Church Life
Showing 401–500 of 892 results
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Ask A Missionary
$28.99Add to cartIf you are exploring doing something extraordinary for the glory of God among the nations, Ask A Missionary will give clarity and answers for a journey into missions. Because they have “been there”, over one hundred missionaries from around the world, including Elisabeth Elliot, George Verwer, Phyllis Kilbourn, and Bill Stearns, share their insightful wisdom and practical advice on everything from making the decision to go, to stepping into a new life once on the field, and everything in between.
The treasures amassed in this book will guide you toward serving in the most wonderful, challenging, God glorifying, eternity-impacting endeavor in the world: missions.
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For The Beauty Of The Church (Reprinted)
$23.00Add to cartThink of your local church. Without art–music, song, dance, etc.–it would be a much poorer place. But if evangelicals have any vision for the arts, it tends to be a thin one. This unique book is an attempt to contribute to a robust, expansive vision for the church and the arts. Its specific aim is to show how the many parts of the landscape of church and art hold together. You can think of it as a kind of helicopter flyover, but one with expert pilots. The guides include the likes of Eugene Peterson, Lauren Winner, Jeremy Begbie, Andy Crouch, and John Witvliet, helping to inspire readers and empower pastor-leaders with a vision of the church and the arts that is compelling, far-seeing, and profoundly transformative.
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Field Guide To U S Congregations (Expanded)
$28.00Add to cartIn 2001 the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) conducted the U.S. Congregational Life Survey. More than 1.2 million worshipers and 12,000 congregations across three continents were surveyed to provide a portrait of congregational life. The findings were published in the first edition of A Field Guide to U.S. Congregations.
With the completion of the 2008 survey comes an expanded edition of this invaluable reference with new findings; updated statistics, tables, and cartoons; a new chapter describing changes in congregational life; and chapter summaries focusing on the implications of the 2008 survey. -
Repo : The Church In Foreclosure
$15.49Add to cartRepo is a wake-up call to pastors with a growing sense of isolation and irrelevance; silently maintaining their sanctuaries, trapped in the industry of church, they simply wait retirement or hope for Christ’s return. The USA is gripped by a recession unlike any since the ’30s, its financial and political institutions guilty of enabling unsustainable debt while its pulpits proclaim prosperity. Could we be living in the era referenced in Revelation 5:5-14, the Lamb soon to “repo” His church?
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Bible In Action
$19.99Add to cartThe Bible In Action is a collection of 59 Bible dramas for church, Christian school, and home. It uses the dialogue in the Bible (KJV updated), presents the narrative as dialogue, and fills in the gaps with what might have happened in between the lines. These dramas, which provide literature weekly for more than a year, are arranged in historical order with Scripture reference and are available at a fraction of the cost of most literature for a quarter. They are simply the Bible in dialogue.
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Kingdom Experiment Youth Edition
$8.99Add to cartThe people are starting to catch on. There s this guy who has spent his life working in his dad s wood shop, making beds, stools, and some real nice end tables. But, around the age of thirty he gets to thinking a career change is necessary. Only problem is he wants a position that is seemingly already filled, the job of priest. Doesn t stop him. Call him an entrepreneur of sorts, cause he begins preaching and healing in ways no one has ever seen without the employment of the temple. And to top it all off, he starts collecting a good fan base lots of people begin showing up to all his public appearances.
One day, he climbs up on a mountain and says there is a new kingdom at hand, and that this kingdom will be contradictory to everything they have known before.
And the people get the feeling this is only the beginning. You see, they were expecting a king arriving in grand fashion, but instead they got a carpenter, turned speaker and healer, who was about to shake things up a bit.
The Kingdom Experiment is a challenge to live this kingdom intentionally. It won t be easy. And it may get uncomfortable. But if you commit to live what a carpenter started 2000 years ago, you too will experience the kingdom He spoke of.
How it works:
1. Read and discuss each chapter with your group
2. Pick one of eight experiments (challenges to live intentionally) to do throughout the week.
3. Journal your thoughts and experiences
4. Share your experiences as a group the following weekThe point of The Kingdom Experiment is community. And to share stories while we re at it. To grapple with what good news means in the context of this specific time and place. The Kingdom Experiment is an 8-week challenge, but who says it has to end there. Journey with your students through 8 weeks of the beatitudes. With both community and individual challenges each week, this study helps students engage the kingdom in every aspect of their lives.
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Managing Polarities In Congregations
$42.00Add to cartCongregations often find themselves in power struggles over two opposing views. People on both sides believe strongly that they are right. They also assume that if they are right, their opposition must be wrong-classic “either/or” thinking. A polarity is a pair of truths that need each other over time. When an argument is about two poles of a polarity, both sides are right and need each other to experience the whole truth.
This phenomenon has been recognized and written about for centuries in philosophy and religion. It is at the heart of Taoism, where we find the familiar polarity of yin and yang energy. In the past fifty years, business leaders have come to appreciate the phenomenon, often called dilemma or paradox. No matter what it is called, the research is clear: leaders and organizations that manage polarities well outperform those who don’t.
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Introducing The Missional Church (Reprinted)
$22.00Add to cartMany pastors and church leaders have heard the term “missional” but have only a vague idea of what it means, let alone why it might be important to them. But what does it actually mean? What does a missional church look like and how does it function? Two leading voices in the missional movement here provide an accessible introduction, showing readers how the movement developed, why it’s important, and how churches can become more missional.
Introducing the Missional Church demonstrates that ours is a post-Christian culture, making it necessary for church leaders to think like missionaries right here at home. Focusing on a process that allows a church to discern its unique way of being missional, it guides readers on a journey that will lead them to implement a new set of missional practices in their churches. The authors demonstrate that living missionally is about discerning and joining God’s work in the world in order to be a witness to God’s kingdom on earth. -
Common Roots : The Original Call To An Ancient Future Faith
$24.99Add to cartRobert Webber’s legacy testifies to the vitality evangelicals experience when insights of the early church inform community life and ministry. His original expression of this theme, presented here with a foreword by David Neff (director of the Robert E. Webber Center for an Ancient-Evangelical Future), promises to stimulate new and ongoing conversations about ancient-future faith.
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Many Parts One Body
$28.95Add to cartProperty issues will be major topic of debate at 2009 Episcopal General Convention
Clear, concise information on the legal structure and governance of the Episcopal Church
Debunks misinformation about Episcopal governance promulgated on conservative blogs and publications
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Ignite : How To Spark Immediate Growth In Your Church (Reprinted)
$20.00Add to cartIgnite is the ultimate how-to book for church leaders who want to reach more people for Jesus Christ. Pastor and founder of Church Leader Insights, Nelson Searcy, will provide practical, inventive guidelines for bringing first-time guests through the doors.
This book sets forth a step-by-step, biblically grounded, proven plan for creating immediate church growth by utilizing a “Big Day” to mobilize the church for evangelism. This user-friendly guide will show church leaders what they need to do to reach the unchurched in their communities and break through the debilitating growth barriers that are holding them back.
Through the inspiration of testimonies and stories, combined with the down-to-earth, applicable teaching that Searcy readers have come to expect and appreciate, Ignite will give church leaders the tools they desperately need to reach and keep modern-minded, unchurched people to create and sustain growth momentum.
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Deep Church : A Third Way Beyond Emerging And Traditional
$17.99Add to cartIf you feel caught between the traditional church and the emerging church, Jim Belcher’s Deep Church forges a third way. He explores and evaluates the proposals of emerging church leaders and paints a picture of what an alternate, deep church looks like–a missional church committed to both tradition and culture, valuing innovation in worship, arts and community but also creeds and confessions.
