Church Life
Showing 401–500 of 1048 resultsSorted by latest
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Long Way Home
$16.86Pastor’s wife…do you feel
*You have become disconnected from the Lord, while serving others?
*Loneliness from being so far from family and friends?
* Others expect more than you can give?
*Desperate in your given situation?
*Want to simply love your Lord and Savior, and find peace, rest and hope?
If you have thought about any of these, this book is for you.
It’s one of life’s puzzling ambiguities; a path dedicated to devotion to God and service to others can lead one away from actually walking with God.
Unfortunately, church ministry can have that bitter side effect. The Long Road Home comes alongside ministry wives as they trudge this path – examining the struggles with painful honesty; calling one and all back to their First Love.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Making Things Happen For The Lord
$18.73Making Things Happen is a “Survival Manual” for those who desire to abound in the work of the Lord. The church contains many types of personalities, which creates a challenge for those who desire to “Make Things Happen” for the Lord. As we attempt to walk in the fullness of God and carry on the works of Jesus, keeping unity within the Church can be a challenging endeavor. Having an understanding of what to expect will be the key to survival. Realizing and having an understanding that there are generally three types of people who make up the Church world will equip leaders and laymen with the tools to excel. The Lord’s will is that we have the strength and wisdom to keep peace and harmony within the Church, as we face the challenge of working with Those Who Make Things Happen – Those Who Watch Things Happen – and Those Who Wonder What Happened!
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Thank God And Take Courage
$11.99Lucas Park Books
Ministry is full of the surprising and unfamiliar events encountered daily. Rev. David C. Derby shares incidents both humorous and serious from his 50 plus years of ministry, as well as his insights into the value of faith for living in the present time …Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Theres Hope For Your Church
$25.88A startling 85% of churches in the US are plateaued or declining, a trend that has been building for the past fifty years. In the face of shrinking attendance and lagging spiritual growth, pastors and church leaders are understandably discouraged and demoralized. But the first step to turning things around is hope. Church health expert Gary McIntosh offers this hope by showing church leaders the first things they need to do to make a new start for their church.
God can and does restore churches to new life, even as he restores individuals. The street-smart ideas and step-by-step instructions found in this book are ones that pastors and church leaders can put to use immediately in their churches to bring about solid growth and renewed hope for the future.
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Make Or Break Your Church In 365 Days
$23.99The joy of ministry is lost in the terror of being ill equipped for daily tasks. This book leads the way, providing clear plans for the daily tasks of effectively leading a congregation. Make or Break Your Church in 365 Days helps pastors develop competency in the daily task of leading congregations by answering two fundamental questions: * What must be done in the first 365 days of a pastor’s tenure? * What is the optimal way to structure a daily work life to affect change in the first year and beyond? These very specific tasks are the behaviors that demonstrate competency and lead to growing, effective churches.
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Building A Life Changing Small Group Ministry (Workbook)
$26.99Our 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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Church Membership : How The World Knows Who Represents Jesus
$14.99Jonathan Leeman addresses the commonly asked (and often unanswered) question of, “Why should I join a church?” in a time when many are shunning the practice of organized religion. By offering a brief, straightforward explanation of what church membership is and why it’s important, Leeman gives the local church its proper due and builds a case for committing to the local body. Church Membership is a useful tool for churches to distribute en masse to new and potential members of their congregation.
This volume is part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series. Look for upcoming, quick-read formats of the following marks of a healthy church: expositional preaching, biblical theology, the gospel, conversion, evangelism, church discipline, discipleship and growth, and church leadership.
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Leading Life Changing Small Groups
$16.99Like 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
$17.99Church 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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Juvenilization Of American Christianity
$29.99Pop worship music. Falling in love with Jesus. Mission trips. Wearing jeans and T-shirts to church. Spiritual searching and church hopping. Faith-based political activism. Seeker-sensitive outreach. These now-commonplace elements of American church life all began as innovative ways to reach young people, yet they have gradually become accepted as important parts of a spiritual ideal for all ages. What on earth has happened? In The Juvenilization of American Christianity Thomas Bergler traces the way in which, over seventy-five years, youth ministries have breathed new vitality into four major American church traditions – African American, Evangelical, Mainline Protestant, and Roman Catholic. Bergler shows too how this “juvenilization” of churches has led to widespread spiritual immaturity, consumerism, and self-centeredness, popularizing a feel-good faith with neither intergenerational community nor theological literacy. Bergler’s critique further offers constructive suggestions for taming juvenilization.
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Contagious Generosity : Creating A Culture Of Giving In Your Church
$22.99What 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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RetroChristianity : Reclaiming The Forgotten Faith
$21.99Addresses the current exodus of Christians from evangelical churches and argues for a return to historical roots.
Evangelicalism is in trouble. Surveying the modern evangelical landscape, professor Michael Svigel asks, “Why does evangelicalism appear to be spinning out of control, losing appeal to younger generations, dwindling in numbers, or selling out to pop culture to muster a crowd?” He seeks to answer this question by looking to the past-to a Retro Christianity.
Calling for a return to evangelicalism’s historical and theological roots, Svigel begins by addressing some of present-day evangelicalism’s problems and explores what can be done to help churches regain a healthy perspective on doctrine. He then gives practical examples of what establishing a biblical, historical, and theologically sound foundation will mean for Christians as they think through aspects of church life and worship.As the numbers of those confused or disenchanted with evangelicalism continue to grow, Svigel’s book meets a timely need and will benefit many readers with his balanced argument for preserving the evangelical faith.
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Unlocking The Growth
$13.99How to use the power of invitation to double the size of your church This book teaches the power of invitation. It may sound simple, but we are so caught up in our busy church lives that we have missed it. In 2004 Michael Harvey gave up a high-flying job in London to teach church leaders to see new possibilities, using an approach that has quickly become established as Back to Church Sunday. Michael likes to challenge churches of all sizes to double their congregation in a day. The basics are simple: Invite your friends and become an inviting church. Develop a mind-set open to what God might do; work on creating a welcoming environment; learn from mistakes; help people to know God. “It takes a very brave person to walk into a church on their own nowadays,” says Michael, “but God is still speaking to them and all they need is a gentle invitation.”
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Gospel Coach : Shepherding Leaders To Glorify God
$22.99Many ministry leaders serving in churches find themselves overwhelmed, disillusioned, and depressed by the enormous and challenging task of leading and serving others. When leaders aren’t healthy, the result is often an unhealthy church.
Leaders need someone to shepherd their soul so that they can then lead others to the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Every church leader—from fulltime ministers to volunteer leaders—needs a Gospel Coach who will come alongside them with words drawn from Scripture and godly wisdom, grounded in the gracious saving work of Jesus Christ, and presented in the context of a trusting relationship.
Gospel coaching is an intentional relationship of skillful caring for others based on four ancient shepherding principles: 1) Know the sheep 2) Feed the sheep 3) Lead the sheep 4) Protect the sheep
Gospel coaches inquire about the personal, spiritual, and missional aspects of a leader’s life in a loving yet focused manner, probing the heart for compulsive unbelief or selfish motivation, disobedience, and sin, leading them back to the Gospel through belief, repentance, and obedience.
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unChristian : What A New Generation Really Thinks About Christianity And Wh (Rep
$23.52Christianity has an image problem. Christians are supposed to represent Christ to the world. But according to the latest report card, something has gone terribly wrong. Using descriptions like “hypocritical,” “insensitive,” and “judgmental,” young Americans share an impression of Christians that’s nothing short of . . . unChristian.
