Church Life
Showing 451–500 of 501 results
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Women Authority And The Bible
$35.00Add to cartIVP Print On Demand Title
Evangelical advocates of traditional roles for women say the heart of the matter is biblical authority. Supporters of more open roles say the crux is biblical interpretation and application. The 26 evangelical leaders represented here ask the hard questions about women’s roles and refuse to shirk the hard exegesis needed to get answers. Essential reading for all concerned with women’s roles in the church.
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Peculiar People : The Church As Culture In A Postchristian Society
$30.00Add to cartContents
/12 Chapters
Additional Info
Christians feel increasingly useless, argues Rodney Clapp, not because we have nothing to offer a post-Christian society, but because we are trying to serve as “sponsoring chaplains” to a civilization that no longer sees Christianity as necessary to its existence. In our individualistic, technologically oriented, consumer-based culture, Christianity has become largely irrelevant.The solution is not to sentimentally capitulate to the way things are. Nor is it to retrench in an effort to regain power and influence as the sponsor of Western civilization. What is needed is for Christians to reclaim our heritage as a peculiar people, as unapologetic followers of The Way.
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1 New People
$27.00Add to cartIf you are aware of the rich benefits of fellowship that crosses racial lines, but aren’t sure how to make that happen in your church, then this book is for you. Loaded with models from those who have done it, One New People will inspire you to broaden the ministry of your church. With questions to help groups process the material, it will give you everything you need to find the model that fits your situation so you can begin the process of change and growth. And if you are already in a multiethnic church, you’ll find ideas and principles for improving communication, developing new leadership and managing conflict from someone who has been there.
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Women In Ministry
$28.00Add to cartMay women teach or exercise authority over men? Should they be ordained? Questions like these rage in the debate over women in ministry. Four committed evangelicals, Robert Culver, Susan Foh, Alvera Mickelsen, and Walter Liefeld, explain their positions and respond to the others, making for a lively exchange of ideas.
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Chaplaincy Ministry And The Mission Of The Church
$35.99Add to cartIn Chaplaincy Ministry and the Mission of the Church, Victoria Slater explores the significance of chaplaincy for the mission and ministry of the contemporary Church. She discusses the reasons for the recent growth in new chaplaincy roles in the contemporary cultural and church context and provides a theological rationale for chaplaincy along with practical suggestions for the development and support of chaplaincy practice. The book provides conceptual clarity about what chaplaincy actually is and will move beyond the common polarisation of chaplaincy and Church to position chaplaincy as a distinctive form of ministry with its own identity and integrity that, together with other forms of ministry, makes a significant contribution to the mission of the Church.
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Once And Future Pastor
$25.00Add to cartHobgood examines new pressures on clergy that are emerging in the “post-Christendom era:” financial stresses; the effects of a conflicted and confrontational culture; the needs of an increasing number of people living broken or dependent lives; dysfunctional behavior on the part of pastors and parishioners; questions regarding clergy respect and job satisfaction. How is ministry being affected by these changes? What skills will clergy need as they enter the new century? An invaluable resource thoroughly grounded in research and full of practical observations for clergy, judicatory executives, seminary professors, and long-range planners.
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User Friendly Evaluation
$23.00Add to cartEach congregation must evaluate itself in light of its own mix of gifts, backgrounds, talents, and opportunities. Presenting the best of evaluation theory past and present, Woods shows clergy and lay leaders how to engage in mutual evaluation-not judgment-of ministry, mission, and community as a shared responsibility. The goal is building up the congregation. A special chapter provides commentary from church evaluation experts Roy Oswald (Alban), Paul Light (ABUSA denominational staff), and Jill Hudson (PCUSA judicatory executive) on dilemmas congregations face in evaluation
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Longing For Community
$21.99Add to cartUnderstanding the strength and unity of the ummah- the worldwide Muslim community-and its role in an individual’s identity is essential in comprehending the struggles that Muslims undergo as they turn to faith in Jesus Christ. It has been a place of security, acceptance, protection, and identity; turning away from it entails great sacrifice. Where, then, will Muslims who choose to follow Jesus find their longing for community fulfilled: ummah, church, or somewhere in between?
