Pastoral Helps
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God Story Daily Readings
$9.99Add to cartDeveloped by Jacob Armstrong, founding pastor of Providence UMC in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, The God Story is a seven-week sermon series seeking to help congregants see the threads that run throughout the story of God’s people culminating in Jesus and the resurrection. The series uses classic components of story to help people see their place and role in God’s story. The devotional participant books allow individual church members to bring the sermon message home and provide additional insights and inspiration until the next Sunday sermon.
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Loving Large Daily Readings
$8.99Add to cartLoving Large is a four week series that seeks to move people to action in their Christian faith. In a world that seems to run on money, greed, oil, power, etc., what would our world look like if it ran on the love of God? How can we infuse this world-changing love into our community and world? The series gives real opportunities for people to serve God and love their neighbor. It could possibly culminate with a church-wide day of service to the community. The devotional participant books allow individual church members to bring the sermon message home and provide additional insights and inspiration until the next Sunday sermon.
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Volunteer Youth Workers Guide To Leading A Small Group
$7.99Add to cart1. Why Small Groups?
2. What’s The Point?
3. What Does Change Look Like?
4. Thinking Structure
5. Leading Great Discussions
6. Asking Great Questions
7.Things That Might Help
8.Stop Reading!Additional Info
A lot of churches and youth ministries have given up on the idea of small groups, writing them off as too tedious, too difficult to manage, too hard to find volunteers for, too expensive to provide materials or curriculum for, or any other number of reasons. In A Volunteer Youth Worker’s Guide to Leading a Small Group, Mark Oestreicher argues a different perspec- tive, however. Marko insists that small groups pro- mote safe spaces to grow, consistency in teenagers’ emotionally tumultuous lives, and repetition that instills in them the importance of trust and tradi- tion. The Guide to Leading a Small Group is perfect for anyone feeling disenchanted with the concept of small groups, and after Marko succeeds in changing your mind in the first few pages, he’ll use the rest of the book to help you restructure and rethink your small-group programming so you don’t get burned out again. Marko is leading the charge in reviving small groups, and you can join him today. -
Volunteer Youth Workers Guide To Resourcing Parents
$7.99Add to cartEvery youth leader, volunteer, or pastor has failed at some point in their communication or interaction with their teenagers’ parents. Most youth workers are still pretty young themselves, and most parents are guarded and pro- tective of their kids. These factors combine to create a minefield, of sorts, for parents and youth workers to navigate. In fact, youth ministry mogul Mark Oestreicher starts off A Volunteer Youth Worker’s Guide to Resourcing Parents by admitting some of his own failures in his interactions with students’ parents. But then Marko uses the rest of the book to explore the importance and deep significance of being intentional with parent contact and interaction, and not letting family ministry slip through the cracks in favor of teenager-only ministry. If you’ve had some discouraging interactions with parents lately, this book might help provide a new perspective, allowing you to show some grace, both to yourself and the parents you’re trying to minister to.
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Volunteer Youth Workers Guide To Understanding Todays Teenagers
$7.99Add to cartMany parents have taken a defeatist approach toward understanding their teens. But that’s where you, the volunteer youth worker, come in. Mark Oestreicher shows that Understand- ing Today’s Teenager is both possible and rewarding, if one has the right tools. Marko explores the dimensions of nature vs. nurture, brain activity, culture, biology, and emotional development, all of which lead teenagers to do the wacky things they do that adults don’t understand and often can’t remember having done themselves. Marko also reminds us that adolescent development doesn’t end at the age of 18 just because United States law says it does. A Volunteer Youth Worker’s Guide to Understanding To- day’s Teenager uses a combination of science, logic, and compassion to help bring us back from the cliff edge and remember why we started working with teens in the first place. Use this book is a jumping- off point to re-ignite your passion for teens.
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Art And Practice Of Bivocational Ministry
$14.99Add to cart“It’s a balancing act.
If you are a bivocational pastor, you are familiar with the stresses, complications, and unique hurdles that come with bivocational ministry. You have a special calling.
In The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry, Dennis Bickers provides solid advice to help you succeed in your ministry while juggling a full-time job and a family at home. Along with his seasoned insights, you will find true-to-life case studies of challenges bivocational ministers face daily. More than just a guide, this book is a mentor in print and an invaluable resource for anyone balancing part-time ministry with a full-time job.”
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77 Fairly Safe Science Activities For Illustrating Bible Lessons (Reprinted)
$16.99Add to cartNothing captures the attention of young people (and adults) like a creative object lesson. This hands-on book gives pastors, teachers, speakers, and homeschoolers 77 exciting science activities that reveal the order and grandeur of creation and encourage an appreciation of all God has made. These easy experiments illustrate the laws of nature, teach Bible principles, and affirm God’s power as Creator. With catchy or unexpected results, the demonstrations make Bible truth unforgettable. The clearly explained experiments use common household objects, require little setup, and are illustrated with pictures and diagrams.
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Fight Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartIn Fight, a five-session, video-based small group Bible study, pastor and bestselling author Craig Groeschel explores the life of Samson, helping you uncover who you really are—a man created with a warrior’s heart in the image of God—and how to stand up and fight for what’s right. Find the strength to fight the battles you know you need to fight—the ones that determine the state of your heart, the quality of your marriage, and the spiritual health of your family. The battles that make you dependent on God as the source of your strength. The battles that make you come alive. Craig looks at the life of Samson, showing how much we have in common with this guy. Things didn’t work out so well for him in the end. But by looking at his life, you’ll learn how to defeat the demons that make strong men weak. You’ll become who God made you to be—a man who knows how to fight for what’s right. Learn how to fight with faith, with prayer, and with the Word of God. Then, when your enemy begins to attack, fight for the righteous cause that God gave you. Draw a line in the sand. Make your enemy pay. Make sure he gets the message. Don’t cross a warrior. Don’t mess with this man of God. Come out fighting. And don’t show up for this fight unarmed. Use the weapons God gave you, and you’ll win. Can you feel it? It’s inside you. It’s time to fight like a man. Designed for use with the Fight Study Guide (sold separately).
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Understanding Sexual Identity
$16.99Add to cartToday’s youth struggle with difficult questions of sexual identity. How can a youth worker offer wise care and counsel on such a controversial and confusing subject? Mark Yarhouse, director of the Institute for the Study of Sexual Identity, equips youth ministers so they can faithfully navigate the topic of sexual identity in a way that is honest, compassionate, and accessible. Reframing the focus away from the culture wars, Yarhouse introduces readers to the developmental considerations in the formation of sexual identity—all of which occurs in the teen years. He offers practical and helpful ways to think about homosexuality along with suggestions for talking with people who experience same-sex attraction. He also helps parents and youth volunteers learn to graciously respond to children and teens who struggle with questions of sexual identity, and discusses how youth ministry can become more relevant in the lives of youth who are navigating these issues.
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Youth Workers Commentary On James
$26.99Add to cartOne reason for writing these books is that most curriculums that are now available for youth leaders and their students are just skimming the books of the Bible (example: 4-12 lessons on the Gospel of John that do not go beyond the surface of the text). We are talking about writing books that would have the entire Biblical text printed in each book. Books that actually go deeper into the meaning of the text. We are thinking of dozens of word and character studies, with many fascinating historical and personal stories, followed by in depth thought provoking questions. This series of books will include insights and observations not usually covered in typical commentaries.
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Celebrating Liturgical Time
$29.95Add to cart2nd installment in the “Celebrating” series: an overview of liturgical theology
and praxis* Written by a well-known liturgical scholar
* Includes history, theology, and practical information
Celebrating Liturgical Time continues the standard of scholarship set by
Patrick Malloy’s Celebrating the Eucharist. It is ideal for students, clergy, and church
members who seek to strengthen their knowledge-and parochial practice-
of liturgical timekeeping and the Daily Office. -
Men And The Church
$17.99Add to cartMen and the Church: Is there a Future? Yes, there is a future for the men in your church! “Men and the Church: Is There a Future?” examines a topic of crucial importance to the state of today’s church- the decreasing interest, impact and involvement of men. Addressing Christian leaders and those emerging to leadership, clergy and laymen alike, Crouse seeks to inform and equip today’s Christian men with the tools to fix the gender gap in the 21st century church and welcome men back to the church they have been so pivotal in building up over the past 2000 years ago. Jay Crouse has been actively involved in ministry to men for over twenty-five years and participating full-time since leaving the private sector in 1999. His ministry to men journey began in the Episcopal Diocese of SW Florida and has expanded nationally and to the church at large. Jay and his wife of thirty-three years, Laura, live in Sarasota, Florida and attend Church of the Redeemer. They have four sons.
