Pastoral Helps
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Color Blinded Church
$12.95Add to cartA Color-Blind Church by David E. Leininger is a book about moral ethics and understanding racial integration. Touched upon topics include:
– understanding racial integration
– racial integration
– racial discrimination
– racism
– civil rights
– anti-discrimination
– discrimination laws
– ethics
– moral ethics -
Traveling Calvarys Road
$21.95Add to cartThis anthology provides an abundance of services, dramas, monologues, and sermons for use from Ash Wednesday through Easter. Using such things as newspapers and candles, these services will leave a lasting impression. Easy to stage and perform, these programs use varying numbers of people, and flexible hymns. Copy privileges are granted.
Traveling Calvary’s Road includes:
Ash Wednesday Services:
Into The Wilderness by Anne W. Anderson
We Are But Ashes by William LuomaPalm Sunday/Sunday of the Passion Services:
Your King Comes by Janice Bennett Wyatt
Crown Him Lord of All! by William LuomaMaundy Thursday Services:
Like a Rose by Lynne Cragg
A Table, A Garden, And A Courtroom by Leonard V. KalkwarfGood Friday Services:
It Seems Like Just Yesterday! by Pamela D. Williams
Faces by Michelle Griep
Extinguished A Tenebrae Service by Anne W. AndersonEaster Sunrise Services:
Sing To The Lord A New Song by Howard Eshbaugh
He Is Risen Indeed! by William LuomaEaster Monologue
The Big Secret by Michelle Griep -
Mandate To Difference
$30.00Add to cartThis book sets forth a new vision of the Christian church in today’s world. Based on recent speaking engagements surrounding the author’s critical passion and conviction – that the church in this moment must set itself in tension with the rest of the world – the essays here call the church to courageously defy political polarization, consumerism, and militarism.
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Preaching As Testimony
$38.00Add to cartBy exploring the historical, theoretical, and practical elements of the tradition of testimony, Anna Carter Florence seeks in this much-anticipated book to establish the historical and contemporary validity of women’s preaching and to introduce testimony to a new generation of preachers and teachers.
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Shining Through The Darkness
$9.95Add to cartWith their recurrent themes of “waiting” and “traveling on a journey,” these 12 imaginative messages are especially appropriate for the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons — yet their ecumenically oriented expressions of Christian faith, hope, and love also make them relevant for any time of the year. Wuchter’s keen eye for the telling detail and his ability to connect scripture with familiar things in our lives make Shining Through the Darkness compelling reading for anyone who wants a deeper appreciation of God’s grace and the Gospel of Christ.
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When Gods People Pray Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartThis participant’s guide accompanies a six-session small group DVD curriculum, in which award-winning author Jim Cymbala shows what the Holy Spirit can do when believers get serious about prayer and the Gospel. Cymbala tells how God moves in life-chan
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Ants Work Best Together
$12.95Add to cartHave you ever been on a picnic and wondered why God created ants? Instead of looking at insects as pests, we can learn spiritual lessons from them — and then share those lessons with the children we know! Every Sunday school or children’s church program leader will be thrilled with the way their classes respond to these tried and true lessons from nature. From very young preschoolers through late elementary age, all children are interested in learning more about the world of creepy-crawlies — so these lessons are guaranteed interest grabbers.
With a minimal amount of pre-planning and effort, you can share lessons about ants, butterflies, frogs, worms, crayfish, millipedes, and yes — even grass! By simply reading these short lessons a few at a time, you will be ready for the next week’s session. This book will make your involvement as a teacher, whether in children’s church, Sunday school, pre-school, or elementary school, much less of a headache and more of a joy. Watch the children’s faces as they realize that God has a definite plan for everything he created. Does it not automatically follow, then, that he has a perfect plan for them?
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By Design Or Default
$22.99Add to cartYou can be intentional about creating the right God-given culture for your church. This book is intended to help both pastors and members engage in the never-ending process of creating a purposeful church culture that flows with the synergy of their vision for reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can create a culture that supports and champions the message you want to communicate to your city.
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Women And The Word
$9.95Add to cartWomen and the Word uses first person narratives to engage people with various texts of scripture. The book can be used in small group studies, confirmation groups, retreats, or Sunday school. Whether the narratives are performed, read, or studied, Women and the Word will bring new meaning to the well-loved stories of:
Mary, Joseph’s Betrothed — A Promised Word
A Woman of the City — A Forgiving Word
Martha, Lazarus, and Mary’s Sister — A Clarifying Word
The Crippled Woman — A Transforming Word
A Woman Leper — A Grateful Word
The Woman at the Well — A Refreshing Word
Mary, Lazarus, and Martha’s Sister — A Living Word
The Mother who Begged Jesus to Heal her Daughter — A Hopeful Word -
Finding The Story
$19.95Add to cartIn Finding the Story, James Ayers examines the art of narrative preaching and shows how storytelling can help people in the pews hear God speaking to their hearts through scripture. Ayers analyzes ways to illuminate texts that are difficult to preach, and provides a wealth of creative approaches for making them accessible ? such as looking at Psalm 137 through the eyes of a slave who watched his child dashed against the rocks, or seeing Matthew and Luke’s Christmas narratives through the eyes of a bitter man whose only son was killed in Vietnam. Finding the Story offers a dynamic avenue into some of the very thorniest texts and topics of the Bible ? enabling readers to find and share unique opportunities for encounters with God!
Finding the Story is a must-have tool for all ministers who:
? long to connect with their congregations on a deeper level;
? struggle with how to preach doctrinally heavy passages without putting listeners to sleep;
? wonder how to relate the imprecatory psalms to modern-day situations; and
? want their people to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit rather than the droning of a shepherd who feels the same things they feel, but sometimes finds it difficult to share those feelings -
Christian Counseling 3rd Edition
$39.99Add to cartThis proven “course” in pastoral counseling has been extensively expanded and revised by the author to include recent developments and research, new resources, and attention to newly urgent needs such as AIDS and eating disorders. Written with clarity and warmth, this volume builds on biblical foundations and reflects the author’s practical experiences.
–This text refers to the Paperback edition.
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Gimme Five : 500 More Ways To Get Your Students Talking
$10.99Add to cartGimme Five is the tool to have when you want to get your group talking on a ministry night, retreat, road trip, in their small groups, or at your home. These provocative and charming lists will get kids talking, laughing, debating, and thinking anytime, anywhere. A great tool for volunteer youth workers who need something to get conversation going!
