Christa L. McKirland

Is authority reserved for those with a specific calling to leadership? Who holds power in the church? Does authority have limits? Are teaching and preaching the most important practices of authority? Our understanding--and misunderstanding--of authority has significant implications for our individual and corporate flourishing. In A Theology of Authority, Christa McKirland challenges our assumptions about authority, power, and leadership. With a focus on low-church traditions, she examines authority through the lens of analytic philosophy and biblical theology to offer a theological definition of authority. She also tackles questions related to divine and human authority, Scripture, and practices typically related to ordination: preaching, teaching, serving communion, baptizing, church discipline, and vision casting. A Theology of Authority expands our understanding of authority, recognizing the Spirit's enablement of each member to fulfil their calling to spiritual maturity. Readers will gain a deeper understanding of the nuances of authority and power and how we relate to one another as siblings in Christ.

In a world often consumed with self-sufficiency, this book reminds us that humans have an innate need for the grace of God's personal presence. Christa McKirland, an author doing research at the intersection of Christian theology and the sciences, argues for a new way of understanding the image of God that might precondition science-engaged theology. She makes an exegetical and theological case that human beings were created to need the presence of God in order to flourish. Such a need is not a liability but our greatest human dignity. Foreword by Alan J. Torrance.

"There is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus." The conversation about the relationship between women and men and their roles in the Christian life and the church has evolved, but the topic continues to inspire debate and disagreement. The third edition of this groundbreaking work brings together scholars firmly committed to the authority of Scripture to explore historical, biblical, theological, cultural, and practical aspects of this discussion. This fresh, positive defense of gender equality is at once scholarly and practical, irenic yet spirited, up-to-date, and cognizant of opposing positions. In this edition, readers will find both revised essays and new essays on biblical equality in relation to several issues, including the image of God, the analogy of slavery, same-sex marriage, abortion, domestic abuse, race, and human flourishing. Discover for yourself God's vision for gender equality.