Reclaiming Power in Congregational and Community Ministry
Reclaiming Power in Congregational and Community Ministry

Author: Fritz Ritsch

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2023-11-14

Total Pages: 121

ISBN-13: 1666741671

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Partisan religious interests have highjacked faith in America for political power, in the process dividing our nation and giving religion a bad name. Faith groups who want to build unity, in contrast, feel powerless to attain their goals. Congregations who can adapt to a more democratic approach to ministry, in which power is shared by both staff and congregants, can dramatically strengthen their congregations and serve their neighbors more effectively. Shared power strengthens individuals, congregations, and community efforts, enabling us to work with others, build community, and recognize and overcome negative power dynamics so that people can work together to build healthier congregations and communities. It also burnishes religion's tarnished image by demonstrating faithful, cooperative, and positive civic engagement for the community's good. This book also addresses the inevitable power dynamics in any congregation, allowing leaders to recognize unhealthy dynamics, foster healthy ones, and discover and cultivate the hidden power in each parishioner, so that individually they can live more fully into God's intention for them, and together the congregation can become the outpost of God's reign that it is meant to be.

Reclaiming God's Original Intent for the Church
Reclaiming God's Original Intent for the Church

Author: Wes Roberts

Publisher: NavPress Publishing Group

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781576834077

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

If you want a more vital union with God, a richer relationship with others, and a deeper sense of personal wholeness, learn how to look inside yourself and discover how God works real, liberating change when you live from the inside out. Includes a 12-week study guide.

Reclaiming Christianity
Reclaiming Christianity

Author: Claude Payne

Publisher:

Published: 2018-08-15

Total Pages: 160

ISBN-13: 9780880284622

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In a world hungry for the hope of Jesus, Episcopal Bishop Claude E. Payne offers a roadmap for individuals and churches to seek and establish rich spiritual lives and to connect deeply with God and our neighbors. Too often, spirituality is privatized and kept under wraps, not to be talked about in public circles. But Payne encourages us to reclaim our faith in the public square, in our communities, and with our family and friends. After nearly five decades in ordained ministry, Payne writes that he has never been more optimistic about the future of Christianity. Across the country, Payne has witnessed people and congregations full of energy and compassion, committed to a life-giving, dynamic faith. In Reclaiming Christianity, Payne presents a practical and comprehensive model for sharing this faith with our neighbors and communities and encouraging all to seek a deeper connection with each other and with the Divine.

Kingdom Calling
Kingdom Calling

Author: Amy L. Sherman

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2011-11-02

Total Pages: 273

ISBN-13: 0830869557

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Amy Sherman unpacks Proverbs 11:10--"When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices"--to develop a theology and program of vocational stewardship. Here is practical help for churches, ministries and other faith communities to navigate the complex process of following Jesus in those places where we happen to prosper.

Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome
Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome

Author: R. Kent Hughes

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2008-01-07

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 1433521016

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Every year thousands of God's servants leave the ministry convinced they are failures. Years ago, in the midst of a crisis of faith, Kent Hughes almost became one of them. But instead he and his wife Barbara turned to God's Word, determined to learn what God had to say about success and to evaluate their ministry from a biblical point of view. This book describes their journey and their liberation from the "success syndrome"-the misguided belief that success in ministry means increased numbers. In today's world it is easy to be seduced by the secular thinking that places a number on everything. But the authors teach that true success in ministry lies not in numbers but in several key areas: faithfulness, serving, loving, believing, prayer, holiness, and a Christlike attitude. Their thoughts will encourage readers who grapple with feelings of failure and lead them to a deeper, fuller understanding of success in Christian ministry. This book was originally published by Tyndale in 1987 and includes a new preface.

Gospel
Gospel

Author: J.D. Greear

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Published: 2011-10-01

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 1433673940

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Could the gospel be lost in evangelical churches? In this book, J.D. Greear shows how moralism and legalism have often eclipsed the gospel, even in conservative churches. Gospel cuts through the superficiality of religion and reacquaints you with the revolutionary truth of God's gracious acceptance of us in Christ. The gospel is the power of God, and the only true source of joy, freedom, radical generosity, and audacious faith. The gospel produces in us what religion never could: a heart that desires God. The book’s core is a “gospel prayer” by which you can saturate yourself in the gospel daily. Dwelling on the gospel will release in you new depths of passion for God and take you to new heights of obedience to Him. Gospel gives you an applicable, exciting vision of how God will use you to bring His healing to the world.

Making Room
Making Room

Author: Chistine D. Pohl

Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing

Published: 1999-08-03

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 9780802844316

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

For most of church history, hospitality was central to Christian identity. Yet our generation knows little about this rich, life-giving practice.

Recovering Historical Christology for Today's Church
Recovering Historical Christology for Today's Church

Author: Marvin Jones

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2019-02-20

Total Pages: 212

ISBN-13: 1532650345

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book explains the basic tenets of Christology that a college student would encounter in a basic Christology class. The book is written in three different sections. The first section focuses upon primary Christological passages, which include a limited survey of Christology in the New Testament. The second section reviews the Christological Councils, limited to the first four ecumenical councils (i.e., Nicea, Constantinople, Ephesus, and Chalcedon). The third section deals with the application of Christology, correlating the biblical witness with the councils, preaching Christology to a contemporary church, and summarizing the Christological content for the contemporary church. The book is a textbook for an introductory Christology class. As such, it will meet the needs of professors who are trying to find an introductory work that surveys the many aspects of teaching Christology. It will also be a valuable tool for pastors as an easy-to-read reference for sermon building and Sunday school lessons, and youth directors as an accessible tool to teach basic foundational Christological truths to their youth group.

ReClaimed Church
ReClaimed Church

Author: Bill Henard

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Published: 2018-06-01

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13: 1462790720

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

It's no secret: churches are dying. Tragically, thousands of churches in the United States are shrinking, some closing their doors forever. The key to reversing these trends, argues Bill Henard, is for a local church to recognize where it is in the church life cycle. Unless churches intentionally do something about it, many of them will follow the same pattern: from birth, to plateau, and eventually, to death. But if a church learns to identify its place within the life cycle and embraces the necessary processes, it can return to growth. In a day when church membership has decreased, evangelistic zeal has cooled, and budgets are disappearing, ReClaimed Church is the tool that struggling churches need. Having previously written and taught seminary courses on church revitalization, Bill Henard uses his expertise to provide all the practical insights and instructions needed to reclaim your church.

Recovering Hope for Your Church
Recovering Hope for Your Church

Author: Edward H Hammett

Publisher: Christian Board of Publication

Published: 2014-08-30

Total Pages: 207

ISBN-13: 0827232306

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

"Why?" seems to be on the lips of many church, judicatory, and denominational leaders today. "Why has our church plateaued?" "Why are so few young leaders going into church-based ministries?" "Why are so few interested in church these days?" Recovering Hope uncovers the "whys," creating space to embrace new realities, commit to the tough road of recovery, and develop new skills, structures, and ministry designs through a process of spiritual discernment, congregational coaching, and a deeper reliance on the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Eddie Hammett, a Professional Certified Coach and Church and Clergy Coach for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, provides a step-by-step process of hope and health to encourage, guide, and inspire pastors, leaders, churches, regions, and denominations that recovery of hope is possible. A TCP Leadership Series title.