Showing titles in Church & Church Leadership

How have so many Christian leaders and institutions been lured by toxic and abusive power? Why are so many Christians tempted to chase worldly success and status? Because, according to Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel, rather than seeking kingdom power embodied by Jesus, we have embraced a form of power that is antithetical to the cross. Christians have succumbed to the temptations of power and forgotten Jesus’ seemingly contradictory path to power - first giving it up.

In Loving the City, bestselling author and pastor Timothy Keller looks at the biblical foundations for contextualizing the gospel as we communicate to the culture in a way that is both respectful and challenging. He articulates the key characteristics of a city vision, showing how the city develops as a theme throughout Scripture, from its anti-God origins, to its strategic importance for mission, to its culmination and redemption in glory.

In the last days, scripture reveals that there will be a great generational synergy: fathers and sons, mothers and daughters - multiple generations coming together to see the kingdom of God advanced and the powers of darkness destroyed! For this explosive generational alignment to take place, we need a fresh revelation of what it means to “serve another’s vision". By asking us to serve God’s leaders, God works for our growth and maturity, ultimately positioning us to walk in the fullness of our own divine destinies!

At the end of his earthly ministry, Jesus commissioned his followers to embrace a way of life making disciples. He extends that mission to us―a way of life rooted in relationship, focused on mutual growth, intentionality, and transformation as we follow Jesus together. Sadly, the activities and events that dominate many churches too often become an end in themselves and actually distract from discipleship. The Great Commission drifts out of focus of the whole church and becomes outsourced to a spiritual elite.

In this book Alan Fadling unfolds what it means for leaders to let Jesus set the pace. Through biblical illustrations, personal examples, and on-the-ground leadership wisdom, this book will guide you into a new view of kingdom leadership. Along the way you just might find that the whole of your life has been transformed into a more livable and more fruitful pace.

Preaching is hard work. When I first felt called to ministry, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This little book is the kind of resource I wish I had way back when I felt the call to ministry. There were good books on preaching, but most lacked the practical tips I needed. I knew why I preached and what to preach. What I didn't know was how to preach. I needed short, practical tips to get me started in the right direction.

Meister Eckhart was a medieval Christian mystic whose wisdom powerfully appeals to seekers seven centuries after his death. In the modern era, Eckhart's writings have struck a chord with thinkers as diverse as Heidegger, Merton, Sartre, John Paul II, and the current Dalai Lama. He is the inspiration for the best-selling New Age author Eckhart Tolle's pen name, and his 14th-century quotes have become an online sensation. Today, a variety of Christians, as well as many Zen Buddhists, Sufi Muslims, Jewish Cabbalists, and various spiritual seekers, all claim Eckhart as their own.

Deep Discipleship equips churches to reclaim the responsibility of discipling people at any point on their journey.

The Azusa Street Revival (1906-1908) was one of the most influential Pentecostal revivals in history. A tiny African American church in Los Angeles went from unknown to world famous virtually overnight after the Holy Ghost descended upon them. The following years saw some of the most powerful moves of God ever recorded. Angelic visitations, visions, heavenly music, healings, and especially speaking in tongues and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit were the norm.

Discipleship seems elusive. We all know that God told us to make disciples. We want to build fully devoted followers of Christ, but most often, we do little more than educate and entertain. How to Make Disciples follows Doug’s journey from struggling to make a few disciples to having five generations of self-sustaining, self-replicating disciples of God. Packed with real stories and insights, How to Make Disciples provides a simple, proven, step-by-step process for making disciples.

In 1300, the French region of Languedoc had been cowed under the authority of both Rome and France since Pope Innocent III 's Albigensian Crusade nearly a century earlier. That crusade almost wiped out the Cathars, a group of heretical Christians whose beliefs threatened the authority of the Catholic Church. But decades of harrowing repression - enforced by the ruthless Pope Boniface VIII; the Machiavellian French King Philip the Fair, of France; and the pitiless grand inquisitor of Toulouse; Bernard Gui (the villain in The Name of the Rose) - had bred resentment.

Pastor and leadership development expert Steve Cuss explains how personal anxiety and leadership frustration is the result of not being “self-aware” and provides simple tools listeners can use to do something about it. Listeners will be empowered to take back control of their lives and lead in mature and vibrant ways.

Joey Havens breaks through the limiting barriers of common culture theory and shows, with great transparency, the real human emotions that elevate a culture to one that is genuine, enduring, and magnetic. Joey shares insights, failures, low points, lessons learned, and growth from his experience of helping lead the successful transformation of HORNE LLP’s good culture to a magnetic, people-first culture based on the Christian principles of caring and service.

Once upon a time there was a version of our faith that was practically...irresistible. But that was then. Today we preach, teach, write, and communicate as if nothing has changed. As if “The Bible says it” still settles it. It’s time to hit pause on much of what we’re doing and consider the faith modeled by our first-century brothers and sisters who had no official Bible, no status, and humanly speaking, little chance of survival. What did they know that we don’t? What made their faith so compelling, so defensible, so irresistible? Buckle up...you’re about to find out.

In Faith Formation in a Secular Age, the first book in his Ministry in a Secular Age trilogy, Andrew Root offered an alternative take on the issue of youth drifting away from the church and articulated how faith can be formed in our secular age. In The Pastor in a Secular Age, Root explores how this secular age has impacted the identity and practice of the pastor, obscuring his or her core vocation: to call and assist others into the experience of ministry.

The faith God calls us to is far more than glowing positivism that shields us from life's struggles. It is one that guides us into a deepening intimacy with the God who sustains us in the broad sweep of life. Best-selling author Gary Thomas helps us sharpen our spiritual vision and fortify our commitment to Christ by examining 10 disciplines God uses to forge a fire-tested faith. A biblical view of these disciplines can safeguard us from disillusionment when - not if - difficulties surface in our lives.

If most pastors were pressed to describe an average day of ministry, they'd have trouble doing it. In a single day, a pastor may fill many different roles in quick succession, from counselor to theologian to student to CEO to custodian (well, let's hope there's usually someone else available to perform that last role). Some roles come more naturally than others, but every pastor wants to perform each role to the best of their ability.

From the creative minds of the scholarly group behind the groundbreaking Jesus Seminar comes this provocative and eye-opening look at the roots of Christianity that offers a thoughtful reconsideration of the first two centuries of the Jesus movement, transforming our understanding of the religion and its early dissemination.

Christians from a variety of denominations and traditions are in middle of an important conversation about the final destiny of the saved. Scholars such as N. T. Wright and J. Richard Middleton have pushed back against the traditional view of heaven, and now some Christians are pushing back against them for fear that talk about the earthiness of our final hope distracts our attention from Jesus. In the familiar Counterpoints format, Four Views on Heaven brings together a well-rounded discussion and highlights similarities and differences of the current views on heaven.

A bind-up of two titles that offers the timeless wisdom of Jesus Christ as it can apply to today's leaders. Practical as well as inspirational, the lessons and techniques are perfect for business leaders, community leaders, anyone who need to interact and motivate diverse groups of people.