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Embracing Spiritual Awakening (Student/Study Guide)
$16.95Add to cartQuick Guide To The Handbook
Beyond The “Quick Guide”
Pointers On Facilitation
Questions Of Awakening
Session 1: Waking Up
Session 2: Believing
Session 3: Behaving
Session 4: Belonging
Session 5: AwakeningAdditional Info
In this newest installment, Diana Butler Bass expands on the ideas she developed in her recent book, Christianity after Religion, exploring what Christianity may look like “beyond religion and beyond the church.” Segments include (1) Arriving, (2) Believing, (3) Behaving, (4) Belonging and (5) Awakening. -
What Do We Tell The Children
$18.99Add to cartOne out of seven children will lose a parent before they are 20. The statistics are sobering, but they are also a call for preparedness. However, pastors and counselors of all types are often at a loss when dealing with a grieving child. Talking to adults about death and grief is difficult; it’s all the more challenging to talk to children and teens. The stakes are high: grieving children are high-risk for substance abuse, promiscuity, depression, isolation, and suicide. Yet, despite this, most of these kids grow-up to be normal or exceptional adults. But their chance to become healthy adults increases with the support of a loving community. Supporting grieving children requires intentionality, open-communication, and patience. Rather than avoid all conversations on death or pretend like it never happened, normalizing grief and offering support requires us to be in-tune with kids through dialogue as they grapple with questions of “how” and “why.” When listening to children in grief, we often have to embrace the mystery, offer love and compassion, and stick with the basics. The author says, “We don’t have to answer the why and how for them, but we can assure our children that God is with us as we suffer. We can do so by doing good for others and pointing out all of those moments when someone has done something good for us. I believe that most of the time that’s as far as we will get, and that is okay.”
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Feasting On The Word Year B 2
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Year A 2
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Year A 1
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this new lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Hour On Sunday
$26.99Add to cartToday’s spiritually searching culture is less inclined than ever to attend church. Yet, no time of the week is filled with more life-changing potential than Sunday morning. Imagine . . . experiences that bring people heart-to-heart with God.messages in which God’s truth connects to everyday life.transcendent moments that leave people awestruck—and transformed. That’s what can happen when you unleash the arts in your church through the power of the Holy Spirit. An Hour on Sunday is not about nitty-gritty programming details or cookie-cutter how-to’s. It’s about foundational issues—ten enduring principles that: unite artists and ministry leaders around a common language empower artists and pastors to effectively work together create the potential for moments that matter on Sunday morning. An Hour on Sunday is for worship and arts ministry leaders, pastors and teachers, artists—including musicians, writers, dancers, actors, visual artists, film makers, light and sound engineers and anyone who believes in the limitless potential of the arts in their church. Whimsically illustrated, written with passion and humor, and filled with stories of both success and failure, An Hour on Sunday explores the deep, shaping forces that can make your hour on Sunday a time of transformation and wonder for believers and seekers alike.
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Feasting On The Word Year C 2
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Year C 4
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Year B 4
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Violence In Scripture
$50.00Add to cartThe Bible frequently depicts God as angry and violent, and also sometimes depicts human violence as positive or even as commanded by God. This forms one of the most vexing problems in approaching Scripture and in interpreting the Bible for preaching and teaching today. In this volume, Creach first examines the theological problems of violence and categorizes the types of violence that appear in scripture. Then, he wrestles with the most important biblical texts on violence to work through specific interpretational issues. This new volume in the Interpretation: Resources for Use of Scripture in the Church series will help preachers and pastors interpret those difficult texts, encouraging them to face violence in the Bible with honesty.
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Feasting On The Word Year B 1
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Worship Companion Year A 1
$42.00Add to cartBased on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year A, Volume 1 is an invaluable aid that provides liturgical pieces needed in preparing for worship each week. Written and compiled by a team of eleven ecumenical and seasoned liturgy writers under the creative leadership of Kimberly Bracken Long, 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. A CD-ROM is also included with each volume that enables planners to easily cut and paste relevant readings, prayers, and questions into worship bulletins.
Liturgy Writers include:
Kimberly L. Clayton, Director of Contextual Education, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
David Gambrell, Associate for Worship in the Office of Theology and Worship, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Louisville, Kentucky; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Daniel M. Geslin, Pastor, Sixth Avenue United Church of Christ, Denver, Colorado; United Church of Christ
Kimberly Bracken Long, Assistant Professor of Worship, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, Georgia; Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
L. Edward Phillips, Associate Professor of Worship and Liturgical Theology, Candler School of Theology, Atlanta, Georgia; United Methodist Church
Melinda Quivik, Liturgical Scholar, Houghton, Michigan; Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Carol L. Wade, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington, Kentucky; Episcopal Church -
How To Be Team Player And Enjoy It
$13.99Add to cartMatt Williams has been an associate pastor, Christian college administrator, and has worked with church ministries around the country for over 40 years. He combines his experiences as a secular business manager, church staff member, and Christian leader with ministries to present practical principles that are invaluable in serving the Lord. How To Be A Team Player and Enjoy It is the result of working with pastors, staff members, and ministries across the country and seeing the problems faced in churches and Christian school ministries. Matt takes principles from God s word and applies them to our relationships and working with others as leaders. Christian leaders have encouraged Matt to relate these principles in printed form. This book reflects Matt s heart for people and the Lords work. How To Be A Team Player and Enjoy It should be required reading for all Christian leaders and workers.
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Without Apology : Sermons For Christs Church
$26.95Add to cartSermons from one of the country’s best-known theologians – 17 sermons, from “Saints” and “Letting Go,” to “Recognizing Jesus/Seeing Salvation” and “Clothe Your Ministers in Righteousness” – Two bonus presentations on “Leadership” and “A
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Sermons Of John Wesley
$57.99Add to cartWith an eye on serious Christian development, Kenneth Collins and Jason Vickers have arranged this collection of the sermons of John Wesley in terms of the way of salvation in general and the “ordo salutis” in particular. This book contains the sermons that John Wesley approved, in addition to the standard 52 of the North American tradition, organized to correspond to the logic of Christian discipleship and formation. The editors include an outline and short introduction to each sermon detailing its importance and context. Sermons include “Sermon on the Mount,” which is key to understanding Wesley’s ethics, “Free Grace,” “On Working Out Our Own Salvation,” and “The Danger of Riches.” The book is designed to enhance the reader’s understanding of Wesleyan practical theology and written in an accessible style that will be appealing to the wider Wesleyan family of churches. Also included are all of the 44 standard sermons of the British tradition.
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Feasting On The Word Year A 4
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Pastors Family : Shepherding Your Family Through The Challenges Of Pastoral
$16.99Add to cartFeaturing insights from the perspective of both a pastor and his wife—The Pastor’s Family identifies the complicated burdens and expectations ministry brings to the life of a family. Brian and Cara Croft identify the unique challenges that pastors face as husbands and fathers. They also discuss the difficulties and joys of being a pastor’s wife and offer practical advice on raising children in a ministry family. In addition to addressing the challenges of marriage and raising children, they also highlight the joys of serving together as a family and the unique opportunities pastors have to train their children and lead their families.
With discussion questions for use by couples and pastoral reading groups, this book is ideal for pastors and their spouses, pastoral ministry students and their wives, as well as elders, deacons, and others who wish to remain faithful to the care of their families while diligently fulfilling their calling in ministry. The Pastor’s Family equips pastors with time-tested wisdom to address the tension of family and congregational dynamics while persevering in their calling.
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Feasting On The Word Year C 1
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Story Of Jesus Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThe Story of Jesus small group video Bible study is a seven-week exploration into the life and ministry of Jesus that is adapted from the original The Story Adult Curriculum. Pulled straight from the pages of the Bible, this study provides individuals and groups of all sizes the opportunity to learn, discuss, and apply Jesus’ life, work, and teaching to their everyday lives. Pastor and author Randy Frazee presents seven ten-minute teachings on how the story of Jesus intersects with the story of our modern day lives. To understand the Bible, says author and pastor Randy Frazee, you need bifocal lenses, because two perspectives are involved. The Lower Story, our story, is actually many stories of men and women interacting with God in the daily course of life. The Upper Story is God’s story, the tale of his great, overarching purpose that fits all the individual stories together like panels in one unified mural. Bestselling author Max Lucado also adds some introductory insights. The Story of Jesus DVD (sold separately) and Participant’s Guide are designed for use by individuals as well as groups of all sizes, including small groups and Sunday school and adult education classes. The Story of Jesus Participant’s Guide includes DVD teaching notes, discussion questions, between session personal experiences, and also includes seven chapters of the full text of The Story hardcover book as it relates to Jesus, from his birth to the beginning of the church.
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 9 Cycle A
$49.95Add to cartMark Ellingsen’s Lectionary Preaching Workbook (Series IX Cycle A) is a rich and stimulating resource for preachers, especially those who manage the adamant deadline (really, lifeline) imposed on preachers by weekly worship. Each section is filled with theological reflection, liturgical sensibility, exegetical sketches, along with sermon prompts, outlines, and “gimmicks.” This last is his own word for what amount to suggestions for why a sermon on a particular text can be made to matter to both preacher and audience…
Ellingsen’s stated intent is to be an unbiased conversation partner with the preacher and in this goal he is careful to provide a range of options for topic and approach for each occasion… The closer a preacher is to wanting to continue in the Protestant tradition if theologically informed, exegetically nuanced, liturgically sensitive, and rhetorically focused preacher, the more that preacher will find Lectionary Preaching Workbook a sturdy companion.
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Spiritual Formation In Emerging Adulthood (Reprinted)
$30.00Add to cartThe shift from adolescence to adulthood, a recently identified stage of life called “emerging adulthood,” covers an increasing span of years in today’s culture (roughly ages 18-30) due to later marriages and extended education. During this prolonged stage of exploration and self-definition, many young adults drift away from the church.
