Ray S Anderson

Life contains a rhythm when we see it from beginning to end. Our personal existence is not a series of individual episodes taking place as 'points in time.' Rather, life itself bears us along in a common pilgrimage. At any given time, we are part of a community where birth and death, joy and sorrow, pain and pleasure, as well as sowing and harvesting are taking place. This communal sharing of life replicates all the 'seasons of life.' For each time in our lives there is a corresponding season in the life of the human family. We empower faith by practicing hope every day of our lives. ""In this book, Ray Anderson reinvigorates hope with its dynamic relationship to faith, and in turn puts meat on the bones of faith as 'the assurance of things hoped for.' Drawing on his personal experience of being raised with the seasons of life on the farm, Anderson explores the grace of God in the midst of a life lived in the rhythm of spring, summer, fall, and winter, and finds God in the midst of such experiences as 'preparing, ' 'weeding, ' 'waiting, ' and 'visualizing.' Here is Anderson at his best and wisest: connecting the grace of God to real lives that experience the newness of spring, the promise of summer, the harvest of fall, and the vision of winter. Hope lives "" Christian D. Kettler Professor of Theology and Philosophy, Friends University, Wichita, KS ""For decades Ray Anderson has been one of the most imaginative and engaging theological writers, and he does not disappoint in The Seasons of Hope as he unpacks the virtue of hope through his own story of life on a South Dakota farm. Through rich metaphor and imaginative prose Anderson provides another significant thesis that is welcoming to both academic and lay theologians. This book portrays a beautiful theological vista through the eyes of a theologian who has been brave enough to plant himself in the soil of human existence, and seek God through the seasons and rhythms of life."" Andrew Root Assistant Professor of Youth and Family Ministry, Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN ""Ray Anderson's grasp of the human psyche is as lucid as his theological expertise. With characteristic insight and imagination Anderson demonstrates the inseparability of our souls from the soil. In addressing such themes as the mystery of faith, the virtue of patience, the distinction between longing and desire, the importance of timing as we participate in God's work, the tragic dimension of hope, and the power of visualization, Anderson draws from his early years of working on the land--through spring, summer, fall, and winter--in order to illuminate our understanding of the hope that summons faith into action. Read this book . . . but read it slowly. Savor it so that the harvest of hope may, by the grace of God, work its presence and power in your life, as it assuredly has in Anderson's own life."" Graham Buxton Director of Postgraduate Studies in Ministry and Theology, Tabor College, Adelaide, South Australia RAY S. ANDERSON (1925-2009) was Senior Professor of Theology and Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary where he has taught for more than thirty years. He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including, The Seasons of Hope, Marriage and Family Ministry in a Postmodern Culture, The Soul of Ministry, Ministry on the Fireline, and The Shape of Practical Theology.

""No one has contributed more substantially to creative, orthodox Christian thinking about human nature, pastoral theology, and counseling over the past 30 years than Ray Anderson. His latest book is most welcomed, particularly given its focus on the family, a pivotal cultural institution of obvious developmental importance, which radical postmodernism has attempted to radically redefine, but which always warrants a fresh, practical, Christian approach and critique."" --Eric L. Johnson, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ""Combining the wisdom accumulated in his years as a seminary professor and scholar, pastor, and counselor, Ray Anderson has given us an outstanding book on marriage and family ministry in contemporary culture. Even more than this, it is the best statement I know of on a theology of the family, including the place of family in the church and wider society. . . . H]ard issues in family life such as violence and abuse, homosexuality, care for the elderly, and death are addressed with a combination of biblical truth and grace. Something Old, Something New is must reading for all persons involved in ministry today "" --Jack Balswick, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology ""For a Church often despairing of biblically based resources in ministering to the family in our postmodern culture, Ray Anderson's twenty-fifth book focuses on recovering a theology of the family. His seminal volume (written with Dennis Guernsey), On Being Family: Toward a Social Theology of the Family (1985), virtually created the new genre of the 'theology of the family.' In Something Old, Something New: Marriage and Family Ministry in a Postmodern Culture, we find the fruit of Anderson's mature reflections that will give hope and guidance to the Church of the twenty-first century. He discusses marriage and parenting, divorce and remarriage, singleness and cohabitation, and other issues within the diversity and relativity characterized by our postmodern context. His decades of experience as a seminary professor and church pastor enable him to articulate a theology of family ministry that offers concrete help for families, churches, and pastors based on the healing ministry of Christ in today's society."" --Chris Kettler, Friends University, and Todd Speidell, Webb School of Knoxville RAY S. ANDERSON (1925-2009) was Senior Professor of Theology and Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary where he has taught for more than thirty years. He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including, The Seasons of Hope, Marriage and Family Ministry in a Postmodern Culture, The Soul of Ministry, Ministry on the Fireline, and The Shape of Practical Theology.

