Marva J. Dawn

""Talking the Walk provokes us to repent of twisted beliefs that trip us in our walk as believers. It restores the glory and power of religious language so commonly corrupted. In the current climate of thought, it's an upside-down theological breviary. Its seventy-two brief, lucid essays on key theological words like Father, Trinity, creation, atonement, and hell could generate spirited weekly discussions for the brave and the free who desire to know and speak of God and faith more truly. This book is a rich offering 'of praise to God, the fruit of lips that confess his name' (Heb. 13:15)."" --Willard M. Swartley, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary ""Words serve as the 'coin of the realm' in the Information Age. As such, they sometimes get dropped in the dirt and wear out. They also get spent on the wrong things. Sometimes, considered worthless, they get thrown away. In her latest book, Talking the Walk, Marva Dawn bemoans the underuse, misuse, overuse, and abuse of theological words. In this theological wordbook, Dawn's concern is not with abstract concepts, but the lived experiences of faith. Her considerable learning shines through, but she speaks more from her heart than her head. As one who has traveled across many geographical and denominational boundaries, she has observed frequently and firsthand the shabby treatment accorded the traditional language of the church. She recoils with pain, and pleads for the restoration of words that carry deep meaning for the Christian faith. Although I am one of her erstwhile teachers, I do not agree with all of Dawn's answers. But I do appreciate the questions she raises about the meaning of the words we use and don't use in the contemporary church. This is a book worth reading... and thinking about."" --Wayne McCown, Northeastern Seminary, Roberts Wesleyan College ""Words, all words, are holy: 'God said... and it was so' and 'The Word was made flesh' are the foundation pillars of language. But these world-making words and salvation-shaping words are also vulnerable to corruption. Christians have an enormous stake in purifying the language, in maintaining the accuracy of words on which so much depends. Marva Dawn in Talking the Walk keeps us alert and thoughtful lest we inadvertently use God's words to tell the Devil's lies."" --Eugene H. Peterson, The Message ""'Rescue a word...discover a universe, ' Sir Edwyn Hoskyns once said to his hearers. In this book Marva Dawn undertakes such a rescue mission and discovers a universe of meaning in some of the most cherished, provocative, and enduring words in our religious vocabulary. Talking the Walk is great writing and great theology held together in perfect equipoise. A joy to read "" --Timothy George, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University ""'Calling things by their proper names, ' as eighteenth-century writer Hannah More put it, is one of the obligations of faithfulness. Marva Dawn likewise calls us to reconsider the theological language we use, abuse, and take for granted. Her book introduces an examination of conscience for the contemporary church that is timely and vital for coherence in the community of faith."" --David Lyle Jeffrey, Baylor University ""For many Christians, the great vocabulary words of the church have too often been like great-grandmother's silver--tucked away in the attic, tarnished and forgotten, relics of another day. In this wonderfully written book, Marva Dawn recovers these neglected treasures, polishes these old words until they gleam, and returns them to us ready to use in the life of faith. Read this book with gratitude and joy."" --Thomas G. Long, Candler School of Theology, Emory University Marva J. Dawn serves the global church as a theologian, author, musician, and educator under Christians Equipped for Ministry and as Teaching Fellow in Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.

