Joining Lives

by Andy Odle (Editor)

Overview

We live in precarious times and are seeking to make a lasting impact through immediate solutions. But in our haste we often make decisions to fix problems and persons, forgetting that we are not called to fix but rather to reconcile. In this wide-ranging collection of essays we explore what it might look like if we were to live in the world first with the purpose of reconciling and then allow that vision to guide our actions. Each essay engages with reconciliation in different contexts, providing meaningful and potentially transformative insights that will lead the reader to more faithful lives and activities. The essays are not filled with theoretical reflections but with hard-earned wisdom from proven thinkers, practitioners, and innovators. ""In Joining Lives, a canon of imaginative theological practitioners bring to life time-tested ideas through embodied sacrifice--that's what gives this handy book such credibility, that the words were first written though the daring love of those who then were able to pen them. It's rare to find such a committed group of SHEroes and heroes fighting for the 'new we.' Joining Lives is their testament of reconciliation, and an invitation for the rest of us to join in."" --Christopher L. Heuertz, Founding Partner of Gravity, a Center for Contemplative Activism; Author of Unexpected Gifts: Discovering the Way of Community Andy Odle is the Executive Director of Church on the Street Ministries and The Center for Practical Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. Church on the Street serves a community facilitator function bringing together diverse stakeholders in neighborhoods of systematic distress to act in concert toward vision, strategies, and practices aligned with joining lives and transforming communities. The experiences and lessons of such activities are formally reflected on and shared through The Center for Practical Theology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498291262
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	01/06/2017
Pages:	126
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Andy Odle is the Executive Director of Church on the Street Ministries and The Center for Practical Theology in Atlanta, Georgia. Church on the Street serves a community facilitator function bringing together diverse stakeholders in neighborhoods of systematic distress to act in concert toward vision, strategies, and practices aligned with joining lives and transforming communities. The experiences and lessons of such activities are formally reflected on and shared through The Center for Practical Theology.

Table of Contents

Contributors vi

Introduction Andy Odle ix

Chapter 1 Joining Lives: A Brief Practical Theology of Reconciliation Andy Odle 1

Chapter 2 Vocation: Reconciling Our Work with the Work of Christ Cherie Ong 13

Chapter 3 The Church and the Community Jim Wehner 21

Chapter 4 Backyard Eucharist: The Practice of Neighboring and the Missional Imagination Shawn Duncan 33

Chapter 5 Dwelling in Union: Asset-Based Community Development Catherine Gilliard 47

Chapter 6 Race, Reconciliation, Recognition: A Generational Search for the Beloved Community Bruce Aaron Beard Donell Woodson 59

Chapter 7 Art and the Art of Reconciliation William Massey 70

Chapter 8 Disability and Reconciliation: The Old Woman's Model Stephanie Brock Brian Brock 78

Chapter 9 Stripped Love: Reconciliation and Sex Trafficking Kimberly Majeski 89

Chapter 10 Self-Care: A Whole New Way of Being Katheryn L. W. Heinz 99

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"In Joining Lives, a canon of imaginative theological practitioners bring to life time-tested ideas through embodied sacrifice—that's what gives this handy book such credibility, that the words were first written though the daring love of those who then were able to pen them. It's rare to find such a committed group of SHEroes and heroes fighting for the 'new we.' Joining Lives is their testament of reconciliation, and an invitation for the rest of us to join in."

—Christopher L. Heuertz, Founding Partner of Gravity, a Center for Contemplative Activism; Author of Unexpected Gifts: Discovering the Way of Community

Editorial Reviews

"In Joining Lives, a canon of imaginative theological practitioners bring to life time-tested ideas through embodied sacrifice—that's what gives this handy book such credibility, that the words were first written though the daring love of those who then were able to pen them. It's rare to find such a committed group of SHEroes and heroes fighting for the 'new we.' Joining Lives is their testament of reconciliation, and an invitation for the rest of us to join in."

—Christopher L. Heuertz, Founding Partner of Gravity, a Center for Contemplative Activism; Author of Unexpected Gifts: Discovering the Way of Community

From the Publisher