Pastoral Helps
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Sunflowers Sparrows And Salt
$29.95Add to cartSunflowers, Sparrows, And Salt provides a year’s worth of simple, Bible-based lessons perfect for use in the classroom or the sanctuary, coupled with easily reproducible, ready-to-use activities that keep young people interested while helping them grasp the main concepts. There are coloring pages for younger children, plus puzzles and word games for older children — all working together to reinforce scriptural wisdom and Christian values. The lessons follow the seasons of the year, with material for both general and special occasions. This all-new collection of children’s sermons and activity pages from popular CSS author Julia Bland is sure to become an indispensable resource for pastors and Sunday school teachers.
Lessons are included for these special days:
* New Year’s Day
* Valentine’s Day
* Palm Sunday
* Easter Sunday
* Mother’s Day
* Memorial Day
* Father’s Day
* Independence Day
* Labor Day
* Thanksgiving
* Christmas -
Life Everlasting : The Essential Book Of Funeral Resources
$49.95Add to cartThis comprehensive volume is a must-have resource for every pastor. It contains over 100 sample sermons from preachers across the denominational spectrum, plus a vast array of prayers, scripture readings, and other material for planning and conducting meaningful funeral services. A convenient CD with text files for quick tailoring to specific circumstances is also included.
The sermons cover a wide range of topics, including:
* honoring the long and fruitful lives of faithful Christians
* comforting the families and friends of children who left this world too soon
* dealing with troubling questions about God raised by those who have suffered
* offering solace to the loved ones of those who have died suddenly and unexpectedly
* demonstrating how the image of God is present even in difficult and unsavory people
* celebrating a variety of distinctive “characters”
* addressing the difficult issues associated with those who have committed suicide
* witnessing the Christian message of salvation to the unchurchedLife Everlasting is also packed with other valuable resources:
* children’s messages that help young people grasp the meaning of death
* prayers and other liturgical material, including calls to worship and responsive scripture readings
* an extensive selection of scripture texts, each with brief “sermon starter” ideas
* lists of appropriate musical repertoire, including hymns, choral music, instrumental music, and music for soloistsWith all this in one volume, Life Everlasting provides a complete set of practical tools for making funerals powerfully effective moments of ministry that reaffirm the central Christian message of Jesus Christ’s victory over death.
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Mans Question Gods Answer (Revised)
$24.99Add to cartFilled with discussions on more than 200 topics and issues that separate us from the perfect will of God, Man’s Question, God’s Answer is not just a book for counsellors. It is also a vital and powerful tool for personal evangelism. LuAnn Bransby has designed this book to reveal the consequences of sin as well as the blessings of God to those who overcome. Its easy-to-use format will help you take control over your life and circumstances, and help others who face similar problems and issues. If you are searching for the right answer to a difficult situation or sinful behavior, this is the book to read!
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Christian Woman Set Free
$14.95Add to cartSeventeen hundred years is enough! Edwards leads the call to vanquish the inequality of women in the kingdom of God. His weapons of revelation? History, the Greek language, and his own witness of women in churches who are free.
The author challenges Christian ministers to take up the cause of eliminating inequality in the church and dare to discover what happens in the body of Christ when all members function.
The author goes to the root of our present-day Bible translations and lays the axe to the centuries-old tree of mistranslation. You will be shocked to discover that the King James Version does not say what the original Greek text said about women in Paul’s letters (and neither do most other Bible translations).
This book brings to light the mindset that has held both women and men prisoners of misconceptions through the centuries. Reading The Christian Woman…Set Free liberates the reader of any doubt regarding a woman’s place in the kingdom of God. (You will be awed as you see that the greatest friend of women in all of human history, the Lord Jesus Christ, broke all the rules of his day in regard to the treatment of women.)
Best of all, what makes The Christian Woman…Set Free unique is that it is not based on theory, nor is it an intellectual treatise. It is a revolutionary document forged on the anvil of the author’s experiences in daily church life. Edwards writes from a matrix where equality is a way of life and full participation in the church is the territory of both men and women. Edwards give you the practical how-to of the way to experience this freedom in your gathering. There are testimonies in the book of women who experience freedom to share in all the functions of the church. In their churches there is no specific leader, but all are joint leaders.
The Christian Woman…Set Free is a fast paced, high-energy book that takes dead aim at the very foundation of our present-day mindset concerning women and men in church life.
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Holy Hospitality : Worhsip And The Baptismal Covenant
$17.95Add to cartWhat does it really mean to “proclaim the good news of God in Christ” and to “continue in the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of the bread, and in the prayers?” These promises from the baptismal rite of the Book of Common Prayer have become very familiar to most Episcopalians, but they have yet to be fully lived out in most congregations. In this lively and accessible guide, Clayton Morris argues that everyone present on Sunday mornings has a ministry of hospitality, coming together in a proclamation of welcome to all.
Praise for Holy Hospitality
“For some, Holy Hospitality will raise eyebrows, and for others it will bring a sigh of relief. Morris has named the elephant in the worship space and recognized that its tail and trunk extend into daily life. He does not give the answers but pointedly asks congregational leaders to contextualize worship in terms of mission and ministry. It is well worth reading and reflecting upon by persons who are seeking to embody the fullness of the gospel imbedded in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer or its equivalent books in Lutheran, Presbyterian, United Methodist, and other churches.”
–The Rev. Daniel Benedict, retired Worship Resources Director, General Board of Discipleship, United Methodist Church“Holy Hospitality is an excellent primer for those who are just beginning liturgical leadership and is full of wisdom and friendly reminders for those who have been at it for a while. Everyone involved in parish worship–presiders, deacons, musicians, altar guilds, ushers, worship committee members–will profit from the rich experience that Dr. Morris brings to bear.”
–The Right Rev. J. Neil Alexander, Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta“Holy Hospitality sets the stage for a renewed conversation about worship and how people are drawn into God?s own mission. Though written from an Anglican perspective, the shape and content of this book invites worship planners from other traditions into the dialogue, the hospitable back and forth of feeding and being fed.”
–The Rev. Michael Burk, Ph. D., Executive for Worship, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America“Clayton Morris has crafted a useful and very thoughtful handbook and guide to congregations intending to enhance the welcome they offer newcomers. The theology offered here, always mindful of matters of justice, has a hospitable baptismal heart.”
–The Rev. William Seth Adams, B.D., Ph.D., retired Professor of Liturgics, Episcopal Seminary o -
3rd Level Tithing
$12.49Add to cartThe inspirational writing for this book is the result of a question the Holy Spirit dropped into my spirit … Who gets the tenth part? As a result of this question, I began to search the Scriptures referencing the “tenth part tithing,” which revealed the process leading to tithing at the third level, who gets it, and the blessings thereof. Tithing at the Third Level is a biblical ordinance of God in representing a holy offering without sin. This method of tithing is revealed in Scripture. It is designed to add increase to tithers (Deuteronomy 8:18) for the purpose of promoting the work of the kingdom. This intriguing study will not only inspire you, it will also instill a greater desire to sow with purpose into the kingdom. It’s my belief and experience that third-level tithing is God’s method of rebuking the devourer, sowing up bags with holes (Haggai 1:6; Malachi 3:11), and as a result causing tithers to reap a bountiful harvest.
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From Pew To Pulpit
$18.99Add to cartIn recent years, many lay preachers and bivocational pastors have assumed responsiblity for weekly preaching in local churches. While many of these individuals can preach a fairly good sermon, they haven’t necessarily gotten detailed instruction in the how-tos of preaching. This practical guide addresses choosing the right text and topic; listening to one’s first impressions of the text; keeping liesteners in mind; making engaging use of stories; and delivering with passion. It also includes suggestions for resources, including Bibles, commentaries, other print resources, and websites.
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Touch One : How Much Is One Soul Worth To God
$15.49Add to cartTouch One is about Chris Schimel’s experience with a dropin client while Chris was pastor of a church in Northridge, California. This client was “on the edge” from stresses at his job. The counseling experience, based on a true story, lasted more than two years. Chris is forced to focus his attention upon the bizarre antics of this unique visitor, seemingly on the verge of a nervous breakdown. You will feel this strange caller’s pain as he unfolds his tragic circumstances. Chris finds himself caught in the tension between successfully growing a church and feeling compelled to help this one lost soul who keeps showing up at the most inconvenient times. But as Chris reluctantly submits to these awkward visits from this mysterious individual, God teaches him lessons about true success, big and growing ministries, and reaching the masses, as opposed to touching “the one.” Touch One is a moving story that entertains while it gently pierces the soul, changes the heart, and heals emotional wounds. Its biblical soundness is unmistakable, and the honesty it exudes will rejuvenate the spirit. This unique account of one pastor’s encounter with a troubled soul will make you laugh and cry and reevaluate many of your ideals concerning ministry. The author’s honesty and perspectives on the lessons God taught him through the experiences he shares are refreshing, uplifting, and eye opening. Other writings may broach similar ideas, but none addresses these subjects as directly and with such brutal honesty as this book does. Furthermore, Touch One is a fluid story helping to make it and the lessons it contains readable and entertaining to a wide audience beyond pastors and ministry leaders. Through the circulation of Chris’ experience, it is hoped that God might impress upon His church what His heart is concerning ministry motives. This book contains a message that is crucial for the church culture of our day.
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Whats Theology Got To Do With It
$30.00Add to cartTheology can be a loaded word for mainline Protestant congregations. It often suggests the dogmatic or implies fault lines for conflict. But when unleashed from its narrow academic sense, “theology” offers a powerful way to get at many of the issues that impact the health and vitality of congregations.
Anthony Robinson carefully defines theology as the “core convictions” that help members of a congregation understand their common perspective and shared identity. Theology is the foundational Christian experience, the wisdom that both forms and transforms lives. Rather than avoiding theology, congregations should openly express their beliefs and values to clarify their purpose, argues Robinson. Instead of trying to define the boundaries of belief, a “center-set” congregation will zero in on a reasonably clear core faith.
