Pastoral Helps
Showing 1601–1700 of 3961 resultsSorted by latest
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Empowering Couples : A Narrative Approach To Spiritual Care
$22.00Add to cartEditor’s Foreword: Howard W. Stone
Introduction: Getting Started: A Frame For What Follows
1. Mutuality And Partnership: Theological Norms
2. Destructive Passions
3. A “SMART” Approach To Couples Care
4. Separating People From Problems And Passions
5. Mapping Mutual Influence
6. Attending To Teamwork
7. Reclaiming Partnership
8. Telling A New Story
Epilogue
Notes
ReferencesAdditional Info
Couples can make significant progress toward resolving their own problems when they receive appropriate guidance from a caring person. This book outlines five tasks focused on identity, agency, and meaning that spiritual caregivers can use to empower couples for significant change in just three to five conversations. Critically integrating desert spiritual theology with empirical data about successful marriages, Bidwell advocates for mutuality and partnership within covenanted relationships, which allows partners to create an alliance strong enough to resist the forces that threaten relationships-especially the negative influences of criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and withdrawal.Pastors who adopt the approach outlined in the text will “travel lightly” in terms of pastoral power, decentering themselves so that couples can identify and build on their unique strengths and relationship with the divine.
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Comprehensive Approach Yet One Message
$16.99Add to cartDr. Berhanu Arsse presents thorough research and careful consideration on proven methods of effective Christian evangelism to Muslims in the United States. This is a rich resource for any Christian who has not been able to find the right techniques for reaching those that come from or are in a religion and culture so distinct from their own. This book feels as though it is the forerunner of a new class of thought that will reshape the current of the Gospel from how it is currently spread. Interesting and unique subject matter – the researched topic is far from ubiquitous in bookstores, which well set it apart from other religious non-fiction. It is also intriguing to consider that so much thought and purposefulness has been dedicated to evangelizing amongst Muslims when many probably (and some perhaps without realizing it) feel that the religion and culture are so strong it cannot be penetrated. Due to its genesis from research, the book is extremely well organized and meticulously documented. The value of paying for this book will be completely obvious to any person who would be interested to learn the information contained within. It is of a very high caliber and will be regarded as such due to the author’s diligence and hard work in presenting this book. It is excellent that the author explains how evangelism and social transformation became separated and why they belong together. This is central to Christians fully emulating the Christ they claim and is not nearly discussed as much as should be. Dr. Berhanu Arsse is a founder and Executive Director of Caris International. A certified teacher, he holds undergraduate degree from Ethiopia, M.A. in cross cultural Ministry from Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, TX, and earned Ph.D. in Missiology from Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, IN. Dr. Arsse speaks in Universities, mission seminars and conferences. He is now a pastor, and coordinates multi-nation evangelistic outreach. Dr. Arsse, his wife Ayantu, and their son Kayo live in Columbus, OH.
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Jesus Is Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartJudah Smith digs deep to answer the most common and the most difficult questions about Jesus, a man so few understand and so many desperately need. In Jesus Is, Judah Smith explores a number of topics that reveal Jesus’ purpose for coming, what He accomplished while He was here, and what that means for us.
Jesus is greatly revered, harshly criticized, and sorely misunderstood. Judah breaks down who Jesus is and explains to readers how understanding Jesus more fully will not only enrich their lives, but also give them meaning, as well as save them.
The 8-week Jesus Is Participant’s Guide, intended for use with the DVD-based study of the same title, will help participants discover how to have a deeper, lasting relationship with Jesus, and to commune with and grow in Him. Judah will show you that Jesus is more than a good teacher, more than an inspiring leader. He is the point of all life.
Perfect for evangelism, the video sessions will help new Christians understand the person of Jesus, as well as help small group participants connect with one another.
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Richer Descriptions
$15.95Add to cartHealthy Life Press
A unique and handy manual, covering all NINE human senses in seven chapters, for Christian speakers and writers. Exercises and a speaker’s checklist equip speakers to engage their audiences in a richer experience. Writing examples and a writer’s guide help writers bring more life to the characters and scenes of their stories. Bible references encourage a deeper appreciation of being created by God for a sensory existence.
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Youth Emmaus : Includes Free CD-ROM
$40.00Add to cartYouth Emmaus is a course designed to help those aged 11 to 16 explore the basics of the Christian faith. This is no easy task – but Youth Emmaus offers a winning combination of meaty leaders’ notes, cool handouts for group members, great cartoons and graphics and a free CD-ROM stacked with other useful resources. The material is fully road-tested and ideal for youth groups and as a confirmation course for young people.
Youth Emmaus tackles:
What Christians Believe (5 Units)
How Christians Grow (5 Units)
Living the Christian Life (3 Units)Youth Emmaus also contains a FREE CD-ROM that includes:
Handouts and supplementary handouts for all sessions as PDF files
Emmaus Poster
Downloadable services to use with young people and a section on using Youth Emmaus in an all-age context
Powerpoint presentation on Youth Emmaus
Useful links to Emmaus website
All icons from handouts available in colour in a downloadable format -
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 9 Cycle C
$29.95Add to cart“I am very impressed with the way Dr. Ellingsen outlines this” Lectionary Preaching Workbook… “Here is a splendid workbook. It is rich in detail and theological insight. Ellingsen writes clearly, is sensitive to context, and widens [our] horizons… This book should be required reading for all pastors, seminary students, and other lay people who are involved in ministry with adults and youth. It should be regarded as a textbook to enhance one’s knowledge about the meaning of the seasons or major festivals of the [church] year.”
Reverend Jesse Averett Jr.
Presiding Elder, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
“If a preacher is looking for quick and easy sermons, this tool is not what s/he is seeking. But if a preacher is looking for solid biblical scholarship, thoughtful exegesis, a possible preaching theme for each of the appointed lessons for each Sunday in the lectionary year accompanied by a variety of ideas for how that theme might be developed, then CSS’ latest “Lectionary Preaching Workbook” will be a valuable resource. Built around the Revised Common Lectionary and the Christian church year, Pr. Mark Ellingsen has put together a highly useful resource.
Ellingsen’s passion for justice and equality as applied to the social issues of the day comes through clearly in some of his “sermon moves” as well as the socio-economic and political illustrative connections he offers. Incorporating insights and quotations from a variety of sources — everything from modern brain research to Luther, Calvin, Liberation Theology, Bonhoeffer, Pascal, and Barth — Ellingsen strives to connect God’s word to our world in ways that the preacher will find stimulating and inspirational.”
Glenn L. Simmons
Assistant to the Bishop
Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
When it comes to preaching from a lectionary, it can often be a daunting task to create new ways of preaching about a passage that has been around for thousands of years. It would seem that, after a while, there would be no new ways of looking at a scripture passage. A different perspective, however, can be most beneficial in finding a new way to help your congregation see each of the readings.
This is the inspiration behind the “Lectionary Preaching Workbook “series and this special edition for the Season after Pentecost. By providing new insights into each of the readings in the Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal Lectionaries, Mark Ellingsen has given pastor -
Answer Is Always Jesus
$14.99Add to cartHealthy Life Press
This book contains seventy-four of Aram Haroutunian’s most memorable children’s sermons (of the more than 500 he presented at a large church in Golden, Colorado). Many of the sermons are unforgettable due to the children’s responses. Pastors, homeschoolers, parents who often lead family devotions, or other storytellers will find these stories, along with comments about props and how to prepare and present them, to be an invaluable asset in reconnecting with the simplest, most profound truths of Scripture, and then to envision how best to communicate these so even a child can understand them.
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More 10 Minute Talks
$24.99Add to cartSometimes you don’t have their attention for very long. Whether you’ve planned for a short message or your program has run long, a ten-minute talk is sometimes all you have space for in your youth ministry. So make sure you make it ten minutes that really count! If you need to communicate something meaningful in just a little time, 10-Minute Talks has just what you need—more than two dozen ready-to-go, story-based talks. With talks for spiritual growth, targeted at your Christian students, and outreach talks, perfect for any teenager, you’ll be prepared to give them a bite of truth that they can walk away remembering. Following the method Jesus used most often, these More 10-Minute Talks give you stories that can impact students with one simple point. Each talk gives you the tools you need to make it count, and the flexibility to make it work for your context. Along with each topic and title, you’ll find:
* The Big Idea
* Scripture
* The Story
* The Transition Statement
* Application
* ClosingDon’t get caught with nothing to say—or too much to say in the time you’ve got! Get 10 Minute Talks and get a meaningful message across quickly!
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Small Groups With Purpose (Reprinted)
$19.00Add to cartThis practical book walks church leadership through the questions they need to answer to develop their own intentional small group strategy. Built around the most commonly asked questions, it outlines the step-by-step process of creating a successful small group ministry. Because it is built upon principles and not methods, this plan can be implemented in any size church. Each chapter ends with a list of questions for leaders to answer to help them assess their current situation and their desires for the future.
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Leading Small Groups With Purpose (Reprinted)
$17.99Add to cartFor the new small group leader, the seasoned leader who feels their small group lacks purpose, or the leader who is working to move their small group to the next level, Leading Small Groups with Purpose is the road map to follow. Steve Gladen takes small group leaders step-by-step toward a healthy, dynamic group with focus and purpose. Every chapter includes ideas that small group leaders can implement immediately as well as ways to shape their small groups over time.
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Social Psychology In Christian Perspective
$60.00Add to cartHuman social interaction is varied, complex and always changing. How we perceive each other and ourselves, how individuals interact within groups, and how groups are structured–all these are the domain of social psychology. Many have doubted, however, that a full-fledged social psychology textbook can successfully be written from a Christian perspective. Inevitably, some say, when attempting to integrate theology and social psychology, one discipline must suffer at the expense of the other. Angela Sabates counters that thinking by demonstrating how these two disciplines can indeed be brought together in a fruitful way. She crisply covers key topics in social psychology, utilizing research that is well grounded in the empirical and theoretical literature, while demonstrating how a distinctively Christian approach can offer fresh ideas and understandings. Why doesnt our behavior always match what we say we believe?How and when are we most likely to be persuaded?What is the social psychology of violence?How reliable are eyewitness testimonies?Are racism and prejudice on the decline or are we just better at hiding them? Sabates draws out the implications of a Christian view of human persons on these and other central subjects within the well-established framework of social psychological study. This volume is for those looking for a core text that makes use of a Christian theological perspective to explore what the science of psychology suggests to us about the nature of human social interaction.
