Church Life
Showing 101–150 of 501 results
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Sheltered Through The Storm
$18.99Add to cartAs storms of persecution, betrayals, and attacks face believers worldwide, many are filled with fear and wonder if God has abandoned His people.
The challenges the Church faces today are many:
Unprecedented attacks from without and within
Radical Islamic terrorism spreading fear
A deterioration of morality and Judeo-Christian values
A lack of dependence on the truth of God’s Word.
Michael Jolayemi says the Church must be courageous, and reach out to help a frightened world. The gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the only effective weapon against terrorism and social injustice. He challenges the Church to live holy in a perverted world that seeks to destroy its godly heritage, and return to its total dependence on the basic truths of the Word of God. -
Owning Faith : Reimagining The Role Of Church And Family In The Faith Of Te
$15.99Add to cartMore than ever, young disciples want relationships with their parents and other adults; Owning Faith helps older disciples understand how to honor and nurture relationships that last a lifetime.
Today’s adolescents face an uphill climb as they seek to own their faith. And while it’s easy to think that what they really need is an expert, Owning Faith lets you in on God’s big secret: what they need more than anything else is you.
Owning Faith is an accessible guide into the adventure-filled spiritual journey of adolescents. If you would like to learn how to be a wise and compassionate companion who can make an eternal difference in the lives of youth, Owning Faith will show you how.
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Building Strong : Gods Blueprint For Building The Church
$14.95Add to cartIn this timely book, veteran author and pastor, Robert Gay, clearly articulates God’s practical and spiritual plans to build healthy and growing churches. It takes multi-generations ministering together in unity and in the power of the Holy Spirit to counter the changing trends of a worldly culture and establish the Kingdom of God. Both pastors and congregations will be equipped to rise to the challenge as this compelling revelation is released. You will find the answers to your ministry questions contained in this one masterful text.
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Altars Where We Worship
$35.00Add to cartWhile a large percentage of Americans claim religious identity, the number of Americans attending traditional worship services has significantly declined in recent decades. Where, then, are Americans finding meaning in their lives, if not in the context of traditional religion? In this provocative study, the authors argue that the objects of our attention have become our god and fulfilling our desires has become our religion. They examine the religious dimensions of six specific aspects of American culture-body and sex, big business, entertainment, politics, sports, and science and technology-that function as “altars” where Americans gather to worship and produce meaning for their lives. The Altars Where We Worship shows how these secular altars provide resources for understanding the self, others, and the world itself. “For better or worse,” the authors write, “we are faced with the reality that human experiences before these altars contain religious characteristics in common with experiences before more traditional altars.” Readers will come away with a clearer understanding of what religion is after exploring the thoroughly religious aspects of popular culture in the United States.
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Beating The Boundaries
$21.95Add to cartUsing the image of the traditional practice of “beating the bounds” of the parish, this book contrasts the desire to mark boundaries with God’s call to explore boundaries in order to open them. Building on visits to nine Episcopal and Church of England congregations, Spicer explores how they are opening the boundaries between inherited expressions of church and the unique contexts in which they find themselves. He argues that to beat the boundaries around their current expressions of church, congregations should (1) name a missional identity common to both their past expressions of congregational life and the church they hear God calling them to become; (2) identify whom they’re seeking to reach in the community and how they intend to do so; (3) identify what sort of new church expression God is calling them to create; (4) empower a missional leader and plan for governance issues their work may raise; and (5) collaboratively identify how to define success and how to understand what might be seen as failure in terms of common church metrics.
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State Of Missiology Today
$38.00Add to cartThe 2015 Missiology Lectures at Fuller Theological Seminary marked the fiftieth anniversary of the School of Intercultural Studies (formerly School of World Mission). The papers from that conference present a “state of the art” in the field of missiology, drawing on the past and looking ahead to a diverse, global future.
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Tactful Advice For Calling Your Next Pastor
$10.99Add to cartA change of pastoral leadership creates a special kind of stress and strain on a congregation. Your church may prefer the more practical starting points, such as appointing a search team, getting assistance from a denomination, shoring up finances, addressing maintenance issues, and developing a quick timeline. Then there are the deeper matters: grief work, sober evaluation of effectiveness, prayer around core reasons for being, attending matters of the heart around communal healing and reconciliation, and authentic conversation about who we are called to be for the sake of the Gospel and the world around us.
Gary Straub articulates the dynamics of the pastoral search process from both sides of the equation. With more than 50 years of ministry experience-including calls to large congregations, interim positions, and coaching of pastoral candidates-Straub integrates practical advice with prayerful counsel. Healthy dialogue helps keep you passionately open to the Holy Spirit. Tactful Advice for Calling Your Next Pastor starts the dialogue and keeps it focused.
