Drawing on the wisdom gleaned from thriving mega-churches and innovative business leaders while anchoring their vision in the Eucharistic center of Catholic faith, Fr. Michael White and lay associate Tom Corcoran present the compelling and inspiring story to how they brought their parish back to life. Rebuilt: Awakening the Faithful, Reaching the Lost, and Making Church Matter is a story of stopping everything and changing focus. When their parish reached a breaking point, White and Corcoran asked themselves how they could make the Church matter to Catholics, and they realized the answer was at the heart of the Gospel. Their faithful response not only tripled their weekend mass attendance, but also yielded increased giving, flourishing ministries, and a vibrant, solidly Catholic spiritual revival. White and Corcoran invite all Catholic leaders to share the vision, borrow their strategies, and rebuild their own parishes. They offer a wealth of guidance for anyone with the courage to hear them.
Fr. Michael White and Tom Corcoran know that the fundamental work of the Church is to evangelize—to introduce people to Christ and make them disciples. Still, they’re the first to admit: “the difficulty comes when we reach down into the details and get to work.” In their barn-burning first book, Rebuilt, White and Corcoran shared their story and vision of building better Catholic parishes. Now, in their eagerly anticipated second book, Tools for Rebuilding, they lay out seventy-five proven tactics for getting the job done. In Tools for Rebuilding: 75 Really, Really Practical Ways to Make Your Parish Better, White and Corcoran share seventy-five foundational tactics that helped to rejuvenate their parish. Their candid, hands-on advice gives a clear way forward—one that will make church matter to the people in the pews and that anyone working in parish ministry can implement. Principles/tactics include: Get the Right People on the Bus Christmas Is Over, So Throw Out the Dead Poinsettias Stop Advertising (Other People’s Stuff) in Your Bulletin Don’t Let the Insiders Take All the Good Seats Just Because It’s Slow Doesn’t Mean It’s Holy When It Comes to First Communion, Just Surrender Funerals Are Scud Missiles Preach the Announcements Start Getting Rid of Fundraisers Everything Takes Longer (Than You Think) Pastor, It’s Not All About You Stop Trying to Make People Go to Church and Make Church Matter
Are you praying constricted prayers or disruptive ones? Most prayers are constricted ones. They’re prayers that only focus on one part of the Lord’s Prayer: “give us our daily bread.” They’re usually focused on self and envision God as a heavenly caretaker. Disruptive prayers, on the other hand, are powerful, uncommon, and deeply biblical. They focus on God rather than self, seek to advance the kingdom, and submit all things to God. They are also prayed with a profound belief that prayer actually accomplishes something. When we pray disruptive prayers, that’s when the revolution begins. This book shows you how to equip leaders, fuel kingdom movements, and do real damage to the powers of darkness in the here and now. But most of all, discover how your own heart will be transformed as you begin to see how much bigger prayer, and God, is than you ever thought possible.
Balancing theology with literary criticism, this work explores the comic vision in the works of four American novelists, Flannery O'Connor, Walker Percy, John Updike and Peter De Vries.
Rebekah Simon-Peter explores her own spiritual journey and helps leaders learn to get past the "standard" Christianity and learn to dream like Jesus, thus inspiring individuals and congregations to dream and achieve dreams previously thought impossible.
Christopher Wesley is on the front lines of youth ministry. He’s been in the parish trenches, refocusing an unpopular youth program and making it one where teens feel connected, stay involved, and grow in faith. In Rebuilding Youth Ministry, Wesley offers ten indispensable strategies to help you make your youth programs just as successful. Wesley coaches fellow Catholic ministry leaders on how to overcome common hurdles of ministering to young people. Wesley shares how he faced feelings of complacency, underestimated youth, and entertained rather than ministered in his own parish. Wesley built a distinctive program based on small group faith formation and sustained it with the assistance of more than sixty volunteer adult mentors. Wesley lays out ten strategies that helped grow participation in his high school program from nine teens to ninety and the middle school program from forty teens to eighty-five, including: Making your youth program about more than pizza; Pursuing authentic relationships between small groups and mentors; Shaping a dynamic youth ministry team; and Creating a space that’s welcoming to teens.
