Pastoral Helps
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Beyond The Ordinary A Print On Demand Title
$21.99Add to cartOver the past few decades mainline Protestant congregations have not easily embraced the notion of spirituality. As much as any aspect of church life, spirituality has been misunderstood, misused, and resisted by both clergy and laity. Yet times are changing. Today many people feel a deep spiritual hunger and are out looking for fulfillment in a wide variety of settings. In this new context, mainline congregations need to awaken to the presence of the Spirit in their midst and equip leaders to nurture both the personal and corporate spirituality of their congregations.
Beyond the Ordinary is explicitly written to help church leaders who have had no formal training in spiritual formation. Drawing from years of experience teaching Christian spirituality, Ben Campbell Johnson and Andrew Dreitcer explore the spiritual dimensions of leadership, looking in depth at the meaning of spirituality as it relates to the tasks of ministry. This friendly, inspiring book will enable readers to erase the negative stereotypes of spirituality and develop vital models and practices for the church today.
The book introduces a faithful understanding and practice of the spiritual life to those who have not yet dipped into the well that is Christian spirituality. For those who have already tasted this water and still thirst, it offers a way to dip even more deeply. Chapters discuss the issues surrounding a meaningful spirituality for our changing times, the importance of holding prayer and mission in tension, and the crucial role of Scripture in the formation of our lives. The authors also underscore the importance of vision, myth, and discernment in the spiritual life of the church. And they discuss the power of spiritual practices like discernment and visioning for enhancing the spirituality of congregations and for helping them become agents of social transformation.
Intended for personal and group use by pastors, elders, other church leaders, and those preparing for service in the church, the book includes suggestions for reflection and discussion as well as journaling exercises that encourage learning and growth.
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Listening Ministry : Rethinking Pastoral Leadership
$17.00Add to cartListening Ministry is a timely and practical work that invites church leaders (professional and non-professional) to look at leadership in the church in a completely different way. It is also a valuable scholarly work that calls forth new learning through the reflection questions provided at the end of each chapter. The book helps readers rethink the dynamics of ministry from the perspective of listening, focusing on both its individual and communal dimensions. Hedahl’s work presents a unique blend of theological reflection on listening, new and tested research on listening as it relates to church leadership, and suggested forms of listening as education and skills assessment in a continual effort to locate and understand listening as the heart of effective and faithful ministry.
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Pastoral Leadership : A Handbook Of Resources For Effective Congregational
$30.99Add to cartThis comprehensive problem-solving reference for pastors provides theological foundations and experience-tested techniques for effective clergy leadership.
Robert D. Dale offers insight into the dynamics of clergy management by placing leadership into a congregational context and stressing servanthood as the primary biblical leadership image. Following a discussion of the three critical dimensions of organizational effectiveness, Dale explores and critiques the four basic leadership styles: catalyst, commander, encourager, and hermit. Out of this background exploration, Dale discloses decision-making guidelines that have proved effective in helping clergy: resolve conflicts; lead churches through change; define the congregation’s dream; budget resources effectively; manage meetings; build teams; and, motivate oneself and others.
Pastoral Leadership concludes with a unique look at the effects of clergy leadership on the pastor as a person, offering valuable insight into clergy spirituality, burnout, family demands, and career development. Notes, a bibliography, and review questions accompany each chapter.
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Peace Skills (Teacher’s Guide)
$24.95Add to cartPart of the Peace Skills Set, this Leaders’ Guide is designed to prepare people to lead Peace Skills workshops in their communities. It contains several suggested workshop designs to accommodate different workshop goals, lengths, and formats; clear guidelines for teaching with role plays, case studies and sacred texts; and a broad variety of cases, role plays and specific faith texts for group discussion.
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House Divided : Bridging The Generation Gaps In Your Church
$28.99Add to cartGenerational differences are nothing new in church. There have always been groups and subgroups within a congregation, divided along lines with age. Yet with the possible exception of their educational programs, congregations have generally practiced a “one size fits all” approach to ministry and worship. Whichever group is dominant, generally the older members, although it can be the younger generations as well-sets the tone for musical styles, preaching emphases, and outreach focus.
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Web Of Womens Leadership
$20.99Add to cartThis book calls for women in church leadership to recognize the potential of female styles of authority and ministry, and to lay claim to them as a way to move beyond the hierarchical models that have so long dominated our understanding of how the church practices its mission and organizes its life. It offers detailed, practical steps for how to work with laity, other clergy, and congregational leadership groups to achieve this transformation in the way the church organizes itself for ministry.
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Turn Your Church Inside Out
$16.00Add to cartWhile many mainline churches are encountering significant decline in attendance, some are being transformed into vibrant communities of faith! More than a church growth book, this insightful guide will help you reshape your church—with enthusiastic support from your congregation—into a mission center bringing Christian witness and practice into all areas of your community.
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Peace Skills : Manual For Community Mediators (Student/Study Guide)
$28.00Add to cartPart of the Peace Skills Set, this Manual is designed as a take-home resource to support workshop participants as they return to their communities and both apply their mediation skills and share their insights with others. It covers conflict analysis, the role of mediation, the stages of mediation, communication skills, and working with group conflicts and in cross cultural settings.
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4 Views Of Youth Ministry And The Church
$24.99Add to cartThis book delineates four distinct philosophical/ecclesiological views of how youth ministry relates to the church at large. The dialogical and sometimes feisty format gives readers a taste of what’s profound and what’s flawed in these four typologies: inclusive (Malan Nel), preparatory (Wes Black), missional (Chap Clark), and strategic (Mark Senter). Each view has theological assumptions and pragmatic implications regarding the church’s mission to youth which are examined in Youth Specialties’ unique style that marries solid academic research with tone and design that is as compelling to in-the-field, practicing youth workers as undergraduate and graduate students. In short, here’s a meaty theological dish for the malnourished academic literature in the discipline of youth ministry
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Strategies For Brief Pastoral Counseling
$27.00Add to cartIn this extraordinarily helpful resource, eleven leaders in pastoral counseling offer a convincing rationale for and careful and smart instruction in brief pastoral counseling. Based on research, case studies, and the latest thinking they lay out: the dynamics of the pastor-parishoner relationship, including the need for collaborative, hospitable, future-oriented, and wholistic counseling specific strategies, including brief counseling’s solution-focused method, its relation to spiritual direction, its focus on people’s strengths, and time limits the major literature in the field of pastoral counseling in the past fifty years, offering ways in which it can speak more directly to the concerns of parish pastors as they offer counsel to those they serve
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Building The Christian Academy A Print On Demand Title
$17.99Add to cartFor centuries the Christian academic tradition played a major role in both Western intellectual history and the history of the church. In this volume Arthur Holmes explores the tradition of learning, focusing on seven formative episodes in history that can have a contribution to make to the building and maintenance of a strong Christian academy today.