Longing for Community compiles the research and reflection of twenty missiologists, sociologists, anthropologists, and linguists-among them Muslims who have become believers in Jesus Christ- presented at the second Coming to Faith Consultation in February 2010. The contributors explore the multiple levels and hybrid nature of social identity, pointing to the need to free our discussions from single- dimensional scales, which are far from adequate to describe the complex nature of conversion and lived-out faith. Beyond the issue of identity, the contributors offer important lessons from mission history, explore liturgy as an appropriate vehicle for teaching, discuss appropriate means of communication, and point to both the need and contextually appropriate possibilities of greater involvement of women in training and ministry.
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Your Church Sign
$19.99Add to cartSigns have been almost as much a part of the modern church as the front doors. For that matter, they’ve been the entry into church life for countless people who have responded to their brief but cogent message. Your church sign has more potential than you may imagine — if you’re smart in using it. Your Church Sign offers you sound pointers on signage. You’ll find tips on impactful sign placement, captions, themes, and how to write effective messages. And you’ll get more than one thousand ready-made, eye-catching sayings. Some are humorous, some are encouraging, some are wise, some are convicting. All are designed to turn scant seconds of drive-by time into active spiritual awareness. Arranged by theme, Your Church Sign offers captions on: -Marriage and the Family – Prayer – Going to Church – Seasonal Themes – Christian Living – God in Charge – Evangelism – The Bible – Speech . . . and more. Turn to this practical, easy-to-use book for fast ideas and proven advice for helping your church sign make a difference in people’s lives.
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Partners In Ministry
$21.99Add to cartCould you use a partner in your ministry? Utilize the laity! Writing from the standpoint that ministry is the fundamental vocation of all Christians, the authors provide practical guidance on how the work of clergy and laity complements and strengthens each other; understanding of the functions of each; and direction on building ministry teams.
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Torch Of The Testimony
$14.95Add to cartThe 2,000 year history of those Christians – and churches – that have stood outside the Protestant-Catholic tradition. This book was originally published in India in 1964 and is little known in the western world. Beginning in the first century John Kennedy traces the history of Christian groups who remained outside formalized religion down through the ages. A stirring, passionate and sometimes heart-rending story of suffering to the centrality of Christ within the Body of Christ.
John W. Kennedy is from Great Britian, but has lived in India since 1952 ministering among indigenous and apostolic Christian groups.
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Imagining A Church In The Spirit A Print On Demand Title
$23.99Add to cartEveryone has an opinion about why mainline churches are declining, but few provide concrete, workable ideas to help stem the tide. As an academic, Johnson effectively couples his suggestions with McDonald’s pastoral experience. Together, they seek to re-energize the body of Christ with new vision.
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How To Meet In Homes
$11.95Add to cartThis book is an invitation to revolution!
Warning: Do not read this book if you enjoy Sunday morning church services!
This book is for those believers, be they Catholic, Protestant, Conservatives, Fundamentalists, or Pentecostal/Charismatics who want to utterly abandon it all, from top to bottom, and start over in a way that is a revolutionary, radical departure from all present-day church practices. -
Stewardship Scrapbook
$22.00Add to cartThis remarkable book represents the very best of William Phillippe’s lifelong stewardship files: materials he has used in four decades of training, talks, and sermons about giving to the church. It includes biblical texts, sermons, sermon ideas, inspiring stories, quotations, and other miscellaneous suggestions and aids for ministers, lay leaders, and others interested in the many facets of stewardship.
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5 Star Church (Reprinted)
$18.00Add to cartEver wonder how a restaurant or hotel earns a five-star rating? Is it the people? The location? The service? In most cases, it is all of this and more. Why should your church be any different? The Five Star Church reveals how you can pursue Christian excellence and uphold the Lord’s command to “honor one another above yourselves” (Romans 12:10). It contains tips, tools, and the inspiration you need to build a top-quality church that people will flock to and participate in. Now matter how small your ministry or budget, God can use your church effectively to make everyone there feel welcome and cared for–the marks of a five-star church!
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Rehearsing The Soul
$14.99Add to cartThe church choir prepares musically and vocally at each of its 52 weekly rehearsals. It is the purpose of this book to assist in choir members’ spiritual preparation, as focus is aimed away from notes and rythms and temporarily toward matters of faith and life. These thoughtful, easy-to-use devotions are ideal for use during choir rehearsal, before a choir program, or as food for personal meditation. Written by a life-long participant in the music of the church, each devotion is geared toward church choir members and their particular faith-walk. Each week’s devotional reflection begins with a Scripture or hymn passage and concludes with a brief prayer.
