Pastoral Helps
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Not Forsaken Leader Guide With Participant Helps
$21.99Add to cartForsaken: Growing up Black, Male and Christian in the Hood encapsulates principles author Chris McNair gleaned from successfully working with at-risk African American boys in the inner city in over thirty years of ministry. This book teaches how youth workers can address social, emotional, physical and spiritual issues facing young black men in the city. It is about building a relational ministry among black youth, centered on instilling a sense of identity in Christ and provides a study curriculum to use with the young men themselves.
The book with study sessions contains everything needed to begin to equip leaders and guide a group through the study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions.
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Wild At Heart Field Guide Revised Edition (Revised)
$19.99Add to cartIn Wild at Heart, bestselling author John Eldredge thrust a generation of men, young and old, toward a journey to recover true masculinity?the soul of a man as God designed him. He reminded men they needed adventure in their lives-in their work, in their love, and their spiritual lives-and showed how God designed them to be dangerous. Sadly, most men today have abandoned these dreams and desires-aided by a Christianity that feels like nothing more than pressure to be a “nice guy.” It is no wonder that many men avoid church, and those who go are often passive and bored to death.
The Wild at Heart Field Manual, which corresponds chapter-by-chapter with the book, helps men understand how God wants to heal these deep wounds from earlier years that take away their confidence and, in some case, their masculinity. Men will discover that deep within their heart is a longing for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue-because that is how God created them. It is time for the church to reclaim these wounded warriors. It is time to give men permission to be what God designed them to be-dangerous, passionate, alive, and free!
Packed with new information and insights, the Wild at Heart Field Manual guides men along “the road less traveled.” Filled with probing questions, creative exercises, and space to record personal field notes, this companion volume is designed to transition men from reading about the wild heart to living from it.
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Positive Psychology In Christian Perspective
$45.99Add to cartOriginally the field of psychology had a threefold mission: to cure mental illness, yes, but also to find ways to make life fulfilling for all and to maximize talent. Over the last century, a focus on mental illness has often been prioritized over studies of health, to the point that many people assume “psychologist” is just another way of saying “psychotherapist.” This book is about one attempt to restore the discipline’s larger mission.
Positive psychology attends to what philosophers call “the good life.” It is about fostering strength and living well–about how to do a good job at being human. Some of that will involve cheerful emotions, and some of it will not. There are vital roles to be played by archetypal challenges such as those involving self-control, guilt, and grit, and even the terror of death enters into positive psychology’s vision of human flourishing. Charles Hackney connects this still-new movement to foundational concepts in philosophy and Christian theology. He then explores topics such as subjective states, cognitive processes, and the roles of personality, relationships, and environment, also considering relevant practices in spheres from the workplace to the church and even the martial arts dojo. Hackney takes seriously the range of critiques positive psychology has faced as he frames a constructive future for Christian contributions to the field.
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Purpose Gap : Empowering Communities Of Color To Find Meaning And Thrive
$28.00Add to cartIn The Purpose Gap, Patrick Reyes reflects on a family member’s death after a long struggle with incarceration and homelessness. As he asks himself why his cousin’s life had turned out so differently from his own, he realizes that it was a matter of conditions. While they both grew up in the same marginalized Chicano community in Southern California, Patrick found himself surrounded by a host of family, friends, and supporters. They created a different narrative for him than the one the rest of the world had succeeded in imposing on his cousin. In short, they created the conditions in which Patrick could not only survive but thrive.
Far too much of the literature on leadership tells the story of heroic individuals creating their success by their own efforts. Such stories fail to recognize the structural obstacles to thriving faced by those in marginalized communities. If young people in these communities are to grow up to lives of purpose, others must help create the conditions to make that happen. Pastors, organizational leaders, educators, family, and friends must all perceive their calling to create new stories and new conditions of thriving for those most marginalized. This book offers both inspiration and practical guidance for how to do that. It offers advice on creating safe space for failure, nurturing networks that support young people of color, and professional guidance for how to implement these strategies in one’s congregation, school, or community organization.