For each historical period considered, Holmes probes the particular problems educators faced and discusses the major concerns that guided educational practice. By examining the thought of Plato, Origen, Abelard, Aquinas, Erasmus, Francis Bacon, John Henry Newman, and others, Holmes identifies four recurring emphases at the heart of the Christian academy: the care of the soul, the unity of truth, contemplative learning, and the usefulness of liberal arts as preparation for service to both church and society. This insightful work makes a convincing case for reclaiming the theological foundations of learning for our day.
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Act Of God Active God
$10.00Add to cartThis book raises in a straighforward fashion the faith-related questions that victims/survivors of natural disasters have as a result of their experiences. Is the disaster an “act of God”? Did God cause the disaster? If God is all powerful, why did God allow it to hapen? Dr. Gary Harbaught provides insights and understandings to help persons of faith to struggle with that seeming contradiction. Instead of seeing disasters as “acts of God”, he shows that when disasters occur, God in fact is active: active in and through our questions, confusion, and doubts; active in and through our responses and actions; active in and through the community; and active in and through people of faith.
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Naked Before God
$32.95Add to cartWritten from the perspective of Nathaniel, an imaginary disciple of Jesus, Williams wanders through the Gospel narratives, constructing a theology of suffering from his own unique perspective. Arguing with Jesus and the other disciples, Nathaniel seeks healing for his soul even as his body falls apart. In painfully honest and often humorous language, he demands to understand grace, suffering, and forgiveness while seeking to know the reality of God’s love for him. This is a new theology that comes from experience and striving, rather than from a textbook. Fearless in his search for answers and clarity, Williams never backs down, all the while maintaing an extraordinary sense of humor.
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Distinctively Different Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartDistinctley Different is a very contemporary collection of spirited and spiritual reflections. In a quiet dialogue with Gary Carver, you are invited to revive your theological commitments, reflect on difficult questions, and renew your faith perspective. Share these motivational and innovative thoughts with your Bible study or your prayer group.
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Call To Love Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartThrough fascinating anecdotes and stories drawn from his wide-ranging ministerial experience Tom Garrison applies Epistle readings from the Revised Common Lectionary to contemporary life. His powerful and insightful messages proclaim the Good News, trumpeting God’s amazing and unconditional love for us while reciting countless examples of how we can reflect that love in our everyday lives. His illustrations have a folksy charm, and the readers will discover that the sermons of this veteran preacher provide plenty of nourishing food for thought.
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Pentecost Fire Preaching Community In Seasons Of Change Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartIn a time of divisiveness, poverty, oppression, and war, the messages of Schuyler Rhodes send a clarion call for renewal in the church. Like the apostles on Pentecost, Rhodes offers words that comfort and provoke; words that empower and give us vision of a better world. His sermons build on the Gospel texts to bring spiritual insight and hope in place of cynicism and despair. Bringing the ancient biblical wisdom to bear on contemporary society, this volume is excellent for inspiration, study, and discussion.
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7 Last Words Of Jesus Christ
$7.95Add to cartFor centuries, the cross has been the central symbol of Christianity — and the “Seven Last Words” of Jesus have been indelibly etched into the Christian conscience as these words remind us of the pain and torture that Jesus faced on our behalf. But despite our ongoing struggle with evil and death, we can find faith and courage in the noble example that Jesus set on the cross. Maurice Fetty reminds of this in practical, down-to-earth sermons on each of these famous utterances. The messages of this outstanding preacher are sure to provide great material for a Good Friday worship experience.
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Preaching Without Notes
$18.99Add to cartThis book is designed to show that a preacher does not need to rest on one’s speaking ability for a sermon. That a preacher should lay aside the manuscript and sermon notes and go into the pulpit fully and throughly prepared to be the most effective preacher possible.
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Clips And Quips
$14.95Add to cartWriting sermons and preparing Sunday school lessons can be a very frustrating experience when you just can’t seem to find the appropriate words, images, and expressions to add zest to an otherwise humdrum presentation. Douglas Bailey’s collection of “verbal clip art” — metaphors, figures of speech, visual images, and other word gimmicks — is sure to liven up any discussion. Organized in an outline format (making it easy to locate material suited for various topics and themes), Clips And Quips is a veritable “toolchest” of items guaranteed to jumpstart the imagination and stimulate creative writing.
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Practical Wisdom For Pastors
$21.99Add to cartSome aspects of the minister’s life cannot be learned in a seminary classroom. Veteran pastor Thomas covers most of them with practical insights concerning everything from personal life to church life, study habits to e-mail, pulpit notes to litigation. A rich source of help and encouragement for church leaders. Includes a pastor’s self-evaluation questionnaire.
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Undivided Soul : Helping Congregations Connect Body And Spirit
$25.99Add to cartIn The Undivided Soul: Helping Congregations Connect Body and Spirit, Cheryl Kirk-Duggan offers a worship, study, and sermon planning resource containing meditations, responsive readings, poems, and small-group leaders. This volume is designed as a year-long teaching/learning guide. Each chapter explores various aspects of faith, health, and spirituality. The book can be used as a worship resource for Sunday worship, retreats, or other gatherings; it can be used as a devotional resource for small groups; it can be a study guide for group study or retreats. This resource is designed to help persons and groups explore the relationship between the faith journey, physical bodies, and spiritual discipline.
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Wild Truth Bible Lessons Pictures Of God 2
$22.99Add to cartThe Bible is a photo album, brimming with self-portraits of a God who wants to be known. God has put these pictures in the Bible to reveal his character. By examining them, we discover who God is and why he’s worth knowing better. And we discover something else: who he wants us to be. He wants us to copy his picture into our own character. Wild Truth Bible Lessons – Pictures of God 2 is a guide to 12 God-pictures taken straight from the Photo Album. They are active Bible lessons for junior high and middle school Sunday school classes or youth group meetings, each one based on one of the 50 pictures of God and presented energetically, relevantly, and scripturally in the companion student book Wild Truth Journal: Pictures of God. The lessons are loaded with off-the-wall and easy-to-do discussion starters, video ideas, scripts, games with a point. And, of course, Bible passages and studies that springboard junior highers from the abstract into the concrete as (open Bibles in hand) they explore the nature of God in a lively, relevant way, and then begin practicing in their own lives the traits of God.