He examines the problems that occur when congregations are reluctant to focus on theology and are unsure of their beliefs. They risk having a weak identity with nothing at stake. They risk being little more than an exclusive social club. Absent core convictions, structure replaces Spirit, indirection replaces healthy dialogue, and agendas replace leadership.
Central to the book is the notion that Christianity is a revealed religion apart from our own personal preferences. The Bible as Scripture offers a doorway to God and a critical unifying narrative. The Trinity, as a powerful metaphor, provides a balanced approach to fulfilling a congregation’s purpose. Core convictions about God as creator, the person and work of Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are crucial to a congregational vitality.
Too many mainline Protestant churches are theologically “underfunded.” Congregations are strengthened when what they believe backs what they do. Indeed, theology, it turns out, has everything to do with it.
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Competent Pastor : Skills And Self Knowledge For Serving Well
$30.00Add to cartWhat does it mean to say that a pastor is competent? And how does a competent pastor function? This book is intended to help pastors, seminarians, and lay people who work with pastors understand and answer these two questions.
Competence in ministry is a moving target. A ministry technique that works in one parish may not work in another. What works today may not work five years from now. But a competent pastor will be able to adapt to changing locations and changing times. A competent pastor will be happy in her job-or able to figure out why she’s not happy and how to move forward. A competent pastor won’t get stuck-or when he does get stuck, he’ll know what steps to take to get unstuck. Competence, defined by author Ronald Sisk as “the ability to do what needs to be done,” requires ministers to understand themselves and others and to keep a realistic perspective on their lives. Competent pastors function by moving toward this kind of understanding and perspective.
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Loving The Church Blessing The Nations
$30.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
Rediscovering the role God designed for the church in mission is a critical issue facing the missions movement today. That role is to glorify God by planting churches among every tongue, tribe, and nation. Planting churches amid unreached peoples is a complex process. It calls forth every ministry gift and the contribution of every believer.
Imagine a businessman, a construction worker, a schoolteacher, and an engineer all working together to support the development of a local church amongst an unreached people group in another part of the world. Most Christians will not leave home and go elsewhere to minister. If they are to participate in God’s global mission, they must be affirmed, developed and released right where they live, in the context of their local church. This book shows how churches can become centers of mission vision and implementation and so accomplish God’s design for the local church.
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Clergy Burnout : Recovering From The 70 Hour Week And Other Self Defeating
$23.00Add to cart1.Painful Pastoring
2.Burnout And Codependence
3.Personalities And Codependence
4.The Church And Codependence
5.Holiness And Spirituality
6.Becoming Gospel-centered
7.Developing Spiritual Maturity
8.Regaining Balance
9.Stretching And Bridging
10.Knowing The Boundaries
11.Becoming Empowered
12.Un-trashing The TempleAdditional Info
In this highly accessible book, Fred Lehr clarifies the nature and practice of clergy codependence. In short, insightful, and highly readable chapters, filled with many examples and stories from his own life and those he has counseled, Lehr identifies the typical forms codependence takes in the life and ministry of clergy:1.the chief-enabler, the one who keeps things functioning;
2.the scapegoat, the one on whom everything’s blamed when it goes wrong, the one who’s responsible;
3.the hero, the example, the pure and righteous one;
4.the lost child, the one no one really knows or cares about;
5.the rescuer, the one who saves the day, makes the visit, fixes the problem, makes everything all right again;
6.the mascot, the cheerleader, the one who offers comic relief, brings down the tension level after a heated discussion. -
Myth Of The 200 Barrier
$18.99Add to cartThere are two different ways of being a church – pastor size and program. The transitional church is really a hybrid of these two cultures, and this dual nature produces stress and tension where the idea of a 200 barrier often becomes a self-fulfilling expectation.
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7 Deadly Sins Of Small Group Ministry
$22.99Add to cartAssessment and solution for seven common obstacles to building small groups. It’s one thing to start a small group ministry. It’s another to keep the groups in your church healthy and headed in the same direction. Whatever your church’s approach may be-whether it is a church with groups or of groups- sooner or later, as a leader, you’ll need to do some troubleshooting. That’s when the expert, to-the-point guidance in this book will prove its worth. The beauty of this book lies in its unique diagnostic process. It allows you to assess, diagnose, and correct seven common “deadly sins” that can drain the life from your church’s small group ministry. In The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry, what would take you years to learn through trial and error is distilled into some of the most useful information you can find. Drawing on the knowledge they’ve gleaned from working inside Willow Creek Community Church, from consulting with hundreds of churches, and from conducting conferences and seminars worldwide, small group experts Bill Donahue and Russ Robinson furnish you with proven, real-life solutions to the toughest problems in your small group ministry. This is not theory-it is hands-on material you can read and apply today.
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Pastoral Care To The Aged
$14.95Add to cartHere, in handy pocket or purse-sized format, is a nuts-and-bolts guide to visiting the elderly in a variety of settings, to offer pastoral care and spiritual comfort. Kirkwood offers readers a thorough overview of the aging process, including the challenges of dementia and a look at the unique emotional and spiritual needs of the elderly. This book offers help to those who want to make visits to the elderly more meaningful.
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Prayers From The Darkness
$20.95Add to cartThe “difficult psalms” shock us with their cries of pain, anger, and alienation. Lyn Fraser, following the lead of Walter Brueggemann, shows how to integrate these “psalms of disorientation” in Sunday morning worship, pastorla care, and any situation of extreme need.
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Images Of Pastoral Care
$34.99Add to cart“Robert Dykstra’s reading of the pastoral theological tradition is masterful. This book is at once a history of the field, woven together around living illustrations of key moments and metaphors, and a fresh conceptualization. Its three-part grouping of classical, paradoxical, and contemporary/contextual ‘images of care,’ its well-chosen and carefully edited excerpts of each image, and its wisely crafted introductory remarks make this a real gold mine. Seldom does one find a book that is so useful both for ministers desiring a basic introduction to pastoral care and doctoral students seeking a sophisticated understanding of the field. We are indebted to Dykstra for this multifaceted contribution.”
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Touching Place : A Handbook For The Ministry Of Healing In The Local Church
$12.99Add to cartThis is a practical handbook for all local churches that are developing the ministry of healing. It explores biblical teaching on healing, healing through the sacraments, creating prayer ministry teams, training, planning and conducting healing services, accountability, boundaries and confidentiality, the ministry of listening and much more. In a sensitive area where the highest standards of conduct are vital, here is a wise and balanced guide.
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Children Matter : Celebrating Their Place In The Church Family And Communit
$35.50Add to cartChildren today are no longer expected to be “seen and not heard,” yet in many churches children are involved only in programs designated for them. “Children Matter” offers a full discussion of children’s spirituality and shows how the faith community can effectively nurture its youngest members.
Speaking from their experience with children’s ministry in a range of Protestant traditions, the authors draw on the Bible, history, and psychology to lay good foundations for such ministry before discussing the specific content and contexts of faith formation. Finally, they provide wise and practical advice on putting together interesting programs without losing sight of their main purpose. Rather than focusing on innovative ways to use technology, “Children Matter” emphasizes relationships between people and encourages the church to welcome all children as valued participants in the people of God. It will challenge and refresh anyone invested in ministry with children. -
Wondrous Depth : Preaching The Old Testament
$34.00Add to cartEllen Davis is concerned by what she calls a “shallow reading” of Scripture–a reading of what we think we already know instead of an attempt to dig deeper for new insights and revelations. Wondrous Depth is a collection of essays in which Davis argues for a more engaged reading of Scripture that opens the reader up to new knowledge and understanding. Davis also demonstrates that preaching and biblical interpretation are essentially related to one another in that it is essential for preachers to engage in thorough reading and interpretation of Scripture from the pulpit and to encourage their congregations to read the Bible with depth and sensitivity as well.
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Super Simple Bible Lessons
$19.99Add to cartHave you ever needed a Bible lesson QUICK! This resource solves your problem. Super Simple Bible Lessons contains sixty Bible lessons covering both the Old and New Testaments. Each lesson includes a story, a Bible verse, and a super simple craft activity that will reinforce the story. Each craft activity is reproducible. Make as many copies as you need for your class of two or twenty. An easy-to-use index helps you locate specific stories for the children
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Soul Stories : African American Christian Education (Revised)
$23.99Add to cartStories take on a fresh cross-generational orientation with emphasis on linking stories of family identities, events, relationships, and story plot with Bible stories and exemplary Christian faith stories in the African Diaspora.
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Living A Life That Matters
$9.99Add to cartIf It Makes You Happy … – If It Makes You Happy … It Could Be Very Bad – Who Knew Pleasure Would Be So Disappointing? – If It Feels Good, Do It? – What Does It Mean? Fill in the blank: My life would be meaningful if _________________. If you’re observant, you’ll see all kinds of ways people are trying to fill in that blank. Some want more money, more influence, more pleasure-MORE. So, does it work? Will devouring all that the world has to offer lead to satisfaction? The book of Ecclesiastes is about by someone who tried to answer that question. Whether it was sex, drugs, money, power, food, relationships, or knowledge, King Solomon tried it all and documented what he discovered as he searched for a purpose to his life. Look Around lets you gaze over Solomon’s shoulder as he indulges every pleasure, exercises every power, and emerges with a radical conclusion about how to live. You’ll find ways that his search for meaning connects with yours, and how your story can connect with your friends’ as they seek meaning in the world.
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Super Simple Bible Lessons
$19.99Add to cartHave you ever needed a Bible lesson QUICK! This resource solves your problem. Super Simple Bible Lessons contains sixty Bible lessons covering both the Old and New Testaments. Each lesson includes a story, a Bible verse, and a super simple craft activity that will reinforce the story. Each craft activity is reproducible. Make as many copies as you need for your class of two or twenty. An easy-to-use index helps you locate specific stories for the children.
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Leading From The Second Chair
$26.95Add to cartAbout Leadership Network.
Foreword (Greg L. Hawkins).Preface.
