Pastoral Helps
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Exploring Theology
$40.00Contents:
Introduction
What Is Theology?
How Do We Do Theology?
Theological Doctrines
ConclusionsAdditional Info
Fortress Press’s Foundations for Learning series prepares students for academic success through compelling resources that kick-start their educational journey into professional Christian ministry.In Exploring Theology, Elaine A. Robinson introduces readers to the study of theology as a central task of all Christians and one that deserves careful and consistent attention. Following a lively examination of what theology is and how we do it, Robinson provides a basic map of the major doctrines of the faith and asks readers to consider their own beliefs at this important point in their journey. She invites readers to think of theology as a stream into which we enter and which carries us deeper into the vast ocean which is the fullness of God.
Designed for those who are beginning a more serious study of theology, Exploring Theology helps readers navigate what might, at first glance, appear as a confusing or abstract subject. Navigational aids include an introduction to theological vocabulary, the sources and methods of theology, and tips for reading primary sources as a spiritual discipline. As a result of this journey, readers will be excited to delve more deeply into theology and will recognize the many ways that theology shapes how we live out the Christian faith in the world.
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Exploring Practices Of Ministry
$36.66Contents:
Introduction: Welcome To The Journey!: Foundations For Practices Of Ministry
1. A Map For The Journey: Theological Foundations For Practice
2. Agents Of Grace On The Move: The Practice Of Leading Worship
3. Heralds Of Truth And Transformation: The Practice Of Proclamation
4. Tour Guides For Fellow Travelers: The Practice Of Teaching
5. Companions In Healing: The Practice Of Pastoral Care
6. Navigators Into Uncharted Terrain: The Practice Of Leadership
Conclusion: On Our Way To Emmaus: Formation, Friendship, And FaithAdditional Info
Fortress Press’s Foundations for Learning series prepares students for academic success through compelling resources that kick-start their educational journey into professional Christian ministry. In Exploring Practices of Ministry, Pamela Cooper-White and Michael Cooper-White share insights from their extensive experience as parish ministers, church agency executives, and seminary educators in diverse multicultural and international contexts. Pamela, an Episcopal priest who teaches pastoral theology, care, and counseling, is also a pastoral psychotherapist with an extensive clinical background. Michael, a Lutheran pastor and seminary president, is also a pilot and flight instructor and has served as a chaplain with the Civil Air Patrol.The authors share their wisdom with seminarians and other readers seeking to deepen theological reflection and expand skills as ministry practitioners. While not all readers are preparing to be ordained ministers, most will engage in many of the practices described in the book: preaching and public speaking, teaching, leading liturgies, conducting ceremonies, counseling and offering pastoral support for persons undergoing life transitions, and serving as organizational leaders in congregations, chaplaincies, social ministries, and in the public arena. This book is a companion journal for pilgrims on the way to becoming confident practitioners of ministry.
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Exploring The Life And Calling
$31.66Contents:
1. The Calling Of A Professional Minister Of The Gospel Of Jesus Christ
2. Defining Our Praxis
3. Praxis One: The Spiritual Life
4. Praxis Two: A Life Of Meditation And Contemplation
5. Praxis Three: An Embodied Faith
6. Praxis Four: Life Together In The Flock Of The Good Shepherd
7. Praxis Five: Leaders As Apprentices To Jesus
8. Forging AheadAdditional Info
Fortress Press’s Foundations for Learning series prepares students for academic success through compelling resources that kick-start their educational journey into professional Christian ministry.In this introductory volume for the series, Black asserts that while the primary subjects of seminary and professional church work training may dominate the interests of students, students must engage in the principal pursuit of understanding, then applying, Christian theology. Black argues that the thread of theology must be distinctly woven through each of the other disciplines of biblical exegesis, ministerial leadership, spiritual formation, counseling, preaching, and worship.
The following books in this series provide insight into these other key components of the minister’s duties. Black, however, leads off by honoring ministers as leaders who follow in the footsteps of Christ. Just as Jesus was an expert in the issues of his day, demonstrated authority to speak on the matters he engaged, mentored other leaders in like manner, was emulated by his followers who witnessed the life he lead, and, therefore, initiated a revolution that has changed the course of human history, Black is convinced that ministers of the gospel have no less a calling on their lives today
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Exploring Church History
$31.66Contents:
Part I: Why We Study Church History-Purpose
1. The Church Strives To Be One Family
2. The Church Strives To Be A Holy People
3. The Church Strives To Be A Catholic Body
4. The Church Strives To Be An Apostolic Church
Part II: How We Study Church History-Method
5. A Church In Syria Illumines The History Of Christianity In The Middle East
6. A Stele In China Illumines The History Of Christianity In Asia
7. A Cave In Egypt Illumines The History Of Christianity In Africa
8. A Grave In Italy Illumines The History Of Christianity In Europe
9. A Fabric In Mexico Illumines The History Of Christianity In The Americas
10. A Battlefield In Fiji Illumines The History Of Christianity In OceaniaAdditional Info
Fortress Press’s Foundations for Learning series prepares students for academic success through compelling resources that kick-start their educational journey into professional Christian ministry.In Exploring Church History, Derek Cooper invites readers to consider the purpose and significance of church history in the lives of individuals and communities today. Rather than offering an exploration of bygone eras and outdated events, Cooper brings history to life by emphasizing how past events, individuals, and movements shape how we understand the world around us.
Exploring Church History is divided into three convenient sections to aid those approaching the field of church history for the first time. While the first and second sections offer theoretical reasons why and how we study church history, the third section puts theory into practice by introducing readers to the major contours of world Christian history.
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House To House
$18.81A MANUAL TO HELP YOU EXPERIENCE HEALTHY SMALL GROUPS AND HOUSE CHURCHES
Updated! House to House documents how God transformed a small fellowship of young believers into a worldwide movement. DOVE International(R) grew from 25 people to a cell church of over 2300 and then transitioned into a family of small group churches and house churches networking together throughout six continents.Larry Kreider draws from thirty years of victories and defeats to provide an overall paradigm with which to “do” church, where every believer becomes a minister. To embrace this paradigm, the very core of what drives and moves the church is changed. It is not about being clergy run, but rather, church leadership exists to equip and release the believers to become the ministers through small groups and house churches and fulfill their God-given call.
The book’s view of small groups and house churches, based firmly on the scriptures, from their purpose of reaching people for Christ to making disciples to their impact on today’s world, will inspire believers, Christian leaders, and churches, traditional or contemporary, in years to come…transforming them from individual congregations, large and small, into church planting movements.
Includes study and discussion questions after each chapter. Use it as a handbook for small group and house church dynamics as well as an invaluable tool to train leaders.
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Vanishing Grace Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Why does the church stir up such negative feelings? Philip Yancey has been asking this all his life as a journalist. His perennial question is more relevant now than ever: research shows that favorable opinions of Christianity have plummeted drastically—and opinions of Evangelicals have taken even deeper dives. Yet while opinions about Christianity are dropping, interest in spirituality is rising. Why the disconnect? Why are so many asking, “What’s so good about the Good News?” In Vanishing Grace, Yancey shows the desperate need our world has for grace, and how Christians can truly make the gospel good news again. In this video-based small group Bible study, participants will explore what kind of news is good to a culture that thinks it has rejected the Christian version. Wading deep into the transformative power of grace, they will hear illuminating stories of how faith can be expressed in ways that disarm even the most cynical. This participant guide is designed for use with the 6-session Vanishing Grace DVD (sold separately).
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Me I Want To Be Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99In this five-session small group Bible study, The Me I Want to Be, John Ortberg reveals how you can become the unique, fully alive person God intended you to be. There is a me each of one of us wants to be- someone who’s more kind and generous, patient, and loving. But there is a gap between the me I am and the me I want to be. Oftentimes we find it easy to trust God to bridge the gap between and us and him, but we struggle to really live by grace and trust God to close the gap between the me I am and the me I want to be. Becoming God’s best version of you is both God’s desire and the greatest task of your life. And here’s the good news- he’s already working on it. Your life is God’s project, not yours. The Me I Want to Be small group Bible study is a powerful look at becoming the unique, fully alive, flourishing person God intended. Pastor and author John Ortberg teaches through fives sessions how you can move toward becoming God’s best version of you in four specific areas: your mind, your time, your relationships, and your experiences. Spiritual growth can seem difficult or intimidating, but John Ortberg’s humor and innovative thinking in The Me I Want to Be will leave you challenged, inspired, and hopeful about true spiritual growth happening in you and your small group. This Participant Guide is designed for use with The Me I Want to Be DVD (sold separately) and includes discussion questions for individuals and groups. When used together they provide you with a practical tool than can transform your faith.
Sessions include:
Discovering the Spirit
Renewing My Mind
Redeeming My Time
Deeping My Relationships
Transforming My ExperienceAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Understanding Bible By Design
$40.00Today’s seminary and religious-education instructors are expected to design and redesign their courses more nimbly than in the past. We have to adapt our courses to novel learning environments, for more diverse learners, toward more diverse vocations. At the same time, institutional rewards for time invested in course design are fewer than ever. Understanding Bible by Design introduces the reader to Understanding by Design: an approach to course design that is proven time-efficient and grounded in the instructor’s most closely-held convictions about her subject matter’s “big ideas and essential questions.” This book’s contributors (one in Old Testament, one in New Testament, and one in Jewish Studies) demonstrate the value of Understanding Bible by Design for the Biblical Studies instructor, whether at seminary or university, face-to-face or online, from the intimate seminar to the massive MOOC.
Lester’s synopsis of course design and suggested action is followed by a collaborative dialogue with Jane S. Webster and Christopher M. Jones. Webster and Jones provide practical commentary regarding the successful implementation of Lester’s proposed approaches. As a group, Lester, Webster, and Jones create a text that extends pedagogical innovation in inspiring but practical ways.
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Effective Social Learning
$40.00The ground of higher education is shifting, but learning ecosystems around the world have much more space than MOOCs and trendy online platforms can fill, and Loewen shows how professors have an indisputable pedagogical edge that gives them a crucial role to play in higher education. By adopting the collaborative pedagogical process in this book, professors can create effective social learning experiences that connect students to peers and professional colleagues in real-time.
Loewen moves beyond surface questions about technology in the classroom to a problem best addressed by educators in bricks-and-mortar institutions: if students are social learners, how do we teach in a way that promotes actual dialogue for learning? Designing learning experiences that develop intercultural competencies puts the test to students’ social inclinations, and engagement with course material increases when it’s used to dig deeper into the specificities of their identity and social location. Loewen’s approach to inter-institutional collaborative teaching will be explored with examples and working templates for collaborative design of effective social learning experiences. This is done by collaborative dialogue with G. Brooke Lester and Christopher Duncanson-Hales. As a group, Loewen, Lester, and Duncanson-Hales create a text that extends pedagogical innovation in inspiring but practical wa
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Before Amen Study Guide
$12.99Some people excel in prayer. They inhale heaven and exhale God. They are the Seal Team Six of intercession. But for Max Lucado, a self-professed “recovering prayer wimp,” spending even a few minutes each day with God often seemed like a monumental task.