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Wild At Heart Study Guide Updated Edition (Student/Study Guide)
$13.99Add to cartIn this updated edition of the bestselling classic, author John Eldredge reminds men they need adventure in their lives . . . in their work, in their love, and their spiritual lives. He reveals how God designed men to be dangerous. Simply look at the dreams and desires written in the heart of every boy: to be a hero, to be a warrior, and to live a life of adventure and risk. Sadly, most men today have abandoned these dreams and desires-aided by a Christianity that feels like nothing more than pressure to be a “nice guy.” It is no wonder that many men avoid church, and those who go are often passive and bored to death.
In this provocative six-session video study (DVD/digital video downloads sold separately), John Eldredge explains how God wants to heal these deep wounds from earlier years that take away a man’s confidence and-in some cases-his masculinity. He shows that deep within the heart of every man is a longing for a battle to fight, an adventure to live, and a beauty to rescue-because that is how God created him. It is time for the church to reclaim these wounded warriors. It is time to give men permission to be what God designed them to be-dangerous, passionate, alive, and free!
Sessions include:
1. The Heart of a Man
2. The Wound
3. A Battle to Fight
4. An Adventure to Live
5. A Beauty to Rescue
6. A Band of BrothersDesigned for use with the Wild at Heart Video Study (sold separately).
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Starfish And The Spirit
$19.99Add to cartLeveraging the metaphor Ori popularized in his NYT best-selling book, The Starfish and the Spider, Ori Brafman shows why the distributed structures of starfish organizations are uniquely fit to the church. They can function without a rigid central authority, and their regenerative abilities make them nimbler in reacting to external forces. Seeding starfish networks inside todays churches will prepare the church of tomorrow to be agile while still maintaining the necessary accountability to be effective.
Rather than advocating the adoption of a starfish structure in place of the hierarchy of the spider, Brafman, along with pastors Lance Ford and Rob Wegner, emphasize the advantages of adapting the structure and order inherent in a spider organization toward a hybrid model–either a Spiderfish approach (leaning toward centralization) or a Starder approach (leaning toward decentralization).
The Starfish and the Spirit is about creating a culture where church leaders view themselves as curators of a community on mission, not the source of certainty for every question and project. It is about creating a team of humble leaders “in the middle” of the church, not at the top–leaders who naturally reproduce multiple generations of leaders, from the middle out on mission. Imagine a church led by a team whose gifts and talents are completely unleashed, enabling everyone to show up and step up with all they really are. The joy and vigor coming from the collective strength, intelligence, and skill in the community of leaders not only brings greater potency but better yields for your ministry as well. What would it be like to see this kind of healthy leadership reproduced into the second, third, and fourth generation, on multiple strands?
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Hebrews For You
$17.99Add to cartApplied expository guide to Hebrews-a book that shows us how and why Jesus is better than anything else.
We are all tempted to drift away from Jesus, but in the book of Hebrews God gives us an anchor: a detailed understanding of how and why Jesus is better than anything else.
Seminary professor Michael J. Kruger unpacks this rich book verse by verse. He explains the Old Testament background, gives plenty of application for our lives today, and shows us how Jesus is the fulfilment of all God’s work on earth. He encourages us to live by faith in Jesus-the only anchor for our souls.
This expository guide can be read as a book; used as a devotional; and utilized in teaching and preaching.
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Faithful Leaders : And The Things That Matter Most
$14.99Add to cartExplore the things that really matter for a successful ministry.
“Well done good and faithful servant.” Every ministry leader wants to hear these words when they meet their Lord. But what does successful ministry look like?
There are many books on leadership strategies and church structures, but this one looks at what matters most: the character and attitude of church leaders. It recognizes that the spiritual health of the church leaders in large part determines the spiritual health of the congregation and therefore the success of the ministry.
In this short, punchy, challenging and at times surprising book, Rico Tice draws on decades of experience in church leadership to call fellow pastors and others with oversight of areas of church ministry to define success biblically, fight their sin, lead themselves and serve their churches. It will be a battle, but one worth fighting because personal holiness and godly leadership matter eternally.
A must-read on pastoral leadership for pastors, elders, worship leaders, youth leaders and anyone else with a leadership role in church ministry.