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Taking Your Church To The Next Level (Reprinted)
$20.00Add to cartAll local churches experience a predictable life cycle of growth and decline. But if a church is on a downward trend, how can it turn around? Taking Your Church to the Next Level explains the impact of age and size on churches and outlines the improvements that must be made at each point for a church to remain fruitful and faithful to its mission. McIntosh deftly describes the cycles of fruitfulness and the importance of continual improvement to diminish destructive forces that keep a congregation from its mission. Church leaders, pastors, and all who care about the church and desire to see it experience biblical growth will benefit from the sage wisdom offered in these pages.
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Church Hurts Can Make You Bitter
$12.49Add to cartMy prayer is that every hurt you have encountered throughout your life will be released from you as you go through the various chapters. Like a person who sets a goal to lose weight, you will set a goal in your mind and heart today, and you will begin working hard to lose hurts that have been keeping you from your destiny and the land of promise. Many of you think because you are walking in the newness of life everyone else is traveling the same road. The mind you now have is the mind of Christ, and your sole purpose is to please God. You do not expect to deal with drama in the church. You expect to see a noticeable difference between the unsaved and those who profess salvation. The dreadful cycle of hurt has damaged, wounded, and killed many people in the church. No matter how hard you try to camouflage the pain inside, it is not hidden. You can cover bruises, scars, and cuts, but hurt to the heart shows in various forms that are noticeable.
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Team Jesus : Planting Churches The Master’s Way
$14.99Add to cartChurch planting is best taught by church planters and Paul Kim is one of the best. Over the last thirty years, he has led the churches of which he has been pastor to start twenty-five churches in the United States, Korea, Japan, Central Asia, and East Asia. Of the twenty-five, twenty-two are still alive and well, an almost unheard of survival rate in church planting annuals. Kim attributes this success to planting churches the “Jesus way,” using teams composed of “homegrown workers” who are trained and mentored by the mother church to plant daughter churches. While his primary focus has been on multicultural church planting, the principles Kim has learned both from his experience and from his study of how the Master began the first church are applicable in any church planting endeavor. For Kim, church planting is not theory but a divine mandate. This book reveals his heart and clearly spells out the Master’s plan for church planting.
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Discovering Church Planting
$40.99Add to cartIn Discovering Church Planting, J. D. Payne explores the biblical, historical and missiological principles of global church planting as well as unfolding practical strategies for confronting contemporary challenges to our vital task in reaching a lost world.
This comprehensive introduction to church planting shows the reader how to apply effective, international church planting practices to specific contexts. J. D. speaks from personal experience, research and training and focuses on crucial issues every planter should consider. His well researched and easy to understand concepts are crucial for anyone who takes seriously the call of Scripture to Declare His glory among the nations and His marvelous deeds to all peoples.
CONTENTS
Section I: Discovering Biblical and Theological Foundations
Section II: Discovering Missiological Principles
Section III: Discovering Historical Paradigms
Section IV: Discovering Contemporary Issues -
How To Lead A Church To Reach People And Grow
$19.49Add to cartThis book presents a unique approach to church growth. It is written mainly to help churches that are declining, but will help all churches. The underlying premise is that churches do not grow and reach new people because they do not know how, or because they are so poorly structured and organized that they spend most of their time and efforts in conflict. This disrupts the fellowship and leaves very little time and energy for reaching new people. The subtitle could be, “Fifteen Essential Steps To Growth”- Basic growth and administrative principles. The combining of these areas makes this a unique book. Young has brought together these basic elements, from over 40 years of experience. . The book is a practical guide for a local church to follow to function efficiently and effectively, and reach people for Christ. When the steps are followed, and in the proper order, the church can pretty well be assured of growth and effective ministry.
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Transitional Ministry : A Time Of Opportunity
$24.95Add to cartMulti-denominational look at transitional ministry
Professional resource for local and national judicatory leaders, local congregational leaders, clergy
Transition is the word we use to describe the time following significant change. In congregations, that change might be the departure of the pastor, a catastrophe such as Hurrican Katrina or 9/11, or simply the changes caused by growth. Transition calls for clergy with special training to respond to the needs generated by the special time. “Task, training, and time limit” are the hallmarks of transitional ministry. Trained intentional interim clergy must have the skill and experience to lead congregations during transition.
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Reclaiming Christianity (Reprinted)
$14.99Add to cartDoes the church use words that have lost their meaning? Are there Christian words and phrases that have lost their power to convict the human spirit and bring transformation to the world? One of the twentieth century’s most renowned prophetic thinkers, A. W. Tozer, saw a dangerous trend gaining momentum even before his death–a trend that has become commonplace now in the twenty-first century. In this never-before-published book, Tozer sounds his alarm for the modern church: We must stop parroting words carelessly and instead allow the meaning that these words convey to empower, shape, and direct the work of the church. Yet Reclaiming Christianity is not just a warning; it is a spiritual guidebook for reconnecting to the deepest meaning of Christianity’s sacred messages.
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When The Many Are One
$16.99Add to cartIn a season when external forces are causing disunity and polarizing schisms in the church body throughout our nation and world, Francis Frangipane calls believers back to unity and inspires them to be “built together” into a powerfully influential force within our communities, our nation, and our world. He demonstrates how every Christianwhether traditional, evangelical, Pentecostal, or Charismaticcan be a part of a united house of the Lord bringing liberty and spiritual life to our world. When the church becomes “a dwelling of God in the Spirit” (Eph. 2: 19-22), we will be freed of racial and class prejudices, uniquely anointed to bring healing to our communities. Frangipane inspires readers to work together to rid our lives and our world of the stronghold of religious pride and self-contentment in the church. In unity, the house of the Lord will pave the road to true revival.
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Deacon Relationships Through The Body Of Christ
$16.99Add to cartBe the leader God intended you to be! Churches often elect deacons and fail to give them the training they need to accomplish their task, assuming that if one is qualified to become a deacon, he doesn’t need training. This assumption has proven injurious both to the individual deacon and to the body of Christ. Dr. Ledbetter is one of the most qualified leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention to assist deacons in becoming the leader God intended them to be. As a pastor, he worked with deacons in four growing churches. Since entering evangelism in January 1984, he has conducted several hundred deacon retreats in both small and large churches across America, in addition to conducting revivals. To be an effective leader, a deacon must have a right relationship with Christ, his family, his church, his pastor, and with himself. This book discusses each of these relationships and provides spiritual insights that will help not only deacons, but every Christian leader to become all God intended them to be.
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Next Evangelicalism : Freeing The Church From Western Cultural Captivity
$24.99Add to cartTable Of Contents
Introduction
Part I: The Western, White Cultural Captivity Of The Church
1: Individualism: The Heartbeat Of Western, White Cultural Captivity
2: Consumerism And Materialism: The Soul Of Western, White Cultural Captivity
3: Racism: The Residue Of Western, White Cultural CaptivityPart II: The Pervasiveness Of The White Captivity Of The Church
4: The Church Growth Movement And Megachurches
5: The Emergent Church?s Captivity To Western, White Culture
6: The Cultural Imperialism Of The White Captivity Of The ChurchPart III: Freedom From The White Captivity Of The Church
7: Suffering And Celebration: Learning From The African American And Native American Communities
8: Holistic Evangelism: Learning From The Immigrant Church
9: A Multicultural Worldview: Learning From The Second GenerationConclusion
Additional Info
Soong-Chan Rah calls the North American church to escape its Western cultural captivity and to embody a next evangelicalism that is diverse and multiethnic. This prophetic minority report casts a vision for a dynamic evangelicalism that fully embodies the cultural realities of the twenty-first century. -
Hybrid Church In The City
$45.00Add to cartThere has been a growing interest in the rapidly evolving nature of cities in the past 10-15 years, but especially in the last 5 years, and the profound impact this is having upon our understanding of community, belonging and church. This book shows that theology in an urban context has developed way beyond the inner-city nostaligia. It is a challenging, critical and constructive study of the role of the church in cities.
