Pastoral Helps
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 3 Cycle C
$37.50Practical preaching strategies to help the over-burdened parish pastor communicate God’s Word in vital, meaningful ways.
This is the third volume in CSS’s third series of popular preaching workbooks — Designed to help you get the most out of every moment you spend in sermon preparation.
Special Features Include:
Commentary on Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, and Common Lectionary texts
Sermon Starters for First Lesson, Second Lesson, and Gospel texts for every Sunday in Cycle C
“Theological Clues” to help you explore the relationships among all the texts for each Sunday
Wide Margins and Stay-flat binding for ease of use
Overviews of preaching challenges and possibilities for each liturgical season
Extensive Bibliography of exegetical and homiletic resources for Cycle C preaching
And All-new Insights from one of CSS’s most well-respected and successful authorsThis workbook is an exercise in liturgical, as well as lectionary preaching. It springs from the rationale that most lectionary helps ignore the liturgical setting of the lessons assigned to the various Sundays. It is this author’s contention that the exegetical/homiletical process begins with the church year. The year, cycles, seasons, Sundays, and festivals establish the themes and provide theological clues for worship and, particularly, preaching, especially in the first half of the church year. This approach is the outgrowth of the author’s doctoral dissertation and four of his books, The Renewal Of Liturgical Preaching, The Song And The Story, and Lectionary Preaching Workbook, Cycle A and Cycle B. Each deals with preaching from the lectionary texts in the context of the worship, work, and lives of the people of God.
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Get Ready Get Set Grow (Revised)
$17.95Estimates are that as many as three-quarters of mainline Christian congregations are located in small towns or rural areas — and many of these areas are diminishing in population. So is it inevitable that small town and rural churches will decline in membership and close in the next few decades?
“Not necessarily!” says Gary Exman. During his years as the pastor of a small-town parish, his congregation reversed the trend and grew dramatically. By applying the principles of the “church growth” movement, Exman’s church revitalized a dying Sunday school, increased average worship attendance by 50 percent, and quadrupled church offerings.
Get Ready… Get Set… GROW! is a practical handbook that shows how you can achieve results like that in your congregation as well. Exman identifies the unique problems facing small town and rural churches, and in this book he offers proven strategies for conquering the cancer of declining membership and building stronger congregations.
There is untapped potential in the small towns and open country of our land — and Get Ready… Get Set… GROW! can help you discover it.
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Training Ministry Teams
$19.99Provides practical instruction to help pastors and congregational leaders bring clarity and purpose to the role of elders or deacons, and to help deacons or elders learn and refine their ministry. Each of the nine sessions in Training Ministry Teams reflects on Jesus’ method of training leaders and works toward a specific outcome. Topics include: working as a ministry team, decision-making, mediating conflict, visitation, partnering with the pastor, and more. Sessions conclude with group assignments designed to move participants from theory to action. Also included are resources to help in calling, commissioning, and nurturing elders and deacons.
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Holidays Are Holy Days
$20.95Almost every month in the year has a secular holiday — and on those “special” Sundays, preachers need to balance honoring the occasion with maintaining their focus on the proclamation of God’s Word. It can be a challenging task, but it also presents a great opportunity to uncover the religious significance of our civic celebrations. In this extensive volume of inspiring messages, Alex Gondola draws on the rich variety of American culture and scriptural insight to remind us that holidays truly are holy days. Great for personal reading, adult study groups, or fresh sermon ideas, Holidays Are Holy Days is a versatile resource that you’ll draw on throughout the year.
Sermons are included for:
* New Year’s Day
* Martin Luther King Day
* Super Bowl Sunday
* Valentine’s Day
* Presidents’ Day
* St. Patrick’s Day
* April Fool’s Day
* Earth Day
* Mother’s Day
* Memorial Day
* Father’s Day
* Independence Day
* Labor Day
* Grandparent’s Day
* Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ Day
* Halloween/All Saints’ Day
* Reformation Sunday
* Veterans’ Day
* Thanksgiving Sunday
* ChristmasAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Cycle A (Revised)
$46.95One of the most comprehensive lectionary preaching resources available, the Lectionary Preaching Workbook is the one tool you will want to have close at hand to help you get the most out of every minute you spend preparing your Sunday sermon. This completely revised and updated volume provides you with a host of practical aids for effectively proclaiming God’s Word. In addition to theological reflections on the three lessons for each Sunday, each chapter also explores a theme for the day (including a prayer and a suggested hymn) and outlines numerous preaching options. You’ll also find a handy, easy-to-use Sermon Planner template to facilitate the process of building your sermon.
