Showing titles in Church & Church Leadership

Today there are too many examples of those claiming to follow Christ being caustic, divisive, and irrational, contributing to dismissals of the Christian faith as hypocritical, self-interested, and politically co-opted. What has happened in our society? One short outrageous video, whether it is true or not, can trigger an avalanche of comments on social media. Welcome to the new age of outrage. In this groundbreaking book featuring new survey research of evangelicals and their relationship to the age of outrage, Ed Stetzer offers a constructive way forward.

Christianity is in crisis in the West. The Inkling friend of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, Owen Barfield, analysed why. He developed an account of our spiritual predicament that is radical and illuminating. Barfield realized that the human experience of life shifts fundamentally over periods of cultural time. Our perception of nature, the cosmos, and the divine changes dramatically across history.

The key to growth as a church, youth ministry, or a business is getting first-time guests to come back. It's about hospitality. The Come Back Effect reveals to church, ministry, and even business leaders the secret to helping a first-time guest return again and again. Through an engaging, story-driven approach, they explain how service and hospitality are two different things, describe how Jesus practiced hospitality, and invite leaders to develop and implement changes that lead to repeat visits and, eventually, to sustained growth.

Church Is a Team Sport shows proven ways to push believers, new and mature, toward growth as both Christians and leaders. Through this powerful, thought-provoking volume, ministers both in the congregation and on staff will discover how to expand the church one soul at a time. Making disciples is the crux of pastor Jim Putman's message. The plan works. Caring for people, following up on stray sheep, and teaching what it means to love God and obey him.

When I was called to pastor my first church, I was certain of only one thing—I was in over my head! This small church had nearly closed its doors. They were running about 35 on a Sunday, were steeped in tradition, and I was bi-vocational. I had a dream of revitalizing our church to become a healthy, evangelistically effective church that was fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission but wasn’t sure how to do it. The D.R.E.A.M. Church shares the strategies that our church and thousands of others have used to experience healthy, long-term growth.

Throughout history, inspiring leaders have stepped out in faith, stirring many to renewed strength and purpose. With sparkling writing and fascinating detail, Dean Merrill captures the bold, often surprising stories of notable Pentecostal, charismatic, and Spirit-empowered leaders. As Dean trains his journalist's eye on the lives of Smith Wigglesworth, David du Plessis, William J. Seymour, Aimee Semple McPherson, and many more, these engaging narratives challenge listeners to follow in the footsteps of these extraordinary individuals and obey the Holy Spirit.

Throughout scripture and church history, women have been central to the mission of God. But all too often women have lacked opportunities to minister fully. Many churches lack visible examples of women in ministry and leadership. Tara Beth Leach, senior pastor of her denomination's flagship church, issues a stirring call for a new generation of women in ministry: to teach, to preach, to shepherd, and to lead.

Based on Christianity's Gnostic foundations and the lost secret teachings of Jesus, this book is a thought-provoking conjecture on ways to manifest the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth -- an inspirational reminder of what Christianity was intended to be.

Each born-again believer has something unique to offer the Body of Christ. The success of the church depends on all of its parts. Everyone in the local church should carry the spirit of an armorbearer. It is the heart of a servant. To be the greatest in the kingdom is to be servant to all. You are an important part of God's plan. Get off the sidelines and into the action!

What was the starting point of Christianity? Was it in a little town in Bethlehem, just as the lyrics of our favorite Christmas songs contend? In truth, in the earliest days of Christianity, when Peter and Paul first set out to preach the gospel, the belief systems of early Christians were viewed as merely a new sect of Judaism.

Frank Bartleman is largely known for being an eye witness and historian of the legendary Azusa Street Revival that began in a small church in California in 1906, and took the world by storm. However, he was much more than that

Who Is the Next Generation? dives into the paradox of men born between the late 1980s and early 2000s—raised in Christian homes, yet spiritually disengaged in an era where connection should be easier than ever. In this generation, church has become irrelevant, hypocritical, or simply out of touch. This book unearths the real reasons behind this quiet exodus: shallow teachings, the prioritization of comfort over conviction, and the glaring absence of challenging discipleship that leaves men craving something deeper.

Ask Christians what they expect to happen to them after they die, and most will say they will go to heaven. And they’ll probably say that they will meet Jesus and hope to hear Him say, “Well done good and faithful servant.” But many believers know they are not living up to God’s calling on their lives. In fact, many might even admit their lives don’t honor God at all. Author Ken Harrison masterfully uses his stories as a Los Angeles police officer in one of the deadliest areas of the country to explain and illustrate deep truths from God’s Word.

Respected church consultant, founder and CEO of Church Answers, and author of several church leadership books Thom S. Rainer shows how the trend of low church attendance is slowly undermining churches and sending many to the grave. With this leadership parable, Thom illustrates the five key dysfunctions that plague congregations and block healthy church growth. He demonstrates why church leaders need to pay more attention to core issues like unbelief, membership, and dedication to evangelism.

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.

In Confident Leader!, Dan Reiland draws from his 39 years of leadership experience to share a practical, workable, and transformational process that results in your ability to become a more self-assured leader and achieve maximum success. Building unshakable confidence will positively impact your personal work performance, your belief in self, your support and approval from others, and your trust and reliance on God.

What is the true nature and mission of the church? Is its proper Christian purpose to save souls, or to transform the social order? This question is especially fraught when the church is one built by an enslaved people and formed, from its beginning, at the center of an oppressed community's fight for personhood and freedom. Such is the central tension in the identity and mission of the Black church in the United States.

Since resigning from the papacy in 2013, the first pope in more than 700 years to do so, Pope Benedict has lived quietly in a convent in the Vatican gardens in Rome. He has devoted himself to a life of prayer and study and has vowed to remain silent, until now. So much controversy still surrounds Pope Benedict’s time in office - in this book, written with best-selling German author Peter Seewald, he addresses the issues of his papacy and reveals how, at his late age, governing and reforming the Church was beyond him.

We don’t talk a lot about sin these days. But maybe we should. The Puritans sure did - because they understood sin’s deceptive power and wanted to root it out of their lives. Shouldn’t we want the same? Though many books have been written on the “doctrine of sin”, few are as practical and applicable as this one. In Knowing Sin, Mark Jones puts his expertise in the Puritans to work by distilling the vast wisdom of our Christian forebears into a single volume that summarizes their thought on this vital subject.

In Accidental Saints, New York Times best-selling au­thor Nadia Bolz-Weber invites readers into a surprising encounter with what she calls "a religious but not-so-spiritual life." Tattooed, angry and profane, this former standup comic turned pastor stubbornly, sometimes hilariously, resists the God she feels called to serve. But God keeps showing up in the least likely of people - a church-loving agnostic, a drag queen, a felonious Bishop and a gun-toting member of the NRA.