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Servolution : Starting A Church Revolution Through Serving
$22.99Add to cartThe challenging and inspiring account of how an alive church reaches out to the hurting by creating what they call a “servolution”. Includes ideas and strategies so that any church can touch lives in their community, and start a “servolution” that influences the world for Christ.
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Church Go To Hell Please
$19.99Add to cartThe powerful soul-winner and founder of the Salvation Army, William Booth, was once asked, “Do you think you have the best training program to teach people how to witness for Jesus Christ and win souls to Jesus?” William Booth replied, “No, I don’t think my methods are the best methods. I think the best method of giving people a burden for lost souls would be to take them to the devil’s hell and allow them to experience what it is to be lost in hell, separated from God for an eternity in the fire that could never be quenched. Then I believe men would truly have a burden and know what it is to be soul-winners because they would see what it is to be lost.” The purpose of this book is to give people that experience. Time is getting short for the church to do what the Lord has called us to do. It’s time for the Church to realize that Hell is real and eternal for those we do not reach. It’s time the church quit playing games. Though The Church that has been purchased by the blood of Christ can never experience Hell in its fullness, it is imperative that the church be able to see and feel the eternalness of the torments of Hell. That we wake up, “Be Revived”, and get busy about the Father’s work. Luke sixteen tells us of activities that are now taking place in Hell, activities that need to be taking place in our churches. Please, allow your church and yourself to “Go To Hell” so that those who the Lord and you love will never have to go to Hell. The Trape at Our Feet
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When Do I Cry Wolf
$13.49Add to cartMany churches have found themselves on the brink of a great breakthrough for God only to have everything torn apart and victory snatched away. Doubts and questions may plague church leaders’ minds concerning what happened to their church. The answer may be that the church has been ravaged by a wolf. Just what is a wolf in the church? How can a wolf in sheep’s clothing be identified? How is a leader to deal with a wolf? Tackling these questions in a straightforward manner, When Do I Cry Wolf? is a book designed to uncover the deception and work of the enemy within the church. It gives valuable tools and insights for dealing with this problem without creating an air of paranoia and confusion. Sound scriptural advice and encouragement give much needed answers that will aid those called to guard God’s “sheep.”
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Ripe Fields : Promise And Challange Of Latino Ministry
$23.95Add to cartTimed to be launched at 2009 General Convention, Juan Oliver definitive look at the history and potential future of Latino ministry in the Episcopal Church comes at an opportune time. With Latino ministries growing around the country in all traditions, and with increasing resource and programmatic offerings being allocated to serve those communities, this highly descriptive handbook profiles the culture, faith, and importance of this emerging minority.
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Deliberate Simplicity : How The Church Does More By Doing Less
$18.99Add to cartLearn how a “less is more” approach to church can equip believers for eternal influence. Church innovator Dave Browning unpacks the six elements of a new equation for church development. These concepts-minimality, intentionality, reality, multility, velocity, and scalability-provide a realistic plan for streamlining church while maximizing impact.
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Leadership Jump : Building Partnerships Between Existing And Emerging Chris
$27.99Add to cartLeadership is changing. Not only are established leaders passing the baton to up-and-coming leaders, the very nature of leadership is being transformed. Veteran leader and cultural observer Jimmy Long explains how leadership positions and roles have changed in light of societal shifts.
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Monkey And The Fish
$18.99Add to cartThe Monkey and the Fish decodes profound shifts and events taking place in the world today due to globalism, multiculturalism and technology, and introduces an original approach to ministry, church, and leadership known as The Third Culture. The book title refers to an Eastern parable that will challenge you to reexamine fundamental assumptions of the evangelical movement, including erroneous interpretations that have made the church increasingly irrelevant in North America and the global village.
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Missional Renaissance : Changing The Scorecard For The Church
$28.00Add to cartReggie McNeal’s bestseller The Present Future is the definitive work on the “missional movement,” i.e., the widespread movement among Protestant churches to be less inwardly focused and more oriented toward the culture and community around them. In that book he asked the tough questions that churches needed to entertain to begin to think about who they are and what they are doing; in Missional Renaissance, he shows them the three significant shifts in their thinking and behavior that they need to make that will allow leaders to chart a course toward being missional: (1) from an internal to an external focus, ending the church as exclusive social club model; (2) from running programs and ministries to developing people as its core activity; and (3) from professional leadership to leadership that is shared by everyone in the community. With in-depth discussions of the “what” and the “how” of transitioning to being a missional church, readers will be equipped to move into what McNeal sees as the most viable future for Christianity. For all those thousands of churches who are asking about what to do next after reading The Present Future, Missional Renaissance will provide the answer.
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Experience The Presence Of God
$29.99Add to cartWhatever happened to the presence of God in the American church? The church has settled for the “status-quo” rather than the “supernatural.” God’s Church is dealing with considerable spiritual lethargy and superciliousness. Man has been doing church his way long enough, and now it is time that the Holy Spirit be the administrator and director of His church. God has the perfect plan for His house. The author presents an urgent and no-compromise appeal for a return to the manifested presence of God. The author also gives the diagnosis and prescriptive treatment for the spiritual decline of the church. This book introduces Biblical principles and not man’s strategies that will cause a full restoration to the presence and glory of God. This book is for those that are hungry and thirsty for more of God’s presence.
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Truth Be Told
$16.49Add to cartIt is time for the church to be established in what the apostle Peter called “present truth”. Only then can the church bring forth the faithful and true witness that will turn the world toward Christ. Open the pages of this book and be ready for a spiritual explosion that will transform your heart and mind.
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Emotions : The Controlling Factor In The Church
$17.49Add to cartEmotions are the controlling factor in our society today. Have you ever wondered where your emotions come from? Are you able to recognize when your emotions are controlling you? Do you wonder why they have such a great impact on your daily decision-making? So many of the influences affecting us have targeted our emotions. If you want to be like Jesus, this practical, encouraging and challenging biblical insight will help you to use your emotions the way Jesus Christ used His. Whether it is a poor self image, medicating one’s pain, fighting for your rights or dealing with people who justify their actions and manipulate others, God can help you discern how to live your life in control of your emotions. Either you control your emotions or your emotions will control you.
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Experience The Presence Of God
$19.99Add to cartWhatever happened to the presence of God in the American church? The church has settled for the “status-quo” rather than the “supernatural.” God’s Church is dealing with considerable spiritual lethargy and superciliousness. Man has been doing church his way long enough, and now it is time that the Holy Spirit be the administrator and director of His church. God has the perfect plan for His house. The author presents an urgent and no-compromise appeal for a return to the manifested presence of God. The author also gives the diagnosis and prescriptive treatment for the spiritual decline of the church. This book introduces Biblical principles and not man’s strategies that will cause a full restoration to the presence and glory of God. This book is for those that are hungry and thirsty for more of God’s presence.
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Listening Gift : Learning To Hear Beyond The Words
$12.49Add to cartWe have a crisis brewing in our nation today. The crisis I am speaking about is the failure on our part to really listen and hear one another. It is plaguing marriages, affecting our children, as well as our friendships. This in turn affects God’s church. The Listening Gift is a book that is relevant for today. It is for those who desire better communication skills and richer relationships. This includes our relationship with our spouse, our children, our friends, co-workers, and most importantly, with our Heavenly Father.
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Jubilee Gospel : The Jubilee Spirit And The Church
$24.99Add to cartThis book challenges the church to ask whether or not the gospel as we commonly interpret it today really embodies the jubilee vision of the Bible. Imagine a group of forty adults living in a community, assisting each other to buy houses, sharing material wealth and releasing the surplus to help others as a practical outworking of the biblical principles of jubilee.
Kim Tan was part of this group and in The Jubilee Gospel seeks to unpack these principles of sacrificial generosity, stewardship and social holiness.
