Embracing Creation tells the story of the relationship between God, humanity, and Creation. God calls humanity to preserve, develop, and love his good Creation, his cosmic temple. Recalling the original story of Creation, the authors retell the story of Israel, Jesus, and the Church in light of God's love for the cosmos. Through the resurrection of Jesus, God redeems humanity and Creation from the bondage of death. Learn to embrace Creation-protecting the earth's resources, subduing its chaos, rejoicing in its gifts, and meditating on its splendor in worship. God created something good and intends to make it even better. The good Creation is not to be annihilated but made new for an eternal habitation of God with humanity.

Does God invite women to fully participate in all the assemblies of God?Among churches of Christ, the voices of women are typically silent and excluded from visible leadership in assemblies gathered for prayer and praise. In this book, John Mark Hicks tells the story of his own journey to understand how women have served God throughout the unfolding drama of Scripture. John Mark describes his movement from the exclusion of the voices of women and their leadership in the assembly to a limited inclusion, and finally to the full inclusion of those voices and their leadership. Along the way, he describes some of the history of churches of Christ as well as his own story but ultimately focuses on the meaning of biblical texts and how they support the full participation of women in the assemblies of God.Three women, Claire Davidson Frederick, Jantrice Johnson, and Lauren Smelser White, respond to and extend John Mark's thoughts. Bethany Joy Moore also contributes an essay from the perspective a minister's daughter who is now pursuing a graduate degree in theology.John Mark is detailed, fair, and vulnerable about his own journey and our collective journey inChurches of Christ. I recommend John Mark as a trustworthy guide.-Dr. Sara G. Barton, University Chaplain, Pepperdine University, Malibu, CADo we believe that the Holy Spirit equally equips both women and men to carry out Jesus's message of reconciliation? Dr. Hicks is a trusted guide in navigating the depth of scripture and the complexity of our cultural moment. Drink deeply from this well -Dr. Joshua Graves, Otter Creek Church, Brentwood, Tennessee.With characteristic depth, rigor, and generosity, Hicks offers his own journey toward embracing the inclusion of women's voices in the assembly. Hicks writes with a familiarity of Restoration Movement history that few can boast, with an accompanying dedication to searching the scriptures.- Amy McLaughlin-Sheasby, Instructor in the Department of Bible, Missions, and Ministry, Abilene Christian University.This book is a gift to twenty-first century Churches of Christ. Part autobiography, part history, part exegesis, and part biblical theology, Hicks's exploration of the Bible's teachings on the role of women in congregational gatherings offers several invaluable components.-Dr. James L. Gorman, Associate Professor of History, Johnson University.John Mark Hicks is Professor of Theology at Lipscomb University in Nashville, TN. He has taught for thirty-nine years in schools associated with churches of Christ. He has authored or co-authored eighteen books, lectured in twenty-two countries and forty states, and is married to Jennifer. They share five living children and six grandchildren.

A GROUP STUDY GUIDE FOR SEARCHING FOR THE PATTERN BY JOHN MARK HICKS

Searching for the Pattern describes John Mark Hicks's journey from reading the Bible through the lens of a blueprint hermeneutic to reading the Bible with a theological hermeneutic.

This book provides a guide for studying and discussing John Mark's book in a Bible class, small group, or another group setting. There are eight lessons (easily expandable to twelve), each one including a key biblical text, a focus for the lesson, a teaching outline, discussion questions, and handouts for the class.

This guide is designed for Bible class teachers and small group leaders to use as a way to facilitate discussion of the key ideas and biblical texts that mark the difference between a blueprint and a theological way of reading the Bible. Leaders will need to read Searching for the Pattern and use its presentation of the material to ground the discussion.

John Mark Hicks is Professor of Theology at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has taught for thirty-eight years in schools associated with the Churches of Christ. He has published sixteen books and lectured in twenty countries and forty states. He is married to Jennifer, and they share six children and six grandchildren.

MOVING FROM A BLUEPRINT HERMENEUTIC TO A THEOLOGICAL ONE

In this book, John Mark Hicks tells the story of his own hermeneutical journey in reading the Bible. Lovingly and graciously, he describes his transition from a blueprint hermeneutic to a theological one. Some suggest that moving away from a patternistic command-example-and-necessary-inference approach for understanding what God requires leaves no other alternative, or at least none that both respects biblical authority and seeks to obey the gospel of Jesus the Messiah.

In Searching for the Pattern, John Mark offers just such an alternative. His theological hermeneutic is deeply rooted in the way the Bible presents itself as a dramatic history of God's plan to redeem the world as well as his own experience of growing up among Churches of Christ. Seeing the gospel of Jesus as the center of the biblical drama reorients us to what provides our Christian identity and unites us as disciples of Jesus.