Here two authors–both veteran teachers who are experienced in young adult and campus ministry–address this new and urgent field of study, offering a Christian perspective on what it means to be spiritually formed into adulthood. They provide a “practical theology” for emerging adult ministry and offer insight into the key developmental issues of this stage of life, including identity, intimacy and sexuality, morality, church involvement, spiritual formation, vocation, and mentoring. The book bridges the gap between academic and popular literature on emerging adulthood and offers concrete ways to facilitate spiritual formation among emerging adults.
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Finally Free : Fighting For Purity With The Power Of Grace
$19.99Add to cartIf you have struggled personally against the powerful draw of pornography, or if you have ever tried to help someone fighting this battle, you know how hard it is to break free. But real freedom isn’t found by trying harder to change. Nor is it found in a particular method or program. Only Jesus Christ has the power to free people from the enslaving power of pornography.
In Finally Free, Dr. Heath Lambert, a leader in the biblical counseling movement, lays out eight gospel-centered strategies for overcoming the deceitful lure of pornography. Each chapter clearly demonstrates how the gospel applies to this particular battle and how Jesus can move readers from a life of struggle to a life of purity.
If you or someone you care about is fighting this battle, there is good news: No matter how intense or long-standing the struggle, Jesus Christ can, will, and does set people free from the power of pornography.
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Pastoral Practices : A Wesleyan Paradigm
$19.99Add to cartPastoring is tough. The challenges are many, expectations are high, and tasks are wide ranging.
Pastoral Practices is a guide to help pastors draw on the insights of Wesleyan theology and incorporate them into their ministries. Whatever the task may be–preaching, discipling, evangelizing, or administrating–this book will shed light on the way Wesleyan theology refines, informs, and enhances the theories and methods of each pastoral practice.
Not only will pastors and their associates find this book a worthwhile asset, but lay leaders, small-group facilitators, and others doing ministry in the church will also benefit from its invaluable insight and well-reasoned advice. -
Special Service Worship Architect
$34.00Add to cartThis book takes the principles found in Constance Cherry’s successful The Worship Architect–in which she provided dynamic blueprints for designing worship services–and applies them to special services in the life of the church. Cherry, a worship professor and practitioner, offers theological reflection, practical guidance, and suggested resources to help worship leaders and ministry students in training to create meaningful special services related to the sacraments, life passages, and other occasions.
Cherry sets forth a process concerning worship design for special services and demonstrates how this process is conducive to virtually any style of worship practiced today in a myriad of Christian communities. She includes a model order for each service type, including weddings, funerals, baptisms, child dedications, Holy Communion, and more. The book not only explains what leaders do in order to preside at special services and how to do it, but also why they make certain choices. Each chapter includes discussion questions, practical exercises, and a basic glossary.
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Gymnasium Of Christ
$19.99Add to cart“Exercise thyself unto piety [or godliness]; for bodily exercise is profitable for a little, but piety [godliness] is profitable for everything, having promise of life of the present one and of that to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). People nowadays are most conscious of the need to engage in physical exercise, but unfortunately God’s people are considerably negligent regarding the need for spiritual exercise. They may have had some experience of being in the school of Christ where they learn something of God’s truth mentally, yet they are quite ignorant when it comes to the gymnasium of Christ where through spiritual exercise they may learn of Christ himself and grow up in Him daily. This causes them to be large in head but small in feet. They know a lot but advance very little along the pathway towards spiritual maturity.
In view of this disappointing situation, brother Stephen Kaung gave a series of twenty messages on the necessity for Christians to be attendees and participants daily in the gymnasium of Christ. -
5 Pathways To Wholeness
$15.99Add to cartFive Pathways to Wholeness examines a variety of approaches to pastoral care: biblical counselling, the healing ministries, pastoral counselling, spiritual direction and social change.
Bringing together material from a range of sources, and offering numerous engaging real-life illustrations, the author compares and evaluates each of the five approaches in its own right.
At the same time, he encourages those who favour a particular pathway to respect and understand the raison d’etre of the other four. All five, he believes, can move to a more truly ‘integrational’ theological and psychological viewpoint.
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Wide Welcome : How The Unsettling Presence Of Newcomers Can Save The Church
$22.00Add to cartWhile most churches offer ‘new member classes’ and genuinely seek to welcome visitors, too often the end result is a rush to assimilate the newcomer into formal membership and all of the invitations to participation in committees, choirs, or fellowship groups that go along with it.
In Wide Welcome, Jessicah Krey Duckworth presents the stark differences between the established congregation, which cares for current members and congregational identity, and the disestablished one, intentionally equipped to facilitate the encounter between new and established members. By intentionally extending the time of newcomer inquiry and allowing their questions, insights, and experiences to reverberate through the entire congregation both they and the church are changed. Wide Welcome does far more than point out the faults and weaknesses in current practice. Duckworth intentionally lays out possible designs for newcomer welcome that are local and particular.
At a time when only nine percent of North American Mainline congregations actively and intentionally facilitate newcomer faith formation, Wide Welcome is an essential and timely book.
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Feasting On The Word Year B 3
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Starting Right : Thinking Theologically About Youth Ministry
$39.99Add to cartStarting Right: Thinking Theologically About Youth Ministry is the first academic textbook that introduces youth ministry students (whether undergraduate or graduate level) to a marriage of solid research, real life, and accessible design. Whereas most college-level texts may reflect a thorough (though impenetrable) mastery of the field, they tend to expect readers to plow through unnecessarily thick prose and bland design because ‘it’s good for them.’ Youth Specialties doesn’t agree. In this debut title to a continuing academic book line, college and seminary students will be introduced to real-life research, real-life youth ministry dilemmas, and real-life solutions. Contributing writers represent a spectrum of Christian Education thought and practice, as well as widespread recognition in their field…transdenominational, yet the perfect background to ministry in any denomination or ministry organization This text includes thorough indexes, design, and graphics that compel readers from page to page (now that’s a first for a college text!); organization that permits professors to use any part of the text, in any order, rather than plod through the entire book from beginning to end; a perfect primary text that gives students a rich, academic, and readable (though not ‘popular’) grasp of every aspect of youth ministry a typical Intro course touches, while also serving as an ideal secondary text.
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Power Of Multisensory Preaching And Teaching
$24.99Add to cartMost preaching and teaching in the church engages only one of the senses—hearing. In The Power of Multisensory Preaching and Teaching, Rick Blackwood shows how recognizing and engaging the multiple senses of the congregation can lead to greater impact. Blackwood presents both biblical evidence and scientific research showing that the more senses we stimulate in teaching and preaching, the greater the levels of learner attention, comprehension, and retention. Blackwood addresses both the ‘why’ and the ‘how’ of multisensory communication. Regardless of one’s current skill level, this practical book can help anyone add multi-sensory elements to messages in order to take communication to the next level—more compelling, clear, and memorable. As a result of reading this book readers can be more effective as a communicator and teacher. The book includes tools, examples, and worksheets.
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Feasting On The Word Year C 3
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Feasting On The Word Year A 3
$50.00Add to cartNow Available in Paperback!With this lectionary commentary series, Westminster John Knox offers the most extensive resource for preaching on the market today. Now complete, the twelve volumes of the series cover all the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with movable occasions, such as Christmas Day, Epiphany, Holy Week, and All Saints’ Day.
For each lectionary text, preachers will find four brief essays-one each on the theological, pastoral, exegetical, and homiletical challenges of the text. This gives preachers sixteen different approaches to the proclamation of the Word on any given occasion.
The editors and contributors to this series are world-class scholars, pastors, and writers representing a variety of denominations and traditions. And while the twelve volumes of the series follow the pattern of the Revised Common Lectionary, each volume contains an index of biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers, as well as teachers and students, may make use of its contents.
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Advanced Strategic Planning (Reprinted)
$28.00Add to cartFirst published in 1990, Advanced Strategic Planning explains why planning is so important to carrying out the church’s mission. Now in its third edition, this classic resource offiers
*a nine-step strategic thinking and acting model
*useful ideas for developing a ministry strategy
*diagrams to help illustrate concepts
*a new section on spiritual formationThe methods in this book are proven to work, having already helped many churches articulate their vision and implement their mission.
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Table Manners : Liturgical Leadership For The Mission Of The Church
$35.99Add to cartThere is a growing (if not urgent) need for those being trained for ordained (and lay) ministry to be provided with a more solid grounding in liturgical principles, and Simon Reynolds seeks to address this by demonstrating how good liturgical leadership can be the foundation from which all other theological, historical, pastoral and missiological issues arise.
Table Manners attempts to avoid being a ‘party’ book and will consciously avoid issues of churchmanship (except in pointing to what is positive in the various Christian traditions). Rather, it is written from the conviction that (i) a proper understanding of the Eucharist, and a theologically-informed approach to celebrating it (even if this manifests itself in many different styles), should mean that worshippers can go to churches of an unfamiliar tradition and yet still be caught up in the action, because what is essential and enlarging about good liturgical celebration would be recognisable; and (ii) that the success of presidency also demands the liturgical education of the whole people of God, because until they know what to ask for, their expectations will remain constrained.