Special features include:
* an introduction to Matthew’s gospel
* overviews for each liturgical season that pinpoint preaching goals and possible sermon series — and examine the season’s customs, history, meaning, and message
* a listing of applicable Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal lectionary texts
* commentary on each Sunday’s Old Testament, New Testament, and Gospel lessons
* theological reflections to help you explore the relationships among all the texts
* a variety of preaching options, complete with suggested outlines
* available in either paperback or 3-ring binder formats, with wide margins for convenient, easy useAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Sermons On The Second Readings Series 1 Cycle A
$37.95This superb collection of biblically sound sermons based on the Second Readings from Cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary covers every Sunday and major celebration of the church year. Five outstanding preachers from diverse denominations combine imaginative insights into the New Testament epistle texts with fresh, inspiring illustrations that enlighten the mind and warm the heart. By reliving the journey of Jesus through the prism of the early church’s practical and moral concerns, these messages offer valuable lessons for Christian living in the modern world.
This essential resource is useful for:
* Fresh homiletical approaches to the lectionary texts
* Preaching illustrations
* Understanding scripture passages
* Adult study and discussion groups
* Personal devotions and Bible studyAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Sermons On The Gospel Readings Series 1 Cycle A
$36.95Filled with insight, imagination, and inspiration, this anthology offers a treasure trove of spiritual guidance for living in today’s materialistic world. Five distinguished preachers from a variety of denominations and ministry settings contribute compelling messages based on the Gospel texts for each Sunday and major celebration in Cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary. Weaving the story of Jesus’ ministry into the dynamic tapestry of our contemporary human condition, these sermons proclaim the Good News with strength and vision, and they provide abundant witness to the transforming power of God’s Word.
This essential resource is useful for:
* Fresh homiletical approaches to the lectionary texts
* Preaching illustrations
* Understanding scripture passages
* Adult study and discussion groups
* Personal devotions and Bible studyAdd to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit Series 4 Cycle A
$16.95Jesus considered stories to be an essential teaching tool — his preaching was filled with stories, and he used parables because he knew that people could relate to them. So if you’re looking for a well-told, imaginative, and inspirational story that will take you right to the heart of the scriptures, the newest edition of CSS’ popular Lectionary Tales For The Pulpit series is just the resource you need. Gregory Tolle draws on his gift of storytelling to illustrate Cycle A lectionary texts with thought-provoking, modern parables. This book is not only great for memorable preaching illustrations and “sermon starters” — it’s also a wonderful source for uplifting devotional reading.
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Bucket Full Of Miracles Cycle A
$18.95The stories of Jesus’ miracles challenge our jaded modern sensibilities — with today’s wealth of scientific and technological knowledge, the wonders of our world rarely amaze us anymore. It can be difficult for us to grasp the astounding effect of these events in Jesus’ time, especially when we are sidetracked in a search for logical explanations, but Jeff Wedge maintains that the key to fully understanding the miracles is recapturing our child-like sense of wonder about them. Underlying these familiar stories is the joy, excitement, and mystery of the world in which we live.
Packed with valuable idea starters and rich material for sermon development, A Bucket Full Of Miracles helps evoke that sense of wonder with a detailed exploration of the nine miracle stories appearing in Cycle A of the Revised Common Lectionary. Each chapter includes the biblical text and examines the words, the people, and the action of the lesson, as well as providing several illustrations and possible preaching approaches. This volume provides plenty of homiletic material for the busy pastor with limited time — but it’s also stimulating reading for anyone who wants greater insight into these marvelous accounts of God’s power at work.