Here’s how the lessons are organized:
* Picture Prep grabs your group’s attention to prepare them for what’s ahead.
* Action Shot takes your students into the Bible to catch God in the act of revealing his character.
* Self-Portrait explores the given aspect of God’s character – how it makes God just that much more awesome…and why it’s a very good trait for us to have, too.
* Print It! challenges your students to print God’s picture into their own lives by living out his character in an immediately practical way. -
Understanding Teaching : Effective Biblical Teaching For The 21st Century
$16.99Add to cartChapter 1: Why Teach?
Chapter 2: Why Students Learn?
Chapter 3: Preparing Yourself In The Word
Chapter 4: Application And Learning
Chapter 5: Understanding Lesson Aims
Chapter 6: Planning The Lesson
Chapter 7: Teaching Students – Not Lessons
Chapter 8: Selecting Methods
Chapter 9: Preparing Methods
Chapter 10: Setting Your Classroom
Chapter 11: Evaluating Teaching
Chapter 12: Keeping FreshAdditional Info
Many engaged in Christian teaching do so for years without weary spirits. Others, who were once earnest, give up in despair. What makes the difference? A biblical understanding of teaching brings appreciation for this spiritual gift. To understand the teaching ministry is to realize its significant impact on the spread of the Gospel. Approaching this task biblically involves empowerment from the Holy Spirit, insight into God’s Word, sharp communication skills, and accurate interaction with students. -
Acting On The Absurd Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartPacked full of stories about the human condition, this book of insightful sermons based largely on texts from Pauls’s letter to the Romans will be invaluable to preachers, teachers, and laypersons. Readers will serendipitously find marvelous results when one acts in faith on the “absurd” notion that God loves us unconditionally. These messages from an outstanding preacher demonstrate that when we follow the example of Paul and faithfully try to become what God created us to be, wonderful things begin to happen!
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Access To High Hope Cycle A
$15.95Add to cartHarry Huxhold’s excellent sermons build on the epistle texts from the lectionary to express and explain the meaning of the Lord’s passion and resurrection. His messages interpret the events of Jesus’ life in the light of God’s revelation to us through the scriptures. By sharpening our focus on the access we have to hope through the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, he helps readers find the true significance in the events of his earthly life. Harry Huxhold currently serves as pastoral associate at King of Glory Lutheran Church in Carmel Indiana.
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Holy E Mail Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartMany modern Christians yearn for a deeper spiritual life, a relevant relationship with a God who still matters and who thinks we still matter. However, Dallas Brauninger tells us, we are not good at listening and talking with God. What we are good at is hurling questions at the Almighty — and Brauninger says that questions are what we are all about if we are to continue to grow spiritually. And so is confession. We doubt. We fear. We stretch to the limits of our patience. We wonder if tenacity will prevail or if we will sink. We have moments of bliss and ponder anew the mystery of God. We wonder and grieve about the world.
Brauninger believes that question and confession are two forms of our prayer — and for many of us, these conversations with God are as brief and instant as an e-mail. In Holy E-Mail, she inventively casts fourteen sermons based on Cycle A lectionary epistle texts in the form of extended e-mail messages to God. It’s as if congregations and pastors were privy to someone’s private ponderings that reflect our own spiritual roaming.
This volume is not only a creative resource for preachers; it’s also directed to the everyday person in the pew. Crafted to help hearers connect with God and each other, these sermons address universal queries of the human soul. By uniting sermon with prayer, they’re excellent for use as readings for personal meditation.
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Tears Of Sadness Tears Of Gladness Cycle A
$13.95Add to cartAlbert Butzer believes that “sermons should speak to the real and immediate lives of the listeners and be grounded in the everyday events of their lives.” This collection of sermons for Lent and Easter based on gospel texts definitely achieved that goal: Butzer’s messages consistently and creatively deliver a ringing proclamation of the good news. They are outstanding examples of the homiletical art that bring together several elements of the classic sermon: biblical text, theological tradition, life of the world, life and experience of a particular congregation, and faith and experience of the preacher.
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Lets Get Committed Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartPeople seem dazzled by the world’s glitter of false grandeur and pay little to no attention to the majesty of God. The sparkle of glitter the world offers does nothing but litter the ocean floor of the spirit. A saint’s job is to pay close attention to the security of God’s grandeur — magnitude, creation, mercy, hope, happiness, joy, peace, and life. With God as our ship we can stay afloat for eternity. (from All Saints’ Sunday sermon, “Called To Be Saints”)
Derl Keefer explores the timeless and life-changing truths of the Bible in ten powerful and effective messages based on First Lesson passages from the Revised Common Lectionary. While particularly useful to pastors gleaning ideas for their own preaching, these sermons offer an abundant dose of spiritual power to all who read and digest them.
Sermon titles include:
* Where Are We Without God? — Exodus 33:12-23
* Leaving A Legacy — Deuteronomy 34:1-12
* Reformation To Transformation — Jeremiah 31:31-34
* God’s New Shepherd — Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24 -
Living On One Days Rations Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartIn eleven thought-provoking sermons based upon texts from Genesis and Exodus, Douglas Bailey highlights events from the lives of Jacob, his son Joseph, and Moses. But these messages are more than simple biblical exegesis – drawing on insights from scholarly research, Bailey demonstrates that the spiritual struggles and faith of Jacob, Joseph, and Moses are very pertinent to vital issues we face in our lives today. For example, Jacob’s “growing pains” make us wonder “What prizes are worth working for?” and “Why does God pick a fight with us and challenge us to a wrestling match?” Similarly, the story of Joseph leads us to ask why genuine forgiveness is truly painful. And sermons reviewing major episodes in the life of Moses raise such questions as “Can we really trust God to come through when the chips are down?” and “Can an affluent society ever accept God’s limited offer of one day’s blessings – one day at a time?” Bailey mines the texts for answers to these timely questions, proving that the ancient texts are still very relevant.
