When Better Isnt Enough
$40.00
Many sociologists and a growing number of church scholars have noted that we live in a time of transition-from the modern era to the postmodern. Whenever a shift of this magnitude occurs, it leaves all of life, including the church, in flux. We instinctively strive to stabilize the situation by re-establishing what has worked in the past. Increasingly, however, congregations are finding that the same old things done harder or better don’t seem to make a difference.
Author Jill Hudson argues, “We must identify new criteria for success, and perhaps even for faithfulness, and hold ourselves accountable to them.” Approaching the postmodern era as a tremendous opportunity, Hudson identifies 12 characteristics by which we can measure effective ministry for the early 21st century.
Based on those 12 criteria, Hudson has created evaluation tools, “an early measuring stick” to help congregations evaluate their work in this new era. Not everything of the past is ineffective and best discarded, she says, nor will everything we try in the future be successful. But by faithfully listening for God’s guidance and carefully evaluating progress using Hudson’s tools, looking at the ministry of the whole people of God as well as that of the professional staff, congregations can improve their ministry, help members and staff grow in effectiveness, deepen a sense of partnership, and add new richness to the dialogue about the congregation’s future.
Jill Hudson makes us face the hard reality that the world has changed, but the church hasn’t. This gap can create a problem when assessing the effectiveness of church leadership. Practical and easy to read and understand, this book will prove an effective new tool in assisting pastors to lead today.-Mike Regele
Our kicking and screaming aside, the postmodern church beckons, and Jill Hudson provides guidance and information to equip us for this enormous ministry challenge.-The Rev. Christine Shiber
in stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
SKU (ISBN): 9781566992893
ISBN10: 1566992893
Jill Hudson
Binding: Trade Paper
Published: September 2004
Publisher: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group
Print On Demand Product
Related products
-
Sale!
Think Like Jesus Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
Original price was: $13.99.$9.97Current price is: $9.97.In this eight-session video Bible study (DVD and digital downloads sold separately), pastor and author Randy Frazee explains that when Jesus saves us and ushers us into his kingdom, he begins a process of transformation within us that starts with our thoughts. As God begins to transform our minds, we begin to think like Jesus and believe like Jesus. For this reason, it is important for us to understand the eight key beliefs of the Christian faith that-when embraced in our hearts and minds-create true change in our lives, in the church, and in the world:
*I believe the God of the Bible is the one true God-Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
*I believe God is involved in and cares about my daily life.
*I believe we come into a right relationship with God, by his grace, through faith in Jesus.
*I believe the Bible is the Word of God and has the right to command my beliefs and actions.
*I believe I am significant because of my position as a child of God.
*I believe the church is God’s primary way to accomplish his purposes on earth today.
*I believe all people are loved by God and need Jesus Christ as their Savior.
*I believe that Jesus will return to judge all people and establish his eternal kingdom.Grounded in carefully selected scripture, Think Like Jesus is a churchwide discipleship program that will take you on a journey to become more like Jesus in your beliefs. This revised study, adapted from Part 1 of the Believe churchwide study, includes an updated video study and new content and questions adapted from the existing Believe Study Guide and Think, Act, Be Like Jesus by Randy Frazee.
SESSIONS
*God
*Personal God
*Salvation
*The Bible
*Identity in Christ
*Church
*Humanity
*EternityDesigned for use with the Think Like Jesus Video Study (sold separately).
Add to cart12 in stock (additional units can be purchased)
-
God Of All Things
$19.99Abstract theology is overrated. In the contemporary West, we’re desperately in need of rediscovering God through ordinary, physical things we see in the world around us.
Jesus did it all the time. He mentioned a lily, sparrow, sheep, coin, fish, harvest, banquet, lamp, stone, seed, and vineyard to teach about the kingdom of God. In the Old Testament, too, God repeatedly describes himself and his saving work in relation to physical things such as a rock, horn, eagle, shelter, cedar, lion, shield, wave, ox, and so on. “Ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you” (Job 12:7-8).
In God of All Things, pastor and author Andrew Wilson explores glimpses of the sacred in created things, finding in them illustrations of the character and gospel of God. As humans, we encounter glory through stars and awe through storms. We learn about humanity through dust and about Jesus’s death on our behalf through trees and bread and wine. Ultimately, we meet God in his creation. It is a gallery full of sketches, paintings, and portraits revealing our Maker and Savior.
Wilson presents a variety of created marvels–from figs and galaxies to viruses, pigs, and honey–that reveal the gospel in everyday life and fuel worship and joy in God.
Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
-
Jesus Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99In this six-session video Bible study (DVD/digital downloads sold separately), bestselling author Max Lucado explores the life and character of Jesus, helping participants become more familiar with the man at the center of the greatest story ever told. As Max explains in this study, for thirty-three years Jesus felt everything that we have ever felt: weakness, weariness, rejections. He got colds. His feelings got hurt. His feet grew tired. His head ached.
To think of Jesus in such terms almost seems irreverent. It is much easier to keep the humanity out of the incarnation. Clean up the manure from around the manger. Wipe the sweat out of his eyes. Pretend he never snored or hit his thumb with a hammer. There is something about keeping Jesus divine that keeps him distant, packaged, and predictable.
But we have to remember that by Jesus becoming human, God made it possible for us to see him and hear his voice. If we want to know what matters to God, all we need to do is look in the Bible to see what matters to Jesus. If we want to know what God is doing in our world, we need only ponder the words of Jesus. By learning more about the person Jesus was and is, we come to understand more clearly the people we were created to be.
Jesus will inspire group members to spend time at the foot of the cross and search the heart of the one who would rather die for them than live without them.
Designed for use with the Jesus Video Study (sold separately).
Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
-
Person Of Interest
$24.99Dateline featured cold-case detective and best-selling author J. Warner Wallace investigates Jesus, the most significant person in history, like one of his “missing body, cold-cases,” demonstrating why Jesus still matters today, even in a world that is skeptical of the Bible.
Detective J. Warner Wallace listened to a pastor talk about Jesus and wondered why anyone would think Jesus was a person of interest.
Wallace was skeptical of the Bible, but he’d investigated several “no-body, missing person” cases in which there was no crime scene, no physical evidence, and no victim’s body. He successfully identified and convicted the killers in these cases, even without evidence from the scene.
Could the historical life and actions of Jesus be investigated in the same way? Could the truth about Jesus be uncovered even without a body or a crime scene? In Person of Interest, Wallace describes his own personal investigative journey from atheism to Christianity, as he employs a unique investigative strategy to confirm the historicity and deity of Jesus–without relying on the New Testament manuscripts.
Imagining a scenario in which every New Testament document has been destroyed, Wallace carefully sifts through the evidence from history alone to reconstruct the identity of Jesus as the world’s most important person of interest.
Person of Interest will:
*Invite readers into the life of a cold-case detective as he uncovers the truth about Jesus, using the same approach he also employs to solve a real murder case*Teach readers how to become good detectives, using an innovative and unique “‘fuse’ and ‘fallout'” investigative strategy they can also use to examine other claims of history
*Show how Jesus changed the world and why He still matters today
*Help readers to explore common objections to Christianity
Creative, compelling, and unique in its approach, Person of Interest will strengthen the faith of believers, while engaging those who are skeptical and distrusting of the New Testament.
Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.