1. Living In The Paradoxes.
2. Am I A Second Chair Leader?
THE FIRST PARADOX
Subordinate-Leader.3. Taking It From The Top.
4. Crossing The Line.
A Word To First Chairs On The Subordinate-Leader Paradox.
THE SECOND PARADOX
Deep-Wide.5. A Matter Of Perspective.
6. Building The Team . . . One Relationship At A Time.
7. Putting It Into Practice.
A Word To First Chairs On The Deep-Wide Paradox.
THE THIRD PARADOX
Contentment-Dreaming.8. Contentment In The Second Chair.
9. Dreaming In The Second Chair.
10. Leaving The Second Chair.
A Word To First Chairs On The Contentment-Dreaming Paradox.
Epilogue.
The People Behind The Stories: Profiles Of Second Chair Leaders.
Bibliography.
Acknowledgments.
About The Authors.
Index.
Additional Info
LEADING FROM THE SECOND CHAIR will raise awareness of the need for strong leaders in secondary positions. It will describe the value they can bring to their organization and to primary leaders when they are serving at their full potential. It will reshape the way they view their role, with an emphasis on their own responsibility as leaders. It recognizes the unique challenges and frustrations of serving in a subordinate position and equips these leaders with the attitudes and skills that they will need to survive and thrive in this new paradigm.
Because of the scarcity of resources for second chair leaders, particularly those in the church, this book will offer a practical way to improve the performance of any organization. Leading Congregational Change discussed the importance of a “vision community”–a diverse group of key members who discern and implement the vision for a congregation–to guide the transformation of a church. This work will extend the theme of an empowered leadership team as we explore how individual clergy and laity can lead effectively. -
Welcome Pastor : Building A Productive Pastor Congregation Partnership In 4
$12.95Add to cartA 40-day devotional guide to help churches with new pastors strengthen their relationships with God and one another. Much time, effort, and prayer goes into selecting a new pastor. However many pastors get off to a poor start because the members of the congregation and the new pastor don???t have an effective means for getting to know each other.
This study helps congregations and pastors get off on the right foot and build a successful partnership that starts strong and endures. A poorly begun pastor-congregation relationship results in hurt and frustration, eventually lurching to a miserable conclusion. Churches invest a lot into finding a pastor, and this book will help make sure your church gets the relationship off to a great start.
Getting a new pastor off to a good start is critical to the over 100,000 churches facing changes in leadership each year. This 40-day congregation-wide study provides the foundation for a successful ministry partnership.
“Welcome Pastor” is the first book to offer a clear, simple process for building a successful partnership between a new pastor and a congregation. Its combination of devotional readings and dialogue is easy and pleasurable to read without being simplistic or trite.
People Who Will Benefit From This Book
Congregational Group Study
Pastors and Church Leaders
Pastoral Search Committees
Denominational Leaders
Seminaries: Teaachers and Students -
New Perspectives On Breaking The 200 Barrier
$12.99Add to cart1. What Are Choice Points?
2. Common Choice Points
3. A Choice Point Growth Strategy
4. The 200 Barrier
5. Spiritual Preparations
6. Planning
7. Implementing
8. Leading
9. Conclusion: You Can!Additional Info
Your church can rise from its plateau and Break The 200 Barrier!New Perspectives On Breaking The 200 Barrier is directed to both the pastor and the layperson and offers insights and strategies that will help your church move beyond the average and into the extraordinary. Based on current church trends, new research, and years of experience, strategist Dr. Bill Sullivan returns to the topic of his earlier work, Ten Steps To Breaking The 200 Barrier (1988), and revisits the challenges churches face when trying to grow beyond an attendance of 200. This time he focuses on how the decisions of the congregation affect the church as a whole. He stresses why it is important to train the people, as well as the pastor and church leaders, to understand and accept the changes that come with growth and the desire to expand Christ’s kingdom.
New Perspectives On Breaking the 200 Barrier will help your church:
* Examine the decisions made toward church growth and understand how to make better choices
* Develop a strategy for dealing with tacit assumptions that remain fixed and unresponsive to change without placing all of the responsibility on the pastor
* Focus on prayer and faith with new insight
* Recognize that the gate of change is locked on the inside and it is the congregation that holds the key -
Pastoral Care In Hospitals (Reprinted)
$38.95Add to cartBringing comfort to the sick or dying is never easy. Drawing from his own experience, Kirkwood shows laypeople and clergy what’s helpful—and what’s not—and provides a “theology of visitation” to guide your time with friends and patients. Includes an all-new section on the best practices for hospital chaplains; and prayers for specific circumstances.
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Tween Bible Puzzles
$18.99Add to cartTween Bible Puzzles is a reproducible book of Bible activities that can be used with Tweens in Transition or can be used as a stand-alone activity book for tweens. Tween Bible Puzzles contains two puzzles per week for an entire year and covers the Old and New Testaments. Reproducible puzzles allow teachers to select activities that supplement learning in their classroom for only pennies a week. Through reflection questions included with each puzzle the students will begin discussion of the lesson to assist in long-term memory and life application.
Tweens Bible Puzzles contains 104 Bible activities, a scripture index, topical index and answers sheets for all the puzzles. Clear, easy to use indexes help teachers find just the right activity in a snap!
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Guide To Preaching
$20.99Add to cartPreaching can be an extremely daunting experience for many but is an essential part of any service or Christian occasion. It is so important for the preacher to engage with their listeners and present their message clearly. A Guide to Preaching will do just that – an authoritative, comprehensive yet immensely readable book containing a treasure chest of facts, styles, inspiration and lively examples from around the world for old hands or those new to preaching. A Guide to Preaching covers every aspect of the task of preaching, from planning a sermon that takes account of biblical, personal, church and liturgical background through to using stories, imagination, dialogue, drama, news bulletins and much more. An entire chapter is devoted to developing the skills of rhetoric, and it includes plenty of practical advice and examples to help you understand, develop and review your own style. Roger Bowen has edited this guide with contributions from David Edwards, David Gitari, Simea Meldrum, Esther Mombo and Vinoth Ramachandra. “”This is a helpful book from which most preachers will learn something.”” Stella Mills, Rural Theology (vol. 5, issue 68)
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Ready To Go Youth Group Activities (Teacher’s Guide)
$23.99Add to cartReady-Made Event Packages
…Just Add Youth Group
FULLY LOADED
All Options, Extras & Side Items Included
These ready-made event packages are completely accessorized with everything you need to easily prepare and smoothly execute fun and instructive youth activities.You can spend less time on planning event details, and more time directly engaging your teens.
These plans cover every detail, even laying out hour-by-hour schedules for you.
Think of the convenience. Think of all the up-front prep time you can save.
The unique benefit of the Ready-To-Go series is that these activity materials go beyond merely offering ideas.
Ready to Go resources instead provide fully developed activity & event plans. These allow the youth leader to host youth events of substance & quality, with a minimal up-front time investment.
It’s like offering a baked cake instead of a cake recipe & ingredients. Or, offering a fully-assembled ready-to-use playground set…instead of loose components in a box with assembly instructions.
This book features 101 ready-to-go lessons that Youth Leaders can use in a Sunday School setting, in youth meetings, or retreats.
It also contains meeting ideas and lessons that can be utilized quickly and effectively when the need arises. Ready-to-Go Youth Group Activities includes —
Meeting starters
Short Bible studies
Test worksheets
Fliers
Parable studies with skits
Games
Small events with little or no prep time
Meeting closers
A scripture index.
All materials are reproducible.Ready-To-Go resources are equipped with event themes that target contemporary issues teens face in the real world. These relevant messages are delivered with impact, through coordinated devotional plans, discussion frameworks, and captivating activities.
All the event accessories you need, down to publicity fliers and parental forms are included.
Just add youth.
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Substance Of Faith
$26.00Add to cartTo read The Substance of Faith is once again to experience Clarence Jordan at his best: the flashing witt that could illuminate even as it entertained, the blazing concern that knew how to lay its burden on the heart of even the causual listerner, the biting irony that pierced shame and pretense, the depth of spirit that saw fresh meaning in the most familar passage of Scripture. With in the pages of this book, you’ll discover the basic themes of Clarence Jordan’s life: “Incartational Evangelishm”, the “God Movement” and his prophetic insight into the enemies of authentic faith, such as Mammon. Dallas Lee has brought all this together from what Clarence Jordan siadn in the pulpit, classroom and lecture hall.
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Servant Leadership : Jesus And Paul
$24.99Add to cart“Efrain Agosto provides a rich and textured study of religious leadership as exercised by Jesus and the apostle Paul. The study is not only exegetically thorough, it provides an implicit challenge to contemporary religious leaders to rethink and reform our own roles. In the last chapter, Agosto makes that challenge explicit in ways that are clear, helpful, and appropriately demanding. A fine book for those who provide leadership to religious communities and to those who teach those leaders.”
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Pulpit Science Fiction
$12.95Add to cartTo keep the Christian message relevant in our rapidly changing times, it’s vital that churches come to terms with how modern technology and scientific knowledge have changed the way we understand the world. And because preaching is the church’s primary mode of communication (especially with adults), it offers a significant opportunity to shape how we think about the larger questions of our existence.
One innovative way for preachers to address these concerns is through popular science fiction. Because many of the genre’s stories deal with the impact of science and technology on individuals and cultures, they often have implicit religious implications. Pulpit Science Fiction is a fascinating collection of creative story sermons that shows how you can use elements drawn from science fiction to boldly proclaim the Christian faith. In addition to 14 imaginative “science fiction parables,” a pair of essays are also included that illustrate how references to science fiction films and stories can be utilized in preaching.