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Formed By A Dream Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartKristen Borsgard Wee tells us that the scriptures are “endlessly fascinating, constantly surprising, and an unparalleled adventure in God’s interaction with people.” The same might be said of these first-rate sermons based mainly on texts from the Book of Genesis. Readers will discover that Wee has an uncanny ability to place them right in the heart of the lections – experiencing what the biblical characters did while at the same time revealing what God is trying to say to us that can transform our lives. By challenging basic assumptions and raising interesting questions, Wee is able to unveil some of the truths about God and human nature that are embedded in these sacred texts. These messages offer to readers, in the words of Anne Lamott, “a path and a little light to see by.”
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Restoring The Future Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartDrawing upon thoughtfully mined biblical insights and his alert attention to contemporary culture, Rob Elder has crafted sermons that not only disclose some unexpected angles of vision on Lent and Easter, but also serve as models for preaching on neglected and overlooked texts. These are not the usual texts and these are not the expected words for the seasons of Lent and Easter, but it is sometimes what we do not expect to see and hear that delights us most. Robert J. Elder is currently the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Salem, Oregon.
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Long Time Coming Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartIt is not God’s plan to take us by surprise. Throughout scripture there is the rolling thunder of the Deity’s voice resounds: “I’m going to do it! Get ready! Pay close attention! Here comes what I promised!” We call such predictions “prophecy,” history written before it happens. And about nothing is God more prophetic, more predictive, than Jesus Christ. (from the Foreword)
In Long Time Coming! Stephen Crotts proclaims the richness of Jesus’ birth. Noting that the Lord always tells us ahead of time what he is about to do, his 14 sermons based on Old Testament lectionary texts examine how God foretold in Isaiah’s prophetic ministry that he would save and redeem mankind.
Sermon titles include:
* Still Small Voice — Isaiah 11:1-10
* When A Halo Slips — Jeremiah 31:7-14
* What Does Your God Say About People Like Me? — Isaiah 42:1-9
* Let Sleeping Dogmas Awake! — Isaiah 58:1-9a (9b-12) -
Love
$9.99Add to cartExciting contemporary Bible study series designed to meet the needs of adult learners in their 20s and 30s. Each volume in the series examines a powerful biblical image and includes: * Bible background * Articles on group leadership, and teaching options * Case studies throughout the text to use as discussion starters * Seven easy-to-lead sessions with clear teaching helps on each page * Options for service projects Love is the fifth book in the series. Chapters deal with love in its many forms, such as romantic, family, community and church, and God. The book also explores “Sacrificial Love” and “Expressions of Love.”
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Congregations As Learning Communities
$20.00Add to cartIn our rapidly evolving religious scene, congregations that are open to continuous learning and willing to respond to external and internal change, will be the ones that achieve new vitality and health. Dennis Campbell describes what those congregations will look like and provides four tools to help a congregation shape its community into what God would have it be. Systems thinking, congregational culture, appreciative inquiry, and scenario planning are explained and illustrated, and readers will be shown how to apply the principles to their setting. Paperback.
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Beyond Nice : The Spiritual Wisdom Of Adolescent Girls
$16.00Add to cart1. Listening To Ourselves / Listening To Girls
2. Girls Talk About God
3. Girls Talk About Their Churches
4. Girls Talk About Sexuality And Their Bodies
5. Girls Talk About ViolenceAdditional Info
Adolescent girls are at particular risk in today’s society. They struggle to establish a mature identity after childhood and are barraged with conflicting messages about what it means to be female. In an often hostile and sometimes lethal culture, they also are subject to being exploited, harassed, manipulated, or even abused physically and sexually. But where do religion and spirituality fit? Davis sees spirituality as the realm where girls’ ultimate concerns intersect with their daily ones especially with relationships, lifestyle, and religious conviction. Here, based on more than 100 in-depth interviews with girls from a variety of religious, ethnic, and regional backgrounds, Davis shows how religion actually functions both to help and to hurt in girls’ search for authenticity. Davis’ interviews convey articulately and deeply how spirituality concerns girls’ surmounting hurdles to ground and affirm what they become. -
Sexual Shame : An Urgent Call To Healing
$18.00Add to cartThis is the book that will provide pastors and congregational leadership the tools to identify the assumptions, behaviors, and structures that promote, while masking, sexual shame and to begin healing sexual shame both individually and corporately.
Chapter one provides a historic overview of theories of sexual shame; chapter two provides a theological framework for exploring issues of sexual shame; chapter three reviews Judeo-Christian biblical perspectives on sexuality; chapter four identifies twentieth- century cultural shifts in perspectives and attitudes on human sexuality and marriage that provide the context for the experience of sexual shame; chapter five identifies shame-based distortions of human sexuality; chapter six delineates the congregational context of sexual shame; chapters seven and eight offer models of recovery from sexual shame for both individuals and congregations.
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Mission Based Management (Reprinted)
$47.00Add to cartThis practical, comprehensive, and easy-to-use workbook provides key tools to help managers of nonprofits ensure that their organization pursues its mission, meets the changing needs of the community-and has enough money to make ends meet-while also satisfying the demands of funders, clientele, boards, staff, and bankers. Designed to equip nonprofit managers and other nonprofit workers with the guidance they need to do their jobs and run their organizations more effectively and efficiently, this workbook is also a hands-on tool to help implement the ideas in the author’s highly regarded Mission-Based Management. Filled with indispensable checklists, worksheets, forms, displays, and hands-on suggestions, and including a companion CD-ROM, the Workbook will show you how to smoothly and successfully:
* Hone your organization’s core competencies
* Focus your resources
* Improve overall mission capability
* Get the most out of group discussions
* Utilize self-assessment tools -
Homiletical Plot : The Sermon As Narrative Art Form (Expanded)
$30.00Add to cartLowry argues that preachers should regard the sermon as a narrative art form, a sacred story of God’s dramatic encounter with humanity. He outlines five steps for preaching narrative sermons, even when dealing with non-narrative biblical texts. Because the plot of each sermon moves from a point of tension to a point of resolution, people willingly become involved in the sermon.
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Book Of Catechisms
$40.00Add to cartThis is a handy and attractive collection of important catechisms for the Presbyterian Church. Designed to be a companion to the Book of Confessions: Study Edition, the Book of Catechisms has all three versions of the Study Catechism (Belonging to God, Confirmation Version, and Full Version) with full scriptural citations, study questions, and answers. For comparison and study, the Book of Catechisms also contains the Heidelberg Catechism and the Westminster Shorter and Larger Catechisms, along with a helpful cross-reference index to all five catechisms.
