Paul Nixon does it again with this groundbreaking follow-up to his bestseller "I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church!" "We Refused to Lead a Dying Church!" shares the miracles of God’s transformative power in dying churches that decided to choose life with real examples of ordinary pastors and lay leaders who inspired church growth. Nixon shares the stories of fifteen churches from the United Church of Christ, United Methodist Church, and Presbyterian Church (USA) that decided giving up, dying, was not an option.
The COVID-19 pandemic renewed speculation of the Church's demise, and the wake of global catastrophe heightened clergy burnout. Still, Paul Nixon holds onto fierce hope that life and resurrection are choices the Church and its leaders can still make. With new material for the post-quarantine era and an and an included discussion guide, the second edition of I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church! provides excellent stimulation for faith leaders to commit to six critical choices: choosing life over death; choosing community over isolation; choosing fun over drudgery; choosing bold over mild; choosing frontier over fortress; and choosing now rather than later.
Best-selling author of Simple Church and the runaway hit I am a Church Member, Thom Rainer uses his twenty-five years of experience helping churches grow and reverse the trends of decline to expose twelve lessons on how to keep your church alive!
A compassionate, shame-free guide for your darkest days “A one-of-a-kind book . . . to read for yourself or give to a struggling friend or loved one without the fear that depression and suicidal thoughts will be minimized, medicalized or over-spiritualized.”—Kay Warren, cofounder of Saddleback Church What happens when loving Jesus doesn’t cure you of depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts? You might be crushed by shame over your mental illness, only to be told by well-meaning Christians to “choose joy” and “pray more.” So you beg God to take away the pain, but nothing eases the ache inside. As darkness lingers and color drains from your world, you’re left wondering if God has abandoned you. You just want a way out. But there’s hope. In I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die, Sarah J. Robinson offers a healthy, practical, and shame-free guide for Christians struggling with mental illness. With unflinching honesty, Sarah shares her story of battling depression and fighting to stay alive despite toxic theology that made her afraid to seek help outside the church. Pairing her own story with scriptural insights, mental health research, and simple practices, Sarah helps you reconnect with the God who is present in our deepest anguish and discover that you are worth everything it takes to get better. Beautifully written and full of hard-won wisdom, I Love Jesus, But I Want to Die offers a path toward a rich, hope-filled life in Christ, even when healing doesn’t look like what you expect.
A wake-up call to anyone who still thinks church revitalization is simply a matter of doing better the things that used to come so easily. However, for the innovators whose ministries cannot fully be measured or understood by the old paradigms of members and money, Weird Church offers compelling vindication and encouragement that may cause them to stand and cheer
Jake Colsen, an overworked and disillusioned pastor, happens into a stranger who bears an uncanny resemblance (in manner) to the apostle John. A number of encounters with John as well as a family crisis lead Jake to a new understanding of what his life should be like: one filled with faith bolstered by a steady, close relationship with the God of the universe. Facing his own disappointment with Christianity, Jake must forsake the habits that have made his faith rote and rediscover the love that captured his heart when he first believed. Compelling and intensely personal, So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anything relates a man's rebirth from performance-based Christianity to a loving friendship with Christ that affects all he does, thinks, and says. As John tells Jake, "There is nothing the Father desires for you more than that you fall squarely in the lap of his love and never move from that place for the rest of your life."
Principles for church leadership are important, but just as important is knowing when and how to implement them. This is strategy and it can make or break a leader’s work. Those who have been in ministry for a while may have a bag of leadership tricks. But what are the results? Nixon and Shockley explore eight key leadership behaviors that will help a church move successfully through its first season of transformation, putting it well on its way to becoming a dynamic, growing body of Christ. They report that ninety percent of existing churches never make it out of the first season of transformation and give guidance on how to turn around a stagnant or dying church.
With the poetic force of Kathleen Norris and the pastoral warmth of Eugene Peterson, Kansas pastor Roth sets forth a vision for vibrant rural churches, for ministry in congregations that bear a profound sense of both loss and possibility, and for harvesting fruits of transformation and renewal. Rooted in stories from Scripture, his own ministry, and interviews with rural church leaders, Roth offers a sturdy theological and practical alternative to church-growth strategies that rely on success stories and flashy metrics. Reclaiming God’s vision for the rural church, Roth writes, means learning how to praise, abide, watch, pray, grow, work the edges, die, befriend, and dream. In God’s Country, rediscover the stunning abundance of God’s presence in rural communities. Name the ways that the rural church testifies to God’s glory and goodness. Learn to live and love and minister right where you are, no matter how small or unassuming it may seem. Winner of the Award of Merit, Christianity Today 2018 Book Awards, The Church / Pastoral Leadership category. Free downloadable study guide available here.
