Church Life
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Worship Old And New (Revised)
$22.99A reexamination of the actual practice of worship that goes beyond the merely academic to provide a practical perspective through the eyes of the worship leader and the congregation.
The most effective approach to worship is one that blends historical and traditional practices with contemporary elements. Worship Old and New is a scholarly, up-to-date, and thought-provoking resource for anyone serious about exploring worship and how to bring about a worship renewal in the church.
Now reformatted and updated for an easier, more logical approach to worship theology, this revised edition is divided into four major sections, addressing:
*The biblical foundation of worship–found in the Old and New Testaments as well as the early Christian movement.
*The biblical theology of worship–how worship is an enactment of the Gospel.
*A brief history of worship–from ancient and medieval, to twentieth-century renewal.
*An overview of how worship is practiced–from content and structure, to the role of music and art.
New information is incorporated into each section to give you a better grasp of the biblical themes of worship, a deeper understanding of Old Testament customs, and a solid grounding in modern-day renewal movements.
This book is ideal for ministerial, classroom, and congregational settings.
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Real Life Discipleship
$18.99Is your church making disciples . . . who make disciples . . . who make disciples?
Real-Life Discipleship explains what should happen in the life of every Christian and in every small group so that the church becomes an army of believers dedicated to seeing the world saved. With the overriding goal to train disciples who know how to make more disciples, this book offers proven tools and strategies from Real Life Ministries, one of America’s fastest-growing churches.
In this book, you will learn:
*How to create churches that succeed and grow
*How to intentionally disciple believers in every stage of their spiritual development
*How to find and develop leaders in your churchThis book also contains these helpful features:
*A summary and profile of each stage of spiritual growth
*Recommended resources for disciple-makers
*Spiritual facts
*A presentation of the gospelDiscover what the Bible says about true and effective discipleship with these strategies and practices in this great church resource.
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I Am a Christian
$14.99What does it really mean to be a Christian? When people finally grasp who they are in Christ and what their participation means to their local church, everything changes. Life begins to make sense. Respected pastor, author and church consultant Thom Rainer explains how the local church is God’s primary plan for reaching the world with his love.
The urgent need of our day is for Christians to understand who they are, what they believe, and how that affects what they do. And the best place to answer those crucial life questions is in the context of the local church. It’s nothing short of amazing and miraculous what God will do through a group of devoted Christians who become committed and selfless church members.
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Building Belonging : The Church’s Call To Build Community And House Our Nei
$25.00Join the church movement reshaping our neighborhoods-embracing love and creating community to house our neighbors and recognize our shared humanity.
In many neighborhoods, soaring housing costs have created an alarming wave of instability, leaving congregations situated at the heart of communities grappling with housing insecurity. Simultaneously, societal divisions across ideologies, racial lines, class disparities, and diverse perspectives have eroded the fabric of these communities, leaving a void in shared connections.
Churches, amid declining membership and dwindling engagement, have an opportunity to provide a key role in these changing landscapes. In Building Belonging, John Cleghorn, a pastor from Charlotte, North Carolina-a city where prosperity and poverty uncomfortably coexist-shows how numerous congregations across the United States are leading the charge, embracing innovative approaches to ministry that leverage their resources to become havens of both welcome and shelter.
By examining the theological and sociological dimensions propelling congregations toward a radical transformation of their material and relational landscapes, this book weaves together narratives, insights, and experiences from diverse congregations at the forefront of this movement. Readers will be inspired to look at the unfolding narrative of unaffordable housing in a new way and be inspired to shape their ministry to harness all available resources to foster access and justice by housing neighbors. Written from the heart of a pastor who is deeply engaged in a church’s yearslong housing journey, this book does not stop at simply showing these challenges. Cleghorn also provides a roadmap for communities to initiate transformative processes, leveraging their unique abilities and resources to tackle significant local issues.
Proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to Easter’s Home at Caldwell Presbyterian Church.
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Becoming A Future Ready Church
$22.99Are Church Leaders Missing the Generational Handoff? There’s Still Hope.
*Are we building institutions that will meaningfully serve the next generation of believers and their leaders?
*How does a church thrive in a culture where we have to earn credibility?
*How do we create a sense of belonging to the body of Christ and a strong sense of identity for the next generation?
Becoming a Future-Ready Church is a blueprint to guide you through eight critical shifts to help lead your church into the future with wisdom and hope. It describes several major converging trends that will greatly impact the church in America over the next few decades: the Great Resignation of Boomer leaders from churches, the shrinking percentage of Christians in America, and the change in felt needs among rising generations shaped heavily by anxiety, skepticism, and fragmentation.
Missiologist and pastor Daniel Yang, religion journalist Adelle Banks, and church researcher Warren Bird have come together in Becoming a Future-Ready Church to help church leaders evaluate whether their ministries are entrenched in strategies that worked well in the past but need to be adapted for the future. By helping us ask better questions about the issues and needs facing the church, they reveal practical ways in which the next generation of church leaders can gain a sturdier foothold as they navigate into the future.
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Soul Winning Church
$16.99Your church’s sermons often include a call to evangelize. You’ve held evangelism training events. You give out invites to your Christmas and Easter services. So… where are all the new Christians? Is your church actually reaching the lost with the gospel?
For many of us, despite having the best intentions, our churches struggle to reach out with the gospel effectively. J.A. Medders and Dr. Doug Logan, Jr. have decades of experience in leading churches and mentoring pastors, and here they outline six principles for cultivating a genuine evangelistic culture throughout your church.