Starting with the OT principle of jubilee and tracing the themes through the Bible, we discover a way of living that reflects Gods justice and compassion and embraces kingdom politics and economics.
What may seem buried deep in the early parts of the OT is brought up to date as were confronted by Jesus teaching and principles of wealth distribution, cancellation of debt, hospitality and storehouses.
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Aqua Church 2.0 (Revised)
$14.99Add to cartWe live in a fast-paced, fluid world. A postmodern place where people are drifting, making mid-course corrections in every aspect of life, from careers, to relationships, to beliefs.
Church leaders must continually reshape their ministries to reach a society adrift. They must move from being adaptive to being proactive, remaining flexible while delivering an uncompromising message.
AquaChurch is a guide for developing responsive and relevant church leadership. Fusing biblical wisdom and modern-day insights, acclaimed author Leonard Sweet explores the essentials of leadership arts, including vision, creativity, and teamwork. Thus updated and revised edition will enable ministries to navigate today’s cultural currents, provide a beacon to their community, and connect with a postmodern world.
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Planting Churches That Reproduce
$15.95Add to cartThe goal of Planting Churches that Reproduce Starting a Network of Simple Churches is to simplify the church planting process in order to start a network of simple, reproducing churches. This book will give invaluable information to those contemplating church planting or in the process of planting a church. Comiskey has been gathering material for this book for the past ten years. He has also planted three churches in a wide variety of settings. Planting Churches that Reproduce is the fruit of his research and personal experience. Comiskey uses the latest North American church planting statistics, but also extends the illustrations to include worldwide church planting. In the first section, Comiskey lays out the Biblical basis for church planting, including the all important question what is the church? In order to understand how to plant a network of reproducing churches, its essential to know how the New Testament defines Christs church (and the New Testament definition is a simple one). Paul the apostle was the first centurys model church planter and arguably the most effective church planter the world has ever known. The book goes into detail about how Paul planted churches and the important lessons that we can apply twenty centuries later. The book then moves from the Biblical basis to the contemporary scene. Comiskey answers the question of how in todays complicated society we can plant churches that reproduce and even start a network of simple churches. The book shows statistically why church planting is absolutely essential to keep up with the population growth. Many statistics are noted to demonstrate the grave need for continual church planting today. Then Comiskey tackles the question of the modern day church planter. What makes a modern day church planter successful? What are the key characteristics that todays church planters need to successfully plant a church in the 21st century? Comiskey provides indepth information from recent studies about the character qualities necessary to plant a church. Comiskey provides helpful information on church planting barriers. These barriers come from the fieldboth from those who have planted churches andor those who are currently doing so. The book reveals what church planters would do differently if they could do it over again. This information will help future church planters avoid similar mistakes. The second section goes into detail about the three main church planting strategies the celebrat
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Sticky Church
$18.99Add to cartThe greatest challenge facing most churches today isn’t getting people through the front door-it’s keeping them from leaving through the back door. In his new book, Larry Osborne reveals what it takes to cultivate a “sticky” church and reveals the strategy of sermon-based small groups to retain members while leading your church into even deeper levels of discipleship.
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Growing Up Christian
$16.00Add to cartMcGuffey’s Readers. Public school. Family prayers. In the 1800s, these were primary and successful strategies by which children learned to become Christians. Sunday school was developed to support what was already being done at home and in school. Today many churches still rely on the nineteenth-century model to encourage young people to become disciples of Christ. In Growing Up Christian, Dr. C. Ellis Nelson explores why these strategies are inadequate for the twenty-first century and offers practical, specific guidance for congregations who wish to nurture disciples of Christ more effectively. Part 1 describes the pattern of influences that form our images of God. Given the way culture and family influence the rising generation, Part 2 outlines a strategy for nurturing disciples that capitalizes on the persuasive power of the congregation in fellowship, worship, and instruction. A detailed discussion guide further assists congregations who wish to form a study group to assess and improve their Christian education.
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Naked Illusion : Gods End Time Church Is About To Explode On Planet Earth I
$14.99Add to cartNaked Illusion Laying Bare The Truth This provocative and hard-hitting book strips bare some of the most alarming trends and ungodly thinking that have invaded the church today. The enemy has been allowed to run rampant. Far too many in the church are living a life which is not leading them to the portals of heaven as they suppose, but rather, has them rushing headlong into the bowels of hell. The days of ignorance have passed and the days of reformation are here. We have run out of excuses and we are running out of time. The finishing generation must arise NOW with the truth that will expose every illusion and crush the head of the serpent. The army is being assembled. Your name is being called. What will you do?
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Aging And Ministry In The 21 Century
$13.00Add to cartAging faithfully is a blessing and a challenge and Richard Gentzler is an expert on the subject. In his newest book on aging, Gentzler offers church leaders a structured approach to implementing strong ministries by, with, and for older adults. In addition to the practical issues of programming, the book takes on more difficult topics of aging including chronic conditions, depression, and death. He also recommends that churches pay special attention to the needs of the boomer generation, since they are now becoming the older adults who will determine the church’s path for years to come.
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Unlearning Church
$20.99Add to cartHow many things does your church do just because that’s the way it’s always been done? Does your congregation value tradition over passion and stability over creativity? If so, it’s time to unLearn. Leading congregations into a dynamic and prophetic future requires unLearning what you thought you knew about the church, leadership, and life. Pastor Michael Slaughter casts a vision for innovative and authentic congregations, and for the kind of leadership that can bring congregations to greater vitality and impact in today’s postmodern culture. Readers will be challenged to gaze boldly beyond franchised church models to a dynamic embodiment of God’s unique vision for each leader and each congregation. UnLearning congregations embrace new media and cultural trends, value transformation over information, and create a safe space for the tough and unanswerable questions of life. These are churches that lovingly dare to shoulder spiritual and prophetic leadership in our rapidly changing culture, re-articulating God’s ancient purposes to create high-tech, high-touch environments in which people can become radical followers of Jesus Christ.
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Unlocking Gods Freeing Truth About Women
$19.49Add to cartThe original language wording of the Bible is wonderfully liberating for women, and Dr. Rocco brings to light what many have not heard. This book explains strong evidence for women in ministry roles. It untangles difficult passages pertaining to church and home life. Topics include: Elders Marriage Deacons Usage of “Head” Governing Authorities Unexpected Feminine Language Masculine Language Prohibitions about Speaking/Teaching Dr. Rocco is an adjunct professor in Biblical languages at Evangel Theological Seminary and serves on a church ministry team. The author has read through the entire Bible over 50 times in various translations and languages. Doctor of Ministry Master of Divinity Biblical Studies Diploma
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Experiencing The Truth
$22.50Add to cartCommunicates the need of a vibrant, experiential, Reformed Christianity among African-American and all believers.
The authors lay out the biblical basis for choosing and attending a church and demonstrate how the historic Reformed expression has been the most biblically accurate and experientially consistent expression of Christianity.
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Doors Of The Church Are Closed
$15.49Add to cartMartin Luther and John Calvin challenged Roman Catholicism; John Wesley, George Whitefield, and Jonathan Edwards challenged spiritual lethargy; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged America’s social injustice; and now Dr. Dana Carson is challenging the Christian Church! The Doors of the Church are Closed is one of the most relevant 21st century writings to the Church. Statistics suggest nearly 4,000 churches are closing with only 1,200 to 1,800 opening annually. Less than 20% of Americans attend church and 97% of churches didn’t win one convert last year! Yet, the Church has exchanged its mission of Kingdom expansion for popularity and wealth. The Doors of the Church are Closed! This book identifies the root causes of the contemporary Church’s failures and raises some monumental challenges to believers. This book is a must read for the Body of Christ and those who desire to fulfill the will of God in their lives.