In Before Amen, Max reveals his struggles with prayer and how he discovered that it is not a privilege for the pious or the art of a chosen few but a simple tool everyone has been given to have a conversation with God. Through the use of a simple, easy-to-remember, pocket-sized prayer that he distilled from the prayers in the Bible, he shows how everyone can build a prayer life that is stronger, better and deeper.God wants to talk with you. Even now He taps at the door. Connecting with Him each day can mean all the difference in your life and how you experience God. God will change you through such moments! This study guide includes discussion questions, video notes, and in-between studies and is designed for use with Before Amen: A DVD Study (sold separately).
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Jesus Prom Study Guide
$10.99Jesus loved verbs. He loved action words such aslive, come, rest, learn, hear, give, go and even die. So wouldn’t it make sense that the people who claim to follow Jesus would love the same words that Jesus loved?Unfortunately, somewhere along the way someone tried to make the word “Christian” an adjective. So now people speak of “Christian” books and “Christian” music and “Christian” schools. When people use the word “Christian” as an adjective instead of a noun, it loses its meaning. Maybe this explains why so many churches have lost their purpose.In Jesus Prom, Jon Weece explains how our goal as Christians is to become increasingly more like Jesus. Jesus loved people, which means we should love people. We don’t “kind of” love people-we love them the way Jesus loves us. We impersonate his every move. If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, Jesus should be flattered by the actions of his Church. This study guide includes discussion questions, video notes, and in-between studies and is designed for use with Jesus Prom: A DVD Study (sold separately).
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Worship Ways : For The People Within Your Reach
$25.99Accelerating diversity of lifestyles has created a crisis for worship designers. One size does not fit all. No worship service can be “blended” to address the complete needs of a congregation. Moreover, church “shopping” is ending as people are choosing a worship service that directly meets their fundamental anxieties about life (regardless of style). Learn to use lifestyle information in worship planning to design a service that truly reaches the people in your community. This book explains why people worship and guides leaders to design relevant worship services that address people’s sense of urgency. It is both practical and theological. The decline of worship attendance in all denominations, and across all “traditional” or “contemporary” styles, is reshaping the quest for relevance. Church leaders are turning away from methods to outcomes. People will only participate in worship if it really matters to the fundamental issues that they face.
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Holy Rebellion : Redefining Excellence In Pastoral Ministry
$37.43Can rebellion be holy? Certainly, as long as we rebel against things that God abhors. Built around seven powerful expressions of love, Holy Rebellion draws lessons from real-life ministry encounters. Wedged tightly into each story is the most powerful lesson a pastor could ever learn-the message of love. From cover to cover, Holy Rebellion takes the reader on a vivid journey through the most glorious victories and embarrassing blunders in pastoral ministry. From being compared to a primate and proof of Darwin’s theory of evolution, to falsely congratulating a woman on her pregnancy, the reader comes face to face with awkward and hilarious moments in ministry. This book also explores the imperfection of pastors who at times fail miserably. Books that gloss over the painful times in ministry that were self-induced do little to edify pastors who struggle with the consequences of their mistakes. Holy Rebellion is fresh, honest, and compelling.
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Paraklasis Counseling Theory
$22.95Learn how to stand by hurting people in their darkest hours and help them discover the root of problems quickly, touch their hearts, and help them: * Find Security * Discover Safety * Develop Significance Anxiety, frustration, tears, and anger can be replaced by peace and confidence.
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Walking With Nehemiah
$19.99So much of our attention in congregational development is spent dealing with internal issues and opportunities that we turn more and more inward. Even our “outward” work smacks of our “inward” bias as we invite people to our events and ponder how to make our events more compelling for those who aren’t part of our congregations. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, is known for saying “the world is our parish.” Simply stated, the streets are our sanctuary. Our communities are our congregations. Yet too often congregations ignore their neighborhoods. They don’t consider the vast resource of people surrounding their church and seem to forget that Pentecost, the very event that gave birth to the church, happened in the streets. It’s time for churches and congregations to engage with the people around them-most of whom have not yet made a faith decision but are hungering for the grace that only God can provide. Participate in this study of Nehemiah and discover what people God is asking you to encourage, what walls God is calling you to repair, what ministry God might be calling you to lead or do, and where you should start. This book will give readers inspiration and practical tools for engaging with their communities in ways that help congregations and communities become whole.
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Breaking Bread Breaking Beats
$48.33Contents:
Getting Started
1. Moments In The History Of Black Churches And Hip-Hop
2. Black Churches, Hip-Hop, And The Body
3. Black Churches, Hip-Hop, Race, And Ethnicity
4. Black Churches, Hip-Hop, And Poverty
5. Black Churches, Hip-Hop, And Gender
6. Black Churches, Hip-Hop, And Sexuality
7. Black Churches, Hip-Hop, And Ethics
8. Black Churches, Hip-Hop, And Globalization
9. A Relationship Between Black Churches And Hip-Hop?
10. The Cipher
The CERCL Writing Collective Members
Glossary
Selected Bibliography
NotesAdditional Info
What is hip-hop, and how does it impact the Black Church? How does the Black Church integrate hip-hop? How do black churches think about hip-hop? How do these different, yet deeply interrelated communities think about the key topics of modern life-be it gender, sex, race, or globalization?These questions and more are the concern of the CERCL Writing Collective, under the mentorship of Anthony Pinn. In this innovative project, ten individuals write as one voice to illuminate the ways that hip-hop and the Black Church agree, disagree, and inform each other on key topics.
This book grows out of the popular religion and Hip-Hop course, soon to be offered as an open enrollment online course, at Rice University by Anthony B. Pinn and Bernard ‘Bun B’ Freeman. Like the course, the book offers engaging insights into one of today’s most important musical genres and reflects on its broad cultural impact.
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Holy Rebellion : Redefining Excellence In Pastoral Ministry
$22.43Can rebellion be holy? Certainly, as long as we rebel against things that God abhors. Built around seven powerful expressions of love, Holy Rebellion draws lessons from real-life ministry encounters. Wedged tightly into each story is the most powerful lesson a pastor could ever learn-the message of love. From cover to cover, Holy Rebellion takes the reader on a vivid journey through the most glorious victories and embarrassing blunders in pastoral ministry. From being compared to a primate and proof of Darwin’s theory of evolution, to falsely congratulating a woman on her pregnancy, the reader comes face to face with awkward and hilarious moments in ministry. This book also explores the imperfection of pastors who at times fail miserably. Books that gloss over the painful times in ministry that were self-induced do little to edify pastors who struggle with the consequences of their mistakes. Holy Rebellion is fresh, honest, and compelling.
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Grave Robber Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.11Do we believe that God still does miracles? Do we expect him to move in miraculous ways in our day-in and day-out lives? Maybe we’d like to see miracles, but it’s hard to see past our problems. All that is about to change, like water into wine.
“There are miracles all around us all the time,” says Mark Batterson, “but you won’t see them if you don’t know how to look for them.”
Now the bestselling author of The Circle Maker reveals the incredible power of the seven miraculous signs of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. Batterson shows how they were not simply something Jesus did in the past, but something he wants to do now, in the present. He shares true stories of people today who are experiencing miracles in their lives. And he brings to light countless miracles, big and small, that we take for granted every day that point us toward the One who healed the sick, calmed the storm, and yes, even raised the dead.
But this is more than a book about miracles. It’s a book about the only One who can perform them. Batterson cautions readers, “Don’t just seek miracles. Seek Jesus. And if you seek Jesus, miracles will find you.”
Nothing has changed since Jesus called Lazarus out of his tomb four days after his funeral. Our impossible situations still double as God’s greatest opportunity to reveal his glory. No matter how big the problem is, God is bigger still. Anyone who longs to see God work in miraculous ways today will love Batterson’s faith-building, life-giving message.
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Feasting On The Word Advent Companion
$34.00This new volume in the Feasting on the Word series provides an all-in-one pastor’s companion for Advent, including worship materials as well as sermon preparation tools. A complete order of service is provided for each of the four Sundays in Advent, plus Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Hymn suggestions, sermon illustrations, and children’s sermon suggestions make this an invaluable resource for the Advent season.
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From This Day Forward Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Is it possible to have a great marriage? Yes, but it is not likely if you treat marriage like everybody else does! In this five-session, video-based small group study, New York Times bestselling author and pastor Craig Groeschel gives you five commitments to make in order to fail-proof your marriage. You know the stats, and they are horrifying. 50% of marriages don’t make it. What other area of your life are you satisfied with 50% odds against you? The choices you make each and every day determine not only your relationship with God but also the quality of your marriage. The decisions you make today will determine the marriage you will have tomorrow. In this five-session study, you will discover five commitments that will absolutely fail-proof your marriage. If you make these commitments, you can and will have the marriage God wants you to experience. Sessions include: Seek God Fight Fair Have Fun Stay Pure Never Give Up If you and your spouse will earnestly choose to do all five of these things, you’ll discover a richer, deeper, more authentic relationship and a more rewarding, more passionate love life than you could have ever imagined. Don’t be a statistic. Don’t be average. Let’s get you that marriage that you always wanted. Starting right now—from this day forward.
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Youth Ministry Management Tools 2.0
$39.99Youth ministry isn’t just meeting with students and teaching them God’s truth. It also involves a myriad of administrative and operational details. Youth Ministry Management Tools 2.0 provides youth ministers and volunteers with helpful insights, advice, and practical resources to successfully manage a youth ministry. You’ll find sample budgets, release forms for trips, and clear direction for screening applicants for volunteer positions. Authors Mike Work and Ginny Olson provide you with quick and accessible answers to all of your management, administrative, and supervisory questions and needs. Sprinkled throughout the manual are brief personal anecdotes by actual, in-the-trenches youth workers, case studies of church-office debacles, pivotal lessons learned over decades of ministry, nightmare scenarios to avoid, and glorious successes to emulate. No other book provides everything a youth ministry leader needs in one place at such an affordable price. This revised and updated edition of a youth ministry classic includes bonus online content, copy-ready pages and forms, and loads of other highly practical material.
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Clip In : Risking Hospitality In Your Church
$20.99When a cyclist clips into the pedals, a huge risk is involved because he or she must learn a new way to achieve balance and momentum. Creating a culture of hospitality within your church involves the same intricate process. Not only do balance and momentum go hand-in-hand, one can’t exist without the other. Growing a church requires the same kind of delicate interplay: balancing attention toward existing members and generating momentum through reaching new people. Without both, the church won’t grow. Creating a culture of hospitality involves risk and relearning old habits, but facilitating both will yield fruitful results.
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 10 Cycle B
$74.93David O. Bales invites preachers of the word to work through the lectionary, allowing the Holy Spirit to inspire and enlighten the process along the way. Throughout the Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Bales urges pastors to discover many ways to deliver God’s word, reminding them that a genuine acknowledgment of congregational diversity insists upon thoughtfully delivered sermons.