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Equipping Your Church To Minister To Ex Offenders
$8.95Add to cartPrison ministry does not end at the prison gates. In any area of the country where there is a prison or a jail, or where ex-offenders reside, there is a need to help incarcerated men and women make a successful transition from prison to society. These 104-page manual gives practical, Biblically-based instructions on starting such a ministry, whether through the local church, or as a separate ministry working with the local church. This manual includes the following topics:
WHO ARE EX-OFFENDERS, AND WHY SHOULD THE CHURCH REACH OUT TO THEM?
WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO GET THE CHURCH INVOLVED?
THE GOAL OF EX-OFFENDER MINISTRY
INITIAL PREPARATION FOR THE EX-OFFENDER MINISTRY
DEALING WITH RACIAL ISSUES AND CROSS-CULTURAL SITUATIONS
FINANCING THE EX-OFFENDER MINISTRY
PEDOPHILES AND SEX OFFENDERS
GODLY LOVE TOWARD THE EX-OFFENDER-WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
DISCIPLESHIP FOR THE EX-OFFENDER: LEAVING THE NETS
THE PRUNING PROCESS: HOW TO DEAL WITH SUFFERING
THE SCRIPTURAL BASIS FOR THE MINISTRY TO INMATES AND EX-OFFENDERS
SCRIPTURES RELATED TO PRISONERS
LEGAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE OF YOUR MINISTRY
STARTING AN AFTERCARE CENTER
BENEFITS FOR THE ELDERLY AND DISABLED
THE WORK OPPORTUNITY TAX CREDIT ACT
FEDERAL AND STATE BONDING FOR EX-OFFENDERS -
Revolution In Leadership
$25.99Add to cartEquipping God’s people for the ministry to which they are called can no longer be the responsibility solely of professional clergy. Increasingly we see that a new team of leaders, drawn from the membership of each congregation or its community, is arising to meet the challenges that ministry in the third millenium will present. Yet where, and how, will these leaders be trained?
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Snapshots Of The Kingdom
$11.99Add to cart24 Chapters
Additional Info
Picture perfect moments. The Gospels are full of them. Reading The Bible can be a lot like bringing out the family album. Because photographs help us remember. They bring to mind times and places important to us. They recapture people, relationships, and priorities. They help define us. Snapshots bring a piece of the past into the present. Have you ever thought of the Gospels as snapshots of Jesus’ life and ministry? Each episode, each story is a picture of His kingdom on earth. By reading them we learn what Kingdom life is like. Steve Rodeheaver is convinced that one of the primary purposes of the Church is to be a snapshot of God’s kingdom. When people see Christians in action, he says they should see wallet-size pictures of the coming Kingdom. Our lives and ministries are to reflect the model Jesus gave us so long ago. Snapshots of the Kingdom will challenge you to answer the call to Kingdom living. The opportunities are all around you. Right now. Where you are. It’s an adventure guaranteed to bring your life back into focus. -
Where The Nations Meet
$30.00Add to cartIVP Print on Demand Title
Peppered with inspiring and challenging stories from multicultural congregations, this book not only provides a theological basis for multicultural ministry but also suggests how such ministry can be successfully conducted in all churches. This book for all pastors and laypersons who want their church to be a place of unbounded celebration where the nations meet.
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Human Disability And The Service Of God
$34.99Add to cartHuman Disability and the Service of God is an important contribution to the growing literature on religion and disabilities. In this volume major Christian scholars across the biblical, historical, theological, and pastoral fields bring their areas of expertise to bear on the challenge of a holistic ministry that will no longer marginalize persons with disabilities.
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Rural Ministry : The Shape Of The Renewal To Come
$30.99Add to cartGrounded in social research, Rural Ministry evaluates the diminishing establishment of the church in rural America, which is linked to the fifty-year-old crisis in rural ministry. It names the primary issues for leaders of Protestant and Catholic churches to ponder: the graying of the population; the closing of schools, hospitals, and factories; and the corporate buyout of farms during the 1980s. In addition to retelling the history of this crisis, Shannon Jung and the other contributors to this volume offer a set of Christian principles that respond to social problems in rural life. The situation is so intense that the book offers examples from around the heartland of cooperative or collaborative parishes that blend denominational and theological differences across the Protestant and Catholic spectrum.