Chapter titles include:
* Nativity (Matthew 1:18-25)
* The Man Born Blind (John 9:1-41)
* Spirit’s Coming (Acts 2:1-21)
* Walking On Water (Matthew 14:22-33)
* The Demon-Possessed Girl (Matthew 15:21-28)
… and four more!Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Sustained To Serve
$9.95The inspiring prayers in Sustained To Serve open a window into the presence of the living Christ in our ordinary daily activities. Originally created for use during the communion and offering parts of worship services, these heartfelt petitions share deep feelings of awe and wonder at Christ’s sacrificial love and offer thanksgiving for God’s infinite gifts. With material for a variety of seasons and circumstances, this book is much more than just a collection of worship aids — it’s also perfect for devotional reading or just to help bring you closer to the Almighty amidst the bustle of everyday life.
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Christmas Treasures : A Collection Of Congregational Resources For Advent C
$25.95This anthology provides an ample selection of seasonal worship, drama, and children’s resources by popular authors from a variety of denominations. Whatever your congregation’s size or worship style, you’re sure to find something in Christmas Treasures to help you create memorable Advent and Christmas services. Copying privileges are included for all segments.
Litany For Advent And Christmas Candle Lighting provides brief responsive prayers and creative congregational activities for the four Sundays of Advent, Christmas Eve, and Epiphany. It’s excellent for worship services or as a Sunday school opener.
Christmas Treasures offers three sets of short readings and prayers for the candle lighting portion of Advent and Christmas Eve services. Each 2-3 minute narrative links aspects of the nativity with events in our modern lives, both global and personal, and challenges worshipers to reflect on current issues and respond in ways that glorify the Lord.
Six Christmas Testimonies depicts the Christmas events and their meaning from the viewpoint of John the Baptist, a magus, the innkeeper, Joseph, a shepherd, and Mary. Especially powerful when read in sequence, these concise dramatic readings are an excellent way to have members participate in Advent or Christmas Eve worship services.
The Christmas Gift utilizes a creative approach to the seasonal children’s program — a “talent show” is cleverly included as part of a simple yet powerful play based on Luke’s Christmas scripture. It’s a practical presentation for any size congregation — many of the speaking roles have only a few lines, and some parts can be combined. A prop list, set diagram, and sample rehearsal schedule are included to aid novice directors. Performance time is approximately 15 minutes (plus talent show time).
Who Are You In Bethlehem? and The Promise are two dramatic presentations for the entire congregation with roles that can be performed by any age. Each combines the reading of scripture and singing of familiar hymns with brief narrations to telling the Bethlehem story, focusing on how we respond to the Savior — asking us if we have truly welcomed the babe into our hearts. These inspirational services are flexible enough to be performed by as many participants as are available without requiring extensive memorization.
Revelations Of Jesus, Given From Heaven/Received On Earth, Nativity, and If It Happened Today are four flexible, Bible-based plays with parts for young peopl
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Songs For A Savior
$12.95This comprehensive resource of five sermons with complete worship services provides a solid, thematically integrated worship and preaching program for Advent and Christmas Eve. It celebrates the deep songs of faith which result from personal encounters with Jesus Christ. The four Advent messages examine biblical personalities, revealing in their experiences real struggles as well as profound joy. You’ll explore how Zechariah wrestled to believe what the angel told him concerning the birth of his son; how the prophets searched for God’s Word of hope in times of personal and social ferment; how Mary was willing to sacrifice her life for God’s purpose; and how the birth of Jesus, heralded by the angels and confirmed by the shepherds, combined fear and joy with divine music.
In the final sermon (for Christmas Eve), Oliver links those accounts with our contemporary lives by asking what our personal response will be to the birth of the Savior. Will we allow a song of faith to arise in our lives, in our families, churches, and community?
Illustrated with poignant stories and anecdotes, the sermons in Songs For A Savior invite us to hear again the truly Good News — that our song of faith is not so much what we create for God, as how we respond to meeting the Savior and receiving God’s gift of salvation through Jesus.
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Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 6 Cycle C
$59.95Preachers must understand the teaching techniques of parable and hyperbole, not to mention having a good background in systematic theology, in order to understand what the Bible’s writers really meant…. But our responsibility is also to reduce the complexities of Bible study to such simplicities that our many listeners, ranging from busy young professional people to aging men and women of failing health to youngsters facing a variety of new temptations, can take away a saving word. (from the Preface)
E. Carver McGriff provides the tools preachers need for their daunting task with some of the most timely and thought-provoking research on the lectionary texts ever made available.