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Reaching Single Adults (Reprinted)
$19.00Add to cartAlthough 44 percent of all adults are unmarried, most churches are focused on marriage and families–and so miss many opportunities to reach out as well as to benefit from all that singles can offer to the church. Here at last is an up-to-date, comprehensive handbook to single adult ministry. Based on his over twenty-five years of experience, Dennis Franck offers church leaders guidance on all aspects of this often-overlooked ministry, including: -understanding singles’ diverse life situations and needs -developing a biblical philosophy of ministry -the practical aspects of building a ministry Pastors and lay leaders will gratefully welcome this new in-depth resource to guide their ministry to, for, and through single adults
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Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit Series 6 Cycle A
$18.95Add to cartWhether you pick up this book as relaxed devotional reading or are searching for a last-minute sermon illustration, you’ll be delighted with the imaginative and inspirational stories in the newest installment in CSS’ popular Lectionary Tales for the Pulpit series. David Leininger takes you right to the heart of the scriptures with a rich variety of captivating material illustrating Cycle A lectionary texts. His thought-provoking reflections are certain to enrich your spiritual life — and point out the myriad ways in which God is at work in our daily lives. This volume is sure to become a favorite resource for pastors and laypersons alike.
Some of the intriguing chapters are:
* The Quintessential Evangelist
* What Boggles Your Mind?
* Who Woulda Thunk It?
* The Blame Game
* Under the Rainbow
* How Not To Be the Father of the Year
* The Bush Is Still Burning
* Leaping Lepers
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Forgiveness The Jesus Way
$15.95Add to cartFinding the Story, James Ayers examines the art of narrative preaching and shows how storytelling can help people in the pews hear God speaking to their hearts through scripture. Ayers analyzes ways to illuminate texts that are difficult to preach, and provides a wealth of creative approaches for making them accessible — such as looking at Psalm 137 through the eyes of a slave who watched his child dashed against the rocks, or seeing Matthew and Luke’s Christmas narratives through the eyes of a bitter man whose only son was killed in Vietnam. Finding the Story offers a dynamic avenue into some of the very thorniest texts and topics of the bible — enabling readers to find and share unique opportunities for encounters with God!
Finding the Story is a must-have tool for all ministers who:
long to connect with their congregations on a deeper level;
struggle with how to preach doctrinally heavy passages without putting listeners to sleep;
wonder how to relate the imprecatory psalms to modern-day situations; and
want their people to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit rather than the droning of a shepherd i 1/2 one who feels the same things they feel, but who sometimes finds it difficult to share those feelings. -
Hands On Bible Explorations
$14.95Add to cart“Hands-On Bible Explorations” is a terrific collection of 52 activities and crafts for kids–one for each week of the year. The book includes favorite stories and parables from the Old and New Testaments, chapters on important Christian Values, and fun projects that make the lessons of the Bible entertaining and easy to understand. You’ll learn about the Ten Commandments, the Christmas story, the boy with loaves and fish, the greatest gift, the importance of friendship, and many more parts of the Bible as you do the fun activities.
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John
$19.99Add to cartTake your hands off the keyboard, there’s no need to rewrite these questions for your students. What you’re holding in your hands are 25 studies covering all of John, ready to roll. Grab a group of students, a Bible, and this book and you’re sure to have a great small group meeting.
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Creative Bible Lessons In Genesis
$24.99Add to cartIn the book of Genesis–the first communique from the Creator to creation–God demonstrates an unchanging commitment to us, engaging with us personally. This book takes that rock-solid truth from there, providing material to challenge your students’ faith as they discover what it means to be made in God’s image and understand their original connection to God–and each other.
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New Kind Of Youth Ministry
$19.99Add to cartThis book guides you on the way to discovering, developing and practicing a new youth ministry design. As your youth ministry’s principal architect, you have the opportunity to realize a rhythm of disciple-making that more effectively engages youth with God, through Jesus, as they journey toward a life of continual spiritual finding and evolution. This resource will provide you with a ministry design that more influentially encourages students to live, lead, and love in the way of Jesus.
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Leading Intercessions : Prayers For Sundays Holy Days And Festivals Years A
$27.49Add to cartThis tried and test collection is a must for anyone leading intercessions in the Church of England. It provides prayers for every Sunday, Holy Day and Festival, Years A, B and C that can be easily adapted to local contexts. The prayers reflect the Bible readings of the day, creating a more integrated act of worship. This expanded edition also contains forms of intercession for numerous extra occasions:
o Principal Feasts u e.g. The Presentation of Christ in the Temple, the Transfiguration
o Other Holy Days u e.g. The Birth of John the Baptist, Holy Cross Day
o Red Letter Saints Days
o Pastoral occasions in the context of a Eucharist u baptism, confirmation, marriage, funeral, healing service, Remembrance
o Installation of a new incumbentA trusted liturgical resource for many years, regularly used in hundreds of parishes, this continues to be the essential handbook for Lectionary-based intercessions.
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Healthy Congregations : A Systems Approach
$30.00Add to cartIn this sequel to How Your Church Family Works, Steinke takes readers into a deeper exploration of the congregation as an emotional system. Learn ten principles of health, how congregations can adopt new ways of dealing with stress and anxiety, how spiritually and emotionally healthy leaders influence the emotional system, factors that could put your congregation at risk, and more.
The same content you’ve come to rely on in an exciting new format.
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Preaching To The Choir
$19.95Add to cartSirota delves deeply into the reasons church musicians do their jobs in the face of poor pay and limited opportunities for advancement, offering the reader a pastoral understanding with-out avoiding the challenging questions every sacred musician must consider. She has an uncanny ability to name that which lies at the heart of the sacred artist’s craft.
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Pulpit Crimes : The Criminal Mishandling Of Gods Word
$18.00Add to cartIn Pulpit Crimes, James White brings his clarity to the issue of the vague and ambiguous preaching. He addresses the crimes that are being committed and seeks to revive courage and committed to the truth. Timely reading, Pulpit Crimes is must reading for the homiletics student and the seasoned preacher.
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How Your Church Family Works
$29.00Add to cartDrawing on the work of Bowen, Friedman, and his own many years’ counseling experience, Steinke shows how to recognize and deal with the emotional roots of such issues as church conflict, leadership roles, congregational change, irresponsible behavior, and the effects of family of origin on current relationships. Discover why working relationships may be “stuck” in certain behaviors. Psychologically sound, theologically grounded, and practically illustrated with case studies. Seminary professors will find a helpful treatment of the emotional systems into which their students will move.
The same content you’ve come to rely on in an exciting new format.