""Talking the Walk provokes us to repent of twisted beliefs that trip us in our walk as believers. It restores the glory and power of religious language so commonly corrupted. In the current climate of thought, it's an upside-down theological breviary. Its seventy-two brief, lucid essays on key theological words like Father, Trinity, creation, atonement, and hell could generate spirited weekly discussions for the brave and the free who desire to know and speak of God and faith more truly. This book is a rich offering 'of praise to God, the fruit of lips that confess his name' (Heb. 13:15)."" --Willard M. Swartley, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary ""Words serve as the 'coin of the realm' in the Information Age. As such, they sometimes get dropped in the dirt and wear out. They also get spent on the wrong things. Sometimes, considered worthless, they get thrown away. In her latest book, Talking the Walk, Marva Dawn bemoans the underuse, misuse, overuse, and abuse of theological words. In this theological wordbook, Dawn's concern is not with abstract concepts, but the lived experiences of faith. Her considerable learning shines through, but she speaks more from her heart than her head. As one who has traveled across many geographical and denominational boundaries, she has observed frequently and firsthand the shabby treatment accorded the traditional language of the church. She recoils with pain, and pleads for the restoration of words that carry deep meaning for the Christian faith. Although I am one of her erstwhile teachers, I do not agree with all of Dawn's answers. But I do appreciate the questions she raises about the meaning of the words we use and don't use in the contemporary church. This is a book worth reading... and thinking about."" --Wayne McCown, Northeastern Seminary, Roberts Wesleyan College ""Words, all words, are holy: 'God said... and it was so' and 'The Word was made flesh' are the foundation pillars of language. But these world-making words and salvation-shaping words are also vulnerable to corruption. Christians have an enormous stake in purifying the language, in maintaining the accuracy of words on which so much depends. Marva Dawn in Talking the Walk keeps us alert and thoughtful lest we inadvertently use God's words to tell the Devil's lies."" --Eugene H. Peterson, The Message ""'Rescue a word...discover a universe, ' Sir Edwyn Hoskyns once said to his hearers. In this book Marva Dawn undertakes such a rescue mission and discovers a universe of meaning in some of the most cherished, provocative, and enduring words in our religious vocabulary. Talking the Walk is great writing and great theology held together in perfect equipoise. A joy to read "" --Timothy George, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University ""'Calling things by their proper names, ' as eighteenth-century writer Hannah More put it, is one of the obligations of faithfulness. Marva Dawn likewise calls us to reconsider the theological language we use, abuse, and take for granted. Her book introduces an examination of conscience for the contemporary church that is timely and vital for coherence in the community of faith."" --David Lyle Jeffrey, Baylor University ""For many Christians, the great vocabulary words of the church have too often been like great-grandmother's silver--tucked away in the attic, tarnished and forgotten, relics of another day. In this wonderfully written book, Marva Dawn recovers these neglected treasures, polishes these old words until they gleam, and returns them to us ready to use in the life of faith. Read this book with gratitude and joy."" --Thomas G. Long, Candler School of Theology, Emory University Marva J. Dawn serves the global church as a theologian, author, musician, and educator under Christians Equipped for Ministry and as Teaching Fellow in Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia.

The Vital Questions series presents the thinking of knowledgeable, qualified authors on "vital questions" that Christians should be able to discuss intelligently. These concise books provide to-the-point answers and present the author's viewpoint, while allowing room for reader thought and disagreement. "How Shall We Worship?" One source of debate today is the wide variety of worship styles. In "How Shall We Worship?" Marva Dawn turns to Psalm 96 to investigate key elements of worship, from music to liturgy. She reminds us about the importance of recognizing that worship is for God and not for us.

Marva Dawn has an insider's view of the many spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, and physical difficulties encountered by people with chronic illness and disabilities. She knows from experience how to nurture hope in spite of infirmity. Filled with insight and practical help, each chapter of Being Well When We're Ill focuses on one particular kind of struggle, such as worry, guilt, the loss of meaning, or the loss of confidence and trust that God is present and personally loving. Each chapter details one or more appropriate ''finds'' - spiritual resources, emotional supports, intellectual answers, or practical solutions - that enable a person with infirmities to persevere through them and to be well in spite of them. For each issue she explores, such as loss of dreams, loneliness, physical pain, depression, ingratitude, side effects and more, Dawn includes discussions of biblical texts - not only texts that help lament losses but texts that bring wholeness. Readers will find themselves companioned in their sufferings and encouraged with new ways to surmount them.