Includes case studies from a variety of different cultures and contexts to give you practical ideas for implementing these six principles.
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Honor : Loving Your Church By Building One Another Up
$16.99A right understanding of honor is vital to healthy churches. It’s a word that’s mentioned hundreds of times throughout the Bible. But what does honor really look like for us in everyday church life? Who should we honor and how?
Adam Ramsey brings a fresh understanding of true honor in our churches. He paints a vision of an honoring church that captivates your mind and heart–a church that shines brightly in the community because of the way its members value and respect each other and their leaders and, above all else, bring honor to God.
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Short Guide To Womens Ministry
$14.99How do we help women at every stage of life and spiritual maturity grow to know God, be changed by him, and develop and use their talents and gifts?
In too many of our Christian contexts, leadership training and ministry opportunities for women are inadequate or totally absent. This short guide puts foundational principles and practical plans-grounded in biblical truth-at your fingertips so, whether you’re in a leadership role at your church or hoping to impact a few friends or neighbors, you will discover insights, wisdom, and impactful “how-to’s” to lead women.
Within A Short Guide to Women’s Ministry, you will find:
*how to choose, train, and keep volunteers
*how to train theologically grounded teachers
*how to plan the women’s ministry calendar
*how to equip women to read their Bibles well
*how to equip women to grow in their relationship with God and with one anotherAdd to cart4 in stock
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Grace To Grow
$19.99Most pastors pray for a healthy and vibrant church, a prosperous organization and transformative change among those they disciple, but many find themselves frustrated because they lack direction and feel as though they are spinning their wheels. They struggle to correct unhealthy patterns or do not have fresh vision for their ministry.
John K. Jenkins can relate. The first church he attended is best described as a shack with a bell and a steeple. The restroom facilities? An outhouse. When he accepted his first senior pastoral role, he ministered to 35 people on a good Sunday.
Today, Pastor Jenkins welcomes more than 11,000 worshipers to Sunday services, and thousands more participate virtually. And he has learned what it takes to help an organization function wisely and efficiently, no matter its size.
Grace to Grow reveals the lessons Jenkins has learned along the way. It is a guide to help pastors move their ministries from merely surviving to fully thriving, despite the challenging road ahead. He gives insight into his own journey as a young pastor and identifies biblical principles, strategies, and techniques that made the difference in the life of his church and his personal discipleship for almost four decades.
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Serve : Loving Your Church With Your Heart, Time And Gifts
$16.99This book looks at the gospel of Jesus and the example of Jesus to motivate us to serve our church family sacrificially with our energy, time and gifts.
This is a great book for Christians who have grown weary over time, those who need help in identifying their gifts and gaining the confidence to offer them, and church members who are lacking the motivation to get started.
As we look to the example of Jesus, who “came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45), we will be excited and equipped to use what God has given us to serve others with a renewed sense of purpose and joy. We will also see that we do not need to have any particularly impressive gifts or emulate anyone else in order to answer Jesus’ call to love one another.
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Pivot : The Priorities, Practices, And Powers That Can Transform Your Churc
$22.99A practical guide to help you build a culture in your church or organization that resists abuse and cultivates goodness.
After the release of their groundbreaking book, A Church Called Tov, which recorded the stories of abuse and toxic church cultures at some of the most prominent churches in the United States, New Testament scholar and blogger for Christianity Today Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer heard from a flood of people who had experienced similar instances of abuse. After all they’ve seen and heard, they still believe it’s possible for church cultures to be transformed from toxic to tov-from oppressive to good.
In Pivot, Scot and Laura help churches to implement practices,establish priorities, and cultivate the Kingdom Gospel-centered qualities that form goodness cultures. Readers will find answers to the four most common questions people have about culture transformation:
How can I transform the culture in my church or organization to make it tov?
I believe my workplace has unhealthy values. How do I initiate change?
How do I unleash a culture of goodness in my ministry?
I’m not in a position of church leadership. What are some red flags that indicate a toxic culture, and what can I do if I see them?
Pivot also includes the following practical features:
*The “Tov tool,” a survey to help you discern your organization’s culture and to promote spiritual conversations
*A “getting to work” section at the end of each chapter with questions and next steps for application
Transformation is never easy. But for the sake of the next generation, we must do it.
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Offensive Church : Breaking The Cycle Of Ethnic Disunity
$22.99Crises around race have put the church in a defensive posture, always reacting to racial conflicts in society. But Jesus wants more. He wants Christians to play offense by discipling people into a new humanity, where we push beyond mere diversity and into a biblical vision for ethnic unity.
Bryan Loritts calls Christians to proactively and intentionally live out the embodied reality of a people at one with one another. We play offense by practicing a robust gospel, preparing reliable leadership, and providing relational environments so that the church becomes the aroma of Christ to our culture and gains ground against the demonic foothold of racism in all its forms.
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Centering Discipleship : A Pathway For Multiplying Spectators Into Mature D
$20.00Discipleship without mission is discipleship without Christ.
The church often lacks maturity and missional impact because discipleship is at its periphery. In order to get discipleship to the center, leaders need a locally rooted, culturally contextual discipleship pathway to tether disciples who are disciplemakers to the neighborhood or network around them.