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Here To There
$23.99Add to cartDid you know that some 80% of all church growth is just people moving from one church to another? People are going to change churches but they need to leave for the right reasons in the right way. Discover Ten Good Reasons to leave and avoid Ten Poor Reasons to leave. Discover how to be sure that you leave well for a good reason and have a deep walk at your new church. It is time for Christians to be the Church. It is time for believers to be happy together and apart. It is time for each believer to live well and learn well at home before they ever think about leaving. Don’t guess! Are you changing churches? Are you tired of people changing churches so much? How can you help your friends who are leaving? Here to There can help you understand and answer all of these questions.
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Here To There
$15.49Add to cartDid you know that some 80% of all church growth is just people moving from one church to another? People are going to change churches but they need to leave for the right reasons in the right way. Discover Ten Good Reasons to leave and avoid Ten Poor Reasons to leave. Discover how to be sure that you leave well for a good reason and have a deep walk at your new church. It is time for Christians to be the Church. It is time for believers to be happy together and apart. It is time for each believer to live well and learn well at home before they ever think about leaving. Don’t guess! Are you changing churches? Are you tired of people changing churches so much? How can you help your friends who are leaving? Here to There can help you understand and answer all of these questions.
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Fidelity Of Betrayal
$21.00Add to cartWhat if one of the core demands of a radical Christianity lay in a call for its betrayal, while the ultimate act of affirming God required the forsaking of God? And what if fidelity to the Judeo-Christian Scriptures demanded their renunciation? In short, what would it mean if the only way of finding real faith involved betraying it with a kiss?
Employing the insights of mysticism and deconstructive theory, The Fidelity of Betrayal delves into the subversive and revolutionary nature of a Christianity that dwells within the church while simultaneously undermining it.
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Breakout
$23.99Add to cartBreakout is the story of one church’s discovery of a Spirit empowered, New Testament model of church.
It is an honest, inspiring testimony to the truth that the Gospel of Jesus still maintains its life-changing power and God’s people still have it in them to change the world.
St Andrew’s Chorleywood has been at the forefront of church renewal for over three
decades. In the last five years, it has seen substantial growth as the congregation has moved from drawing people to one place, to a model in which well over a thousand believers have been sent out in mission-shaped communities of up to 50 members, meeting in school halls, community centres, coffee shops and other contexts.This daring move has resulted in the raising up of over a hundred new leaders, a massive release of spiritual gifts, great vision and creativity in outreach, and major growth through evangelism.
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Saints Have We Turned The Lighthouse Into A Hell House
$16.99Add to cartThis book was written to address the disappointments people are facing today caused by Ministry faculty members. It is designed to encourage obedience and hope in the midst of betrayal or shame experienced from hypocritical practices or personal attacks by such members. Therefore, this is a faith-building book!
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Tangible Kingdom : Creating Incarnational Community
$24.95Add to cartWritten for those who are trying to nurture authentic faith communities and for those who have struggled to retain their faith, The Tangible Kingdom offers theological answers and real-life stories that demonstrate how the best ancient church practices can re-emerge in todayOs culture, through any church of any size. In this remarkable book, Hugh Halter and Matt Smaytwo missional leaders and church plantersoutline an innovative model for creating thriving grass-roots faith communities.
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Vulnerable Communion : A Theology Of Disability And Hospitality
$28.00Add to cartIntroduction
1. Theology And Disability – Perils And Promises
2. Communal Bondaries: Dwelling Together And The Cult Of Normalcy
3. Able Bodies? The Illusion Of Control And Denial Of Vulnerability
4. Recovering Disability: Love And The Strange Power Of Weakness
5. Love Divine: God, Creation, And Vulnerability
6. Worthy Of Love? Humanity, Disability, And Redemption In Christ
7. Being Together: Love, Church, And HospitalityAdditional Info
As parents of an autistic son, Thomas Reynolds and his wife know what it’s like to be misunderstood by a church community. In Vulnerable Communion, Reynolds draws upon that personal experience and a diverse body of literature to empower churches and individuals to foster deeper hospitality toward persons with disabilities.Reynolds shows that the Christian story is one of strength coming from weakness, of wholeness emerging from brokenness, and of power in vulnerability. Wholeness, he argues, comes not from self-sufficiency, but from the “genuinely inclusive communion” that results from sharing our humanity–including our lack of ability–with one another. Then, and only then, will we truly live in hospitality with one another and with people with disabilities.
Reynolds offers valuable biblical, theological, and pastoral tools to understand and welcome those with disabilities. The book will be useful to academics, students, and pastors, as well as anyone touched by disability in some way. Readers will find penetrating examinations of the difficult questions of why God allows disability and what the church can learn from people with disabilities.
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Transforming Congregations
$25.95Add to cartHow can our patterns of congregational life and mission renew themselves and adjust to changing culture without selling out what Episcopalians stand for? How can local faith communities stay resilient and hopeful? What styles and practices of spirituality do most to enrich our mission?
These are some of the questions James Lemler poses in this book on mission for clergy and congregational discussion. As with evangelism, there is both good and bad news about Episcopalians and mission. Lemler also provides a variety of models for moving forward in mission and hope, to a more abundant future.
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Conversations With Scripture And With Each Other
$16.95Add to cartLay leaders play an essential role in congregational life, but can find themselves spending more of their time at church balancing budgets than deepening their own faith. Written from his years of experience as a priest and now as the bishop of Massachusetts, M. Thomas Shaw’s Conversations with Scripture and with Each Other is designed to encourage and strengthen the faith of lay leaders, while also helping them consider how scripture treats various issues in church life, such as stewardship, conflict, and evangelism. Perfect for individual reflection or group discussion, each chapter includes a close examination of biblical passages as well as practical questions for reflection on how the scriptures apply to collective church life and individual spiritual growth.
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Young Restless Reformed
$17.99Add to cartFrom places like John Piper’s den, Al Mohler’s office, and Jonathan Edwards’s college, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen investigates what makes today’s young Calvinists tick. Church-growth strategies and charismatic worship have fueled the bulk of evangelical growth in America for decades. While baby boomers have flocked to churches that did not look or sound like church, it seems these churches do not so broadly capture the passions of today’s twenty-something evangelicals. In fact, a desire for transcendence and tradition among young evangelicals has contributed to a Reformed resurgence. For nearly two years, Christianity Today journalist Collin Hansen visited the chief schools, churches, and conferences of this growing movement. He sought to describe its members and ask its leading pastors and theologians about the causes and implications of the Calvinist resurgence. The result, Young, Restless, Reformed, shows common threads in their diverse testimonies and suggests what tomorrow’s church might look like when these young evangelicals become pastors or professors. “Collin Hansen invites us on a voyage of discovery, learning how our restless youth are discovering anew the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Weary of churches that seek to entertain rather than teach, longing after the true meat of the Word, these young people are pursuing doctrine. Discover how God is moving among the young, the restless, and the Reformed.” Tim Challies, author, The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment; blogger at Challies.com “Young, Restless, Reformed is the product of some outstanding research. This book will help the reader gain valuable insight into the growing Reformed movement in America.” Jerry Bridges, author of The Pursuit of Holiness “Collin Hansen has uncovered a fresh movement of young Christians for whom doctrine fuels evangelism, kindles passion, and transforms lives. Read it and rejoice.” David Neff, editor-in-chief, Christianity Today media group “A number of strategic ministries have been quietly upholding the doctrines of grace, planting churches, seeing people converted, teaching the whole counsel of God. It is time for quiet gratitude to God and earnest intercessory prayer that what has begun well will flourish beyond all human expectation.” D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School “This lively account is must reading for ministry leaders working with young adults. A wake-up call to ba
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Reweaving The Sacred
$19.95Add to cartIdeal growth and development tool for small congregations in all mainline denominations
Simple, clear exercises and techniques to help leaders and members pinpoint problems and claim and identify gifts and values of their shared history, in order to engage in a ministry of renewal, welcome, and growth
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Suburban Church
$28.00Add to cartOver half of all North Americans live in the suburbs. In The Suburban Church, retired pastor Arthur DeKruyter encourages Christians to “go where the people congregate” and illustrates how to plant, grow, and renew suburban congregations.