Included for each scriptural lesson in the lectionary are:
A listing of the applicable Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal lectionary texts.
A description of the Psalm of the day.
A prayer for the day.
Commentary that is more than academic exegesis — McGriff brings to the forefront those points in the lessons that relate most poignantly to our contemporary reality.
Suggested sermon titles for each of the three texts for each Sunday.
Themes and suggested directions for preaching on each text.
Several additional illustrations to enliven your preaching.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Preaching The Miracles Series 2 Cycle C
$17.95While this book offers information for the sermon writer, the design of its contents provides more than the ho-hum. It avoids presenting a ready-made cloak of words for a morning sermon. Instead it invites preachers and their audiences to explore the gap between the “back then” and the “now.” It not only helps answer questions, it generates them- a crucial element in understanding the miracles of Jesus.
Five sections are devoted to each of the nine miracles in cycle C:
Text — For Easy access the entire lectionary text is provided, preventing the need to flip back and forth to a Bible.
What’s Happening? — A synopsis of points of action within each miracle story. By reviewing the story action, readers define its movement, the conflict and the change or resolution.
Connecting Points -Conversations — This section offers the central material of each chapter. Here Brauninger engages the preacher in an imaginary exchange before the text is given its usual preparatory attention. Visits with main characters and an occasional bystander nudge the reader toward stepping into their sandals. This section invites the preacher and the listening audience to ask questions relevant for them, thus expanding their questioning, and therefore their understanding
Words — Here significant words are examined. While this work is not intended as a scholarly study, it assists in placing things in proper context.
Gospel Parallels — This section highlights similarities and differences among parallel stories in the other gospels.There is also a helpful bibliography included.
This new series from Brauninger promises to be a favorite among preachers. Through it audiences will become aware of how God speaks to them through the miracle stories and will enable them to hear their inner voice and more clearly understand it and themselves.
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Choosing Church
$50.00Widely known theological educator and sociologist Carol Lytch presents this well-researched study of what attracts teenagers to the church and what keeps them there. The cogent research includes interviews of a number of teenagers and their parents from mainline Protestant, evangelical, and Roman Catholic congregations. Groundbreaking and fascinating, Choosing Church ultimately serves as a highly useful description of the most effective ways that congregations and parents can foster faith in early teenagers that will help them value the church as a place to obtain identity, belonging, and growth.
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Ushers In Ministry
$13.49Biblical Perspectives and Personal Reflections for Ushers, Greeters, and Lay Ministry These writings are not simply lists of ironclad duties and actions that need to be taken by ushers or those in lay ministry. Rather, they are a product of biblical understandings and personal reflections of the author, having evolved from hundreds of hours of consideration and experiences on the essentials of what would make the ministry of ushering more effective. Anyone engaged in the ministry of ushering or greeting should find much of value in these writings, as one will be exposed to biblical perspectives regarding these ministries. Overseers of these ministries should find their workload lightened by using these writings as a framework for providing direction to those who are so serving, since time for meetings and training sessions is always in short supply. Any of these essays may also be used effectively in group discussions and should result in a higher level of attainment.
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Pastors Guide To Growing A Christlike Church
$14.99In The pastor’s Guide To Growing A Christlike Church, you’ll discover the keys to creating a vibrant, biblical, spiritually healthy church. William Willimon, Kennon Callahan, George Hunter III, and other well-known church leaders will teach you how to:
*Develop servant leaders among the laity
*Get laity involved in serving the community
*Nurture healthy spirituality in the church
*Develop authentic Christian community and fellowship
*Plan worship services that bind church members together
*Cast a vision for the future of the church
*And much more!Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Counseling Survivors Of Traumatic Events
$24.99It is a known fact that many people turn to their pastor in times of crisis and trauma. Clergy are often just as much “first responders” as are police and firefighters. Through case illustrations, Weaver, Flannelly, and Preston offer practical helps and resources to access needed information when every minute counts.