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Worship The Lord With Gladness
$19.99Add to cartLessons:
1. Come, Let’s Worship God! What Is Worship?
2. Come To The Water: Baptism
3. Come To The Table: Holy Communion
4. Worship Leaders Help Us Praise God
5. Church Symbols Help Me Worship God
6. Music Helps Me Offer Praise To God
7. One Service, Many Parts
8. One God, Many Ways To Worship
9. We Worship And We Welcome
10. I Have A Part In Worship
11. Special Times Of Worship
12. We Gather To Worship, We Leave To Serve
13. Children Lead In WorshipAdditional Info
Worship the Lord with Gladness: God’s Children in Worship is designed to teach children about worship. Each lesson is based upon a scripture verse or passage that the children would examine in detail. Activities, games, drama, role-play, reproducibles, and music are incorporated into the lessons. Each lesson provides an opportunity for the children to put into practice what they have learned. In addition, there are take-home sheet explaining the lesson and providing parents ideas for reinforcing the lesson at home.Each lesson contains the following:
WORSHIP WIDSOM: Background material for the teacher.
ENTER WITH GLADNESS: Gathering activities for children as they arrive for the worship study.
BIBLE PRAISE NOTES: Children will examine the scripture for the day.
LET’S LEARN TO WORSHIP: Activities, games, drama, role play, reproducibles and music help the children learn about the particular worship theme.
WE WORSHIP GOD: A time to put into practice what the children have learned.
MY FAMILY HELPS ME WORSHIP: Take-home ideas for worship in the home and reinforcing the lesson
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Get Their Name Workbook
$15.99Add to cartPower-boost your team’s capacity to share faith without anxiety!
Most churches and Christians target the wrong people with “evangelism” efforts. The model we use no longer works because it is passive, too polite, and focused in the wrong direction. We are not making new disciples, not adding significantly to Christ’s transformation of the world. But there is hope and practical help for churches who are ready to take a new approach. Get Their Name by Bob Farr, Kay Kotan, and Doug Anderson outlines that hope and help.The Get Their Name Workbook provides the critical next step. Church leaders can use this resource with their teams, small groups, and staff to power-boost the book’s ideas in their own church context. The workbook is formatted to function as an individual study, too.
The Get Their Name Workbook:
-Creates conversation starters for group discussion or personal reflection
-Poses powerful questions, which can lead to honest and authentic reflection and evaluation
-Encourages group participants to process the information together, increasing understanding and commitment
-Stimulates calls to action, increasing the likelihood of real and sustainable change in the congregation -
Elephant In The Church
$19.99Add to cartA church can be a dangerous place. The perils may be so obvious, they become “elephants” standing in the fellowship hall, lurking in the sanctuary, ready to spring into the pastor’s study, and tromp out of the choir room. The word “elephant” stands for an obvious truth or issue that is ignored or unnamed-a blind spot. Yet we allow elephants to occupy a large amount of space in the minds and hearts of those that tiptoe around them. Discussing common blind-spots of congregations and church leaders, the authors provide examples and illustrations for how to stop these “elephants” from ruining a ministry.
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Jiffy For Eternity Cycle A
$17.95Add to cartDr. Leslie Holmes is one of America’s finest scholar preachers, an impelling communicator in both the spoken and, as you will witness, the written word. He writes as he speaks — with conviction, warmth, and insight.
Dr. Lloyd John Ogilvie
Former Chaplain, United States SenateDr. Leslie Holmes has a keen mind coupled with a heart that burns with passion for evangelism.
Dr. R.C. Sproul
Author and TheologianDr. Holmes’s belief in the eternal verities of the Christian faith is exciting. His ability to take those truths and apply them in a practical, life-changing way is refreshing.
Dr. Steve Brown
Author, Professor of Preaching, and Founder of Key Life MinistriesRobert Leslie Holmes provides a refreshing look at the message of the cross in his sermons for Cycle A Lent and Easter seasons, A Jiffy for Eternity. Written for preachers by a preacher, A Jiffy for Eternity provides deep, exegetical analysis to each sermon and delivers truths in a way that are stunningly relevant to today’s reader.
Rich with both authority and passion for exploring the word of God, A Jiffy for Eternity carefully balances scriptural and historical investigations to consistently lead the reader toward compelling insights and biblically anchored understandings. Holmes’ love for the word of God is starkly evident throughout each sermon, and his deep knowledge of biblical history and interpretation remind the reader of the timeless truths of God’s word.
“In his name, God has entrusted us with an ‘obligation’ about the message that supersedes every other message in the world. In his name, God gives us the Holy Spirit who makes the message we preach new for every generation.” Holmes does not declare this pastoral obligation easily, for he has experienced firsthand the difficult task of delivering fresh life into ancient words. But the word of God is an “immoveable rock of trust,” and in that conviction, Robert Leslie Holmes presents a series of sermons that seek to transform the hearts and lives of the church with well-worn truths that remain ever-fresh and ever-new.
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To Drown Hell And Burn Heaven Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartTo Drown Hell and Burn Heaven beautifully illustrates the ability of holy language to change lives. With a lyrical voice and deeply personal reflections, Kristin Borsgard Wee challenges the reader to look beyond the text in order to allow the ancient idea of a transforming “white fire” to move us and to equip us in our faith.
For over 25 years, Kristin Borsgard Wee has taught the scriptures, and she believes that the images and ideas within language often “question our domesticated version of God.” When we permit ourselves to navigate through those questions and process their truths, our hearts, minds, and spirits can then begin to mimic Jesus — simply because we can answer his piercing question: “Who do you say I am?”
Throughout To Drown Hell and Burn Heaven, Wee offers personal and historical insights to expand scriptural understandings of God’s sovereignty, grace, and love. Wee combines a lifetime of discipleship, experience, and wisdom into the nine sermons for the middle third of the Season after Pentecost (Propers 15-23). These meditations can be used in corporate and private worship alike. Wee lets the familiar, ancient stories of Jesus call the believer into a life truly transformed by the power of the kingdom.
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Cut Dead But Still Alive
$24.99Add to cartTo cut dead means to refuse to acknowledge another with the intent to punish. Gregory Ellison says that this is the plight of African American young men. They are stigmatized with limited opportunity for education and disproportionate incarceration. At the same time, they are often resistant to help from social institutions including the church. They are mute and invisible to society but also in their inward being. Their voice and physical selves are not acknowledged, leaving them ripe for hopelessness and volatility. So if the need is so great yet the desire for help wanes, where is the remedy?
Healing can begin by reframing the problem. While to cut dead is destructive, it also refers to pruning and repotting a disfigured plant-giving it new possibilities for life. In this provocative book, Ellison shows how caregivers can sow seeds of life, nurturing the neophyte with guidance, admonition, training, and support in order to become a community of reliable others, serving as an extended family.
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Leading A Healthy Multi Ethnic Church
$24.99Add to cartIncreasingly, church leaders are recognizing the power and beauty of the multi-ethnic church. Yet, more than a good idea, it’s a biblical, first-century standard with far-reaching evangelistic potential. How can your church overcome the obstacles to become a healthy multi-ethnic community of faith? And why should you even try?
In Leading a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church (formerly titled Ethnic Blends), Dr. Mark DeYmaz provides an up-close-and-personal look at seven common challenges to creating diversity in your church. Through real-life stories and practical illustrations, DeYmaz shows how to overcome the obstacles in order to lead a healthy multi-ethnic church. He also includes the insights of other effective multi-ethnic church leaders from the United States and Australia, as well as study questions at the end of each chapter. -
Tall Poppy : How To Lead Without Losing Your Head
$19.99Add to cartIn New Zealand, they have a saying: “Keep a low profile or, like the tall poppy, stand tall and get your head cut off.” While there are risks to standing out, there are also benefits: tall poppies have the best view and are positioned to have the clearest vision of the horizon. Leadership has an up-side but also a down-side, and leaders must attend to both. Tall poppy leadership attracts attention, but it is a mixed blessing. These leaders leave their mark, shape the environment, and prepare the ground for others. Like tall poppies, they have a clear view of the lay of the land, not just for themselves but for their followers. To reap the benefits of being the first to harvest, they risk becoming easy targets for those who are jealous, petty, or have a hunger for power.
This practical book helps you weigh the costs and benefits of your leadership as you assess your own situation. It shows you how to move forward through inevitable conflict, while attending to the landmines and hazards of congregational life. After reading this book you will lead with more confidence, better able to keep the vision and avoid distraction of immediate crises.
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Preaching With F I R E S E T A
$15.49Add to cartPreaching with F.I.R.E.’s E.T.A. will rivet novice and experienced preachers alike to their seats, and the hearers of your preaching will be glued to their pews when the principles of this work are applied. The traditional ways to study a text of Scripture through cold and clinical analysis will be replaced with a four-step process (F.I.R.E.) that reveres the Bible as a living Word that speaks of a personal relationship with its Author. Moreover, once the F.I.R.E. is kindled, the author will guide you to developing points including the vital and often-missed theological step. (E.T.A. is the acronym used to show this necessary phase of sermon assembly.) Next you will be escorted through the sermon delivery process. The author then demonstrates how the Holy Spirit is the exegete’s tour guide through the preparation process and subsequently speaks in confluence through the biblical text during delivery. There is an intriguing section titled An Extreme Takeover from a Friendly Force that addresses the Holy Spirit’s ability to supernaturally use well-prepared messages. Further, how can the messenger of God’s Word be assured he’s representing God’s Bible accurately? Two chapters are devoted to give a history of preaching, examining both authoritative and nonauthoritative preaching samples. The writer then gives a paradigm how to preach with God’s authority. The work culminates with a sermon based upon 1 Samuel 17 with the classic text featuring David versus Goliath that the author preached displaying the skills shared in this work. Ken J. Burge, Sr. (A.A., B.A., Washington Bible Church; M.A., M.Div., Capital Bible Seminary; D.Min., Dallas Theological Seminary) has been the Senior Pastor of Colmar Manor Bible Church for twenty-two years. His preaching articles can be found in Preaching and at preaching.com. He is a member of the Evangelical Homiletics Society and the IFCA International.
