Perspectives Series (5-volume)

Quickly survey a full range of expert opinions on five critical topics every church faces with this recently-published collection

Written in a point and counterpoint form the Perspectives Series will help you get a better handle on the five topics of Doctrine of God, Spirit Baptism, Election, Children's Spiritual Formation and Church Government. An expert panel of commentators, representing a wide range of positions within Christianity, will lead you through a fascinating discussion that leaves no stone unturned.

Those who have purchased books in the Perspectives series have appreciated the concise treatments of complex subject matter, the breath of the commentators' opinions, and their reactions to each other's essays.

The five topic volumes are:

Perspectives on Election

Editor: Chad Owen Brand
Contributors: Jack W. Cottrell, Clark H. Pinnock, Robert L. Reymond, Thomas B. Talbott and Bruce A. Ware

Perspectives on Election presents five common belief statements on the doctrine of spiritual election and predestination that have developed over the course of church history. The goal is to help you determine which position is most faithful to Scripture, and from there, develop your own position statement. Each chapter is written by a prominent expert within each tradition, and each writer has the opportunity to respond to each differing view.

Despite the focus on a topic that divides many people, editor Chad Brand says, “The goal of this book is to add clarity to the discussion and to further the discussion, insofar as it is possible, in an amiable manner.” Perspectives on Election will give you a firm grasp of how election and predestination have historically, and are currently being understood and taught.

Perspectives On Spirit Baptism

Editor: Chad Brand
Contributors: Jr. Walter C. Kaiser, Ralph Del Colle, H. Ray Dunning, Larry Hart, and Stanley M. Horton

Perspectives on Spirit Baptism presents common beliefs on the issue of spirit baptism which have incredibly strengthened as well as historically divided the church throughout history. Each chapter is written by a prominent commentator from the Reformed, Pentecostal, Charismatic, Wesleyan and Catholic perspectives. Content sections deal with the biblical, historical, and theological issues within each tradition.

This Perspectives work answers the primary questions of the relationship of Spirit baptism to conversion, and the relationship of Spirit baptism to spirituality in general. More than just a debate, the essays present ways in which believers with differing views on Spirit baptism can relate to one another without the divisions that have divided historically caused divisions within denominations and Christianity in general. These and many more important questions are covered in Perspectives on Spirit Baptism's balanced pesentation.

Perspectives on the Doctrine of God

Editor: Bruce Ware
Contributors: Roger Olson, John Sanders, and Paul Helm

Perspectives on the Doctrine of God presents a discussion of the Calvinist (classical and modified), Arminian and Open Theist perspectives in a point counterpoint form. Each commentator presents biblical and well-reasoned answers to the questions of God's infinite all-knowingness, transcendence of time and space, love and sensitivity for his creation, and the problem of suffering and evil. Also included is a concise history of each tradition with its primary proponents. The purpose is to give you a sampling of some of the most important proposals for understanding the doctrine of God from within evangelical theology. The four positions described, and defended, provide a helpful understanding of key points along the spectrum of viewpoints that evangelical theologians are currently advocating.

This Perspectives content provides biblically-concise position descriptions without having to wade through volumes of theological works.

Perspectives on Children's Spiritual Formation

Editor: Michael Anthony
Contributors: Gregory C. Carlson, Scottie May, Trisha Graves, and Tim Ellis

Perspectives on Children's Spiritual Formation presents four views of children's spiritual formation and four related methods of Christian Education. Perspectives include the contemplative-reflective model (cultivating a quiet, worshipful spirit), instructional-analytic model (involving child evangelism and Bible memorization), pragmatic participatory model (focusing on high-energy activities model, often seen in mega-churches), and the media-driven active-engagement model (using a video-based curriculum with limited teacher training).

This material is key not only for program formation, but even more for understanding how children learn and develop a natural and life-long love for God and others.

Perspectives on Church Government: Five Views of Church Polity

Editors: Chad Brad, Stan Norman
Contributors: Daniel Akin, Jr. James Leo Garrett, Robert L.
Reymond, James R. White, and Paul F. M. Zahl

How a church organizes itself can be its greatest strength or a barrier to reaching its full God-ordained potential. Perspectives on Church Government presents the basic models of church government which have developed over the course of church history with a view toward determining which is most faithful to Scripture. The five content sections include: plural elder-led church, bishop-led church, single elder-led church, congregation-led church and presbytery-led church.

Discussion points are oriented around the biblical, historical, and theological issues within each governance tradition. The result is a full examination of Scripture relevant to each tradition, and interpretational tools for practical decision making about the people and policies guiding your church.