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Claiming Theology In The Pulpit
$29.00Encapsulating years of experience integrating critical theological thinking with the preaching task, Claiming Theology in the Pulpit will be a welcomed resource to both preachers and students. Through the use of a theological profile, Burton Cooper and John McClure help preachers become more aware of not only the broad theological traditions of the church but of their own particular theological appropriations. Part One lays out the eight categories of the theological profile, offering a worksheet for readers to identify in summary fashion their own theological position. Part Two suggests specific ways that preachers can use the profile as a tool to become more theologically intentional in their preaching.
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Tending The Holy
$28.95Interest in the practice of spiritual direction has grown in recent years. With the increased number of people seeking direction have come a number of new issues confronting spiritual directors. This volume of essays by seasoned spiritual directors from a variety of faith traditions, addresses issues of concern to directors today such as direction with: abused persons, the poor, church drop-outs, gays and lesbians. Other essays look at spiritual direction in new contexts, such as the congregational setting, the corporate arena, spiritual direction and generational issues, and direction at the turn of the century. The final section of the book addresses some specific circumstances: working with the addicted, with those who are dying, using art in spiritual direction, and direction and social justice. Contributors include: Joseph D. Driskill (Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, CA); Juan Reed (Chicago, IL); Rich Rossiter (Oak Park, IL); Sandra Lommason (Davis, CA); Howard Rice (Santa Rosa, CA); Tom Cashman (Federal Way, WA); Steven Charleston, Episcopal Divinity School; Barry Woodbridge (Rancho Cucamonga, CA); Margaret Guenther (Washington, D.C.); Betsy Caprio Hedburg (Culver City, CA) and Kenneth Leech, (London), Janet Ruffing, and Norvene Vest. Norvene Vest is a spiritual director, author, and workshop leader, well known especially for her books on Benedictine spirituality for the common life. She is an Episcopal laywoman, oblate of a Roman Catholic monastery, and graduate of a Protestant seminary. She lives with her husband, Douglas, in Altadena, California.
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Shared Wisdom : Use Of The Self In Pastoral Care And Counseling
$29.00Employing insights in this groundbreaking book, Pamela Cooper-White offers a new relational paradigm for pastoral assessment and theological reflection. She uses the caregiver’s own responses and feelings as a primary instrument for deepening discernment and better care. She innovatively combines postmodern, psychoanalytic, and theological perspectives with illuminating case studies to illustrate this use of the self in pastoral care, counseling, and psychotherapy.
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Partnering With Parents In Youth Ministry
$17.00The most powerful force in a young person’s life is his or her family. The importance of this is pointed out in the writing of the Torah in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, where believers are mandated to pass their family legacies to the next generations. The newest trend in youth ministry today is a very healthy move toward family-based ministry, a mind-set that helps the church act as a support system, while placing discipleship and training back into the hands of family. Partnering with Parents in Youth Ministry will help youth workers understand their unique role in helping families succeed and will give an overview strategy of family-based youth ministry, as well as practical ideas on implementing this awesome ministry in your church.
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10 Commandments For Pastors New To A Congregation
$17.99The opening months of a new pastorate are decisive for how that ministry will unfold, so great care should be taken to begin wisely and well. Simply transplanting programs and habits that worked elsewhere, ignoring the specific dynamics of the new congregation and its people, making too few significant changes, or making too many insignificant changes will create problems for the new pastor that may never be overcome. “Ten Commandments for Pastors New to a Congregation” offers specific, down-to-earth principles and guidance on how to make a good beginning, one that will lay the foundation for years of fruitful ministry.
Drawing on twenty-five years of parish ministry, during which he has mentored many new and transitioning pastors, Lawrence Farris here provides ten guidelines, illustrated with relevant examples, that identify potential pitfalls and show how to avoid them. Such areas as preaching, pastoral care, self-care, community and denominational commitments, and role clarity are addressed with an emphasis on practical approaches to ministry in a new setting. Farris also gives clear advice on how to learn the new congregation and its setting, how to set appropriate personal and professional boundaries, and how to stay focused on what matters most in a new ministry.Lively, practical, and brief enough for the new pastor to have time to actually read it, “Ten Commandments for Pastors New to a Congregation” is a must-read both for pastors on the move and for individuals preparing for first-time ministry.