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Beauty Of Grace
$14.99Add to cartEncouraging and Heartfelt Stories of Grace Connect Women’s Hearts with God–Now in Paper
In this hectic life, it’s easy to forget that God is always near, even though he sends us frequent reminders. The beauty amid the mess, a well-timed word of encouragement from a friend, the memories that won’t let go of our hearts–they’re all ways God extends us grace. But if we’re not paying attention, we can miss them. With heartfelt stories from some of today’s foremost writers, The Beauty of Grace is a haven of calm contemplation amid the chaos. These inspiring stories helps readers appreciate the benefits of cultivating friendship, waiting on God, choosing joy, staying connected, learning to trust, and much more.Contributors include Jessica Turner, Lisa-Jo Baker, Holley Gerth, Ann Voskamp, Bonnie Gray, Tsh Oxenreider, Leeana Tankersley, Emily Freeman, Margaret Feinberg, and many others. -
Grab Gather And Grow
$15.99Add to cartJim and Jen Cowart, authors of Start This, Stop That, offer a fresh strategy for developing community groups for your whole church and beyond. Harvest Church (www.harvestchurch4u.org), a young United Methodist congregation twenty miles southwest of Macon, met for seven years (on Sundays) on the move in a rented theatre. They learned about adaptive systems, digital tools, and flexible overhead. Since building a multipurpose facility on 43 acres near Warner Robins, Georgia in 2007, Harvest Church applied what they learned about mobility and sustained rapid growth to 2700 in worship attendance, with seven weekend services. They dispensed with a typical education wing (at significant cost savings) and classrooms in favor of four multipurpose rooms. They adapted a community groups strategy, which meets primarily in homes. Over 18 months they have expanded from 76 community groups to over 250 community groups. In this leadership book, Jen and Jim offer a five-part method for transforming a congregation through launching community groups. Community groups become a multiplication strategy because they nurture an urgent expectation outside the congregation to share the good news with persons not yet professing faith, while creating a well defined path for growth in discipleship. The book will include the following themes: Group Explosion – New Strategy for 100% plus group participation Overcoming Obstacles – Structuring for Maximum Growth vs Control – Crowd to Core Group Growth The Power of the Pulpit – This system is driven from the stage Living the 5 through Group Life – How the CG lives into Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, Evangelism, and Worship Creating Infrastructure for Facilitators
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Praying For Your Pastor
$18.00Add to cartIt’s tough to be a pastor. Pastors face demands and pressures on every side, from the challenges of church ministry to the realities of spiritual warfare. But you can make a difference. Your prayers provide a lifeline for your pastor’s spiritual health and ministry effectiveness. Eddie Byun offers a handy, practical guide to praying for pastors. He shares stories of how congregational intercession changes things, with specific guidelines for prayers for protection, rest, anointing, integrity and more. God calls us to pray for our leaders. When we do, their ministry is strengthened, the kingdom is advanced and lives and communities are transformed.
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Riddle Of Life
$23.99Add to cartFresh translation of a classic treatise on Christian belief
In the spirit of C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, eminent Calvinist thinker J. H. Bavinck’s Riddle of Life offers a compact and compelling treatise on Christian belief, starting with the eternal questions that haunt every conscious human being: Why are we here? Where do we come from? What is our destiny? How should we live? He goes on to explore essential topics including sin, salvation, and Jesus the Redeemer; faith and idolatry; God’s great plan for creation; and the ultimate purpose behind our lives.
This lucid new translation by Bert Hielema of a classic text will make Bavinck’s profound reflections on faith and the meaning of human life accessible to a new generation of seekers.
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Made To Lead
$16.99Add to cartWomen were made to lead. Even in church.
Jesus affirmed women as leaders-many contend Mary Magdalene was the first female minister. Yet women in ministry face challenges and obstacles, both from churches and from their own self-doubts. Both men and women miss out when women don’t lead.
Made to Lead empowers you to live out your calling boldly and confidently. Draw closer to God with relevant biblical examples and heartfelt prayers. Break down stereotypes of women in leadership. And create your own successful reality in which you are a key part of God’s holy community.
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Apostolicity : The Ecumenical Question In World Christian Perspective
$40.00Add to cartAbbreviations
1. The Problem Of Apostolicity
2. Apostolicity Under The Horizon Of Schism
3. Culture As The Nature Of Apostolic Continuity
4. Apostolicity And Colonization: A Relationship?
5. Subordinating Apostolicity To The Apostolate
6. Historical Continuity In The Perspective Of World Christianity
7. Jesus Christ, The One Ground Of The Apostle
8. Apostolicity: The Livingness Of The Living Word
Bibliography
Author Index
Subject Index
Scripture IndexAdditional Info
What constitutes the unity of the church over time and across cultures? Can our account of the church’s apostolic faith embrace the cultural diversity of world Christianity? The ecumenical movement that began in the twentieth century posed the problem of the church’s apostolicity in profound new ways. In the attempt to find unity in the midst of the Protestant-Catholic schism, participants in this movement defined the church as a distinct culture-complete with its own structures, rituals, architecture and music. Apostolicity became a matter of cultivating the church’s own (Western) culture. At the same time it became disconnected from mission, and more importantly, from the diverse reality of world Christianity. In this pioneering study, John Flett assesses the state of the conversation about the apostolic nature of the church. He contends that the pursuit of ecumenical unity has come at the expense of dealing responsibly with crosscultural difference. By looking out to the church beyond the West and back to the New Testament, Flett presents a bold account of an apostolicity that embraces plurality. -
Equipping Church : Serving Together To Transform Lives
$22.99Add to cartPicture your church as a place where the priesthood of believers finds its expression in creative and powerful ways. Picture leaders and staff equipping and unleashing people to minister in ways consistent with how God designed them. Think of the effectiveness, vitality, and contentment that come when the body of Christ nurtures itself through the healthy give-and-take of each member. In The Equipping Church, Sue Mallory describes the benefits, the structure, and the culture of an equipping church and shows how your congregation can become one. This book is about limitless possibilities. Think “vision.”
What might your church look like if its members became vital, fully empowered partners in ministry? How can you help them discover and release their full potential? How would their roles change–and yours?