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Preaching Like Paul
$28.00Add to cart1. Paul As The Model For Preaching
2. Paul’s Evangelistic And Pastoral Preaching
3. The Shape Of Paul’s Preaching
4. What Is Pastoral Preaching
5. Explaining Ourselves: Preaching And Theology
6. Preaching As RememberingAdditional Info
In contrast with the widely popular interest in narrative styles, Thompson shows that Paul’s letters offer a different model for preaching today. He demonstrates how the manner of preaching used in the pre-Christian culture of Paul is valid and effective in our contempororary post-Christian culture. Unlike most books on preaching, this volume focuses not on technique, but on the goal of preaching-a needed missing component in contemporary homiletic discussion. -
Exploring Luthers Small Catechism (Teacher’s Guide)
$24.99Add to cartThis classic resource helps students learn:
*Questions and answers from Luther’s Small Catechism
*Bible verses that support Scriptural doctrines
*Bible narratives that support doctrine
*Questions and answers from the 1991 Explanation of the Small CatechsimEach lesson in this one-year course has multiple choice, true-false and fill-in-the-blank exercises. 40 sessions.
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Iglesia Celular – (Spanish)
$13.99Add to cartThe cell-church model is a powerful tool that can help any size church contain, nurture and pastor a large number of new believers. It’s a tool that equips the average Christian to do the work, rather than letting it all fall on the shoulders of the pastor.
La iglesia celular es un instrumento formidable que puede ayudar a cualquier iglesia a retener, alimentar y pastorear a un gran numero de nuevos creyentes.
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Secretos Del Crecimiento De La – (Spanish)
$15.99Add to cartThis is truly the age of church growth, not only small church growth, but great church growth. It’s the responsibility of the church to continue to grow, but this is only possible with the help of the Holy Spirit.
Estamos en la era del crecimiento de la iglesia, no solo pequenos crecimientos sino grandes crecimientos. La iglesia mundial tiene la responsabilidad de continuar con estos crecimientos, pero esto solo es posible con la ayuda del Espiritu Santo.
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Still Listening : New Horizons In Spiritual Direction
$30.95Add to cartInterest in the practice of spiritual direction has grown in recent years. With the increased number of people seeking direction have come a number of new issues confronting spiritual directors. This volume of essays by seasoned spiritual directors form a variety of faith traditions addresses issues of concern to directors today such as direction with: abused persons, the poor, church drop-outs, and gays and lesbians. Other essays look at spiritual direction in new contexts, such as the congregational setting, the corporate arena, spiritual direction and genera- tional issues, and direction at the turn of the century. The final section of the book addresses some specific circumstances: working with the addicted, with those who are dying, using art in spiritual direction, and direction and social justice.
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Resurrecting The Person
$25.99Add to cartIn Resurrecting The Person, John Swinton argues that while mental illnesses are often biological and genetic in orgin, the real handicap experienced by individuals is imposed by the types of reactions, values, and attitudes which are typical of contemporary western society. In other words, how a mental illness is experienced has much to do with how it is socially constructed.
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Gods Plan Unfolds The Church From Nazareth To Nicaea (Teacher’s Guide)
$22.49Add to cartSKU (ISBN): 9780570045205ISBN10: 0570045207Andrew Bailey | Ronald Schlegel | Ronald StelzerBinding: UnknownPublished: October 2000Lutheran High School ReligionPublisher: Concordia Publishing House Print On Demand Product
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Culturally Conscious Worship
$23.99Add to cartBlack uses shared stories, blended music, and the arts to enliven worship in culturally and linguistically diverse congregations. She provides biblical and theological foundations and practical methods and models for creating culturally-conscious worship.
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Calling And Character
$23.99Add to cartOne of the casualties in our culture wars over shifting definitions of ethical behavior ahs been the ability to think clearly about the relation of one’s character to the performance of one’s job. This has been especially the case in recent debates over clergy misconduct, where much has been said on what point they should do so. Yet, as William H. Willimon points out, a far more fundamental set of questions goes unasked. When, at ordination, clergy commit themselves to live an exemplary Christian life,what particular perspective and habits must they develop if this commitment is to survive the strain of a lifetime of ministry? Waht are the expectations they must have regarding the consequences of failure to live up to their commitments? Willimon lays out a clear and compelling picture of the pastorial life, one that will inform both those embarking on ordained ministry and those who have been in it for many years. He lays our specific habits such as study, collegiality, and humor as the day-to-day means of following the difficult and dangerous, yet deeply rewarding, calling of pastor.
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Apostles And Prophets
$13.00Add to cartJesus revealed Himself to be the cornerstone of the church. But He has built His church, and continues to build it, through apostles and prophets, people who are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Now a leader of the New Apostolic Reformation gives us new insights into how the people called to crucial roles in the church–apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastor and teachers–must work together to fulfill their divine purpose. For the first time since the Early Church, God is harnessing apostles and prophets to fulfill the promises of His divine plan. Prepare to play your part!
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Nuts And Bolts Of Christian Education
$25.99Add to cartYou’ve agreed to teach your first Sunday school class. Now what do you do? Grab this A-to-Z guide! From “advisory boards” to “zany tunes,” you’ll get answers to the most frequently asked questions, as well as ready access to the practical wisdom and helpful tips of experienced teachers. Includes reproducible charts and handouts, and a topical index.
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Ministerio De Jovenes Con Prop – (Spanish)
$18.99Add to cartIf you long to reach kids and see their lives changed by God, this comprehensive guide shows you how.
Moving to the fundamental purpose of evangelism, discipleship, friendship, ministry and worship, “Purpose Driven Youth Ministry” uses the experience of Saddleback Church to illustrate what a youth ministry can do. Here are nine basic principles that will help you: -Connect the power of God with an enthusiastic and committed leadership -Define the purpose of your ministry and communicate it effectively -Identify your potential audience -Create programs that reach your audience and fulfill God’s purposes -Implement processes that move students to maturity -Enhance your ministry with clearly defined values -Team up with parents to involve the whole family -Find volunteers and help develop them into participating leaders -Persevere through tough times and thrive in an ever-changing environment.