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Stilling The Storm
$30.00Add to cartWhen congregations go through difficult times, worship will both reflect and influence those difficulties. The practice of worship itself can be a key part of the congregation’s healing process. Teacher and consultant Kathleen Smith successfully demonstrates this truth in Stilling the Storm, a book for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the ways that worship intertwines with the life and health of a congregation.
There are three main types of difficulty congregations can face: times of crisis, transition, and conflict. Smith considers their differences, similarities, and implications for worship, and explains the congregational dynamics that accompany such times and the roles that leaders play. She reviews basic principles of worship and the ways that unique moments and regular habits of worship shape the congregation. For each type of difficulty she suggests important themes for congregations and their worship planners.
Smith explores the wide range of liturgical resources available for congregations going through difficult times and how those resources can best be shaped to fit the specific situation they are experiencing. A perceptive guide to the worship we offer to God in all times and situations, Stilling the Storm is an important resource for congregations of all worship traditions.
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Becoming : Meditations For The Ministry Minded
$15.99Add to cartMae Williams shares her insights into thoughts that must be deeply owned by aspiring, new, and experienced ministers. Known as a teaching minister, Williams urges ministers to stay intimately connected to God even during their busiest and most trying times. Beginning with short narratives and poetry expressing questions of the heart, the book presents aspects of our lives as Christians, interspersed with prayers for greater realization of God’s care for His ministers. Through personal stories and those of biblical characters, Williams illustrates such themes as self-talk, spiritual comfort zones, preparation for launch, and mind pain.
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Leadership Essentials : Practical Tools For Leading In The Church (Student/Study
$18.99Add to cart12 Chapters
Additional Info
There is a real need for practical, experiential training in leadership skills for Christian leaders. Churches across the country are searching for leaders to guide and direct the ministries within their congregations. This new and potential leaders are hungry for tools to equip them to provide excellent leadership.Leadership Essentials offers practical skills, help and practice in important areas including recruiting and motivating volunteers, setting a vision for a team, planning effective meetings, managing time, mentoring, leading through change and conflict management.
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Childrens Ministry : Abingdon Press And Church Of The Resurrection Ministry
$11.99Add to cartThe inaugural volume in a brand new series designed to serve all areas of specialized church ministry.
Recognizing that volunteers are exceptionally busy people who often risk being stretched thin, the book will be the first place to turn to help children’s workers feel empowered, prepare quickly, and get up and running with confidence and creativity. The guide employs eye-catching icons and features that help the reader move directly to practical, fun, inexpensive, yet effective solutions.
Volunteers and church leaders will receive practical, easy-to-use, clear, and supportive advice on participating in their church’s children’s ministry.
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Thank God Its Friday
$18.99Add to cartChrist’s seven last words from the cross have long been a source of reflection, challenge, and soul-searching. These simple phrases contain the full range of human emotions and divine self-revelation – grief, compassion, despair, forgiveness, physical need, the promise of redemption. Written with the clarity, depth, and insight that are Willimon’s trademark, this book offers readers a chance to encounter, in compelling new ways, the words that contain the core of the gospel.
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Tend My Flock
$27.00Add to cart“Tend My Flock is a companion and guide for ordained and lay ministers seeking to live their pastoral ministry well, amid all the complexities and pressures of contemporary society. Much pastoral care is exercised with integrity and sensitivity and yet there are many potential hazards. “”Tend My Flock”” addresses issues which often remain unspoken, inviting dialogue, reflection, honest self-examination and the courage to share struggles and dilemmas with colleagues, friends in ministry and family members. It offers practical, tried and tested guidance in key areas including: confidentiality and trust; power, authority and vulnerability; setting and maintaining boundaries; safeguarding health and well-being; maintaining positive personal relationships; and, transition, loss and bereavement.”
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Palm Sunday And Holy Week Services
$13.99Add to cartReady-to-use lectionary-based worship and preaching resources for Palm Sunday and Holy Week. Includes three options for Palm Sunday services including procession suggestions with special emphasis on participation by children. Also includes two suggested services for each lectionary year (A, B, and C), six services for Holy Thursday and three services for Good Friday.
Includes ready-to-use Palm Sunday and Holy Week services for worship with multiple worship options for each lectionary year scripture. Gives suggested liturgies for each services including those related to Taize.
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Suicide : Pastoral Responses
$20.99Add to cartGives pastors strategies to effectively respond to persons at possible risk for suicide and families of suicide victims.
No one can ever be prepared enough to deal with suicide; but one can identify special risks and be aware of short and long-term effects on survivors and family members. In Suicide: Pastoral Responses, Dr. Townsend defines patterns and issues that surround suicide. This book will help ministers identify particular markers and give steps for pastoral intervention and suicide prevention.
The Pastoral Responses series is designed to help pastors and other pastoral caregivers deal with crises or significant difficulties. Called upon to offer advice, guidance, and comfort to parishioners, their families, and the congregation on a myriad of medical, mental health, social, legal, and theological issues, these books offer concrete, practical suggestions for the situations that pastors face in the parish today.
“Dr. Townsend approaches the potentially suicidal individual and the bereaved person with the heart of a pastor and the experience of a counselor. Integrating basic and effective techniques and spiritual approaches, the author provides a sound framework and presents a wide scope of information to help pastors.”
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Direct Hit : Aiming Real Leaders At The Mission Field
$22.99Add to cartThe second Abingdon publication by Paul Borden, whose first book, Hit the Bullseye has sold 11,000 copies.
A new pastor sees himself or herself as a leader who anticipates a better for the congregation. However, the congregation tends to perceive the new pastor as someone who ministers who their needs and fulfills a chaplain-type role. The pastor must therefore lead the congregation through systemic change if new life is to be brought into the culture of the congregation.
Three teams must be created: TEAM ONE is the prayer team that prays regularly for change and reproduction. TEAM TWO is the dream team that helps the pastor communicate urgency. TEAM THREE consists of leaders who recruit and train other leaders who are committed to urgent change.