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Preaching And The 30 Second Commercial
$29.00Add to cartAt first glance, preaching and advertising seem worlds apart from one another. One tries to proclaim love of God and neighbor; the other tries to sell you something that you may or may not need. Yet both must compete with other ways we receive and process information in an increasingly distracted world. While most of the time preaching simply tries to muddle through this situation, advertising knows that it must continually relearn how to reclaim its audience’s attention-and keep it.
Believing that preaching can benefit from advertising’s laser focus on how to make its message stick, O. Wesley Allen, Jr. (a preaching professor) and Carrie La Ferle (a professor of advertising) have written this first-of-its-kind book on what preachers can learn from advertising.
Examples of these lessons include:
– Sharpening one’s analysis to understand the congregation better
– Encoding a message so that listeners can decode it for their individual lives
– Understanding how the form of the sermon leads to greater or lesser effectiveness
– Building the sermon around imagery and narrative
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Worship For The Whole People Of God Second Edition
$50.00Add to cartThis revised edition of the popular textbook on worship by renowned hymn writer and professor Ruth C. Duck provides theological foundations for worship and explores the ways Christians have adapted worship to various cultures to help them live faithfully and to communicate the gospel to others. The author celebrates the many languages and cultural settings in which the gospel has been, and is, preached, sung, and prayed. The goal of this volume is to support good pastoral and congregational reflection on what worship is and does. Consequently, Duck discusses many different forms of worship from several cultures (African American, Asian, Euro-American) and offers advice on how to read a congregation and define its culture in order to plan culturally appropriate worship. She includes many practical suggestions for preparing and leading worship, including diverse ministries of music, movement, and visual arts that are becoming more popular today.
From worship’s theological underpinnings, the book turns to worship leadership, forms of prayer, preaching, the sacraments, ordination, and various other liturgies. Because of its emphasis on vital and Spirit-led worship, this comprehensive book on Christian worship will be used in years to come, not only as a core textbook for seminarians and ministry students from a variety of cultures and traditions but also as a resource for local church pastors and laity who are dedicated to the enlivening of Christian worship.
In this new edition, Duck updates and expands the recommended resources, updates the section on worship trends, enhances the section on multicultural worship, and revises marriage information based on cultural and denominational changes.
Highlights include stories of four churches that are developing creative ways to grow and meet the possibilities and challenges of these times, especially in seeking justice, serving people in their neighborhood, and building bridges among cultures and religious groups. In addition, a new appendix by David Gambrell addresses the theological and practical questions surrounding online worship in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.
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Verse Mapping Bible Study Journal
$19.99Add to cartVerse Mapping changed the way author and Bible study teacher Kristy Cambron forever read and studied the Bible. Along with the Verse Mapping Bible Study Series, where Kristy teaches verse mapping technique through books of the Bible, the Verse Mapping Journal opens the door to an all new way to study and read Scripture on your own, following your own inspired study path.
With Verse Mapping 101 instruction, 50 blank maps, suggested verses to map with Topical Map Journeys, and a Destination Tracking chart to see where your maps have taken you and the revelations Scripture has provided over the course of your journaling expedition, the Verse Mapping Journal offers both biblical study technique and the freedom to hear from the Holy Spirit in your study time like no other Bible study tool available.
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Healing The Wounds Of Trauma Facilitators Guide 2021 Edition Print On Deman (Tea
$11.99Add to cartThis handbook is for certified facilitators who care for hurting people using Healing the Wounds of Trauma: How the Church Can Help, the book which is the foundation of the Bible-based trauma healing ministry of the Trauma Healing Institute. This guide contains the timetables, instructions, and logistical details that facilitators need to lead healing groups.
This edition contains stories that can be effectively used in North American and global city contexts.
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Come Back Participant Book (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartWe all experience setbacks. Loss, failure, and even tragedy are part of life. But when these start to define us, it’s time to regroup. Roger Ross teaches the essentials for rising up and out of bad circumstances in Come Back: Returning to the Life You Were Made For. This engaging book tells turnaround stories from sports, history, and everyday life, tracing Jesus’s parable of the prodigal son to reveal five crucial stages for every comeback. Each stage is paired with an ancient spiritual practice designed to help everyday people turn some part of their life around.