Balancing both theory and practice, “Purpose Driven Youth Ministry” can be applied to any church setting, regardless of size, denomination, facilities, resources, and existing leadership.
This book will help you develop a ministry that equips students rather than a ministry that coordinates events. Doug Fields says, “My goal for this book is to coach through a plan to build a healthy youth ministry that isn’t dependent on one great youth leader and won’t be destroyed when the youth worker leaves the church. It’s not a book on how to grow your youth ministry with six easy steps; it’s about identifying, establishing, and building health into your church’s youth ministry.”
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Talking The Walk
$24.99Add to cartHere are 31 small-group meetings about well, small groups. After all, the kind of honest sharing, perspective silence, compassionate boldness, and mutual growth that are the marks of an effective and attractive small group don’t always come naturally. With the complete sessions in Talking the Walk all of them customized precisely for small groups you can lead your small group of teenagers from getting comfortable with kids they don’t usually hang with, to talking honestly, listening carefully, and understanding themselves with each other. The first five meetings are a gradual, gentle introduction to the idea of communication, confidences, and listening skills, the mechanics and heart of small group dynamics then on to more than two dozen topical meetings about issues that matter most to adolescents: how to face life’s tensions, self-esteem, change, sexuality, giving and receiving love, clarifying future goals, friends, family, forgiveness, diversity, conflict, moods, priorities – and more, all of them based in Bible passages – appropriate for mixed groups of churched and unchurched kids – and each session with more than enough creative and quirky ideas, so you can select those that best fit your style and your small group’s temperament. Perfect for outreach and evangelism groups, discipleship groups, Sunday school, midweek cell groups – any time you want small groups of your student to grow together in community, intimacy, in faith.
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Creative Bible Lessons In Psalms
$24.99Add to cartThe ever-popular Creative Bible Lessons series from Youth Specialties brings you Creative Bible Lessons in Psalms, written for real teenagers who live very real lives. The Psalms, in all their glory – and anguish – are brought to life for your students through 12 spirited and interactive lessons on themes like:
* Struggles and persecution
* Thanksgiving and worship
* Thirsting for God
* Holiness
* Joy bursting through despair
* Forgiveness and renewal
To help you teach each lesson are clips from easy-to-get videos . . . games for mixing and games with a purpose . . . in-depth, ready-to-use questions for small-group discussions . . . original role plays, scripts, and spontaneous melodramas – plus a lot of other activities to choose from that give your students not only an occasional laugh, but also a taste of prayer as an opportunity to be honest, and true, and personal in our communication with God -
Ethics And Spiritual Care
$23.99Add to cartEthics and Spiritual Care responds to three phenomena of increasing importance. (1) Although spiritual care is at the heart of ordained ministry, there is no text in professional ethics for clergy that focuses specifically on spiritual care. What ethical guidelines are needed to ensure that spiritual care in ministry is appropriate? (2) Many people in our world do not consider themselves “religious,” but use the term “spiritual.” The burgeoning interest in “spirituality” is an invitation to people with little training to set themselves up as “spiritual directors.” Guidelines are needed not simply for the ethical practice of parish ministry, but for specific practices of spiritual direction. (3) Allegations of “spiritual abuse” have been made both in practice and in the literature: the term is being used with some frequency. The development of the term and its implications requires some scrutiny and response as “sexual abuse” is not a good model for understanding spiritual abuse.
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Word In Our Time
$23.99Add to cartAn essential handbook for preachers and a lively, informed devotional companion for those who prepare for worship by reading the Scriptures, this commentary on the Principal Service readings for Year C offers: Variations in interpretation Background history Links between passages Theological significance Language sources Illustrative quotes
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Creative Styles Of Preaching
$26.00Add to cart1. Narrative Preaching
2. African American Preaching
3. Evangelistic Preaching
4. Topical Preaching
5. The Four Pages Of The Sermon
6. Preaching The Literary Forms Of The Bible
7. Pastoral Praching
8. Biblical Preaching
9. Imaginative PreachingAdditional Info
This useful book on newer preaching styles is designed for students and experienced clergy alike. It consists of nine chapters, each treating a different contemporary approach to preaching, such as Narrative, Evangelistic, African American, Topical, Pastoral, Biblical, Literary, and Imaginative styles. Each chapter is illustrated by sermons from well-known preachers including Tony Campolo, Barbara Brown Taylor, Sam Proctor, Fred Craddock, William Willimon, Ronald Allen, and others. This book will prove to be an invaluable travel guide to the homiletical landscape, and it will aid pastors who want to keep their sermons fresh, invigorating, and relevant to the life experiences of their congregations. -
Preaching Through The Year Of Luke
$21.95Add to cartPreaching Through The Year of Luke is the ninth book in a series devoted to presenting examples of preaching excellance. These sermons, collected from the 1999 Preaching Excellance Program and from clergy nationwide, explore bibical passages for the liturgical year C, which focuses on the Gospel of Luke. Sermons for the major holy days, as well as a selection of Sundays throughout the year, will be helpful to pastors preparing to preach and lay people seeking a better understanding of the lectionary passages from year C.
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7 Ways Of Teaching The Bible To Adults
$18.99Add to cartBarbara Bruce helps teachers and learners understand seven different learning styles, or “intelligences,” and how these learning styles can be used to bring the Word of God alive for adult students. Chapters include suggestions of activities to incorporate a specific intelligence into lessons, questions for the teacher on his or her own preference for the particular intelligence, a lesson focusing on the intelligence and a prayer demonstrating the intelligence. In addition, the book contains suggestions for teacher training, bibliographies, a glossary, and a self-discovery sheet.
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Trauma And Evil
$22.00Add to cart1. Evil In A Larger Context
2. Unveiling Evil: Obstacles And Indicators
3. The Nature Of The Self, Its Development, And Its Continuing Vulnerability
4. Trauma And The Self
5. Evil’s Attack On The Self And Soul
6. A Call To Pastoral Care: Walking Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death
7. Wrestling With The Angel Until Blessed
8. Grieving: A Bridge Between Suffering And Hope
9. A Call To Prophetic Response: No Friend Of Evil
10. God And The Devil: The Ultimate Example Of Splitting
11. Revisiting “The Wounded Healer”Additional Info
This book helps those who provide care to victims of abuse and violence add to their knowledge base an understanding of evil_and how it works to destroy. Arguing that “the worst forms of trauma are the human intentional type,” or trauma perpetrated consciously and intentionally, the authors define radical evil as trauma-inducing acts engaged in consciously and unapologetically.This understanding of evil helps caregivers move toward the moral, ethical, and faith dimensions of life. The book integrates victims’ experiences and those who seek to help them with a socio-cultural and theological understanding of evil, a psychological understanding of trauma, and the resources of Christian faith.