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Cycle Of Grace
$15.99Add to cartThis groundbreaking resource speaks to a familiar condition of our times: spiritual burnout. A 10-minute video featuring well-known pastor Trevor Hudson opens each chapter, while the text by Jerry Haas unpacks the video content and guides readers through journaling questions. This workbook-vido combo sheds light on how Christians often get stuck in a cycle of works – staying busy doing things for God – rather than living in God’s grace.
Video available free at www.UpperRoom.org/bookstore or in DVD format: $10.00 -
Pauls Missionary Methods
$35.99Add to cartVeteran scholar-missionaries Robert L. Plummer and John Mark Terry edit this collection of entry points into the missionary methods of the Apostle Paul. With contributions from Michael Bird, Eckhard Schnabel and Craig Keener, this volume examines Paul’s missionary methods from the perspective of Paul’s activities in the first century and the perspective of his ongoing impact on missions today. The first part of the book examines Paul’s environment, activity and teaching. The second portion investigates the application of Pauls methods and principles to modern missionary work. The occasion for this book is the centennial of Roland Allen’s Missionary Methods: Saint Paul’s or Ours?, a classic in the field which Paul’s Missionary Methods enthusiastically engages with.
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Art Of Pastoring (Revised)
$22.99Add to cartAcknowledgments
An Ebenezer Story: Introduction
1. Beginning
2. Call
3. The Holy Spirit
4. Temptation
5. Eschatology
6. Preaching
7. Prayer
8. Friendship
9. Sacrament
10. Leadership
11. Leaving
12. Reward
Postlude
NotesAdditional Info
Named one of the Top Ten Books of 1994 by the Academy of Parish Clergy! Hundreds of books, tapes, workshops and seminars promise to answer these impossible questions. Some offer a set of practical guidelines; others suggest a system or pattern to follow. Some stress various ministry functions; others feature case studies as models of success or failure. Some are helpful. Others are not. But in The Art of Pastoring, David Hansen turns pastoral self-help programs on their heads. He tackles the perennial questions from within his own experience. From the Inside Out Hansen’s fresh, bold narrative grows from nearly a decade of ministry. He draws you into his life and into the lives of Florence-Victor Parish in the mountains of Montana, including unforgettable encounters with unforgettable people–a stubborn pioneer woman who still chops her own firewood though she’s blind and 90 years old, a championship rodeo cowboy who was baptized in his boots, and many more. Hansen’s goal is to help you discover “that pastoral ministry is a life, not a technology . . . [that] life as a pastor is far more than the sum of the tasks I carry out. It is a call from God that involves my whole life.” From Calling to Living Parable Every pastor has encountered those who struggle to hear God’s voice in a hospital room, who reach for Jesus in the sacraments. No systematic answers can meet their deep, eternal needs. What can touch them, Hansen contends, is a life itself, a life lived as a parable of Jesus. “As a parable of Jesus Christ,” Hansen writes, “I deliver something to the parishioner that I am not, and in the process I deliver the parishioner into the hands of God.” It is this knack for getting to the heart of things that makes The Art of Pastoring valuable for pastors in any setting–rural, suburban or urban. Parachurch workers, missionaries, church leaders and ministry volunteers will also find inspiration here. In this significantly revised new edition, Hansen includes new insights into his view of pastorate as parable and adds a new postlude in which he comes clean on his “constant attempts to leave the ministry.” -
Lectionary Stories For Preaching And Teaching Cycle C
$12.95Add 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 season of Pentecost 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 C 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 Teaching and Preaching “will draw you into new worlds with vibrant and engaging images, deepening your relationship with God in the process. -
Preaching Christ From Daniel
$42.99Add to cartIn Preaching Christ from Daniel Sidney Greidanus shows preachers and teachers how to prepare expository messages from the six narratives and four visions in the book of Daniel. Using the most up-to-date biblical scholarship, Greidanus addresses foundational issues such as the date of composition, the author(s) and original audience of the book, its overall message and goal, and various ways of preaching Christ from Daniel. Throughout his book Greidanus puts front and center God’s sovereignty, providence, and coming kingdom.
Each chapter contains building blocks for constructing expository sermons and lessons, including useful information on
*the context, themes, and goals of each literary unit
*links between Daniel and the New Testament
*how to formulate the sermon theme and goal
*contemporary application
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Christian Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartWhat does it mean to be a Christian?
Ask 100 people that question and you are likely to get 100 different answers. One reason people have such difficulty defining what a Christian should be is that the Bible never gives a definition. The followers of Jesus did not defer to themselves as Christians, it was a label placed on them from the outside. The early believers called themselves disciples, and the Bible is very clear in defining what a disciple looks like.
Jesus gave his disciples one word that should define them. What if we as his followers embodied this one word? What if our behavior was so consistent with this word that folks around us were drawn to us—and to God?
In Christian, you will learn:
What one word should be descriptive of every disciple
How Jesus followers should treat those who are outside the faith
Why people love Jesus but can’t stand his followersThis study guide with help you dig deeper into the teachings from Andy Stanley on the corresponding DVD (sold separately) and includes discussion questions for individuals and/or small groups, between-session devotions, DVD teaching overviews, and a leader’s guide.
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Way For Children
$16.99Add to cartA churchwide experience where children, youth, and adults explore the profound, life-changing impact of Jesus’ life and ministry
The most amazing figure in history comes alive for children, youth, and their families.
Stories include:
Baptism in the Jordan River
Mount of Temptations
Nazareth – First preaching in the temple
Sea of Galilee
Sermon on the Mount/Beatitudes
Healing
Samaria – Jacob’s Well
Mount of Olives- cleansing the temple in JerusalemThe Children’s Study contains everything a leader needs to conduct a seven-week study, complete with reproducible handouts. For ages 3-12
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Way For Youth
$14.99Add to cartA churchwide experience where children, youth, and adults explore the profound, life-changing impact of Jesus’ life and ministry
The most amazing figure in history comes alive for children, youth, and their families.
Stories include:
Baptism in the Jordan River
Mount of Temptations
Nazareth – First preaching in the temple
Sea of Galilee
Sermon on the Mount/Beatitudes
Healing
Samaria – Jacob’s Well
Mount of Olives- cleansing the temple in JerusalemThe Youth Study provides everything needed for a seven-week study for ages 13-18. Designed to be used by both leaders and students along with the adult-level DVD.
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Nelsons Annual Preachers Sourcebook Volume 2
$24.99Add to cartPreach great sermons and plan innovative worship services with the newest edition of Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook. This volume is the same sermon planner you have come to depend on for more than ten years. Outstanding pastors provide an entire year’s worth of preaching and worship resources for every week. Look for a new volume every fall.
Features include:
Sermons, creative outlines, illustrations, and quotes for every week of the year
Worship helps, including hymns, prayers, and Scripture texts
Inspirational thoughts and preaching techniques
Sermons for special occasions and holidays -
Apocrypha
$18.99Add to cartFor many across the world, the books of the Apocrypha are Christian Scripture. This volume helps university and seminary students learn not only more about the Apocrypha, but also more about how Jesus thought and lived.
Using a thematic approach, Dr. David deSilva gives a brief introduction and summary of these largely unknown and unappreciated books. In addition, the book provides an overview of the social and cultural context of the world of the Apocrypha and early Christianity. After surveying the Apocrypha’s relevance and impact on Christian practices and spiritual formation, deSilva highlights the Apocrypha’s imact on Jesus’ world, the New Testament, and the formation of the early church’s doctrines and theology.
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Open Place : The Ministry Of Group Spiritual Direction
$28.95Add to cartWritten from an ecumenical standpoint as a practical aid for moving those experienced in individual spiritual direction toward group practices
This book responds to the movement to expand spiritual direction beyond the classic one-with-one model. Group spiritual direction as the potential to offer the rich experience of individual spiritual direction to a much wider audience, yet very little has been written to provide guidance for starting such groups.
This book responds to that challenge. It outlines ways that a diverse and ecumenical group of spiritual directors worked to initiate groups in multiple contexts. It examines the many variables – among directors, directees, even meeting spaces – that affect and enliven this ministry. And it summarizes pitfalls, successes, and discoveries.
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Let It Go Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartFor many women, life can start to look like a chain of one responsibility after another. andnbsp; In Let It Go, popular author and speaker Karen Ehman has created a powerful tool to help them take a breath and avoid becoming ‘control freaks.’ With a combination of biblical insight, humor, and stories taken from her own experience, Ehman provides a better way—a way to navigate and more fully enjoy the relationships and responsibilities of your life—from total control to implicit trust in God. andnbsp; The accompanying Participant’s Guide complements the DVD sessions, focusing on specific issues and situations to help women take away the most important lessons Ehman has to teach. She offers additional support for the journey away from over-control and into a stronger, trusting relationship with God.
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Communion Meditations 2
$9.95Add to cartThis is Volume II of the popular preparation guide to Communion that grabs interest and focuses attention on the Lord’s Supper. The twenty six additional meditations in this book are meant to inspire, provoke, and bring personal meaning to Communion for all who participate. Each meditation is designed for a 90 second presentation and can be read verbatim or easily personalized for your needs or congregation.
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Start This Stop That
$18.99Add to cartWe need less conventional wisdom and more creative leadership.
Not all of the advice church leaders have heard on church growth works. Judging by declining membership in many mainstream denominations, most doesn’t. It’s time to reevaluate the standard thinking on how to grow a church, especially considering the number of new voices questioning the worth of church growth.
The Cowarts have an amazing story to tell. Harvest Church has grown from a church plant of four – Jim and Jennifer and their two children – to a thriving community of more than 2,200 disciples of Jesus. Harvest Church is changing the world and having an awesome time doing it.