This Participant Guide is your personal study tool and workbook. It’s designed to help you process the lessons of Come Back: Returning to the Life You Were Made For. The study leads you to analyze your own situation more deeply, and shows you how to incorporate the spiritual practices into your daily life. The study is particularly effective in a group setting. Participants need both this Guide and the main book.
It’s not too late. It’s time for your comeback.
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How Women Transform Preaching
$30.99Add to cartWomen preachers are everywhere. The pulpit, once a bastion of male presence and power, has become, in many denominations, a place where women regularly exercise their gifts, leading congregations and proclaiming God’s word each week. The number of women scholars who are publishing and teaching in the field of preaching has also expanded dramatically.
Leonora Tubbs Tisdale explores how the presence of women preachers and scholars of preaching has transformed the practice of homiletics this country-from the reclamation of women’s “herstory” in preaching, to the topics addressed in preaching and scholarship, to the way in which Biblical hermeneutics and theologizing are undertaken in preaching, to the imagery, illustrations, shape and embodiment of the sermons themselves.
How Women Transform Preaching begins with a fascinating survey, including statistical information and historical analysis. Interviewing 16 women preachers/homileticians, Tisdale shares ‘untold stories’ of women preachers throughout history who are largely unknown but who serve as examples of both the struggle and power of women’s preaching. She then tells the stories of contemporary women preachers. Throughout, Tisdale draws practical lessons for the reader, showing what students, homileticians, and preachers can learn from extraordinary women preachers.
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Building A City On A Hill Student Workbook (Student/Study Guide)
$7.74Add to cartBuilding A City On A Hill: African American Communities of Purpose Student Workbook explores how we can shine for Jesus by demonstrating Christian character wherever God has placed us. Each chapter reminds us that God calls us to be Christians at home, at work, and in the community. This call enables us to change lives and foster economic development, which causes families and communities to flourish. A revisit of historic Black towns showcases the self-sufficient businesses and enterprises that African Americans built after emancipation. Vocational excellence, unselfish service, and an awareness that God is at work in each life are key to this curriculum.
Building A City On A Hill is suitable for Adult Vacation Bible School, small groups, and individual Bible study. The lives of ten Bible characters serve as examples of good works and moral excellence while being the light in their particular situations. By learning about these characters, you will be inspired and equipped to be the light of the world.
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Lectures To My Students Volume 3 Practical And Spiritual Guidance For Preac
$19.99Add to cart“The solemn work of Christian ministry demands a man’s all, and that all should be at its best. To engage in ministry halfheartedly is an insult to God and man. Sleep must leave our eyelids before men are allowed to perish. Yet we are all prone to sleep, and students, among the rest, are apt to act the part of the foolish virgins. Therefore, I have sought to speak out my whole soul in the hope that I might not create or foster any dullness in others, and to this end, my lectures are colloquial, familiar, full of anecdote, and often humorous. May He, in whose hand are the churches and their pastors, bless these words to younger brethren in the ministry, and if so, I will count it more than a full reward and will gratefully praise the Lord.”
– Charles H. Spurgeon -
Disability And The Church
$18.99Add to cartPastor Lamar Hardwick was thirty-six years old when he found out he was on the autism spectrum. This revelation prompted him to reconsider the church’s responsibilities to the disabled community. Insisting that the good news of Jesus affirms God’s image in all people, Hardwick offers practical steps and strategies to build stronger, truly inclusive communities of faith.
Lamar Hardwick was thirty-six years old when he found out he was on the autism spectrum. While this revelation helped him understand and process his own experience, it also prompted a difficult re-evaluation of who he was as a person. And as a pastor, it started him on a new path of considering the way disabled people are treated in the church. Disability and the Church is a practical and theological reconsideration of the church’s responsibilities to the disabled community. Too often disabled persons are pushed away from the church or made to feel unwelcome in any number of ways. As Hardwick writes, “This should not be.” He insists that the good news of Jesus affirms God’s image in all people, and he offers practical steps and strategies to build stronger, truly inclusive communities of faith.