I. Chapter One – Introduction and Overview
II. Chapter Two – Essentials for Leaders
(It is important to note that this book assumes a pastor is new to a congregation which like many congregations, is on a plateau or in decline. This pastor sees himself or herself as a leader who anticipates a better future for this congregation. However, the congregation sees the role of the new pastor as someone who will minister to their needs and fulfill the traditional chaplain role that is typical for most pastors and most congregations. Therefore this pastor is going to need to take three to five years to lead the congregation through systemic change (change the culture of the congregation). The book is how the pastor and key lay leaders develop the communication strategies required to lead such change.III. Chapter Three – Developing a Vision and a Communication Strategy for its Implementation
A. The basic assumptions about the congregation and the pastor’s role are discussed.
B. The pastor must first spend time developing vision.
C. The pastor must then begin to develop a communication strategy that will be employed over the next three to five years to prepare the congregation for changeIV. Chapter Four – Creating and Communicating Urgency
A. Creating and communicating urgency is as crucial as casting vision
B. The pastors’ responsibility is to determine the urgency for which the vision is an answer.
C. The pastor must now develop a communication strategy to create urgency in the congregation over the next three to five years in order to provide motivation for embracing the vision.V. Chapter Five – Developing Key Teams in Preparing for Change
A. While the pastor is working on visi -
Skits That Teach
$24.99Add to cartIf you’re looking for fun and creative ways to involve your students in learning, you can stop looking. Skits That Teach provides you and your students everything you need to act out funny and compelling skits with confidence. Search by topic or by group size to find the perfect comedic or dramatic sketch to help illustrate a point or just start a dialogue. The Skit Guys, Eddie James and Tommy Woodard, have tested these skits on teenagers around the country, and they’ve brought some of the best together for this great resource. Plus they give you everything you need for each skit-overview, characters, location, Scripture reference, props, direction pointers, and a complete script.
The Skit Guys avoid the cheesy dialogues and scenes typically found in Christian dramas and instead bring fun characters, witty dialogue, and
entertaining situations to their skits, all categorized for you by:
* Skits for Idiots (it would take an idiot not to be able to do them right!) * Monologues * Duets/Ensembles * Comedy * Drama * Scripture Readings
You will want to have this book around for those energetic, creative students who are always looking for ways to help.
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Living Fully Dying Well Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$31.99Add to cartOur best decisions about life’s important events are seldom made in a time of crisis. Living Fully and Dying Well is a resource designed to assist us in making careful, wise and prayerful preparation for meeting life’s most important moments. In this study, participants will learn how to face openly and unafraid the benefits and limitations of aging and end of life decisions.
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Living Fully Dying Well Participants Book (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartOur best decisions about life’s important events are seldom made in a time of crisis. Living Fully and Dying Well is a resource designed to assist us in making careful, wise and prayerful preparation for meeting life’s most important moments. In this study, participants will learn how to face openly and unafraid the benefits and limitations of aging and end of life decisions.
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Foundations Of Pastoral Care
$44.99Add to cartPastoral Ministry Professor Bruce L. Peterson explains that 21th century pastoral care involves more than just those who take the title “Pastor”. Laity and small groups need to have a hand in the care of soul as well, if the church is to be healthy. The roles of shepherding, counseling, and collaboration are clarified. The pastor’s presence in conflict resolution, crisis, through suffering, and death is also dealt with.
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Encounter God In The City
$26.99Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
God is at work in the city. And he invites his people to join him. But the city is not merely a mission field for Christians to target. The city is also the environment where Christians are discipled and lives are forged into the image of Jesus.
Urban ministry veteran Randy White shows how God transforms you when you answer God’s call to the city. Urban life peels away your sin and self-deception and challenges your unexamined assumptions about privilege, race, class and power. Experiential discipleship moves you from abstract theory to hands-on learning and on-the-ground action, revolutionizing your perspective and making a difference in local neighborhoods and beyond.
Passionate and practical, White’s vivid narratives of experiencing God in the city show you how your spiritual health is intertwined with the health of the metropolis. Seek the welfare of the city, and both you and the city will be transformed.
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Manual Minsterial – (Spanish)
$14.99Add to cartEste es un manual indispensable para pastores y otros que dirigen los servicios y ceremonias en la iglesia. Incluye sugerencias para los planes de los servicios, letaas, musica, y oraciones para la dedicacion de nios, bautizos, bodas, funerales, comision al ministerio, y otros acontecimientos claves en la vida de la iglesia. Cada seccion incluye un breve ensayo que explica una orientacion Anabaptista-Menonita de estos acontecimientos. El libro, una traduccion del manual en ingles, incluye una introduccion por Gilberto Flores que ayuda a la edicion en espaol.
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Go Big : Lead Your Church To Explosive Growth
$20.99Add to cartBill Easum and Bil Cornelius are two strikingly different, yet surprisingly similar pastors. One undertook to revitalize a moribund mainline church; the other, to plant a new nondenominational congregation. Coming from different generations, their ministries took place under dissimilar circumstances. Yet both have experienced substantial, even explosive, growth in congregational mission and membership. Along the way they learned some important lessons, such as the centrality of strong pastoral leadership, the need for an unhesitant pursuit of excellence in all areas of the church’s ministry, and the requirement that you picture an audacious vision for your church and live into that vision.
Regardless of the current size of your church, you will find here inspiring, ready-to-implement ideas to help your church go BIG.
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Baptism Services Sermons And Prayers
$14.99Add to cartThis is a resource for pastors and worship leaders who take Christian baptism seriously and who recognize their own role in creatively shaping these traditional practices. Provides worship resources for a variety of pastoral and congregational settings, several teaching sermons on baptism, and a section of prayers of thanksgiving over the water of baptism.
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Graceful Speech : An Invitation To Preaching
$35.00Add to cartIn this introductory text, Lucy Lind Hogan helps the reader understand the theological task of becoming a preacher, the craft of writing the sermon, and the importance of communicating the gospel in the present world. In doing so, she creates a book that is more holistic than any other homiletics text currently on the market.
Hogan begins with a theological rationale for preaching, which serves as a basis for understanding the identity of the preacher. She then explores the context for preaching, showing how to interpret a scriptural text, design a sermon, and use illustrations and examples. She also discusses preaching for special occasions, the use of different technologies in preaching, and the importance of delivery. The book includes questions for reflection.
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Choosing To Preach
$24.99Add to cartTraditional forms of ministry-including the sermon- are being scrutinized and challenged, leaving pastors confused over how best to communicate to today’s listeners. This forward-looking textbook delivers a strong call to ministers to indeed choose to preach biblical sermons. But while preaching itself is non-negotiable, the exact form it takes can be much more flexible. Several models of sermon preparation are provided, using questions to guide the way. As you discern your message from the Bible, will you begin with the text (deductive) or with the listener (inductive)? Will you focus on the idea (cognitive) or the image (affective)? The choices you make lead to five possible sermon structures (declarative, pragmatic, narrative, visionary, and integrative), each of which is described in detail and related to well-known contemporary preachers, including John MacArthur, Rick Warren, Eugene Lowry, and Rob Bell. Includes discussion questions, practical exercises, and accompanying CD-ROM.