AN EQUIPPING CHURCH IS A CHURCH WHERE:
* pastors and leaders enable church members to share in ministry
* people’s gifts, talents, and life callings are matched with areas of service
* ministry opportunities are recognized and developed
* the culture encourages the growth of a broad array of ministries
*a well-designed system addresses needs of every kind, both individual and corporate *the pastor doesn’t have to be all things to all peopleUnpacking insights and principles uncovered by Leadership Training Network over the last several years, Mallory helps you customize an equipping system and culture in your church. You’ll proceed from preparation (what you need to know), to foundations (what you need to change), to construction (what you need to do). In the process, Mallory takes you inside the story of her own church, Brentwood Presbyterian, to observe the different stages of their trial-and-error journey and how it has transformed their approach to “doing church.” See how they dealt with various concerns that arose along the way, and meet men and women whose lives have been changed because Brentwood took the ministry road less traveled. Each chapter includes a section of “Equipping Principles,” questions for discussion and reflection, and a summary of different equipping churches from around the country. With the accompanying Equipping Church Guidebook, this book will be a mile marker in your church–and the gateway to a more effective and biblical approach to ministry.
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Cruciform Church : Becoming A Cross Shaped People In A Secular World (Expanded)
$19.99Add to cart“This new edition of The Cruciform Church finds Churches of Christ at a quite different place than they were sixteen years ago when the book was first released. On the one hand, our culture is more clearly post-modern and post-Christian. All of the Christian players today are finding themselves cultural outsiders, much like the earliest Christians. We are waking up to the reality that we are in a missionary situation in our own culture, and this is forcing us (slowly, by fits and starts) to rethink our priorities and our mission. On the other hand, Churches of Christ themselves are engaging more and more in the kind of healthy theological rethinking that this book called for back in 1990. Many congregations are shedding the sectarian or exclusivist outlook, gaining new appreciation for their heritage, refocusing on the central doctrines of the faith, and entering into serious dialogue about carrying out the mission of God in this new time…Perhaps this new edition can continue to provide stimulus and guidance as the adventure continues. Toward that end, this edition contains a new chapter, “Last(ing) Things,” that seeks to show the close relationship between eschatology and discipleship, between one’s view of the coming kingdom of God and the cruciform life.” – From Allen’s Preface to the Revised Edition
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Impossible People
$16.00Add to cart1. New World, Old Challenge
2. The Greatest Challenge Ever
3. The War Of Spirits
4. Exploring The Heart Of Darkness
5. Life With No Amen
6. Yesterday, Today, Forever
7. Give Us The ToolsAdditional Info
The church in the West is at a critical moment. While the gospel is exploding throughout the global south, Western civilization faces militant assaults from aggressive secularism and radical Islam. Will the church resist the seductive shaping power of advanced modernity? More than ever, Christians must resist the negative cultural forces of our day with fortitude and winsomeness. What is needed is followers of Christ who are willing to face reality without flinching and respond with a faithfulness that is unwavering. Os Guinness describes these Christians as “impossible people,” those who have “hearts that can melt with compassion, but with faces like flint and backbones of steel who are unmanipulable, unbribable, undeterrable and unclubbable, without ever losing the gentleness, the mercy, the grace and the compassion of our Lord.” Few accounts of the challenge of today are more realistic, and few calls to Christian courage are more timely, resolute?and hopeful. Guinness argues that we must engage secularism and atheism in new ways, confronting competing ideas with discernment and fresh articulation of the faith. Christians are called to be impossible people, serving an Impossible God. -
Serving A Movement
$18.99Add to cartOur goal as Christians is never simply to build our own tribe. Instead, we seek the peace and prosperity of the city or community in which we live through a gospel movement led by the Holy Spirit, a movement united by the gospel of Jesus Christ, a common mission to reach and serve others, and a commitment to be gracious and generous to those who disagree with you.
In Serving a Movement, best-selling author and pastor Timothy Keller looks at the nature of the church’s mission and its relationship to the work of individual Christians in the world. He examines what it means to be a “missional” church today and how churches can practically equip people for missional living. Churches need to intentionally cultivate an integrative ministry that connects people to God, to one another, to the needs of the city, and to the culture around us. Finally, he highlights the need for intentional movements of churches planting new churches that faithfully proclaim God’s truth and serve their communities.
This new edition contains the third section of Center Church in an easy-to-read format with new reflections and additional essays from Timothy Keller and several other contributors.
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Shaped By The Gospel
$22.99Add to cartIt is easy to assume that if we understand the gospel and preach it faithfully, our ministry will necessarily be shaped by it-but this is not true. Many churches claim to be gospel-centered but do not have a ministry that is shaped by, centered on, and empowered through the gospel. The implications of the gospel have not yet worked their way into the fabric of how that church does ministry.
Gospel-centered ministry is more theologically driven than program driven. To pursue it, we must spend time reflecting on the essence, the truths, and the very patterns of the gospel itself. The gospel is neither religion nor irreligion, but something else entirely-a third way of relating to God through grace. In Gospel-Centered Church, bestselling author and pastor Timothy Keller addresses several current discussion and conflicts about the nature of the gospel and shows how faithful preaching of the gospel leads to individual and corporate renewal.
This new edition contains the first section of Center Church in an easy-to-read format with new reflections and additional essays from Timothy Keller and several other contributors.
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Why Bother With Church
$7.99Add to cartIntroduction
1. Foundations: How To Consider Church
2. Life Changing: How To Attend Church
3. Running: How To Organize Church
4. Imperfect: How To Survive Church
5. Wonderful: How To Love Church
ConclusionAdditional Info
The church has an image problem.It is widely viewed in the world at large as being outdated, boring, irrelevant and filled with backbiting hypocrites.
How different that picture is to how the Bible talks about the new family that Jesus has gathered. It is a precious bride, a sparkling jewel, a lifeboat for forgiven sinners that is precious and holy; nurturing and warm; filled with truth, friendship and all embracing, forgiving love.
Sam Allberry understands the collision between these two views, and how, even as Christian believers, we can lose sight of how truly wonderful church is and should be, and what a privilege it is to be part of, and to serve.
In this brief accessible but thorough guide to church, Sam outlines what church is and why we need it. And how, when we have got it wrong, we can move closer to what a true church should be.