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Clergy Renewal : The Alban Guide To Sabbatical Planning (Revised)
$23.00Add to cartPlanned time away from the parish for study, rest, and spiritual renewal can be beneficial-and often necessary-for any pastor, as well as for the congregation. In this thoroughly revised and expanded edition of Alban’s popular Sabbatical Planning for Clergy and Congregations, Bullock and Bruesehoff provide the definitive guide to putting together refreshing pastoral sabbaticals that can help keep ministry vital and growing for the long term. Foreword by Roy M. Oswald.
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Making The Church Work (Revised)
$12.00Add to cartIn the first edition of Making the Church Work, Hammett wrote that the church is not only in need of change, but also in need of a conversion. Now his conviction is stronger than ever. In this second edition, he addresses the issues of changing values–values about what leaders and their congregations are doing as a church and the effectiveness of their techniques. Hammett is convinced that until church leaders change their values, healthy, relevant, and effective churches are not likely to appear.
Unique features of this book include:* Overview of trends and issues impacting the church’s ineffectiveness
* Opportunities for individual readers and small groups, and congregations to reflect on their journey in light of these trends and issues
Practical guidance for addressing some problems and for equipping the church for more effective ministry in the 21st century
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Pastoral Liturgy New Handbook
$34.99Add to cartA guide to liturgy and worship in the Church of England within the framework of ‘Common Worship’, which combines theory, theology and history with a strong sense of the realities of parish life and pastoral practice. It explores the way in which liturgy can reflect the life of the church and the wider world, and the new opportunities for churches at a local level to own and shape the liturgy they use. This book is essential reading for anyone involved in worship in the Church of England, and who wants the worship of their church to be the best they can offer, based on clear liturgical principles. It is also practical and detailed – Michael Perham covers clothing and colours, children’s role in worship, the cycle of the Christian year, the timing of services, the use of church space and other elements that go to make up the feel of an individual church. The book has its roots in two of Michael Perham’s earlier works, ‘Liturgy Pastoral and Parochial’ and ‘Lively Sacrifice’, though much of the material is quite new, and fills its role as key texts for anyone interested in the liturgy of the Church of England.
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Congregational Fitness : Healthy Practices For Layfolk
$23.00Add to cartWhen serious conflict surfaces in a congregation, lay people are usually stunned. They feel frightened, angry, and helpless. Congregational Fitness explores why congregations are prone to conflict and describes healthy behaviors lay people can practice to manage conflict constructively. Goodman argues that since it is members of the congregation who carry on from one pastor to another, it is important for them to know and practice positive behaviors continually, rather than reacting out of emotion and anxiety to an unexpected situation. Designed for use by individuals, study groups, and retreat participants. Foreword by Hugh F. Halverstadt.
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Leading And Managing A Growing Church
$22.99Add to cartNot all pastors are natural-born managers—but they can learn! In this practical volume, Hunter gathers insights from the best leadership and management experts, then shows pastors how to apply proven-effective principles to the service of the church. Learn to be a dynamic supervisor, a skilled steward of church resources, and more!
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Listening For The Soul
$25.00Add to cart1. Soul Inquiry: Evocative Listening For The Soul
2. Contemplative Living: A Preventative And Restorative Approach
3. The Soul’s Rhythm: Death And Resurrection
4. Credible Caregivers: Sustaining Spiritual Practices
5. Soul Companions: Listening For The Soul In Daily Life And Work
6. Children’s Spirituality: Listening For The Soul Of The Child
7. Toward Complementarity: Pastoral Care And Spiritual DirectionAdditional Info
This book explores the relationship between the practices of pastoral care and the practices of spiritual direction with the aim of enabling pastoral caregivers to draw upon the guiding principles, resources, and techniques of spiritual direction within the Christian tradition. With an emphasis on both “practice” and “presence,” the book reclaims the tradition of “soul care” for the pastoral ministry, thereby complementing the medical, or crisis intervention, model of pastoral care with a wellness/growth model of pastoral care.Listening for the Soul:
_Challenges clergy to take seriously the relationship between pastoral care and spiritual direction.
_Integrates theological and psychological insights with issues of spiritual life and formation.
_Includes a chapter on the spiritual formation of children.
_Provides practical guidance for integrating spiritual direction with pastoral care.
_Tends to the pastoral caregivers own needs for spiritual deepening.
_Includes reflection questions and case studies to enable the text to function on both the individual reader and classroom levels. -
Growth Into Manhood
$15.99Add to cartWhat happens when a boy grows physically into an adult male but misses some of the experiences and relationships that help form complete manhood? Many such boys will grow up with homosexual attractions; others may be heterosexual but will lack a true sense of their manhood. Alan Medinger writes for such men and for those who care about them.
Within the context of his own release from homosexuality and his growth into “confident and comfortable” manhood, Medinger offers hope to others. For homosexually oriented men, such growth is an essential but often overlooked step in the process of healing. This ground-breaking study could well change many lives. -
Ask And You Shall Receive (Teacher’s Guide)
$25.00Add to cartFundraising expert Kim Klein has trained thousands of groups and individuals to cultivate assets that make good works possible. The Ask and You Shall Receive training package is a do-it-yourself, start-to-finish program on jumpstarting fundraising efforts. A peer-led program designed for use with its companion Participant Manual, the Ask and You Shall Receive Leader Manual walks you through the most common fundraising scenarios with dependable information, methods, prompts, and preparation guidelines. Realistic time allowances keep the training within reach of busy volunteers.
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I Will With Gods Help Adult Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$11.95Add to cartAn interactive journal for adults that complements the comprehensive 6-12 week confirmation program. Invites confirmands to explore their own faith experiences in the context of the larger faith community. Includes lots of room for recording thoughts and reflections on the confirmation process.
If you are ordering a quantity of 30 or more, please call 1-800-824-1813 to receive your volume discount.
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Feeding And Leading (Reprinted)
$33.00Add to cartEvery church and Christian organization has a leadership and administrative team. But how well is that team functioning? Feeding and Leading, now available in paperback, addresses this key component to effective ministry.