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Pastoral Prayers For The Hospital Visit
$14.99Add to cartOffering prayer is one of the most important parts of a pastor’s hospital ministry. These prayers connect persons with the power of God, remind persons who they are as children of God, and sometimes put into words deep experiences of suffering, grief, and pain. These prayers are offered especially for difficult times when you may not be sure how to pray or what to pray for. Also related Bible verses are printed in full.
The Just in Time! Series offers brief, practical resources of immediate help for pastors at an affordable price.
Included are prayers related to illness or surgery
Persons facing surgery, post surgery that was successful, post surgery that was not successful, anticipating bad news, diagnosed with a serious progressive illness, recovering from heart surgery, suffering from a stroke, dealing with cancer, coping with breast cancer, undergoing chemotherapy, suffering from addiction, unable to be diagnosed with the source of illness, needing a transplant and waiting for an organ, in chronic pain
Prayers related to children and youth:
Celebrating the birth of a child, mourning a miscarriage, grieving the loss of a baby near birth, mother choosing adoption for her newborn, adoptive parents receiving their child, pre-mature infant, baby who is hospitalized, child who is hospitalized, youth hospitalized for drug treatment afraid to face parents, youth who most likely will not recover
Prayers related to dying and death:
For someone longing to die, prognosis that is not positive, does not have long to live, when death is imminent, prayer over a stillborn infant, for family members who were unable to say goodbye to loved, one before death, for surviving family who lost loved ones in the same accident, for family whose loss was due to suicide
Prayers related to accident or violence:
Injured due to street violence, injured due to natural disaster, rape victim, victim of domestic violence, injury due to war
Prayers related to:
New immigrant who has fallen ill, recent refugee, college student, suffering depression, patient who also has Alzheimer’s, enduring painful rehabilitation, facing a long recovery, farmer anxious about crops and/or animals, hospitalized while incarcerated, someone unconscious, developmentally disabled patient, attempted suicide (prayer with family present), psychotic patient, worrying over child deployed in the military, worried about paying for the hospital bill, wanting to go home but canno
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Hearing Beyond The Words
$20.99Add to cartOnly when pastors hear beyond the words, can they care-fully minister. Pastors listen all the time. Or do they? Listening is more than a developed skill; it is an awesome gift of hospitality offered to others. According to Dr. Emma Justes, hearing beyond the words signifies an intimate relationship characterize by humility, thoughtful availability, vulnerability, and mutuality. Listening requires focused attention and openness. To help the reader learn this essential skill, the author includes exercises at the end of each chapter to build needed competency for this healing ministry.
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3 Months With Paul (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartAvailable in English for the first time, Three Months with Paul is popular author Justo Gonzalez’ study of the Gospel of Paul. 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 Paul can easily be used as a daily Bible study, as each lesson is divided into seven parts.
This is the fifth Gonzalez title to be translated from the Spanish. Previous titles include: Three Months with Matthew (published Spring 2002), Three Months with the Spirit (Spring 2003), Three Months with Revelation (Spring 2004), and Three Months With John (Spring 2005).
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Jesus Christ For Youth Leader (Teacher’s Guide)
$10.99Add to cart26 Sessions On Christ’s Life And Teachings
Life-application Exercises
Easy-to-teach Lesson PlansAdditional Info
More than 100,000 youth have deepened their relationship with Jesus Christ through this far-reaching classic, now updated. Youth leaders and workers can give teens an opportunity to meet Jesus face to face. -
Jesus Christ For Youth Student (Student/Study Guide)
$8.99Add to cartMore than 100,000 youth have deepened their relationship with Jesus Christ through this far-reaching classic, now updated. Youth leaders and workers can give teens an opportunity to meet Jesus face to face.
The student edition gives youth a comprehensive picture of the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Its workbook format engages youth, helping them encounter Jesus as a living presence and guide for their lives and faith. -
Fully Alive Preacher
$28.00Add to cartMike Graves begins this book with the question “If preaching is intended to enliven the church, why is it killing so many ministers?” His answer? Because it has become divorced from the vitality and diversity of the preacher’s daily life. He invites preachers to discover how preaching can be renewing rather than draining.
Graves includes four valuable sections on sermon preparation but also provides brief lessons, exercises, questions for reflection, and invitations to do such things as walk, read, and nap. In the end, the cure for homiletical burnout is life itself, especially the ordinary pleasures often ignored or pushed aside by the complicated job of ministry. This is a perfect book for both new graduates and experienced preachers.
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Uplifting Christ Through Autumn
$9.95Add to cartUplifting Christ Through Autumn gathers together 12 imaginative sermons from a remarkably gifted parish pastor and campus minister, covering a variety of important occasions, such as:
* World Communion Day
* Stewardship Sunday
* Homecoming/Fall Festival
* Reformation Sunday
* All Saints Day
* Holy Cross Day
* ThanksgivingHowever, the ecumenically oriented expressions of Christian faith, hope, and love in these messages make them relevant for any time of the year. Plus, Wuchter’s keen eye for the telling detail, exemplified by his observation that “the refrigerator is the household religious shrine that reveals the ethical heartbeat and spiritual faith of a family,” means they’re readable and appealing for everyone.
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Communicating For A Change
$19.99Add to cartSpeakers and preachers—follow this instructive parable to keep your message alive and your audience alert! By knowing your destination before you leave (identifying the major premise you want to communicate), using your turn signals (transition ahead!), and employing five other practical points, you’ll be on the road to success—and drive your message home!
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Sermons On The Gospel Readings Series 2 Cycle C
$40.95Add to cartBring Jesus? message and ministry to life with this complete set of inspiring and thought-provoking sermons for every Sunday and major celebration in the Church year. Six notable preachers from across the denominational spectrum offer a treasure trove of creative homiletic ideas and practical, scripture-based wisdom in messages based on Gospel texts from Cycle C of the Revised Common Lectionary. Weaving together insightful illustrations with keen insight into contemporary life, these sermons passionately proclaim the Good News and powerfully remind us of God’s limitless love. Each riveting message is certain to enlighten the mind and warm the heart.
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From Cooperation To Competition
$25.99Add to cartCongregational life has changed in so many ways in recent years, not least among them the transition from cooperation to competition as the central model of how churches relate to one another. Simply put, congregations that don’t learn to compete in this new “economy” will have few chances to thrive.
This change can be scary, because it forces us out of established patterns of behavior and thinking. This is why trying to lead a congregation in these changing times seems so often to lead to conflict. Yet that conflict is not inevitable, says Lyle Schaller. We can’t stop the change that has led to higher levels of competition, but we can manage that change in a variety of ways, such as making certain that we accompany it with an increase in the number of choices a congregation experiences, and by allowing change to lead to healthy competition.