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Trouble Ive Seen
$29.99Add to cartWhat if racial reconciliation doesn’t look like what you expected? The high-profile killings of young black men and women by white police officers, and the protests and violence that ensued, have convinced many white Christians to reexamine their intuitions when it comes to race and justice.
In this provocative book, theologian and blogger Drew G. I. Hart places police brutality, mass incarceration, antiblack stereotypes, poverty, and everyday acts of racism within the larger framework of white supremacy. Leading readers toward Jesus, Hart offers concrete practices for churches that seek solidarity with the oppressed and are committed to racial justice.
What if all Christians listened to the stories of those on the racialized margins? How might the church be changed by the trouble we ve seen?
Key Features:
-Written by well-known theologian and blogger Drew Hart with foreword by Christena Cleveland
-Hard-hitting analysis of racial injustice in the twenty-first century
-Provides a call to action for Christians committed to racial justice and creative proposals for antiracist practices for churches -
Next Worship : Glorify God In A Diverse World
$20.00Add to cartWhat happens when a diverse church glorifies the global God? We live in a time of unprecedented intercultural exchange, where our communities welcome people from around the world. Music and media from every culture are easily accessible, and our worship is infused with a rich variety of musical and liturgical influences. But leading worship in multicultural contexts can be a crosscultural experience for everybody. How do we help our congregations navigate the journey? Pioneering worship leader Sandra Van Opstal is known for crafting worship that embodies the global, multiethnic body of Christ. Likening diverse worship to a sumptuous banquet, she shows how worship leaders can set the table and welcome worshipers from every tribe and tongue. Van Opstal provides biblical foundations for multiethnic worship, with practical tools and resources for planning services that reflect God’s invitation for all peoples to praise him. When multiethnic worship is done well, the church models reconciliation and prophetic justice, heralding God’s good news for the world. Enter into the praise of our king, and let the nations rejoice!
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Beyond The Local Church
$18.00Add to cartForeword
Introduction
1. The Power Of A Balanced Anatomy
The Biblical Genius And Design For Apostolic Structures And Movements
2. Limping Or Leaping Through Time
The Encouragement Of Apostolic Missionality In History
3. Mother Teresa Wasn’t A “Para-Catholic”!
Why “parachurch” Is A Dirty Word
4. So What Is “Apostolic”?
The Oft-neglected Essential To Authentic Missionality
5. Holy Discontent And Sanctified Ambition
The Apostolic Imperative Of Ephesians
6. Setting Visionaries Free
Pioneering As A Second Decision Entrepreneur
7. Finding Second Decision People
How To Engage And Release Apostolic Leaders
8. Running Together!
The Exponential Leverage Of Interdependence
9. Movements Of God
The Extraordinary Results Of Apostolic Gifting Lived Out In Apostolic Structures
10. The Momentum Of Movements
To Kill Or To Multiply, That Is The Question
Conclusion: Be A History Shaper
AcknowledgmentsAdditional Info
Many people have given up on the church. But that doesn’t mean that they’ve given up on God or Christianity. In many cases, it was merely that local church congregations were not the best context for missional people to live out their sense of God’s call.The good news is that God is raising up vibrant movements of Christians in a vast array of vocations around the world: disciple-making ministries, missions, relief and development, social activism, advocacy and much more. These are all strategic ways to live for the kingdom-in venues beyond the local church.
Wherever movements of the gospel have occurred, visionary people and apostolic structures have been essential. Mission leader Sam Metcalf shows how God has always worked through entrepreneurial individuals and organizations that launched out in fresh ways. He gives biblical and missiological foundations for missional movements, showing that what has often been called “parachurch” is an equally valid manifestation of the church. Affirming the strengths of apostolic personalities, Metcalf shows how they can be deployed to cross cultural barriers, renew secular societies and transform the nations with the power of the gospel.
God may be inviting you to join what he is doing around the world. Answer the call and discover how God can use you beyond your imagination.
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Prophetic Lament : A Call For Justice In Troubled Times
$22.00Add to cartWhen Soong-Chan Rah planted an urban church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, his first full sermon series was a six-week exposition of the book of Lamentations. Preaching on an obscure, depressing Old Testament book was probably not the most seeker-sensitive way to launch a church. But it shaped their community with a radically countercultural perspective. The American church avoids lament. But lament is a missing, essential component of Christian faith. Lament recognizes struggles and suffering, that the world is not as it ought to be. Lament challenges the status quo and cries out for justice against existing injustices. Soong-Chan Rah’s prophetic exposition of the book of Lamentations provides a biblical and theological lens for examining the church’s relationship with a suffering world. It critiques our success-centered triumphalism and calls us to repent of our hubris. And it opens up new ways to encounter the other. Hear the prophet’s lament as the necessary corrective for Christianity’s future. The Resonate series recovers the ancient wisdom of Scripture and helps us understand how it resonates with our complex world. The stories and insights of a book of the Bible are brought into conversation with contemporary voices of hope and lament–the cultural messages we interact with on a daily basis. The Scriptures become a meeting ground where God speaks to the pressing concerns of our day, and we are confronted in turn with a fresh experience of God’s truth.
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Counterfeit Christianity : The Persistence Of Errors In The Church
$21.99Add to cartHistoric heresies didn’t die or fade away. Each generation boasts its own. Even while these counterfeit teachings remain outside the accepted bounds of Christianity, modern-day versions plague churches.So how does a church leader or pastor understand and deal with these age-old controversies when they pop up in the congregation? In this book, Roger Olson describes the curses but also gifts that heresies bring the Church. While heresies can occasionally correct a version of orthodoxy, they are not simple confusions or misunderstandings about impenetrable mysteries of divine revelation. Instead they undermine the faith and are dangerous distortions. The author describes major heresies and how the church dealt with them, the players, and what pastors can do to address these faith issues in order to educate congregations about Jesus, God, and salvation. Also included are questions for individual or group study.