Story titles include:
* Improving The Species — Genesis 6:1-4
* Exiles — Ezekiel 34:11-16, 23-24
* Time Travel — Mark 1:12-15
* The Aliens Are Puzzled — John 10:11-16
* Burying The Seeds — John 12:20-33
* The Signal — Ephesians 3:7-12
* erhero: Sort of a Sequel — Hebrews 12:1-2
…and seven more! -
Church And Stage
$16.95Add to cartChurch and Stage is a guide for people in churches who want to employ theater in ministry, and for theater people who want to create opportunities to work in churches. The points of contact between religion and theater are numerous, and Dean J. Seal offers guidelines for making the connection work no matter what level of experience or financial commitment a congregation brings to the task. The author, who has worked in the worlds of both church and stage, provides background on the historical and theological relationship between religion and theater. He then offers practical advice and guidelines for the use of theater in the context of ministry-from discussion groups to bibliodrama to play-going to ultimately producing a show. This book is a resource for ministers, lay leaders, youth groups, and members of the theater community who desire greater integration of faith and work.
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Almost Every Answer For Practically Any Teacher (Reprinted)
$24.99Add to cartQuestions? Answers. Teachers face the threat of burnout, the challenge of discipline, and the complexity of different learning styles. Here’s your chance to get a firm grasp on every issue from A to Z! This book contains 100 articles that provide insight, inspiration, and instruction for those who communicate God’s truth at school, home, church, or in the workplace. Edited by bestselling author Bruce Wilkinson, this is your resource for making a life-changing impact on your students. Includes articles by a variety of Christian leaders, from Charles Swindoll to Joni Eareckson Tada and A.W. Tozer.
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Primer On Pastoral Care
$21.00Add to cartEditor’s Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction1.The One-Room Schoolhouse
2.The Grammar Of Care: Pointers And Precepts
3.The Prism Of Pastoral Care: Scripture Refracted
4.The Community As Classroom: Avoiding Compassion Fatigue
5.The Open Classroom: Places Of Care
6.The Open Classroom: More Places Of Care
7.An Alphabet Of GraceNotes
Additional Info
Based on her twenty years of teaching and on her own experience in pastoral care, Jeanne Stevenson-Moessner has written a basic pastoral-care text to assist in the emotional and spiritual preparation of pastoral caregivers.Stevenson-Moessner sees pastoral care as the interconnection and interplay of love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self. Her brief book engenders confidence and caring in the initiate, and assuages the fear and anxiety that naturally occur when one accompanies people in life-changing pain and travail. Through bibical parables – especially the Good Samaritan and the Good Shepherd – and stories from her own experience, Stevenson-Moessner imparts genuine wisdom and meaningful support to those who courageously dare to offer caregiving ministry in whatever situation or through whatever method or paradigm.
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Small Group Leaders Handbook
$19.99Add to cartThe Small Group Leaders Handbook provides a solid scriptural foundation upon which to build your small group ministry. By combining biblical teaching with practical guidelines, the Small Group Leaders Handbook provides a balanced and thorough exploration of small group ministry in the twenty-first century.
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Praying Congregation : The Art Of Teaching Spiritual Practice
$29.00Add to cart“I believe that God is calling all of us into deeper prayer and is longing for our congregations to become places of prayer,” writes Jane E. Vennard. Pastors and others who want to develop their skills as teachers of prayer and spiritual practices will find in this book not only wisdom for themselves but easily accessible lesson plans, so that they can share Vennard’s insights with others while infusing the activities with their own spirit and creative ideas.
Readers are invited to gently explore questions such as, Who taught you to pray and how? What do you believe about prayer? What is your image of the God to whom you pray? And, What is prayer anyway? Through this book, readers’ hearts are made ready to explore the wonder of strengthening their relationship with God through prayer.
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This Holy Mystery
$14.00Add to cartIt’s Communion Sunday. The service is a little longer, and the sacrament is observed with gravity. You know it’s important, but the wonder is lost. What does it all mean, really?
According to the results of a survey, you’re not alone. United Methodists have a strong sense of the importance of Holy Communion, but they also lack a meaningful understanding of the theology behind it. Reclaim a richer sacramental life in your congregation through a group study of This Holy Mystery.
In 2004, the General Conference of The United Methodist Church adopted an official interpretative document on Holy Communion. (Go here to download a copy.) For the first time in our history, the denomination has an official, comprehensive statement of the practice and theology of the Lord’s Supper. Now, it’s time for congregations to help members understand the observance.
“We believe that study of this document will yield increased appreciation for the sacrament in the worship experience and enable United Methodist people to draw nourishment and strength for their ongoing journeys of faith,” writes Felton.
This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion is a study guide of the General Conference approved document. An all-in-one resource, this book is for both participants and leaders. It’s divided into seven sessions, providing commentary on the history, practice, and principles of Holy Communion in United Methodist congregations. It also points to implication of the sacrament for ministry and mission.
We come to the Table of the Lord seeking to have our spiritual needs met. The benefits include forgiveness, nourishment, healing, transformation, ministry and mission, and eternal life. Renew your appreciation for the divine grace made available through this sacrament.
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Understanding Church Growth (Revised)
$34.99Add to cartAuthor Donald A. McGavran is considered a founder of the Church Growth Movement in America. In this 3rd edition of his standard work, McGavaran analyzes the causes, methods and strategies for successful church growth both in America and abroad.
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Empowering Your Preaching (Student/Study Guide)
$24.99Add to cartRevitalize your preaching ministry with “Empowering Your Preaching”. This one-day course is an intense spiritual, mental, and practical encounter. Find your spirit empowered as you work though each chapter and receive a fresh new hunger to preach the Word.
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Vocation Of The Christian Scholar (Revised)
$25.99Add to cartRichard T. Hughes’s highly praised book on the relationship between Christian faith and secular learning – originally published as “How Christian Faith Can Sustain the Life of the Mind” – is now available in a revised edition that brilliantly incorporates recent interest in the topic of vocation.
While the vocational dimensions of the earlier book were implicit, this revised edition makes them explicit. In the first of two completely new chapters, Hughes recounts his own vocational journey, telling how he drew on Christian theology to discover his talents and how best to use them. The second new chapter focuses on the vocation of Christian colleges and universities, including the purpose and goals of church-related education. The story offered here provides a compelling argument that faith, properly pursued, nourishes the openness and curiosity that make a life of the mind possible. -
Pastors In Transition
$28.99Add to cartWhether they leave out of preference for another ministry or due to serious conflict, pastors who relinquish parish ministry face misunderstanding and even hostility. Pastors in Transition brings clarity to this little-examined aspect of the pastorate by examining the main reasons why pastors in five Protestant denominations have left parish ministry.
The fruit of careful sociological research, Pastors in Transition presents the findings of the largest-ever study of recently ended ministries. More than 900 ex-ministers, representing the Assemblies of God, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the United Methodist Church, were surveyed or interviewed. Besides gathering facts and figures, the book contains personal stories, forthright opinions, and concrete recommendations from former pastors for strengthening parish ministry in the future.
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Becoming Conversant With The Emerging Church
$24.99Add to cartA perceptive evaluation of the new “emerging church” movement showing how we must not only interact with a fast-changing culture but also have our vision and practice of ministry shaped by biblical theology with Scripture as the norm.
From the Back Cover
A careful and informed assessment of the “emerging church” by a respected author and scholar
The “emerging church” movement has generated a lot of excitement and exerts an astonishingly broad influence. Is it the wave of the future or a passing fancy? Who are the leaders and what are they saying?The time has come for a mature assessment. D. A. Carson not only gives those who may be unfamiliar with it a perceptive introduction to the emerging church movement, but also includes a skillful assessment of its theological views. Carson addresses some troubling weaknesses of the movement frankly and thoughtfully, while at the same time recognizing that it has important things to say to the rest of Christianity. The author strives to provide a perspective that is both honest and fair.
Anyone interested in the future of the church in a rapidly changing world will find this an informative and stimulating read.
D. A. Carson (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is the author of over 45 books, including the Gold Medallion Award-winning book The Gagging of God, and is general editor of Telling the Truth and Worship by the Book. He has served as a pastor and is an active guest lecturer in church and academic settings around the world.
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Experiencing Healing Prayer
$30.99Add to cartOne restless night Rick Richardson was disturbed throughout his sleep by an image of a man coming at him with a knife. Taking that image seriously set Rick on a profound journey of healing and prayer around issues of masculinity and relationships.
Sometimes we feel spiritually numb, find ourselves emotionally dependent, struggle with addictive behavior, or see a trail of broken relationships behind us. These can be signs that we are in need of God’s healing touch in our lives through prayer–prayer that we can learn and practice in community. In this biblical and very human book, Richardson walks us through the steps we need to receive this gift of healing from God as well as to begin praying for others in their pain.
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Sermons On The Gospel Readings Series 2 Cycle B
$36.95Add to cartPacked with inspiring illustrations that enlighten the mind and warm the heart, this complete collection of thoughtful sermons for each Sunday and major celebration throughout the entire church year is a gold mine of creative preaching ideas — and an invaluable source of insight into faithful Christian living amidst the challenges of today’s secular world. Five outstanding preachers from diverse ministry settings reflect on the events of Jesus’ life and their contemporary meaning in messages based on Gospel passages from Cycle B of the Revised Common Lectionary. Combining a strong foundation in the scriptural text with a deep understanding of vital current issues, these sermons passionately proclaim the Good News while pointing readers toward a strengthened and renewed spiritual relationship with Christ, the rock of our salvation.
This essential resource is useful for:
? Fresh homiletical approaches to the lectionary texts
? Preaching illustrations
? Understanding scripture passages
? Adult study and discussion groups
? Personal devotions and Bible study -
Sermons On The First Readings Series 2 Cycle B
$36.95Add to cartThe Old Testament details the epic faith story of ancient people who, just like us today, seek God’s answers to complex problems. Yet because pastors sometimes overlook this rich source of preaching texts, many people in the pews are not as knowledgeable as they could be of the Hebrew scriptures and their profound lessons for modern living. In this inspiring collection of spiritually enlightening messages based on the First Readings from Cycle B of the Revised Common Lectionary, four master preachers demonstrate the continuing relevance of passages from the Old Testament and the Book of Acts. Building on stories in which God moves ordinary people to extraordinary heights, these sermons for each Sunday and major celebration throughout the entire church year powerfully proclaim timeless themes of justice and righteousness while reminding us that God’s grace is the model for the Christian community’s core values of self-giving love and forgiveness. Each thought-provoking message is filled with compelling stories and illustrations from everyday life, and challenges readers to love and serve the Lord, trusting in divine providence even in the midst of a world that sometimes seems cruel and senseless.