Understanding that we learn in different ways and believing that God sets out to reach us in ways accommodated to our understanding, Bales has included a diverse set of sermon resources, incorporating styles such as narrative, exposition, imagistic, assertive, and apologetic. Creatively and intelligently, Bales explores critical themes throughout the scriptures including waiting, suffering, faithfulness, sovereignty, and patience, and he presents three decades of pastoral experience through poignant summaries, ideas, prayers, and stories. Above all else, he stresses a complete dependence upon the Holy Spirit — a dependence that asks what God wants of us in this world and a dependence that remains patient long enough to hear God’s response.
Including sermon resources for Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, and Pentecost, the Lectionary Preaching Workbook is valuable for sermon starters, individual Bible study, and adult study groups.
Each Sunday’s material includes:
* Revised Common Lectionary texts for the day
* various themes and possible sermon titles from the scripture readings
* commentary on the day’s readings and Psalm
* possible preaching approaches
* a pastoral prayer
* numerous illustrations to flesh out the messageAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Not A Silent Night (Large Type)
$22.99Large Print Edition. Imagine Jesus from Mary’s point-of-view-proud of her son, in awe of his gifts and mission, guided by love for him as a person and so much more. In this book, Adam Hamilton begins at the end, with Mary at the crucifixion and resurrection; travels back in time as she witnesses his life and ministry; and ends at the beginning, with the Christ child born in a stable, Mary’s beautiful baby. This year, experience Advent and Christmas with Mary. The five sessions are: 1. Beginning with the End 2. The Piercing of Mary’s Soul 3. Amazed, Astounded, and Astonished 4. Mary, Full of Grace 5. It Was Not a Silent Night
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Breathe Bible Study Book (Student/Study Guide)
$21.65The Breathe Study Journal includes 5 sessions of teaching by Priscilla Shirer with 4 weeks of homework in a reflective, journaling format. One of the greatest challenges among women in our culture is taking time to stop and cease from all the activities and busyness and just breathe. We are in bondage to busyness. We constantly strive to complete the limitless to-do lists that hinder us from experiencing all that God has for us. We miss the moments because we rush ahead to the next thing. By neglecting time for tranquility, serenity, and repose, we limit our Christlikeness and miss out on some of God’s greatest gifts. It is time for us to breathe and build margin into our lives for God. In the Old Testament, God instituted principles and laws that would transform the Israelites’ mindset. He didn’t just want them legally free; He wanted them to be able to walk in the freedom and enjoy it. So God gave them many gifts, including boundaries in which to enjoy those gifts. Sabbath was intended as a gift, and it is still a gift to us today. If you are weary, worn out, and exhausted the concept of Sabbath will change your life.
Week 1 – The Freedom of Sabbath
Week 2 – Stops Along the Sabbath Journey
Week 3 – Double-Portion Friday
Week 4 – Coming Into Focus
Week 5 – Sabbath MarginFeatures:
Biblically-rooted and gospel-centered teaching
Leader material (guides to questions and discussion with small group)
5-session Study Journal with group components, personal components, and leader helps
Personal study segments include 4 weeks of homework in a study journal for reflection and to help the learner spend time alone with God and ScriptureBenefits:
Biblical truth that’s reliable
Can be used in a variety of ways and has a lot of flexibility. It can be used by a group of any size in a church or another setting, small group in a home, or a weekend away as an individual or with a small group of women.
An opportunity to explore the concept of Sabbath in both the Old and New Testaments
Great study for personal growth and reflection on an individual basis
For the weary, worn out, and exhausted this study could be life-changing as they acknowledge their bondage to busyness and learn that Sabbath was created by God before the fall
Sets boundaries for those who believe they must always be “doing” something for GodAdd to cartIn stock
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Building Faith Brick By Brick
$34.60Building Faith Brick by Brick offers a culturally relevant, hands-on way to explore faith stories with a broad range of ages. It grew out of one congregation’s realization that there was a large group of first-grade boys who needed to engage in a new way of interacting with the biblical story. Knowing how much Lego bricks continue to be popular with children, the author dug deep into the well of creativity and an enormous bin of little plastic building bricks to meld together a new way of teaching the stories of God. This book offers the methodology as well as 30 Old Testament and 24 New Testament stories with lesson plans. Can be used in all settings and gatherings Includes take-home sheets for family study and conversation Engages children with multiple learning styles and a familiar medium
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Good Shepherd : A Picture Book For Children Leaders And Parents
$19.95Parable of the Good Shepherd is a visual retelling of the biblical lesson as taken from The Complete Guide to Godly Play and told with revised text and original art. The book recreates the experience of hearing this core and possibly best-loved, best-known Bible story as a supplement to Godly Play or as a stand-alone bedside reader. For Christian educators, Christian schools, vacation Bible schools, parents, grandparents, godparents – anyone who desires to engage in sharing faith and biblical stories in any setting, especially all those in the Godly Play community: trainers, storytellers, teachers, parents, and children.
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Shrink : Faithful Ministry In A Church Growth Culture
$24.99Among followers of Jesus, great is often the enemy of good. The drive to be great—to be a success by the standards of the world—often crowds out the qualities of goodness, virtue, and faithfulness that should define the central focus of Christian leadership. In the culture of today’s church, successful leadership is often judged by what works, while persistent faithfulness takes a back seat. If a ministry doesn’t produce results, it is dropped. If people don’t respond, we move on. This pursuit of ‘greatness’ exerts a crushing pressure on the local church and creates a consuming anxiety in its leaders. In their pursuit of this warped vision of greatness, church leaders end up embracing a leadership narrative that runs counter to the sacrificial call of the gospel story. When church leaders focus on faithfulness to God and the gospel, however, it’s always a kingdom-win—regardless of the visible results of their ministry. John the Baptist modeled this kind of leadership. As John’s disciples crossed the Jordan River to follow after Jesus, John freely released them to a greater calling than following him. Speaking of Jesus, John said: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’ Joyfully satisfied to have been faithful to his calling, John knew that the size and scope of his ministry would be determined by the will of the Father, not his own will. Following the example of John the Baptist and with a careful look at the teaching of Scripture, Tim Suttle dares church leaders to risk failure by chasing the vision God has given them—no matter how small it might seem—instead of pursuing the broad path of pragmatism that leads to fame and numerical success.
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Couple Therapy : A New Hope Focused Approach
$56.99Why You Need This Book
Part I: A Theory Of Change
1. Wanted: A Wise And Humble Counselor
2. A Sensible, Tested, And Effective Approach To Helping Couples
3. Make Therapy A Positive Growth Experience For Couples
4. Addressing The Couple’s ContextPart II: Beginning Counseling
5. Pre-counseling Interventions
6. The Intake
7. After The IntakePart III: Case Studies In Treatment Planning
8. The Wounded But Hopeful Couple
9. The Cool Virtues Couple
10. The Enrichment Couple
11. The “Should We Marry?” Couple
12. The Complicating Factor Couple
13. The Couple With A Psychological Disorder
14. The High Conflict Couple
15. The “Accept The Things I Cannot Change” Couple
16. The Kitchen Sink CouplePart IV: Interventions Within The Sessions
17. Session Management In The Hope-focused Couples Approach To Counseling
18. HOPE Interventions (Handling Our Problems Effectively)
19. BOND With Me: Bind Our Nurturing Devotion
20. Addressing Hurts In Relationships
21. Forgiving And Reconciling Through Experiencing Empathy (FREE)
22. Reconciliation And Rebuilding Trust With CouplesPart V: Conquering The Difficulties You’ll Face
23. Assessing Change Throughout Treatment
24. Resistance And Roadblocks
27. Pornography Use And Internet SexualityPart VI: Concluding Treatment Using The Hope-Focused Couples Approach
28. Termination
29. Post-Counseling Check Ups
30. It Works, But Is It True?Additional Info
Following on the heels of the successful Hope-Focused Marriage Counseling, Jennifer Ripley and Everett Worthington Jr. have written a new book that expands upon their previous theoretical approach while describing in detail many new practical interventions for couple counseling and enrichment. Weaving together classic cases outlined in Hope-Focused Marriage Counseling and over 75 brand new practical interventions, Ripley and Worthington root their practical examples in an even deeper theoretical framework and research in attachment and intimate bonds. Written with the couple counselor in mind, this book occupies a rare niche that is accessible not only to therapists and counselors but also to pastors and married couples alike. Both licensed clinical psychologists and experienced counselors, the authors base this follow-up work on the pillars of their Hope-Focused Couples Approach. The assessment tools included help facilitate improved marriages in many settings, and the combination of theory and real-life case studies easily integrates into the practices of professional counselors and researchers as well as into the lives of couples.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Theology From The Trenches
$26.00While urban pastors devote time and energy to all the typical demands of ministry, they also grapple with challenges endemic to city life. Achieving a measure of balance amid these competing demands and responsibilities can be daunting. Using his experiences as a pastor in urban settings for nearly three decades, Roger J. Gench offers pastors a close look at the challenges that come from being involved in urban ministry.
Throughout, he integrates memoir, sermons, and essays on social ministry, and reflections on the theology and spirituality of parish life. In each chapter, Gench offers his own stories and reflections and then invites readers to consider the relevance for their own ministry. Urban pastors will not only find themselves relating to Gench’s experiences but will also uncover practical help for their ministry.
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Distance In Preaching
$22.99Over the last decade in his preaching classes, Michael Brothers has noticed a dramatic change in his students’ responses to preaching: as listeners they want not so much to be drawn in to a preached sermon as to be given room for their own interpretations and experiences.
In Distance in Preaching Brothers argues that critical and aesthetic distance as a hermeneutical tool is vital to hearing the gospel today and should be intentionally employed in sermon construction and delivery. Brothers explains this “distance” in the field of homiletics, equips teachers and students of preaching to evaluate the function of distance in sermons, and encourages preachers to practice the use of distance in their preaching. Insights gained from this book will give preachers greater room to speak the gospel so that their listeners get optimal space to hear the preached word.
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Black Dog
$23.31This book describes one man’s life experiences as he struggled with anxiety and depression. The book describes the mental, physical but most importantly the power of the Holy Spirit that eventually enabled John to develop resilience, and thus led him into the sunlight of a full and meaningful life. Anxiety and depression have always been taboo in society. Frequently, the subjects cannot be touched with a “ten-foot pole”, let alone be a subject for family discussion. Depression is seen as neither worthy of compassion nor understanding. For the author of this book, a familiar record plays. “Young man, depressed? Nonsense; you have everything you need; just buck up and face the world the way we all have to.” The message in this book is one of hope and of love, but most of all it demonstrates what is possible when you place your life, unconditionally, in the hands of Jesus Christ.
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G I F T S
$11.99While there are many activities and voices vying for your children’s time and attention, there are few that are more important than you teaching your children to pray. Cultivating a vibrant relationship with their Creator is the key that opens the door for your children to have a fulfilling and purposeful life. In this book you will find a creative, delightful tool to use as you help your children learn to pray. They will enjoy the beautiful illustrations and thoughtful, rhyming text. You will appreciate the way the pattern for prayer is laid out in an easy-to-remember format. And together you will open the G.I.F.T.S. of prayer and find the One “who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we ask or can even imagine.”