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Spent Matches : Igniting The Signal Fire For The Spiritually Dissatisfied
$22.99Add to cartSpent Matches explores the possibility that a few small paradigm shifts within the church might make the difference between extinction and effectiveness. In fact, taking a clue from the automobile industry, the church might be able to not only halt the rapid decay in attendance but also become an effective tool in achieving Jesus’ final command. For instance, the Hybrid car has become the answer to Detroit’s environmental and oil crisis issues. Finding the synergy between two technologies, gas and electric has created a new day for the auto industry. Likewise, Spent Matchesexplores how the church can find synergy between two seemingly competing thoughts: an invitation to come and a command to go. The Hybrid metaphor brings energy to the church’s mission and an explanation to the age-old argument of Missional versus Attractional methods.
Features include:
*Innovative ideas for growing the church
*Methods to reach those who may never have attended church
*Scripture passages that touch on the subject of church growth -
Young Faith : Expressions Of Faith Hope And Love By A Young Generation Of C (Stu
$10.99Add to cartIntroduction
Trusting Our Creator
Lindsey Davenport
Bill And Casi Kenyon
Nathaniel Metherel
Michael Mitchell
Lauren Morton
Brady Preston
Ian Quinn
Hearing The Word Of God In An Age Of Sound-bites
Aaron And Kelli Morton
Trevonte Peterson
Jackie Preston
Lacey Sargent
Catherine Simmons
Gerald Stevens
Jordan And Erin Tanner
God’s Help In Time Of Struggle
Amanda Benezra
James Franklin
Andrew Gifford
Alan Pitchford
Britney Mitchell
Danny And Kenzie Wilson
The Importance Of A Spiritual Community
Chance And Lindsy Bailey
Casey And Hannah Haynes
Stephen And Danielle Morton
Molly Risley
Daniel And Leigh Roberts
Traci Russell
Living As Sons And Daughters Of Light
Caleb And Tara Bailey
Dallis Bailey
Janelle Garcia
Jesse Gauther
Marcus And Alex Yi Yue Riley
Taylor And Sarah Robles
Patricia Wampol
ConclusionAdditional Info
Stop wringing your hands! The Lord’s church is successfully surviving the changes brought on by our shift into post-modern, post-Christian America. The Christian landscape is teeming with bright, dedicated twenty-and thirty-somethings who have picked up the torch of faith and are spreading the good news here at home.Bruce Morton has gathered their stories for our encouragement. In an age of no absolutes, you’ll discover that there are still plenty of young people – from Christian universities, state schools, and more – who are firmly grounded in God’s Word and actively involved in making a difference for the sake of His kingdom.
So, stop fretting about the future. There is a bold, young faith already taking root and making a difference in today’s church.
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Sale!
When God Builds A Church
Original price was: $19.99.$14.99Current price is: $14.99.Add to cartPastor Bob Russell shares the ten principles upon which Southeast Christian Church, one of the largest and fastest growing churches in America, was founded. He shares not only the story of one of the most amazing churches in America, but also what your church can become if you follow the principles and allow God to build your church.
Can the church truly be the “city on a hill that cannot be hidden” that Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount? Can it grow large enough to attract throngs of seekers and yet be loving enough to care for each individual that comes? Bob Russell, pastor of Southeast Christian Church one of the largest and fastest growing churches in America says that it most certainly can. But it can only be done when we are submissive to God’s will and allow Him to build that church. In the pages of this far-sighted, uncompromising book, Bob Russell and his son Rusty share the ten principles upon which this remarkable church was founded. Throughout the book, you will see God’s mighty power at work in a church that began in 1962 with only 50 members and has now grown to over 14,000 and has become a bustling “city on a hill” whose beaming faith powerfully impacts its community and the world. This book shares not only the story of one of the most amazing churches in America but also the story of what your church can become as you follow these ten time-tested principles and allow God to build your church.” -
Christian Writers Guide To The Book Proposal
$10.95Add to cartA complete proposal sells your book, pure and simple. But some authors don’t think a proposal is necessary. Perhaps you already have a contract, or you plan to self-publish. If you don’t have to sell the book to a publisher, why write a proposal? That reasoning sounds logical, but there are purposes for a book proposal beyond selling it to a publisher. In A Christian Writer’s Guide to the Book Proposal, I share six reasons why it benefits you to write a book proposal and seven items that should be part of every book proposal. A Christian Writer’s Guide to the Book Proposal is based on my previously published writing and on my teaching at Christian writers’ conferences around the country. The material included applies to writers and book projects of all sorts: fiction and nonfiction; completed manuscripts and unwritten book ideas, first-time and previously published authors, traditionally published, indie, and self-published. So, give your book idea a chance for success. Learn how with A Christian Writer’s Guide to the Book Proposal.
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Brain Savvy Leaders
$27.99Add to cartLeadership is tough. Church leadership can be even tougher. Leadership demands constant reframing and reappraisal of the situation, focus, objectivity, honest appraisal of yourself and others, and astute evaluation of available resources. Church leadership is all that and more. To be an effective church leader, you also have to love and have others’ best interest at heart. You have to align yourself and your church with God’s desire to transform lives for the better, both within and beyond your reach.
Using up-to-date research from brain science in easy-to-understand language, author Charles Stone will help you increase your personal productivity, handle stress and your emotions in constructive ways, create and sustain collaborative teams, and manage change in your church. Using illustrations and acronyms, Dr. Stone will show you how brain science can complement and reinforce what the Bible says about life and leadership. He will show you how basic brain processes affect leadership and your team’s ability to follow while becoming more cohesive and collaborative.