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Shepherd Leadership : Wisdom For Leaders From Psalm 23
$24.95The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green pastures;
He leadeth me bedside the still waters;
He restoreth my soul.Today’s professionals need reliable models to teach them how to become better leaders. In this remarkable book, leadership experts Blaine McCormick and David Davenport introduce us to a new kind of leader by offering a new image of leadership- the leader as shepherd.
Drawing on the wisdom of the timeless Twenty-Third Psalm, King David’s psalm, the authors provide professionals with ancient wisdom for grappling with today’s leadership challenges. Shepherd Leadership offers a much-needed lens through which to consider our own leadership as well as the leadership of those around us. This important book teaches us important lessons about leadership: we can be vigilant without being adversarial, we can serve without being passive, and we can guide without commanding. Shepherd Leadership offers a visionary new model for transforming leadership practices in both corporate and small business settings. This is whole-person leadership. It’s not just a matter of thinking or doing things a certain way. It’s a fully integrated life- a matter of head and hand and heart. It’s a way of thinking and doing and being.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Weary Throats And New Songs
$31.99Examines the rich heritage of African American women who have proclaimed–and still proclaim–God’s word. Against all odds, African American women have passionately proclaimed the goodness of God and lifted up Jesus’ name despite barriers of race, class, denomination, education and gender. In response to a sense of deliverance from evil and in gratitude for answered prayers, these women have related their faith and trust in God in sacred places such as ships, fields, homes, barns, factories, hospitals, schools, pulpits, missionary societies, and over kitchen sinks. Even when disenfranchised in the religious communities they helped create, African American women continue to “say a word” about God, whether they are ordained or not.
This book provides a brief review of the rich heritage of African American female proclaimers and examines contemporary African American women’s sermon preparation, content, delivery, and personhood. Brown draws heavily on interviews and conversations, as well as audio and video tapes of women proclaiming God’s word to relate how and why African American women tell others about God despite resistance (weary throats) and with the help of support (new songs) in religious and social communities.Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
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Healing Bodies And Souls
$19.00Hale and Koenig, national leaders in health ministries, offer a practical and engaging primer on developing a variety of initiatives for pastors, parish nurses, lay leaders, and concerned parishioners. Their short volume mixes real-life congregational case studies with vital information to equip congregations in helping properly manage illness, navigate the healthcare labyrinth, manage or avoid disability, and even provide some life-saving and presentative medical services. While their case studies report on the many kinds of engagement congregations have taken on, each chapter also provides basic information on the most common healthcare challenges – diabetes, skin cancer, strokes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, breast cancer, prostate cancer, glaucoma, and depression – and what can be done in local congregations.
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Walking The Small Group Tightrope
$12.99A time-tested resource for pastors and small group leaders to help them understand how to manage the tensions that result when a variety of good objectives compete for a group’s attention Foundational resources such as Building a Church of Small Groups and The Seven Deadly Sins of Small Group Ministry were written for those who launch and lead small group ministries. Now there is a proven resource from Willow Creek created specifically for small group leaders who serve in the trenches of small group life. Walking the Small Group Tightrope applies “polarity management” training to group life. Polarity management teaches that in every area of life we must learn to manage the tension that exists between two good things rather than choosing one over the other. There are six challenges or “tensions” every small group leader faces and must learn to manage well. Each challenge must be met by managing two good values that exist along a continuum: * Learning Challenge: Truth_Life Continuum * Relational Challenge: Friendship_Accountability Continuum * Development Challenge: Care_Discipleship Continuum * Reconciliation Challenge: Kindness_Confrontation Continuum * Impact Challenge: Task_People Continuum * Connection Challenge: Openness_Intimacy Continuum
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Lay Eucharistic Ministers Handbook
$23.99This practical volume explores every aspect of serving as a eucharistic minister in the Catholic church. It offers in-depth teaching on the meaning of the Eucharist; personal preparation for the rite of commissioning; an explanation of the practical skills required; pastoral advice on giving communion at home or in hospital as well as help for those unexpected moments when something may go wrong. A warm and encouraging companion for all who serve in this ministry.