Pastor and discipler E. K. Strawser shows that when discipleship becomes central to your leadership and community, then discipleship becomes central to congregational mission and cultural renewal. Centering Discipleship is a gutsy practice-based guidebook for leaders who are doing the hard work of re-imagining and re-structuring their churches and communities to turn spectators into missional, mature followers of Jesus.
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Not A Hopeless Case
$19.99Is America the next missionary graveyard? Or is it ripe for spiritual revolution? The statistics seem grim. Every year, the decline of Christianity continues at a rapid pace, especially among young adults. Churches across the country are closing their doors, dying, or are being “adopted” by nearby larger churches. What is the story church leaders hear? We’ve lost the next generation.
But this decline in religious affiliation has not made us less spiritual. Young adults are still asking questions that only faith (or religion) can fully answer. Questions are like seeds buried in the rich, dark soil of our hearts. Nurtured with oxygen and water, they unfold into that which they were meant to become. Absent these conditions, they wither in the dark. Those most resistant to Christianity are those whose questions did not receive oxygen in their faith communities while they were children and teenagers.
Not a Hopeless Case is the story of questions, the questions of young adults about faith and spirituality–young adults who are lost and want to be found–and the questions of pastors who seek to find them.
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Church Impotent : The Feminization Of Christianity
$24.93In all the discussion of women’s roles in the Church, we’ve ignored a pressing question:
Why don’t men go to church anymore?Why are the most common traits of the modern Church doves and quilts and little old ladies? Dr. Leon Podles documents the current feminized state of the Western Church, the masculine traits that once characterized Christianity, and how they can be restored.
While the masculine exodus from churches is dangerous for the Church, it is also dangerous for society as a whole. Masculinity will out. Detached from Christianity, it will reappear as its own substitute religion-with horrific consequences.
And when divorced from masculinity, the Church emasculated fades into universalism and quietism, the effects of which run rampant through the Western Church of today. In The Church Impotent, Dr. Leon Podles examines, with meticulous scholarship, three aspects of Christianity through which its virility might be restored.
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Welcome : Loving Your Church By Making Space For Everyone
$16.99Walking into church can be intimidating, whether for the first time or after a period of absence, whether you are a non-believer or a believer. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if your church was a place where everyone received a warm welcome? A place where newcomers can quickly feel at home and where non-believers receive the welcome of God’s people alongside the welcome of Jesus?
This warm, practical book by Jen Oshman explores what the Bible says to help readers discover how to make space for others, however different they are to them, in their church and in their lives. She also gives practical advice, drawing on good practice from churches around the world in a range of situations. In a world of division, individualism and isolation, readers will see that their church can witness to Christ by being a place of welcome, community and connection.
Chapters include how Jesus welcomes us, the impact of welcoming in the early church, the effect of being siblings in Christ, how to welcome beyond Sunday, helpful systems and strategies, how our joy in Christ causes us to be outward-looking, and mirroring the glorious vision set out in Revelation.
Whether you’re a pastor looking to encourage your congregation to welcome others or a church member wanting to see unbelievers come to faith and help everyone feel part of the family, this book is for you.
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Gather : Loving Your Church As You Celebrate Christ Together
$16.99Why do we meet on Sundays?
Now that technology allows us to access services remotely, many see little need to meet face to face every week. Others think that because we have a personal relationship with Jesus as Christians, church is an optional add-on. For some, they know deep down that there is a reason why gathering on Sundays is important, but they are weary and don’t feel excited about it. So what is the purpose of corporate worship, and what is our role in it?
In this book, Tony Merida highlights how in-person Sunday gatherings are central to God’s plans and to our faith and joy. He reminds believers of their privileges as citizens of heaven, members of God’s family and stones in God’s temple.
Readers will see how each part of a church service (preaching, praying, singing, baptism, Lord’s Supper and building each other up in conversations) are ways to enjoy and share God’s grace, and are therefore essential for spiritual endurance. You’ll also be reminded that your presence in corporate worship matters because you have a part to play in encouraging your brothers and sisters and spurring them to love and good deeds:
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Read this book to renew your understanding and enjoyment of going to church and to be excited by the ways in which your presence can encourage others.
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Belong : Loving Your Church By Reflecting Christ To One Another
$16.99Author Barnabas Piper states in the first chapter of his book:
“We are looking for something personal, something deeply meaningful, something with which we can identify. And this book is an invitation to find that in the church, because God wants us to …Part of God’s perfect strategy is offering hurting, tired, worn out, needy sinners like you and me a place to belong in … A place in which to encounter the profound, transformative, healing, restoring grace of Jesus Christ.”
This book explores how you can help to create a church where everybody feels at home: a place where fellow believers build genuine, honest, meaningful Christian relationships and enjoy deep fellowship as a community of believers.
You may be a new believer and wonder what it means to belong to a church; you may be reluctant to commit to your church because of past experiences; you may have recently relocated and want to find a church where you feel at home; or you may love your church and desire to commit to it more deeply and serve it more fully. Whatever the case, this book will help you to see that belonging to a church is a good gift from God, the outworking of our identity as brothers and sisters in Christ, and worth your time, love and commitment.
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Gods Vision For The Church
$14.99In this compelling look at God’s vision and design for the body of Christ, internationally renowned Bible teacher Derek Prince describes the original blueprint for the church: loved, redeemed, transformed, and called. Discover deeper meaning through the pictures of God’s church from Ephesians, including the assembly, the body of Christ, the workmanship, the family, the temple, the bride, and the army. Explore the daily lifestyle of the local church as well as the future of all God’s people. Highlights include:
*The powerful, productive New Testament life
*God’s program of transformation
*Our place in God’s exciting community
*True fellowship among believers
*Our role in fulfilling the Great CommissionWe can be infused with a new sense of power and expectation as we learn what it means to be a vital member of the body of Christ. And we can help fulfill God’s vision for the church by becoming dynamic ambassadors of His message to a lost world.