This essential resource is useful for:
? Fresh homiletical approaches to the lectionary texts
? Preaching illustrations
? Understanding scripture passages
? Bible study and discussion groups
? Personal devotions and inspirational reading -
3 Months With John (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartAvailable in English for the first time, Three Months with John is popular author Justo Gonzalez’ study of the Gospel of John. Eminently readable, the study uses the “see-judge-act” method to bring readers closer to the text, informing and challenging them to apply the biblical material to their own lives. These thirteen studies can be used for Sunday school, for evening Bible study, for home study meetings, for faith communities, for retreats, and for personal Bible study. In addition, Three Months with John can easily be used as a daily Bible study, as each lesson is divided into seven parts. This is the fourth Gonzalez title to be translated from the Spanish. Previous titles include: Three Months with Matthew #0687094550, Three Months with the Spirit #0687045991, and Three Months with Revelation #0687088682.
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Your Faith Has Made You Well Cycle B
$15.95Add to cartThis is an admirable example of pastoral theology at its best. Aaron’s discussions of the historical background and theological significance of each text are thoroughly informed and articulate. Equally helpful are the insights he brings to the understanding of the pastoral implications of each text and the strategies appropriate to preaching the text. This book proves that some of the best biblical theology for pastors can be written by a pastor.
David Bartlett
Lantz Professor of Preaching
Yale University Divinity School
The moving accounts of Jesus’ astonishing power to cast out demons and heal physical ailments are singularly compelling preaching texts with rich possibilities for proclamation — they have much to teach us about God’s grace and the ministry of the church, as well as the spiritual dimension of evil. But these passages are also fraught with homiletic peril, presenting preachers with a tangle of problems and conflicting beliefs. In light of modern scientific knowledge and technological sophistication, some Christians question if these miracles really occurred. Others wonder why only some people experience such healings, and there is a temptation to simplistically equate lack of healing with lack of faith. Should we expect similar miracles today? What is the link between faith and wellness? And most important of all, what do these strange yet fascinating stories mean for us today?
Your Faith Has Made You Well helps preachers negotiate this minefield with a detailed exploration of eleven miracle narratives appearing in Cycle B of the Revised Common Lectionary. It’s packed with stimulating ideas and illustrations for developing dynamic sermons, including a supplemental chapter with numerous examples of contemporary miracles and healings. Each miracle is examined from several perspectives to produce a holistic understanding:
? historical background — What Old Testament narratives or ideas are reflected in the story? What do we know about the understanding of medicine and health in Jesus’ time?
? literary analysis — How does the plot unfold? How are the characters developed? What literary devices are employed?
? theological reflection — What does the text affirm or imply about God, creation, the ministry of Christ, salvation, and the meaning of evil? What does it teach us about faith, the Christian life, and the mission of the church?
? pastoral reading — What insight does the text give us about the human condition
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Selling Swimsuits In The Arctic (Student/Study Guide)
$15.99Add to cartThe pastor of one of today’s most dynamic churches illumines the basic principles of attracting the unchurched to the Christian message.
Using the story of Bob, a successful swimsuit salesman whose business takes a turn for the worse when he moves to Alaska, Adam Hamilton reminds us that all of life is about sales. Whether we are in a job interview, a candidates’ debate, or a classroom, we are selling something: our skills, our convictions, our selves. The same is true of presenting the gospel to the unchurched. In leading a friend to a saving relationship with Christ, in inviting them to join us at church, we are presenting them with something that we believe they need, that will make all the difference in their life. Yet if we don’t understand what we are presenting, who we are presenting it to, if we don’t believe in the message we are offering, or if we don’t believe that people need that message more than anything else, then we will not be faithful witnesses to it. In short, says Hamilton, if we don’t understand some of the most basic principles that all successful salespersons know, then we will not succeed in presenting the message of Christ to those who most need to hear it.
By telling the humorous and quirky story of Bob trying to sell swimsuits in the Arctic, Hamilton explains the fundamental concepts of sales that also apply in how we spread the gospel message. Drawing on his experience as the leader of one of the country’s fastest-growing churches, he offers pastors and other Christian leaders solid, simple guidance on how to share the faith, and grow one’s congregation.
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1st Epistle Of Paul The Apostle To Timothy
$26.49Add to cart1. Setting Things Right In The Church!
2. How Serious Is Corporate Prayer To You?
3. The Biblical Qualifications For Pastors And Deacons
4. What Are We To Be Doing In The Last Days Of The Church Age?
5. The Church Is A Family
6. The Tremendous Dangers Of False Doctrine And False TeachersAdditional Info
The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to Timothy issues an urgent wake-up call to pastors and churches everywhere in this age where false doctrine, religious traditions, hucksterism, gimmickry, and biblical illiteracy are pandemic among the professed people of God. Ownership, control, and spiritual empowerment of the church belong to God, not us! We have no business using unscriptural methods to function as a church, no matter what the so-called “results” may be. God’s Word is clear concerning the structure, function, and roles of His church. Written in a clear, verse-by-verse format, Dr. Harley Howard’s book details what the true biblical church is all about-from church leaders to deacons to the entire congregation-all according to the Bible. -
He Speaks To Me Bible Study Book (Student/Study Guide)
$16.99Add to cartHe Speaks to Me: Preparing to Hear from God – Member Book by Priscilla Shirer includes study material for six weeks of in-depth, interactive daily assignments and seven small-group sessions plus a leader guide for facilitating the study. Priscilla draws life lessons from the account of God speaking to the boy Samuel in the beloved Bible story found in 1 Samuel 3.
Priscilla relates six characteristics found in Samuel that are applicable to women today as they tune their hearts to hear God’s voice. These characteristics are: A Simple Relationship, A Set Apart Holiness, A Still Attentiveness, A Single-Minded Worship, A Sold Out Hunger, and A Servant’s Spirit. By listening to God’s voice and obeying Him, women will be drawn into a closer relationship to God that brings a deeper desire to serve Him faithfully. Leader’s Guide included in Member Book
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Leading Leaders : Empowering Church Boards For Ministry Excellence (Reprinted)
$20.00Add to cartThe key to effective leadership in the vast majority of today’s churches lies as much with their governing boards as it does with their pastor. But many churches are lead by those who volunteer to chair committees because there is a need, yet they have no leadership training to speak of. How well-meaning but sometimes ill-prepared lay people guide the path of a church body? The secret lies in offering effective, practical training. Leadership expert Aubrey Malphurs provides this in Leading Leaders. Filling a gaping hole in leadership literature, Malphurs offers workable strategies to train laypeople to successfully lead their churches.
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Teaching The Mystery Of God To Children
$11.95Add to cartThis is a book of clues… clues to the awe and immensity of God that will lead children to think about, rather than “learn” about, God. Instead of teaching in the traditional sense, it provides “clues” for a shared journey toward discovering the Divine Mystery at the core of the universe.
The recent trend in Christian education has been to emphasize knowledge, and to make church school more fun and entertaining. But in our zeal to pass on the basics of the faith, we have often neglected to guide children into truly experiencing the full wonder of the almighty. We have taught them about religion, but we have not always helped them to establish a deep and meaningful relationship with God.
This book approaches the mission from a different perspective – one that identifies and reaffirms the spiritual experiences young people are already having. Each chapter suggest numerous ideas for use in classes, as well as a “Time to Reflect” section for adults to recall and meditate on their own spiritual life as children.
Teaching The Mystery Of God To Children is an essential resource for any parent or church school teacher who is interested in the spiritual development of their children.
Subjects discussed include:
* The Bible
* Art
* Symbols
* Music
* Sounds
* Movement
* Words
* Poetry
* Nature
* Sacred Space
* Koans and Miracles
* Death -
Creative Church Bulletin Boards
$10.95Add to cartDo church bulletin boards have to be dull and boring? Not if you have Creative Church Bulletin Boards in hand! The uplifting, thought-provoking theme messages presented in this practical “how-to” guide will both educate and entertain your entire congregation. Capturing the attention of media-jaded children – and adults – is much easier when the message of our faith is displayed in eye-catching splashes of color and design, rather than in faded construction paper or dry “memos.”
Packed with unique design ideas that will spark your creativity, Creative Church Bulletin Boards offers plenty of specific advice on shopping for supplies and keeping expenses within a limited budget, as well as detailed directions for using a wide variety of non-conventional tools to mount interesting items. You’ll learn how to put together attractive displays that reinforce Christian teachings on subjects such as trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, and caring. Material appropriate for both general use and specific seasons throughout the year is provided, with plenty of possible slogans or phrases for you to choose from. And to help get you started, each grouping includes a thorough discussion of one example along with a color picture and explicit step-by-step instructions for assembling the board. Creative Church Bulletin Boards gives you everything you need to put a powerful but often overlooked evangelism tool to work in your church!
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Pastors Guide To Personal Spiritual Formation
$14.99Add to cartIn The Pastor’s Guide To Personal Spiritual Formation, experienced church leaders, who understand firsthand the importance of maintaining one’s own spiritual formation, challenge and inspire you to reach new and deeper levels of spiritual vitality and growth, and in doing so profoundly influence the quality and depth of your ministry. William Willimon, M. Robert Mulholland Jr., Steve Harper, Bill Hybels, and other well-known church leaders discuss topics such as:
*Spiritual Direction
*Prayer and Meditation
*The Sabbath
*Grace
*Making Choices
*Spiriitual Reading, and more!