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Freedom Starts Today
$16.99Add to cartEvery church is filled with people who are struggling–often secretly–with addictions of all kinds. Porn, pills, food, money, alcohol, social media, body image, status, sex, anxiety–the list goes on and on. John Elmore is no stranger to addiction. Fifteen years ago, he put a loaded shotgun to his head and later had three doctors tell him he was going to die of alcoholism. More than 15 sober years later, he leads the world’s largest weekly recovery gathering, re:generation, where people journey toward healing in Christ.
In Freedom Starts Today, he makes a huge promise to the addicted: you can be free from your struggle, and much sooner than you may think. Through easily digestible readings grounded in Scripture and the practice of daily surrender, Elmore shows you how to break the cycle of addiction, make war against sin, and find your identity in who you are and not the shame of what you have done–one day at a time.
Leave behind struggles, addiction, and shame as you walk in the power of the Holy Spirit and in the love, mercy, and forgiveness of the God who is not only by your side but on your side.
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Radiant Church : Restoring The Credibility Of Our Witness
$20.99Add to cartSomething is not right. The witness of the church in North America is eroding.
Many Christians are alarmed by the decline in church attendance and seek a culprit. Too often, we point the finger away from the church, make culture the enemy, and build walls between us and others. But our antagonism and enemy-making are toxins that further eat away at our witness. Is there a better way? Tara Beth Leach could easily be one of those millennials giving up on the church. Instead, she is a pastor who loves the church and is paradoxically hopeful for its future. In an era where the church has lost much of its credibility, Leach casts a radiant vision for Christians to rediscover a robust, attractive witness. We need to name the toxic soil we’ve grown in, repent for past wrongs, and lean into a better way to become the church that Jesus proclaimed we would be. Leach casts down idolatrous false images of God to recover a winsome picture of a kingdom of abundance and goodness. We can be sustained by practices that will tune our hearts to God’s and form us into the radiant communities God intends for us and those around us.
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Lamenting Racism Participant Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$11.99Add to cartWe need to talk about race. The Bible’s prayers of lament show us the way.
Stories of racial injustice fill our news feeds. Yet for too long many of us in the church have been hesitant to speak up. We fear offending others, of using the wrong words, of not knowing what to say.
In Lamenting Racism, a team of leading pastors and theologians come together to lay the groundwork for important conversations about racism in your congregation. In six, thought-provoking video sessions, they name that God’s people of every race are called to confront racism in every way possible. Together this team invites each of us to consider and give voice to how we have been shaped and formed by race.
Calling on us to reclaim the lost art of biblical lament, they offer a powerful way to pour out the fear, shame, grief, and rage of racism in prayer. In the process, we will be transformed, reclaiming hope for a world shaped by God’s inclusive vision of love and blessing.
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Elijah Bible Study Book (Student/Study Guide)
$28.99Add to cartOld Testament heroes are best known for their most celebrated, highlight moments: Moses dividing the Red Sea; David slaying Goliath; Gideon routing an insurmountable army; Joshua marching around the defiant walls of Jericho.
And Elijah-calling down fire on Mount Carmel.
Blinded by the remarkable narratives of our biblical heroes, we can forget they each had a backstory-months and years of development, even difficulty, which fortified their spiritual muscle and prepared them for the tasks that made their lives unforgettable.
This 7-session Bible study, on one of the premier ancient prophets, is your invitation to surrender to that process.
Every serious believer longs to summon up the kind of boldness and faith that can stand firm on Mount Carmel and pray down heaven into impossible situations. Yet few are willing to go through the process required to get them there. Strength of faith, character, and boldness can only be shaped in the hidden fires of silence, sameness, solitude, and adversity. Those who patiently wait on God in the darkness emerge with their holy loyalty cemented, their courage emblazoned, and their confident belief in Him set afire.
Join author and Bible teacher Priscilla Shirer on a journey through the life and times of Elijah. Discover how the fire on Mount Carmel was forged in the valley of famine. And how the emboldened, fiery faith you desire is being fashioned by God in your life right now.