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Vital Christian Community
$29.95Twelve characteristics of healthy Christian communities and the congregational and personal practices that develop them.
Congregations have been the bedrock of mainline Christian life and practice for centuries but in recent years many have dwindled in energy and impact. Leaders conclude that change is needed, that they can’t keep applying the same models and practices that have served in the past but no longer seem to work.
At a time when all kinds of institutions are being buffeted by swift and strong cultural forces, Brochard and Newton believe the congregation to be a primary site for the transformation of individuals, communities, and the world and that the measures for congregational vitality begin with health, faithfulness, and effectiveness as local expressions of the Church.
The authors offer readers insights into developing a sense of purpose, building trust, encouraging curiosity, becoming more collaborative, appreciating productive conflict, and other vital skills.
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Sacred Us : A Call To Radical Christian Community
$17.99For every person who has felt lonely or isolated, The Sacred Us explores a new way of living through the practice of biblical community.
In a world that celebrates individuality and autonomy, too many of us struggle to form deep, meaningful relationships. Loneliness is the norm, rich friendships are rare, and the church is no exception. We long for real community but often don’t know how to get there. What will it take to develop healthy friendships?
The Bible gives us a compelling blueprint for community, but it must be built on more than shared interests or Sunday-morning smiles.
This book explores the substance of biblical community through seven principles:
*Proximity that provides opportunity
*Vulnerability that creates connection
*Discipleship that sets direction
*Fun that amplifies grace
*Mission that drives adventure
*Sacrifice that matures love
*Boundaries that sustain growthThese principles seek to guide the reader beyond loneliness and isolation into a life of rootedness and connection.
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When Narcissism Comes To Church
$18.99Why does narcissism seem to thrive in our churches? We’ve seen the news stories and heard the rumors. Maybe we ourselves have been hurt by a narcissistic church leader. It’s easy to throw the term around and diagnose others from afar. But what is narcissism, really? And how does it infiltrate the church? Chuck DeGroat has been counseling pastors with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, as well as those wounded by narcissistic leaders and systems, for over twenty years. He knows firsthand the devastation narcissism leaves in its wake and how insidious and painful it is. In When Narcissism Comes to Church, DeGroat takes a close look at narcissism, not only in ministry leaders but also in church systems. He offers compassion and hope for those affected by its destructive power and imparts wise counsel for churches looking to heal from its systemic effects. DeGroat also offers hope for narcissists themselves–not by any shortcut, but by the long, slow road of genuine recovery, possible only through repentance and trust in the humble gospel of Jesus.
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Next Worship : Glorifying God In A Diverse World
$20.99What 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?
Innovative worship leader Sandra Maria 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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Anatomy Of A Revived Church
$14.99There is hope. God can save your church.
In this book, Thom Rainer reveals seven findings of revived churches. Through new research, he figuratively dissects hundreds of churches that were on the path toward death. But they turned around. They revitalized. They did so in the face of facts and naysayers who told them it could not be done. Today, three out of four churches are declining in our nation, and twenty percent of churches are close to death. What are the secrets of the churches who avoided this fate and experienced revival?
In Anatomy of a Revived Church, Thom will show you how these churches experienced renewal. He will cover everything from “expanding the scorecard” to “dealing with toxins” to “choosing meaningful membership.” When you finish reading this book, you will have the tools to strengthen, restore, and energize your church.
You can choose life for your church.
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Church Of Us Vs Them
$25.00We are living in angry times. No matter where we go, what we watch, or how we communicate, our culture is rife with conflict. Unfortunately, Christians appear to be caught up in the same animosity as the culture at large. We are perceived as angry, judgmental, and defensive, fighting among ourselves in various media while the world looks on. How have we failed to be a people of reconciliation and renewal in the face of such tumult?
Claiming that the church has lost itself in the grip of an antagonistic culture, David Fitch takes a close look at what drives the vitriol in our congregations. He traces the enemy-making patterns in church history and diagnoses the divisiveness that marks the contemporary evangelical church. Fitch shows a way for the church to be true to itself, unwinding the antagonisms of our day and making space for Christ’s reconciling presence in our day-to-day lives. He offers new patterns and practices that move the church beyond making enemies to being the presence of Christ in the world, helping us free ourselves from a faith that feeds on division.
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Not In It To Win It
$26.99People often use religion to justify their personal views–but Christianity isn’t a weapon we wield to win arguments. Sadly, many Christians today have confused what Jesus came to do and accomplish with political agendas and the latest round of the culture wars. But the message of Jesus transcends cultural skirmishes and political affiliations. It calls us to follow another king and to live by the ethics of another kingdom. Jesus never asked his followers to agree on everything, but he did command them to love their neighbors and exercise their faith for the benefit of others–not at the expense of others.
Not In It To Win It is a relatable and practical resource that guides readers by focusing on the priorities of Jesus, even as we are navigating the complicated and emotionally-charged terrain of today’s cultural divides and hot-button disagreements. Rather than viewing Christianity through the filter of partisanship, Andy challenges readers to evaluate all of life through the wide-angle lens of faith.