Throughout this book, DeKruyter relies on forty-five-plus years of pastoral ministry experience in which his own congregation grew from five families to more than five thousand members. He demonstrates how to minister successfully, dispels myths about suburbia, and explains how to recruit and support volunteers and how to connect international missions to local church growth, and more.
Each chapter concludes with questions for discussion, making the book ideal for pastors and church committees.
Foreword by Leith Anderson
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Discovering Church Life Student Edition (Student/Study Guide)
$19.99Add to cartDiscovering Church Life is a 24-lesson series designed to teach believers the foundational truths concerning life in the local church, the corporate church, and the Kingdom of God. This series, based on biblical principles, covers the major events in the believer’s life, from initial repentance, grace and baptism to progressive spiritual growth and finding God’s will through scriptural truths. This study book will assist believers in building community with a spirit of harmony and commitment toward a local church. It can be used as a church membership course, a new believer’s series, or a small group study.
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Field Guide For The Missional Congregation
$19.00Add to cartThe roster of books on leadership is full of high theory and grand expositions of biblical principles. But there is precious little practical advice for regular people committed to releasing positive change within their local churches. Here one of the church’s foremost theoreticians and one of its most accomplished transformational leaders combine strengths to clarify both how sound congregational transformation can be accomplished by regular folks and the very Christcentered foundations upon which transformation must rest. With unflinching honesty and a deep, knowing sense for the joy that comes from Spirit-led change, the authors guide the reader on a quest for a future church alive with the abundant life God intended.
A Field Guide to the Missional Congregation reveals seven “transformational keys,” using real-life case studies to illustrate each key. A reflective milestone framework, including discovery questions for each chapter, ground the book in a practical process.
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Church Of The Perfect Storm
$19.99Add to cartAn array of cultural forces is coming together to present the church with unprecedented challenge and unequaled opportunity. Such “category 5” realities as postmodernism, postChristendom attacks on belief in God, and the threat of global warming have coalesced to make a “perfect storm” that will leave people uncertain of their place in the world, and all they have previously believed in. Like the disciples when Jesus calmed the storm, the church can cower and cry out for relief. Or, when everything is spinning and whirling in the wind, the church can go out to meet the storm, embrace the gale, . . . and pass out kites.
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7 Strategic Changes Every Church Must Make
$15.99Add to cartAuthor Mark Conner reveals seven strategic changes that every church must make to remain relevant and progressive in today’s culture. These shifts – from inreach to outreach, from events to relationships, from consumers to contributors, from local to kingdom – will transform your church into a powerful force in the 21st Century.
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Discovering Church Life Teacher Edition (Teacher’s Guide)
$19.99Add to cartDiscovering Church Life is a 24-lesson series designed to teach believers the foundational truths concerning life in the local church, the corporate church, and the Kingdom of God. This teacher edition of the study series shows the group leader how to assist believers in building community with a spirit of harmony and commitment toward a local church. Along with the student edition, it can be used as a church membership course, a new believer’s series, or a small group study.
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Canonical Theism : A Proposal For Theology And The Church
$39.99Add to cartCanonical Theism is a post-Protestant vision for the renewal of both theology and church. The editors call for the retrieval and redeployment of the full range of materials, persons, and practices that make up the canonical heritage of the church, including scripture, doctrine, sacred image, saints, sacraments, and more. The central thesis of the work is that the good and life-giving Holy Spirit has equipped the church with not only a canon of scripture but also with a rich canonical heritage of materials, persons, and practices. However, much of the latter has been ignored or cast aside. This unplumbed resource of canonical heritage waits for the church to rediscover its wealth. With a bold set of thirty theses, the authors chart and defend that mine of opportunity. They then invite the entire church to explore the benefits of their discoveries. This ambitious book offers insights to be integrated into the church body, renewing the faith that nourished converts, created saints, and upheld martyrs across the years.
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Re Mission
$20.99Add to cartIn this innovative and radical book, postmodern mission and New Testament studies collide. Andrew Perriman examines the mission ofthe earliest church in its historical context and argues that our context is very different and so our mission cannot simply be a matter of doingexactly what the earliest church did. The key question at the heart of the book is, How do we shape a biblical theology of mission for apostbiblical church?Controversially, Perriman maintains that the eschatological crisis faced by the early church the coming judgment on the enemies that opposed Gods people has now passed with the collapse of the Roman Empire.Eschatology, says Perriman, is about temporary transitions from oppression to deliverance in the history of the people of God.However, creational disorder is with us all the time. The postmodern church does not face an eschatological crisis but a creational crisis. Amissiology that is oriented towards a new creation is far more relevant to us now than a missiology oriented, as it was in most of the New Testament, towards rescue from opposition and persecution.
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Spiritual Enterpreneurialsim : A Story Of Bridging The Sacred And Secular F
$13.49Add to cartThis book is a story of how one small church, aging and in decline, experienced renewal and transformation by bridging the power of the Holy Spirit with business development tools from the small business sector. As the church continues its march through the 21st century it is wise to explore new ways in which we can transition aging and declining small churches into growing centers of vital, life-changing ministry. The approach to small church renewal offered in this book is but one possibility of how small church renewal can take place.
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Dynamic Diversity : Bridging Class Age Race And Gender In The Church
$28.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
From the footpaths of our cities to the chatrooms of the Internet, people are connecting today as never before. As the planet shrinks through the multiple forces of immigration, travel, electronic communication and more fluid employment patterns, we will find ourselves increasingly forced into contact with those who are significantly different from ourselves. Sadly however, the stranger is often a threat to be resisted rather than a friend to be embraced. In this context of in-your-face diversity, it is time to revisit the heart of the New Testament, with its claim that in Jesus Christ a new quality of human relationship is possible. In his letter to the Ephesians, the apostle Paul claims that Christians are a new kind of people, part of a new community: a ‘new humanity’ in Christ (Ephesians 2:15). We exist not in isolation, but in relationship. Dynamic Diversity contends that all Christian congregations everywhere are called to be bridging places, centres of reconciliation, where the major diversities separating human beings are overcome through the presence of God’s Holy Spirit. Bruce Milne presents a biblical model for today and tomorrow where the diversities of gender, generation, ethnicity, color and socio- economic status present exciting and challenging opportunities to demonstrate practical oneness. When this happens, churches become wonderfully alive. In Christ we can be one people, one new humanity, one life.
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Life After Church
$25.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
Out of his own experience as a leaver, Brian distills the complex problem into two viable options:
Stay. Remain in your church with the blessing of Christ and in the power of his great vision for the church to come.
Take the path of revolutionary leaving. Move purposefully, seeking the kingdom of God that is beyond institutions.Whether Sunday mornings find you alone in a one-bedroom apartment or isolated in a church of thousands, Brian reminds you to keep listening for God’s call.
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Understanding Four Views On The Lords Supper
$24.99Add to cartFour different ways Christians understand the Lord’s Supper-Baptist view (memorialism), Reformed (spiritual presence), Lutheran (consubstantiation), and Roman Catholic (transubstantiation)-are fairly represented and debated to provide readers with an opportunity to draw their own conclusion on this important Christian institution.
