian churches, explaining the reasoning of each and clarifying contentious issues. At the same time, the book highlights ways in which “queer” theology and practice benefit Christian congregations. This book creates a starting point for dialogue and offers practical suggestions for Christian congregations that wish to put aside exclusionary policies and practices.
(categories: All, Going Deeper, Theology)Radical Love: An Introduction to Queer Theology
Patrick S. Cheng, 2011 (format: Book)
Radical Love – a love so extreme that it dissolves our existing boundaries – gay/straight, male/female, life/death, divine/human. Radical Love is an excellent introduction into how queer theology works.
(categories: All, Going Deeper, Theology)Sexuality and the Sacred, Second Edition: Sources for Theological Reflection
Marvin M. Ellison, Kelly Brown Douglas (eds.), 2010 (format: book)
Christian discourse on sexuality, spirituality, and ethics has continued to evolve since this book’s first edition was published in 1994. This updated and expanded anthology featuring more than thirty contemporary essays includes more theologians and ethicists of color and addresses issues such as the intersection of race/racism and sexuality, transgender identity, same-sex marriage, and reproductive health and justice.
(categories: All, Theology)The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus Christ: What’s So Good about the Good News
Peter Gomes, 2007 (format: Book)
Minister of Harvard University’s Memorial Church, Gomes asserts that we are meant to go beyond the Bible in order to discover the gospel. While looking for the promised fulfillment of the gospel, Gomes points out that we must manage to live in the world as it is. We must risk, we must have compassion, and we must care for all of creation.
(categories: All, The Curious, Theology)Trans-Gendered: Theology, Ministry and Community
Justin Edward Tanis, 2003 (format: Book)
Dr. Tanis, through the use of personal stories and the journey of others, as well as scriptural and theological discussion, provides the reader with an insightful and knowledgeable discussion about gender variant people in the church.
(categories: All, Personal Stories, Theology, Transgender)