Jesus called his followers to obey a new command, to love others in the same way he has loved us. Instead of asserting our rights or fighting for power, we are to ask ourselves: what does love require of me? Don’t settle for winning a game that God isn’t playing. Instead seek to live in a way that your life makes a difference for others, showcasing the love of God to the world.
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Invisible Divides : Class, Culture And Barriers To Belonging In The Church
$23.99We’re called to be like Jesus, not like each other – so why are most Western churches predominantly middle class? Could it be that we’re reaching out to people in poverty, but struggling to connect them into church life?
Natalie Williams and Paul Brown know all too well that those saved from working-class backgrounds often find themselves discipled effectively – but into middle classism rather than authentic Christianity. Drawing on their own experiences, and mixing theory with practical application, they explore the invisible divides that prevent churches from becoming places of true inclusion and keep poor and working-class people on the edges of faith.
Packed full of surprising insights and helpful advice, Invisible Divides will change the way you see church life. Essential reading for anyone concerned with the class divide within the church, it will challenge you to look at the ways in which we inadvertently exclude, alienate and offend people who aren’t like us, and equip you to start working towards making church a more open, inclusive space for everyone.
Jesus calls for us all to follow him, no matter our background; together, we can break down the invisible divides between us so that people from all walks of life can come to know Christ and find family in our churches.
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Centered Set Church
$24.99Christians can be adept at drawing lines, determining what it means to be a good Christian and judging those who stray out of bounds.
Other times they erase all the lines in favor of a vague and inoffensive faith. Both impulses can come from positive intentions, but either can lead to stunted spiritual life and harmful relationships. Is there another option? The late missionary anthropologist Paul Hiebert famously drew on mathematical theory to deploy the concepts of bounded, fuzzy, and centered sets to shed light on the nature of Christian community. Now, with Centered-Set Church, Mark D. Baker provides a unique manual for understanding and applying Hiebert’s vision. Drawing on his extensive experience in church, mission, parachurch, and higher education settings, along with interviews and stories gleaned from scores of firsthand interviews, Baker delivers practical guidance for any group that seeks to be truly centered on Jesus. Baker shows how Scripture presents an alternative to either obsessing over boundaries or simply erasing them. Centered churches are able to affirm their beliefs and live out their values without such bitter fruit as gracelessness, shame, and self-righteousness on the one hand, or aimless whateverism on the other. While addressing possible concerns and barriers to the centered approach, Baker invites leaders to imagine centered alternatives in such practical areas of ministry as discipleship, church membership, leadership requirements, and evangelism. Centered-Set Church charts new paths to grow in authentic freedom and dynamic movement toward the true center: Jesus himself.
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Church Revitalization Checklist
$16.99Your church has the opportunity of a lifetime. The world has shifted, and a new, brighter tomorrow awaits. The Church Revitalization Checklist is a tool to help you start fresh, leverage your strengths, and discover hidden opportunities for church growth.
God has placed you exactly where He wants you. But let’s be honest, if you’re leading a church, it isn’t easy. Maybe your church has been in the doldrums for years. Maybe you’re hearing a lot of complaints, and you’re simply tired or disheartened. Maybe you’ve been hurt. But you are not alone. Many church leaders have sore backs from carrying a heavy load. This book will lighten that load.
The Church Revitalization Checklist provides a step-by-step path to a hope-filled future for both you and your church. Popular church expert Sam Rainer will walk you and your leadership team through a seven-point checklist-everything from reconsidering your priorities to evaluating your location and facilities. It is an extremely practical tool to unleash your congregation and help them step into God’s unique purpose for them.Your brighter future starts now.
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Reawakened : How Your Congregation Can Spark Lasting Change
$16.99Does your church have gummed-up gears? Or are you activated for ministry?
Are you relevant in the community in which you serve? More and more people are moving away from the church–not because they lack faith in God, but because the church is no longer relevant to their lives. The church, not God, is the problem. There are eight keys to unlocking the power of relevance in your ministry. In the pages of [title], Glen Guyton, executive director of a Mennonite denomination, explores those keys and gives practical suggestions to churches for reaching out. Offering a biblical scaffold for the idea of the activated church and sharing stories from successful ministries that are actively engaging their communities, Reawakened helps Christians ask the big questions about God’s work in the world.
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Reawakened : Activate Your Congregation To Spark Lasting Change
$29.99Every church wants to make a lasting difference. Unlock the keys to how.
More and more people are moving away from the church-not because they lack faith in God but because the church is no longer relevant to their lives. The church, not God, is the problem. In Reawakened, Glen Guyton explores eight keys to developing the abilities of congregations to bring healing and hope to their communities. These eight keys give voice to the most urgent needs of a community and offer practical suggestions for how churches can spark holistic and lasting differences in their communities.
Built on a solid biblical framework, Rewakened positions churches as catalysts for transformative mission and change. Filled with stories from successful ministries that are actively engaging their communities, Reawakened helps Christians ask the big questions about God’s ongoing work in the world.
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Enneagram Goes To Church
$18.99If I had known the Enneagram earlier in my ministry, I would have been a much better pastor.