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Lamenting Racism Leaders Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$16.99Add to cartWe need to talk about race. The Bible’s prayers of lament show us the way.
Stories of racial injustice fill our news feeds. Yet for too long many of us in the church have been hesitant to speak up. We fear offending others, of using the wrong words, of not knowing what to say.
In Lamenting Racism, a team of leading pastors and theologians come together to lay the groundwork for important conversations about racism in your congregation. In six, thought-provoking video sessions, they name that God’s people of every race are called to confront racism in every way possible. Together this team invites each of us to consider and give voice to how we have been shaped and formed by race.
Calling on us to reclaim the lost art of biblical lament, they offer a powerful way to pour out the fear, shame, grief, and rage of racism in prayer. In the process, we will be transformed, reclaiming hope for a world shaped by God’s inclusive vision of love and blessing.
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New Testament Challenge Study Journal (Student/Study Guide)
$13.99Add to cartThe New Testament Challenge is designed to help small-group members explore the books of the New Testament in a fresh and new way. In this Bible study (DVD/digital downloads sold separately), participants will learn how the story of God restoring his original creation-which was begun in the Old Testament-reached its crowning moment with the birth of Messiah into the world. Through Jesus’ birth, he answered the question once and for all of who God is and what he is like. Through Jesus’ teaching, he revealed the deepest meaning of the laws and institutions that God gave to the people of Israel. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, he introduced the life of the age to come into the present age. Group members will also discover how the followers of Jesus formed a new community and invited people from all over the world to join them, and how the Bible looks ahead to the day when Christ will return to renew all of creation and establish God’s justice and peace on the earth.
Sessions include:
1. Luke-Acts
2. Luke-Acts, 1-2 Thessalonians
3. 1-2 Corinthians, Galatians, Romans
4. Romans, Colossians, Ephesians, Philemon, Philippians, 1 Timothy, Titus, 2 Timothy
5. Matthew
6. Hebrews, James, Mark
7. 1-2 Peter, Jude, John
8. 1-3 John, Revelation -
Keeping The Cross Central (Revised)
$15.99Add to cartTeen Challenge, also known as Adult and Teen Challenge, was founded as an evangelistic outreach to drug addicts in Brooklyn, New York City. As a holistic Christian ministry with the life-changing message of the gospel, this faith-based rehabilitation program was created with the vision that God can redeem the whole person, starting on day one of the program. This unique approach has produced success rates of over 70% for those who complete the rehabilitation program. However, as Teen Challenge has grown worldwide, with over 1,400+ centers in 129 countries, some centers are now turning to secular methods in order to access government funding. As co-founder of Teen Challenge, Don Wilkerson raises a warning flag on this mission drift: the power of the Cross, which brings about a changed life, must be the priority in treating drug addiction; if the Cross is not central to the mission of any Teen Challenge center, then it is not worthy of using the name “Teen Challenge.” The ministry must never lose its vision and focus in bringing men and women to Christ-through the gospel and discipleship-and stay faithful to the original mission which the founders stood upon.
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Women In The Bible
$50.00Add to cartWhat was it like to be a woman in the biblical period? It depended, in part, on who you were: a queen, a judge, a primary wife, a secondary wife, a widow, a slave, or some other kind of ordinary woman. In Women in the Bible, Jaime Clark-Soles investigates how women are presented in Scripture, taking into account cultural views of both ancient societies as well as our own. While women today are exercising leadership in churches across a number of denominations and our scholarly knowledge related to women in the Bible has grown immensely, challenges remain. Most of Christendom still excludes women from religious leadership, and many Christians invoke the Bible to circumscribe women’s leadership in the public square and in the home as well. It is more urgent than ever, therefore, to investigate closely, honestly, and intrepidly what the Bible does and doesn’t say about women.
In a multipronged approach, Clark-Soles treats well-known biblical women from fresh perspectives, highlights women who have been ignored, and recovers those who have been erased from historical memory by particular moves made in the transmission and translations of the text. She explores symbolic feminized figures like Woman Wisdom and the Whore of Babylon and reclaims the uses of feminine imagery in the Bible that often go unnoticed. Chapters focus on themes of God’s relationship to gender, women and violence, women as creators, and women in the ministry of both Jesus and Paul. Clark-Soles aims to equip clergy and other leaders invested in the study of Scripture to consider women in the Bible from multiple angles and, as a result, help people of all genders to live God’s vision of better, more just lives as we navigate the challenges of our complex, globally connected world.