Learn why conventional church thinking such as pastoral care, long-term planning, stewardship campaigns, committees, and even staff appointments can actually inhibit church growth.
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Lead Like Butler
$17.99Add to cartIn 2011, Butler University made history as the first team to make it to two consecutive finals of the NCAA basketball tournament without being seeded #1 or #2. As the smallest school to play in the championship game in the 40-year history of the tournament, Butler became the quintessential “Cinderella” team. How did this little-known Midwest university achieve what few schools have ever done by making it to the final championship game two years in a row?
Much of the attention is focused on head coach and team leader Brad Stevens, who was only 33 years old at the time of the 2010 tournament. Often mistaken for one of the players, Stevens coaches according to a set of six values-based principles broadly known as the Butler Way – Humility, Passion, Unity, Service, Thankfulness, and Accountability.
Through interviews with coaches, players, and alumni, Kent Millard and Judity Cebula explore the six leadership values taught by the entire coaching staff at Butler University. Each chapter of the book helps readers discover how these values form a solid foundation for pastors and other church leaders and anyone striving for success in life’s journey.
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Intergenerational Christian Formation
$30.99Add to cartAcknowledgments
Venturing Into Intergenerationality: Our Stories
Introduction
Part One: Generational Realities
1. What Is The Problem?
2. How Did We Get Here? Why Churches Tended To Separate The Generations
3. Why Bring The Generations Back Together? The Benefits Of Intergenerationality
4. What Shall We Name This Approach?
Part Two: Biblical, Theological, And Theoretical Support
5. Feasts, Jehoshaphat And House Churches: Biblical Foundations
6. Growing Each Other Up: Theoretical Foundations
7. Midwives, Tailors And Communities Of Practice: Learning Theory
8. The Trinity, Koinonia And The Body: Theological Foundations
Part Three: Support From The Social Sciences
9. Becoming Christian In Community: “Religious Socialization”
10. The Very Old And The Very Young: Contributions From Gerontology
11. Millennials, Xers, Boomers And Silents: Generational Theory
12. By The Numbers: Empirical Research
Part Four: Intergenerational Christian Formation Practices
13. Creating A Culture Of Intergenerationality
14. Intergenerational Worship
15. Intergenerational Learning Experiences
16. Intergenerationality And Story Sharing
17. Intergenerational Service And Missions
18. Intergenerational Small Groups
19. Cross-Generational Relationships In Multicultural Churches
20. Intergenerationality And Megachurches
Conclusion
Appendix A: Forty Intergenerational Ideas
Appendix B: Intergenerational Resources
Appendix C: Biblical Passages That Reflect An Intergenerational OutlookAdditional Info
One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. Psalm 145:4 Most churches and faith communities segment their ministries by age and generation. The kids go to childrens church, the teens go to youth group. Worship services are geared toward different generational preferences, and small groups gather people at the same life stage, whether singles, young marrieds, parents or empty nesters. In some congregations, people may never interact with those of other ages. But it was not always so. Throughout biblical tradition and the majority of history, communities of faith included people of all ages together in corporate worship, education and ministry. The church was not just multigenerational; it was intergenerational, with the whole church together as one family and people of all ages learning from one another in common life. In this comprehensive text, Holly Allen and Christine Ross offer a complete framework for intentional intergenerational Christian formation. They provide the theoretical foundations for intergenerationality, showing how learning and spiritual formation are better accomplished through intergenerational contexts. It is not just elders teaching youth; learning also takes place when adults discover fresh insights from children. Then the authors give concrete guidance for intergenerational praxis on how worship, learning, community and service can all be achieved intergenerationally. Case studies of intergenerational congregations provide models for how a culture of intergenerationality can be created in local churches. This volume serves as an essential guide for all preparing for and involved in congregational ministry and formation. Discover the riches of intergenerational ministry, and let all generations commend the works of God to one another. -
Effective Staffing For Vital Churches (Reprinted)
$19.00Add to cartWell-staffed churches grow. But how do churches staff for growth in these rapidly changing times when budgets are tight, mission opportunities abound, and there is a growing shortage of qualified pastors, staff members, and church leaders? Two veteran pastors and church growth consultants offer workable solutions that focus on the four core processes vital to church health and growth: bringing people to Christ and the church, retaining them, discipling them, and sending them back out into the world. They also show pastors how to navigate the leadership transitions they must make to become increasingly effective as the church grows. Pastors will learn how to be leaders who multiply leaders and develop a mission-minded staff that does the same. Foreward by Ed Stetzer.
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Engaging The Written Word Of God
$19.99Add to cartIn this collection of articles written over forty years, Packer sets out his beliefs about the authority of Scripture and the principles that should be applied when interpreting it. Important topics such as the adequacy of human language, upholding the unity of Scripture, and challenges in Biblical interpretation are considered in the first two sections: God’s Inerrant Word and Interpreting the Word. In the final section, Preaching the Word, Packer turns his attention to pastoral leaders and the importance of correct and responsible expository preaching.
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Learn Before You Leap
$17.99Add to cartDesigned to introduce and promote the use of case studies and strategic intentional interviews into the growing and developing of present and future youth workers, Learn Before You Leap provides an argument for the use of ‘problem centered learning’ strategies that are common practices in the areas of the social sciences, leadership and business but not yet publicly developed or resourced in the growing field of youth ministry education.
Learn Before You Leap also:
*Helps new youth workers process situations they’ll encounter through role play.
*Enables veteran youth workers to keep sharp and mentor younger youth workers and volunteers.
*Uses Problem Based Learning to help promote critical thinking and problem solving in the youth ministry context.
*Discusses the value and strategies for using interviews as a ministry development tool.Includes ten case studies each addressing issues common to youth ministry organized by topical focus and a fully developed interview worksheet on the given topic—appropriate to a formal class room setting, an online threaded discussion, an informal youth ministry network lunch, a one-on-one internship discussion over coffee, or an individual reading.
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12 Months Of Sundays
$44.95Add to cartCore lectionary resource by preeminent and prolific Anglican scholar N.T. Wright
Covering all the Sundays and major festivals of all three years in the lectionary cycle, renowned scholar Tom Wright offers reflections on the readings in the Revised Common Lectionary for Years A, B, and C.
Drawn from his hugely popular columns in the British Church Times, and with new material, this book weaves together scholarship, history and insights into the world and language of the Bible to add richness and a deeper understanding of the Word of the Lord.
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More Middle School TalkSheets Epic Old Testament Stories
$19.99Add to cartMiddle school students are exposed to a lot of outside influences they don’t necessarily understand. It’s important to establish moral guidelines and role models early on, so they can grow with a strong understanding of Christian values. Where better to look for these role models than in the godly heroes of the Bible? The Middle School Talksheets series returns with a second year of thought-provoking stories from the Old Testament to discuss with your youth group or bible studies. David Lynn shares discussion topics and questions written specifically with middle school students in mind, promoting meaningful and thought-provoking conversations. The stories in these pages highlight pure moral principles and practices for teenagers to learn about and emulate. Each of the new 52 epic bible stories is easy to use and fit to your lesson plan, including hints and tips to facilitate conversation. These lessons also include optional activities, giving teenagers the inspiration and motivation they need andnbsp;to actively participate and have fun while they learn.
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Teaming Church : Ministry In The Age Of Collaboration
$18.99Add to cartCreate a successful team culture.
Great teams live and serve in light of the Divine Team-the Trinity, and to be truly effective they need: a deeply challenging goal, a creatively empowering leader, and a willingness to collaborate and honor the Bible.
Author Robert C. Crosby provides innovative ways in which biblical teams reflect the workings and nature of the image of God. Revealing what he calls “The Four C’s of Great Teams” : The Character, The Carrot, The Coach, and The Contex. Crosby shows how successful teams reach their goals more effectively. Conversely, he also addresses the “Four Fatal Teaming Errors” and how to avoid unnecessary, time-consuming missteps.
This book provides biblical motivations, vivid examples, and practical approaches for creating a teaming culture in any faith community. Crosby, a leader who has built teams as a senior pastor, youth leader, and university administrator, is now training and mentoring a new generation of pastors and leaders.
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Restart Your Church
$18.99Add to cartRecognize
Realize
Restore
Review
Reform
Resensitize
Release
Reinvigorate
Reemphasize
RebirthAdditional Info
As a result of the near-death experiences of many congregations today, denominational leaders are looking for ways to revitalize churches. The act of revitalization often starts with the assumption that what was once vital can be vital again, if church leaders simply do the same better. So congregations increase programs, budgets, and formulas. They look back in time, trying to recapture a period when the church’s role in society was vital. A church seeking revitalization typically does more of the same, but faster.However, the central story of faith is the story of both death and resurrection. Followers of Christ like to live out the resurrection part of their faith, but they often aren’t very comfortable dealing with what must come before resurrection – death. The church must be willing to live out its entire story, from beginning to end.
The church needs to trust the idea that God brings to life what God wants to. This book suggests shifting away from the language of revitalization toward the story of death and resurrection. Escobedo-Frank focuses on ten specific “re-” words to outline a strategy for dying and resurrecting again – for restarting the church.
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Pastoring With Elders
$14.99Add to cartKevin is a preaching elder in an Associated Gospel Church in Canada (AGC). Their elders have had a growing influence on other congregations and have frequently been asked to share their effective shepherding-elder model. So, how do you grow elders? Many pastors are looking for another program or quick fix to accomplish this end. However, the answer is rooted in the theology of ministry and the need to focus on the biblical mandate given to pastors rather than the tyranny of expectations inherent in pastor-led churches.This book is designed to help senior pastors walk through a process of deconstructing their understanding of pastoring and redirect them to a focused ministry within a plurality of shepherd-elders.