Each chapter gives practical tips and actionable steps to help leaders improve personal and organizational skills.
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10 Prescriptions For A Healthy Church
$18.99Add to cartIn 10 Prescriptions for a Healthy Church, authors Bob Farr and Kay Kotan offer the Top Ten prescriptions for issues seen during church consultations. Farr and Kotan share their expertise from working with churches to detail the most common concerns and obstacles found when consulting with congregations.
In their conversational style, Farr and Kotan offer a practical approach to fixing common problems, offering strategies sure to help congregations achieve success in specific areas of ministry. Proven success stories offer application, hope, and practicalities from benefiting congregations.
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Minister As Entrepreneur
$20.99Add to cartBuilding on his own experiences as a priest and an entrepreneur, Volland argues that the concept of entrepreneurship offers churches a helpful lens through which to view Christian ministry and mission, and an understanding and approach to ministry that is well fitted for the mission task in a rapidly changing world. He shows how an entrepreneurial approach is consistent with understandings of leadership in the major denominations and in the new churches. He also argues that such an approach is consistent both with the nature of God and with human collaboration with God’s activity in the world. “To be a minister is to face the everyday challenge of finding new ways to express the faith, and to refresh the life of the Church. This is the call to be an entrepreneur. Michael Volland sets out the case for the minister as an agent of change and as the one who looks for new ways to do things . . . This is an important and a timely book which will help us to see entrepreneurship as gift of God and a delight for the Church.’Pete Ward, Professorial Fellow in Ecclesiology and Ethnography, Durham University
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Propel : Good Stewardship Greater Generosity
$17.99Add to cartChurches are hurting in multiple areas including dwindling finances and shrinking congregations. Seminaries are educating and training the future of ministry yet doing so with limited resources and declining enrollment. There’s an urgent need for resources aimed at addressing those hurts in specific ways. Tangible stewardship models resulting in greater generosity can offer financial peace and a thriving membership base, propelling ministry to new heights.
Propel offers solutions beyond the church’s walls to reach all areas of training and resources to support and sustain vital ministry, scholarship, education, and mission. Through creating a culture of generosity, Clayton Smith outlines detailed models to increase giving through various outlets including planned giving, vision casting, and capital campaigns.
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Me To We
$20.99Add to cartChurches with front doors that open up mission fields rather than buildings.When Christians answer the clarion call to be missional, too often it is primarily to feel good or to grow in their own faith. But ultimately we remain unsatisfied because, in the end, it’s still about “me”-my church, my faith, my salvation. Then sometimes inspiration dries up.
We forget that Jesus is the head of the Church, which exists at God’s pleasure and disposal. God is birthing a new Social Gospel, meant to reclaim mission and justice ministries as prime directives for the Church, and not with the naive thinking of the 19th or 20th centuries.
What are the characteristics of this new Social Gospel? There is an expectation that mission is “with” and not “for” others. There is an acknowledgement that tolerance is not a dirty word and we have to find a peaceable way to live in our intercultural world. It carries the Wesleyan impulse to change the world by working to build God’s kingdom in this world. It offers the grace and salvation of Christ to those in need, believing that none are free unless all are free. It means that we feed the hungry, educate to poor, and equip the powerless in tangible ways.
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With All Our Prayers
$19.99Add to cartA resource for both corporate worship and personal devotion, With All Our Prayers invites readers to pray, think, and live into God’s purpose for the world and for their own lives. Written by a longtime Presbyterian pastor, the beautiful prayers in this book are theologically grounded in God’s steadfast love and invincible grace and contain traditional elements of adoration, confession, thanksgiving, petition, and intercession.
In this helpful volume church leaders will find prayers ordered around the liturgical calendar with themes appropriate to the seasons of the church year. Individuals and prayer groups will find guidance in praying for church and world, in interceding on behalf of strangers and enemies as well as loved ones and friends.
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God Gave The Growth
$34.95Add to cartThe Episcopal Church has recognized that planting new churches is a high priority through the Mission Enterprise Zones initiative, which provides grant funding for new worshiping communities, in partnership with dioceses. While there is significant literature and training available for church planters in evangelical contexts, very little is available for planters in the Episcopal/mainline context. This book addresses how to rise up and train leaders for the difficult task of planting new churches in the twenty-first century. It answers the essential questions, such as why should we plant churches, what models of church planting are most successful, what kinds of leaders are necessary, and what problems can be expected. Through the author’s personal experience and interviews with diocesan experts and leaders in mainline denominations, it provides strategies, approaches, and problem-solving techniques.
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Father Tims Church Survival Guide
$20.95Add to cartIf you have little tolerance for ecclesiastical blowhards; if you’ve ever fantasized about implementing a clergy rating system (CRS); if you’ve ever sought tips on surviving diocesan convention; if you’ve ever tried to weasel your way out of pledging; then this book is for you,” says author Tim Schenck. “My take on church life isn’t for everyone-clergy who take themselves too seriously will hate it. But know that it all comes out of a place of deep love for God and the Church. There are inevitably things that drive us nuts about such an imperfect (i.e., human) institution. Yet if we can’t observe and comment on our own foibles we’re left without much hope. And anyway if God doesn’t have a sense of humor, I’m hosed.””
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Why Believe In Jesus
$14.99Add to cartA Life Worth Investigating
Jesus Christ is the most famous person who ever lived. Most people know His name, but they don’t really know who He was or what was He like. If He truly was a Savior, as some say, in what way does that reality affect us today? And why should we believe in Him?
As Jesus lived and ministered on earth, He taught on topics such as:
*What is truth?