How can you continue to cultivate a maturing, intimate relationship with Christ in the midst of leading your own congregation? Spiritual guidance and growth for pastors. -
Users Guide To Bible Translations
$30.99Add to cartInterVarsity Press Publication
A User’s Guide to Bible Translations escorts you through the history of Bible versions in English from Wycliffe and Tyndale to the English Standard Version and Today’s New International Version, with explanatory glances at the original Hebrew and Greek manuscripts, and translation theories along the way. In straightforward language, David Dewey explains how we ended up with so many versions of the Bible, shedding light on the difference between word-for-word and meaning-for-meaning translations, the controversy over gender accuracy, and issues of theological bias.
Dewey also reminds us that it’s not enough to ask, “Which Bible is best?” We also must question what purpose the translation will serve, whether for personal study or for reading aloud, as well as what audience the translation will best communicate to, whether for inquirers/seekers or for those who may struggle with the English language. Filled with charts comparing versions and diagrams showing translation difficulties, A User’s Guide provides an easy-to-use handbook for digging through the mountain of translation options until you find the right Bible for the right purpose.
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Culture Shift : Transforming Your Church From The Inside Out
$27.00Add to cartAbout Leadership Network.
Foreword (Erwin Raphael McManus).Preface.
PART ONE: Awakening To Culture.
1. Why Culture Matters.
2. Your Destiny In Seed Form.
3. What You Think Is What You See.
PART TWO: Birthing The Culture.
4. Totems: Identifying Your Church’s Culture.
5. How To Shift Your Church’s Culture.
6. Divine Partnership.
PART THREE: Growing The Culture At New Hope O’ahu.
7. Identifying New Hope’s Totems.
8. Culture Setters.
9. Plug-and-Play Subculture Vs. Authentic Culture.
10. Creating And Re-Creating Culture.
PART FOUR: Growing The Culture At Fellowship Bible Church.
11. Identifying Fellowship Bible’s Totems.
12. The Power Of A Disciplined Vision.
13. Learning To Spot Opportunity.
14. Courageous Adjustments To Safeguard The Values.
PART FIVE: Advancing The Culture.
15. Irresistible Culture.
Notes.
Appendix One: Involvement And Satisfaction Survey.
Appendix Two: Sample Pages From A Life Journal.
Bibliography.
Acknowledgments.
About The Authors.
Index.
Additional Info
Culture Shift, written for church leaders, ministers, pastors, ministry teams, and lay leaders, leads you through the process of identifying your church’s distinctive culture, gives you practical tools to change it from the inside-out, and provides steps to keep your new culture aligned with your church’s mission. Real transformation is not about working harder at what you’re already doing or even copying another church’s approach but about changing church culture at a foundational level. -
Holy Donuts : Impacting Schools For Christ
$12.49Add to cartHoly Donuts is a practical, legal way of getting into the schools and building rapport with the kids! If we want to see members of this younger generation experience a meaningful relationship with Jesus Christ and become productive and influential members of society with a biblical worldview, we must go to them! A session of Holy Donuts begins when each of the kids comes in, grabs a donut, and takes a seat. By using visual object lessons, the kids are able to grasp and apply the principles of the Gospel. Discussion follows, and ways they can use their faith are stressed. Sessions are short, allowing time for more than one group to participate on a given day. The concept is applicable to all grade levels. Holy Donuts: Impacting Schools for Christ gives you all the information you need to start your own outreach.
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Ministers Life Of Obedience
$16.49Add to cart“I am writing to give my recommendation of the book The Minister’s Life of Obedience by Rev. Phil Richards. I have been in the ministry for over 20 years and was blessed by the content of this book. Anyone who reads this book-from a novice to a seasoned minister-will find it beneficial. The book provides life lessons and principles for any stage of a minister’s calling.” -PASTOR JOHN NUZZO Victory Christian Fellowship Cranberry Township, Pennsylvania A call to the ministry is always a call to preparation first. In this book, Dr. Richards explores the side of the ministry that is seldom examined: total obedience to the call of God from the earth to the throne. Dr. Richards explains, “Obedience to the Lord must be a daily affair, beginning with obedience to the call and completed obedience to the will of the Lord on the earth.” To walk in the call of God as a minister is to walk in obedience to your destiny.Whether you are called to the full-time ministry or you are a layman, an understanding of obedience is essential if we are to please the Lord. The Minister’s Life of Obedience will both challenge and inspire you with a greater determination to prepare your heart to obey the Lord in every area of your life.
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When God Speaks Through Change
$30.00Add to cartAnyone who has preached at a wedding and a funeral in the same week can attest to the power of the occasion to impact the preaching event. At times, a congregational transition looms so large in a sermon that it becomes the lens through which scripture is interpreted, the congregation is addressed, the preacher is heard, and God is experienced.
Homiletics professor and parish pastor Craig Satterlee reflects in this accessible, provocative volume on how to integrate such significant events in a congregation’s life into the preaching ministry of the church. Rather than offering a blueprint for preaching, however, he walks alongside pastors, seminarians, and other congregational leaders who want to make sure the gospel, not an agenda, is preached.
Issues considered include: (1) the benefits and risks of using preaching to address the transition, (2) how preaching collaborates with other congregational processes involved in the transition, (3) how scripture and the transition interpret one another, (4) how to incorporate the transition into the form, content, and delivery of the sermon so that the gospel and not a program or agenda is proclaimed and heard, and (5) how the transition affects the preacher’s ability to proclaim and the congregation’s ability to receive the message.
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Designing Worship Together
$29.00Add to cartThis book draws on more than two decades of collaborative worship planning by pastor Howard Vanderwell and musician Norma deWaal Malefyt of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, offering thoughtful, field-tested processes and tools for planning, implementing, and evaluating life-enriching weekly worship.
The authors enter into the trenches of weekly congregational life with this book, offering helpful insights into the process of how worship services are planned and led. DeWaal Malefyt and Vanderwell’s approach to worship arises from the biblical narrative, using the language of the Christian tradition and emphasizing that worship tells the story of God’s efforts through history to show us the path to union with God.
Designing Worship Together is also deeply connected to the experience of local congregations. DeWaal Malefyt and Vanderwell understand that the way in which God’s saving deeds are proclaimed will differ from church to church, from place to place, and from culture to culture and they present a process for designing worship services that is equally applicable in a wide diversity of congregations.
Foreword writer Robert Webber writes of Designing Worship Together, “In a day when worship, born out of an antihistorical attitude focuses on the self-what I need, what I want, what I do-it is refreshing to find a book that focuses on God yet is deeply concerned about the people engaged in worship.”
While many books are available about the theology of worship, worship styles, and issues of music, there are few resources on the value of careful worship planning. DeWaal Malefyt and Vanderwell offer the practical nuts-and-bolts that worship planners need, but this book is far more than a how-to for worship planners. In addition to describing best practices for worship planners, they clarify the role of vital worship in the life of a healthy congregation; identify the biblical assumptions underlying Christian worship; highlight the importance of team work in worship planning; name the issues and barriers worship planners must overcome; and suggest a variety of models for worship planning and evaluation.
This invaluable resource also features more than a dozen field-tested tools and a selected bibliography for worship planners to use as they continue to develop their ministries.
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Postindustrial Promise : Vital Religious Community In The 21st Century
$30.00Add to cartTales of demise and decline have come to characterize news on the state of religion and congregations in America. In The Postindustrial Promise, author Anthony Healy finds that the changes in religious life and among congregations are being misunderstood. Instead of seeing the changes as the result of the presumed aspects of postmodern life-individualism, the collapse of social groups, and the scrapping of tradition-Healy sees what has occurred as a postindustrial transformation, in which an economy based on manufacturing has been replaced by one based on corporate and consumer services. This transformation has changed what we value and how we live, as well as how we work. It has also changed congregations and religious life, but not necessarily in the way that many people think.
Contrary to the stories of decline, Healy finds that in this time of postindustrial dislocation people are again putting down religious roots. Congregations are making it possible for people to reconnect with the stories and traditions of previous generations and have become the places in society where the reembodying of religious and cultural narratives is taking place. Different from the postmodern script, this postindustrial explanation leads us to fresh insights into the change that has occurred among religious bodies, their congregants, and their communities.
This book provides pastors, lay leaders, teachers, scholars, and seminarians with a solid grounding in the basic aspects of the postindustrial transformation and offers direction to help religious leaders develop responsive and viable places of ministry, mission, and program in this time of change
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Solving The Missing Member Puzzle
$16.95Add to cartSomething is wrong. People are going missing, right in front of your eyes! One minute they are staring back at you from their favorite pew, the next Sunday you are looking at an empty spot in that pew. Is there a way to determine ahead of time which members are the likely “religious dropouts”? Often the clues are clearly visible – but can you recognize them? What’s more, do you know what you can do now to keep your “missing members” from drifting away? The secret lies in knowing and understanding the attitudes and belief systems that people hold, because certain sets of attitudes are linked to inactivity.
A detailed examination of this distressingly common experience, Solving The Missing Member Puzzle can help you spot potential dropouts in advance, learn the reasons why they become inactive, and counteract the process with a proactive strategy for reaching them while they are still within your grasp. Based on “blind” interviews with individuals from ten different congregations, it reveals the underlying attitudes and belief systems that encourage or discourage dropping out of church.
Solving The Missing Member Puzzle is a valuable tool for leaders of any church or organization – it shows how you can develop more faithful members, and assists in their growth, participation, and retention. Don’t wait until people drop out before you take action. Learn ways to anticipate which members of your congregation might become inactive and the preventive measures that you can take to help keep them in the pews.
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Where Once We Feared Enemies
$16.95Add to cartWhether we are conscious of it or not, we fear difference. That often unwarranted fear leads us to create enemies in our hearts and minds – and fear was no stranger to Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, as confessed by Pastor Nibs Stroupe: “We have listened to one another’s stories here, and we have discovered that the people we feared, those monsters we thought would destroy us – because of different skin colors, different genders, different sexual orientations, different economic categories – they are really our sisters and brothers, the folks for whom our hearts long.”