Key Benefits: Offers a vision of nationwide renewal in rural America; Advocates true ecumenical solutions to issues confronting the rural church in America; Sidebars feature examples and illustrations; Informs new rural ministers of the culture and issues about to confront them, allowing them to better handle the challenges and opportunities of the rural environment; Motivates congregations to activate ministries in new and provocative ways, insuring the spread of the gospel; Can help troubled churches survive.
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Reshaping Religious Education
$39.00Add to cartCelebrated religious educators Harris and Moran challenge the religious education community to risk change. They identify a process of creative and imaginative education, moving beyond traditional solutions while incorporating ecumenical and international perspectives.
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Starting Small Groups
$22.99Add to cartIn Starting Small Groups: Building Communities That Matter, Jeffrey Arnold discusses small groups and details step-by-step the method for designing a small-group ministry to fit a congregation’s unique situations. Adapted from a workbook format that allows each congregation to identify its own particular needs and character, this resource includes ways to plan, envision, and strategize for the formation of small groups.
The author looks at significant issues related to designing or revamping a small-group ministry, including group types; group structure; leadership training and support; marketing; recruiting people into groups; answering the why, when, how, and what of groups; and evaluating so that positive changes can be continually made. Ending each chapter is a series of workbook-style questions. The answers to these questions form the structure and content of each church’s unique ministry design. While individuals, committees, and churches work their way through the questions, they may consult the sample strategy contained in an appendix at the end of the book.
The writing style employed in this resource is simple, graphic, and easy to read. It is written so that both laypersons and pastors will be comfortable using it. Stories abound so that a process that may seem difficult comes to life in these pages.
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End Of Christian Psychology
$13.00Add to cartEastgate Publishers Title
What can be wrong with “Christian psychology”? When it is comprised of the same confusion of contradictory theories and techniques as secular psychology. “Christian” psychologists have simply borrowed their theories and techniques from this world’s wisdom. Packed with biblical and scientific evidence, this book thoroughly demonstrates that professional psychotherapy with its underlying psychologies is questionable at best, detrimental at worst, and a spiritual counterfeit in any event.
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Crisis In The Church
$29.95Add to cartDrawing on his wealth of experience as both a seminary professor and minister, John Leith identifies and confronts the contemporary crisis in theological education. He argues that the crisis in the seminaries is interwoven with the crisis in the church, and that the secularization of educational institutions has led seminaries to move away from their primary responsibility – preparing pastors for ministry.
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Life And Thought Of Kanzo Uchimura 1861-1930 A Print On Demand Title
$25.99Add to cartWhile staying in the United States in 1884 at the age of 23, Kanzo Uchimura (1861-1930) felt a sense of religious calling that led him to devote the rest of his life to Christian mission in Japan. His subsequent life and work earned him recognition as one of the most important Japanese thinkers, essayists, and theologians of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Uchimura claimed that Japan adopted Western civilization at the reopening of the country in the late nineteenth century but did not adopt Christianity itself – the very cause, spirit, and life of Western civilization. This was the origin of all the difficulties Japan had been experiencing. There is no question that Uchimura believed Christianity would save Japan and the Japanese; the real question was “What kind of Christianity?”
In his view Christian faith entails a radical dependence on the gospel; baptism, communion, and the other sacraments are not necessary. He also believed that God’s truth can be revealed directly to each individual, so that an intermediary between God and people, such as a minister, priest, or pope, is not required. This argument led Uchimura to start the Mukyokai-shugi (Non-churchism), a denial of the institutional church. Miura here explores in depth this theme in Uchimura’s thought as well as Uchimura’s particular vision of Japan’s mission to the world.
This study not only offers Western readers new information about Kanzo Uchimura and the Japanese Non- church Movement; it also provides important insights into the way Christianity can be indigenized in a new culture, such as that of modern Japan.
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Connecting To God
$23.00Add to cartAlthough spiritual growth occurs within an individual, Ware explains that it is the calling of the congregation to be a community of support and encouragement. Indeed, it is amidst the support of a group that an individual learns how to live out personal faith. Ware provides a very practical and accessible model of spiritual formation for self-directing groups that can be led by clergy or laity. Includes thorough guidelines, do’s and don’ts, and ground rules for the successful pursuit of spiritual growth in small groups. See also Ware’s helpful book on spiritual type on next page.