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Ministry In The Digital Age
$25.99Add to cartIntroduction
1. What Hath God Wrought?
2. Getting In The Stream
3. Creating Change
4. The Digital Ministry Framework
5. Planning Your Digital Strategy
6. Implementing And Running Your Digital Ministry
7. Privacy And Security Considerations For Digital Ministry
Conclusion
Appendix: Digital Tool Categories
Appendix: Genesys11
Research Report: Best Practices In Internet Ministry
Appendix: Church Web Usage SurveyAdditional Info
Christianity is fundamentally a communication event. It is God revealing God’s self to the world. And God uses a large variety of media to accomplish that revelation. -Shane Hipps, author of Flickering Pixels Viral videos and retweeted posts fill the air around us. In the midst of constant news feeds and mobile alerts, ministries have unprecedented opportunities to connect with people yearning for community with others and God. But how? In this post-website world, its no longer enough to have a static website and hope that people find it. If you want to get your online content in front of your audience, you need to have a digital presence in the streams where theyre already active. David Bourgeois offers a practical step-by-step guide for discerning and implementing a digital strategy for your ministry. He provides an overview of how Christians can use technology and communication media wisely, with concrete ideas for churches and nonprofit organizations. Discover how you can make the most of every opportunity to extend your ministrys electronic reach and impact. -
Who Is The Church
$26.00Add to cartMany congregations today are beset by fears, whether over loss of members and money, or of irrelevancy in an increasingly pluralistic society. To counter this, many congregations focus on strategy and purpose-what churches “do”-but Cheryl Peterson submits that mainline churches need to focus instead on “what” or “who” they are-to reclaim a theological, rather than sociological, understanding of themselves.
To do this, she places the questions of the church’s identity and mission into a conversation with the primary ecclesiological paradigms of the past century: the neo-Reformation concept of the church as a “word event” and the ecumenical paradigms of the church as “communion.” She argues that these two paradigms assume a context of cultural Christendom that no longer exists-focused on the church that is gathered-rather than the missional church that is sent out.
Peterson suggests instead that we understand the church as a people created by the Spirit to be a community, and that we must claim a narrative method to explore the church’s identity-specifically, the story of the church’s origin in the Acts of the Apostles. Finally, here is a way of thinking of church that reconciles the best of competing models of church for the future of mainline Protestant theology.
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Spiritual Guidance Of Children
$38.95Add to cartA seminal work by the founder of Godly Play
* A magisterial survey of a significant movement in religious education
* A black-and-white photo at the beginning of each chapter brings the key figures to
life for the readerThis new book is an important “history-of-traditions” work in which Godly Play founder
Jerome Berryman re-visions religious education as spiritual guidance and traces the
history of Montessori religious education through four generations. Berryman then
highlights the development of the Godly Play approach to spiritual guidance within
this context and concludes with thoughts about the fifth generation and the future of
the tradition. -
1st Childrens Study Edition (Teacher’s Guide)
$19.99Add to cartIn First: Putting God First in Living and Giving, pastor and author Mike Slaughter conducts a four-week all-church stewardship program to help participants reassess priorities and create a culture and a lifestyle of giving with a special emphasis on missions. Sessions include: Naming Our Idols; Money, Work, and Debt; Earn-Save-Give; and Heart Giving.
To help teachers and parents educate and model generosity for their kids, the Children’s Leader Guide contains session ideas for younger and older children, including reproducible handouts.
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1st Devotional : Putting God First In Living And Giving
$10.99Add to cartWhat happens when we truly put God first in all aspects of our lives?
In First: Putting God First in Living and Giving,pastor and author Mike Slaughter conducts a four-week all-church stewardship program to help participants reassess priorities and create a culture and a lifestyle of giving with a special emphasis on missions. To help parents educate and model generosity for their kids, First includes components for children and youth that help families explore financial decisions together. This book of devotional readings is a companion resource for program participants and is designed to draw families into closer fellowship with God as they explore financial decisions together. Includes short readings, Scripture, prayer, and stories.
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Effective Practice Of Ministry
$25.00Add to cartFew people have made a larger contribution to the ongoing life and health of Churches of Christ around the world than Charles Siburt. During his twenty-four years at Abilene Christian University, Siburt oversaw some fifty DMin theses- a capstone experience designed to recount best practices in congregational life.
Rooted in Dr. Siburt’s conviction that good theology makes a difference in the lives of people, The Effective Practice of Ministry is a collection of thirteen of those research projects, covering the most critical topics facing churches today: spiritual formation, leadership development, catechesis, preaching, and missional initiatives in the larger community.
In honor of Dr. Siburt, this anthology is meant to inspire and encourage effective, embodied praxis in the ministry of the church.
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Dear Children : A Letter From God To The Church Through The Scriptures
$24.95Add to cartWhat is the “best” church? And which contemporary church leader is the most correct? If God’s Word does not change, does this mean that our faith should also remain unchanged from generation to generation? How should Christians feel about non-believers and-more importantly-how should we respond to the world’s direction when it appears to be against Scripture? Does God even talk to the church anymore? This book is a letter from God. It is addressed to His people-God’s Church-and it is not founded on “traditional” Christianity. It is founded upon God’s Word, the Scriptures. We know that judgment begins at the house of God, and this letter is written for the purpose of allowing God’s people to begin preparing for the judgment that is coming, and for the new age, an age that has already begun.
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Creating A Scene In Corinth
$17.99Add to cartCreating a Scene imaginatively draws readers into Chloe’s house church, which has just received a letter from their church planter, the apostle Paul. Using group simulation, the book brings to life scholarly research on how the gospel penetrated the Roman Empire. As participants role-play early believers and debate with each other, they gain new insights and will never read 1 Corinthians the same way again.
First-century Corinthians were just as human as church people today. They did not consider Paul’s letters authoritative Scripture when he wrote them, so lively group discussion and debate are encouraged. This method of Bible study works for many levels, from youth groups to Sunday school classes, or in college and seminary courses. “Besides, it s just plain fun!” writes coauthor Finger.
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Troubled Minds : Mental Illness And The Churchs Mission
$22.99Add to cart1. My Family’s Story
2. Mental Illness Is Mainstream
3. Suffering People
4. Coping
5. Church Life
6. Ministry Life
7. Persistent Stigma
8. What Churches Can Do
9. What God Does
Resources For Ministry To The Mentally IllAdditional Info
Mental illness is the sort of thing we dont like to talk about. It doesnt reduce nicely to simple solutions and happy outcomes. So instead, too often we reduce people who are mentally ill to caricatures and ghosts, and simply pretend they dont exist. They do exist, howeverstatistics suggest that one in four people suffer from some kind of mental illness. And then theres their friends and family members, who bear their own scars and anxious thoughts, and who see no safe place to talk about the impact of mental illness on their lives and their loved ones. Many of these people are sitting in churches week after week, suffering in stigmatized silence. In Troubled Minds Amy Simpson, whose family knows the trauma and bewilderment of mental abuse, reminds us that people with mental illness are our neighbors and our brothers and sisters in Christ, and she shows us the path to loving them well and becoming a church that loves God with whole hearts and whole souls, with the strength we have and with minds that are whole as well as minds that are troubled. -
Navigating The Sermon Cycle A
$39.95Add to cartFor each Sunday in Cycle A, the writers and editors of “Charting the Course,” an integral part of Emphasis: A Lectionary Preaching Journal from CSS Publishing Company, delve into the heart of the lectionary readings, providing you, the pastor with in-depth lectionary-based commentary; relating several fresh, solid ideas — based squarely on the lectionary texts — for creating sermons that speak powerfully to your audience. The team of Navigating the Sermon looks for overall topics for the entire Cycle A church year that hold the readings together. Then, they zero in on the theme and the specific scripture links, suggesting directions for the sermon and worship service. Since a single application for each week may not provide what you are looking for at that particular time, Navigating the Sermon in most cases suggests several ideas, giving you the opportunity to select the one that matches your specific needs.
This book is like having a dedicated, thoroughly versed sermon research and sermon resource team right in your own study to help you create riveting sermons that are truly yours and that speak powerfully to your audience.
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Lectionary Stories For Preaching And Teaching Cycle A
$24.95Add to cartEveryone loves a good story. Storytellers who excel at their craft have the ability to draw readers or listeners into the worlds they create, using characters and situations to entertain and enlighten us. Jesus, the Master Storyteller, often spoke using parables — short stories that conveyed a spiritual truth. By drawing his listeners into his story, he unlocked their minds and hearts to hear the truth he was trying to relate to them.
This compilation of stories for the entire church year taken from StoryShare follows in that same tradition. StoryShare, a part of SermonSuite.com, is written by various authors brought together to meditate on scriptures in the Revised Common Lectionary for Cycle A and create stories that flesh out these passages, allowing readers to see these words in a new way. These stories can be whimsical and light-hearted or poignant and reflective, even tragic. But they all strive to bring us to a deeper understanding of the scriptures and the God who inspired them. Some of the stories are even based on actual events experienced by the authors, events that influenced their perspective on Christianity.