Groundbreaking research into the perceptions of people aged 16-29 reveals that Christians have taken several giant steps backward in one of their most important assignments. The surprising details of the study, commissioned by the Fermi Project and conducted by The Barna Group, are presented with uncompromising honesty in unChristian. Find out why these negative perceptions exist, learn how to reverse them in a Christlike manner, and discover practical examples of how Christians can positively contribute to culture.
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Becoming A Grand Champion Church
$28.95There are many ideas about how to increase the size of a church. But what if our vision is upside down? What if God’s desire is that we focus on being a quality church instead of simply a large church? The Bible envisions the church as a spotless bride, a vision of quality. Today’s church seems far from God’s vision of perfection, but that does not change the goals God has for His flock. Using Psalm 23 as a blueprint, Becoming a Grand Champion Church explores how Christ is shepherding His church toward maturity.
A gap exists between this age’s knowledge of sheep and shepherding that makes it difficult to grasp the fullness of Christ’s shepherding work in the church. The author seeks to fill that gap with homespun remembrances of raising sheep to be shown at the county fair. He then ties the shepherd’s duties with practical suggestions of how the whole body can work alongside the Good Shepherd toward Christ’s vision for His bride. The result of following God’s plan is a Grand Champion Church that reflects the qualities of Christ to the world.
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Becoming A Grand Champion Church
$11.95There are many ideas about how to increase the size of a church. But what if our vision is upside down? What if God’s desire is that we focus on being a quality church instead of simply a large church? The Bible envisions the church as a spotless bride, a vision of quality. Today’s church seems far from God’s vision of perfection, but that does not change the goals God has for His flock. Using Psalm 23 as a blueprint, Becoming a Grand Champion Church explores how Christ is shepherding His church toward maturity.
A gap exists between this age’s knowledge of sheep and shepherding that makes it difficult to grasp the fullness of Christ’s shepherding work in the church. The author seeks to fill that gap with homespun remembrances of raising sheep to be shown at the county fair. He then ties the shepherd’s duties with practical suggestions of how the whole body can work alongside the Good Shepherd toward Christ’s vision for His bride. The result of following God’s plan is a Grand Champion Church that reflects the qualities of Christ to the world.
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As Jesus Did It
$23.73So it was that a few years and thousands of baptisms ago this philosophy of action got underway. It is not mere froth spun by a simple dreamer fantasizing spiritual fun-and-games from some ecclesiastical perch. It is the fruitful product of many personal sessions of intercessory prayer, dedicated time, analytical work throughout the preparation and many hours of training his disciples. It is strikingly evident to us that this present work is indeed God’s response to His humble servant’s search for a methodology that would effectively empower Gospel ministry for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. We give thanks and glory to the Lord for this book which has come into our hands.
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As Jesus Did It
$15.61So it was that a few years and thousands of baptisms ago this philosophy of action got underway. It is not mere froth spun by a simple dreamer fantasizing spiritual fun-and-games from some ecclesiastical perch. It is the fruitful product of many personal sessions of intercessory prayer, dedicated time, analytical work throughout the preparation and many hours of training his disciples. It is strikingly evident to us that this present work is indeed God’s response to His humble servant’s search for a methodology that would effectively empower Gospel ministry for the expansion of the Kingdom of God. We give thanks and glory to the Lord for this book which has come into our hands.
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Church Actually : Rediscovering The Brillance Of God’s Plan
$13.99An exploration of the challenges of ‘being church’ in the 21st century.
Church attendance in the west has declined in recent years, but decline has been accompanied by growth in spiritual exploration, a desire for spirituality, faith, even Jesus – all without the church. Experience, history and the New Testament suggest this desire is ill-founded. It is through the church, the Bible suggests, that the Kingdom comes. How can we find a wider vision of the Kingdom and the church’s role? Kelly explores four of the ‘brilliant ideas’ inherent in God’s design of the church. God works through his people, and the church trains and equips; the church is Spirit-driven, and spiritual formation is central to God’s mission; the church’s task force transforms the world through acts of love and service; the church is the rainbow-clothed Bride of Christ, one global family, a reconciling model for the world. Can we break out of the greyness of our church experience to discover the riot of colour God intended? Is there a route back to the brilliance of God’s plan?
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Letters To The Seven Churches
$20.00Each chapter begins with a brilliantly sketched account of the city in which the church addressed lived, followed by an exposition of the Letter to that church, concise, well-illustrated and written in an arresting style. His gift of bringing out the valuable meanings of Greek words is particularly helpful. This book will be a boon to teachers, preachers and Bible readers. Done with admirable clarity and most interestingly. It is just the kind of book to help anyone who wishes to lead a Bible Study Group. Dr Barclay brings to his task the experience of the tried preacher as well as the learning of the scholar. A direct and devotional commentary such as could be used in any parish group.
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Variegated Tapestries Of Ministry
$17.99Amidst the postmodern technological explosion and the vexing complexities of our time, the church and its affiliate learning facilities need men and women thoroughly informed in theology, and well grounded in ministry to keep them afloat and make them the channels of hope, comfort, direction and leadership to a blind and dying world.In Variegated Tapestry of Ministry, P. Myles-Aikins puts into the hands of the clergy and seminary academics a premium text, and a profound lifelong material in ministry with a solid theological cornerstone to enhance the theological education and ministerial excellence.
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Fresh : An Introduction To Fresh Expressions Of Church And Pioneer Ministry
$35.99Fresh ! offers a strong rationale for fresh expressions and pioneer ministries rooted in scripture and in the breath of the Christian tradition. This is tested against the realities of contemporary British culture and critiques of the notion of Fresh Expressions. It offers practical guidance for starting and sustaining such ministries in the long term. It provides a survey of best practice within Fresh Expressions and pioneer ministry.Fresh ! comes out of the mature reflection of church leaders and theologians who have been active in such ministries over a number of years, showing how such ministries are integral to the work of the church both now and over the long term.This is combined with valuable practical advice – the best kind of practical theology.
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Staying Alive : Why The Conventional Wisdom About Traditional Churches Is W
$14.99Lucas Park Books
The conventional wisdom says it’s not possible to thrive today as a traditional congregation whether “traditional” means worship style or program structure. Staying Alive takes readers on a journey across America to look for best practices of thriving traditional congregations.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Healthy Community : Moving Your Church Beyond Tunnel Vision
$15.99Churches in America are dying. It s a sad reality, but statistics show that some 3,000 churches close their doors permanently every year. What does it take for a church today to remain healthy? How can pastors lead their churches into the future as strong, thriving communities?
In The Healthy Community, church leaders will be able to diagnose the problems that may exist in their own church and understand what it looks like when a church is lacking healthy essentials such as a doctrinal statement, grace, a mission, pastoral leadership, and discipled believers.
This book is an important first step for pastors who want to lead their churches towards health, and avoid becoming another statistic.
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Missional House Churches
$26.99Missional House Churches examines the impact and effect that house churches are having in the United States in evangelizing, discipling, and church planting in local communities. Based on the author’s first-hand research and interviews with over thirty missional house churches as well as his own experiences, this insightful work offers an inside look at, and analysis of the workings of the missional house church.
Topics addressed include the recent growth in the popularity of house churches in the United States, what defines church, various characteristics of the house churches, methods of evangelism and leadership development which lead to growth, use of financial resources for missions and benevolence, future of house churches in North America and the relationship of church planting movements and house churches. The appendices describe the research methodology and surveys used in the study as well as characteristics of church planting movements.
This book will be of interest to church leaders, mission-minded thinkers, and students who wish to explore, understand, and participate in this phenomenon of the missional house church movement.