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Leading Multicultural Teams
$21.16Churches and mission agencies are increasingly characterized by cultural diversity. As a result, many Christians find themselves working as part of a multicultural team. Leading these teams is a complex challenge that requires team leaders to understand how to help multicultural teams thrive. Team leaders need to know how to help team members grow in particular qualities and acquire specific skills related to multicultural teamwork. This book integrates insights from the Bible, team theory, leadership, and intercultural studies to explain how leaders of multicultural teams can help their teams become enriching and enjoyable contexts to work in, at the same time as achieving their purpose.
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Preventing Suicide : A Handbook For Pastors Chaplains And Pastoral Counselo
$26.99Many pastors, chaplains and pastoral counselors play a unique and vital role in suicide prevention, but most of them lack the necessary knowledge and skills for working with suicidal persons. Informed by her work as a psychologist, Karen Mason’s guide to suicide prevention is an essential resource for pastors.
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Starting Missional Churches
$23.99All mission is local–the people of God joining the work of God in a particular place. In Starting Missional Churches Mark Lau Branson and Nicholas Warnes introduce us to seven missional churches and explore what it looks like to be salt and light where you are.
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Setting Your Church Free
$25.00Setting Your Church Free explores how corporate sin is robbing the spiritual vitality and fruitfulness of churches, keeping them from being free in Christ. Trusted authors Neil T. Anderson and Charles Mylander offer practical and life-giving tools for dealing biblically with corporate sin in the Church. Offering a balanced approach, this unique resource takes into account the reality of the spiritual world as well as the need for correcting leadership and administration problems. Readers will discover how to unite around a common purpose, deal with the power of memories that affect the present and future of the church, defeat Satan’s attacks and go forward with a strong, effective action plan. Churches that put these steps into practice will be set free from bondage to walk in the freedom Christ offers.
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Emotionally Healthy Woman Course Workbook (Workbook)
$12.99Geri Scazzero knew there was something desperately wrong with her life. She felt like a single parent raising her four young daughters alone. She finally told her husband, “I quit,” and left the thriving church he pastored, beginning a journey that transformed her and her marriage for the better. In this eight-session video Bible study Geri provides you a way out of an inauthentic, superficial spirituality to genuine freedom in Christ. This study is for every woman who thinks, “I can’t keep pretending everything is fine!
” The journey to emotional health begins by quitting. Geri quit being afraid of what others think. She quit lying. She quit denying her anger and sadness. She quit living someone else’s life. When you quit those things that are damaging to your soul or the souls of others, you are freed up to choose other ways of being and relating that are rooted in love and lead to life. When you quit for the right reasons, at the right time, and in the right way, you’re on the path not only to emotional health, but also to the true purpose of your life. Sessions include:
Quit Being Afraid of What Others Think
Quit Lying
Quit Dying to the Wrong Things
Quit Denying Anger, Sadness and Fear
Quit Blaming
Quit Overfunctioning
Quit Faulty Thinking
Quit Living Someone Else’s LifeAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Acting Out The Messages Of Mark And John Cycle B
$18.68The Secret Journal Of St. James The Less
Week 1: The Healing Of The Paralyzed Friend (Mark 2:1-12)
Week 2: Teaching In Parables (Mark 4:1-20)
Week 3: The Feeding Of The Hungry Crowds (Mark 6:30-44)
Week 4: What The Rich Young Man Lacked (Mark 10:17-31)
Week 5: The Misguided Disciples (Mark 10:32-45)
Easter Sunday: The Frightened Women (Mark 16:1-8)Generation One:
The Impact Of The Gospel On The First Generation Of Believers — And Us
Week 1: Do You Understand My Teaching In Parables? (Mark 4:1-20)
Week 2: What Does Jesus’ Healing Touch Mean For You? (Mark 5:21-43)
Week 3: Who Do You Say That I Am? (Mark 8:27-38)
Week 4: What Does The Glory Of Christ Mean For You? (Mark 9:1-13)
Week 5: How Do You Respond To The Empty Tomb? (Mark 16:1-8)Johannine Interviews
Week 1: Interview With Nicodemus (John 3:1-17)
Week 2: Interview With A Samaritan Woman (John 4:1-30)
Week 3: The Adulterous Woman — An Interview (John 7:53–8:11)
Week 4: An Interview With Jairus, The Man Born Blind (John 9:1-38)
Week 5: An Interview With Mary Of Bethany (John 11:1-44)Affirming Our Baptismal Promises
Week 1: To Live Among God’s Faithful People (Hebrews 10:19-25)
Week 2: To Hear The Word Of God And Share In The Lord’s Supper (Romans 10:10-18)
Week 3: To Proclaim The Good News Of God In Christ Through Word And Deed (Matthew 5:13-16; Luke 8:19-21)
Week 4: To Serve All People, Following The Example Of Jesus (Luke 22:24-27)
Week 5: To Strive For Justice And Peace In All The Earth (Micah 6:6-8)Additional Info
It is rare when an author presents a collection of dialogues that so poignantly captures the power and simplicity of the gospel. Roger Timm has done just that. Acting Out the Messages of Mark and John, Lenten Dialogues for Lectionary Cycle B offers readers an opportunity to hear some of the most central narratives told throughout the chapters of Mark and John. A journey through Timm’s dialogues delivers a fresh perspective to the Lenten season, allowing time and space for study and reflection before arriving at the Passion narrative.Useful for a midweek Lenten gathering, a Sunday worship service, a retreat setting, or private and group devotionals, Acting Out the Messages of Mark and John relies on simple dialogue and staging as it introduces us to biblical characters such as Peter and his wife, Anna; St. James the Less and his parents, Alphaeus and Mary; Nicodemus; Jairus; and Mary of Bethany. Timm imagines each character’s response to their immersion into the often-surprising narrative of God’s kingdom, and he reveals ancient questions that many within today’s church still ponder: Who is this man named Jesus? What is our response to divine forgiveness? What does Jesus’ resurrection mean for us?
This collection of dialogues does not fall short in its call to believers as it urges them to live among God’s people and respond to the word of God. It is only in this response, after all, that we can proclaim the truth of the gospel and pursue justice and peace throughout all the earth.
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Community In The Inventive Age
$18.99The Inventive Age (the cultural turning following the Agrarian, Industrial, and Information ages) provides opportunities for reshaping all institutions and communities. Doug Pagitt brings to life ten Inventive Age characteristics as they are experienced through the community of Solomon’s Porch – a holistic missional Christian community in Minneapolis. These ten characteristics of Inventive Age culture will serve as a guide for those creating new faith communities and making changes in existing ones.
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Evangelism In The Inventive Age
$18.99We live in changing times of significant cultural change. In the Inventive Age (the cultural turning following the Agrarian, Industrial, and Information ages) how people think has changed. This has created a new context for Evangelism. Previous methods not only do not work, they are often counterproductive. Evangelism in the Inventive Age is not a “next-level” resource for those who are already comfortable and confident evangelists, but is a book for the rest of us. For most Christians the issue of converting other people or sharing their faith is a troubled endeavor. Very few are in a comfortable place of natural invitation, faithful integration, and hopefulness in sharing faith. This book will create a new perspective on evangelism for the ordinary person who has extraordinary questions. Evangelism in the Inventive Age is for those who have deep questions about the validity of evangelism and for whom evangelism does not come naturally.
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Preaching In The Inventive Age
$18.99What kind of communities are we forming? What story are we telling? How can we tell it more effectively? Pagitt takes on these questions and investigates the goals and roles of preaching in the Inventive Age. From the book: “I find myself wanting to live with the people of my community, where I can preach … but not allow that to become an act of speech making. Instead, I want it to be a living interaction of the story of God and the story of our community being connected by our truth telling, our vulnerability, and our open minds, ears, and eyes – all brought together by the active work of the Spirit of God….”
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Episcopal Way
$16.95Updated content and approach, compared to earlier New Church’s Teachings
series, with emphasis on mission and applicability* Interactivity is emphasized throughout with robust study guides, links to a host of
web and video resources, and jargon-free languageThe New Church’s Teachings was one of the most recognizable and useful book
series in the Episcopal Church. The books were a mainstay on seminarian and clergy
bookshelves. With this launch of the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World series,
two visionary Episcopal thinkers and church leaders team up to revitalize the currency,
integrity, and scholarship of the original series with fresh new voices and style; concise
and clear enough for newcomers, yet grounded and thoughtful enough for seminarians
and leaders.In this foundational text for the Church’s Teachings for a Changing World, Law and
Spellers explore seismic shifts in American life and the opportunities and challenges
each presents to the church today. With a winning combination of passion, creativity,
and wisdom, the authors call for a return to Episcopal basics and insist that faithfully
engaging a changing world might be the most truly Anglican practice of all.For Episcopal newcomers, members, church leaders, clergy, and seminarians.
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Best Yes Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99New York Times best-selling author Lysa TerKeurst leads small group participants to make wise decisions in the midst of endless demands.
Most of us spend a lot of our lives figuring out when to say yes and how to say no. But we don’t find space for our souls until we learn to step past the yes and no of daily decisions and seek out a third option: The Best Yes.The Best Yes is the choice that shapes all our other choices. It’s what allows us to play our necessary parts in God’s plan, to spend our energy and focus our passion on the assignments that really are ours. Too many of us confuse the command to love with the disease to please.In this six-session video-based Bible study Lysa TerKeurst shares how to make better use of the two most powerful words, yes and no.
Using Biblical teaching and practical insights this study will help you be more equipped to discern the best yes answers for your life.
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How To Volunteer Like A Pro
$22.99Thank you for making the decision to be a volunteer youth worker-you give the gospel a flesh and blood presence and show God’s compassion for students in a way no one else does. Being a youth worker can be exciting, intimidating, fulfilling and challenging, and until now there was no “manual” on how to be a volunteer in a youth ministry. After more than twenty years as a paid youth worker, Jim Hancock left and became a volunteer in a student ministry. That experience taught him things he may never have learned as a youth ministry professional, and now he wants to empower others who are passionate about being volunteer youth workers. Inside this book you’ll find practical help, like: * tips about what to do on the first day * ideas on how to build and develop relationships with students * ways to combat youth “culture shock” * how to prepare students for life after youth group * how to say goodbye when it is time to leave -and many more indispensable insights that will make your experience as a volunteer youth worker valuable and rewarding for you and your students.
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Church Money Manual
$19.99The Church Money Manual is the best resource available for churches seeking better ways to manage finances. Thoughtfully targeting multiple areas, the book features condensed chapters each focusing on a different subject. Subjects range from specific, detailed problems to perennially critical themes churches face in money management and stewardship.
Some examples of condensed chapters include: A focus on donors and contributors no longer blaming the economy as a hindrance in their giving. Help addressing how to handle a donor who says they will not give unless particular areas are addressed. Outlines some of the most frequent mistakes hindering giving. How to navigate the area when there is a neighboring Christian university or college. An understanding of why pastors need giving to be good spiritual doctors just as medical professionals need diagnostics to be good physical doctors. Spotlighting what churches should be doing to help giving at the end of the year.