Kenneth O. Gangel begins with the foundations of the administrative process and then focuses on the vocational Christian leader–pastor, president, principal, mission executive–targeting such issues as spiritual leadership, style, organization of work, goal setting, and long-range planning. The book also covers topics such as:– recruiting and training volunteers
– motivating workers
– delegating responsibility
– making decisions
– building good working relationships
– communicating
– chairing business meetings
Feeding and Leading contains over forty figures that illustrate the practical principles outlined by the author. Self-evaluation questions, sample job descriptions, and other helpful tools for Christian administrators are also included.
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Power Surge : Six Marks Of Discipleship For A Changing Church
$26.00Add to cartDrawing on his experience at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, Foss makes the case for transforming congregations from a membership model to a discipleship model of church affiliation. The book begins with a careful analysis of recent patterns in church membership/demographics which argue for this paradigm shift. Subsequent chapters detail the unique leadership and organizational needs of a discipleship model; explore the building and maintaining of fundamental trust–in God and in His people–as the cornerstone of the model; and provide practical helps for assessing the present and strategies for moving into the future.
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I Will With Gods Help Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$26.95Add to cartA comprehensive 6-12 week program that invites confirmands to explore their own faith experience in the context of the larger faith community. Materials are flexible enough to be used in a wide variety of parish settings. Interactive journals are available for youth and adult candidates.
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I Will With Gods Help Youth Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$11.95Add to cartAn interactive journal for youth that complements the comprehensive 6-12 week confirmation program. Invites confirmands to explore their own faith experiences in the context of the larger faith community. Includes lots of room for recording thoughts and reflections on the confirmation process.
If you are ordering a quantity of 30 or more, please call 1-800-824-1813 to receive your volume discount.
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Repairing The Ruins
$19.00Add to cartAs parents, it is easy for us to look back and see the shortcomings of our own education. Since many of us were taught in public schools, we often have a pretty good idea of what we don’t want our children to learn. But what exactly should we give them instead?
The authors of Repairing the Ruins, a group of experienced teachers and school administrators, faced this same question when they first embarked on the journey of education. And they found a tried and true answer in classical Christian education. Here they explain what makes classical Christian education different from modern methods and why it offers a distinctly Christian alternative. Building upon this foundation, the authors provide parents with the “Whys and Hows” of the Trivium, tips on planning curriculum, wisdom in designing education to serve the heart as well as the mind, and advice on starting up schools.
For all who have ever wondered where to begin with their children’s education, Repairing the Ruins comes alongside with words of comfort and direction.
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Preaching The Whole Bible As Christian Scripture
$32.99Add to cartWhile strong, gospel-centered preaching abounds, many Christian pastors and lay preachers find it difficult to preach meaningfully from the Old Testament. This practical handbook offers help. Graeme Goldsworthy teaches the basics of preaching the whole Bible in a consistently Christ-centered way.
Goldsworthy first examines the Bible, biblical theology, and preaching and shows how they relate in the preparation of Christ-centered sermons. He then applies the biblical-theological method to the various types of literature found in the Bible, drawing out their contributions to expository preaching focused on the person and work of Christ.
Clear, complete, and immediately applicable, this volume will become a fundamental text for teachers, pastors, and students preparing for ministry.
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Be Still : Designing And Leading Contemplative Retreats
$23.00Add to cartMany people long for a deeper relationship with God, yearning for silence in a noisy world and a respite from busyness. Written for lay and ordained leaders who wish to bring the gift of space and silence to members who feel called to the contemplative journey, the book introduces the purpose of retreats, provides a theological and biblical understanding of the model, and offers guidance for designing and leading these gatherings. Sample retreats, a design for home retreats, and suggested resources are included.
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Worship Centered Youth Ministry
$14.99Add to cartWorship. What images come to your mind as you see this word? Some envision believers singing praise songs and lifting their hands. Others see people bowed in fervent prayer or sitting quietly meditating on Scripture. While these images may represent expressions of worship, they do not convey a complete picture of the biblical concept of worship. What is authentic worship? As youth ministers in today’s culture, how close to the mark of true worship are we leading our teens? In this book, Jon Middendorf tackles these tough questions and more. Beyond the typical ideas of worship, Middendorf explores the biblical definition and challenges the reader to move to a deeper understanding. Through describing a typical youth ministry program and offering principles for a worship-centered lifestyle, he directs youth workers on a journey toward a worship-centered youth ministry–a journey that will lead both the workers and their teens into a deeper, richer walk with Christ.
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Parables Of Jesus Cycle C
$27.95Add to cartThe parable is the most well-known literary form presented in the Gospels. And since narrative or story sermons are such a prominent element in the contemporary pulpit, pastors are preaching on the parable texts more frequently than ever.
Richard Gribble thoroughly examines each of the parables appearing in Cycle C of the Revised Common Lectionary. Each analysis includes:
discussion of the theme
spiritual food for the journey
application of the parable to contemporary life
openings for preaching
points of challenge and questions to ponder
exegesis and explanation of the parable
context of the parableThese studies will be a classic resource for preaching…or useful for Bible study and inspiration.
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Learning While Leading
$23.00Add to cartAs the world changes, so do people’s expectations of their faith community and clergy. This book uses three case studies to speak to religious professionals about the challenges they face, to provide readers with specific, user-friendly techniques to become more aware of how they function, and to learn new ways to lead. Clergy will find real-life examples of how more effective leadership enhances the life of the community and promotes the deepening of members’ faith. Foreword by Chris Argyris
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Transforming The Mainline Church
$22.00Add to cart1. New Beginnings: Facing The Challenge Of Change
2. Building And Battling
3. Transforming The Church For A New MillenniumAdditional Info
When Robert Chesnut became pastor in 1988, East Liberty Presbyterian Church was a declining and graying congregation. Over the next ten years, Chesnut sparked a remarkable – and often controversial – turnaround in membership, ministry, and finances. “Transforming The Mainline Church” gives the inside story of that renewal, and also provides valuable lessons for other beleaguered congragations. This dramatic account urges all congregations to be more open to diversity; to emphasize the arts and a broad range of music; to support aggressive, entrepreneurial leadership; and to move beyond narrow denominational concerns in favor of an approach that responds to the religious hungers of a new generation.