When this thought came to Todd Wilson, he had already served as a pastor in several churches for the better part of fifteen years and was successfully leading a large, historic, and diverse congregation. He’d started out in ministry with a strong education in everything from biblical exegesis and homiletics to organizational development and Christian education. However, at its root, pastoral ministry is about shepherding, serving, leading, and loving people, and Todd realized that what he lacked was wisdom about how people work. He says, “When it came to empathetically shepherding people and sensitively engaging their manifold personalities and diverse ways of seeing the world, I was an amateur.” Whether you are on a church staff or leading a small group, you will find that the insights from the Enneagram that have helped many grow in self-awareness can be applied to life in our faith communities. The Enneagram can help us to become better teachers. It can influence how we develop worship and Christian education. And it can guide us in building and leading teams. It’s time to take the Enneagram to church–and to allow it to shape our life together.
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Future Church : 7 Laws Of Real Church Growth
$24.99Church growth models have often been long on promises and short on disciple-making. We continue to watch consistent church attendance shrink, and our desire to reach the lost is infected with a need for self-validation by growing our numbers at any cost. If we believe that God wants his church to grow, where do we go from here? What is the future of the church?
Drawing from his 20 years and 15,000 hours of consulting, author Will Mancini shares with pastors and ministry leaders the single most important insight he has learned about church growth. With plenty of salient stories and based solidly on the disciple-making methods found in Scripture, Future Church exposes the church’s greatest challenge today, and offers 7 transforming laws of real church growth so that we can faithfully and joyfully fulfill Jesus’s Great Commission.
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Winsome Conviction : Disagreeing Without Dividing The Church
$20.99In today’s polarized context, Christians often have committed, biblical rationales for very different positions. How can Christians navigate disagreements with both truth and love? Tim Muehlhoff and Rick Langer provide lessons from conflict theory and church history on how to negotiate differing biblical convictions in order to move toward Christian unity.
We generally assume that those sitting around us in church share our beliefs. But when our personal convictions are contested by fellow Christians, everything changes. We feel attacked from behind. When other Christians doubt or deny our convictions, we don’t experience it as a mere difference of opinion, but as a violation of an unspoken agreement. Tim Muehlhoff and Rick Langer offer a guide to help Christians navigate disagreements with one another. In today’s polarized context, Christians often have committed, biblical rationales for very different positions. How do we discern between core biblical convictions and secondary issues? How do we cultivate better understanding and compassion for those we disagree with? Muehlhoff and Langer provide lessons from conflict theory and church history on how to avoid the dangers of groupthink and how to negotiate differing biblical convictions to avoid church splits and repair interpersonal ruptures. Christian unity is possible. Discover how we can navigate differences by speaking in both truth and love.
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Bigger Table Expanded Edition With Study Guide (Expanded)
$22.00This new edition includes a small-group study guide complete with ideas for exploring A Bigger Table in a congregation-wide sermon series and program along with a new foreword by Jacqui Lewis and new afterword by the author to explore the challenges of living out the bigger table when voices of hate and exclusion seem stronger and louder than ever.
A Bigger Table invites readers to envision a church that is big enough for everyone, by holding up a mirror to the modern church and speaking clearly on issues at the heart of the Christian community: LGBT inclusion, gender equality, racial tensions, global concerns, and theological shifts. John Pavlovitz shares moving personal stories, his careful observations as a pastor, and his understanding of the ancient stories of Jesus to set the table for a new, positive, more loving conversation on these and other important matters of faith. Though there are many who would remove chairs and whittle down the guest list, we can build the bigger table Jesus imagined, practicing radical hospitality, total authenticity, messy diversity, and agenda-free community.
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Volunteers : How To Get Them, How To Keep Them
$6.99I have written this book out of my experience working in small to medium sized churches. I address the great challenges of finding, training, and keeping volunteers. There are some simple techniques that I learned to have happy and engaged volunteers who do not get burned out.
I also spend time describing how you can run a successful children’s ministry with a minimum of people and yet not overburdening any of them. I talk about ways to combine functions so that you still cover all the age levels but in an efficient and effective manner.
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Post Quarantine Church
$12.99A trustworthy and respected guide for pastors and church leadership in the post-quarantine world, providing hope and vision for the future of your congregation.
From thousands of surveys of church leaders and in-person consultations, Thom Rainer and his Church Answers team have gathered the essential wisdom you will need to face the challenges and opportunities that the quarantine crisis creates for the local church, including:
New and better ways to lead the gathered churchA wide-open door for growing the digital churchA moment to rethink the facilitiesNew strategies for church growth . . . and much more!
This book is, in effect, your personal church consultant, helping you plan and prepare for the future. In the midst of heartbreak, tragedy, and struggle due to Covid-19, here’s hope, wisdom, encouragement and vision.
This book is valuable for those looking for local church and pastor resources to enhance church leadership, grow your church, and serve digital and online church communities in the post-quarantine world.
As a former pastor and founder of Church Answers, Thom S. Rainer is intimately familiar with the ever-present demands that pastors face. He has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of the local church.
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Beautiful Community : Unity, Diversity, And The Church At Its Best
$17.99The church is at its best when it pursues the biblical value of unity in diversity. Our world has been torn asunder by racial, ethnic, and ideological differences. It is seen in our politics, felt in our families, and ingrained in our theology. Sadly, the church has often reinforced these ethnic and racial divides. To cast off the ugliness of disunity and heal our fractured humanity, we must cultivate spiritual practices that help us pursue beautiful community. In The Beautiful Community, pastor and theologian Irwyn Ince boldly unpacks the reasons for our divisions while gently guiding us toward our true hope for wholeness and reconciliation. God reveals himself to us in his trinitarian life as the perfection of beauty, and essential to this beauty is his work as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The gospel imperative to pursue the beautiful community-unity in diversity across lines of difference-is rooted in reflecting the beautiful community of our triune God. This book calls us into and provides tools for that pursuit.