"An overwhelming number of us are lonely," writes Marva Dawn. "Sometimes we are lonely for a specific reason: our spouse has recently died or left us; our children have just gone from home or have been tragically killed; we are fighting a particular battle against illness or suffering the ravages of chemotherapy; we are new in the neighborhood; our values are different from those of our work colleagues; it is a Friday night and all our other single friends have dates. Sometimes our loneliness is a general, pervasive alienation: we just don't feel as if we belong in our place of work, in our community, in our family, even in our church." Our struggle with loneliness often results in a lament directed at God. We might say something like "How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?" When we cry out words like these, we find ourselves praying the words of the Psalms. In My Soul Waits, Dawn guides us through psalms that reveal the burdens of our souls to God, and in turn reveal God's profound, intimate concern for our pain and a promise to abide with us in it. Readers feeling the sting of loneliness will take great comfort in this very personal book. Those who strive to support the lonely among them will take wise counsel from the Scriptures it expounds. All will encounter a renewed hope in the One who lists our tears only to wipe them all away.

In this prophetic call to faithful Christian living, Marva Dawn identifies the epidemic socio-cultural attitudes that destroy hope in our modern lives. Because affluent persons don't know what to value--how to choose what's important and weed out the rest--we remain dissatisfied with what we have and are compelled to want more. Dawn demonstrates, however, how Christians can organize their lives to live in ways that allow them to love God and neighbor and, in the process, alleviate the despair in their lives and in the lives of others in the world.

Neither a commentary on the book of Revelation nor a devotional work -- though it offers aspects of both -- Joy in Our Weakness is instead a theological and practical guide that ushers readers into the very presence of Christ and His Lordship over the powers of evil. Marva Dawn writes compassionately for those who suffer, for this book was born out of her own struggles with physical limitations and chronic illness, and it is intended to help the whole Church learn how to find Joy in every circumstance of life, especially in trials and sufferings. After outlining some important foundational principles in three introductory chapters, Dawn guides readers through the whole book of Revelation, pointing out the errors of those who try to calendarize the end of the world and instead delineating how The Revelation reveals Christ's Lordship, exposes the workings of the powers, and sustains those who suffer until evil is ultimately defeated. Now thoroughly revised for a wider readership, Joy in Our Weakness highlights The Revelation's original purpose -- to comfort afflicted, suffering believers -- and spells out a biblically grounded -theology of weakness, - offering a rare gift to the Church today. A wealth of insight and encouragement truly awaits the readers of these pages.

As we embark on the new millennium, uncharted challenges await the church. This volume by one of today's most valued voices on modern church life offers a wealth of insight into the role of local churches in the twenty-first century. Rooted in solid biblical research and extensive experience, Marva Dawn's newest book will help churches and their leaders avoid falling to the temptations of contemporary secular culture, including the popular -success- models of church management. Dawn offers groundbreaking scholarship--from the first significant critique of Walter Wink's work on -the powers- to a relevant new translation of 2 Corinthians 12:9--and challenges readers to rethink the goals and mission of the congregation, to develop practices that follow God's -hidden- way of weakness, and to expand their sense of what it means to be a faithful church. Complete with discussion questions, this book provides the trustworthy theological and biblical foundations necessary for building strong churches--and keeping them strong--in today's world.

Following up on her best selling Reaching Out without Dumbing Down, Marva Dawn offers biblically grounded, experience-based insights to help churches navigate beyond today's destructive worship wars and to stimulate renewal in the worship and life of congregations. The first major section of the book examines the postmodern, media-saturated, consumerist culture that makes worship difficult yet absolutely essential. The next section focuses on keeping God at the center of worship. Other sections of the book explore issues of taste, forming faith in children, word choices, hospitality in worship, and the challenges of -being church for the world.- The book also includes nine Scripture-based sermons and questions for further discussion. In contrast to writers who advocate worship for utilitarian purposes, Dawn concentrates on worship's royal dimension, its God-ward focus. A Royal -Waste- of Time amplifies Dawn's earlier argument that churches need to wrangle seriously with the true purpose of worship in order to employ the tools and forms that best enfold participants in the splendor of worshiping God. Only worship filled with the splendor of God, Dawn writes, will lead to genuine adoration of God and faithful formation of his people.