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Homiletical Beat : Why All Sermons Are Narrative
$18.99Add to cartPromoting the idea of sermon as narrative, Eugene Lowry’s first book, The Homiletical Plot, became one of the most influential preaching books of the latter part of the 20th century. While the sermon as narrative has become conventional preaching wisdom, it is largely misunderstood. Sermons are, by definition, narratives and as such, they have plots. At the same time, the sermon is not a story. While similar in many ways, narratives and stories are distinct. Therefore, to think of narrative preaching as merely one of many homiletical styles is to misunderstand and reduce the nature of the sermon. The sermon is more than just an option for the preacher; rather, it is, by definition, a narrative because it happens in time, not in space. This changes everything because the sermon ceases to be something a preacher constructs, like a thesis or even a painting. Instead, it is more like a piece of music – something a preacher plays within intuitively, to a constant beat – time after time, week after week. In light of this revelation, what are new strategic aims for sermon preparation and delivery?
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Church Transfusion : Changing Your Church Organically From The Inside Out
$24.95Add to cartIn Church Transfusion Neil Cole and Phil Helfer, co-founders of Church Multiplication Associates, will first point out that change is possible with God, but only with God. In the second half of the book they will lay out some of the actual practical considerations to weigh if you want to release real organic health in your church.
Using multiple examples of very different kinds of churches that have been through the process, the authors present ways that leadership and practices need to change in order to release organic church movements from their midst. Chapters cover:
*Leadershifts necessary
*Detoxification from dependence issues
*How to ignite change virally
*How to grandparent movements
*How to measure success in movementsThis book (another in the Leadership Network series) applies organic life principles to established churches with practical help that is holistic and natural. The content in this book will be helpful whether you are pastor of an established church or wanting to revitalize a small organic church.
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Joy Together : Spiritual Practices For Your Congregation
$22.00Add to cartGuidance and examples for Christian leaders as they seek ways to involve their congregations or small groups in spiritual practices
Although interest in spiritual practices has grown in recent years, most of the books available address individuals who wish to try Christian disciplines such as fasting or fixed-hour prayer. This book, by contrast, offers guidance and examples to Christian leaders as they seek ways to involve their congregations or small groups in spiritual practices.
In Joy Together, Lynne M. Baab describes six spiritual practices that congregations can attempt together: thankfulness, fasting, contemplative prayer, lectio divina, hospitality, and Sabbath keeping. She goes on to explore how these practices can help with congregational life and discernment and provides practical instructions for communicating with group members. Discussion questions are included at the end of each chapter so groups can delve into the topics more fully
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Effective Bible Teaching (Reprinted)
$25.00Add to cartWhy does Bible study flourish in some churches and small groups and not in others? In this updated edition of a trusted classic, two Christian education specialists provide readers with the knowledge and methods needed to effectively communicate the message of the Bible. The book offers concrete guidance for mastering a biblical text, interpreting it, and applying its relevance to life. Its methods, which have been field-tested for twenty-five years, help pastors, teachers, and ministry students improve their classroom skills. Readers will learn how to develop the “big idea” of a passage and allow the text itself to suggest creative teaching methods. This new edition has been updated throughout and explores the changed landscape of Bible study over the past two decades. Readable and interdisciplinary in approach, this book will help a new generation of Bible students teach in a purposeful and unified way.
Contents
Part 1: Effective Teaching
1. The Changing Landscape of Bible Study
2. The Church’s Unfinished Task
3. The Tasks of the Effective Teacher
4. The Teacher: The Human Element in Teaching
Part 2: The Methods of Effective Bible Teaching
5. Discovering Unity in Biblical Passages: The Genre and Structure of a Passage
6. Thematic Unity in Biblical Passages: Teaching the Big Idea
7. Bridging the Gap
8. Principles of Biblical Interpretation
9. Understanding the Methods of Inductive and Directed Bible Studies
10. Leading Inductive Bible Studies
Part 3: The Bible We Teach
11. What Kind of Book Is the Bible?
12. Types of Writing in the Bible
13. Teaching the Stories of the Bible
14. Teaching the Poetry of the Bible
15. Teaching Other Genres of the Bible
Indexes -
Scent Of Water
$15.99Add to cartA Scent of Water is a message of hope for the Christian school movement, a movement that is currently lacks vision, struggles with enrollment declines and battles budget limitations. This message derives from scriptural truth and the findings of empirical research and recommends a means for restoring a vision for the ministry. The local Christian school must become the site for transforming the movement into one that focuses upon student learning and a clear delineation of student goals. The authors examine schools as social and cultural systems that must be understood. A Scent of Water describes the type of leadership that must characterize the movement and proposes an active, vibrant and collaborative role for classroom teachers, working with building principals who see themselves as capacity builders, building strength and knowledge within the teaching staff to bring a scent of water that will revitalize and transform the movement.
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Cry Of Tamar (Revised)
$34.00Add to cartIn this comprehensive, practical, and gripping assessment of various forms of violence against women, Pamela Cooper-White challenges the Christian churches to examine their own responses to the cry of Tamar in our time. She describes specific forms of such violence and outlines appropriate pastoral responses.
The second edition of this groundbreaking work is thoroughly updated and examines not only where the church has made progress since 1995 but also where women remain at unchanged or even greater risk of violence.
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Feasting On The Word Worship Companion Year C 1
$42.00Add to cartA new worship resource in the acclaimed Feasting on the Word series
The Feasting on the Word Worship Companion: Liturgies for Year C, Volume One, is the first of six volumes (two for each lectionary year) in a new series for worship leaders and pastors. Based on the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL), this book is an invaluable aid that provides all liturgical pieces needed in preparing for worship each week. A team of eleven ecumenical and seasoned liturgy writers, under the creative leadership of Kimberly Bracken Long, offer a multitude of poetic prayers and responsive reading for all parts of worship. In addition, drawn from the lectionary each week are a question for reflection and household prayers for morning and evening so churches can include them in their bulletin for parishioners.
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 book and easily enables planners to cut and paste relevant readings, prayers, or questions into worship bulletins.
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Grace Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartGrace.
We talk as though we understand the term. The bank gives us a grace period. The seedy politician falls from grace. Musicians speak of a grace note. We describe an actress as gracious, a dancer as graceful. We use the word for hospitals, baby girls, kings, and premeal prayers. We talk as though we know what grace means.
But do we really understand it? Have we settled for wimpy grace? It politely occupies a phrase in a hymn, fits nicely on a church sign. Never causes trouble or demands a response. When asked, “Do you believe in grace?” who could say no?
Max Lucado asks a deeper question: Have you been changed by grace? Shaped by grace? Strengthened by grace? Emboldened by grace? Softened by grace? Snatched by the nape of your neck and shaken to your senses by grace?
God’s grace has a drenching about it. A wildness about it. A white-water, riptide, turn-you-upside-downness about it. Grace comes after you. It rewires you. From insecure to God secure. From regret riddled to better-because-of-it. From afraid to die to ready to fly. Grace is the voice that calls us to change and then gives us the power to pull it off. Let’s make certain grace gets you.
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Different Kind Of Christmas
$9.99Add to cartEvery year, we say we’re going to cut back, simplify, and have a family Christmas that focuses on the real reason for the season-Jesus. But every year, advertisements beckon, the children plead, and it seems easier just to indulge our wants and whims. Overspending, overeating, materialism, and busyness rob us of our peace and joy and rob Jesus of his rightful role as the center of our celebration. This book of devotional readings is designed to draw your entire family into closer fellowship with God as you respond to this Christmas season and the call of God to live generously all year around. The devotional includes thirty short readings, Scripture, prayer, and stories about helping others at Christmas. A Different Kind of Christmas: Devotional Readings for the Season is a great gift idea for family, friends, teachers, and ministry leaders.
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Different Kind Of Christmas Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$11.99Add to cartA Different Kind of Christmas is a practical and inspirational study for the Advent season. Based on Mike Slaughter’s popular book Christmas Is Not Your Birthday, this five-week study will empower your family and your church to reclaim the broader missional meaning of Jesus’ birth and experience a Christmas season with more peace and joy than any toy or gadget could ever bring. This comprehensive resource includes a 64-page Leader Guide containing everything needed to guide your group through the study. Inside you’ll find five full session plans, discussion questions, and activities, as well as multiple format options and suggestions of ways to make the study a meaningful experience for any group. Sessions include: 1. Expect a Miracle 2. Giving Up on Perfect 3. Scandalous Love 4. Jesus’ Wish List 5. By a Different Road Help your church cast a vision for how Christians can experience the true joy of living and giving like Jesus beginning with the Christmas season and continuing as a lifestyle. This six week study helps participants see the traps and discontentment of consumerism and the call of God to live generously to fulfill God’s mission in the world.
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Andrew Paradigm : How To Be A Lead Follower Of Jesus
$16.99Add to cartThe current trend in church leadership involves looking for a highly gifted leader who will take over, direct the future, cast a vision, and attract the faithful to a new mission or purpose. This desire for a leader to come to the rescue is eerily reminiscenet of the desire of the Israelites for a king, so they could “be like every other nation.” In spite of Samuel’s warnings, the people insisted, so God reluctantly gave them King Saul. That didn’t go so well. While we always need good, new, and talented leaders, we also need leaders who know how and when to be good followers. Particularly in a culture of distrust, leadership must be granted, earned, and supported by those who are willing to follow. Leading begins with the counter-intuitive command: “Come, follow me.” This imperative is far from easy. Many turned away from Jesus, unable to follow. However, one excellent model of “followership” stood out from the rest – the little-known disciple Andrew. In fact, Andrew is the model and paradigm for being a Lead Follower. Excellent Christian leadership is more about following Jesus than it is about learning the latest fads or tricks from business, the marketplace, or the academy. Being an excellent Christian leader involves first and foremost being an excellent and faithful follower of Jesus Christ.