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Cultivating Sent Communities
$33.99How can pastors help to create missional faith communities that are willing to participate in God’s healing of the world? Cultivating Sent Communities reimagines spiritual formation through the lens of mission, covering such topics as the role of Scripture, congregational discernment, and short-term missions and drawing on case studies from diverse contexts including Ethiopia, England, Leipzig, and San Francisco. Full of rich practical, theological, and sociological insights into forming missional churches, this fourth volume in the Missional Church Series calls readers to deepen the core practices that have defined Christians for centuries — and to reclaim them within the context of cultural adaptation and innovation.
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Recovery Of A Contagious Methodist Movement
$14.99Methodism started out as a missional alternative to establishment Christianity, but is now like the establishment Christianity it once critiqued. In this book, Dr. Hunter asks whether enough New Testament Christianity exists in any institutional form of Christianity, including The United Methodist Church, to change the world. If United Methodism is to survive, it must recover bold directions in ministry, in addition to Wesley’s theological vision. If only it was so simple as to stand on Wesley’s shoulders to see our way forward. This means that laity and clergy must be biblically informed, spiritually energized, and systematically organized. If United Methodism is to thrive, it needs to focus on mission, recalling that early Methodism was an extravagant expression of missional Christianity. Net membership decline is not from losing more people but from reaching fewer people than it used to. The need for the gospel of Jesus Christ is greater than ever. United Methodists must create structures and serve God and neighbor in order to spread, as Wesley admonished, scriptural holiness throughout the land. George G. Hunter III is Distinguished Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He is the author of several books, including Radical Outreach and The Celtic Way of Evangelism, both published by Abingdon Press.
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Focus : The Real Challenges That Face The United Methodists Church
$14.99Few would argue that many challenges face The United Methodist Church. But what are the core issues and concerns, the ones that must be addressed if the church is to follow God’s leading into the future? Laying aside what can be merely tweaked or adjusted, what must the UMC “reset” about itself? Lovett Weems, one of the most highly-respected interpreters of contemporary United Methodism, suggests that we start with the following:
– What will happen now that the increased giving that United Methodists have enjoyed (despite declining membership numbers) has reached a plateau and begun to decline?
– Why, with 34,000 congregations and $6.5 billion in annual giving, can’t United Methodists add a net increase of even 1 new disciple of Jesus Christ in a given year?
– Why are United Methodist clergy less concerned with reaching young adults than are laity? Why are laity unwilling to make the changes to worship and budgets required to attract these same young adults?
– If the percentage of married couples with young children has declined by half since the 1950s, why is that still the group we focus on reaching?
– Why are so many mid-sized churches on their way to becoming small-membership congregations?With insight, conviction, and calm resolve, Lovett Weems challenges United Methodists not only to ask these hard questions, but to face up to the difficult decisions they require of us as we continue to seek God’s will for our lives together.
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Faithsoaring Churches : A Learning Experience Version
$14.99Lucas Park Books
FaithSoaring churches are congregations who choose to soar with faith beyond ordinary ministry toward extraordinary ministry in a quest to achieve exceptional ministry. They respond to the pulling of God and journey to places of inspiration, imagination, and innovation. They lead their congregations through processes of missional formation and engagement that continually transforms the capacity of congregations to reach their full kingdom potential.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Gods Message To The Christian Church
$21.58God appeared to Moses as a burning bush. He appeared to the Jews as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. But His most important appearance was as a human being, Jesus the Christ. It is important to know that Jesus is none other than God Himself, the One of whom the prophets of old wrote, and the One who appeared to them in various forms and ways. It was while He was in the form of a man (Jesus) that God went to the cross and thus provided for our salvation. In God’s Message to the Christian Church, Reverend W. Lewis Autrey shares a clear message concerning who God is, how He speaks to His people, how He redeems man from the grip of sin and death, and His promise to come back and take us to heaven to be with Him. This is God’s eternal message.
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Back To Zero
$14.99The lifeblood of the United Methodist is passion rather than organizational neatness, entrepreneurial freedom rather than denominational restraint, and agility rather than staid institutional dependence. But if United Methodists want to change and be the church we say we want to be, what must we risk and how can we challenge current practices? At the heart of becoming a spiritual movement once again is the requirement that we develop a new understanding of connection as Christians and as United Methodists. We are currently at a time in which United Methodists are reinventing denominational connectionalism. One way of framing the issue is to distinguish between members and disciples, or consumers (those who wait for the institution to care for their needs) and citizens (those who are willing to commit themselves to and be held accountable for the whole of the community). United Methodism has nurtured generations of leaders and congregations that see themselves as consumers of the resources and attention of the denomination. The impulse toward movement is challenging spiritually purposeful leaders and congregations to risk becoming citizens who fully expect to make a difference in the lives of individuals and also in the world through an encounter with Christ.
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How The Church Fails Businesspeople
$24.99Why do so many Christians struggle to relate their faith to their daily work? Is the church to blame? In this book John C. Knapp argues that the church’s ambiguous teachings about vocation, money, and business have long contributed to Christians’ uncertainty about discipleship in the workplace. Drawing on his own expertise in business ethics and on numerous interviews with Christians in diverse occupations, Knapp brings fresh perspectives to this troubling problem. How the Church Fails Businesspeople (and What Can Be Done about It) explores the historical, cultural, and educational background to the faith-work gap and proposes a new theological framework for Christian life in the public sphere. Real-life examples enliven the discussion throughout, and each chapter concludes with “Questions to Consider,” making this constructive book ideal for group study.
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Awakenings In America And The Jesus People Movement
$13.95After describing America’s great awakenings and examining both their ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sides, Kent Philpott argues that America has experienced four not three awakenings. It is acknowledged that the first outpouring was from c.1734 to c. 1742, the second from c. 1798 to c. 1835, and the third from c. 1857 to c. 1859. Yet, the Jesus People Movement, occurring roughly from 1967 to 1972, also meets the criteria of a genuine awakening.
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Paganismo En Tu Cristianismo – (Spanish)
$16.99Have you ever wondered why we Christians do what we do for church every Sunday morning? Why do we ‘dress up’ for church? Why does the pastor preach a sermon each week? Why do we have pews, steeples, choirs, and seminaries? This volume reveals the startling truth: most of what Christians do in present-day churches is not rooted in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles. Coauthors Frank Viola and George Barna support their thesis with compelling historical evidence in the first-ever book to document the full story of modern Christian church practices.
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Kingdom At War
$23.73The Kingdom at War is a prophetic view of the structure and power of the Church that will be given authority to overcome the enemy and see the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the last days. The book concentrates on establishing a “city church” that will reap the harvest, extend the Kingdom of God, overcome the kingdom of darkness, and bring glory to the King. Using prophetic Scriptures from the Old Testament, the author applies them to the New and the present Church, presenting a comprehensive picture of the glorious possibilities for today’s Church.
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Stop The Churchs Revolving Door
$30.99Does your church have a revolving door? Most churches do not have a ministry to establish and maintain authentic personal relationships with inactive members, visitors, or prospective members. Before implementing this ministry, one church failed to stay relationally connected to its members. Is your church suffering from the same dilemma?
This new ministry empowered churches toward improving its church health, increasing service opportunities for laypeople, and establishing stronger personal relationships. It is possible in your church, too! This book provides a guide toward implementing this crucial ministry in your church. It is time to stop your church’s revolving door!
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Stop The Churchs Revolving Door
$13.99Does your church have a revolving door? Most churches do not have a ministry to establish and maintain authentic personal relationships with inactive members, visitors, or prospective members. Before implementing this ministry, one church failed to stay relationally connected to its members. Is your church suffering from the same dilemma?
This new ministry empowered churches toward improving its church health, increasing service opportunities for laypeople, and establishing stronger personal relationships. It is possible in your church, too! This book provides a guide toward implementing this crucial ministry in your church. It is time to stop your church’s revolving door!