Useful as sermon illustrations, stand alone sermons, teaching aides, personal devotions, or even just for entertaining reading, Stories for Preaching and Teaching will draw you into new worlds with vibrant and engaging images, deepening your relationship with God in the process.
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What Every Pastor Should Know (Reprinted)
$20.00Add to cartPastors and church leaders are constantly faced with strategic questions. How much staff does the church need? How many workers are needed in the nursery this month? When is the right time to start a second worship service? How many people should we train for evangelism this year? How does seating and parking impact worship attendance? When church leaders have questions about planning, running, or growing their churches, they need answers fast!
What Every Pastor Should Know offers pastors and leaders 101 valuable rules and “sacred” laws to help answer real-life ministry questions. From advertising to facilities to visitation, this valuable book offers the practical help that leaders need, just when they need it most. This comprehensive guide will become one of the most valuable books in a leader’s library. Never again will they wonder if they based critical decisions on the right information. They’ll get the answers they’re looking for all in one place.
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Called To Worship
$24.99Add to cartIS HOW WE WORSHIP TRULY BIBLICAL?
There’s only one way to find out: see what the Bible has to say. And that’s exactly what Called to Worship is all about. From Genesis to Revelation, every book in the Scriptures gives instruction and insight into God’s plan for worship. With this book, you’ll learn from Biblical heroes and ordinary people. Compare Old and New Testament practices. Glean insight from Biblical poetry and the Books of Wisdom. And most important, you’ll see how the life of Christ serves as a living guide to worship.
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Best Kept Secret Of Christian Mission
$24.99Add to cartThis book comes out of years of reflection, failures, and some successes in the task of reaching out to others with the gospel.
Many Christians think of the task of mission as an entirely verbal activity, when perhaps the best kept secret of New Testament teaching about mission is that it involves a whole range of activities that explicitly promote Christ to the world and draw others to him, and only a few of them involve speaking. Without diminishing or downplaying the importance of speaking the gospel, John Dickson shows that, on the other hand, downplaying the range of activities that promote Christ to the world has its own set of problems. It can make those who are not confident about speaking-of anything, let alone Jesus-feel inadequate and self-conscious in the task of reaching out to others. Equally, it can make those who do have a flair for speaking feel as though they are fulfilling Christ’s mission just by talking. But the reality is that the Lord wants our whole life, not just our lips, in the task of bringing the gospel to the world. Every facet of our lives can be used by God to promote the news of his power and mercy. In this practical guide to the biblical art of sharing your faith, John Dickson offers refreshing insight into the ways that all Christians can and should be involved in spreading the good news of Jesus. While not all Christians are called and gifted to become evangelists, we are all called to promote the gospel through a wide range of activities-prayer, financial partnership, good deeds, godly lives, public worship, daily conversation, etc.-with and without our lips.
As readers engage with this book, grapple with its arguments and hear the stories of people coming to faith, they will be inspired to see the whole of life as significant for bringing the gospel to the world, and they will be liberated out of guilt and self-consciousness in evangelism into becoming perfectly natural promoters of Jesus Christ.
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1 Plus One Plus One
$19.95Add to cartIn this collection of 85 wedding sermons that could be read simply for enjoyment and encouragement, One+One+One draws upon the personal experience of author and retired pastor, Gary Fehring, to remind us of the joy and beauty of the marriage covenant.
Fehring has collected a decade’s worth of wedding sermons, each carefully crafted around the love of couples preparing to say, “I do.” As Fehring reminds each couple to place God at the center of their marriage, he invariably reminds his reader that marriage is about companionship. One+One+One highlights faith, love, gratitude, sacrifice, and countless other attributes that are deeply rooted within the Christian faith. These are the essence of a lasting marriage. Fehring’s honest and endearing voice speaks to us from the pages of these sermons, reminding us that marriage is beautiful and calling us back to the bold love proclaimed in our marriage vows.
One+One+One is a worthy resource for any pastor looking to deliver fresh and engaging messages to a bride and groom, and the truths contained within each sermon will undoubtedly inspire newly- and golden-wed alike.
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Relational Pastor : Sharing In Christ By Sharing Ourselves
$20.99Add to cartWhen is the last time you asked yourself hard questions about why you were pursuing certain relationships in your ministry? Could it be that the end game for many of us is not relationship per se but loyalty, adherence, even submission? The sheep in our flock become the means to our end: pastoring becomes less about the people of God and more about maintenance of the status quo-and, if we are willing to recognize it, the elevation of our pastoral status. Here practical theologian Andy Root dissects relational ministry as we have come to understand it and searches for the seed of a more wholesome, more pastoral understanding of the relationships for which God has prepared the church: the place where, when two or more are gathered in his name, Christ is present.
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Transforming Church Conflict
$32.00Add to cartWith many pastors facing burnout and congregations suffering from internal divisions, there is a need for Christian resources that present concrete problem-solving techniques for handling conflict in the church. This book offers practical skills and strategies that the authors have learned through years of studying nonviolent communication (NVC) as described in Marshall Rosenberg’s book, Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life, and as developed by numerous NVC trainers all over the world. Using real-world case studies and examples, Hunsinger and Latini helpfully guide pastors and lay leaders through effective and compassionate ways to deal with discord. These strategies include differentiating observations from evaluations, experiencing and expressing feelings, identifying and connecting with needs, and making requests rather than demands. By learning the basic skills of compassionate communication, church leaders can be empowered to transform, rather than merely manage, church conflict.
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Story Of Heaven Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThe Story of Heaven small group video Bible study is a three-week exploration into the hope and promise of Heaven, adapted from God’s Story, Your Story and The Story Adult Curriculum. Pulled straight from the pages of the Bible, this study provides individuals and groups of all sizes the opportunity to learn, discuss, and apply biblical teaching about heaven to their everyday lives. These three video sessions will open your eyes to the glorious finale of God’s masterfully-told story. Discover the heart of God’s Story and the joy that comes as you align your story with God’s. This Participant’s Guide is designed for use with The Story of God DVD (sold separately) which can be utilized by individuals as well as groups of all sizes, including small groups and Sunday school and adult education classes.
SESSIONS
Session 1: Your Final Chapter Becomes a Preface (Lucado)
Session 2: You Will Finally Graduate (Lucado)
Session 3: The End of Time (Frazee)Max Lucado and Randy Frazee offer a hope-filled perspective of heaven, showing groups: The power of the words ‘Christ has risen’ and the hope that they provide How Jesus promises this same type of resurrection to those who follow Him The promise of new bodies without sickness and without the struggles of the flesh A picture of what the kingdom of God will be like from the book of Revelation How we can participate in God’s ultimate story How Jesus will return to earth and live with us in a new earth forever
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Psychology For Pastoral Contexts
$35.99Add to cartCare for other human beings is at the heart of ministry and brings ministers in contact with wholeof human life.The focus of this handbook of psychology for pastoral contexts is on psychological insight into human relationships and mental health. It can be read as a whole, or used as a handbook for reference to particular problems. At the same time it attempts to put psychological concepts into everyday language. Jessica Osborne, an experienced psychologist and teacher, discusses areas such as attachment, dependency and anxiety, betrayal and reconciliation, mental health issues, such as depression, eating disorders and addiction, stress, violence and abuse and suffering.The book will be useful on pastoral care courses at all levels and suitable for practitioners and people in training for pastoral ministry – lay or ordained.
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Christian Counseling Ethics (Revised)
$50.00Add to cart1. Embracing Our Ethical Mandate
2. Psychotherapy & Christian EthicsPart 1: The Christian Practitioner
3. Essential Elements For Ethical Counsel
4. Qualifications Of The Christian Mental Health Professional
5. Pastors Who Counsel
6. Sexual Misconduct & The Abuse Of PowerPart 2: Issues In Counseling Ethics
7. Christian Responses To The Unethical Healer
8. Ethics In Marital Therapy & Premarital Counseling
9. The Homosexual Client
10. The Child Client
11. Clients With Chronic Conditions
12. DeprogrammingPart 3: Counseling Contexts
13. Business Ethics In Mental Health Service
14. Lay Counselor Training
15. Ethical Issues In Special Settings
16. Forensic PsychologyPart 4: Current Trends In Ethics Education
17. Training Programs
18. A Model For Ethical Decision-Making
19. Christian Codes: Are They Better?Appendix A: The Ethical Behavior Of Christian Therapists
Appendix B: Ethical Codes & Guidelines
Appendix C: Sample Consent Forms
Contributors
IndexAdditional Info
A client raises spiritual questions. Can a Christian therapist working in a government agency talk with a client about faith? A young couple with two children asks a Christian counselor to help them negotiate an end to their marriage. What responsibility does the counselor have to try to repair the relationship? A youth group member confidentially reveals to the pastor that he is taking drugs. Should the pastor tell the boy’s parents? A counselor who teaches a college course has a client show up for class. What should she do? These are just a few of the complex dilemmas that therapists, counselors and pastors face nearly every day. Handling these situations appropriately is critical for both the client’s progress and the professional’s personal credibility and protection from liability. State and federal codes, professional association statements and denominational guidelines have been drawn up to address ethical issues like competence, confidentiality, multiple relationships, public statements, third parties and documentation. In this book you’ll find them all compiled and interpreted in light of Christian faith and practice. Written by qualified professional counselors and respected academic instructors, this book is an indispensable resource for understanding and applying ethics in Christian counseling today. -
Prayer And Prayer Activities
$40.00Add to cartROOTS is a joint initiative by all the mainstream churches in the UK and Ireland. For ten years it has provided lectionary-based resources for worship and learning for the whole church. Over 10,000 local churches use its regular magazine and online programmes.