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Thinking Listening Being
$19.99The tyranny of the urgent is a by-product of our fast-paced world. It affects many people, bu twhen it impacts pastors they are often tempted to ignore the critical needs of the pastoral disciplines that ensure the effectiveness of ministry. In Thinking, Listening, and Being: Wesleyan Pastoral Disciplines, Jeren Rowell offers theological reflections on what it means to live and work as a pastor. He examines different aspects of pastoral thinking, practice, and work, and challenges pastors to continually pursue prayer,the study of Scriptures, and theological reflection.’Working in this way,’ he writes, ‘could not only be a gift of love for the church but also an important model for parish pastors who are tempted to surrender first things to the urgencies and temptations of contemporary life.’
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Being A Curate
$18.99Focusing mainly on stories about being a curate in a variety of church traditions and contexts (both stipendiary and self-supporting), this engrossing book is inclusive in terms of age, ethnicity and gender. Over twenty contributors offer honest, grounded reflections on their experiences, through a mix of anecdotes, humour, practical advice and theology. As well as considering training, ordination and first steps in a curacy, Being a Curate looks at what makes a successful curacy; the relationship between the curate and the training incumbent; the transition from curate to incumbent; dealing with thorny issues, and the value of sharing stories.
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Some Things Ive Learned Since I Knew It All Cycle B
$18.68The Sermons In This Book Are:
The Advocate And The Street Where You Live (John 15:26-27; 16:4-15)
What Does The Kingdom Of God Have To Do With Anything Today? (John 3:1-17)
Family Ties And Good-byes (Mark 3:20-35)
Some Things I’ve Learned Since I Knew It All (Mark 4:26-34)
Close Calls (Mark 4:35-41)
So, You Want To Get Well? (Mark 5:21-43)
Without Conflict There Is No Story (Mark 6:1-13)
The Pointer (Mark 6:14-29)
Chaos And Solitude (Mark 6:30-34, 53-56)
Giving Up Control (John 6:1-21)
When I AM Speaks, You’d Better Listen (John 6:24-35)Additional Info
We are not in control.
That’s the message sent to us by the great I Am. He has set all things in motion. He knows our beginning and our end. But still, we often forget and instead choose to walk through this life as though we determine our own steps, our own fates.We can appropriate what God has accomplished.
The entire theme of the Bible can be summed up as God’s rule over us for our own good. But one aspect makes his dominion unique: He has given us a choice. We can rationalize our sin, or we can personally appropriate the grace and redemption given to us by Jesus’ death on the cross.We can be transformed by the Spirit.
When we acknowledge that life doesn’t work on our own terms, we understand that we are only ever fully equipped to battle the ways of the world when we are armed with the truth, love, and grace of the Spirit.In the eleven sermons for the season after Pentecost (first third) written for Some Things I’ve Learned Since I Knew It All, Lavin poignantly encourages pastors and congregations to embrace a holy reliance upon the transformative power of the Holy Spirit, reminding us that it is God who changes hearts. Man is merely the vessel. This resource, designed to challenge the believer, is not limited to the pastoral office. Instead, it can also be used for private devotions or small group study, encouraging all readers toward a critical look at our response to the words of Jesus.
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Pastors At Risk
$14.95Nearly 1 in 4 pastors will experience a forced exit from ministry within their vocational tenure. “Pastors-At-Risk” will alert you to what attitudes and actions have put thousands of pastors at-risk of losing their position in the church. It includes testimonials, success stories and practical solutions for dealing with these issues. It offers a solution for restoration to those who have gone from a place of risk in the church to a transition in ministry.
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Psalm 1 NIV Preacher Edition
$39.99We have just released PSALMS – Volume 1 from our best-selling commentary of all time, The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. If you’ve been collecting the volumes in this breakthrough set, you know that the Psalms are the only remaining books to be released. This is the first of 3 volumes on the Psalms and it covers Psalms 1-41.
Wait until you see the beautiful outline and supporting study materials for the beloved 23rd Psalm. It’s no wonder The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible is the world’s #1 sermon outline tool, with over 1 million copies in print. Only the POSB gives you detailed sermon outlines for every Bible passage with outlined sub-points, supporting Scripture, commentary and practical applications. It has become a favorite for not only preachers, but students and Bible teachers too.
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Food Foretelling Followers And Fulfillment Cycle B
$18.68The Sermon Titles Included In This Book Are:
Am I Eating Manna Or Bread From Heaven? (John 6:35, 41-51)
Who Do You Think He Is? (John 6:51-58)
Just Who Does This Guy Think He Is? (John 6:56-69)
Garbage In… Garbage Out Or You Are What You Eat (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)
Who Does Jesus Belong To Anyway? (Mark 7:24-37)
Six Days To Make A Decision For Christ (Mark 8:27-38)
Speaking Truth To Power And Hope To The Powerless (Mark 9:30-37)
Gouge-Your-Eye-Out Sunday (Mark 9:38-50)
And They Lived Happily Ever After… Or Did They? (Mark 10:2-16)Additional Info
Who is Jesus?
How do we care for the powerless?
Are we called to serve others?
Can we be redeemed from sin?Food, Foretelling, Followers, and Fulfillment: Jesus on His Way to Jerusalem revisits these daring ideas spoken by a man on his way to the cross. Jesus always challenged the presuppositions of those around him. He had come to transform the world in a way that no one had expected, and Jesus’ bold truths laid the foundations of the early church.
McCracken-Bennett sets out to answer those questions as he leads churches through the events of the middle of the season after Pentecost. The author exposes his conviction that a culture of discipleship can only be created through a careful understanding of Jesus’ character and mission. Through insightful dialogue, McCracken-Bennett considers the weight of Jesus’ words for anyone who claims to be a follower and challenges pastors and congregations to examine well-known scriptural truths in new and thought-provoking ways.
Whether one is looking for a sermon resource or simply pursuing a thoughtful reflection on scripture, Food, Foretelling, Followers, and Fulfillment: Jesus on His Way to Jerusalem expands our vision of Jesus by weaving a deep historical knowledge of scripture with present-day narratives and exposing the sustaining relevance of Jesus’ words in today’s culture.
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Chapel Chats For Children Of All Ages
$28.11For over twenty years, thousands of children (and adults, too) were inspired by the Bible-based stories known as “Chapel Chats” that were shared by Pastor Jerald Borgie and his koala puppet, Jeremiah. Sixty-six of these “chats” along with fifteen illustrated graphics, drawn by artist, Brooke Plowman, are included in the book.
“Pastor Borgie has a reputation for drawing you into his stories, and his anecdotes are famously popular with both young and old. For many decades, he has invited children to have a seat before him, then his twinkling eyes would take over and a bond was formed. I’m pleased he’s taken this opportunity to share his favorites with a wider audience.”
Richard A. Swenson, MD, author of MarginAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Family (Reprinted)
$34.99Two respected senior professors in the marriage and family field cover every issue that affects family life, including marriage, parenting, sexuality, communication, social dynamics, and family life in modern society. This proven resource for studying the most established of human institutions has been in print for over twenty years, with over 80,000 copies sold. The fourth edition has been updated to address current family-related issues and refined to reflect teaching practices for the contemporary classroom, including updated references to online resources.
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Helping The Struggling Adolescent (Expanded)
$26.99Helping the Struggling Adolescent is your first resource to turn to when a teen you know is in trouble. Whether you’re a youth worker, counselor, pastor, or teacher, this fast, ready reference is a compendium of insight on teen problems from abuse to violence and everything between. Help starts here for thirty-six common, critical concerns. Topics are arranged in alphabetical order. Each chapter gives you essential information for several vital questions: What does the specific struggle look like? Why did it happen? How can you help? When should you refer to another expert? Where can you find additional resources? Arranged in three sections, this book first gives you the basics of being an effective helper, Then it informs you on the different struggles of adolescents. The final section–a key component of this book–supplies more than forty rapid assessment tools for use with specific problems. Helping the Struggling Adolescent organizes and condenses biblical counseling issues for teens into one extremely useful volume. Keep it in arm’s reach for the answers you need, right when you need them.
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Sermons For Special Days
$21.18David Rogne’s Sermons for Special Days presents a wonderful opportunity for pastors and congregations to connect faith to their everyday lives.
If all truth is God’s truth, then David Rogne has compiled a marvelous resource that reaffirms this fact. Rich with literary and historical reference, each sermon seeks to engage listeners as it recounts events and stories, beautifully weaving modern and applicable themes within scriptural truths. While Rogne has designed his sermons to be delivered on special days — New Year’s Day, Mission Sunday, and Father’s Day, to name a few — the power of each sermon extends well beyond those events as Rogne reminds us that in order to have a life well lived, we must constantly examine the life we are living. A life lived in submission to Christ requires an obedience to the Great Commission, carrying the salvation message into the darkest parts of our world with a clear understanding of God’s message and a deep respect for those who have gone before us.
The unique aspect of Rogne’s collection of sermons is that they are not confined to the pulpit, for each sermon can be used in a small group setting or in private devotionals. Rogne’s reliance upon history, literature, and scripture will enlighten any student of the word, and each sermon will encourage congregations to embrace a dig-deep approach toward God’s truth.
The titles included in this book are:
New Year’s Day — Taking Stock (Acts 24:24-27)
Mission Sunday — Reaching Out (Romans 10:1-15)
Heritage Sunday — Charles Wesley (Psalm 100)
Mother’s Day — Soul-Shaping (Ephesians 6:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:6-10)
Bible Sunday — Does God Have a Word for You! (2 Timothy 3:14-17)
Memorial Sunday — Heroes (Hebrews 11:1–12:2)
Music / Choir Recognition Sunday — Say It with Music (Ephesians 5:17-20)
Father’s Day — Good Foundations (Ephesians 5:25–6:4)
Independence Day — God’s Country (1 Peter 2:9-16)
Labor Sunday — More than Making a Living (Ecclesiates 2:18-23; John 5:17)
Stewardship Sunday — Increasing the Joy (2 Corinthians 8:1-15)
World Communion Sunday — Communion by the Sea (John 6:5-15, 25-35)
Reformation Sunday — Great Scot! (Malachi 3:1-4)
Thanksgiving Sunday — When the Good Times Roll (Deuteronomy 8:11-18)
Christmas Eve — Are You Ready for Christmas? (Titus 2:11-15)
Christmas — The Child with Four Names (Isaiah 9:1-7)Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Hearing Her Voice Revised Edition (Revised)
$16.99Based on his study of a key word for ‘teaching’ in the New Testament—an activity often thought to be prohibited to women—and on various other kinds of public speaking in which women in Scripture clearly participated, scholar John Dickson builds a case for women preachers. Focused and purposefully limited in its conclusions, Dickson’s argument has potential to change minds and appeal to complementarians and egalitarians alike. The mediating and widely adoptable position in this original short work will appeal to pastors, Bible teachers, college and seminary students, professors, and lay leaders in the church with its fresh approach to the hot-button topic of women in ministry.