Women long to be loved, to be known, to be understood. But who can meet those needs at their deepest level? Only the One who created women--who knows them by name and who designed them--can bring fulfillment that truly satisfies. "Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs" shows how God desires to help every woman: I need acceptance... God loves, forgives, and accepts I need security... God promises He will never leave I need to feel pretty... Christ sees me as new, spotless I need a companion... He is the perfect friend I need communication... He talks to me intimately through His Word Formerly "Heart Hunger."
The best-selling Denominations Comparison ebook contains a side-by-side comparison of what 12 Christian denominations believe about God, the Trinity, Jesus, and other spiritual issues. This easy-to-read ebook summarizes the beliefs of the different denominations on key topics and includes a "Family Tree of Denominations" which reveals the roots of today's denominations. Denominations Comparison includes a look at: Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist, Anabaptist, Congregational, Baptist, Presbyterian, Churches of Christ, Adventist, and Pentecostal churches. Each denomination believes in the deity of Christ and the importance of Scripture, so how are the groups different? The Denominations Comparison shows what denominations have in common as well as where they differ. The Denominations Comparison ebook compares 12 denominations on 11 different topics, such as: •When it was founded and by whom •The number of adherents in 2000 •How Scripture is viewed •Who God is •Who Jesus is •How individuals are saved •What happens after death •The definition of the Church •How each looks at the Sacraments •Other practices and beliefs •The major divisions and trends today. The Denominations Comparison ebook is an excellent source for pastors and teachers who want to present denominational beliefs in a concise and focused manner. The full color ebook organizes the denominations comparisons in the order in which they came to be, first covering the six liturgical denominations followed by the six non-liturgical denominations. The Liturgical Churches compared are: •Catholic •Orthodox •Lutheran (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America; The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod) •Anglican (Episcopal Church; Reformed Episcopal Church) •Presbyterian (The Presbyterian Church (USA) or PCUSA; The Presbyterian Church in America or PCA) •Methodist Churches (United Methodists Church; African Methodist Episcopal; Free Methodists) The Non-Liturgical Churches compared are: •Anabaptist (The Mennonite Church; Church of the Brethren; Amish) •Congregational (United Church of Christ: The National Association of Congregational Christian Churches; The Conservative Congregational Christian Conference) •Baptist (Southern Baptists, American Baptists; National Baptists) •Churches of Christ (Christian Church, Disciples of Christ) •Adventist (Seventh-Day Adventist Church, SDA, 7th Day Adventist) •Pentecostal Churches (Assemblies of God; Church of God in Christ) In addition to the side-side comparison of the 12 Christian denominations, the Denominations Comparison ebook contains a list of 42 "Helpful Words to Know" for studying denominational differences. This list defines words such as: Anabaptist, apocrypha, canon, Eucharist, incarnate, pope, predestination, and puritan. The Denominations Comparison ebook also contains several helpful references, such as: •Official web sites for major denominations •General online references •Other web sites for the major traditions. Denominations Comparison also contains a short summary on the following Christian groups, their founders, size, and denominational ties (if applicable): •Calvary Chapel •Christian and Missionary Alliance •Church of God •Church of the Nazarene •Evangelical Covenant Church •Evangelical Free Church of America •International Church of the Foursquare Gospel •Salvation Army •Vineyard Ministries International Topical index: Adventists, African Methodist Episcopal,Anglican,Assemblies of God, Baptists, Calvary Chapel, Catholic Church, Charismatic, Church of Christ, Church of England, Church of God, Congregational Churches, Episcopal Church, Evangelical Church, Foursquare Church, Free Methodists, Holiness Churches, liberal denominations, Lutheran Churches, Methodist Church, Orthodox Church, Pentecostal Church, Presbyterian Church, Quakers, Reformed Church, Roman Catholicism, Salvation Army, Trinity, United Methodist Church, Vineyard Churches, Westminster Confession.