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Adept Church : Navigating Between A Rock And A Hard Place
$16.99A theologically grounded, yet practical, user-friendly guide for church leaders seeking to save their churches. A methodical, logical approach for strategic development and decision-making. A clear process for showing congregations how to define their reality, and a map showing the way to move forward.
Offers a clear process to help congregations understand their situation by taking an honest “look in the mirror.”
Helps congregations build a realistic roadmap for moving forward.
Illustrates how the status quo (institutionalism) is rewarded and that seeking transformation goes against institutionalism.
Outlines what it means to be an adept church, a church that can navigate between a rock and a hard place because it makes decisions based upon where it needs to go and not where it is currently.
Provides practical, first step for congregations to move forward.
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Gifted : Women In Leadership
$14.99Gifted – women in leadership. You would be mistaken if you thought this book was just for women. It looks at the history of women in church life and leadership, at egalitarianism and complementarism and says – women are leaders and so are men , what can we learn from each other ? It’s looks at different leadership styles, gifts and skills. And it’s also includes other women’s stories from Margaret Sentamu and Christy Wimber to a Vicky Thompson and Bev Murrill. There are other contributors.
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When Narcissism Comes To Church
$24.99Why does narcissism seem to thrive in our churches?
We’ve seen the news stories and heard the rumors. Maybe we ourselves have been hurt by a narcissistic church leader. It’s easy to throw the term around and diagnose others from afar. But what is narcissism, really? And how does it infiltrate the church? Chuck DeGroat has been counseling pastors with Narcissistic Personality Disorder, as well as those wounded by narcissistic leaders and systems, for over twenty years. He knows firsthand the devastation narcissism leaves in its wake and how insidious and painful it is. In When Narcissism Comes to Church, DeGroat takes a close look at narcissism, not only in ministry leaders but also in church systems. He offers compassion and hope for those affected by its destructive power and imparts wise counsel for churches looking to heal from its systemic effects. DeGroat also offers hope for narcissists themselves–not by any shortcut, but by the long, slow road of genuine recovery, possible only through repentance and trust in the humble gospel of Jesus.
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We Were Spiritual Refugees
$32.99Galileo Church is not a cool, hip, exotic breed; it’s just church, reimagined for a new day.
In We Were Spiritual Refugees, Katie Hays, planter-pastor of Galileo Church, shares the story of departing the traditional church (on good terms, though!) for the frontier of the spiritual-but-not-religious and building community with Jesus-loving (or at least Jesus-curious) outsiders. Now well-established, Galileo Church “seeks and shelters spiritual refugees” in the suburbs of Fort Worth, Texas; especially young adults, LGBTQ+ people, and all the people who love them.
Told in funny, poignant, and short vignettes, Galileo’s story is not one of how to be cool for Christ. Like its founder, Galileo is deeply uncool and deeply devout, and always straining ahead to see what God will do next. Hays says curiosity is her greatest virtue, and she recounts learning how to share the good news with people who are half her age and intensely skeptical.
Galileo both is and is not like the churches you have known. Every day of its existence has been an experiment in practical theology rehabilitated for a new context. It’s surprisingly orthodox but with peculiarities about life together that go beyond questions of style and aesthetic–peculiarities that are best communicated through story. And Katie has stories to tell. So if you are all-in with Jesus but have trust issues with church, We Were Spiritual Refugees will give you hope for finding a community-of-belonging to call home.
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Our Witness To The World
$12.99Concise Wisdom from a Seasoned Pastoral Veteran
The Kingdom Pastor’s Library is a new series of books that brings you a succinct, complete pastoral philosophy and training from Tony Evans.
Our Witness to the World teaches you how to equip every member of your church to go out into their neighborhoods and do effective outreach. It also demonstrates how important social impact is for the spreading of the gospel.
Faithful. Powerful. Practical. Become a Kingdom Pastor Today.
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Faith That Dares To Speak
$24.95The Catholic Church at the dawn of the twenty-first century is arguably the last feudal system in the West. Once the feudal structure of the church is recognized, the bishops’ response to the clergy abuse crisis comes into focus. Bishops and other church authorities reacted to the scandal the only way their feudal culture allowed–with secrecy, denial, and a no holds barred effort to protect the reputation, authority, and resources of the institution. While tragic, and in many cases reprehensible, their response was consistent with the way feudal systems function.
In Faith That Dares to Speak, Donald Cozzens addresses the laity’s role in challenging a feudal church to embrace accountability and transparency and to bring light where there is now darkness. Awakened to their dignity and responsibility as full, equal, and adult members of the church, lay Catholics in North America are finding their voice and daring to speak to church authorities long accustomed to deferential obedience and compliance.
Church life, Cozzens believes, will never be quite the same.
The current crisis in the Church, while profoundly disturbing and troubling, offers possibilities for a renewed and revitalized Church. In Faith That Dares to Speak, Cozzens underscores the critical need for laity and clergy to speak honestly and courageously to church authorities. He addresses the obstacles to faithful speech as well as the spiritual and moral foundations of mature, adult conversation and commitment. The current crisis in the Church, while profoundly disturbing and troubling, offers possibilities for a renewed and revitalized Church. In Faith That Dares to Speak, Cozzens underscores the critical need for laity and clergy to speak honestly and courageously to church authorities. He addresses the obstacles to faithful speech as well as the spiritual and moral foundations of mature, adult conversation and commitment.