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Interventionist
$27.99Add to cartThe most effective way to influence both individual and institutional behavior is to ask questions. The Interventionist provides a conceptual framework for asking questions about congregations, and it classifies various syndromes that prevent a church from making the changes that are needed for new life. It will help church leaders find a good match between the needs of the congregations and the gifts, skills, experience, personality, leadership style, and priorities of the candidate. The book is also a productive guide for the trained, career interim minister who comes purposely for six to twenty-four months to sort out the issues and syndromes that plague a congregation.
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White Soul : Country Music The Church And Working Americans
$22.99Add to cartWhite Soul examines the social, political and religious foundations of country music as the soul music of the white, working-class Americans. Country music gives voice to an economically battered subculture of hard-living and hard-working people who find self-expression in the music of honky-tonks and heartaches. It celebrates the “wild side of life” as a form of populist anarchism and escapist festivity. This unusual medley of sociology, theology, and country music history is also a compelling critique of the elitism of “good taste” in the dominant culture. Tex Sample challenges the church to reach out to working-class people, who have often been ignored and demeaned by churches held captive to the tastes and lifestyles of the upper middle class.
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Partners In Prayer
$14.99Add to cartForeword By Max Lucado.
1. Unleashing The Potential Of Prayer.
2. Getting To Know Your Father
3. Developing Practical Prayer Skiffs
4. Avoiding Personal Prayer Killers
5. Expanding Your Prayer Focus
6. Protecting And Partnering With Your Pastors
7. Praying Your Church To Its Potential
8. Organizing A Prayer Partner Team:
Afterword: Anticipating RevivalSpecial Section: Releasing God’s Power Through Fasting By Bill Bright
Appendices: How To Start A Prayer Partner Ministry In Your Home Church
A: Planning Your Prayer Partner Retreat
B: Preparing Prayer Partner Breakfasts
C: Creating Prayer Partner Guides And LettersAbout The Author P. 179
Additional Info
“John, I believe God has called me–a layrnan–to disciple, encourage, and pray for pastors. And the reason I came here today is so that I could pray for you.”With those words, respected leader, speaker, and author John Maxwell saw his agenda replaced by God’s agenda. The stranger who felt God’s calling to pray for this pastor fulfilled a need in Maxwell that he didn’t even know he had–and fourteen years later, the results are evident at the 3,500 member Skyline Wesleyan Church in San Diego, California.
Partners in Prayer, the first book in the John Maxwell Church Resources series, shows church leaders and lay people how to unleash the potential of prayer on behalf of themselves, one another, and the church. If your church–or private devotional life–is starving in the area of prayer and you want to tap into the power and protection prayer provides, Maxwell gives practical insight into
–the fundamentals of prayer
–improving personal prayer life
–praying for others, including church leaders
–building a prayer partners ministry in the local church
–encouraging prayer revival nationwide
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* Are you missing out on God’s gift and blessing of prayer? Is there someone you know who would benefit from your committed prayers on their behalf. Despite God’s promise of the power of prayer to change our world, many of us never experience it. John Maxwell shows you how to strengthen your prayer life and reap the benefits awaiting those who become Partners in Prayer. -
Alabadle : Hispanic Christian Worship
$20.99Add to cartBy looking at the wide variety of Hispanic Christian worship that exists within the Hispanic community, Alabadle! highlights the cultural, generational, and denominational elements that comprise the spectrum of Hispanic worship.
Justo L. Gonzalez and seven other contributors provide an insightful look into the variety of worship styles that exist among numerous church traditions including Assemblies of God, United Methodist, Catholic, American Baptist, Presbyterian, and Disciples of Christ. And yet, in the midst of this variety, is a common thread of excitement – about worship and about the gospel!
Anyone interested in exploring worship, music, and liturgy styles from a particular Hispanic perspective will find Alabadle! a valuable learning tool.
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New Complete Server
$11.95Add to cartThis classic guide helps servers to perform with confidence and reverence, allowing the liturgy to unfold in a smooth and prayerful manner. A glossary of words and objects accompanies illustrations of vessels, linens, altar preparation, vestments, posture symbols, and examples of processions. Also contains easy-to-draw symbols that servers can use to make a diagram of their sanctuary’s layout for study and practice.
