What Can Blue-Collar Business Teach Us About Work and Faith? The faith and work conversation is alive and well, but most resources focus on white-collar jobs, neglecting the majority of the workforce. When Dave Hataj realized he needed to go home and take over the family gear shop, he didn’t expect it to become a spiritually transformative season of his life. Yet as he began to think about what it meant to be a Christian in business, he discovered just how much our work matters to God and how blue-collar business can change people, communities, and even the world. Drawing on the stories of his business, Edgerton Gears, Dave teaches you how to cultivate true inner goodness, meaning, and mission at work—no matter what you do. Your workplace can and should be a place of significance.
In Constructing Blue-Collar Leaders in a White-Collar World . . . "Dr. LaMar Herndon considers a group of leaders often overlooked and occasionally denigrated-the-bivocational pastor. Constructing Blue Collar Leaders in a White Collar World integrates important theoretical leadership concepts with spiritual and practical realities. Dr. Herndon explores important topics such as trends and issues facing the global church and its leaders, leadership models, values and ethics, character and integrity, cultural effects, creativity and innovation, reverse mentoring, and strategic planning. This book is a profoundly honest hands-on guide to what constitutes a true leader serving as a bivocational minister." -Dr. Gary Oster Regent University School of Business & Leadership, Virginia Beach, VA "Down through my thirty plus years of education, ministry, and leadership I have read many books on the subject of leadership. Some have challenged me and inspired me, but none have done so at the level of Constructing Blue Collar Leaders in a White Collar World. As a State Minister, I work with many bivocational and blue collar Pastors. I will be using Dr. Herndon's book as a primary resource to assist me in working with those Pastors in challenging and inspiring them in their leadership development." -Dr. Darryl Allen State Minister KY Church of God Ministries, Adjunct Professor at Nazarene Bible College & Mid-America Christian University "It [Constructing Blue-Collar Leaders in a White-Collar World] is an excellent presentation of leadership issues every pastor needs to understand to some degree. The chapter on "Values and Ethics" is worth the price of the book. Thanks for sharing the results of your many hours of study and hard work." -Ray Gilder National Coordinator Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network, Bivocational Small Church Ministries Specialist Tennessee Baptist Convention "Dr. LaMar Herndon presents leadership from a very down to earth and practical approach. This book seeks to help the bivocational church leader be effective while balancing these two worlds. I believe this book needs to be in every pastor, minister, and leaders library; whether bivocational or not." -Rev. Jewel D. Williams, M.R.E. (Church of God, Anderson, IN Author of Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Living our Theology, and the Path of a Preacher
In The Work of the Associate Pastor, author Alan R. Rudnick presents the associate pastorate as equally important but distinctively different from the role of senior or solo pastor. Within these pages, readers will Explore the diverse roles and responsibilities that fall under the associate umbrella Embrace associate ministry as more than training ground for a senior pastorate Discover the challenges and opportunities for associate pastors The book's appendix offers these practical resources for churches: How to plan for an associate Sample job descriptions Compensation guidelines Associate ministers also will find a personal assessment, helpful in discerning when to stay and when to leave their associate position. Whether you are an associate pastor, a senior pastor, a seminarian, or a member of the church staff or pastoral relations committee, this guide will provide valuable insight into one of the most undervalued and misunderstood ministries in the life of the church. Book jacket.
Join the cofounders of the dynamic Activist Faith movement (ActivistFaith.org) as they shine a light on Christians who are moving beyond politics and opinion to actively engage 12 divisive social issues. Activist Faith shares biblical contexts, personal stories, and practical guidance for a new generation of Christian activists.
Before white churches can pursue diversity, we must first address the faulty discipleship that has led to our segregation in the first place. Pastor David Swanson proposes that we rethink our churches' habits, or liturgies, and imagine together holistic, communal discipleship practices that can reform us as members of Christ's diverse body.
This title is part of UC Press's Voices Revived program, which commemorates University of California Press’s mission to seek out and cultivate the brightest minds and give them voice, reach, and impact. Drawing on a backlist dating to 1893, Voices Revived makes high-quality, peer-reviewed scholarship accessible once again using print-on-demand technology. This title was originally published in 1971.
Have you ever felt in over your head? When Eric Peterson became the pastor of a brand-new church, he quickly and wisely turned to his dad for guidance. Eugene Peterson, author of more than thirty books including his bestselling memoir The Pastor and his groundbreaking Bible The Message, here reflects on pastoral ministry in all its complexity--from relationships to administration to the sheer audacity of leading God's people in a particular place. This is Eugene Peterson at his best--lifelong wisdom written with deep love. As the reader, you will glimpse into the tender, witty, personal side of Eugene mentoring his own son. These intimate letters will be treasured by all who read, and applicable to church leaders around the globe. Purchase individually or together with Letters to a Young Congregation as a memorable gift for a church leader or seminary graduate.
Tim Sledge pulls back the curtain on Southern Baptist life as he chronicles nearly four decades of ministry in this highly personal, sometimes painful, and frequently provocative spiritual autobiography. Part memoir, part expos , part polemic-this is an account of failures as well as accomplishments-and very nearly a case study in how faith may begin, how it evolves, and how it can fall apart. Sledge traces the childhood origins of his sincere faith, his efforts at spiritual obedience, his theological education, his climb up the ladder in ministry, his insights into the challenges of growth-oriented leadership, and his pioneering work in faith-based recovery ministries that ultimately guided participants in 20,000 support groups across the U.S. A recurring theme in his story is coming to grips with the significance of being an adult child of an alcoholic. After a fall from grace and a growing awareness that faith no longer worked for him, his journey took a new direction that required examining alternatives to his former belief system including Deism, agnosticism, humanism, and atheism. Ultimately, he found new ways to live a positive, value-driven life and emerged as a new version of the same person he had always been, still interested in creating avenues for personal growth in the lives of others. Goodbye Jesus is a relatable and thoughtful read for those seeking to better understand the evangelical mindset, for Christians who are questioning their faith, for ministers trying to decide whether to stay or go, and for those who have left their faith and are dealing with its loss.