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Whatever Happened To Delight
$25.00Add to cartPreaching is an art, Barrie Shepherd argues, and the sermon is an art form, an exercise in creativity and imagination. But all too often preaching suffers from a lack of imagination and a loss of the joy, wonder, and delight that attracted the crowds to Jesus’ words two thousand years ago.
In this book, based on his 2003 Beecher Lectures at Yale Divinity School, Shepherd hopes to encourage the preacher toward a more creative vision for the sermon. His approach is spontaneous, eclectic, intuitive, and daring. Shepherd’s purpose is to encourage the preacher to think of life as filled with God’s presence, to search for the presence, and to use images and words to unveil that presence. The end result is a sermon that is full of joy, wonder, astonishment, and delight.
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Teenage Guys : Exploring Issues Adolescent Guys Face And Strategies To Help
$22.99Add to cartYouth workers need to fully understand the inner workings and development of adolescents in order to really meet their needs. In Teenage Guys, Dr. Steve Gerali presents the stages of development that adolescent guys go through, providing stories from his own experiences in ministry and counseling as well as practical research findings to equip youth workers (both male and female) to more effectively minister to teenage guys. With advice from counselors and veteran youth workers, you’ll find helpful suggestions on how to minister to teenage guys and their families. Each chapter includes discussion questions to help you and other youth workers process the issues your own students face and learn how you can help them and mentor them through this tumultuous time. In addition to concepts like mentoring and rites of passage, Dr. Gerali also walks readers through the seven areas of development young guys go through. You’ll understand more about: Cognitive development – Identity formation – Social development – Emotional development – Physiological development – Sexological maturation – Faith formation
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Teenage Girls : Exploring Issues Adolescent Girls Face And Strategies To He
$22.99Add to cartGirls are more than just sugar and spice. We’ve all figured that out. What we haven’t figured out completely is how they’re wired, why they do the things they do, how the world around them affects their choices and opinions, and what that means for youth ministry-until now. In Teenage Girls, you’ll find advice from counselors and veteran youth workers, along with helpful suggestions on how to minister to teenage girls. Each chapter includes discussion questions to help you and other youth workers process the issues your own students face and learn how you can help them and mentor them through this tumultuous time. In addition to the traditional issues people commonly associate with girls, such as eating disorders, self-image issues, and depression, author Ginny Olson will guide you through some of the new issues on the rise in girls’ lives. You’ll understand more about issues related to: Family – Addiction – Emotional well-being – Mental health – Physical welfare – Sexuality – Spirituality – Relationships
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Generacion De Adoradores – (Spanish)
$13.99Add to cartMusic is a powerful healer, but worship is more than healing. We are tired of hearing that young people think that meetings are boring. In this book, you will find keys for worship leaders and youth pastors who wish to lead the new generation to the throne of God. Emmanuel Espinosa, Lucas Leys and Danilo Montero bring many years of experience in worship and discipling young people to the table.
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Touch One : How Much Is One Soul Worth To God
$23.99Add 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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Modern Organ Guide
$15.49Add to cartThe Modern Organ Guide was written to assist organ committee members who are engaged in the task of selecting a new organ or keyboard instrument for their church. This guide seeks to embrace the diversity of music and worship styles that are represented in the Christian church today. Therefore, many types of organs are discussed, from traditional pipe organs to their electronic counterparts, tone wheel organs, and MIDI keyboards. Technological advancements that have been incorporated into these instruments are discussed in order to familiarize committee members with these concepts. Additionally, a wide spectrum of organs is discussed, along with the companies that build them.
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Sermons On The Second Readings Series 2 Cycle C
$36.95Add to cartPaul and the other writers of the epistles were entrepreneurs for early Christianity — and not only did they tirelessly spread the good news, but their pastoral letters are also a marvelous guidebook full of practical wisdom. Because their writers were called on to assist the early faith communities in coping with a variety of problems, the New Testament epistles are chock-full of timeless lessons on living the Christian faith. In this extensive anthology of enlightening sermons based on the Second Readings from Cycle C of the Revised Common Lectionary, five eminent preachers from diverse denominations apply the nourishing teachings of the epistles to today’s complex challenges. With messages included for every Sunday and major celebration throughout the entire church year, there’s a wealth of ideas and illustrative stories helpful for preaching, teaching, and meditation. These biblically grounded sermons shine the light of Christ on our often confusing world and proclaim the richness of God’s truth, offering readers comfort and hope while challenging them to a more intense faith relationship with the almighty.
This essential resource is useful for:
* Fresh homiletical approaches to the lectionary texts
* Inspiring preaching illustrations and sermon starters
* Understanding scripture passages
* Adult study and discussion groups
* Personal devotions and Bible study -
Prayers Of The People
$14.99Add to cartThis book of prayers is based on the three year common lectionary. All of the texts for each Sunday are listed and the suggested preaching text is highlighted. Most of the prayers which follow reference the text. They are helpful for the busy pastor who gets one of those “weeks that was” with little time to prepare a prayer along with a sermon. They are equally helpful for the lay person who wishes to deepen his/her devotional life. And they are helpful for the seminarian anticipating a first call.
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Iglesia Como Un Equipo – (Spanish)
$14.99Add to cartDescripcion (Description): Su iglesia puede tener muchos miembros, pero, tiene cada miembro un proposito? En La iglesia como un equipo, el pastor Wayne Cordeiro recalca que los miembros de la congregacion son insignificantes si no se involucran. No obstante, si trabajan unidos en equipo con una meta claramente definida, todo es posible y ademas todos comparten el gozo y la gratificacion del exito.
Your church may have many members, but does every member have a purpose? In La iglesia como un equipo, Pastor Wayne Cordeiro underscores that church members are insignificant when every individual is not involved. However, if the team members work together as one toward a single, clearly defined goal, anything is possible – and everyone shares in the joys and rewards of success!
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When Steeples Cry
$21.00Add to cartThe United Methodist Church (USA) has lost more than 3.3 million members. The Presbyterian Church (USA) has lost more than 2.3 million members since 1971. The Episcopal Church (USA) has lost more than 1.1 million members. The Evangelical Lutheran Church (USA) has lost more than 540,000 members, including a loss of 61,871 members between 2001-2002. Forty-five churches closed their doors in 2002. The majority of North American Protestant congregations and denominations, says Hamman, have experienced significant losses since the 1960s. Moreover, the dynamic and growing churches that are changing their traditions experience the loss of what was familiar to them. In many churches, losses past and present remain unnamed and unmourned.