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Widening The Circle
$14.99Foreword
Introduction
First Wave (1950s And ’60s)
Second Wave (1970s And ’80s)
Third Wave (1990s To Present)Additional Info
In the last half-century, a growing number of North Americans have been smitten with an Anabaptist-Mennonite vision of church and mission. Often coming from outside the Mennonite mainstream, they’ve formed communities with others of like mind and sought to live out their radical faith. But in the process, they often bump up against the institutional church that has housed the radical vision for generations. The stories and reflections offered in Widening the Circle explore that creative tension. The result is a rich showcase of Jesus-centered discipleship-windows into what the future church can look like.Contributing authors are Vincent Harding, Rosemarie Freeney Harding, Rachel Elizabeth Harding, Sally Schreiner Youngquist, Celina Varela, Regina Shands Stoltzfus, Hedy Sawadsky, AndrA(C) Gingerich Stoner, Peter Sprunger-Froese, Mary Sprunger-Froese, Dawn Longenecker, Tim Nafziger, James Nelson Gingerich, Sarah Thompson, Bert Newton, Mark Van Steenwyk, Andrea Ferich, Seth McCoy, Jamie Arpin-Ricci, Anton Flores-Maisonet, Calenthia S. Dowdy, Jesce Walz.
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Vision For The Aging Church
$28.99James M. Houston and Michael Parker believe now is the time for the church to offer ministry to its increasing numbers of seniors and to benefit from ministry they can offer. They issue an urgent call to reconceive the place and part of the elderly in the local congregation, showing that seniors aren’t the problem–they are the solution.
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Going Deep : Becoming A Person Of Influence
$19.99The future of the Christian faith will not be determined by the number of people who fill the pews but by the spiritual depth of those people.
Pastor Gordon MacDonald revisits the fictional New England congregation of his critically acclaimed book Who Stole My Church to deal with a new dilemma: What’s his church’s story? What is it doing that justifies its existence? The importance of these questions is anything but fiction. Through a series of e-mails and discussions with friends and parishioners, Pastor Gordon’s search for their story leads him to realize that the future of the Christian faith, and thus the church, is at risk.
As MacDonald says, “We seem to know how to get unchurched people to visit our buildings. We even seem to know how to draw them across the line into a declaration of personal faith in Jesus. But what we do not seem to know is how to cultivate spiritually deep people. Tomorrow’s church could be headed for trouble.” Deep people. People who possess spiritual awareness and maturity, people with solid, grounded, life-altering faith. MacDonald shows that the church needs people with a passion for God’s presence and a desperate hunger to seek him above all things.
Join Pastor MacDonald and his congregation on their quest to cultivate spiritual depth and grow into a community of believers whose hearts and minds are truly focused on God.
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Why Men Hate Going To Church (Revised)
$18.99Reveals why men are the world’s largest unreached people group and what to do about it.
It’s Sunday morning. Where are all the men? Golfing? Playing softball? Watching the tube? Mowing the lawn? Sleeping? One place you won’t find them is in church. Less than 40 percent of adults in most churches are men, and 20 to 25 percent of married churchgoing women attend without their husbands. And why are the men who do go to church so bored? Why won’t they let God change their hearts? David Murrow’s groundbreaking book has been completely revised and updated, with eye-opening research and a persuasive grasp on the facts, to explain the problem and offer hope and encouragement to women, pastors, and men. Why Men Hate Going to Church does not call men back to the church-it calls the church back to men.
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Prophetic Jesus Prophetic Church
$26.99Asserting that believers chronically and desperately need prophecy, award-winning biblical scholar Johnson reveals the divine “ongoing call” in Luke and Acts. Presenting the books as a literary unit, he highlights Luke’s bold proclamation of God’s transforming vision—challenging Christians’ all-too-human tendency toward expediency and self interest. A startling portrait of Christ in Scripture.
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Think Christianly : Looking At The Intersection Of Faith And Culture
$26.99Think Christianly is about seizing the opportunities we have every day to speak the life Jesus offers into our culture. Tragically, many such opportunities pass us by unclaimed—either because we don’t notice them or we have not prepared ourselves to enter into them. And those around us seem to grow increasingly unwilling to hear anything the church has to say.
Jonathan Morrow helps church leaders envision and implement ways for their congregations to ‘think Christianly’ about contemporary questions and to speak in informed, engaging ways. Morrow explores many of the important issues that Christians often hear raised with regard to faith—questions about who Jesus was, the good and bad of religion, pain and evil in the world, the reliability of the Bible, sexuality and intimate relationships, and hope for change, among others.The life and faith issues that Think Christianly addresses lead to cultural moments where Christianity and contemporary culture intersect. This book will help churches take vital steps toward cultivating compassion and competence in speaking faithfully to a questioning world.
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Dead Church Walking
$24.99Most everyone recognizes that the traditional Western way of doing church is in deep trouble and has been struggling for years to survive. While the successful rise of some new, non-traditional churches often take the sting out of the demise of the average church, the truth is that God still can renew congregations that have a rich history but are struggling to adjust in today’s postmodern culture.
In his new book, Dead Church Walking, author Jimmy Dorrell offers both Biblical and social principles with clear suggestions for congregations willing to significantly change to become a body of believers that proclaims God’s kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. While there are no easy fixes, this book addresses underlying symptoms of broken models that often perpetuate terminal illness stopping the church from doing God’s work on earth.
Dorrell says our churches don’t need new missions statements or re-structuring but a fresh wind of God’s spirit. We don’t need charismatic leaders but compassionate, Christ centered leaders. He shows us how to embrace change, overcome the obstacles to change, and focus on kingdom growth instead of church growth. This book is hopeful and encouraging, bringing fresh ideas to ignite the fire of churches and put them on the road to recovery.
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Masters Plan : A Strategy For Making Disciples
$13.991. The Vision Of The Father
2. The Cali Story
3. What Is The Master’s Plan?
4. The Encounter Weekend Retreat
5. The Courses And Classes Of The Master’s Plan
6. Basic Principles Of Disciple-Making
7. The Two Types Of Small Groups In The Master’s Plan
8. The Journey Of “Joe Unbeliever” To “Joe Disciple-Maker”
9. The Next Steps
10. What God Is Doing In The Church Of The Nazarene Through The Master’s Plan In North AmericaAdditional Info
Pray. Disciple. Repeat.God has a vision, plan, and design for our lives and ministries. It is greater than we could ever imagine. By discovering and pursuing his design, we find our greatest joy and fulfillment. Fortunately, Jesus has already told us our mission: to partner with God and make disciples in all the nations.
In The Master’s Plan, Craig Wesley Rench unpacks a disciple-making strategy currently being used around the world. Learn about the 6 basic components of the method, study the principles and practices of spiritual multiplication, and discover why over 30,000 churches are using the Master’s Plan method of disciple-making.
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Practicing Witness : A Missional Vision Of Christian Practices
$19.99How might a church infused with missional theology change the way it approaches Christian practices? Interacting both with the missional theology of George Hunsberger and Darrell Guder and with the theology of Christian practices laid out by Craig Dykstra and Dorothy Bass, Benjamin T. Conner argues that allowing these two disciplines to inform one another can enhance the nature of the church’s witness, its congregational discipleship, and its theological education. Framing his work with real-world narratives and applications inspired by his work as a minister to adolescents with special needs, Conner shows how a practical missional mindset can redefine and reinvigorate the spirit and purpose of a congregation.
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15 Characteristics Of Effective Pastors
$25.88The Church finds itself in a period of great diversification and multiple expressions.