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Counseling And Christianity
$35.99Add to cartForeword
1 Setting The Stage For The Five Approaches
2 Moving Models Into Practice
3 A Levels Of Explanation Approach By Thomas G. Plante
4 An Integration Approach By Mark McMinn
5 A Christian Psychology Approach By Diane Langberg
6 A Transformational Approach By Gary Moon
7 A Biblical Counseling Approach By Stuart W. Scott
8 Distinctives And Dialogue
9 Conceptualization And Contextualization
10 Case Scenarios For Further Exploration
Author Index
Subject IndexAdditional Info
What does authentic Christian counseling look like in practice? This volume explores how five major perspectives on the interface of Christianity and psychology would each actually be applied in a clinical setting. Respected experts associated with each of the perspectives depict how to assess, conceptualize, counsel and offer aftercare to Jake, a hypothetical client with a variety of complex issues. In each case the contributors seek to explain how theory can translate into real-life counseling scenarios. This book builds on the framework of Eric L. Johnson’s Psychology & Christianity: Five Views. These include the Levels-of-Explanation Approach, the Integration Approach, the Christian Psychology Approach, the Transformational Approach and the Biblical Counseling Approach. While Christianity and Counseling can be used independently of Johnson’s volume, the two can also function as useful companions. Christians who counsel, both those in practice and those still in training, will be served by this volume as it strengthens the connections between theory and practice in relating our faith to the mental health disciplines. They will finally get an answer to their persistent but unanswered question: “What would that counseling view look like behind closed doors?” -
Will Our Children Have Faith (Expanded)
$26.95Add to cartFoundational text for Christian formation of children by well-known author, priest and scholar
Includes a Study Guide, by faith formation specialist Sharon Ely Pearson
Originally written in 1976, revised in 2000, and translated in six languages, this classic critique of Christian education is newly revised and expanded and includes Westerhoff’s overview and perspective on the state of Christian education over the past forty years – plus his role in that history.
According to Westerhoff, instead of guiding faith formation within the family, the church, and the school, we relegate religious education to Sunday morning classes. There, children learn the facts about religion, but how will they learn or experience faith? How can we nourish and nurture the faith of children, instead of only teaching the facts?
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Complete Guide To Godly Play 8
$34.95Add to cartThe final volume in the best-selling The Complete Guide to Godly Play series
Includes supplemental material summarizing the literature about Godly Play as well as an overview of the entire curriculum.
This Montessori approach gives children a strong foundation in the Christian language system.
These new lessons tie all others together, including “The Greatest Parable – Jesus” (4 lessons), “Knowing Jesus in a New Way” (7 lessons), “Jesus and Jerusalem: The Story of Holy Week,” “The Church” and lessons and artifacts into a single, overarching lesson.
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Making The Most Of The Lectionary
$23.95Add to cartA practical guide to the Lectionary, written by a world authority
A valuable resource for enhancing liturgical understandingWhat is the point of the Lectionary? What are the problems and opportunities that it presents to those who use it? What are its strengths and weaknesses as an aid to worship? How can it be used and communicated most effectively today? These are among the key questions Thomas O’Loughlin addresses in this stimulating and much needed liturgical guide to the design, history, theology, and purposes of the Lectionary.
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Embracing A Life Of Meaning (Student/Study Guide)
$16.95Add to cartNewest Embracing title taps Kathleen Norris for unique 5 to 10 session study
The newest installment in the Embracing collection features the essential components of earlier works: (1) DVD with five 10 to 15 minute presentations by the host, in this case Kathleen Norris, including her interpretive interactions with a small group, plus (2) a printed guide with all the material needed by participants and facilitator.
Norris provides a unique viewpoint of “what matters most,” including BELIEF (that to which we give our hearts), THE BIBLE (the collective story/tradition of the Christian people), COMMUNITY (where individualism and imperfection meet grace and acceptance), PLACE (setting faith within the physical space of home, church, land, and people) and US (what it means to remain in God’s image, countering our selfishness to embrace the world and its needs).
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Cup Of Salvation
$18.95Add to cartThe only book of its type designed specifically for laity, offering practical tips and theological underpinnings of this Eucharistic ministry
Companion volume to A Manual for Eucharistic Visitors
In the Episcopal Church, the term Eucharistic Minister is used to denote someone who assists the priest with administering the Eucharist, often handling the wine.
Ely offers historical perspective on this ministry, a theological overview, practical tips, plus an invitation to engage in the spiritual dimensions of serving one’s local congregation as a Eucharistic Minister. She concludes the book with a chapter on how to establish this ministry in a local parish.
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Helping Kids Include Kids With Disabilities (Revised)
$30.00Add to cartChildren with disabilities are part of God’s family, but people don’t always treat them that way. In this book you’ll discover how to help kids and their leaders welcome and include kids with disabilities at church or school. This revised edition contains a wealth of helpful information for understanding disabilities such as autism spectrum disorder; AD/HD; behavioral challenges; hearing, visual, and speech/language impairments; intellectual disabilities; physical disabilities; learning disabilities; and severe or multiple disabilities.
This book also includes guidelines and forms to help churches identify and meet needs, lesson plans for presenting information on each area of disability, fact sheets about specific disabilities to share with adult leaders, and much more. It’s an indispensable resource for teachers, Sunday school leaders, church staff, and anyone who works with children.
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Discerning Gods Will Together (Revised)
$31.00Add to cartBible study, research, and fieldwork merge in this book of practical principles for decision making by spiritual discernment. The step-by-step approach can be used to help any size group learn a new way to make decisions–a way that is interactive, spiritual, and rooted in faith practices and community. Small groups, committees, church boards, church leaders at all levels, and seminary professors will find this book valuable.
This is a revised and updated version of the book, originally published in 1997. This new version includes revised and updated material, as well as a new introduction by Charles Olsen. -
Community Is Messy
$19.99Add to cartFirst Things First: Blood, Sweat And Spit
Community Is Messy
Everything Is An Experiment
Lead Yourself Well
Growing People Grow People
Discipleship Is Not Linear
Small Groups Should Happen In Real Life
Systems Are Made To Be Destroyed
Wear Out Your Welcome
Navigating The MessAdditional Info
Drawing on her background in environmental engineering and her role as pastor of discipleship at National Community Church in Washington, D.C., Heather Zempel assesses the perils and possibilities inherent in small groups and other environments for Christian community. The book helps leaders begin to see the inherent “mess” of such gatherings as raw material for arriving at something beautiful. -
Caring Liturgies : The Pastoral Power Of Christian Liturgy
$24.00Add to cartCaregiving practices in churches often center around listening and giving counsel, making referrals, and creating support groups for specific needs. In Caring Liturgies, Susan Marie Smith proposes that Christian ritual is both a method and a means for helping people through liminal times of transition and uncertainty, even vulnerability and fear. It teaches readers to recognize the ritual needs of fellow Christians and thus create post-baptismal rites of passage and healing that might strengthen and support them in the fulfillment of their ministries.
The book extends the usefulness of denominational “occasional services” books and other resources by suggesting ways to build a rite around a central symbolic action, pointing out issues of ritual honesty and ethics, and identifying skills and attributes necessary to preparing and leading a rite. Numerous narrative examples help to flesh out the principles and illustrate the key argument: that rituals are necessary means to enable human growth and maturity, both through times of suffering and times of transition, and that ritual-making leaders are central to the ongoing health of the church.
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Will The Real Church Please Stand Up
$16.95Add to cartIn this challenging and thought-provoking book, author James David Montgomery points out that although churches dot almost every street corner in America, many have strayed from God’s original design. He believes too many churches today stand in stark contrast to the first century church that turned the world upside down. Rev. Montgomery calls on Christians of every denomination to return to their roots and rediscover what made the early church great. He reminds us of the building-shaking, great-grace, fear-of-God-preaching, Pharisee-defying, souls-added-to-the-church-daily explosions of God’s glory in the book of Acts.
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Family Ministry : A Comprehensive Guide (Revised)
$65.99Add to cartIntroduction
Structure And Purposes
Resources
Acknowledgments
Section 1: The Context Of Family Ministry
1. Our Genealogy: A Brief History Of The American Family
Fighting About Family Kinship And Households
Colonial America
Frontier America
Slavery And Family Life For African Americans
The Industrial Revolution And Beyond
Conclusions
2. The American Family Today
Today’s Family Statistics
Why Defining Family Is Important
Conclusion
3. The Family In Christian Thought
Early Christianity Changes And Challenges
Family Life
The Catholic Church: Marriage As Sacrament
The Protestant Reformation
The Enlightenment
The Church And Non-European Cultures
The Church And Families In Recent History
Learning From History
4. A Biblical Frame For Defining Family In The Beginning . . .
Jesus’ Life: A Transformation Of “Family”
Jesus’ Teachings By Word And Example
The Ethiopian Eunuch
The Family Of God
Implications For The Church
5. An Agenda For Family Ministry
The Development Of Family Ministry
Defining Family Ministry
Family Ministry As PerspectiveSection 2: Family Formation
6. Fieldguide Of Family Relationships
A Family Story
Single Adults
Married Adults
Parents Siblings Older Adult Families
Who Are Families?
7. Family Development
Developmental Stages
The Processes Of Family Development
We Are Family
Cyclical Phases Of Family Development
Family Life As Christian Formation
8. Families In Physical And Social Space
The Ecosystemic Approach
Habitat Adaptation And Stress
Possibilities And Complexities Of An Ecosystemic Approach
Emergencies, Crises And Catastrophes
Strong Families
9. Culture And Family Identity
Families In Culture
The Unique Culture Of Families
Becoming Culturally Competent Family
Identity Family Rituals
Family Stories
Implications For Family MinistrySection 3: The Processes Of Family Life
10. Family Interaction
Types Of Communication
Conflict And Anger
Forgiveness And Repentance
Intimacy Implications For Family Ministry
11. Power And Roles
Jesus’ Teaching About Power
Gender Roles
Discipline
Family Violence
12. Working Together
Defining Family Faith
Biblical Narratives Of Family Faith
A Story Of Family Faith
Service As A Family Affair
Engaging Families In Ministry
Hospitality Woven Into Family LifeSection 4: Leading Family Ministry
13. Congregational Life As Family
Ministry
Worship
ChristAdditional Info
North American families are in crisis, and the need for family ministry is more evident than ever. In her many years of ministry, research and teaching, author Diana Garland has found that the strength of Christian families is rooted in their faith and nurtured in their congregations. Garland believes that Christian families gain strength in part because of their communities of faith. Twelve years after first coming to print, the award-winning Family Ministry has been given a significant makeover. In this new edition Garland takes a three-pronged approach to family ministry, which includes developing families grounded in Christian faith, helping families live the teachings of Jesus with one another, and equipping and supporting families as they learn to serve others. The insights gained are organized into four main sections: The Context for Family MinistryFamily FormationFamily DynamicsLeading Family Ministry Garland examines and fully integrates the historical, sociological, theological and biblical contexts to understand the role and meaning of family in the life of Christians and the church. She perceptively connects these explorations with the social and cultural context of the early twenty-first century.
