Claiming the Courageous Middle: Daring to Live and Work Together for a More Hopeful Future

Claiming the Courageous Middle: Daring to Live and Work Together for a More Hopeful Future

by Shirley A. Mullen
Claiming the Courageous Middle: Daring to Live and Work Together for a More Hopeful Future

Claiming the Courageous Middle: Daring to Live and Work Together for a More Hopeful Future

by Shirley A. Mullen

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Overview

Today's political and cultural polarization has led to suspicion and animosity in our churches, our workplaces, and even our families. It has also led to a false sense that our options are limited to choosing a side. But there is a better way.

Shirley Mullen invites readers to claim the powerful, redemptive potential of the courageous middle. Far from being a place of bland averaging, moral cowardice, wobbling indecisiveness, or lazy indifference, the courageous middle is a place where thoughtful individuals work with urgency to foster attentive rather than dismissive listening in order to garner what is true and praiseworthy even from those with whom they disagree. Their Christian faith, which makes it impossible for them to align themselves fully with one side or the other, uniquely equips them to call their communities to imagine a more hopeful, grace-filled future.

This book offers a Christian theological framework for the work of "middle space" drawn from the Old and New Testaments. It also includes practical advice on how to prepare for this work, examples of those who have called their communities to alternatives beyond binary options, and discussion questions.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781493444526
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Publication date: 04/16/2024
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 200
Sales rank: 769,952
File size: 3 MB

About the Author

Shirley A. Mullen (PhD, University of Minnesota; PhD, University of Wales) is president emerita of Houghton University in Houghton, New York, where she served as president for 15 years. She spent four decades at the forefront of Christian higher education as a professor, administrator, and president. She continues to encourage the next generation of leaders through speaking and mentoring. Mullen also serves on the boards of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU), Fuller Theological Seminary, the National Association of Evangelicals, and the 1st Amendment Partnership.
Shirley A. Mullen (PhD, University of Minnesota; PhD, University of Wales) served as president of Houghton College for fifteen years before retiring in 2021. She spent four decades in the work of faith-based liberal arts education as a professor, residence life director, chief academic officer, and president. As president emerita for Houghton University, Mullen continues to speak, write, and consult as part of her ongoing commitment to encourage and invest in the next generation of leaders through mentoring and serving on the boards of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, Jericho Road Community Health Center, the National Association of Evangelicals, Fuller Theological Seminary, and the 1st Amendment Partnership.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. Catching a Vision for a Third Way of Being in the World: My Own Story 
2. A Gift We Would Not Ask For: Understanding the Origin and the Unwelcome Adventure of Middle Space
3. The Middle Spaces of the Scriptures: The Invitation to a Biblical and Theological Tradition
4. Counting the Cost: A Risk Analysis of Working in Middle Space
5. So You Want to Prepare to Work in Middle Space?
Concluding Thoughts: The Persistent Call to Courageous Middle Space
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