This versatile and adaptable participative prayer resource for all-age worship is taken from the extensive material the ROOTS authors have created. Based on the lectionary readings for each Sunday of Years A, B & C it includes:
* gathering prayers* seasonal prayers of thanksgiving* a creative response to the day’s readings* responsive prayers of intercession* a children’s prayer activity* an all-age prayer activity* responsive prayers for sending out
All the texts can be downloaded or projected from the accompanying CD Rom.
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Job 41 : The Leviathan Spirit Of Pride
$14.49Add to cartHave you ever wondered why your ministry is not flourishing the way God promised you? Have you ever wondered why you are working in the ministry, but not operating in your calling? Has there been an inference that you were just a servant and your job was to support “the ministry inside the four walls,” while undermining the calling to extend beyond the four walls? God compels us to go and make disciples of men and women, and there should be no debate or pushback to advance the Kingdom of God. There is a spirit that has masked itself in the church of today as a spiritual mentor or covering, or one who provides spiritual guidance to you. This spirit that is exposed in the Book of Job is real and has stifled many parishioners, especially leaders, from walking in the ordained gifts of God. I have heard sermon after sermon on the story of Job, but never anything relating to Chapter 41. God allows certain messages to be released at a time when they will be heard and fully understood. This is a universal message for the church of today.
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Where Would Jesus Go To Church
$32.95Add to cartGerald Roe was interrupted while lecturing in his church-planting class by a student who asked, “What if Jesus came back right now to live on earth like He did in Bible days? Wouldn’t He go to church the same way He went to the synagogue back then? Which church would He choose? If the true church is all about Jesus, wouldn’t it be a good idea to consider what Jesus would look for in a church and make that part of our church planting methodology?” Where Would Jesus Go to Church? answers those questions. As Dr. Roe makes clear, for the blessings of God to rest upon any congregation, the church must answer two important questions: What is the true church? and What is the church to do? In far too many instances, these questions are being asked in the reverse order, leading to a compromising disconnect between the church’s essential biblical character and its earthly effectiveness. Where Would Jesus Go to Church? sheds needed light and offers practical, biblical answers.
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Leader Coach : Developing Effective Ministry Teams
$13.99Add to cart1. Build Ministry Action Teams
2. Develop Yourself As A Leader
3. Develop Coaching Skills
4. Establish Ministry Action Teams In The Local Church
5. Fine-Tune Ministry Action Teams
6. A Model Of Ministry Action TeamsAdditional Info
Effective pastoring takes planning, preparation and people–just as effective coaching does. The strength of any winning team depends on the practice and participation of its members, whether the team takes a field for physical competition or a ministry team seeks success inside the church or in the community.Leader-Coach presents the fundamentals of the game plan for pastors hoping to involve the whole congregation in various church ministries.
This book shares information you need to get your congregation energized for active ministry. Learn the ministry-action-team philosophy that will revolutionize your local church.
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DiscipleShift : Five Steps That Help Your Church To Make Disciples Who Make
$18.99Add to cartOver the last thirty years, many influential church leaders and church planters in America have adopted various models for reaching unchurched people. An ‘attractional’ model will seek to attract people to a local church. Younger leaders may advocate a more ‘missional’ approach, in which believers live and work among unchurched people and intentionally seek to serve like Christ. While each of these approaches have merit, something is still missing, something even more fundamental to the mission of the church: discipleship. Making disciples—helping people to trust and follow Jesus—is the church’s God-given mandate. Devoted disciples attract people outside the church because of the change others see in their Christ-like lives. And discipleship empowers Christians to be more like Christ as they intentionally develop relationship with non-believers.
DiscipleShift walks you through five key ‘shifts’ that churches must make to refocus on the biblical mission of discipleship. These intentional changes will attract the world and empower your church members to be salt and light in their communities.
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Church Coup : A Cautionary Tale Of Congregational Conflict
$17.99Add to cartConflict in churches has reached epidemic levels. With 1,500 pastors leaving ministry every month – many being forced out involuntarily – Jesus’ church is increasingly losing trained, impactful leaders. Such clashes damage pastors, their families, and congregations alike. While many Christian leaders are aware of this issue, most have chosen to maintain silence rather than combat this problem. Church Coup is the firsthand account of a seasoned pastor who experienced a devastating conflict. He exposes why such struggles occur while suggesting biblical, concrete solutions for their resolution. “This book should be read by every pastor and church board member and every lay leader. The story is compelling, and the lessons are critical.” Dave Rolph, senior pastor, Calvary Chapel Pacific Hills, Aliso Viejo, California and teacher on the nationally-syndicated radio program The Balanced Word “With candor and balance, Jim outlines a godly approach to handling the heartbreak of a ministry divided. A must read for anyone who is in the midst of considering letting a pastor go.” Kathi Lipp, author and speaker “Jim has been willing to be transparent about his experience so that others in the work of the church will read this, learn from it, and act differently.” Dale Frimodt, founder and director of Barnabas Ministries, Omaha, Nebraska “I encourage you to read the book carefully and to recommend it to other ministers as well as key church leaders who can make a difference.” Charles H. Chandler, executive director, Ministering to Ministers Foundation, Inc., Richmond, Viriginia A pastor for more than 35 years, Jim is the founder of Restoring Kingdom Builders, a 501(c)(3) organization designed to prevent and resolve church conflict biblically. A graduate of Biola University (B.A.), Talbot School of Theology (M.Div.) and Fuller Seminary (D.Min.), Jim and his wife Kim live in Southern California.
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Straining At The Oars
$21.99Add to cartA common complaint of recent seminary graduates is their lack of preparation in practical theology, especially in the tasks of leadership. New pastors encounter a host of challenges that can seem overwhelming. Biblically oriented, wise, and reassuring, Dana Fearon presents twenty-one diffi cult situations that young ministers are likely to face on the job, including prayer in the hospital room, a request to baptize a dead infant, handling confl ict and criticism, entering dangerous areas to reconcile hostile groups, and others. As part of his discussion, Fearon presents and reviews his own response to such situations, using his theological education and long experience in church ministry to instruct others.
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Sow What : Discipleship Made Real
$13.95Add to cartIf God’s seed is purposeful and powerful, what prevents it transforming your life? What is it that contaminates, clutters, and captivates your heart, stifling spiritual development? Why, when you have heard so much Bible teaching, has your heart been changed so little? It’s time to get some friends together and find out! Experience the transformation of heart for which you have longed.
Sow What? is a shared discipleship experience based on the Parable of the Sower. During personal and group study you will discover gritty issues which either hold back or enhance spiritual growth. What does hard, rocky, and thorny soil look like in a believer’s heart? What are the spiritual benefits of nurturing good soil, guaranteeing fruitfulness?
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Tough Crowd : My Adventures As A Chastity Educator
$15.99Add to cartAuthor Shawna Sparrow has spent the last 16 years teaching teenagers about chastity-saving sex for marriage. In her book, Tough Crowd: My Adventures as a Chastity Educator, she shares her experiences in the classroom as well as her insights into social issues related to sexuality. Covering topics such as the media, technology and comprehensive sex education, Shawna examines how our culture shapes the sexual behavior and morals of our youth. Her countless interactions with students reveal that chastity is indeed possible in our modern world. This book is a must read for parents, educators, youth pastors and anyone with a heart for young people. Find out how chastity education can change the world.
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Celebrating The Rites Of Initiation
$30.95Add to cartCelebrating Series Celebrating the Rites of Initiation continues the standard of scholarship set by Patrick Malloy’s Celebrating the Eucharist, and offers similar aids around issues of baptism and confirmation. It is an ideal book for students and practicing clergy who seek to strengthen their knowledge-and parochial practice-of baptismal theology.
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Faithful Generations : Effective Ministry Across Generational Lines
$28.95Add to cartFaithful Generations provides a hopeful and helpful guide to the different adult generations alive today, discussing the events that formed them and the issues important to them. Most importantly, it describes their spiritual distinctions-the particular needs, gifts and concerns that drive these different generations. With a basic understanding of how other generations think and what drives them spiritually, ministers and congregations can not only avoid conflict, but also put those distinctions to work in order to minister more effectively and create harmony in our religious communities.
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Altar Ego Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartMany people are obsessed with the approval of others. The problem is that living for what people think of you is the quickest way to forget what God thinks about you. In Altar Ego, author Craig Groeschel shows individuals and small groups how to abandon self-worth based on accomplishments and possessions, turning instead to the eyes of God to define them. Participants will learn to expose false labels and selfish motives as the roadblocks they are, going instead to the altar of God’s truth and pursuing the higher values he sets above the world. You don’t have to get caught up in your self-worth or lack thereof. Your worth is not based on your opinion of yourself. You are valuable because God says you are His. You are not your past. You are not what you did. You are not who others say you are. You are who Christ says you are. This study guide offers discussion questions and other supplemental material to delve further into God’s divine plan, and will ultimately help you sacrifice any old, unhealthy, untrue, and unbiblical thoughts about yourself and introduce you to your altar-ego—who you are in Christ.