Now revised and updated throughout, Diana Garland’s core text for ministers and others in the helping professions provides a comprehensive look at the Christian purpose of family and the complex world our families inhabit -
Speaking Of Dying
$26.00Add to cartThis book reminds the church of its considerable resources when it ministers to the terminally ill. Typically, a terminal diagnosis triggers denial of impending death and a full-scale resort to the techniques and resources of modern medicine. If a cure is not forthcoming, the patient and his or her loved ones experience a sense of failure and bitter disappointment.
Here the authors show what is lost when the church abdicates its own resources of faith in the face of dying. They outline a practical theological response to terminal illness and the event of dying, showing how the liturgy–particularly baptism–prepares Christians to die and how the Eucharist sustains us in our dying. They also discuss how to talk to a dying person and how to preach on death and dying. Thus this is not a book on grief or even on death so much as it is on the process of dying and how the church can more faithfully and effectively engage those who are dying. The book includes a foreword by Stanley Hauerwas.
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Parables For Today
$16.00Add to cartThe parables of Jesus seem to be an unending source of inspiration for teachers and preachers and it is possible to return to them again and again to find a new message in them. That is certainly the experience of Professor Hunter who, after the great success of his Preaching the New Testament (which was reprinted within its first year of publication), has here produced a second series of sermons on the best-known Gospel parables. Those who know his books already will need no further prompting; those who do not will find him here on his best form, the clarity of insight in no way dimmed by the years of experience.
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Fresh Expressions And The Kingdom Of God
$27.00Add to cartMission Shaped Church, the groundbreaking report which has sold over 20,000 copies has transformed understandings of mission in the UK. Fresh Expressions, which sprang into being in its wake, is an established presence in Britain, the USA and Canada. This important book poses a challenging question: what are the aims of mission and are they being achieved through Fresh Expressions? This book argues that mission is equally about social transformation or, in biblical terms, building the kingdom of God, as well as building the church. Theological reflection and stories from front line practitioners in churches in the sacramental traditions (with their heritage of service in poor communities) combine to create a unique, timely and valuable resource which includes contributions from leading names in the study and practice of mission today.
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Lectionary Worship Aids Series 9 Cycle C
$28.95Add to cartThe Revised Common Lectionary is not just to provide a guide to scripture reading during the church year. It can help shape the entirety of our worship. The themes for each Sunday service, as created by the lectionary, can be further explored and appreciated through Reed’s poetic prayers and responsories, as well as through musical selection suggestions. By involving all of the senses in worship, congregations can gain a deeper understanding and appreciation for the various themes highlighted in the lectionary, themes such as grace, mercy, justice, and others.
Lectionary Worship Aids allows ministers and worship leaders to tie the entire worship experience together for their congregations. Reed’s insights will prove invaluable in leading congregations into the presence of God not only on Sunday but also on holidays and other special occasions.
Topics covered in this resource include:
Calls to Worship
Suggested Hymns
Collects for the Day
Prayers of Confession
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They All Were Looking For A King Cycle C
$12.95Add to cartIn this volume of sermons prepared by Wayne Brouwer, the reader will find illustrations that help to explain God’s message in new and interesting ways. Finding stories and word pictures that more easily tie into the Lectionary readings for each Sunday will help the person in the pulpit make his sermon more compelling to the people in the pews.
In They All Were Looking for a King, the author brings the reader new insights to the age-old message surrounding the birth of Christ. As Christians eagerly anticipate the arrival of the babe of Bethlehem, Brouwer explores the gospel from new perspectives that the reader will find to be invaluable. These messages will be helpful in a variety of ways:
Illuminating illustrations and sermon starters
Group Bible study
Personal devotions
Sermon titles included in this collection are:
A Cry in the Dark
A Dance in the Desert
Creating Community the Hard Way
Many others for the seasons of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 9 Cycle C
$49.95Add to cartWhen it comes to preaching from a lectionary, it can often be a daunting task to create new ways of preaching about a passage that has been around for thousands of years. It would seem that, after a while, there would be no new ways of looking at a scripture passage. A different perspective, however, can be most beneficial in finding a new way to help your congregation see each of the readings.
This is the inspiration behind the Lectionary Preaching Workbook series. By providing new insights into each of the readings in the Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal Lectionaries, Mark Ellingsen has given pastors everywhere the tools they need to effectively relate the heart of the scriptures to their congregations, combining the best of scholarly techniques with pastoral experience. Each of these illustrations and thematic explorations provide the perfect jumping point for pastors to take a text and create thought-provoking, inspirational messages. Its easy-to-use format and illuminating commentary make the Lectionary Preaching Workbook an essential addition to any pastor’s library.
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Coaching Life Changing Small Group Leaders
$26.99Add to cartSmall groups transform churches-and lives. Small group leaders often feel the weight of shepherding their small group members.
But who shepherds the shepherd? Small group coaches fill a unique role by providing support and guidance for group leaders.
When you’re called to coach a small group leader in your church, your mind may be filled with questions: Am I godly enough? What do I have to offer? How do I begin? Although the challenge seems immense, Bill Donahue and Greg Bowman break down the work of coaching small group leaders into achievable steps.
This expanded and updated edition offers field-tested and biblically supported advice on such topics as modeling a surrendered life to those you coach, gaining the tools and wisdom you need for coaching, and helping leaders grow spiritually.
This workbook can be used as a stand-alone resource to train coaches, or it can be used with the training videos taught by the authors, available on the Equipping Life-Changing Small Groups DVD (sold separately).
For those who want to coach with excellence and truly help small group leaders thrive, this go-to guide offers practical answers and inspiring examples. You’ll find both challenge and promise in these pages as you learn to carry forth your God-given calling with confidence.
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Grief Relief : Scriptural Guide Book To Recovery After The Death Of A Child
$15.99Add to cartBorn in 1961, Rebecca, whose nickname is Becky, was born into the most dire of circumstances. The fifth child of poor parents; whose marriage was already at the point of collapse. Becky was critically premature; her mother Barbara’s most difficult delivery; and only breach birth. In all, her mother would go on to have seven children. Barbara struggled while working for seventy-five cents an hour, at a nearby dry cleaners. Her father Loyd worked less and less as the years went by, due to the most extreme form of chronic alcoholism.
While living in the ghetto and enduring the harshest depravation imaginable, God sent His messengers with The Good News of Jesus Christ. Becky faithfully rode the church bus with her elder siblings, starting at around the age of two years old while carrying her own spare diaper, in a brown paper bag. Her mother would instruct, “Don’t dirty your diaper while you’re gone.” The story is told that she never did! Becky refused to be left behind, and grew up cherishing the Bible stories she was taught at “The First Church of the Nazarene,” in Rock Island, Illinois. Becky also attended regularly at Grant Elementary; her public grade school, a Bible study that was held after hours in the school cafeteria. The truth is, Becky never fully perceived until now, what God had indeed predestined for her, and that is why He saw to it that she knew His Holy Word from the start. She readily acknowledges, that if she hadn’t experienced the steadfast love of God early on, that He would have never been able to do the miraculous for her in 1990, when her doctor crudely informed, “The top of your babies head is missing!” The cataclysmic discovery that her baby was suffering from the disease of “anencephaly,” was rendered just two weeks before she was due to give birth for the first time at the age of twenty-nine.
Indeed, God’s hand has been upon Becky her entire life, but was never more providential than that fateful day on May 12, 1990, when her precious Melissa Ann was born, and returned straight back to heaven from whence she was sent. Melissa beat the odds by being born alive, and lived for three rapturous hours and eighteen glorious minutes upon this earth, cradled all the while in her parent’s adoring arms.
Afterwards, Becky spent vast hours alone in her prayer closet seeking God’s divine help and guidance. She needed to know what He had to say about all that was happening to her, as many more complications and obstacles were involved a
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Chained No More
$16.95Add to cartChained No More is a program that will minister healing and hope to anyone who has been touched by the pain of divorce. Robyn Besemann has developed biblically based materials that provide a framework for personal growth, a tool for helping others, and a step-by-step grid that produces transformational results.
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Why Not Now Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$9.99Add to cartLike most of the rest of us, Christian students tend to set the bar too low for themselves, especially when it comes to actively following Jesus. This 6-week Bible study curriculum and correlated-but-stand-alone daily devotional will challenge students to accept the mission to live like Jesus now, not later, by telling the stories of adolescents from the Bible and in modern life who did — and are doing — significant and amazing things in the world and for the God who saves. In a society where cultural adolescence is lingering into the 30s, its no wonder Christian students often fail to confront the call to act meaningfully on their faith in Christ. It’s easy to package that commitment with big ideas like picking a college, a spouse, and a career — and then to never quite get around to it.
God, however, posts no minimum age on discipleship, and his book contains several examples of younger people both willing and able — in his power — to do extraordinarily difficult and necessary things with their lives for him. Why Not Now? will mine stories from the young lives of Miriam, Joseph, David, Solomon, Daniel, and Mary to find why and how they said yes to God before they would have been old enough to rent a car in our modern society. All six of these people believed God could use their lives to do something that mattered. What is holding us back?
To bolster the argument and generate interest in the books, Why Not Now? will also seek contributions from living examples of people who are doing or have done things we just don’t expect students to do these days. Abby Sunderland, for instance, generated worldwide controversy for attempting to sail around the world solo simply because she was 16 at the time. How dare she? How cold her parents allow that? Another 16-year-old, cheerleader Kealey Oliver, recently made news for courageously tackling a shoplifter at the local mall rather that letting him escape. She saw it as her responsibility to stand for justice. And 17-year-old Steven Ortiz made headlines by demonstrating the practical wisdom of bartering his way from an old cell phone to a convertible Porsche.