Over the past few years, John Pavlovitz's blog, Stuff That Needs To Be Said, has become a virtual hub for millions of people from all over the world, drawn there by his clear, compelling words on compassion, equity, love, and justice. This expansive, like-hearted community transcends race, orientation, gender, religious tradition, political affiliation, and nation of origin--and finds its affinity in the deeper place of our shared humanity, which is the True North of his writing. This collection lovingly pulls together some of John's most widely-read and most beloved essays on faith, politics, grief, and the elemental parts of being human. It is an encouraging, inspiring, challenging storehouse of "stuff that needs to be said."
DIVRebuilding the Real You, Jack Hayford’s landmark teaching on the Holy Spirit, unfolds a clear picture of the process by which the Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer. For anyone who has experienced times of brokenness, the book is a handbook on/div
The Holy Spirit has become a stranger. Many long for a closer walk with God, but He seems far away. They go to church. They read the Bible. But they don’t experience His presence. Why? Because many have forsaken the altar—the place where God is found. When we truly encounter Him again, the light and power of God will flow to our homes, then to our houses of worship, then to the nation, and we will never be the same. In Rebuilding the Altar authors Pat and Karen Schatzline passionately challenge you to return to the altar. You see, the altar is not just a physical location or an instrument in a church or synagogue. Through Christ we can experience a daily encounter with Jesus, who became our altar. We must declare this truth to the deceived. We must raise a standard of holiness and no compromise. We must bring hope to the hurting. It’s time for change. It’s time to return to the altar...and encounter God.
The Rebuild Leader Kit from Kathleen Nielson contains one Bible Study Book and 2 DVDs for 8 sessions of group study. The Book of Nehemiah tells of God's people returned from exile and rebuilding the broken-down city of Jerusalem. More than that, it tells of God's people being rebuilt according to His Word. As we watch the leader Nehemiah direct the rebuilding, we're watching the Lord God direct history according to His promises--all of which were fulfilled in the promised Christ who came from this people's seed. This study of Nehemiah helps us understand our history as believers in Jesus Christ. It helps us learn to walk in faith according to God's Word, even in times of weakness and rebuilding. Eight lessons draw us into the text, giving background and asking questions that lead us to make fruitful and personal observations. Accompanying videos come from Nielson, Nancy Guthrie, and D.A. Carson (editor). Through this study we peer into the dramatic story of God's people sustained by God's Word, at a crucial point in salvation history. Table of Contents Session 1 Meeting Nehemiah Session 2 Action--In Light of God's Word (Nehemiah 1-2) Session 3 Laboring for a God Who Fights For Us (Nehemiah 3-4) Session 4 Fearing God in a Fallen World (Nehemiah 5-6) Session 5 Coming Together around God's Word (Nehemiah 7-8) Session 6 Responding to God according to his Word (Nehemiah 9-10) Session 7 Celebrating A Moment of Joy in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 11-12) Session 8 Leaning Forward in the Dark: A Failed Reformation (Nehemiah 13) Kit Includes: 1 Bible Study Book 2 DVDs with a promotional video and eight 15-minute teaching sessions featuring author Kathleen Nielson, Nancy Guthrie, and D.A. Carson Features: Teaching from Nancy Guthrie, D.A. Carson, and Kathleen Nielson Biblically rooted and gospel-centered teaching Leader material (environment, guides to questions, general leadership, and so on) Fresh commentary for personal study segments 8-session workbook with group and personal component Lessons in leadership from prominent voices of The Gospel Coalition Benefits: Leaders can be assured of a trusted teacher in every group as participants view the video Biblical truth that's reliable Contributes to leader's confidence and preparation, but also contributes to leader training Personal spiritual growth through individual time with content Provocative questions; scriptural support; and text, application, and preparation Understanding Nehemiah as a crucial point in salvation history Author: Kathleen Nielson serves as director of women's initiatives for The Gospel Coalition. She holds MA and PhD degrees in literature from Vanderbilt University and a BA from Wheaton College. Author of the Living Word Bible studies, she speaks often at women's conferences and loves working with women in studying the Bible. She shares a heart for students with her husband, Niel, president of Covenant College from 2002 to 2012 and now leading an enterprise developing resources for Christian schools around the world.