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Leadership Essentials : Shaping Vision Multiplying Influence Defining Chara
$22.99Add to cartIntroduction: The Art Of Multiplying Influence
Part One: The Character Of A Leader
1 Holy
Developing A Vision Of Christlike Character
2 Habitual
Cultivating Spiritual Disciplines To Sustain Our Leadership
3 Humble
Keeping Watch Over Our SoulsPart Two: The Posture Of A Leader
4 Kneeling
Embracing Servant Love As Our Primary Model
5 Teaming
Building Teams To Accomplish Our Corporate Mission
6 Stewarding
Stewarding Our Gifts, Passions And PersonalityPart Three: The Vision Of A Leader
7 The Compelling Christ
Loving Passionately The Compelling Christ
8 Embracing The Kingdom
Engaging People In Mission
9 Helping Others See
Lifting People Out Of Lethargy And InertiaPart Four: The Shaping Of A Leader
10 Taming Temptation
Facing The Dangers Of Money, Sex And Power
11 Conquering Criticism
Handling Criticism With Humility And Fortitude
12 Defeating Dragons
Addressing Disappointment, Frustration, Anger And DepressionAdditional Info
As essential as the leadership itself is the preparation beforehand, which is why Greg Ogden, a seasoned leader himself, has created this interactive guide that will give you the tools you need to lead well, using your unique gifts and experience.Divided into four sections, this workbook will help you develop character, postures, vision and skills as you participate in the following elements in each chapter:
a memory verse
a Bible study
a reading
a leadership exerciseBy working through these multiple channels of learning you’ll be equipped not just with head knowledge about leadership but with true character formation and awareness of your own abilities that will prepare you for the challenges and choices of leadership.
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Christianity For The Rest Of Us
$17.99Add to cartFor decades the accepted wisdom has been that America’s mainline Protestant churches are in decline, eclipsed by evangelical mega-churches. Church and religion expert Diana Butler Bass wondered if this was true, and this book is the result of her extensive, three-year study of centrist and progressive churches across the country. Her surprising findings reveal just the opposite-that many of the churches are flourishing, and they are doing so without resorting to mimicking the mega-church, evangelical style.
Christianity for the Rest of Us describes this phenomenon and offers a how-to approach for Protestants eager to remain faithful to their tradition while becoming a vital spiritual community. As Butler Bass delved into the rich spiritual life of various Episcopal, United Methodist, Disciples of Christ, Presbyterian, United Church of Christ, and Lutheran churches, certain consistent practices-such as hospitality, contemplation, diversity, justice, discernment, and worship-emerged as core expressions of congregations seeking to rediscover authentic Christian faith and witness today.
This hopeful book, which includes a study guide for groups and individuals, reveals the practical steps that leaders and laypeople alike are taking to proclaim an alternative message about an emerging Christianity that strives for greater spiritual depth and proactively engages the needs of the world.
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Missional Church In Context
$31.99Add to cartThere is an increasing realization in American churches that they are now their own mission field. In light of this awakening, many conversations have begun and work been contributed toward a solution. The Missional Church in Context addresses the realization and offers new insights. Based on the first annual Missional Church Consultation hosted by Luther Seminary, this book is organized into two sections. The first section consists of four essays explore the engagement of the missional church in relation to contextualization. Contributors explore biblical, theological, and historical dimensions regarding how the church is to engage in ministry within and to a specific cultural context. The second section examines four case studies in order to provide readers with concrete examples of how missional understanding of the church can be brought to bear on particular denominations and particular contexts. The Missional Church in Context will extend the conversation by taking it in new directions, while maintaining the foundations of what it means to be the church of Jesus Christ in the world.
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Effectiveness By The Numbers
$24.99Add to cartChapter One: The Fear Of Numbers
Chapter Two: If You Could Count Only One Thing
Chapter Three: How Many And How Often
Chapter Four: How Many Stick?
Chapter Five: How Many Serve?
Chapter Six: Who’s New?
Chapter Seven: Growing By Staying Small
Chapter Eight: What’s More Important Than Dollars?
Chapter Nine: What Product Are You Producing Anyway?Additional Info
Accurately counting the right things can profoundly impact ministry effectiveness. Knowing “the story in the stats” can inform decisions and lead to the things that produce the results most pleasing to God. Gathering and studying the right numbers can help a church wisely invest its resources of time, effort, people, money, and facilities. Effectiveness by the Numbers will help ensure that your church is measuring the right things for the right reasons. Counting what counts enables a church to fulfill its mission–making mature followers of Jesus Christ.Jesus and his disciples counted. They knew how many he fed with the five loaves and fishes. When a crowd gathered they often knew and recorded the number of men, women and children present for the event. The early church counted. They knew that on the day of Pentecost about 3,000 were added to their number. The book of Acts reports that “many believed,” “people were added,” and “many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.” If Jesus counted and the early church kept track of numbers, it is not unreasonable to expect churches today to use metrics to increase their effectiveness in doing God’s work on earth.
This title contains a CD-ROM containing Excel templates for calculating some of the measures discussed in the book.
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Perfect Pastor : Understanding And Relating To The Life And Work Of A Pasto
$28.99Add to cartThe Perfect Pastor? by D. Thomas Owsley, D.Min., is an engaging new book about the realistic, humorous, and poignant life experiences of a fictional pastor. More than just a wonderful story, the book is a tool for church members and pastors alike. It equips laypeople with the insights to relate to and support their pastor while providing pastors with a solid understanding for how to address the various expectations of church members. Dr. Owsley draws upon four decades of church experience, as both a member and pastor, to clarify the biblical requirements, roles, and responsibilities of a pastor. He taps into this wisdom to reveal what the Bible illuminates as a healthy, balanced relationship between pastor and church members. Through compelling anecdotes and profound observations, The Perfect Pastor? improves relationships between church members and their pastors and drives both groups to a greater proximity to God’s purposes.
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Growing Strong Churches
$16.99Add to cartThis book began in the heart of the Apostolic Leadership Team of Ministers Fellowship International. The leadership team realized that it would be of significant value to put one book into the hands of pastors and church leaders that teaches the primary keys that bring life, strength, health and balance to the local church. Bill Schiedler was commissioned with the task of writing such a book and Growing Strong Churches is the result of that effort.
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Cultivating Prayer And Intercession In The Local Church
$9.99Add to cartCultivating Prayer And Intercession In The Local Church is a dynamo in a small package. From his years of experience, personal and corporate observation, and mentoring of prayer warriors, layers of revelation and clear understanding open before the discerning reader. Wave upon wave of anointed illustration, interspersed with plentiful Scripture proofs, combine to sweep one into the stream of intercession which is the writer’s passion. Far from dry, this brief but powerful treatise resonates with true devotion and an infectious spirit of the joy of prayer.
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Ministry Of The Missional Church (Reprinted)
$25.00Add to cartContents
1. Spirit Led Ministry
2. Spirit Led Ministry In The Bible
3. Spirit Led Ministry In Context
4. Spirit Led Ministry In The U.S. Context And The Missional Church
5. Spirit Led Discernment And Decision Making
6. Spirit Led Leadership And Organization
7. Spirit Led Growth And DevelopmentAdditional Info
There’s a different kind of church conversation going on these days–one that moves beyond just focusing on purpose, strategies, or recovering early church practices. Craig Van Gelder argues that understanding the nature of the church is foundational for clarifying the purpose of the church and for developing and organizing its ministry.
Moving beyond methods and techniques to create or sustain church growth, Van Gelder shows that when a church is focused on Spirit-led ministry, growth and development are the natural outcome.The Ministry of the Missional Church brings together theology and organizational theory in a way that inspires biblical and theological imagination about how to let the church be the church–a Spirit-led, missional community that seeks to participate fully in God’s mission in its particular place in the world.
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Tribal Church : Ministering To The Missing Generation
$31.00Add to cartMany churches are seeking ways to reach out to the younger generations. Unfortunately this often manifests as either a “come be just like us!” attitude-suggesting an unwillingness to change in order to be inclusive of young people-or as a slick marketing campaign that targets young adults in much the same way secular advertising does. Both of these approaches often leave young adults feeling that their particular spiritual gifts and needs are unwanted by the church. “We only want you for your demographics” is the message given.