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Church For The Unchurched
$22.99Add to cart6 Chapters
Additional Info
CHURCH FOR THE UNCHURCHED
A rebirth of the apostolic way.This work shows that there is an apostolic way for a congregation to live out the gospel. This book calls for revolution–the revolution that must take place if the churches in America are to thrive and to fulfill the Great Commission. Church for the Unchurched is about the “abolition” of the laity.
God’s dream for his church from the earliest time has been that we practice the priesthood of all believers, that we be a kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:6). In its first 300 years of history, the church had no clergy. Rather, it was made up of believers who understood they were to be apostles, sent on mission by the living Christ. With the phenomenal growth of that early church, both numerically and in influence, two classes of Christians emerged, leaders and spectators. The spectators were supposed to learn sound doctrine, to pray, sing, listen to sermons, and pay the bills. But when the question is asked, as it often is, “Why doesn’t the church do something about…,” “the church” is synonymous with “the clergy.”
This book studies a number of apostolic congregations from various traditions and assorted geographical locations that are successfully reaching the unchurched. It is full of recipes that any serious congregation could copy and use. Reading this book could result in a Copernican revolution in the church-the empowerment of the laity.
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Team Ministry : Putting Together A Team That Makes Churches Grow
$16.99Add to cartUsing a step by step approach, Dick Iverson explains the biblical pattern for local chruch admisistration – a plurality of elders led by God’s “set man”. He provides a method for establishing a team ministry within any local chruch that includes 12 principles on how to maintain the leadership team once it is put into place. He concludes the text with information on how to discover and train young leaders within the church.
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Effective Keys To Successful Leadership
$14.99Add to cartLearn, from this dynamic model, what it takes to build an effective leadership team and healthy local church. Common ministry temptations and tensions are candidly discussed, emphasizing the need for personal vision and mission in your ministry.
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Economic Empowerment Through The Church
$24.99Add to cartThe Kingdom of God is not only spiritual — it is intensely practical. The church today must move beyond its traditional role if it is to truly fulfill its mission. It can no longer respond only to spiritual needs and speak only to people’s hearts. The church is called to be a force for change in the world, especially where the needs are greatest: the inner-city neighborhoods where crime, violence, and unemployment are the order of the day. Economic Empowerment Through the Church is a practical book that shows churches how to become a force for revitalization in their community by means of “economic empowerment”– by becoming involved in the everyday, economic life of their communities. It shows churches how to structure themselves, how to avoid tax problems, what businesses they can operate without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status, and step-by-step guidelines for implementing ancillary operations such as real estate, day care centers, drug abuse rehabilitation centers, housing projects, and others. The book includes checklists that help churches avoid missing crucial steps, as well as sample documents and forms.
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Hard Living People And Mainstream Christians
$22.99Add to cartIf you can’t stand four-letter words, you shouldn’t read this book. This book contains expletive language used by hard living people, so that readers will better understand the hard living culture and discover ways to minister within it. “Through stories of hard-living people and pastors who minister with them, Tex Sample challenges mainline churches to break the yoke of middle-class captivity and join with the Christ who lives among the poor and marginalized. The book is inspirational, analytical, and practical in its treatment of an issue too long ignored by contemporary church leadership.” – Kenneth L. Carder, Resident Bishop, Nashville Area, The United Methodist Church
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Church Confident
$21.99Add to cartKeck shows how the church is suffering from malaise brought on by oversecularization in aspects of church life including worship, theology, ethos, and communication.
This penetrating clarion call to renewal cuts through the conventional ideological labels of “liberal” and “conservative.” Keck argues with passion that mainline churches today must neither pretend to be culturally triumphant nor whimper in fear. Rather, the church has grounds to be confident about its proper nature and mission.
Keck envisions a renewed church that has recovered a sense of what is basic to its nature and purpose–restoring the praise of God to the center of worship.
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How To Attract And Keep Active Church Members
$28.00Add to cartThis book is a study of church growth and membership retention. The author argues that if a church is to survive, it must concentrate on keeping its current members as well as attracting new ones. He interviews people from six hundred churches of various sizes and reviews the causes of membership decline and retention in those churches. Smith addresses the assimilation of new members, congregational vitality and church growth, and conflict management and its impact on membership retention.
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After Christendom : How The Church Is To Behave If Freedom Justice, And A C
$23.99Add to cartLiberal/conservative and modern/postmodern concepts define contemporary theological debate. Yet what if these categories are grounded in a set of assumptions about what it means to be the church in the world, presuming we must live as though God’s existence does not matter? What if our theological discussion distracts us from the fact that the church is no longer able to shape the desires and habits of Christians? Hauerwas wrestles with these and similar questions constructing a theological politics necessary for the church to be the church in the world. In so doing, he challenges liberal notions of justice and freedom.