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I pray this book is received with open hearts and open minds because I believe this work could go a long way in helping to bring unity to our fractured fellowship.

--Wes McAdams, Preaching Minister for the church of Christ on McDermott Road, Plano, Texas

This excellent book helps us understand the inner workings of Bible interpretation among Churches of Christ and provides a persuasive proposal for Bible interpretation that is built on the story of God we find in Scripture--a story into which God calls us.

--James L. Gorman, Associate Professor of History, Johnson University
Knoxville, Tennessee

Finally, a trellis across the chasm Throughout this book, Hicks does not compromise his high regard for both the church and the Scriptures; and through the grace found therein, he composes this urgent invitation back to the Table, where obedience cooperates with mystery, and we--estranged or conflicted--can find our place as one within God's magnificent story.

--Tiffany Mangan Dahlman, Minister at Courtyard Church of Christ,
Fayetteville, North Carolina

John Mark Hicks is Professor of Theology at Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee. He has taught for thirty-eight years in schools associated with the Churches of Christ. He has published fifteen books and lectured in twenty countries and forty states and is married to Jennifer. They share six children and six grandchildren.

This book prepares the student for the observance of communion through deep study of Scripture. One will learn communion's origin deepen his relationship with God and be challenged in discipleship.

A rich resource for renewing the practice of the sacraments in a way that encourages faithful discipleship in a hostile cultural environment.

As God's chosen people, the ancient Israelites regularly encountered God in rituals rooted in the memories of Passover, the exodus, and Mount Sinai. These practices of remembering God's deliverance and presence were ultimately fulfilled in Jesus and passed on to the church. In Transforming Encounters, John Mark Hicks examines ancient Israel's practices to show how God met and transformed Israel in these encounters. Today, through baptism, the worship assembly, and the Lord's Supper, the church experiences God's transforming power as she looks backward to her spiritual ancestors and forward as she awaits Jesus's return.

This widely accessible, biblically-grounded study of baptism, the worship assembly, and the Lord's Supper is ideal for Bible class settings, small groups, and personal study.

Praise for Transforming Encounters

As one who sat at the feet of Dr. Hicks during his teaching career, this book reminded me of many things I appreciated about his classes. Transforming Encounters is a study of Scripture that engages the trajectories of both testaments along with historical theology. Readers will be challenged to be better disciples when prompted to think about God's activity in the assembly, in baptism, and at the Lord's Table. Even as the contrast between altar/table or the definition of certain terms (sacrament, worship) might challenge some, this study serves as a gentle and helpful correction for those who have underestimated the blessing of our encounters with God.

-Doug Burleson, PhD, Lectureship Director, Assistant Dean of College of Biblical Studies, Freed-Hardeman University, Henderson, Tennessee

Encountering the triune God. Proclaiming and experiencing the gospel. Committing to lives of authentic discipleship. For Hicks, this is what baptism, the worship assembly, and the Lord's Supper are all about. This is the kind of study that, combined with prayerful application, can deepen faith and transform the local church.

-Mark E. Powell, PhD, Dean and Professor of Theology, Harding School of Theology, Memphis, Tennessee

After a lifetime of teaching, preaching, writing about, and practicing baptism, assembly, and the Lord's Supper, John Mark Hicks offers yet another gift to the church in this book. He skillfully explores these sacramental practices through Scripture's story of redemption-in the life of Israel, Jesus Christ, and the church. Biblical, approachable, and readable, this book is a call to return to the basics of church life, to elevate our understanding of these means of grace, and to expect a transformative encounter with the God who has called us into his eternal fellowship. Every Christian congregation and believer will benefit from this study.

-Keith Stanglin, PhD, Director, Center for Christian Studies, Austin, Texas; Professor of Historical Theology, Harding School of Theology, Memphis, Tennessee

Scripturally rich and pastorally insightful, this book provides accessible yet profound insights into baptism, the Lord's Supper, and church assembly as tangible means of grace in believers' lives. Its contents will intrigue those who were initially drawn to these practices as commands, yet want to understand their import beyond a transactional register; it will equally tantalize those who embrace these acts as sacramental mysteries of the faith, but long to press further into their biblical and practical significance. Best of all, Hicks' study of these transforming encounters offers an analogous opportunity to its readers, inviting us deeper into the story, love, and life of the Triune God.

-Lauren Smelser White, PhD, Assistant Professor of Theology, College of Bible and Ministry, Lipscomb University, Nashville, Tennessee

Meeting God at The Shack shows hurting people how to read this story with profit and come to know God more fully.