In the midst of great change, we have become confused about what really makes for healthy and authentic pastoral leadership. What are the basic and common characteristics necessary for pastors to be effective? How can lay people understand the pastoral call more fully and partner better with pastors for the health of their church? Here Mannoia and Walkemeyer examine the foundations of pastoral effectiveness and bring together nine experienced pastoral leaders to discuss the basic characteristics that exist in effective pastors.
Regardless of context or personality, ineffectiveness in pastors and subsequent ill health in churches is often not the result of a lack of calling, but instead is the result of misappropriated efforts to find success. Let’s help those who are called to be good stewards of their call. And let’s help churches have a chance to be healthy under the leadership of effective pastors!
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Living Church : Convictions Of A Lifelong Pastor
$22.99Preface: “Emerging Churches”
The Postmodern World
Acknowledgments And Abbreviations
1. Essentials: God’s Vision For His Church
2. Worship: Glorying In God’s Holy Name
3. Evangelism: Mission Through The Local Church
4. Ministry: The Twelve And The Seven
5. Fellowship: The Implications Of Koinonia
6. Preaching: Five Paradoxes
7. Giving: Ten Principles
8. Impact: Salt And Light
Conclusion: Looking For Timothys In The 21st Century
HIstorical Appendix 1: Why I Am Still A Member Of The Church Of England
Historical Appendix 2: I Have A Dream Of A Living Church
Historical Appendis 3: Reflections Of An OctogenarianAdditional Info
John Stott describes the characteristics of an “authentic” or “living” church that conserves Scripture and radically combines tradition and that convention called “culture.” He presents the Bible’s wisdom with a teacher’s skill and applies it with a pastor’s heart. Stott shows that becoming a living church is not an impossible goal.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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You Cant Keep A Good Tune Down
$14.49Warbling sopranos, bellowing basses, someone in the back row at least a line ahead of everyone else, fusty robes, intransigent organists and temperamental clergy – welcome to the world of the local church choir. There is no better observer of the volatile relations between the clergy, the choir, the organist and the congregation than Reg Frary who has seen it all in over seventy years’ first hand experience of sitting in the choir stalls Sunday by Sunday and at weddings, funerals, carol services, festivals and other occasions.
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Wake Up : Hip Hop Christianity And The Black Church
$31.99First an expression of black urban youth, Hip Hop music continues to expand as a cultural expression of youth and, now, young adults more generally. As a cultural phenomenon, it has even become integral to the worship experience of a growing number of churches who are reaching out to these groups. This includes not just African American churches but churches of all ethnic groups. Once seen as advocating violence, Hip Hop can be the Church’s agent of salvation and praise to transform society and reach youth and young adults in greater numbers.
After looking at Hip Hop’s socio-historical context including its African roots, Wake Up shows how Hip Hop has come to embody the worldview of growing numbers of youth and young adults in today’s church. The authors make the case that Hip Hop represents the angst and hope of many youth and young adults and that by examining the inherent religious themes embedded in the music, the church can help shape the culture of hip-hop by changing its own forms of preaching and worship so that it can more effectively offer a message of repentance and liberation.
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Introduction To Missiological Research Design
$23.51Edgar Elliston’s Introduction to Missiological Research Design outlines the basic issues of research design for missiological and church-related research. This book describes the logic of the research process for a wide range of missiological research. Whether this research is from a single academic discipline or a multidisciplinary approach, this text will provide relevant guidelines for the design.
Elliston provides instruction, examples, and exercises for inexperienced but serious researchers as they seek to design research that will serve the Church in mission. Elliston also provides experienced researchers with checklists and easy-to-review tables to further aid in research design. This text raises some of the key issues to designing research in a multicultural or cross-cultural context and guides researchers toward ethical and effective study.
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Word Of Knowledge In Action
$18.73Until this book, the word of knowledge has been a largely misunderstood gift of the Spirit. Now the truth is told! The Word of Knowledge in Action is the first book completely dedicated to a comprehensive, biblically-sound analysis of this spiritual gift. More than that, through testimonies and biblical examples there is page after page of rich, practical advice for implementing this gift in the context of supernatural Christianity. Through personal experience, practical counsel, and biblical revelation, author Art Thomas brings this special spiritual gift to life in a whole new way by citing tested and proven strategies for integrating the word of knowledge into your everyday Kingdom life. With clarity, wisdom, and simplicity, the Scriptures are presented in fresh, vibrant ways, bringing revival to all who will receive.
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Fathering Leaders Motivating Mission
$31.23A unique book addressing the biblical requirement for apostles and their role in shaping todays church in fathering leaders and motivating mission.
One of the sad factors of church life is that many pastors are lonely and their heart cry is for a fathering style of relationship, where they can be cared for pastorally, as well as mentored in the development of gifts and practical skills for their ministry.
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Remixing The Church
$35.99The Emerging Church movement is a key part of the current landscape of Christianity.The term ’emerging church’ is not without its critics. It is used both by those who participate in new worship communities such as those represented at Greenbelt and by those who are suspicious of the claim that the emerging church presents something radically new. Doug Gay attempts to look beyond such polarization and to articulate a hermeneutical process of audit, retrieval, unbundling and remixing of key elements of traditional Christian practice.Remixing the Church has the potential to become a standard work on contemporary ecclesiology.
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Renovate Or Die
$16.99Be the Church Jesus calls us to be.
Bob Farr asserts that to change the world, we must first change the Church. As Adam Hamilton says in the Foreword, “Read [this book] carefully with other leaders in your church…You’ll soon discover both a desire to renovate your church and the tools to effectively lead your church forward.” If we want to join Robert Schnase and claim radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity, we must also engage pastors and motivate churches. We must renovate and overhaul our churches and not merely redecorate and tinker with our church structure.
With straight forward language and practical tips, this book will inspire and help you organize your church for new life on the mission field. Learn how to grow your church and discover the commitments that denominational leaders must make to guarantee the fruitfulness of local congregations.
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Renovation Of The Church
$24.99Copastors Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken tell the story of how God took their thriving, consumer-oriented church and transformed it into a modest congregation of unformed believers committed to the growth of the spirit–even when it meant a decline in numbers.
As Kent and Mike found out, a decade of major change is not easy on a church. Oak Hills Church, from the pastoral staff to the congregation, had to confront addiction to personal ambition, resist consumerism and reorient their lives around the teachings of Jesus. Their renewed focus on spiritual formation over numerical growth triggered major changes in the content of their sermons, the tenor of their worship services, and the reason for their outreach. They lost members.
But the health and spiritual depth of their church today is a testimony of God’s transforming work and enduring faithfulness to the people he loves.
Honest and humble, this is Kent and Mike’s story of a church they love, written to inspire and challenge other churches to let God rewrite their stories as well. Read it for the church you love.
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Dangerous Church : Risking Everything To Reach Everyone
$22.99Dangerous churches are willing to put everything on the line for the one thing that matters most; reaching lost people.
Through probing questions and amazing stories of God’s grace, John Bishop confronts church leaders to embrace what matters most to the heart of God, whatever the cost. Most churches naturally gravitate to what is safe and familiar.
Church leaders who take risks are bound to fail, and fear drives us to continue in our comfortable, but ineffective patterns.
But reaching out to a lost world was never meant to be easy. Jesus promised his followers that they would have trouble in this world.
Dangerous churches are churches that are willing to risk everything-comfort, safety, and the security of the familiar-for the sake of the one thing that matters most: reaching out to people who may spend eternity separated from the God who created them. God wants us to live on the edge of our margins, walking by faith and not simply following scripted methods or programmed patterns.
Dangerous Church takes you back to the Book of Acts and reminds church leaders that the heartbeat of the church is not found in agendas or human plans, but in pursuing the mission of God and reaching out to a lost world.
Learn what can happen when church leaders abandon their fears and begin to live a dangerous faith.