Chapters include “The Courage to Speak,” “The Humility to Listen,” “Love That Dares to Question,” “The Liberation of the Laity,” “Voice of the Faithful,” and “Contemplative Conversation.”
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Liquid Church : 6 Powerful Currents To Saturate Your City For Christ
$18.99What’s the difference between a thriving Christ-centered church that’s saturating its city with the Gospel, and other churches that love the Lord, but are plateaued or declining? A key part of the answer lies in identifying new wineskins for ministry, ones that can earn a fresh hearing for the Gospel with spiritually thirsty generations.In a fluid, rapidly-changing world, every church struggles with finding fresh ways to win a hearing for Christ with the current generation. What worked 20, 10 or even 5 years ago too often loses its effectiveness as our world experiences a tsunami of cultural change, especially among the younger rising generations. Church leaders want to know not only how people are responsive today, but also why. They want to understand how leading churches are pouring the living water of Jesus Christ through new wineskins, and how some of the ideas, along with their underlying values, could work for them as well.Looking underneath Liquid Church’s phenomenal growth from a dozen people to more than 5,000 weekly attenders in 12 years, this book explains how this vibrant church has pioneered a number of ministry shifts that has resulted in strong cross-generational appeal. How does a church effectively saturate its community with the good news about Jesus without diluting the truth and power of the gospel? Lucas and Bird look at seven spiritual currents that churches can leverage to reposition themselves for community impact while holding fast to the timeless, unchanging truth of Christ. These shifts reflect national trends as well, and the authors include examples of how other churches are doing the same thing in different cultural contexts.
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Together For The City
$20.99We need a bigger vision for the city.
It’s not enough to plant individual churches in isolation from each other. The spiritual need and opportunity of our cities is too big for any one church to meet alone. Pastors Neil Powell and John James contend that to truly transform a city, the gospel compels us to create localized, collaborative church planting movements. They share lessons learned and principles discovered from their experiences leading a successful citywide movement. The more willing we are to collaborate across denominations and networks, the more effectively we will reach our communities–whatever their size–for Jesus. Come discover what God can do in our cities when we work together.
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Honest Guide To Church Planting
$17.99Church planting has become a cottage industry. National conferences, hip planting organizations, and all-in-one resource kits celebrate the thrill of pioneering a church and inspire visions of glorious victories. Yet few who respond to the call are warned what they’ll actually encounter: the relentless opposition they’ll endure; the eventual scattering of their entire core group; the failure of their tried-and-true, field-tested system.Here’s the dirty little secret of church planting: the roadside is strewn with casualties. Many have closed their churches. Some left ministry permanently. Others abandoned the faith altogether.Church planting is at once the greatest and most grueling ministry work on earth. This book is for those toiling in the trenches, those about to bail out, and those considering jumping in. It’s for the church planters laboring and struggling, seeing little movement, and wondering what they’re doing wrong or why God is failing them. It’s also for mother churches, planting organizations, and denominations, as a challenge to rethink and re-calibrate the way they approach and measure planting endeavors.The Honest Guide to Church Planting is a fresh and candid conversation about the challenges and joys of planting new churches. Tom Bennardo speaks the truth so that those involved in church planting can embrace a more accurate and realistic picture of what planting a church is really like; one that not only enables them to survive, but to thrive in this difficult work.
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Rooting For Rivals
$16.99Faith-based organizations are sometimes known for what we’re against–and all too often that includes being against each other. But amid growing distrust of religious institutions, Christ-centered nonprofits have a unique opportunity to link arms and collectively pursue a calling higher than any one organization’s agenda.
Rooting for Rivals reveals how your ministry can multiply its impact by cooperating, rather than competing. Peter Greer and Chris Horst explore case studies illustrating the power of collaborative ministry. They also vulnerably share their own failures and successes in pursuing a kingdom mind-set. Discover the power of openhanded leadership to make a greater impact on the world
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Bridgebuilding : Making Peace With Conflict In The Church
$27.00There is a prevailing culture of ‘niceness’ within churches which can lead to conflict avoidance, suppression and denial. Consequently, ministers and church leaders often struggle to handle tensions, difference and competing demands within their congregations.
Drawing on practical theology, conflict theory, family systems theory and experience, Bridgebuilding will help church ministers and church members find more fruitful ways of engaging with tensions and conflicts in the life of the Church. It offers numerous practical tools for transforming conflict into opportunities for personal and corporate growth.
It complements the ‘Growing Bridgebuilders’ training course developed by Bridge Builders with CPAS.
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Myth Of The Dying Church
$25.00False news is not limited to politics. There is a pervasive myth circulating that says the church is dying. GLENN STANTON rebuts that fake news and paints a truly positive picture of America’s churches.Much has been made of the so-called “nones” – those who claim no spiritual affiliation. Media has spun the nones into a chicken-little the sky is falling narrative. The nones are an infamously difficult subsection to understand and there is a lot of false information on them. Glenn Stanton believes the nones story has become overblown and has become “a thing” due to curiosity and repetition of their supposed irreligiosity. THE MYTH OF THE DYING CHURCH digs deeply into the research concerning spirituality in America and reveals the hope and truth about the vitality and future of the church.
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