*What is the meaning of life?
*What is love?
*What is my purpose?
*What is my future?In this book, as you explore the unique life and teachings of Jesus Christ, you will also be introduced to contemporary people from various backgrounds who tell how and why they came to believe in Jesus-and the difference He is making in their lives today.
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House To House
$15.99Add to cartA MANUAL TO HELP YOU EXPERIENCE HEALTHY SMALL GROUPS AND HOUSE CHURCHES
Updated! House to House documents how God transformed a small fellowship of young believers into a worldwide movement. DOVE International(R) grew from 25 people to a cell church of over 2300 and then transitioned into a family of small group churches and house churches networking together throughout six continents.Larry Kreider draws from thirty years of victories and defeats to provide an overall paradigm with which to “do” church, where every believer becomes a minister. To embrace this paradigm, the very core of what drives and moves the church is changed. It is not about being clergy run, but rather, church leadership exists to equip and release the believers to become the ministers through small groups and house churches and fulfill their God-given call.
The book’s view of small groups and house churches, based firmly on the scriptures, from their purpose of reaching people for Christ to making disciples to their impact on today’s world, will inspire believers, Christian leaders, and churches, traditional or contemporary, in years to come…transforming them from individual congregations, large and small, into church planting movements.
Includes study and discussion questions after each chapter. Use it as a handbook for small group and house church dynamics as well as an invaluable tool to train leaders.
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Missional Worship Worshipful Mission
$29.99Add to cartA rich, fresh take on the meaning and practice of Christian worship
A common perception among Christians is that worship is only a Sunday morning activity done within the walls of the church, while, by contrast, mission involves how the church engages the outside world. But Ruth Meyers argues that there is a dynamic correlation between worship and mission, and she explores that relationship in this book.
Meyers takes the reader chapter by chapter through the various parts of the Sunday worship service, incorporating stories of worship practices in different churches, and shows how the actions of worship relate to mission in the world. The book’s last chapter offers a conceptual tool for preparing worship that is a rich celebration of the mystery of God’s love.
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Exploring Christian Theology Revelation Scripture And The Triune God (Reprinted)
$17.00Add to cartAn Easy-to-Understand Study of Christian Doctrine from Trusted Dallas Seminary Professors
This engaging and accessible systematic theology clearly explains essential spiritual truths for those new to doctrinal study or in need of a refresher. The authors use quick-paced introductions, overviews, reviews of the key tenets of orthodox evangelical doctrines, and more for an easy grasp of the subjects. The book includes two parts:
* How Firm a Foundation: Revelation, Scripture, and Doctrinal Truth
* God in Three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy SpiritThe writers, Douglas Blount and J. Scott Horrell, and the contributors, J. Lanier Burns and Glenn R. Kreider, are all Dallas Seminary professors and theologians led by general editors Nathan D. Holsteen and Michael J. Svigel.
Exploring Christian Theology is useful for discipleship, preview or review of doctrine, or personal reference. It can be used by ministry training programs, Bible colleges, or seminaries as an introduction to prepare students for more in-depth theological study.
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Transitioning Into A Prototype Church
$27.99Add to cartRevival Waves Of Glory Ministries
Bill Vincent is an anointed Prophetic writer that releases powerful fresh revelation in all he does. Bill released first his powerful book BUILDING A PROTOTYPE CHURCH and now Volume 2 TRANSITIONING INTO A PROTOTYPE CHURCH. You will be able to see into God’s heart of a new type of Church coming forth. This book will help anyone whom wants to be more than just an every day Church. God will truly transition your Church as you obtain all the in-depth revelations in this breakthrough book. May the Spirit of God help you as you begin TRANSITIONING INTO A PROTOTYPE CHURCH. -
Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory 100 Pack
$299.99Add to cartWith over 5 million used, The Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory has helped Christians around the world identify their God-given spiritual gifts. Administered in 20 minutes, it is fun and a valuable tool for the Christian walk. Learn how God has equipped you to minister in the local church…and in daily life!
Covers nine task-oriented “team” gifts used in daily life and ministry: Administration, Evangelism, Exhortation, Giving, Mercy-Showing, Pastoring/Shepherding, Prophecy, Serving Teaching. (For further explanation and study of spiritual gifts; different types of gifts; how gifts relate to other gifts, your daily life, etc. see the book How to Find Meaning and Fulfillment through Understanding the Spiritual Gift within You.)
The Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory includes questionnaire; 2-part, self-scoring answer sheet; brief gift descriptions; and instructions. (100 included in Pack)
Also available in Spanish and Korean, and the Youth Edition in English
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Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory 50 Pack
$199.99Add to cartWith over 5 million used, The Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory has helped Christians around the world identify their God-given spiritual gifts. Administered in 20 minutes, it is fun and a valuable tool for the Christian walk. Learn how God has equipped you to minister in the local church…and in daily life!
Covers nine task-oriented “team” gifts used in daily life and ministry: Administration, Evangelism, Exhortation, Giving, Mercy-Showing, Pastoring/Shepherding, Prophecy, Serving Teaching. (For further explanation and study of spiritual gifts; different types of gifts; how gifts relate to other gifts, your daily life, etc. see the book How to Find Meaning and Fulfillment through Understanding the Spiritual Gift within You.)
The Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory includes questionnaire; 2-part, self-scoring answer sheet; brief gift descriptions; and instructions. (50 included in pack)
Also available in Spanish and Korean, and the Youth Edition in English
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Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory 10 Pack
$49.99Add to cartWith over 5 million used, The Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory has helped Christians around the world identify their God-given spiritual gifts. Administered in 20 minutes, it is fun and a valuable tool for the Christian walk. Learn how God has equipped you to minister in the local church…and in daily life!