Dangerous Church is part of the Leadership Network Innovation Series.
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Prodigal Spirit
$14.99A robust theology of the Holy Spirit can help build strong local churches and transform local communities. Drawing on ancient and contemporary church movements, including Holy Trinity Brompton and the Alpha course, this book suggests an understanding of the Spirit as the one who draws humankind and the whole of creation into the love that exists between the Father and the Son. From that starting point, it works out the implicatons of this for the Christian experience, the church’s evangelism, its communal life, and it transformational role in local communities.
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Becoming An Anti Racist Church
$45.00Martin Luther King’s observation that 11 a.m. on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week remains all too true.
Christians addressing racism in American society must begin with a frank assessment of how race figures in the churches themselves, leading activist Joseph Barndt argues. This practical and important volume extends the insights of Barndt’s earlier, more general work to address the race situation in the churches and to equip people there to be agents for change in and beyond their church communities.
A hallmark of Barndt’s analysis is his keen grasp of the deep yet checkered legacy that American church and church bodies inherit on this question. Yet Barndt also lifts up the ways in which their prophetic work has proved a catalyst for progress in American race relations, and he clearly shows why and how churches can inculcate an anti-racist commitment into their collective lives.
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Jesus Salvation And The Jewish People
$29.99The Uniqueness of Christ for Salvation (Rolf Hille)
View of Salvation in Early Christianity and Early Judaism (Eckhard Schnabel)
John’s Gospel and Jewish Monotheism (Andreas Kostenberger)
Martin Luther and the Jewish People (Berthold Schwarz)
The Early Pietistic Movement and Jewish Evangelism (David Dowdey)
Urgent Issues in Jewish Evangelism Around 1900 (Kai Kjr-Hansen)
Germany’s Romantic Nationalism and Anti-Semitism (Mike McDuffee)
Messianic Jewish Reflections on the Holocaust (Michael Brown)
Two Covenant Theology and Jewish Missions (Henri Blocher)
Implicit ‘Universalism’ in Some Messianic Judaism (Richard Harvey)
Replacement Theology and its Implications (Darrell L. Bock)
Karl Barth, Mark Kinzer, and the Jewish People (Eckhard Schnabel)
Resources and Current Practices in Jewish Evangelism (Tuvya Zaretsky)Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Your Church In Rhythm
$30.00Bruce Miller debunks the idea of balance-basically trying to have it all, all the time. Most churches and their pastors try to do everything at once and feel guilty if any one aspect (worship, ministries, outreach, etc.) is neglected. He replaces the exhausting concept of balance with the idea of rhythm: churches, like people, need to give attention to different programs and ministries at different times, basically by attending to their seasons and cycles.
*Offers an innovative new model for church leaders
*Miller has been influential in the formation and promotion of “Church-Based Training” as in international movement
*Offers a proven method for avoiding burnout for church leaders and members by doing the right things at the right timeThe author offers much-need help to overwhelmed leaders and shows them how to apply Miller’s seasonal/cyclical approach to church life.
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Bearing Fruit : Ministry With Real Results
$17.99Thousands of congregations are in serious trouble. Children are not being taught the faith. Disciples are not being made. Lives are not being transformed. The poor are not being blessed. Communities are not being redeemed. These congregations know something is terribly wrong. And in most cases, the problems have little to do with the pastor’s prayer life or whether the pastor takes weekly Sabbath time. In fact, in many of these churches members deeply respect their pastors as sincerely spiritual people of utmost personal faith and integrity. But they need more from their pastoral leaders.
They need leaders who define ministry in terms of fruitfulness as well as faithfulness. They need pastors and lay leaders who ask about the outcomes of any given ministry or program, not just its process. Mostly, they need a vision of ministry that focuses on changing people’s lives. Absent that vision, ministry will fail.
In this helpful volume, Lovett Weems and Tom Berlin provide readers with the tools they need to assess the fruit their ministry bears in the lives of their congregations, their communities, and the world.
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Church In Exile
$15.28Christians have become more and more a minority group in American culture, and so now find themselves in a situation similar to the early Christians-facing the challenge of living as cultural exiles. THE CHURCH IN EXILE draws upon the Epistle of 1 Peter, which was written to “exiles,” to help us learn how to live faithfully when many around us do not share Christian values.
Because Christians in America now belong to a distinctly minority group, their behavior will increasingly be considered strange to the majority of the population. This new situation presents Christians with demanding tests–on the job, at school, and in our relationships with neighbors. We are now discovering the challenge of being Christians when that is not a popular identity.
During the first four centuries, Christians met in small house churches surrounded by neighbors and even family members who scorned their beliefs and their morality. 1 Peter was written to such believers. The “alien” Christians who first read 1 Peter were not strangers in their own lands because of their skin colors or their nationalities. Their obedience to the call of Christ had made them exiles.
According to 1 Peter, Christians are “aliens and exiles” (2:11). The Christian life is similar to the Israelites in Egypt or Babylon, who also did not assimilate into the larger population. So today, how do we find the resources to live as exiles? The epistle of 1 Peter is a sermon that was originally preached to offer such resources. THE CHURCH IN EXILE applies this message to Christians in Dallas, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Chicago in the early twenty-first century, showing us how to live as a counterculture in a non-Christian world.
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New Kind Of Christianity
$16.99After the hailstorm of controversy stirred up by the hardcover, we hope the paperback release keeps the debate going. One of the most innovative Christian voices today and author of the controversial A New Kind of Christian faces head-on the questions that will determine the shape of the faith for the next 500 years.
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Experiencing Gods Love In The Church
$16.99The church still demonstrates the heart of God to a wanting world.
Some turn off the church, criticizing its flaws and saying it is passe. Lost love for one another is the cause. When love is absent in a church, the results mar the church’s repuration. Church splits. Disloyalty. Disrespect. Disputes over nothing. Church hoping. Bashing good pastors.
Experiencing God’s Love in the Church encourages everyday believers to reconsider what Christ intended His body to be. Tom Blackaby calls readers to revive their commitment to love one another. When the world sees God’s people love as He loves, they see the Father – who sent the Son as a demonstration of His irresistable love for all.
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Accidental Anglican : The Surprising Appeal Of The Liturgical Church
$17.99Many are longing for historical connectedness and for theology that is “not tied to the whims of contemporary culture, but to apostolic-era understandings of Christian faith and practice.” They also yearn for rhythms and routines that build spiritual health. Still others are responding to a call to participate in worship rather than merely sitting back and looking at a stage. Liturgy offers all of this and more. In this book Todd Hunter chronicles his journey from the Jesus People movement and national leadership in the Vineyard to eventually becoming an Anglican Bishop. Along the way he explains why an evangelical Christian might be drawn to the liturgical way. Curious about the meaning of liturgy? Come and discover what may be waiting for you there.
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Worship And Mission After Christendom
$29.99Today, as Christendom weakens, worship and mission are poised to reunite after centuries of separation. But this requires the church to rethink both “mission” and “worship.” In post-Christendom mission, God is the main actor and God calls all Christians to participate. In post-Christendom worship, the church tells and celebrates the story of God, enabling members to live in hope and attract outsiders to its many tables of hospitality.
In this passionate and thoughtful study, Alan Kreider and Eleanor Kreider draw upon missiology, liturgiology, biblical studies, church history, and the vast experience of today’s global Christian church. Academically responsible but also practical and accessible, Worship and Mission After Christendom is a much-needed guide for people who take seriously God’s call to be the church in a world where institutional religion is no longer taken for granted.
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Mega Church : How To Make Your Church Grow
$15.00“.Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in. THAT MY HOUSE MAY BE FILLED.” Luke 14:23. The heartcry of God is for the world to be saved, and for His house -the church- to be filled! From this revelation was born this book, “The Megachurch” by Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, pastor of one of the largest churches in Ghana. Your church and ministry will never be the same again after reading this stimulating book!
