Tyler D. Mayfield

Are we paying attention to the holy ground beneath our feet? Where do we see burning bushes in our world today, and what are they calling us to do? Do spiritual encounters in our lives have holy consequences in the world around us?Many of us want to understand how to integrate our personal spiritual lives more actively with our engagement in working for justice and the liberation of the oppressed and marginalized. Hard and Holy Work provides a space for just that, helping readers participate in Lent in a new way by becoming attuned to God's boundless presence in our world and waking up to and taking action for God's justice through exploring stories from the book of Exodus that have inspired the work of liberation for centuries.Pastor Mary Alice Birdwhistell and Hebrew Bible scholar Tyler Mayfield reflect on the brave action of the midwives Shiphrah and Puah and other faithful women in Exodus, Moses' awakening to the plight of the Hebrew people, Moses' life-changing encounter with the burning bush, the Israelites taking the risk of crossing the Red Sea, and more-alongside numerous contemporary stories-to help readers to see anew and contemplate how God is calling them to respond to what is not right in the world: racial injustice, especially borne by women of color, houselessness, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ communities and people with disabilities.Lent is traditionally a time of self-reflection and action that prepares followers of Christ to walk more intentionally in the way of God. Hard and Holy Work takes readers through a unique Lenten journey, encouraging us to see those who are marginalized or suffering as God sees them; contemplate how privilege, fear, risk, and feelings of uncertainty can cloud our attention; and practice endurance for the messy middle of justice work, leaning on God's provision and rest when the way forward is unclear.Questions at the end of each chapter offer opportunities to discuss, reflect, and respond to God's call through daily reflections for individuals, prompts for small group discussion, and ideas for taking action in the outward work of justice and liberation.

Whether through a hymn, Handel's Messiah, or the lectionary reading, the book of Isaiah provides a familiar voice for congregations during the season of Advent. So how do we create faithful, Christian interpretations of Isaiah for today while respecting the interpretations of our Jewish neighbors? Integrating biblical scholarship with pastoral concern, Tyler Mayfield invites readers to view Isaiah through two lenses. He demonstrates using near vision to see how the Christian liturgical season of Advent shapes readings of Isaiah and using far vision to clarify our relationship to Jews and Judaism--showing along the way how near vision and far vision are both required to read Isaiah clearly and responsibly.

What's actually in the Bible? Where do we find the story of Moses or Jesus's Parable of the Prodigal Son? Who are the main characters in the books of Joshua and Acts? A Guide to Bible Basics provides a summary and chapter outline of each biblical book to facilitate comprehension of its fundamental story and subject matter. This accessible and concise book presents the basic content of the Bible with the conviction that readers first need some level of comprehension of the Bible's stories, poetry, regulations, and teachings before addressing theological, historical, and literary concerns for its relevance today. Tyler Mayfield discusses important people, places, and terms so that the reader can quickly see the primary focus. This book can be used alone to help readers in their knowledge of the Bible and is great for beginners or those in need of a refresher course.

Historically, form critical studies of prophetic literature have answered mainly historical questions. However, scholars recently have begun to address literary topics as well. This study of the book of Ezekiel addresses two such topics—literary structure and literary setting—in order to read Ezekiel as a deliberate work of literature, a prophetic composition with a highly-structured form and an intentional placement of units. Mayfield provides a discussion of the role of literary markers in structure and proposes a literary structure of the book based on two formulas: the chronological formula, which divides the book into 13 macrounits, and the prophetic word formula. Then, the author argues for contextual readings of selected Ezekiel passages using literary structure to highlight literary settings. One of these contextual readings presents the unlikely macrounits, Ezek 24-25 and Ezek 32:17-33:20, as transitional units within the book.