Covers nine task-oriented “team” gifts used in daily life and ministry: Administration, Evangelism, Exhortation, Giving, Mercy-Showing, Pastoring/Shepherding, Prophecy, Serving Teaching. (For further explanation and study of spiritual gifts; different types of gifts; how gifts relate to other gifts, your daily life, etc. see the book How to Find Meaning and Fulfillment through Understanding the Spiritual Gift within You.)
The Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory includes questionnaire; 2-part, self-scoring answer sheet; brief gift descriptions; and instructions. (10 provided in pack)
Also available in Spanish and Korean, and the Youth Edition in English
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Fruit Of The Spirit Assessment 10 Pack
$39.99Add to cart“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23, NIV).
Scripture reveals nine fruits of the Spirit that are the inevitable result of God’s presence and control in our lives. This resource reveals characteristics of the fruits of the Spirit to help you determine if your fruit is abundant and sweet or sparse and dry. Use this evaluation to discover the qualities the Holy Spirit is producing in you and identify areas of spiritual growth to which you might give greater study, prayer, and discipline. Are you yielding to or quenching the Holy Spirit?Includes: 10 questionnaire and self-scoring answer sheet with a description of characteristics of the fruit.
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Rapture Revelations
$13.95Add to cartRevival Waves Of Glory Ministries
Unfortunately, most of our modern day teachings on this most important doctrine are misleading, to say the very least. Bill Vincent has studied for years and now is releasing his findings in this book, Rapture Revelations. A careful scrutiny of the Scriptures will reveal the truth about the second coming of Christ, which we generally refer to as “the rapture”. In Rapture Revelations, he has set out to correct the most obvious errors of the pre-tribulation doctrine and to establish the basic foundation for understanding the truth of the matter. Great care is taken to follow the guidelines of Scripture and the Biblical basis of doctrinal interpretation, precept upon precept and line upon line. This is the only method of interpretation used in the pages of Rapture Revelations. Since God Himself revealed His method of understanding doctrine, it is believed by the author to be the best method to use. Therefore, with Bible in hand, follow along with the Scriptures quoted and see if you don’t find truth within its pages. In Rapture Revelations, Bill answers questions that many do not know the answers to. Be open and allow this page-turner to open up the biggest controversial subject of the rapture of Jesus Christ. If you are a lover of truth, you will enjoy this very basic presentation of Biblical facts concerning the doctrine of the “gathering together” of Christ’s saints unto Himself. -
L E A D Personality Survey 10 Pack
$79.99Add to cartThe L-E-A-D Personality Inventory will provide you with an in-depth study of the unique characteristics of each type of personality. Your entire family, church members-even employees-will benefit from gaining a complete knowledge and understanding of their own personalities. Improve communication and relationships as you identify and better understand your own personality type, find out what motivates/demotivates people, and learn how others are most/least effective based on personality type. Includes questionnaire; answer sheet; instructions; profiles of the different personality types such as the Leader, Expresser, Analyst, and Dependable; and descriptions of different personality patterns. 13 pages.
Includes: 10 pack of L-E-A-D Personality Inventory
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Forgive Us : Confessions Of A Compromised Faith
$22.99Add to cartMany people have become angry and frustrated with organized religion and evangelical Christianity, in particular. Too often the church has proven to be a source of pain rather than a place of hope. Forgive Us acknowledges the legitimacy of much of the anger toward the church. In truth, Christianity in America has significant brokenness in its history that demands recognition and repentance. Only by this path can the church move forward with its message of forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace. Forgive Us is thus a call to confession. From Psalm 51 to the teachings of Jesus to the prayers of Nehemiah, confession is the proper biblical response when God’s people have injured others and turned their backs on God’s ways. In the book of Nehemiah, the author confesses not only his own sins, but also the sins of his ancestors. The history of the American church demands a Nehemiah-style confession both for our deeds and the deeds of those who came before us. In each chapter of Forgive Us two pastors who are also academically trained historians provide accurate and compelling histories of some of the American church’s greatest shortcomings. Theologian Soong-Chan Rah and justice leader Lisa Sharon Harper then share theological reflections along with appropriate words of confession and repentance. Passionate and purposeful, Forgive Us will challenge evangelical readers and issue a heart-felt request to the surrounding culture for forgiveness and a new beginning.
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Shrink : Faithful Ministry In A Church Growth Culture
$24.99Add to cartAmong followers of Jesus, great is often the enemy of good. The drive to be great—to be a success by the standards of the world—often crowds out the qualities of goodness, virtue, and faithfulness that should define the central focus of Christian leadership. In the culture of today’s church, successful leadership is often judged by what works, while persistent faithfulness takes a back seat. If a ministry doesn’t produce results, it is dropped. If people don’t respond, we move on. This pursuit of ‘greatness’ exerts a crushing pressure on the local church and creates a consuming anxiety in its leaders. In their pursuit of this warped vision of greatness, church leaders end up embracing a leadership narrative that runs counter to the sacrificial call of the gospel story. When church leaders focus on faithfulness to God and the gospel, however, it’s always a kingdom-win—regardless of the visible results of their ministry. John the Baptist modeled this kind of leadership. As John’s disciples crossed the Jordan River to follow after Jesus, John freely released them to a greater calling than following him. Speaking of Jesus, John said: ‘He must increase, but I must decrease.’ Joyfully satisfied to have been faithful to his calling, John knew that the size and scope of his ministry would be determined by the will of the Father, not his own will. Following the example of John the Baptist and with a careful look at the teaching of Scripture, Tim Suttle dares church leaders to risk failure by chasing the vision God has given them—no matter how small it might seem—instead of pursuing the broad path of pragmatism that leads to fame and numerical success.