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Attract Families To Your Church
$21.99This book will help church pastors and leaders navigate the changing tides in ministry to become the kind of church that families want to attend, where the church’s dynamic faith invites families who may then bring their friends. This means reaching out to all kinds of families, some with needs that only a church family can fulfill.
To grow and remain vital, churches need to attract families. But the cultural landscape has changed and any church may have two-parent families with children, blended families, boomerang families, adult children of divorce and their families or lack of families, single adults whose family is the church, grandparents parenting again, childless families, co-habitation families, and children with three legal parents. With practical helps and suggestions for ministries, worship, small groups, and even facilities, author and family expert Linda Ranson Jacobs will help you create a welcoming place for everyone.
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Internet Church : The Local Church Cant Be Just Local Any More
$13.98With rapid technological advances and the increasing impact of the internet, the world is literally at our fingertips. Yet many churches have yet to discover how to tap into this powerful resource. The Internet Church shows church leaders how to start from square one in creating an interactive website that can greatly expand the ministry potential of a church. Walter Wilson, an internet expert and committed Christian, describes how technology can enhance evangelism outreach, and challenges leaders to take advantage of unprecedented opportunities in the new digital age.
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Uncovering Spiritual Narratives
$48.33Preface
1. Storying Spiritual Narratives
2. Voicing Narrative And Liberation Practices
3. Pastoral Caring Through Spiritual Narratives
4. Narratively Ministering To Congregations And Communities
5. Storytelling As Spiritual Practice
6. Spiritual Narratives Of Place
Epilogue. Future Storying Of Spiritual Narratives
Appendix. Resources For Spiritual Narratives
ReferencesAdditional Info
All cultures use story as a way to make sense of life experiences. Yet for many, particularly in the western world, only a single story line is seen as the “real truth.” Using narrative therapy as a caregiving approach can help individuals uncover multilayered narratives that are far more complex and liberating. Coyle contends that not only are these more complex narratives more helpful in giving our lives meaning, they also critique the cultural discourses in which they arose.Drawing on both theological approaches and real life experiences, Coyle creates a contextual pastoral theology that helps caregivers find the power of God in people’s stories.
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Christopraxis : A Practical Theology Of The Cross
$65.00Contents:
Part 1
1. A Theobiographical Starting Point
2. Setting The Terrain
3. Concrete Lived Cases Of Ministerial Encounters With Divine Action
4. Dominant Models Of Practical Theology
Part 2
5. A Christopraxis Practical Theology Of The Cross
6. Practical Theology Into Nothingness
7. The Concurring Of The Divine With The Human
Part 3
8. Critical Realism And Practical Theology
9. Human Action And Interdisciplinarity In Light Of A Critical RealistChristopraxis Practical TheologyAdditional Info
Finding practical theology not always able to present frameworks for understanding concrete and lived experience with divine action, Andrew Root seeks to reset the edifice of practical theology on a new foundation. While not minimizing its commitment to the lived and concrete, Root argues that practical theology has neglected deeper theological underpinnings.Christopraxis seeks to create a practical theology that is properly and fully theological, post-postmodern, post-Aristotelian, and that attends to doctrines such as divine action and justification.
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Soul Keeping Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99In Soul Keeping, John Ortberg helps Christians rediscover their soul—the best connection to God there is—and find out why it’s hurting and why neglecting it has set so many believers so far back spiritually. In this six-session, video-based small group Bible study, Ortberg shows that caring for your soul is necessary for your Christian life. John shows participants what your soul is, why it is important, how to assess your soul’s health, and how to care for it so that we can have a meaningful and beautiful life with God and others. When you nurture your soul your life in this world will come to make sense again; you can find your way back to God from hopelessness, depression, relationship struggles, and a lack of fulfillment. Your soul’s resting place is in God, and John Ortberg wants to take participants to that home. This study guide includes discussion questions, video notes, and in-between studies and is designed for use with the Soul Keeping DVD (sold separately).
Sessions include:
Filling the Hole in Your Soul
Why God Made You With a Soul
What’s Soul Got To Do With It
Finding Your Soul’s True Home
Empty Souls and Full Garages
Why We Have a Soul, Brothers and SistersAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Give Me Jesus (Reprinted)
$22.50100 years from now the only thing that will matter is a person’s relationship with Jesus Christ. The gospel is the good news that we can have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. It’s the main thing. It’s the reason why we do ministry. It’s the reason why the church exists. It provides the hope that every child and every family needs.
What about your ministry? Is the gospel at the center of everything you do? How does that play out practically?
In Give Me Jesus, Ryan Frank and 10 ministry leaders share practical advice about keeping the Gospel at the center of Family and Children’s Ministry. It will change how you do ministry.
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In Season And Out Of Season
$32.00A wise and practical guide to preaching in the Anglican tradition, illustrated with examples, that will inspire confidence and hone skills. It explores key aspects of preaching including: the importance of Scripture, the use of story, preaching at rites of passage, preaching through the liturgical year, and engagement with the wider world.
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Global Reformation : Transitioning The Church For Strategic Kingdom Advance
$18.73Dr. Munien’s book particularly stands out because of his extraordinary ability to impart with the greatest simplicity at the same time that he brings complete understanding to every reader from the Word of God. He examines the historical, cultural and scriptural foundations necessary to build the “Perfect Man” in the image of God’s pattern.
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Preaching The Farewell Discourse
$29.99Through the lens of John the Apostle’s Farewell Discourse found in John 13:31 – 17:26, seminary professor L. Scott Kellum provides a step-by-step illustration of how to produce an expository sermon series in Preaching the Farewell Discourse.
Kellum begins with foundational tools that will aid the journey from text to exposition and then describes how to employ discourse analysis to a hortatory document (like the Farewell Discourse) or an expository document.The latter part of the book finds Kellum implementing the theory on the Farewell Discourse of John’s Gospel, examining the process in three sections: analyzing the text, interpreting the text, and preaching the text.
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Quotable Wesley
$18.99What did John Wesley think about alcohol, music, and popularity? What are his thoughts on education, free will, and joy? From ‘absolution’ to ‘zeal,’ Quotable Wesley is a treasury of quotations taken from Wesley’s letters, sermons, tracts, and journal entries on a variety of wide-ranging topics. Here is an essential resource for teachers, Christian leaders, pastors, and laypeople fascinated by the insights of this remarkable founder of the Methodist movement. Useful for sermon preparation, teaching, and individual reflection, this book is designed to supplement the library of anyone interested in Wesley and his work.
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Managing Stress In Ministry
$14.99Pastors are leaving ministry. Faced with pressures and stresses in their marriage and family, in their career and employment, in their personal sense of self-worth and success — all too often pastors leave ministry tired and discouraged. How can a pastor manage the stress that comes with ministry before the point of burn out? Managing Stress in Ministry will help pastors and spouses find fresh hope, discover new tools for coping with stress, and help them move forward to more effective life and ministry. Through real-life stories and clear application, authors David and Lisa Frisbie will help pastors identify key stressors that affect ministry and provide realistic ways to implement habits to lower stress level. Much-needed resource for anyone in ministry.
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Christianity And Psychoanalysis
$41.991 A New Conversation Earl D. Bland And Brad D. Strawn
2 Tradition-Based Integration Ron Wright, Paul Jones And Brad D. Strawn
3 Contemporary Freudian Psychoanalysis Brad D. Strawn
4 Ecumenical Spirituality, Catholic Theology And Object Relations Theory: A Threefold Cord Holding Sacred Space Theresa Tisdale
5 Self Psychology And Christian Experience Earl D. Bland
6 Intersubjective Systems Theory Mitchell W. Hicks
7 Relational Psychoanalysis Lowell W. Hoffman
8 Attachment-Based Psychoanalytic Therapy And Christianity: Being-in-Relation Todd W. Hall And Lauren E. Maltby
9 Psychoanalytic Couples Therapy: An Introduction And Integration Earl D. Bland
10 Brief Dynamic Psychotherapy Michael W. Mangis
11 Christianity And Psychoanalysis: Final Thoughts Brad D. Strawn And Earl D. Bland References
Author Index
Subject IndexAdditional Info
The past 30 years has seen a theoretical and clinical renaissance in psychoanalysis, as well as a flourishing of Christian engagement in the fields of psychology and anthropology. This volume of essays stages a new conversation between Christianity and psychoanalysis that opens up new ways of thinking about the rich mosaic of human experience.Unsurprisingly, given Sigmund Freud’s understanding of religion, the conversation between Christianity and psychoanalysis has long been marked by mutual suspicion. Psychoanalysis originated within a naturalist, post-Enlightenment context and sought to understand human functioning and pathology–focusing on phenomena such as the unconscious and object representation–on a strictly empirical basis. Given certain accounts of divine agency and human uniqueness, psychoanalytic work was often seen as competitive with a Christian understanding of the human person. The contributors to Christianity and Psychoanalysis seek to start a new conversation. Aided by the turn to relationality in theology, as well as by a noncompetitive conception of God’s transcendence and agency, this book presents a fresh integration of Christian thought and psychoanalytic theory. The immanent processes identified by psychoanalysis need not compete with Christian theology but can instead be the very means by which God is involved in human existence. The Christian study of psychoanalysis can thus serve the flourishing of God’s kingdom.
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Growth Group Strategy
$19.36HOW DO YOU GET YOUR CHURCH FROM STAGNATION TO THE VIBRANT AND LIVING CHURCH THAT GOD INTENDED?
The idea of home prayer groups, home Bible studies or community groups is not new to the church. The difference is when that small group promotes the essential, evangelistic components of the New Testament Church. Therefore, this book is not an introduction of a new paradigm, but rather a return to the New Testament paradigm. It is the reigniting of the dual-pronged ministry of the first century church: The ministry of teaching and evangelism that took place in the temple or the public place and also from house to house (the apostles’ model in Jerusalem – Acts 5:42 and the apostle Paul’s model in his church planting ministry, i.e. Ephesus – Acts 20:20). Here is a book on the application of that apostolic model, therefore the title “The Growth Group Strategy.”
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God First Life Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99‘When I discovered the simple and sustainable principle of The God-First Life,’ says pastor Stovall Weems, ‘it changed every area of my life.’ In this six-session, video-based small group Bible study, pastor Stovall Weems teaches how to let go of things you don’t have the answers for and trust Him enough to simply follow. In each of the six sessions, you and your group will experience how to follow God in the moment, no matter what baggage they carry or what spiritual milestones you’ve yet to conquer. Explore the powerful principles of God-first living that lead to an abundant life, and get the tools that will help you grow in your walk with God. Learn how to experience the strength of God-First living and start enjoying your walk with God by living Spirit-filled and being Spirit-led on a consistent basis. Use your unique gifts and talents by practically demonstrating the love of God to others. Having a rich spiritual life isn’t difficult. There is a much more vibrant way to live and act in faith, and it is much simpler than you would think. Discover your God-First Life. A companion DVD (sold separately) is also available.