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Embracing Interfaith Cooperation Workbook (Student/Study Guide)
$16.95Add to cartQuick Guide To The Handbook
Beyond The “Quick Guide”
Pointers On Facilitation
Session 1: Interfaith Cooperation In American History
Session 2: Interfaith Literacy
Session 3: The Science Of Interfaith Cooperation
Session 4: The Art Of Interfaith Leadership
Session 5: The Role Of Colleges, Seminaries, And Houses Of WorshipAdditional Info
Embracing Series A 5- to 10-week study for adults, young adults and high school teens. Join interfaith commentator Eboo Patel as he explores what it means to be “literate” about other faiths, how interfaith cooperation “works” and why, the skills needed for interfaith cooperation and the significant role that our institutions, including colleges and faith communities, can play in this process. -
Feasting On The Word Worship Companion Year C 2
$42.00Add to cartBased on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume 2 is an invaluable aid that provides liturgical pieces needed in preparing for worship each week. Written and compiled by a team of eleven ecumenical and seasoned liturgy writers under the creative leadership of Kimberly Bracken Long, 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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Insourcing : Bringing Discipleship Back To The Local Church
$22.99Add to cartToo many of today’s pastors and leaders mistakenly think that thriving programs, lively worship services, and relevant preaching are adequate for developing people into the spiritual dynamos God desires. In many churches, the primary objective of the church—discipleship of people into mature followers of Jesus—has been ‘outsourced’ to programs and large-scale efforts to train and teach. But is that happening? Are people growing in spiritual depth and missional determination?
Twenty-five years ago, the leaders of Randy Pope’s rapidly growing church took serious stock of their own spiritual development and realized all of them had benefitted from a personal discipleship relationship that had helped them grow in their faith and discover where God was calling them to service. As a church, they decided to make personal discipleship their do-or-die aim: applying one person’s real life to another’s to accomplish something far bigger than that single life. Perimeter calls their approach ‘life-on-life missional discipleship’ and Insourcing tells their story.
Randy Pope writes for church leaders who recognize the value of discipleship and need practical ideas for reorienting church ministries around personal discipleship. Readers will be encouraged that a wide scale personal discipleship program is attainable for any church.
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Pastoral Theology Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$30.00Add to cartThe SCM Studyguide Pastoral Theology designed to support undergraduate courses for the training of clergy and lay pastoral workers at an accessible introductory level. The book aims to develop pastoral wisdom and integrity through a critical integration of theology and the human sciences. Introducing key themes in theological anthropology and pastoral practice, it shapes a creative pastoral vision which is deeply rooted in a Christian vision of what it means to be human and what it takes to care. Working with case studies, the book will introduce broad frameworks of understanding of issues such as growth, loss, and sexuality, together with critical perspectives on important aspects of practice such as language, power and boundaries.The book provides an accessible overview of key concepts in pastoral theology, offering key entry points for further discussion and study. Each chapter includes discussion questions and/or reflective exercises at the end of each chapter together with a short bibliography. Throughout the text, key summaries of learning will be indicated by boxed Practice Points.
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Resilient Ministry : What Pastors Told Us About Surviving And Thriving
$27.99Add to cartIntroduction
1 Life In Pastoral Ministry
2 The Five Themes Of Resilient Ministry
3 Evaluating Spiritual Formation
4 Pursuing Spiritual Formation
5 Self-Care: Burning On, Not Burning Out
6 Self-Care: Pacing Our Lifestyles
7 Understanding Emotional Intelligence
8 Developing Emotional Intelligence
9 Exploring Cultural Differences
10 Improving Cultural Intelligence
11 Marriage And Family: Stressed By Ministry
12 More Marriage And Family Stressors
13 Leadership Poetry
14 Leadership Plumbing
15 Concluding Insights And Next Steps
Appendix A: Research Methods Of The Pastors Summit
Appendix B: Questions For Personal Evaluation And Annual Reviews
Appendix C: Emotions Checklist
Appendix D: Constructing And Interviewing A Family Diagram
Appendix E: Best Practices For Forming Peer Cohorts
NotesAdditional Info
What does it take to have fruitful ministry over the long haul? The stresses of pastoring are well known and can be a match for even the best-prepared, most experienced in ministry–multiple tasks, long hours, taxing responsibilities and, yes, some challenging personalities. Too often the results can be burnout, being run out or just feeling worn out. To find out how pastors can thrive as well as survive, the authors undertook a five-year in-depth research project among working pastors. Here in this ground-breaking book is the distilled wisdom of dozens of pastors who have been on the front lines of ministry. We hear from them what works, what doesn’t and what distinctive issues people in ministry face. The authors uncover five key themes that promote healthy, sustainable ministry that lasts–spiritual formation, self-care, emotional and cultural intelligence, marriage and family, leadership and management. These themes are unpacked from the vantage point of ministry on the ground. Questions for personal evaluation and reflection are included throughout the book to bring home the significance of each section. This is the perfect companion for a peer cohort of pastors to read together. It can also be of value to church boards and others who want to better understand how to help sustain their pastors in ministry. In short, this is a book pastors can’t live without. -
Seeing In The Dark
$26.99Add to cartLife is joyful, beautiful and a rich blessing, but also difficult, painful and mysterious. This profound and practical book looks at how the Christian spiritual tradition has tried to understand the part suffering plays within human growth and our experience of God. Suffering can ask questions of us and impel us to live for what is really important – it can also diminish us and stunt our growth. What makes the difference? This book helps all engaged in pastoral care or spiritual direction explore that question for themselves and with others. From Julian of Norwich gazing at Christ entering the depths of our difficulty, to the terrors of the `dark night of the soul’ experienced by St John of the Cross, to the poets George Herbert and Gerard Manley Hopkins who, like Jacob, wrestled with God, this rich book helps us see that even in a desolate and trackless wasteland, we are in the company of pilgrims across time and can glimpse a hidden Promised Land. Through these different windows we are encouraged not to cling to suffering, nor to flee from its threat, but to discover within it the work of a resourceful, creative and compassionate God.
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Sow What : Discipleship Made Real
$30.95Add to cartIf God’s seed is purposeful and powerful, what prevents it transforming your life? What is it that contaminates, clutters, and captivates your heart, stifling spiritual development? Why, when you have heard so much Bible teaching, has your heart been changed so little? It’s time to get some friends together and find out! Experience the transformation of heart for which you have longed.
Sow What? is a shared discipleship experience based on the Parable of the Sower. During personal and group study you will discover gritty issues which either hold back or enhance spiritual growth. What does hard, rocky, and thorny soil look like in a believer’s heart? What are the spiritual benefits of nurturing good soil, guaranteeing fruitfulness?
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Connecting Church 2.0
$24.99Add to cartThe development of meaningful relationships, where every member carries a significant sense of belonging, is central to what it means to be the church. So why do many Christians feel disappointed and disillusioned with their efforts to experience authentic community? Despite the best efforts of pastors, small group leaders and faithful lay persons, church is too often a place of loneliness rather than connection. In this revised and updated version of his bestselling book, Randy Frazee shows us how church can be so much…better-more intimate and alive.
The answer may seem radical today, but it was a central component of life in the early church. First-century Christians knew what it meant to live in vital community with one another, relating with a depth and commitment that made “the body of Christ” a perfect metaphor for the church. What would it take to reclaim that kind of love, joy, support, and dynamic spiritual growth? Read this book and find out.
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Faith Formation 4.0
$24.95Add to cartUsing an ecological approach to study how emerging technologies impact individual and communal formation, Faith Formation 4.0 looks at how our efforts to be story-keepers, story-sharers, and story-makers have evolved over four eras of human communication.Framed by the Great Commission imperative to “make disciples,” this book offers a road map to help leaders develop goals to form, inform, and transform new members, as well as long-time believers, within a faith community. The author successfully illustrates that church success depends not only on knowing the Christian message of God’s enduring love, but also how to use today’s tools appropriately for evangelization and faith formation.
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Purpose Driven Youth Ministry
$26.99Add to cartFor the past decade, youth pastors around the world have used the bestselling Purpose Driven Youth Ministry to help guide them as they build a healthy youth ministry that is aimed at impacting the lives of teenagers. Written by renowned youth ministry expert Doug Fields, this book is one that both lay and professional youth workers cannot afford to miss. Purpose Driven Youth Ministry doesn’t present a program to be copied into any context. Rather, it presents foundational principles of youth ministry that help you develop the ministry that best meets the needs of the students in your unique setting. This classic will help you build a student ministry with purpose as well as provide examples and testimonies from youth workers around the globe.
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Look Before You Lead (Reprinted)
$25.00Add to cartPastoral ministry is challenging work, especially when a pastor ignores the church’s “congregational culture” when seeking to minister to church members or implement changes. Just as a pastor studies to interpret the Scriptures in order to understand and preach the Bible, he or she must interpret the local church culture to better understand and move it toward accomplishing its mission and vision.
In Look Before You Lead, trusted church leadership expert Aubrey Malphurs shows pastors how to read their church’s unique local culture, how to change or revitalize it, and even how to combine two cultures when one church adopts another. This unique resource approaches leadership and discernment from a solid, biblical perspective and includes a number of helpful appendixes, such as a behavior, belief, and a values audit, that are key to reading and understanding the culture.