""No one has contributed more substantially to creative, orthodox Christian thinking about human nature, pastoral theology, and counseling over the past 30 years than Ray Anderson. His latest book is most welcomed, particularly given its focus on the family, a pivotal cultural institution of obvious developmental importance, which radical postmodernism has attempted to radically redefine, but which always warrants a fresh, practical, Christian approach and critique."" --Eric L. Johnson, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary ""Combining the wisdom accumulated in his years as a seminary professor and scholar, pastor, and counselor, Ray Anderson has given us an outstanding book on marriage and family ministry in contemporary culture. Even more than this, it is the best statement I know of on a theology of the family, including the place of family in the church and wider society. . . . H]ard issues in family life such as violence and abuse, homosexuality, care for the elderly, and death are addressed with a combination of biblical truth and grace. Something Old, Something New is must reading for all persons involved in ministry today "" --Jack Balswick, Fuller Graduate School of Psychology ""For a Church often despairing of biblically based resources in ministering to the family in our postmodern culture, Ray Anderson's twenty-fifth book focuses on recovering a theology of the family. His seminal volume (written with Dennis Guernsey), On Being Family: Toward a Social Theology of the Family (1985), virtually created the new genre of the 'theology of the family.' In Something Old, Something New: Marriage and Family Ministry in a Postmodern Culture, we find the fruit of Anderson's mature reflections that will give hope and guidance to the Church of the twenty-first century. He discusses marriage and parenting, divorce and remarriage, singleness and cohabitation, and other issues within the diversity and relativity characterized by our postmodern context. His decades of experience as a seminary professor and church pastor enable him to articulate a theology of family ministry that offers concrete help for families, churches, and pastors based on the healing ministry of Christ in today's society."" --Chris Kettler, Friends University, and Todd Speidell, Webb School of Knoxville RAY S. ANDERSON (1925-2009) was Senior Professor of Theology and Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary where he has taught for more than thirty years. He is the author of more than twenty-five books, including, The Seasons of Hope, Marriage and Family Ministry in a Postmodern Culture, The Soul of Ministry, Ministry on the Fireline, and The Shape of Practical Theology.

If the emerging church movement is looking for a theology, Ray Anderson offers clear and relevant theological guidance for it in this timely book. Reaching back through time, Anderson roots an emergent theology in what happened at Antioch, where Saul (Paul) and Barnabas were set apart for a mission to establish churches outside of Jerusalem--among Gentiles who had to be reached in their own cultures. He shows how the Lord Holy Spirit himself revolutionized and inspired how the message of salvation was offered to others, and provided a model to follow. Explaining that an emergent theology is messianic, revelational, kingdom-coming and eschatological, this book adresses many of the concerns of those looking for a church that is contemporary, yet true to the gospel. If you wrestle with the challenges that face the church in these "postmodern" days, you will benefit from this book.

Ray Anderson's book spoke courage and comfort to my soul.... Lewis B. Smedes, Ph. D. Author of titles including Shame and Grace, Forgive and Forget: Healing the Hurts We Don't Deserve and How Can It Be All Right When Everything Is All Wrong? Whether it's childhood trauma, abusive relationships, or shame, Anderson provides effective help for those who hide behind a facade of well-being and deny their own brokenness. Archibald D. Hart, Ph. D., Dean, Graduate School of Psychology, Fuller Theological Seminary, author of titles including Adrenaline and Stress and Dark Cloud, Silver Lining Ray Anderson, (1925-2009) was Senior Professor of Theology and Ministry at Fuller Theological Seminary and served on the faculty of the School of Theology since 1976. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Spiritual Caregiving as Secular Sacrament, The Soul of Ministry, Self Care, Living the Spiritually Balanced Life, and Dancing with Wolves While Feeding the Sheep: The Musings of a Maverick Theologian.

In this theological memoir, Ray Anderson takes us on his own journey from the prairie to the pulpit, and from the soul of a believer into the soul of a theologian. As a sequel to his earlier book, 'The Soul of Ministry', he shares with us the process by which his own spiritual hunger moved from uneasiness and unrest into a deeper sense of the soul of theology as exploration into the very soul of God (Part One). In Part Two, each chapter traces out the contours of a theology which "sings as well as stings." After more than 40 years of ministry as pastor, teacher and theologian, Anderson presents a theological hermeneutic by which Scripture and human experience can be read on the same page. If reading this book produces astonishment and wonder at the depth and daring to which God's grace encounters and embraces us through Jesus Christ, then that itself will lead us, with awe and reverence, to behold the soul of God.