In the 1960s the Oakhurst congregation was 900 members strong, but by the time Nibs Stroupe arrived in 1983, “white flight” had left less than 100 on the church’s dwindling membership rolls. Since then, Oakhurst has undergone an extraordinary transformation, re-inventing itself as a growing community that welcomes everyone. The congregation has attracted national attention for its radically inclusive and egalitarian diversity, which extends beyond racial integration to class, gender, sexual orientation, and theological perspective. How have people from such dissimilar backgrounds come together to create a harmonious and thriving whole? In what biblical vision is it rooted and shaped? By what theological resources is it fed and sustained? The heart of the answer to these questions lies in the exceptional sermons of Nibs Stroupe.
Growing out of the experience of a multi-cultural congregation in which diversity is both valued and feared, these messages offer an uncompromising prophetic vision of the American church’s identity and mission. Stroupe firmly grounds a liberal social viewpoint within the biblical and theological traditions of the church, and he calls us to hear God’s claim on us in our place and in our time. Underlying his powerful sermons is the fundamental conviction that the barriers which separate us from our neighbors have been brought down in Jesus Christ. Where Once We Feared Enemies will be an indispensable addition to any pastor’s library. It is also inspiring and enlightening reading for anyone interested in the future of the American church, as well as its role in the continuing stories of race relations, civil rights, and peace and justice issues.
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More Alive Than Ever
$12.95Add to cartThe Gospel of John has a unique function – unlike the synoptic Gospels, which provide chronological accounts of Jesus’ life and ministry, John weaves the story and words of Jesus around seven miracles that he calls “signs.” These signs are the visible evidence that Jesus is the source of true life. Through his spoken words and healing power, Jesus’ inspiring life force flows outwardly to all who believe in him.
This in-depth exploration of the miracle stories in John’s Gospel helps you discover how to tap in to this powerful life force and become more alive than ever. Each chapter studies the scripture text of a miracle to identify the quality associated with it, then offers numerous illustrative examples demonstrating how this “sign” or trait can positively influence daily living.
With thought-provoking discussion questions included, More Alive Than Ever is an excellent resource for small group Bible study or adult Sunday school classes. Its convenient illustration index also makes this a rich source of meaningful metaphors and stories for preaching. But even more, it’s stimulating reading for anyone who wants greater insight into these marvelous accounts of God’s power at work.
Chapters include:
? Joy Is Like The Rain
John 2:1-12? Trust Is An Umbrella
John 4:46-54? Hope Can Be Moving
John 5:1-9? Bread Is Always Needed
John 6:1-14? Peace Is Like A Flowing River
John 6:16-21? Seeing Is Getting The Mud Out Of Your Eyes
John 9:1-41? New Life Is Like A Grain Of Wheat
John 11:1-44 -
Retelling The Story
$12.95Add to cartIs the typical didactic sermon still an adequate vehicle for communicating essential biblical truth? In this provocative and enlightening volume, Larry Lange contends that story sermons are a far more effective way to proclaim the Good News in a modern world that largely communicates through narrative-driven multimedia spectacle.
The powerful stories in the Bible don’t need to be turned into morals or ideas to convey the gospel. But because they were composed in a radically different cultural context, they may require additional explanation or interpretation to make them relevant for contemporary audiences. So how can a preacher add narrative elements to these stories without diminishing their dramatic impact or changing their meaning?
Retelling The Story outlines an innovative process for retelling biblical stories that utilizes fictional elements and contexts yet remains faithful to the scriptural text. Several creative and homiletical issues are comprehensively examined, and six sample sermons are included to illustrate various aspects of this process at work. Inject exciting new life into the old, old story with this primer for developing dramatic sermons that touch hearts and minds and souls.
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Silent Words Loudly Spoken
$12.95Add to cartLike a miniature billboard, the church sign offers an unparalleled opportunity to promote God’s kingdom beyond the walls of the congregation. Thousands of cars pass each day with potential readers of its content, so the church sign has the potential to be a powerful pulpit from which silent words are loudly spoken, communicating brief but significant messages of God’s love to a spiritually thirsty world.
Silent Words Loudly Spoken provides a wealth of fresh and inspiring messages that will maximize the impact of your church sign. With more than 700 uplifting, thought-provoking statements conveniently formatted to easily fit most church signs, it contains enough material to last several years. A humorous but pithy “Ten Commandments for a Good Church Sign” offers plenty of specific nuts-and-bolts advice for making the most of this powerful but sometimes overlooked ministry tool:
* Phrases should be short enough and letters large enough for effortless drive-by reading.
* Messages should be changed regularly, especially date-specific ones.
* “In-house” announcements better suited for the church bulletin should not be wasted on a disinterested public.
* Give the gift of a positive, inspirational message; negative statements turn off those the church wants to attract.
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Lions And Cows Dining Together
$22.95Add to cartStimulate your creativity with 112 imaginative “sermon starters” in this companion volume to Shaking Wolves Out Of Cherry Trees… Each idea consists of a clever title that’s sure to pique the interest of the people in the pews, along with a purpose statement and a brief discussion of the subject (including outline points and scripture references). Full of striking imagery, Lions And Cows Dining Together provides plenty of seeds for developing riveting, thought-provoking messages on a wide variety of critical topics. This homiletic “do-it-yourself” kit will be a treasured addition to any pastor’s library – combined with the material in its companion volume, there are over five years’ worth of pump-priming ideas for weekly sermons that apply Jesus’ teachings to contemporary living. But Lions And Cows Dining Together isn’t just for preachers – it’s also an excellent source of meditations for men’s, women’s, or youth groups as well as inspiring devotional reading.
Here’s a sample of some of the inventive entries:
* God Always Wins At Hide And Seek
* Worship Is More Than Just Staying Awake
* Can Pagan Objects Be Sanitized?
* You Can Learn To Like Spinach, Liver, And Theology
* Hell: But It’s A Dry Heat
* Will Reverend Tortoise Ever Catch Doctor Hare?
* Pearly Gates Entrance Exam
* Pilgrim Or Tourist? -
Studying Local Churches
$44.99Add to cartThis practical handbook – aimed at final year undergraduates, Masters-level students, student ministers, church leaders and policy makers interested in local faith communities – guides readers through the various tools, methods of analysis and research skills needed for studying local churches. This resource takes full account of the UK context and is an ideal basis for students undertaking research projects and dissertations. After an historical overview, the handbook identifies theoretical foundations for the study of local churches, drawing on the 4 disciplines of theology, anthropology, sociology and organisational studies. Guidance is provided on both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Research processes covered include such issues as selecting a church, gaining access, selecting methods, analysing data, maintaining confidentiality, research reflexivity, and completing the final report. There is also critical review of existing literature, as well as case studies and worked examples, demonstrating how key concepts from the 4 disciplines apply to actual local churches. The handbook contains a wide range of contributors with extensive theoretical and practical experience of studying local churches.
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Preaching As Pastoral Caring
$21.95Add to cartPreaching as Pastoral Caring is the thirteenth in a series of books devoted to presenting examples of preaching excellence from parishes throughout the Episcopal Church. This volume addresses the difficult and essential area of pastoral preaching as a kind of spiritual leadership in which compassionate healing and courageous confrontation are experienced not as polar opposites, but as inseparable.
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Help Im A Pastor
$30.00Add to cartRichard Armstrong and Kirk Morledge present this practical guide for pastoral ministry, offering counsel about a wide range of topics related to a pastor’s professional ministry and personal life. Topics include beginning a new ministry, balancing one’s personal life and ministry, wrestling with conflict, worrying about church finances, and preaching. This introduction to ministry can function as a textbook as well as an invaluable handbook or desk reference for pastors in the midst of congregational ministry.
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Homiletic Of All Believers
$32.00Add to cartPreaching, says professor and author O. Wesley Allen Jr., should be considered as a form of conversation. The church, after all, is a community of conversation that exists in part to interpret God’s purposes for the world and to participate in those purposes. The idea of the sermon as a conversation, then, is not simply a style or form of preaching but an integral expression of the nature and purpose of the church. Allen proposes that the sermon should take on the character of a conversation with the congregation. The preacher does this by incorporating an exploration of a text, doctrine, or situation with the give-and-take among different voices that marks genuine conversation. Through attentive listening to multiple voices in the Bible, Christian tradition, congregation, and beyond, the preacher seeks to help the congregation come to the most adequate interpretation of God’s presence and purposes. Allen also proposes that sermons themselves, over weeks and months, can and should be in conversation with each other, thereby having a cumulative effect over time. Allen not only proposes this new concept of preaching but also carefully demonstrates its practical application. This helpful book for clergy and seminary students includes sample sermons.
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Lament : Reclaiming Practices In Pulpit Pew And Public Square
$34.00Add to cartPart 1: Reclaiming Lament In Christian Prayer And Proclamation
Part 2: Loss And Lament, Human And Divine
Part 3: Reclaiming The Public Voice Of LamentAdditional Info
Lament, so prominent in the Christian canon, is neglected in the public worship and witness of most North American congregations. These essays by Princeton Theological Seminary faculty attest to the diverse ways in which lament is understood and practiced, and they invite their recovery in all elements of the church’s ministry. -
To Dream As God Dreams
$21.95Add to cartPorter Taylor, known for his wonderful preaching, always has something unusual and thoughtful to say. “Forgive us our weeds as we forgive the weediness of others,” he writes in one sermon on the parable of the wheat and the weeds. In another he reflects on why the book of Ecclesiastes shouldn’t be read by anyone who isn’t at least 35. “At their best,” Taylor writes, “sermons are about things that matter.” To Dream as God Dreams is about those things that matter: finding our home in a storm, the roots and wings we need as people of faith, contagious love, and more. These sermons about the importance of community, the need for conversion, and the power of hopefulness make wonderful devotional reading, and are an inspirational source for others who preach.