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Feasting On The Word Worship Companion Year A 2
$42.00Based on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 2 provides liturgical pieces used in preparing for worship. Written and compiled by an ecumenical team of 11 seasoned liturgy writers, this resource offers a multitude of poetic prayers and responsive readings for all parts of worship and is meant to complement existing denominational resources. In addition, the weekly entries include questions for reflection and household prayers for morning and evening that are drawn from the lectionary, allowing churches to include them in their bulletin for parishioners to use throughout the week.
During times of the year when two different tracks of Old Testament texts are offered by the RCL, this resource offers an entire set of materials for each track. Also, a CD-ROM is included with each volume that enables planners to easily cut and paste relevant readings, prayers, and questions into worship bulletins.
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Please Dont Tell
$21.99“I’ve never told a soul, and you have to promise not to tell anybody.” “Pastor, I wanted you to know before we tell the kids, just in case they come to you.” “I’m so happy. Yes, finally, I’m pregnant. I just had to tell someone.” “Yes, it’s terrible, but am I going to explain it to our friends here at church?”
People need trusted persons as sounding boards and confidants. Not many weeks go by that someone does not confide a secret to a church leader, whether pastor, youth director, church secretary, choir director, or board member. While pastors have a unique role when it comes to confidentiality, listening to secrets is something that every church leader does. But there are both privileges and responsibilities in reporting, discerning the truth, and helping people bear the deep sins or temper the anger that threatens to overflow.
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Conflict : Causes And Cures
$24.36Conflict is serious and needs the church’s serious attention. Every eight hours a pastor is terminated. Every year over a thousand churches disband; often because of conflict.
Supported by over thirty years of academic research and based on real-life experiences in ministry, Conflict: Causes and Cures presents practical perspectives, solutions, and resources for dealing with conflicted churches.
Dr. Smith shares the top ten causes of conflict in a lively case study format and discusses three necessary approaches to conflict-education, mediation, and restoration.Complete with scripture references and biblical applications, Conflict: Causes and Cures is essential reading for those who are concerned about this critical problem that confronts our churches today.
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Teaching The Way Of Jesus
$35.99Christian religious education provides the content, processes, and settings to empower the church’s mission in the world-a mission that includes health care, peace with justice, and disciple-making ministries. Today, the field Christian Education is clear about its tasks of helping form and nurture faith that is then embodied in faithful practices. Research studies on Christian faith practices show how that participating in Christian community under-girds and complements thoughtful living through one’s life.
With an emphasis on practices and mission, this book offers readers concrete ways to empower vital faith formation in congregations as it describes current trends, which include richer diversity, entrepreneurial spirit, and interfaith dialog. This book will also help prepare students for leadership in the Church universal and in the field of Christian Education.
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Sailboat Church : Helping Your Church Rethink Its Mission And Practice
$20.00Is your church a rowboat church or a sailboat church?
Rowboat churches depend largely on human effort. In a time of often shrinking budgets and membership, rowboat churches frantically row harder against a current, often frustrated and disappointed at their efforts. Sailboat churches, on the other hand, take up the oars, hoist sales, and rely on the Holy Spirit to guide them.
Arguing that churches should be “sailboats,” author Joan S. Gray encourages readers to shift concern from the many daily, practical concerns of their local church to consider how new directions might be found by allowing the Holy Spirit to provide fresh ideas. The book includes 40 days of sailing prayers, quotes from Scripture, brief reflection questions, and an extensive bibliography that is arranged by theme. Perfect for groups to read together, this book will help leaders reframe their church’s mission and practice with the Holy Spirit as their guide.
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Robots Or Rebels
$18.73Legalism! Almost no one is neutral on the subject. Some see a legalist behind every attempt to encourage holiness in the lives of God’s people, while others fail to see that they have fallen into the clutches of legalistic thinking. In the name of calling people to righteousness, many add to the Word of God and form a system destined to end in an unbiblical approach to godly living.
The results of legalism are devastating. Many fail to learn to think, or at least think biblically, but continue to conform to the rules that have been laid before them. Robotic in their obedience, they never experience the joy of the freedom available in Christ. Others rebel, not only against the system, but against even those teachings that are true to the Scriptures. These rebels often leave their families and the church in pursuit of personal pleasure. In so doing they find themselves becoming slaves to sin.
This book is designed to expose legalism and its tragic results, and then point the way to a true holiness that is based in biblical motivations. Christ is glorified only through truly holy lives.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Servants Heart : Tips For The Associate Minister
$19.36If you are a minister serving under a senior pastor or a lay leader in the church contemplating greater service in the Kingdom, you may be facing frustration about the direction of the ministry God has given you. You know that God has placed something within you, but you are having trouble finding out exactly how to openly express this inward passion. Well, this book will help you find the direction you need.
In A Servant’s Heart, Pastor Kenneth Kemp explores the ways an associate minister-one who serves under a senior pastor-can be effective in the role of a subordinate leader. Having served many years in this role himself, Pastor Kemp sees the role of the associate minister as being integrally important to the ministry of the church, rather than just a temporary position to occupy until something better comes along. He prepares the associate minister with practical advice from the basics of accepting the Master’s call to speaking to social issues to dealing with frustration. Each chapter presents a review of an important ministerial development concept, followed by a sermonic presentation to illustrate that concept. You will be a better preacher, leader, member, and servant if you read and adhere to these practical tips for the associate minister
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Its A God Thing
$14.99He who has two tunics, let him give to him who has none; and he who has food, let him do likewise (Luke 3:11 NKJV).
A bold leader decided to follow Jesus’ teachings, resulting in a powerful ministry that has his entire congregation serving the desolate, the hungry, and the sick. Through this obedience to Scripture, his church grew from a small 250-member congregation to a thriving, life-filled body of Christ-followers that is active in an astounding seventy ministries today.
Learn how your church can follow Jesus today, no matter your budget or how stale your current ministry “programs,” and in spite of opposition. Dr. Roesel overcame the overwhelming odds and proved that Jesus’ teachings are still valid today.
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Preaching Judges
$14.99Lucas Park Books
Judges is crisis literature, reflecting a time of violence and confusion very much like our own. Preachers confronted by the Bible’s dark side will discover guidance and inspiration for sharing the book’s messages with their congregation.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Saved From Silence
$16.99Lucas Park Books
In this postmodern age, women preachers are finding their “voice” a distinctive way of proclamation. This book looks at the metaphor of voice, how women are moving to voice from silence, and how individuals can make themselves heard by those who don’t …Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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People Pleasing Pastors
$21.99Pastors and church leaders often fall into the trap of people-pleasing. Charles Stones research on thousands of pastors and ministry leaders demonstrates the dangers of approval-motivated leadership. Bringing together biblical insights and neuroscience findings, Stone shows why we fall into people-pleasing patterns and what we can do to overcome these tendencies. With practical tools for individuals and teams, Stone offers concrete resources to help you and your leadership minimize people-pleasing and have more effective ministry.
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Loveology Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$13.73In the beginning, God created Adam. Then he made Eve.
And ever since we’ve been trying to figure out what to do next.
What did God intend in the Garden? How does God redeem the fallout in a post-Genesis 3 world? What is right and what is wrong in male/female relationships?
Loveology is just that—a theology of love that begins at marriage and works backward, dealing with marriage, love, sexuality, romance and dating, singleness, masculinity, and femininity.
The Loveology video study is an exploration of what the Bible says about sex and relationships for those who are tired of Hollywood’s message (sex is God), and the church’s message (sex is sin), and know there has to be an ‘Option C’. Portland pastor John Mark Comer asks the why questions, and offers intelligent, biblical, grace-and-truth answers.
This study guide is designed for use with Loveology: A DVD Study (sold separately) and contains video notes, individual or group reflection questions, and between session personal applications enhancing your journey through the video study.
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Mediating Faith : Faith Formation In A Trans Media Era
$48.33The church struggles with media. Whether it is a denomination negotiating the 24-hour news cycle or a church evaluating how Facebook or online games are influencing the youth group, media is raising questions and placing demands on communities of faith in ways that could not have been imagined just 20 years ago. Thus the importance of understanding media for the church has never been greater.
In Mediating Faith, church leaders of all kinds will find Clint Schnekloth an engaging and insightful guide to this new and sometimes wondrous world. In doing so he offers an evaluation and theological response to the trans-media era that highlights its potential to transform our work and world.Far from frightening, Schnekloth highlights the opportunities and the riches of this fascinating time.
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If God Be For Us
$15.61The Black Church will survive because it is all about faith and family. The Black Church is not simply a crowd of people that gather in a centralized location on Sunday mornings. For many, the Black Church is viewed as an extension of one’s immediate family. This extension of family is what gives the congregation a sense of community. I’m the grandson of a pastor. I grew up in the pews of the Baptist church. As a result, I have many mothers and aunts and uncles who are not blood relatives. But then again, they are blood relatives. They are my mother, father, sister, brother, cousin, uncle and aunt in the Lord. As our churches grow in number, we must also grow in ministry. The only way to do that is to grow in relationship one with the other.
The Black Church is a village. In the most traditional use of the word, villages are small groups of families who are situated together for sociability and defense. In the village, people look out for one another. In the village, there are many mothers and fathers. The village concept is such that the success of the individual is directly connected to the success of the group. Many Black Churches function as little villages. We help each other. We support each other. There is a sense of safety that the Black Church provides to Black communities. While all Black people do not attend Black Churches, the majority of Black families appreciate the proximity of this institution within its village. It is all about faith and family. The Black Church, the black family, will survive if God be for us.
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Restless Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$16.99In “Restless,” an 8-session, video-based small group Bible study, Bible study teacher and author Jennie Allen helps you discover a practical plan to identify the threads of your life and how to intentionally weave them together for God’s glory and purposes.
“Restless” explores this important question: “Do I matter?” And Jennie asks, “We livewith lots of things, lots of people…but do we live for something?”
Using the story of Joseph, Jennie explains how his suffering, gifts, story, and relationships fit into the greater story of God-and how our stories can do the same. Then she also introduces Threads-a tool to help you see your own personal story and to uncover and understand the raw materials God has given you to use for his glory and purpose while on this planet.
The lessons in this study guide are engaging and interactive, offering in-depth Bible study, personal stories, and projects enabling the teaching to move off the page and into your life.
Sessions include: IntroductionGod’s StoryGiftsScarsPlacePeoplePassionHoly Spirit
Designed for use with Restless: A DVD Study.
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 9 Cycle A
$24.93When it comes to preaching from a lectionary, it can often be a daunting task to create new ways of preaching about a passage that has been around for thousands of years. It would seem that, after a while, there would be no new ways of looking at a scripture passage. A different perspective, however, can be most beneficial in finding a new way to help your congregation see each of the readings.
This is the inspiration behind the Lectionary Preaching Workbook series and this special edition for Lent and Easter. By providing new insights into each of the readings in the Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal Lectionaries, Mark Ellingsen has given pastors everywhere the tools they need to effectively relate the heart of the scriptures to their congregations, combining the best of scholarly techniques with pastoral experience. Each of these illustrations and thematic explorations provide the perfect jumping point for pastors to take a text and create thought-provoking, inspirational messages. Its easy-to-use format and illuminating commentary make the Lectionary Preaching Workbook an essential addition to any pastor’s library.