Author-educator-theologian Marva Dawn looks to the twelfth chapter of the book of Romans for a blueprint for establishing the contours of community in the Christian church, a biblical ideal rarely achieved in our individualistic society.

Why do churches fight -Worship Wars?- Why do discussions about how to conduct worship often split into two vitriolic polarities over -traditional- versus -contemporary- styles or into two opposing camps, such as organists/ guitarists, baby boomers/elders, returnees/loyalists or clergy/musicians? These -worship wars- prevent us from being the Church. In Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down, Marva Dawn writes to help local parishes and denominations think more thoroughly about worship and culture so that they can function effectively in contemporary society. She roots her discussion of worship issues in a careful assessment of significant aspects of the present technological, boomer, post-modern society and names criteria by which to judge the various cultural influences. She then sketches essential attributes of worship. Dawn recognizes that the vitality and faithfulness of our personal and corporate Christian lives and the effectiveness of our outreach to the world depend on the character that is formed in individuals and communities. How can churches best reach out to society without -dumbing down- this essential character formation? Dawn discusses music, preaching, and all the accouterments of worship and offers practical suggestions for choosing the best tools and forms to deepen worship life, nurture faith development, and increase believers' outreach throughout the universal church and to the world.

Aiming to combat the widespread confusion today regarding sexual issues, Marva Dawn offers in this book a clear, fresh biblical understanding of human sexuality. To establish the necessary foundations for new thinking about sexual issues, Dawn explains the importance of distinguishing between social and genital sexuality, discusses the forces in our technological society that jeopardize true intimacy, and outlines the "ethics of character" that forms the basis for discussion in the rest of the book. Holding to a positive biblical vision for sexual character leads Dawn to raise provocative questions that apply in very practical, relevant ways to such issues as friendship, marriage, divorce, teenage dating, homosexuality, and abortion. Written in an engaging, non-preachy style, Sexual Character will benefit all thoughtful Christian adults - ministers, parents, youth group leaders, college students - and provide solid material for church groups.

"But I don't wanna go to church!" Marva Dawn has often heard that cry--and not only from children. "What a sad commentary it is on North American spirituality," she writes, "that the delight of 'keeping the Sabbath day' has degenerated into the routine and drudgery--even the downright oppressiveness--of 'going to church.'" According to Dawn, the phrase "going to church" both reveals and promotes bad theology: it suggests that the church is a static place when in fact the church is the people of God. The regular gathering together of God's people for worship is important--it enables them to be church in the world--but the act of worship is only a small part of observing the Sabbath. This refreshing book invites the reader to experience the wholeness and joy that come from observing God's order for life--a rhythm of working six days and setting apart one day for rest, worship, festivity, and relationships. Dawn develops a four-part pattern for keeping the Sabbath: (1)ceasing--not only from work but also from productivity, anxiety, worry, possessiveness, and so on; (2) resting-- of the body as well as the mind, emotions, and spirit--a wholistic rest; (3) embracing--deliberately taking hold of Christian values, of our calling in life, of the wholeness God offers us; (4) feasting--celebrating God and his goodness in individual and corporate worship as well as feasting with beauty, music, food, affection, and social interaction. Combining sound biblical theology and research into Jewish traditions with many practical suggestions, Keeping the Sabbath Wholly offers a healthy balance between head and heart: the book shows how theological insights can undergird daily life and practice, and it gives the reader both motivation and methods for enjoying a special holy day. Dawn's work-- unpretentiously eloquent, refreshingly personal in tone, and rich with inspiring example--promotes the discipline of Sabbath-keeping not as a legalistic duty but as the way to freedom, delight, and joy. Christians and Jews, pastors and laypeople, individuals and small groups--all will benefit greatly from reading and discussing the book and putting its ideas into practice.