Why Not Now? will use stories like theirs — and those from Scripture — to equip youth leaders to challenge students to use their unique gifts, skills, and opportunities right now to do bigger things with their lives for God’s glory. The curriculum will include teaching outlines, commentary, group activities, discussion questions, a
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Amplifying Our Witness
$19.99Add to cartNearly twenty percent of adolescents have developmental disabilities, yet far too often they are marginalized within churches. Amplifying Our Witness challenges congregations to adopt a new, practice-centered approach to congregational ministry — one that includes and amplifies the witness of adolescents with developmental disabilities.
Replete with stories taken from Benjamin Conner’s own extensive experience with befriending and discipling adolescents with developmental disabilities, Amplifying Our Witness:
*Shows how churches exclude the mentally disabled in various structural and even theological ways
*Stresses the intrinsic value of kids with developmental disabilities
*Reconceptualizes evangelism to adolescents with developmental disabilities, emphasizing hospitality and friendship. -
Lectionary Stories For Preaching And Teaching Cycle C
$12.95Add 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 seasons of Lent and Easter 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 C 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 Teaching and Preaching “will draw you into new worlds with vibrant and engaging images, deepening your relationship with God in the process.
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 9 Cycle C
$19.95Add to cart“I am very impressed with the way Dr. Ellingsen outlines this” Lectionary Preaching Workbook… “Here is a splendid workbook. It is rich in detail and theological insight. Ellingsen writes clearly, is sensitive to context, and widens [our] horizons… This book should be required reading for all pastors, seminary students, and other lay people who are involved in ministry with adults and youth. It should be regarded as a textbook to enhance one’s knowledge about the meaning of the seasons or major festivals of the [church] year.”
Reverend Jesse Averett Jr.
Presiding Elder, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
“If a preacher is looking for quick and easy sermons, this tool is not what s/he is seeking. But if a preacher is looking for solid biblical scholarship, thoughtful exegesis, a possible preaching theme for each of the appointed lessons for each Sunday in the lectionary year accompanied by a variety of ideas for how that theme might be developed, then CSS’ latest “Lectionary Preaching Workbook” will be a valuable resource. Built around the Revised Common Lectionary and the Christian church year, Pr. Mark Ellingsen has put together a highly useful resource.
Ellingsen’s passion for justice and equality as applied to the social issues of the day comes through clearly in some of his “sermon moves” as well as the socio-economic and political illustrative connections he offers. Incorporating insights and quotations from a variety of sources — everything from modern brain research to Luther, Calvin, Liberation Theology, Bonhoeffer, Pascal, and Barth — Ellingsen strives to connect God’s word to our world in ways that the preacher will find stimulating and inspirational.”
Glenn L. Simmons
Assistant to the Bishop
Northeastern Pennsylvania Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
When it comes to preaching from a lectionary, it can often be a daunting task to create new ways of preaching about a passage that has been around for thousands of years. It would seem that, after a while, there would be no new ways of looking at a scripture passage. A different perspective, however, can be most beneficial in finding a new way to help your congregation see each of the readings.
This is the inspiration behind the “Lectionary Preaching Workbook “series and this special edition for Lent and Easter. By providing new insights into each of the readings in the Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal Lectionaries, Mark Ellingsen has given pastors everywher -
Navigating The Sermon Cycle C
$34.95Add to cartFor each Sunday in Cycle C, 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 C 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.
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Mindful Ministry : Creative Theological And Practical Perspectives
$35.99Add to cartA constructive resource linking the skills required by clergy in their day-to-day ministry with active reflection on what it means to be a reflective practitioner.
Christian ministry requires a wide range of skills as well as the ability to reflect theologically. Part 1 considers how clergy and those who work with them can explore the skills required, while Part 2 focuses on identifying, considering and acquiring the necessary skills. The authors consider among others caring, praying skills, guiding, organizing and liberating as well as the skills of weakness.
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In Season Out Of Season
$30.00Add to cartThis latest collection of sermons by Eric James is also the best, drawing as it does on a lifetime of experience, a deep personal faith, and a love of people, music, literature and the richness of life. It also has a valedictory quality, since during the period covered by the collection the charity Christian Action, of which Eric James had been director, closed down after fifty years, and he resigned from being Preacher to Gray’s Inn, an office which he had held for nineteen years. Here too is a farewell to an era, with ‘In memoriam’ sermons on a number of distinguished figures who embodied that era, and constant references to a world which is passing away.aHowever, that is only part of the story. In Season, Out of Season is dedicated to an ordinand preparing to preach to the next generation, and like Eric James’s favourite collect, ‘0 God, who hast prepared for them that love thee such good things as pass man’s understanding…’, it is full of hope for the future.
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People Of The Way
$24.95Add to cartThere is a renewed conversation about identity and mission in American Anglicanism today, based on the recognition that the church’s context in the U.S. has dramatically changed. The legacies of establishment, benefactor approaches to mission, and the ‘national church’ ideal are no longer adequate for the challenges and opportunities facing the 21st century church.
But if the Episcopal Church is no longer the Church of the Establishment and the benefactor model of church is dead, what is the heart of Episcopal mission and identity?
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Genesis
$19.99Add to cartStudying the Bible can be a daunting prospect, with each passage revealing new truths at every reading. The Studies on the Go series is designed to help keep your youth group focused and exciting, exploring the rich depths in every book of the bible.
In Genesis, Laurie Polich-Short delivers a set of 30 in-depth study sessions to unlock the potential in the first book of the Bible. Every chapter is examined with care and matched with questions to promote discussion in a group study setting. These segments also include tips to help your students apply what they learn in their everyday lives.
The Studies on the Go series has provided invaluable resources for small group leaders, and Genesis is a title in that same tradition. Structured study questions and varied discussion topics promise a rich experience and deeper understanding of God’s word for your small group.
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High School TalkSheets Old Testament Epic Bible Stories
$19.99Add to cartIn just four short years, high school students develop friendships and habits that affect them for the rest of their lives. They need to be inspired through strong role models who embody Christian values. Where better to look for these influences than in the godly heroes of the Bible? The Talksheets series returns with another year of thought-provoking stories from the Old Testament to discuss with your youth group or bible studies. David Lynn shares discussion topics and questions written specifically with high school students in mind, promoting meaningful and thought-provoking conversations. The stories in these pages highlight pure moral principles and practices for teenagers to learn about and emulate. Each of the 52 epic bible stories is easy to use and fit to your lesson plan, including hints and tips to facilitate conversation. These lessons also include optional activities, giving teenagers to actively participate and have fun while they learn.
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Middle School TalkSheets Epic Old Testament Stories
$19.99Add to cartMiddle school students are exposed to a lot of outside influences they don’t necessarily understand. It’s important to establish moral guidelines and role models early on, so they can grow with a strong understanding of Christian values. Where better to look for these role models than in the godly heroes of the Bible?
The Talksheets series returns with another year of thought-provoking stories from the Old Testament to discuss with your youth group or bible studies. David Lynn shares discussion topics and questions written specifically with middle school students in mind, promoting meaningful and thought-provoking conversations. The stories in these pages highlight pure moral principles and practices for teenagers to learn about and emulate. Each of the 52 epic bible stories is easy to use and fit to your lesson plan, including hints and tips to facilitate conversation. These lessons also include optional activities, giving teenagers the opportunity to actively participate and have fun while they learn.
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Making Your Small Group Work Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartWhether you’re a new or seasoned group leader, or whether your group is well-established or just getting started, the Making Your Small Group Work DVD and participant’s guide (sold seperately) will lead you and your group together to a remarkable new closeness and effectiveness. Designed to foster healthy group interaction and facilitate maximum growth, this innovative approach equips both group leaders and members with essential skills and values for creating and sustaining truly life-changing small groups. Created by three group life experts, the two DVDs in this kit include:
* Four sixty-minute sessions on the foundations of small groups that include teaching by the authors, creative segments, and activities and discussion time.
* Thirteen five-minute coaching segments on topics such as active listening, personal sharing, giving and receiving feedback, prayer, calling out the best in others, and more.Formerly titled ReGroup.
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Prayers For Advent And Christmas
$14.99Add to cartThis collection is ideal for the Sundays of Advent, as well as Christmas Eve services. It includes:
Invocations
Opening Prayers
Prayers of Confession
Pastoral PrayersDrawn from a variety of traditions, the prayers in this collection will aid any congregation as it worships throughout the journey of Advent.
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When The One You Love Is Gone
$11.99Add to cartWhen a loved one dies, you don’t get over it, but you can move on.
The bad news is that we never fully “get over” the loss of those we hold most dear; we bear those scars to the grave. The good news is that God is at work in us turning our loss and pain into something beautiful. God can take the scars and the mess and the heartache of our lives– yours and mine– and use it to give new life, new life to us and new life to others.
God is not in the business of zapping our loved ones and stealing them away from us. But in a world where death waits for every person, God stands ready. God stands ready to receive our beloved dead as they cross over; and God stands ready to guide us through the saddest days, to walk with us through our grief, and to take us into places we never could have imagined places of hope and renewal. If God could take a cross and broken body and make of them redemption, God can take your pain and heartache and fashion them into new life.
This book is composed of the reflections that point to broader lessons that will help those who find themselves passing through grief, as well as the pastors, counselors, and friends whose job is to accompany the traveler.
