The Tabernacling Presence of God

Although a large majority of believers agree that they should share their faith, most report that they, in fact, do not. That's not really all that surprising given today's pluralistic cultural setting. But maybe this same culture's longing for transcendence, community, and a place to call home points to a backstory that makes sense of it all. If such a narrative exists, it deserves a hearing, and those who know and live this story have both the responsibility and privilege of sharing its message of hope. The narrative of the Bible tells just such a story where God's purpose from the beginning has been to dwell--or tabernacle--in the midst of the people he has created. This book traces the theme of God's tabernacling presence across Scripture, reading the story afresh through a missional lens in order to gain insights for mission and gospel witness. The hope is that readers will awaken wide-eyed to the wonder of God's tabernacling presence in our midst, that we will live in such a way that others recognize this reality, and that we will boldly and joyfully share the good news of Jesus under the direction and power of his indwelling Spirit. ""Susan Booth's work on the presence of God is penned with the scholar's mind, but the reader will also sense her missional conviction that the Scripture and theology must bring us to a gospel response worthy of our God and fit for our critical times. Read this carefully, prayerfully, thoughtfully, and join the conversation."" --Alvin L. Reid, Professor of Evangelism and Student Ministry, Bailey Smith Chair of Evangelism, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary ""Booth offers us a theological underpinning for gospel witness in an increasingly post-Christian culture. The book employs the mission of God as an interpretive key, relates the fact of God's presence to the task of evangelism, contextualizes it for the West in general and Canada in specific, and does so in an eminently readable way. Highly recommended."" --Bruce Riley Ashford, Provost, Professor of Theology, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary ""Booth masterfully addresses humanity's age-old question: How can I personally experience a God who, if he exists, seems so far away? Combining a razor-sharp scholarly mind with a compassionate heart for evangelism, Booth provides a brilliant analysis of God's unrelenting effort to dwell among his people, and a pragmatic approach to what this could look like in an increasingly secular nation like Canada."" --Richard Blackaby, Author; President, Blackaby Ministries International ""Booth convincingly and coherently traces her theme from the opening chapters of Genesis to the closing chapters of Revelation, and demonstrates how fruitful a systematically missional hermeneutic of the whole Bible can be. Again and again, I found myself exclaiming, 'Why did I not see that more clearly before?'"" --Christopher J. H. Wright, Langham Partnership ""[This] is an outstanding work that connects one of the most central themes of Biblical theology--the Presence of God--to the very heart of the church's mission. Biblically based and engaging."" --Daniel Hays, Professor of Biblical Studies, Ouachita Baptist University Susan Maxwell Booth (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as the Professor of Evangelism and Missions at the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary & College in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada. Susan and her husband Steve are under appointment with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. They served in Budapest, Hungary, for seven years before transferring to Canada in 2000.