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Daughters Of Imani Bible Studies (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartDaughters of Imani: Christian Rites of Passage for African American Young Women by Rev. Richelle White, the creator of a comprehensive mentoring program for African American girls ages 8-18 that ran for nine years at a prominent African American church. This Planning Guide will provide step-by-step guidelines for setting up a mentoring and rites of passage program for your church. The curriculum in the Planning Guide will help you bolster self-esteem; encourage peer, family, and community interactions; explore career development; and address topics that impact the survival of the 21st century African American female. Eight multiple-session Bible lessons that focus on life concerns and feature female biblical characters are also available in Daughters of Imani Bible Study for Young Women by Rev. Richelle White and Rev. Tamara Lewis. Additionally, Daughters of Imani: Celebration of Women by Rev. Tamara Lewis lifts up the lives and contributions of eighteen historical and contemporary women. This complete package will give you everything you need to build up the faith of your church’s young women!
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Awakened To A Calling
$13.99Add to cart“For anyone responding to a call to the ministry, this book will be an excellent guide.” –Jimmy Carter, Thirty-ninth President of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize Winner
The Fund for Theological Education (FTE) annually invites our nation’s premier preachers to address a group of young adults who are considering a vocation in pastoral ministry. As part of the FTE’s honoring of their outgoing president, Dr. James Waits, for his remarkable service, they have collected these superb sermons. These eight sermons on vocation offer an important resource for high school and college students making vocational decisions, for older adults considering vocational changes, and for all who teach and mentor in the area of vocational discernment and who help others sort out a commitment to professional ministry.
The purpose of the Ministry Conference, and the sermons delivered at the event, intersects well with Abingdon’s mission to help form pastors who will serve the church faithfully and effectively. The preachers are highly recognizable and respected individuals who will serve as trusted and wise guides for discerning a ministry vocation. They include Fred Craddock, Walter Brueggemann, Tom Long, Barbara Brown Taylor, and Brad Braxton.
The volume includes an annotated bibliography of publications on ministry as a vocation, and a foreword by Dr. James T. Laney, former Ambassador to South Korea, President of Emory University, and Dean of Candler School of Theology. He is currently a faculty member of Emory’s Center for Ethics. He chairs the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia, is a trustee of the Henry Luce Foundation, and chairs (with Andrew Young) The Faith and The City Program in Atlanta.
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Manual For Eucharistic Ministers And Visitors
$15.95Add to cartThis revised edition of the classic Manual for Lay Eucharistic Ministers offers practical guidance on everything a eucharistic minister or eucharistic visitor does. (Eucharistic ministers help to administer the elements at the Eucharist, while eucharistic visitors bring those elements to members of the congregation who can’t be present). This guide, updated to include the new canons and procedures, also offers suggestions on how to prepare oneself spiritually to present the sacrament, what to do when visiting the sick or shut-in parishioner with the Eucharist, and how to prepare a sacred space in someone’s home or hospital room.
Appendices include rites, suggested prayers and guidelines, services for commissioning and sending forth Lay Eucharistic Ministers, and a bibliography. Beth Ely also traces the changing customs and canons of lay administration of communion from the early churches to the present, and discusses the riches and mystery of the Holy Eucharist through the centuries. -
Questions You Cant Ask Mama Sex
$9.99Add to cartNot the birds and the bees, guys’ plumbing vs. girls’ plumbing, how-it-all-works talk. Let’s talk about sexuality; your sexuality and the sexuality of others. Let’s talk about what is and isn’t okay to look at, do, and think about.
Questions You Can’t Ask Your Mama About Sex is exactly that – questions too uncomfortable to talk about with your parents. This collection of discussions is drawn from real questions asked of the folks at XXXchurch.com. No topic is off limits – masturbation, pre-marital sex, technical virginity, pornography, homosexuality, sex toys, sex addiction.Not for the squeamish, these issues focus on the culture and commerce of sex to tell you what God has to say about keeping your clothes on. If you have questions about “doin’ it” that are burning a hole in the back of your head (or somewhere else on your body), look no further than this book.
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Narrative Pastoral Counseling
$14.99Add to cartThe unique contribution of this book is the practical approach to counseling through the use of the stories of counselees. It integrates the revolutionary techniques developed by pioneers in the field of narrative therapy and solution-focused counseling with a Christian perspective on counseling. The conversational style of writing helps the reader understand both the theory and practice of narrative counseling. The stories in the book paint word pictures of the process and effects of story-telling, story-listening, and storycreation in counseling. Special attention is given to the art of asking good, timely questions while hosting the stories of counselees in a manner that expands the bits and pieces and helps create hope for the future. Grief issues, faith conversations, and the importance of integrity in counseling are also addressed in this book.
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Mentoring
$18.99Add to cartAre you looking for a mentor? Do you want to become a mentor? Are you confused about exactly what mentoring is?
Walter Wright is a firm believer in relational leadership. In this book, he shares his experiences both as a mentor and a mentoree. He provides useful analogies and stories about a mentoring relationship and points out some potential pitfalls.
Choosing a mentor is an important decision, as is choosing to be a mentor. This book guides you through that choice, to forming a relationship and developing that relationship over the years. It shows you how the relationship can be mutually beneficial, with both mentor and mentoree growing in maturity and knowledge. Wright identifies some qualities that make a good mentor, what you should be looking for in a potential mentor, and what a mentor should be looking to develop in themselves.
Reflecting on the character, heart, and hope of relational leadership, this book is useful for anyone considering becoming a mentor, whether in a church environment or in a business environment. It identifies some key questions that a mentor should ask of their mentoree and guides you through developing the mentoring relationship.
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Gospel Driven Church
$29.99Add to cartCharismatic renewal has at the core of its ideology an aspiration for revival. This is a laudable aspiration, but in recent years, in the absence of a largescale evangelistic impact, it has encouraged a faddist mentality among church leaders.
The Gospel-Driven Church documents this development and the numerous theological and pastoral distortions that take place when genuine revival fervor transmutes into revivalism. Moreover, Stackhouse aims to show how a retrieval of some of the core practices of the church, such as preaching, sacraments, the laying on of hands, and prayer is essential at this crucial stage in the trajectory of the renewal movement in the United Kingdom. He commends to church leaders a recovery of these means of grace – including Spirit baptism – as a way of keeping the church centered on the gospel rather than mere pragmatic concerns about size and numbers.
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Career Defining Crises In Mission
$17.99Add to cart12 Chapters
Additional Info
Career-Defining Crises in Mission is written to help missionaries evaluate their ministry approaches and to pursue those that place relationships over programs. Each of the 12 chapters takes a well-known missiological principle and, instead of focusing on the theory behind it, uses Bible studies, illustrations, true stories, and practical suggestions to encourage missionaries to make decisions that cultivate relationships with people as they choose mission methods. -
Its All About The Children
$12.99Add to cartIt’s All About the Children is a book filled with Bible-based messages for children ages seven to eleven. This book also contains age-appropriate questions pertaining to the Word of God. The questions may be used in the form of Bible trivia with girls and boys on opposing teams, or simple question-and-answer type activities. There are also neat word searches pertaining to people, places, and things in the Bible. The decoding challenges are fun learning activities where children discover various scriptures from the Bible. A pause for poetry is included as well. This book is guaranteed to be a useful learning tool for teachers, parents, or anyone interested in sharing biblical teaching with children in a unique way.
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Living Between The Advents
$12.95Add to cartAs we prepare each year to celebrate the Incarnation, the Advent season reminds us that we live in an interim period between the First and Second Comings of Jesus Christ. In this book of twelve riveting sermons on a variety of Advent themes (all based on texts from Cycle B of the Revised Common Lectionary), Michael Ruffin explores the challenges of Christian living in this time between the First and Second Advents — particularly the tension between the modes of patience and action. Though we await Jesus’ return with hopeful anticipation, Advent waiting is active waiting. Ruffin’s messages invite readers to share in the richly rewarding life of faith, while providing abundant comfort and inspiration for those who endeavor to live as disciples of Jesus in the modern world.
Preachers looking for an imaginative illustration or observation to stimulate their sermons will find ample material in this book. But this is much more than just a reference for ministers preparing to preach during Advent — it’s also an excellent resource for spiritual reflections reminding us that the good news in these days between the Advents is that Jesus Christ is Immanuel, God with us.
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Partners In Healing
$12.95Add to cartHealing is a gift and not a right. The prayer of faith is powerful, but the most faithful prayer of power was that of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, on the eve of his great ordeal: “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). Anointing cannot guarantee healing. If it could it would border on magic, and would imply that we in some way control God’s actions. God is in control of history and healing. It is God who invites us to join into a community of prayer through the ordinance of anointing.
(excerpt from Partners In Healing)Though there are countless instances of anointing in the Bible, it is seldom practiced in many Christian traditions today. But this essential rite reminds us that God is the true source of restoration and healing — and that he is at work in all aspects of our lives. Anointing affirms and symbolizes our partnership with God, and it invites God to be part of the healing process for anyone who is sick physically, emotionally, or spiritually.
Partners In Healing is a complete guide with all the resources you need to revive this ancient practice as part of a comprehensive ministry of healing. In addition to exploring the biblical and historical background for anointing, you’ll find a wealth of practical, easy-to-use material. There’s an extensive range of services and prayers, as well as sermons you can use to introduce this ministry to congregations unfamiliar with it. Discussion questions and activities are also included, making this an excellent resource for small group study.
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Planting Seeds
$12.95Add to cartSeeing our thoughts and feelings acted out onstage can be a very powerful experience. Because we readily identify with the characters we watch — their hopes and dreams as well as their frustrations and failures — dramatic presentations hold up a mirror that lets us see things about ourselves we often overlook.
With this compelling anthology of 24 sketches, you can open the eyes of worshipers to God’s truth and grace while planting dynamic seeds of change. Each scene is about five minutes in length and serves not only as a potent visual illustration but also helps congregations receive and retain major themes presented in the sermon. Appropriate for any denomination and audience, these easy-to-stage pieces utilize small casts and can be performed in any setting with minimal costumes and a few simple props, making them accessible to church drama groups of all sizes. In addition to sermon starter sketches, there are dramas appropriate for women’s and men’s retreats plus several monologues.