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Color Of Compromise Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$14.99Add to cartIn The Color of Compromise, Jemar Tisby takes readers back to the roots of sustained racism and injustice in the American church. Filled with powerful stories and examples of American Christianity’s racial past, Tisby’s historical narrative highlights the obvious ways people of faith have actively worked against racial justice, as well as the complicit silence of racial moderates. The Color of Compromise Study Guide, used together with The Color of Compromise Video Study, unpacks the content of the video study for an in-depth diagnosis of a racially divided American church, suggesting ways to foster a more equitable and inclusive environment among God’s people.
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Words Of Life Childrens Leader Guide
$18.99Add to cartNearly everyone has heard of the Ten Commandments, the list of “thou-shalt-nots” found in the Bible. Jesus saw these commandments not as onerous burdens, but as guideposts to help us experience a good and beautiful life.
In this book of Scripture and inspiration, bestselling author Adam Hamilton brings modern eyes to the most important set of ethics in history. He considers the commandments in their historical context, considering the meaning of each commandment in Hebrew, unpacking how Jesus reinterpreted them, and showing how every thou-shalt-not was intended to point to a life-giving “thou shalt.” He also explores how the latest research in science and psychology illuminates these commandments, rightly understood, as a way of ordering one’s life beautifully in the present day. In a culture marked by workaholism, materialism, and social media-driven envy, God has given us a time-tested path that leads to gratitude, confidence, and peace.
The Children’s Leader Guide contains session plans for younger and older children (grades K-2 and 3-6) including games, activities, craft ideas, and reproducible handouts.
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Words Of Life Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartNearly everyone has heard of the Ten Commandments, the list of “thou-shalt-nots” found in the Bible. Jesus saw these commandments not as onerous burdens, but as guideposts to help us experience a good and beautiful life.
In this book of Scripture and inspiration, bestselling author Adam Hamilton brings modern eyes to the most important set of ethics in history. He considers the commandments in their historical context, considering the meaning of each commandment in Hebrew, unpacking how Jesus reinterpreted them, and showing how every thou-shalt-not was intended to point to a life-giving “thou shalt.” He also explores how the latest research in science and psychology illuminates these commandments, rightly understood, as a way of ordering one’s life beautifully in the present day. In a culture marked by workaholism, materialism, and social media-driven envy, God has given us a time-tested path that leads to gratitude, confidence, and peace.
The Leader Guide contains everything needed to guide a group through the six-week study including session plans, activities, and discussion questions, as well as multiple format options.
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7 Words Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$14.99Add to cartExamine the last seven words of Christ on the cross this Lent.
While many of us naturally wish to avoid the reality of the cross, it’s from the cross that Jesus speaks and shows his deepest love for us. It’s from the cross that Jesus’ full humanity draws us closest to him. It’s from the cross, as Jesus breathes his last breath and speaks his last words, that his deep trust in the Father and his divine glory are revealed. Those who listen to Jesus’ last words from the cross will discover what he most wants them (the world) to hear and will experience an intimate and divine awe only available to those who are willing to draw near his cross.
In Seven Words, Susan Robb looks at the seven last words of Christ on the cross through a lens that finds life and hope in his final sayings, while exploring each from a biblical and historical perspective. The book brings a hopeful and contemplative take on the cross during the weeks of Lent.
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Planting A Church Without Losing Your Soul
$25.99Add to cartWhat does it take to be a church planter or ministry entrepreneur? According to veteran church planter Tim Morey, you need more than just vocational capacities-you need spiritual competencies. Featuring real-life stories from leaders plus practices and discussion questions, this book is a practical guide to spiritual formation geared to the unique needs of church planters and teams.