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Outreach Theology
$28.73If you have been searching God’s purpose for reaching the world for Jesus Christ, this book is for you! Dr. Jackson challenges the church to look inward and heal those who are in the pews before reaching outward to those who are hurting to fill the pews. He gives biblical scriptures that remind us that we are called to transform our communities by deepening our commitment to outreach and providing ministries that heal the broken hearted, encourage the weak and lift up those who need a helping hand-this is a must read if you want to take your ministry to another level.
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Outreach Theology
$18.73If you have been searching God’s purpose for reaching the world for Jesus Christ, this book is for you! Dr. Jackson challenges the church to look inward and heal those who are in the pews before reaching outward to those who are hurting to fill the pews. He gives biblical scriptures that remind us that we are called to transform our communities by deepening our commitment to outreach and providing ministries that heal the broken hearted, encourage the weak and lift up those who need a helping hand-this is a must read if you want to take your ministry to another level.
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Heartbeat : How To Turn Passion Into Ministry In Your Church
$21.86Heartbeat! How to Turn Passion into Ministry Provides a creative, proven,
missional way to see more people reached for Christ…and more believers
involved in the process!Based on years of study on how people come to Christ and the church,
noted authority Charles Arn shows how your church can help members
turn their individual passion into a Heartbeat Ministry. The result is
relationships with unchurched people that become “bridges of God”
between your church and your community.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Global Church Planting (Reprinted)
$49.41Prologue: The Parable Of The Apple Trees
Part 1: Biblical Foundation
Part 2: Strategic Considerations
Part 3: Development Phases
Part 4: Critical FactorsAdditional Info
With over forty years combined global church-planting experience, Craig Ott and Gene Wilson are well qualified to write a comprehensive, up-to-date guide for cross-cultural church planting. Combining substantive biblical principles and missiological understanding with practical insights, this book walks readers through the various models and development phases of church planting. Advocating methods that lead to church multiplication, the authors emphasize the role of the missionary church planter. They offer helpful reflection on current trends and provide best practices gathered from research and empirical findings around the globe. The book takes up a number of special issues not addressed in most church planting books, such as use of short-term teams, partnerships, and wise use of resources. Full of case studies and real examples from around the world, this practical text will benefit students, church planters, missionaries, and missional church readers.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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For The Communion Of The Churches
$33.99Encourages Christians to work toward greater unity and fellowship
Founded by Abbe Paul Couturier in 1937, the Groupe des Dombes is a Protestant-Catholic coalition in French-speaking Europe uniting Reformed, Lutheran, and Catholic scholars in a common spirit of prayer, dialogue, and discernment; their pioneering work has influenced many other official ecumenical dialogues.
*Brings together an anthology of statements produced by the Group des Dombes from 1971 to 1991, appearing here together in English translation for the first time
*Expresses the Groupe’s keen insights into the renewal of theology and church life necessary for progress toward full ecclesial unity
*Invites churches today to strive for more fruitful dialogue and greater harmonyAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Gift Of Church
$14.99In The Gift of Church, Pastor-theologian Jim Samra entreats you to appreciate the divine purpose and benefit that comes from participation in a local church. He spells out the unique-and very needed-blessings that God gives to his people through involvement in church.
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Sacred Cows Make Great BBQs
$41.65What are the ‘sacred cows’ of the Christian life? Why are they there? And should they be challenged?
In Sacred Cows Make Great BBQs, Dave Gilpin (leader of Hope City Church, Sheffield) attempts to round up some the sacred cows so happily grazing in the fields of church life, and confront them in his unique, relaxed and informal, yet incisive style.
Fifteen myths so prevalent in the Christian world today are dealt with in Sacred Cows Make Great BBQs. Dave Gilpin sets out to release people back into the real freedom and successes of authentic Christian living.
For the sake of the future church, in Sacred Cows Make Great BBQs Dave Gilpin has become the smiling assassin of the holy cow.
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Journey In The Wilderness
$18.99The last forty years have seen transitions in mainline churches that feel, for many, like a journey into the wilderness. Yet God is calling us in this moment, not to grieve over the changes we have experienced, but to hear the call to a new mission, and a new faithfulness. Gil Rendle draws on decades as a pastor and church consultant to point a way into a hopeful future. The key to embracing the wilderness is to learn new skills in leading change, to reach beyond a position of privilege and power to become churches that serve God’s hurting people.
Empowers readers to minister more faithfully, and joyfully, in a situation of congregational and denominational transition
A careful analysis of the changes that have taken place in mainline Protestant churches over the last decades.
Thorough review of the lessons learned, both inside and beyond the church, about leading organizations during times of social upheaval.
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Leading The Congregation (Revised)
$34.99Leading the Congregation is a complete and definitive guide to the practice of church leadership. The book describes essential paradigms for the leader that integrate spiritual integrity and service within a “systems” view of the congregation and its ministry.
This revised and updated version focuses on the challenges of congregational leadership in a culture that has fewer ties to Christian faith. The authors lay out the dual contexts in which church leaders must function-within the congregation, and as the congregation’s representative to the community-and they explain the very different skill sets required to flourish in each. Underlying the revised edition is an insistence on the congregational leader’s call from God, and cultivation of her or his relationship with God. Leadership is not the same thing as charisma, they explain; it is rather a set of attitudes and practices that each of us can and must master if we are to be worthy servants of Christ.
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Mission Shaped Parish
$29.26This is a practical how-to guide introducing new, mission-shaped practices in a traditional parish setting. This book looks at the church’s bread-and-butter activities – worship, pastoral contacts, civic and public responsibilities, faith formation, administration and leadership – and creatively points out how to reframe them with a focus on God’s mission.
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Pastor And Deacons
$16.23How should a church be organized? What functions do the pastors, deacons, and congregation serve? Who qualifies for the offices of pastor and deacon? How should a church manage its finances? How does a congregation biblically address problems? The authors answer these important questions and many more. As fellow servants in the same church, the authors have collaborated in the writing of this book. Pastors and Deacons is a practical exposition and application of biblical principles of church organization and leadership. The “on-the-job,” real-life experiences of the authors make this a particularly practical book.
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Mission Shaped Church
$35.93The world has changed, but will the church keep up? This seminal report from the Church of England evaluates the changing religious landscape and introduces exciting new forms of church that speak directly to their diverse mission contexts.
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Mobilizing Men For One On One Ministry
$23.75A Dynamic New Approach to Men’s Ministry
Men’s breakfasts, golf outings, and other events still have a place in men’s ministry. But Steve Sonderman is finding that the most effective ministry is relational rather than programmatic. Drawing from the successes at his church and others, Sonderman shows leaders how to motivate and mobilize their men to minister to each other. Readers learn what men are looking for today, how men grow spiritually, and how to develop a leadership pipeline in their church.
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For The Parish
$35.99Fresh Expressions of Church are most significant development in the Church of England in recent decades. Many have called for a thorough theological engagement with the movement. The Church of England is engaging in radical new departures when the ecclesiological thinking for such experiments is far from complete. Parishes are the mainstay of the ‘inherited church’. Frequently they are belittled and cast as either unhelpful or irrelevant. The authors argue for the vitality of the parish, both for mission and for discipleship. The authors argue that the forms of the church are to be an embodiment of her faith. They should therefore be more determined by our theological traditions than by the surrounding culture. They show that the traditions of the parish church represent ways in which time, space, community are ordered in relation to God and the gospel.