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Your Church Can Thrive
$17.99The author describes the four main groups of people churches can reach with their ministries: those in the pews, those who walk in, friends and family of current members, and those who live in the neighborhood. He then provides short-term steps and long-term strategies for teaching out to these groups, drawing them into the church, and helping them grow into disciples of Jesus Christ. This book helps readers focus the development of the ministries and programs of the church on those whom the church is trying to reach.
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Take The Next Step
$25.99Transformational leaders know how to build on their church’s identity. They know how to make the story of change the next chapter in the book of the congregation’s life, rather than throwing the book away and trying to start over. An astute student of management and leadership theory, Weems offers congregational leaders essential insights into how they can bring about authentic and faithful growth. Includes congregational case studies, visual illustrations of key ideas, and insights from other leadership experts.
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Modeling The Master
$10.99This book presents an intriguing integration of the use of parables by Jesus, the Master Teacher, and the therapeutic approach of Milton Erickson, the master of metaphor. The author reviews much counseling literature that involves the use of metaphor to understand and influence counselees, and considers numerous examples in Scripture of indirect, metaphoric communication. Insights gained from both Scripture and counseling literature are incorporated into an approach appropriate for use in contemporary Christian counseling. Several basic principles emerge that facilitate the formulation and delivery of metaphoric stories that are empathic, engaging, earthy, efficient, and enigmatic. Examples are presented along with suggestions to help the reader develop therapeutic stories from his or her own experience. Attention is also given to the use of metaphoric activities that may augment the counseling process. Practical concerns are addressed, including timing and frequency of stories and activities, interpretation, and seeding. The hope of the author is to challenge Christian counselors to access the powerful potential of effectively using metaphoric stories and activities to increase positive outcomes. The book is designed to serve as a supplemental text in a variety of Christian counseling courses at all levels.
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Spirit Filled Teaching
$22.98Acclaimed teacher Roy B. Zuck reveals how teachers can tap into the power of divine energy to fulfill their calling and use their gifts at a deeper level. By applying these timeless, spirit-focused principles, teachers will learn how to teach more effectively and inspire students spiritually.
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Search To Belong
$19.99A practical guide for those struggling to build a community of believers in a culture that wants to experience belonging over believing Who is my neighbor? Who belongs to me? To whom do I belong? These are timeless questions that guide the church to its fundamental calling. Today terms like neighbor, family, and congregation are being redefined. People are searching to belong in new places and experiences. The church needs to adapt its interpretations, definitions, and language to make sense in the changing culture. This book equips congregations and church leaders with tools to: * Discern the key ingredients people look for in community * Understand the use of space as a key element for experiencing belonging and community * Develop the “chemical compound” that produces an environment for community to spontaneously emerge * Discover how language promotes specific spatial belonging and then use this knowledge to build an effective vocabulary for community development * Create an assessment tool for evaluating organizational and personal community health
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Empowered Church Leadership
$25.99IVP Print On Demand Title
Have you been guiding your church using secular marketing ideas and leadership strategies? Instead, Dodd issues a clarion call for pastors and laypersons to build their ministries on the New Testament apostolic principles of prayer, followership, partnership, servanthood, and willingness to run against the current. Learn to lead where God wants you to go.
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Developing The Leaders Around You Workbook (Workbook)
$17.99Dr. John C. Maxwell is committed to more than just being a leader_he’s also committed to nurturing and mentoring thousands of potential leaders around him. This passion is what caused him to found INJOY and EQUIP, and it is the driving force in his ministry. Both practical and inspirational, Developing the Leaders Around You is crammed with strategies that help you effectively transform your goals into reality by building leadership in the people around you. Emphasizing that an organization can’t grow until its members grow, Dr. Maxwell encourages readers to foster a productive team spirit, make difficult decisions, handle confrontation, and to nurture, encourage, and equip people to be leaders.
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Making Small Groups Work
$26.99Here’s a one-stop small-group leader’s guide for gatherings of all sorts—from divorce recovery and marriage enrichment to spiritual formation. Facilitators will learn God’s plan for growth and how to promote it; what makes a group work; the roles of members; and how to find solutions for problems, including boredom, noncompliance, aggression, overneediness, and nonstop talking.
Add to cartin stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