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Shaped By The Bible
$15.99Add to cartShaped by the Bible offers sound information about the ways congregations are formed and reformed by the biblical message and the living Word. William Willimondiscusses the ways Scripture can form us, reform us, and challenge us, as well as the ways we hide from, close our ears to, and evade the Bible’s claims on us.
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Prewrath Rapture Of The Church
$26.99Add to cartCONTENTS
PART 1: JESUS IS COMING
1. The Tension And Anguish Surrounding A Consideration Of The Timing Of The Rapture
2. The Ultimate Absolute Of History
3. The Options Of “When” Laid Out
4. The Conflict That Makes It Necessary
5. But First The Counterfeit
6. The Background That Must Be Understood
7. The Question That Had To Be Answered
8. And What Of The Tribulation Period?
9. And Then The Day Of The Lord
PART 11: THE DAY OF THE LORD
10. Cosmic Disturbance
11. Elijah Must Appear First
12. The Day Of His Wrath
13. The 144,000 And A Great Multitude No Man Could Number
14. The Last Trump
15. The Apostasy And The Man Of Sin
PART III: THE PREWRATH RAPTURE
16. The Coming And The End
17. Kept From The Hour
18. Are Pretribulation Rapture Arguments Really Unanswerable?
19. The Prewrath Rapture: Why This View Now?
20. The Prewrath Rapture: Catalyst For Holy Living
Benediction
Notes
Scripture Index
About The AuthorAdditional Info
For thirty years a confirmed pretribulationist, he now believes that the Church will have to endure the persecution of the Antichrist: “God never promised Hs children immunity from the trials of this godless world or the assault of the Antichrist. He did promise, ‘greater is he [the Holy Spirit] that is in you, than he that is in the world’ (1 John 4:4). ” In view of the fact that Christians will not escape all of the oppression of the “Tribulation” period, Rosenthal urges godly living in light of a clear understanding of the last days so that we will be prepared for Satan’s intense opposition. Rosenthal does, however, believe that the Church win escape the wrath of God, which will be poured out beginning with the opening of Revelation’s seventh seal sometime during the second half of the “Tribulation” period. “For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 5:9). -
People In The Presence Of God
$26.99Add to cartIs there one correct way for the people of God to worship him? It turns out that Scripture offers many models and forms for worship, all of which are acceptable but not necessarily appropriate or functional in a particular setting. Barry Liesch, a professor of music at Biola University, helps his readers to grasp that fact and it’s implications for worship in the church today. This is a one-of-a-kind book for many kinds of readers in all kinds of churches. It offers biblical perspective, historical awareness, musical and artistic sensitivity, authentic reverence, and creative stimulation for worship leaders, church musicians, study groups, pastors, worship committees, and a host of others who are interested in appreciating and renewing worship according to biblical models. Within each of the twenty chapters the author shares many suggestions for enhancing and transforming worship in the church today. Not only does he present the various biblical models and offer a wealth of suggestions, he takes up some of the major concerns of worship leaders, planners, and participants — concerns such as the role of music, uses of symbolism, the appropriateness of dance, modes of celebration, expressions of reverence, and many others.
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Church Leadership : Following The Example Of Christ
$32.99Add to cartAs the body of Christ, the church is basically an organism, not an organization. This fact is full of implications for the way the church organizes itself and the way leadership functions in the church. No book on church leadership has become as controversial as this one. Nor is there a book that spells out so clearly the scriptural implications of the present rule of Christ in the church and the calling of church leaders to be, first of all, servants. This is must reading for pastors, elders, church staff members, and students preparing for ministry in the church.
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Tithing : Call To Serious Biblical Giving
$19.99Add to cartR. T. Kendall believes that all Christians are called to tithe. What is more, he is convinced that the church would be revitalized and the world transformed if all Christians did begin to tithe. Dr. Kendall combines this bold claim with biblical, theological, and practical implications of tithing. Tithing is sometimes regarded as threatening, but it emerges in this book as both challenging and inspiring. Numerous exciting testimonies are told, all demonstrating in individual lives the principle that underlies tithing. “You cannot outgive to the Lord.”