Carol Howard Merritt, a pastor in her mid-thirties, suggests a different way for churches to be able to approach young adults on their own terms. Outlining the financial, social, and familial situations that affect many young adults today, she describes how churches can provide a safe, supportive place for young adults to nurture relationships and foster spiritual growth. There are few places left in society that allow for real intergenerational connections to be made, yet these connections are vital for any church that seeks to reflect the fullness of the body of Christ.
Using the metaphor of a tribe to describe the close bonds that form when people of all ages decide to walk together on their spiritual journeys, Merritt casts a vision of the church that embraces the gifts of all members while reaching out to those who might otherwise feel unwelcome or unneeded. Mainline churches have much to offer young adults, as well as much to learn from them. By breaking down artificial age barriers and building up intentional relationships, congregations can provide a space for all people to connect with God, each other, and the world.
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2nd Resurrection : Leading Your Congregation To New Life
$19.99Add to cart1. When It’s Not A Matter Of Sickness
2. Are We Spiritually Dead?
3. How Churches Die Spiritually
4. Turnaround Is An Eternal Issue
5. Leaders: It’s Time To Die To Yourself
6. A Life Worth Watching
7. Resurrection Begins With You
8. Rolling Away The Stone
9. Life Beyond The Tomb
10. Pastor, Are YOU Ready For Resurrection?
Epilogue: The Meaning Of FaithfulnessAdditional Info
For many congregational and denominational leaders, the goal for churches experiencing declining worship attendance is to turn those congregations around. The “turnaround church” is one that has stagnated or is in decline. The old trends are reversed, new members are added, and everyone rejoices in this story of a congregation restored to health and vitality. But what if the metaphors of decline, stagnation, and loss of health just aren’t getting to the problem? What if the situation is much worse than what those ways of describing it imply? What if the congregation is spiritually dead? The only solution is resurrection. Churches that have lost their sense of mission, that exist only to provide fellowship for the “members of the club,” that expect their leaders to focus solely on ministering to the members’ personal spiritual needs; these churches have died to the purpose of the New Testament church, to make disciples of Jesus Christ. They cannot be turned around; they must come to life again. The key to that resurrection is leaders who are not afraid to diagnose the problem for what it really is, and who realize that resurrection is what being a Christian is about.The goal of this book is to guide the leaders of these churches through the painful, yet ultimately life-giving work of leading a church to new life in the Spirit. If you want to find new life for your church, read on . . .
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Teacher Leader Shepherd
$12.99Add to cartTeacher, Leader, Shepherd: The New Testament Pastor does not attempt to tell the minister how preach or to describe how the pastor should go about his work, or to treat the practical problems faced by pastors. On the contrary, Teacher, Leader, Shepherd focuses on an understanding of what the Bible has to say to or about the pastor and his ministry. The author gives a solid treatment of the New Testament passages, which speak specifically, whether directly or indirectly, to the role of the pastor.
The author presents an exegetical approach to the New Testament passages that includes practical exposition of the implications of the biblical text. Such a study is beneficial to any pastor-whether a veteran or new candidate for pastoral ministry.
The work is informing and challenging, helping to point the pastor’s understanding in the right direction. The author does not offer chapters on each passage, but presents a more thematic approach, a succession of chapters on various aspects of the pastor’s call, qualifications, and role. Yet, the discussions are entirely grounded in exegesis of several passages. At the beginning of the book the passages are listed, together with a brief exegetical outline and a pointer to the chapters that will give more attention to them.
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What Is A Healthy Church
$12.99Add to cartWhat is an ideal church? While many Christians may never have considered that question, they probably have some preconceived idea of the perfect church in their minds. Yet they often have no clue what the ideal church looks like or how it works in our society.
Author Mark Dever reveals the key characteristics to a healthy church: expositional preaching, biblical theology, and a biblical understanding of the gospel. Dever then challenges believers to develop those characteristics in their churches. By following the example of New Testament authors and addressing both the pastors and members of churches, Dever challenges all Christians to do their part in maintaining the local church. What Is a Healthy Church? offers timeless truths and practical principles to help all members fulfill their God-given roles in the church.
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11 Innovations In The Local Church
$19.00Add to cartJoin three seasoned church-ministry experts on an insider’s tour of the most innovative churches today! Discover a dozen types of innovation, each with profiles of congregations that have implemented that innovation. This is more than a show-and-tell tour, however. Each chapter offers a solid take-away for church leaders on how to learn and apply the appropriate innovation profiled. The authors also offer scripturally based assessments of both the positive and negatives implications of implementing each innovation, providing guidance and wisdom. There are many ways to present the gospel, and this timely book will serve as a springboard for church leaders scratching their heads and asking themselves, “What should we do next?” By learning from a dozen different church types, church leaders can become more intentional about exploring new directions and reaching more of the world for Christ.
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No Perfect People Allowed
$24.99Add to cartThis book challenges Christian leaders to engage in the messy art of creating the right culture to reach our postmodern, post-Christian society. Through real stories of God’s perfect work in the lives of imperfect people, you will experience the power of an authentic church community and learn how to deconstruct barriers and bring hope and healing to America’s most unchurched generation.
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Of Widows And Meals
$34.99Add to cart“Community” has become a common by-word in the postmodern church. However, issues of wealth and poverty in the community have often been pushed to the edges of discussion. From the bias of a middle-class Western viewpoint, the idea of communal sharing has fallen by the wayside. Unfortunately, it is often the poor who are left wanting because we no longer come together. Reta Halteman Finger finds a solution to this modern problem by understanding the ancient Mediterranean culture of community and Christianity. In the earliest Jerusalem church, in holding the responsibility for preparing and serving communal meals, women were given a place of honor. With the table-fellowship and goods sharing of the earliest Jerusalem church, Luke declares, “there was not a needy person among them” (4:34). Finger thoroughly examines this agape-meal tradition, challenging traditional interpretations of the “community of goods” in the Jerusalem church. With a revolutionary exegesis of the text “proving that the communal sharing lasted for hundreds of years longer than previously assumed.” Of Widows and Meals begins a discussion of need in community that will revolutionize the modern church’s interaction with the world around us.
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Burn Up Or Splash Down
$25.99Add to cartJust like a space shuttle struggles and strains to re-enter the earth’s atmosphere, so those returning from living overseas can find themselves confused and in a state of panic at coming home. While people anticipate that going overseas will require major changes in their lifestyles and thinking, few anticipate the difficulties they will face upon return. Intended to aid the re-entry process, this encouraging, and insightful book deals with these important subjects: adapting to the passport cultureidentifying areas of potential struggledealing with the emotional challengesfinding a new job, a new place to live, learning the social moresreturning is not coming home it is leaving homefacilitating a smooth transition for those on the receiving end Expatriates, missionaries, mission executives, mission pastors, mission communities, and supporters interested in easing the re-entry experience will benefit greatly from this book.
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Worshiping Artist : Equipping You And Your Ministry Team To Lead Others In
$24.99Add to cartWhether you serve as a vocalist, instrumentalist, technician, dancer, actor, or in some other role, you know what a blessing it is to serve on your church’s worship team. But you also know that some days you’re more technically prepared than you are spiritually prepared for the ministry of leading others in worship. In the midst of rehearsals, setup, and myriad distractions, not to mention the busyness of daily life, it’s easy to miss the forest for the trees. How can you and your fellow team members be prepared to worship in spirit and truth as well as lead others in worship with integrity?
With thirty years of experience in worship leading, Rory Noland knows the issues-in both the private life of the worship team member and the public ministry of a worship team. In this readable book, he offers practical insights on how to * Grow as a private worshiper * Encounter the character of God during worship * Respond to the character of God during worship * Be transformed by the character of God * Learn from ancient worship leaders … and more.
So relevant you’ll think the author was eavesdropping on your last church service, The Worshiping Artist is ideal to read either by yourself or as a team.