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Experimental Knowledge Of Christ
$16.00Add to cartBiographical Introduction
Sermon 1: The Danger Of Losing One’s Soul While Seeking To Gain The World
Sermon 2: The Experimental Knowledge Of Christ
Sermon 3: The Duty Of Listening To The Gospel As The Voice Of Christ
Sermon 4: Praying For The Spirit
Sermon 5: The Greatness Of The Peace Of God, Which Above Understanding
Sermon 6: The Funeral Sermon Of King George III
Sermon 7: The Coming Of The Son Of Man
Sermon 8: Christ The Physician
Sermon 9: God Attending To The Contrite In Spirit
Sermon 10: God Choosing And Calling Men
Sermon 11: The Saints Loving Christ And Delighting In HimAdditional Info
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Multi Site Church Revolution
$22.99Add to cartHow multi-site churches increase their evangelistic impact. Rather than pouring millions of dollars into constructing new buildings, churches of all sizes are learning new ways to take church to the streets, reaching people in new ways. They extend into gyms and multipurpose rooms, or across town into theaters, schools, and empty warehouses. From the suburbs to urban and rural settings, churches are discovering the advantage of becoming “one church, with many locations.” This book from a new publishing partnership between Zondervan and Leadership Network called the Leadership Network Innovation Series tells the story of this revolution and explains the multi-site ministry approach as a way of serving a variety of target groups and target communities. Through in-the-trenches examples from more than fifty different multi-site churches, it highlights a wide variety of creative approaches and identifies the primary reasons multi-site churches succeed-as well as how they overcome common snags. Written in an extremely practical style, this book guides churches to answer the question, “How could God use our church if we were open to joining this ‘revolution’?”
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Practicing Greatness : 7 Disciplines Of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders
$24.95Add to cartAbout Leadership Network.
Foreword By Ken Blanchard.Acknowledgments.
Introduction Needed: Great Spiritual Leaders.
1. The Discipline Of Self-Awareness.
2. The Discipline Of Self-Management.
3. The Discipline Of Self-Development.
4. The Discipline Of Mission.
5. The Discipline Of Decision Making.
6. The Discipline Of Belonging.
7. The Discipline Of Aloneness.
Conclusion Choosing Greatness.
Notes.
About The Author.
Index.
Additional Info
Based on his extensive experience as coach and mentor to many thousands of Christian leaders across a broad spectrum of ministry settings, Reggie McNeal helps spiritual leaders understand that they will self-select into or out of greatness. In this important book, McNeal shows how great spiritual leaders are committed consciously and intentionally to seven spiritual disciplines, habits of heart and mind that shape both their character and competence:The discipline of self-awareness-the single most important body of information a leader possesses
The discipline of self-management-handling difficult emotions, expectations, temptations, mental vibrancy, and physical well-being
The discipline of self-development-a life-long commitment to learning and growing and building on one’s strengths
The discipline of mission-enjoying the permissions of maintaining the sense of God’s purpose for your life and leadership
The discipline of decision-making-knowing the elements of good decisions and learning from failure
The discipline of belonging-the determination to nurture relationships and to live in community with others, including family, followers, mentors, and friends
The discipline of aloneness-the intentional practice of soul-making solitude and contemplation
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Money Matters Participants Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$17.99Add to cartThe Celebration Of Creation
The Freedom Of Simplicity
The Life Of Generosity
The Trust Of Rightful Ownership
The Joy Of Faithful Stewardship
The Faith In Promised Provision
The Commitment To Ultimate SacrificeAdditional Info
A complete stewardship study to help congregations discover the art of generosity.Proven principles of financial management found in the Bible, such as debt-free living, simplicity, planning, and generosity. Ideal for use as a self-study guide toward personal Bible-centered financial freedom, or as a small-group participant’s guide.
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Conversations With Barth On Preaching
$30.99Add to cartReaders of William H. Willimon’s many books have long discovered the influence of Karl Barth, one of the most significant theologians of the twentieth century. In this new book, Willimon explores that relationship explicitly by engaging Barth’s work on the pitfalls and problems, glories and grandeur of preaching the Word of God. This Swiss theologian, says the author, expressed one of the highest theologies of preaching of any of the great theologians of the church. Yet too much of Garth’s understanding of preaching lies buried in other sources. Willimon brings this material to light, introducing readers to Barth’s thought on both the meaning and the practice of preaching.
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Needs Based Evangelism
$18.99Add to cartBy meeting needs of people through intentional ministries, churches will grow; but more importantly they will fulfill their biblical mandate to care for those who are hurting and suffering.
Being a Good Samaritan church begins with the leadership. It requires an absolute commitment to address the needs of people in order to invite them to become disciples of Jesus Christ. But in order to compete with and appeal to unchurched people in today’s secular and consumer-driven society, the church needs to be entrepreneurial in its method of evangelist outreach. In this book, Rev. Robert Pierson, shows how churches can better organize ministry in order to be effective witnesses. By meeting felt needs of people through intentional ministries, the church will grow to be sure; but more importantly it will fulfill its biblical mandate to care for those who are hurting and suffering.
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Sideswiped By Eternity
$25.00Add to cartDr. Joseph L. Roberts has, for the past thirty years, been the pastor of the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, the former pulpit of the Reverends Martin Luther King Senior and Junior.
The sermons in this collection demonstrate Dr. Roberts’s commitment to the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., the mission of his church, the lives of his parishioners, and the message of Jesus Christ. Roberts addresses such topics as the need for prophetic voices in today’s world; the challenges of living individualistically and in community; burden sharing as a key to a meaningful life; the relevance of grace and faith today; and the importance of renewal through relationship with God and our fellow human beings.
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Women In The Wings
$16.95Add to cartTurn ordinary sermons into memorable occasions with this set of 20 dramatic monologues that can be used by female pastors, lay speakers, or other worship leaders. Women In The Wings highlights the role of women in the Christian story, as scripture passages are brought to life and interpreted by the women who were there. Each monologue tells the story of a biblical character, or of someone who might have witnessed the biblical narrative unfold.
Women In The Wings provides a user-friendly approach to communicating the gospel through drama — each thought-provoking monologue comes with theological reflections (“Making It Preach”) plus staging instructions and performance tips (“Making It Play”) that makes it accessible for anyone. And this material isn’t just for use in worship — it’s also great for women’s retreats or as discussion starters for Bible study. If you let the women in these monologues share the pulpit with you, together you’ll preach the Word in fresh and meaningful ways.
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Resurrecting Excellence : Shaping Faithful Christian Ministry
$24.99Add to cartChristians are of two minds about excellence. We commend excellent teaching, seek out excellent health care, and celebrate excellence in the arts. When a Christian life or congregation is described as excellent, however, we suspect that ambition or success may be getting the better of us.