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6 Deadly Sins Of Preaching
$17.99Add to cartThis ethics of preaching text identifies vices of irresponsible preaching practices. Preachers who fail to develop deep respect for their listeners or drift into a lack faithfulness to the Gospel can end up becoming:
* The Pretender (The Problem of In-authenticity)
* The Egoist (The Problem of Self-absorption)
* The Manipulator (The Problem of Greediness)
* The Panderer (The Problem of Trendiness)
* The Crusader (The Problem of Exploitation)
* The Demagogue (The Problem of Self-righteousness)Just as the church historically derived its Seven Holy Virtues (chastity, temperance, charity, diligence, patience, kindness, & humility) by naming Seven Deadly Sins (lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, & pride), Reid and Hogan call preachers to turn away from pulpit vices and strive to realize the homiletic virtues of becoming:
* Authentic (The Call to Be Genuine)
* Altruistic (The Call to Be Selfless)
* Careful (The Call to Exercise Self-Control)
* Passionate (The Call to Be Honest to God)
* Courteous (The Call to Woo a Reasoned Reception)
* A ‘Namer’ of God (The Call to Reveal an Ineffable God)The Six Deadly Sins of Preaching explores the difference between the irresponsible practices, unfortunate missteps, and mere unthinking mistakes in preaching. A chapter is devoted to Preaching Missteps (problems that do not rise to the level of being irresponsible) that includes:
* Short Changing the Process
* Waving a Red Flag
* Thou Shall Not Bore the Congregation
* Through the Looking Glass Darkly
* The Mumbler
* TMI-Too Much Information
* Your Cup Do Runneth Over
* Where’s This Sermon Going, Anyway? -
Real Conversations Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartFor many teenagers, sharing their faith in Jesus to their friends is an overwhelming and scary prospect. Outreach is inviting their friends to a fun event once a year. In this entertaining DVD training, Jonathan McKee ignites the passion of Christian teenagers to live authentic lives and gives them tools to reach out to their friends in ways that won’t give them cold sweats! The message is simple: an authentic faith creates opportunities to talk about Jesus. In this dynamic DVD training, students will discover the secret to sharing the reason for the hope that’s within them.
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40 Days Of Community Devotional
$10.99Add to cart40 Days of Community Devotional is a dynamic individual or small-group devotional journal that will help you learn how to fulfill God’s five purposes for your life. It includes the biblical support behind each purpose, the ways it applies to you and your circle of influence, and how you can use this knowledge to benefit God’s kingdom. According to Warren, from the beginning, God planned for Christians to fulfill his purposes in community with each other in our church families, small groups, and in the world as a whole. Why did God plan it this way? Because we’re better together! This 40 Days of Community Devotional will deepen your understanding of how God uses community for your own good and growth, as well as help you cultivate deeper relationships with those around you. Learn to fulfill God’s purposes … discover how we are better together. This devotional journal is designed for use with the 40 Days of Community DVD and 40 Days of Community Study Guide.
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40 Days Of Community Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cart40 Days of Community Study Guide—part of the Living with Purpose series by Rick Warren—is a dynamic individual or small group study guide that will help you learn how to fulfill God’s five purposes for your life. It includes the biblical support behind each purpose, the ways it applies to you and your circle of influence, and how you can use this knowledge to benefit God’s kingdom. From the beginning, God planned for Christians to fulfill his purposes in community with each other in our church families, small groups, and in the world as a whole. Why did God plan it this way? Because we’re better together! 40 Daysandnbsp;of Community Study Guide will deepen your understanding of how God uses community for your own good and growth, as well as help you cultivate deeper relationships with those around you. Learn to fulfill God’s purposes … discover how we are better together. This study guide is designed for use with theandnbsp;40 Days of Community DVD and 40 Days of Community Devotional Journal.
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Building A Life Changing Small Group Ministry (Workbook)
$26.99Add to cartOur hearts were made for deep, authentic relationships—for community with others. And like nothing else, small groups provide the kind of life-giving community that builds and empowers the body of Christ and impacts the world.
In this book, part of the Groups That Grow series of small group resources, authors Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson provide guidance for the strategic decisions that must be made to establish, develop and grow a thriving small group ministry in the local church. In Building a Life-Changing Small Group Ministry, they answer questions like:
* Which approach or model for small group ministry is best for my church?
* Who has responsibility for the ministry and how are they supported?
* How do I organize the groups and coach the leaders?
* Where do I find leaders and what kind of training do they need?
* How do I guide people toward community life?
*What are the pathways and events that move people to become part of a small group?
* What kinds of groups should we offer?
* How do you multiply groups and launch new groups?
* How do we define success in this ministry?As you work through the questions in each chapter you’ll develop a coherent, strategic plan for building and leading the small group ministry at your church.
And whether you are establishing a new ministry or transitioning from older models of small group ministry that are no longer effective today, you’ll benefit from the time-tested wisdom of the authors.
This workbook can be used as a stand-alone resource or it can be used with the five-session training videos taught by the authors available on the Equipping Life-Changing Small Groups DVD (sold separately).
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Called To Love
$35.99Add to cartLife comprises a series of transitions: from childhood to adolescence, adulthood, senescence, death and life beyond death. Christian life is graced by transition into Christlikeness which requires us to make choices, continually, to remain faithful to Christ. At times of transition we seek the will of God as we journey through life making decisions about what to do and where to go next in the service of God and our neighbor.
This is a beautiful and thoughtful resource with a focus on those in ordained ministry and those aspiring to ordination. Combining pastoral experience, wisdom and empirical research, the author explores how we discern God’s will and how we make decisions about the direction for ministry.
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Leading Life Changing Small Groups
$16.99Add to cartLike nothing else, small groups have the power to change lives. They’re the ideal route to discipleship-a place where the rubber of biblical truth meets the road of human relationships.
This updated and revised third edition of the bestselling Leading Life-Changing Small Groups handbook helps small group leaders learn the basics of leading a successful small group. Regardless of whether a person is leading for the first time or has been for years, this resource will help a small group leader more effectively facilitate group discussion and encourage and support group members in a way that leads to authentic and lasting life change.
The unique, ready-reference format highlights the requirements and responsibilities of a small group leader, gives helpful insight into the process of group formation and answers practical questions about meeting preparation and how to encourage group participation. It includes a model for discipleship within a small group and suggestions for dealing with some of the common roadblocks and struggles that most groups encounter.
This workbook can be used as a stand-alone resource to train coaches or partnered with the eight-session training videos taught by the author, available on the Equipping Life-Changing Small Groups DVD (sold separately). For those who want to lead small groups with excellence and truly witness life change in their small groups, this go-to guide offers practical answers and inspiring examples.
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10 Temptations Of Church
$17.99Add to cartChurch after church faces eventual death while helplessly lamenting its fate. What perversity is at work that causes those who sincerely love the church to become obstacles to growth? Like the apostle Paul, churches don’t always do the things they want, but instead they do the very thing they hate. Why? While the theological answer is sin at work in us, the organizational answer may just be that members of dying churches unconsciously find a payoff in the church’s decline. They are tempted by church.
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Contagious Generosity : Creating A Culture Of Giving In Your Church
$22.99Add to cartWhat does it look like when pastors cultivate a culture of generosity in the church by actively teaching and mentoring people in the spiritual act of giving? It’s generosity that’s contagious.
A growing number of leaders are beginning to discover that there are key factors that make some churches thrive with abundant resources while others struggle with shrinking budgets.
Jim Sheppard and Chris Willard have spent years consulting with church leaders across a broad spectrum of church settings and have gathered their observations into this resource, part of the Leadership Network Innovations Series.
Contagious Generosity highlights the best practices gleaned from real-life church leadership situations and shows how church leaders can effectively cultivate a culture of generous giving in the local church. It explains why some churches are experiencing unexplainable ministry growth and unprecedented church funding … even in the midst of tough economic times.
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Calling On The Spirit In Unsettling Times
$19.95Add to cartBased upon addresses given to Anglican audiences in North America and Australia, Bill Countryman directly confronts the challenges that face Anglicans and other Western Christians at a time of internal division and increasing indifference to religion on the part of educated elites. He regards these challenges as a work of the Holy Spirit, who is clearing the ground for a new era of building, and help readers start thinking about what kind of future the Spirit is leading us toward.
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Beyond The Broken Heart
$5.99Add to cartGrief is not a crisis of faith; it is a crisis of the heart. This affordable and pocket-sized book is the perfect gift for anyone who has experienced a recent loss or is grieving. Using excerpts from Beyond the Broken Heart, an eight-week support and grief ministry program, readers will find comfort and both spiritual and practical guidance during their grief journey.
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Leading Gods People
$21.99Add to cartWritten by an acclaimed patristics scholar with firsthand parish experience, this book presents the key principles of church leadership as they were taught by some of the great pastor-theologians of the early church. Over the centuries, countless leaders from all church traditions – Eastern and Western, Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox – have turned to the classic works on pastoral ministry for inspiration and guidance. Here Christopher A. Beeley draws on the wise teachings of early Christian leaders as he offers warmhearted pastoral advice to fellow ministers and candidates for ministry. Topics covered include the nature of Christian service, pastoral authority, spirituality for leaders, pastoral care and healing, Scripture and theology as resources for ministry, and the transformative power of word and sacrament.
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Equip : A Youth Workers Guide To Developing Student Leaders
$14.99Add to cartMost any endeavor of significance is going to require someone to be a leader. One of the main points Equip makes is that only youth workers (excuse us, youth leaders) who reflect on their own journeys can develop the personal leadership skills necessary to equip other leaders specifically students, in this case to mature and lead their peers. Simply put: Developing leaders develop leaders.
In Equip: A Youth Worker’s Guide to Developing Student Leaders, Tim Milburn challenges youth leaders to create environments where student leadership development will thrive. Rather than step-by-step program (which he explains why he does not provide), Milburn uses anecdotal evidence as well as alliterative tips to get you started in recognizing how to apply the principles in your own context. Then he sets you free with an encouragement to implement in your own way, at your own pace, and in whatever methods work for you and the group of leaders you are developing. May Equip guide your leadership development philosophies, programs (or non-programs), and processes.
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Preaching With A Plan
$18.00Add to cartEvery pastor wants the sermon to be an important tool for maturing those listening in the pews. Having a preaching plan is an essential part of this process. If a preacher’s messages are scattered, unrelated to one another, or haphazardly prepared, it can be difficult for those in the congregation to make connections to aid their spiritual growth. Preaching with a Plan encourages and equips pastors to develop a cohesive preaching plan to guide their choice of Scripture, topics, and concepts on which to expound on Sunday mornings.
It answers four critical questions for pastors, including: Who plans preaching? Why should I plan my preaching? What kinds of preaching plans are available? How do I put together a preaching plan? Moving quickly from theory to practice, Preaching with a Plan helps pastors develop an entire year’s worth of sermons designed to educate, enrich, and nurture mature believers.