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Exciting World Of Churchgoing
$14.49Dave Walker, a thirty-something cartoonist, web editor and former church and community youth worker has become the UK’S leading cartoon commentator on the state of the Church (local and national). His Guide to the Church cartoons appear weekly in the Church Times, and on the paper’s daily blog, and many more can be found on Dave’s website, www.cartoonchurch.com This is his third collection of cartoons. His first cartoon collection reprinted within three months and is now in its third printing. His second collection is in its second printing. His many fans will love this third volume with its Tweeting bishops, its sociological study of the average Lent group, its handy guide to weighing up the respective merits of going to a church service vs. an Alpha course, and a great deal more.
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Strategically Small Church (Reprinted)
$18.82Brandon O’Brien helps pastors and church leaders understand that a smaller church is sometimes better than a big one. He demonstrates the strengths of small congregations, including that today’s church “shoppers” want services that are local, personal, and intimate. Also, small churches provide space to nurture close relationships across age and lifestyle barriers, and they facilitate a higher level of commitment from laypeople. And small church budgets are often more effective because of greater efficiency. The Strategically Small Church will encourage small-church pastors in their ministries and challenge them to play to their strengths.
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Spirit And Art Of Conflict Transformation
$25.00Transforming conflict into a positive rather than a negative force is a spiritual pursuit and needs to be grounded in biblical principles: love of God, neighbor, and self. This book is a resource for seminary professors, leaders, ministers, mediators, facilitators, and conflict transformation consultants who want to approach their work in this way. Part 1 explains how we can prepare ourselves for the work of engaging conflict, and Part 2 explores how we engage others in conflict transformation, outlining specific processes. This book articulates the vision and practice of conflict transformation developed by the JustPeace organization.
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Church Hurts Can Make You Bitter Workbook (Workbook)
$13.73I dedicate this workbook to those who do not know how to move on from the hurt, and pain they have experienced in life. Hurt is common to us all, and if we do not deal with it properly, it can paralyze us to the point of leaving us helpless and stagnated.
This self-help study book will provide you with an opportunity to eliminate your hurts by, focusing on some major areas that can keep you bound: relationships, forgiveness, the tension between God’s will and yours, self-inventory, prayer and deliverance, and healing. The questions and Scriptures dealing with these areas will help you identify various issues in your life, using the Bible as a reference for answers. Focus on God’s will for you, as you work hard throughout this workbook to become whole and complete.
Many people do not understand how to get out of the hurt cycle. I admonish you to read the book Church Hurts Can Make You Bitter or Better: You Choose!, which will show you how to triumph over hurts, regardless of their source, and then you can use this corresponding workbook to address your issues.
Many of you can confess that now is the time to move on from where you are to where you need to be. No matter who offended you or what kind of hurt you suffered, you must move on. No longer, allow the enemy of your soul to keep you in this holding pattern. Pray, acknowledge, forgive, apologize, and say goodbye. The time to move on is now!
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Spiritual Rape Exposing The Hidden
$16.86The author of this book is dealing with a subject that is needed to be exposed in the body of Christ; exposing manipulation and spiritual rape on every level. The author also provides critical assessments in the solution of the problem in the church. One of the greatest strengths of the book is breaking the cycle of victimization.
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In His Image
$41.65You’ve heard the overwhelming statistics. You’ve probably felt compassion, guilt, powerlessness, hopelessness. You might have given money, food, clothes, or even some of your time to help a few of the billions of people living in destitution in our world. But have you actually engaged with someone, another human being created in the image of God, who is dying in the arms of poverty?
Andy Matheson, Oasis International Director, argues that we can only begin to understand poverty, its effects, and possible solutions when we focus on the truth that all people are made in God’s image. God calls us to meet with the poor not primarily to offer services or to develop programs, but to develop relationships and to show God’s love.
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Christian Mindful Manners
$13.73This book promises to offer practical tips on how to help a church member who is struggling with mental health issues. The book is based on Biblical scripture and over 16 years of professional human service experience.
More than 54 million Americans are affected by mental illness, and the church world can provide personal enrichment to its own. The world needs to see the Church’s love in action and what better way than the Church reaching out to those who are hurting and leading them toward mental health recovery.
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Welcome Speeches For Today
$10.99Welcome Speeches for Today can be used by laypeople asked to make welcome speeches for a variety of situations and events in the church. Sample speeches and prayers are included that can be used as a prototype for creating a personal welcome speech.
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Disciple Making Church (Revised)
$25.88Every Christian, church leader and layperson alike, has been called by Christ to make disciples. But often there is so much focus in our churches on the first part of Christ’s command–evangelism–that the second part–teaching new believers to obey all that Christ commanded–is forgotten. New believers find themselves on their own, trying to figure out what their new life is supposed to look like.
In this well-loved book, Bill Hull explains why disciple-making must be the focus of every believer’s life and shows how each of us can do it. With practical examples drawn from vast ministry experience, Hull helps the church deepen and enrich the lives of believers as they learn to truly follow Christ.
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Church Must Die
$24.98For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns-broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Jeremiah 2:13The modern church, to its very core, is wrong. It is not what it was supposed to be.
Today church is a “thing”…it’s an organization, a building, an institution…something never intended by Christ.
In the early church the power of the Holy Spirit operated in abundance and the world was changed. Over the 2000 years since, we have traded the glory of God for an institution, traded His power for our own, and traded His church for a sad counterfeit.
It’s time to wake up and see ourselves for what we’ve become. This is not a revolution, not even a revival. This is a breaking. This is death to all we have become, that we might return to what is real.
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Loving The Church
$15.99Loving the Church reminds us how glorious God’s family really is, and the countless ways that you can flourish within it. In recent years the family has experienced a revival within Christian culture, but with this increased emphasis on the importance of the family, less value has been placed on God’s family, the church. Loving the Church explains the importance of God’s family and explores the beauty and joy of being a member of the household of God.
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Exponential : How You And Your Friends Can Spread A Missional Movement
$23.73Jesus gives us a mission to change the world, and it can seem overwhelming at times. But the potential to complete the Jesus mission lies within each of us, as we learn to reproduce our faith as individuals and as reproducing churches.
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Gifts Of The Small Church
$18.99Dizzying changes have taken place in American religious life in the last half century. Yet in spite of that fact, taking a snapshot of a “typical” Christian church in America would reveal a surprising number of small-to-mid-sized congregations, rooted in a local neighborhood or community, tied to a specific denomination, where most of the members know each others’ names, and hence are blessed (and cursed) with being the church together.
In this clear-eyed, humorous appraisal, Jason Byassee contends that the “church around the corner” occupies a particular place in the divine economy, that it is especially capable of forming us in the virtues, perspectives, and habits that make up the Christian life. Not that he romanticizes these churches, however. Having been a rural, small membership church pastor, Byassee knows too well the particular vices and temptations to which they are subject. But he also knows the particular graces they’ve been given, graces like the “prayer ladies,” those pillars of the congregation who, “when one told you she was praying for you it meant something. When one hugged you, you remembered all week. When one cooked for you the casserole tasted like love. And when you were around them you were in the presence of Jesus.”
Anyone who serves, or belongs to, a “church around the corner” will find their ministry strengthened by this enlivening, inspiring book.
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AND : The Gathered And Scattered Church
$22.99Hugh Halter and Matt Smay bring fresh encouragement to mega-church, traditional, contemporary, and organic church leaders and invite them to move beyond the attractional-missional divide by utilizing the best insights from both perspectives. You’ll learn how to value existing church forms while developing a missional community of people called to reach the world for Jesus Christ.
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Breakout Churches : Discover How To Make The Leap
$24.99In Thom Rainer’s latest book, he sets out to discover how churches that were once healthy but had stagnated in growth have broken out to become great churches impacting lives and entire communities.
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