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Handles : An Encouragement And Resource For Bible Teachers
$19.98This resource is more than a “how to” manual. It is an invitation to make a greater difference in human lives. Those who teach the Bible are not being told herein to “be real” but rather are invited into the private convictions and routine disciplines valued by the author, who himself is being altered by the patient handiwork of our Master teacher, Jesus.
Sometimes a Bible teacher will have great knowledge of the subject matter, even great passion, but simply not know how to effectively transfer it to an audience. Even when it is transferred, it may not be readily retained, or engender a desire in the recipients to use it, and pass it along to others.
Can this skill be learned?
Handles provides a practical strategy and plentiful examples of how to develop more effective lessons. It will be considered a learning resource and encouragement for new teachers as well as veterans. Whether you are assuming the responsible role of Bible teacher, leading a discipleship group, homeschooling, or investing quality time in any life-changing ministry as an instructor, Handles will become a desirable field manual.
Handles presents educated, entertaining and meaningful discussions with advice on how Bible study teachers can reach their students in the trenches of life through effective material and lesson strategy. The author’s own extensive background as a Bible study leader and his lessons for different age groups will demonstrate to readers the effectiveness of the book’s content.
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Problems Of Christian Leadership
$12.99Christian leaders face challenges. But God works with us and through us to accomplish his purposes. Available here for the first time in English is John Stott’s practical wisdom for younger leaders. Speaking personally from his own experience, Stott addresses issues of discouragement, self-discipline, relationships and youth.
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Violent Takers 1
$19.98The biblical concept of faith has remained incomprehensible to many Christians, yet the concept and the practice of it is fundamental to a successful Christian life. Faith is the single most important weapon that God has given believers to overcome life challenges. When we know it and use it, we make God happy. In other words, God wants us to overcome life challenges and has provided us with faith as a tool to do that.
The Violent Takers uses real life stories to teach faith, perseverance and taking of bold actions towards obtaining any good thing that one desires. It teaches believing in oneself through believing in God. It encourages one to exploit the abilities, gifts, talents, ideas and opportunities at one’s disposal and use such to break out of the box and change whatever undesirable circumstance there may be in one’s life. This book does not teach or encourage violence or violent behaviors. It is, rather, intended to inspire the readers to emulate the characters in the stories by taking Godly bold actions that can forever change
their circumstances and the world.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Kingdom Woman Group Video Experience Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$11.99When a Kingdom Woman retires for the evening, a frustrated and worn out devil ought to be saying, “We messed with the wrong woman today.” This study guide is a companion resource to the video small-group study based on the book Kingdom Woman, which instructs every Christ-following woman on how to tap into the power of God as she finds and fulfills the purpose for which God has fashioned her.
A Kingdom Woman embraces a simple premise: unless a Kingdom rests firmly under the authority of the ruler, anarchy reigns. That’s why a Kingdom Woman always seeks to align herself and operate under the authority of God-in every area of life. With practical insights and applications from coauthor Chrystal Evans Hurst, Tony Evans explains how that process can unleash new purpose, power, and possibilities-in both the lives of Kingdom Women and those they love. This curriculum can be covered in about six weeks.
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Invasion Of The Dead
$27.00Our world and our churches are neither sinful nor lost, they are dead. This dead world is the one that God engages and into which Jesus invaded with a radically different vision of life.
In this groundbreaking work, based on his 211 Yale Beecher lectures, Brian K. Blount helps preachers effectively proclaim resurrection in a world consumed by death. Recognizing that both popular culture and popular Christianity are mesmerized by death and dying, Blount offers an alternative apocalyptic vision for our time–one that starts with a clear vision of life that obliterates death and reveals life’s essence. Blount explores the portrait and meaning of resurrection through the New Testament (the Book of Revelation, the letters of Paul, and the Gospel of Mark) and explores how to biblically and theologically reconfigure apocalyptic preaching for today. With three illustrative sermons, this book is an ideal resource to help preachers proclaim the power of resurrection.
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Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl Participants Guide (Student/Study Gui
$14.99Join bestselling author Lysa TerKuerst for Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl, a six-session small group Bible study that helps you figure out how to trade in going through the motions for the spiritual healthy and vibrant life for which you long.
‘I really want to know God, personally and intimately.’
Do those words resonate with you? You’re tired of just going through the motions of being a Christian: Go to church. Pray. Be nice. That spiritual to-do list just doesn’t cut it. But what does? How do you step out of the drudger of religious duty to experience a living, moment-by-moment, deeply intimate relationship with God? Join Lysa in six small group sessions that will transform your walk with Go from lackluster theory to vibrant reality!
The most invigorating and rewarding journey of your life awaits you as you discover how to: *Build personal, two-way conversations with God.
*Study the Bible and experience life change for yourself.
*Cultivate great authenticity and depth in your relationships.
*Make disappointments work for you, not against you.
*Find incredible joy as you live out your faith in everyday circumstances.This Participant Guide is filled with helpful discussion starters, video overviews, space for writing thoughts, a helpful Leader’s Guide and much more. It’s designed to be used with the companion Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl DVD (sold separately) which features six 10-15 minute teaching sessions.
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Love Does Study Guide
$12.99In “Love Does,” a five-session, video-based small group study, you will discover the whimsy of “New York Times” best-selling author Bob Goff through a sometimes humorous, thought-provoking, meaningful lesson that makes faith in God simple and real.
You will discover the paradigm shifts, musings, and stories from one of the world’s most delightfully engaging and winsome people. What fuels his impact? Love. But it’s not the kind of love that stops at thoughts and feelings. Bob’s love takes action, just like Jesus did. Bob believes “Love Does.”
When “Love Does,” life gets interesting. Light and fun, unique and profound, the lessons drawn from Bob’s life and attitude just might inspire you to be secretly incredible too.
This companion study guide is designed for use with “Love Does” A DVD Study and will lead you and your group deeper into the video content (sold separately) with video notes, group discussion questions, and between session personal reflections and actions to enhance the group experience.
Sessions include:
1.I’m With You
2.Not Defined by Our Failures
3.God’s Audacious Love
4.The Story
5.That’s What Love DoesAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Reading For Preaching
$20.99In Reading for Preaching Neal Plantinga makes a singular claim: preachers who read fine writing will likely become deeper and defter preachers. In his own winsome writing style Plantinga shows how a general reading program benefits preachers. First, he says, good reading generates delight, and the preacher who enters the world of delight goes with God. Good reading can also help tune the preacher’s ear for language — his or her primary tool. General reading can enlarge the preacher’s sympathies for people and situations that she or he had previously known nothing about. And, above all, the preacher who reads widely has the chance to become wise.
Though aimed especially at preachers, this beautifully written book will benefit anyone interested in the wisdom to be derived from reading.
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Ministering To Problem People In Your Church
$21.17Help for Pastors Who Minister under All-Too-Common Destructive Conditions–
from the Editor of Leadership JournalEvery pastor faces hostility, resistance, and interference from often well-meaning (but difficult) people in the church. Using real-life stories of battle-scarred veterans, Shelley, editor of Leadership Journal, presents a clear picture of God’s love for those on both sides of the problem. He offers tested strategies to communicate love and turn dissidents into disciples. This newly updated book will not only help pastors and church leaders preserve their sanity (and maybe their jobs), it will help them minister more effectively–even to those who make their lives difficult.
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Evidence Based Practices For Christian Counseling And Psychotherapy
$41.99Are Christian treatments as effective as secular treatments? What is the evidence to support its success? Christians engaged in the fields of psychology, psychotherapy and counseling are living in a unique moment. Over the last couple decades, these fields have grown more and more open to religious belief and religion-accommodative therapies. At the same time, Christian counselors and psychotherapists encounter pressure (for example, from insurance companies) to demonstrate that their accommodative therapies are as beneficial as secular therapies. This raises the need for evidence to support Christian practices and treatments. The essays gathered in this volume explore evidence-based Christian treatments, practices, factors and principles. The authors mine the relevant research and literature to update practicing psychotherapists, clinical researchers, students, teachers and educated laypersons about the efficacy of certain Christian-accommodative therapies. Topics covered in the book include: devotional meditationcognitive-behavior therapypsychodynamic and process-experiential therapiescouples, marriage and family therapygroup intervention The book concludes with a review of the evidence for the various treatments discussed in the chapters, a guide for conducting clinical trials that is essential reading for current or aspiring researchers, and reflections by the editors about the future of evidence-based Christian practices. As the editors say, “more research is necessary.” To that end, this volume is a major contribution to a field of inquiry that, while still in its infancy, promises to have enormous implications for future work in Christian counseling and psychotherapy.
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Making Disciples In The 21st Century Church
$18.68More than a decade ago, Bill Hull wrote The Disciple Making Pastor. Hull criticized America’s Sunday attendance strategies as being totally inadequate and emphasized the need to make disciples. I resisted Hull’s teaching, thinking he lacked church growth insight. At that time, I primarily judged church growth success by how many were seated in a church in the worship service.
Yet now I applaud the concept of growing a church from the inside out and measuring success by disciples made and sent forth. The only command, in fact, of Christ’s great commission was to make disciples. The rest of the verbs in Matthew 28:18-20 are not in the command form but are actually participles. Jesus literally said, “having gone, make disciples.” (Matt. 28:18).
We know that the goal of the Christian life is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. While this is God’s ultimate plan, does he have a particular purpose for the cell-based church? I’ve been wrestling with this question for the past twenty-two years. This question confronts me every time I coach a pastor or pastors. In preparation for coaching, I ask myself, “What is my principal objective in helping this pastor?” “Where am I guiding this church?” “What am I trying to do?”
This book answers these questions.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the primary goal of cell ministry is to make disciples who make disciples. Christ’s last command to his disciples was for them to repeat the process and to reproduce new disciples. But how were they supposed to do that?
We in North America and the Western world often project our own cultural bias into Christ’s great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Most discipleship books, in fact, assume that discipleship is an individualistic endeavor–between me and God. And yes, there is an important individual aspect (e.g., personal devotions, etc.). Yet in Matthew 28, Jesus was talking to a group of disciples. He wanted them to follow his example by making disciples in a group. Jesus molded twelve disciples in a group and then sent them house to house.
The early church followed Christ’s pattern by making disciples through the house churches that periodically celebrated together in public worship. In 2 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul tells Timothy to continue the discipleship process by passing on the pure gospel message to faithful men and women. Even though the term “disciple” is later replaced by words such as “brothers/sisters,” “Christians,” and “saints,” the concept remain
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Childrens Ministry In The Way Of Jesus
$25.99Attract kids to church, the logic often goes, and you get parents in the pews. All that’s left is to get the kids out of the way. Here children’s ministers David Csinos and Ivy Beckwith draw on research in human development and spiritual formation to show how children become disciples and churches become centers of lifelong discipleship.
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