Resurrecting Excellence aims to rekindle and encourage among Christian leaders an unselfish ambition for the gospel that shuns both competition and mediocrity and rightly focuses on the beauty, power, and excellence of living as faithful disciples of the crucified and risen Christ. Drawing on ancient traditions and on contemporary voices, L. Gregory Jones and Kevin R. Armstrong offer both a theology of excellence and compelling portraits of pastors, lay leaders, and congregations that embody “a more excellent way.”
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New Pastors Guide To Leading Worship
$17.99Add to cart14 Chapters
Additional Info
This practical book is for new pastors as they move into the role of worship leader and planner. When faced with the weekly rhythm of planning and leading worship, new pastors sometimes find themselves overwhelmed with the tasks. Barbara Day Miller centers on pastors and their identity as worship leader, on guidelines for leadership, and on the “why” and “how” of the worship service. She also explores the pastor’s role in guiding the planning of the worship service and the connecting of the congregation with the historical practices of the church. Brief narratives from other church leaders provide encouragement and useful guidelines for grounding worship-leading in the historic model of the liturgy. -
Practicing The Faith (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartSessions include:
What is the church supposed to be?
Why should I go to church?
What is Christian commitment?
What are the sacraments?
What can I do to get closer to God?
What happens when I pray?
How does God answer prayer?
Why should I pray?
How can I develop a personal prayer life?
Is suffering God’s will?
Does God care when I suffer? -
Dont Step On The Rope
$16.99Add to cartWhat makes a good team? What makes a good team leader? How can I develop my team? If you’re looking for answers to these questions, you’ll find the answers in this book. Through thirty years of climbing expeditions with friends, Walter Wright has learned a lot about mountaineering, about his team mates, and about working on and leading a team. He shares with us the tales of expeditions (successful and not so successful) and the lessons he and his team have learned from those experiences.
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Gods Potters : Pastoral Leadership And The Shaping Of Congregations
$35.99Add to cartPastoral ministry is an occupation in flux. In this comprehensive study Jackson Carroll considers the many factors – changing roles among clergy and laypeople, the opening of ordination to women, an increasing shortage of clergy, and more – that are shaping congregations and ministers today. Building on Paul’s image of Christians as “clay jars,” Carroll paints a portrait of “God’s potters” – pastors whose calling is to form their congregational jars so that they reveal rather than hide God’s treasure.
A veteran clergy watcher, Carroll uses data from what is likely the most representative survey of Protestant and Catholic clergy ever undertaken, as well as focus group interviews and congregational responses, to take a hard look at who is doing ministry today, what it involves, and how pastors are faring in leading their congregations. Significantly, his study covers clergy from a broad range of traditions – Catholic, mainline Protestant, conservative Protestant, and historic black churches.
Replete with pertinent tables and figures, God’s Potters culminates with specific strategies for strengthening pastoral leadership and nurturing excellence in ministry.
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This Incomplete One
$21.99Add to cartUnique! Bush has pulled together an amazing variety of sermons occasioned by the death of a young person, encompassing both historical figures and our contemporaries: Barth, Claypool, Coffin, Edwards, Rutledge, Schleiermacher, and Van Tholen. . . . How to handle a difficult, wrenching situation.
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Preaching And Teaching The Psalms
$32.00Add to cartRenowned and beloved psalms scholar James Luther Mays shares in this book some of his most influential ideas about the psalms and shows the reader how this rich Old Testament poetry can be taught and preached in the church. The book’s editors, Patrick Miller and Gene Tucker, have carefully brought together Mays’s best insights into the meaning of the psalms and shown us in his sermons how a master with a love for the church handles these beautiful texts.
Mays begins by explaining the basic concepts needed to understand and interpret the psalms and reviewing the scholarship and trends in psalms interpretation. Throughout he treats the psalms not just as ancient texts for scholarly study but as the basis for prayer and faith in the church today.
The book’s second section contains Mays’s expositions of nine different psalms, including Psalm 8, Psalms 22, and Psalm 23, and eight of Mays’s sermons on the psalms. The book is ideal for clergy who want to deepen their understanding and appreciation of the psalms, as well as further their skills in preaching and teaching the well-loved Old Testament poetry.
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Seeing God In Diversity
$15.95Add to cartHere readers will find a parish study resource that promotes tolerance, diversity, and inclusiveness by looking at two biblical stories from multiple points of view – the story of the returning Jews in the Book of Exodus and the story of the new Christian community in the Book of Acts. The lessons of these ancient communities – and the way they dealt with many of the issues we face today – lead readers to put themselves in the place of each group and re-examine their faith and work for greater inclusiveness in their own communities.
Lessons are arranged as six two-hour sesssions, and include background commentary for study leaders, readings, activities, and discussion questions. -
Winning On Purpose
$20.99Add to cartUsing an innovative sports analogy, John Kaiser provides proven biblical principles of leadership to help board members, pastors, lay leaders, denominational executives, consultants, and dedicated church members succeed in their respective missions. He also discusses how these strategies can be tailored to fit the requirements of specific denominations.
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Letters To New Pastors
$21.99Add to cartPresenting true-life pastoral experiences as correspondence from a fictional mature minister, Jinkins’s heartwarming work provides new clergy the insights of a wise and seasoned guide. Exploring questions about cultivating a personal spiritual life, balancing conflicting demands, and navigating between culture and faith, he delves deeply into the struggles, surprises, and rewards of congregational leadership.
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Communion Services
$14.99Add to cart1. Communion Elements Vessels And Methods Of Serving Communion
2. Communion Services For Holy Days And Seasons In The Liturgical/Church Year
3. Communion Prayers For Specific Events In The Life Of Churches And IndividualsAdditional Info
This book introduces the practice of Communion and offers a collection of Communion prayers and ready to use resources for worship. Included is information on Communion elements, vessels, and methods with answers to commonly asked questions. Knowles Wallace gives four possible orders of Communion, various ways to offer Communion, and prayers and resources for speciifc seasons and holy days in the church year from Advent through Thanksgiving. -
Pastoral Prayers In Public Places
$14.99Add to cartPart of pastor’s role in the community is to pray publicly. The pastor is often the offical “pray-er” at all kinds of community events – the high school football game, the opening of the new grocery store, the county shcool board meeting, kindergarten graduation – to name a few. But the pastor must also pray knowing that there are believers (of many persuasions) and nonbelievers present. In addition to the prayers in this book, there are brief setting descriptions and Scripture references. These prayers can be used with little or no adaptation.