What does it take to be a church planter or other ministry entrepreneur? Most leaders start out with passion, a sense of calling, and a focus on building ministry skills. Such things might get some results, but they are not enough to sustain a healthy ministry-or a healthy life. Beyond the vocational capacities every church planter needs, there’s a range of capabilities more difficult to measure but even more essential: what veteran church planter Tim Morey calls spiritual competencies. Morey provides here a practical guide to spiritual formation geared to the unique needs of church planters. He helps readers answer the questions, What are the spiritual capabilities that I as a church planter need to develop? How might I lean into the work Jesus is doing in these vital areas? Spiritual competencies have to do not just with behaviors but also with the motivations, agendas, and scripts that drive behaviors. Morey explores how church planters can become people who:
*invest in their own physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual health
*accept limits and share responsibilities
*can be trusted with power
*are able to stay resilient and grow through difficulties
*can minister without being noticed
*find a sustainable pace that helps them avoid burnoutThe health of a church or any ministry organization is directly linked to the health of its leaders. Church planters may be used to improvising, but when it comes to their spiritual lives, they can’t afford to just wing it. Featuring real-life stories from leaders, suggested practices, and discussion questions in each chapter, this book will equip individuals and teams (and those who coach them) to commit to an intentional plan for spiritual formation-for the good of their churches, their relationships, and their own lives as disciples of Jesus.
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TruthFilled Bible Study Book (Student/Study Guide)
$23.75Add to cartDespite what our culture might have you believe, truth is not relative. Every day we are called to discern what to believe, whom to listen to, and what information to trust. Even the thoughts that form in our own minds about ourselves, our circumstances, and our God must be tested. How do we know what is true? How do we believe what’s right?
Join Ruth Chou Simons in this 7-session study as she guides you through the Book of Colossians and a pattern of being filled up with the truth of God’s Word. Learn what it means, how to preach truth to your own heart, and how doing so can help shape your thought patterns, identity, and actions. There’s no shortage of self help, easy fixes, and worldly advice, but only the truth of God’s Word was meant to fill you up and satisfy you fully.
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Comfort In The Ashes
$26.00Add to cartNavigating Trauma in the Church
It’s time for church leaders and believers to stop offering prettily packaged responses from a safe distance. It’s time for us to sit in the ashes with the hurting, our Sunday clothes covered in dirt and grime, our faces lined with tears. Trauma brings people to the ash heap, so that is where the church needs to go.
The church should serve as a refuge for people in pain. And yet, we often end up unintentionally causing more hurt to trauma survivors. Theological platitudes and positive thinking aren’t simply dismissive to those who suffer, but they inevitably retraumatize the wounded. Does the Bible have anything practical to offer for church leaders as they engage the pain in their congregations?
Biblical scholar Michelle Keener shows us that the book of Job provides embodied and practical answers for the church today. In this incredible tool for ministry leaders and trauma survivors alike, Keener offers:
*deep wisdom at the intersection of trauma theory and the book of Job for Christian communities
*reflection questions for ministry practitioners and those walking alongside those who have experienced trauma
*engagement with the idea of a shattered worldview and how to overcome the effects of that experience.
Comfort in the Ashes helps leaders navigate their own trauma and gives practical guidance for supporting others whose worlds are falling apart. God meets us in our ashes and our pain. It’s time for the church to do the same.
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Daily Feast Meditations From Feasting On The Word Year B
$44.00Add to cartFeasting on the Word has quickly become the most popular lectionary commentary series in use today. This is the first in a new series of daily devotionals that draws from the wealth of writing in the commentaries to present inspirational reflections, responses, and prayers for each day of the lectionary year.
Each day of the week contains Scripture passages for the coming Sunday from the Revised Common Lectionary, excerpts from the commentaries for reflection, a response, and a prayer. Additional material is provided for each Sunday.
These handsome volumes will be packaged in a soft leather-like cover with rounded corners, a stamped cover, and a sewn-in ribbon to help you keep your place.
Feasting on the Word is a twelve-volume lectionary commentary series that presents brief essays on each of four perspectives–exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical–for each of the four Sunday readings. The series is edited by Barbara Brown Taylor and David L. Bartlett with a distinguished editorial board, and has been produced in partnership with Columbia Theological Seminary. For more information about the series and other related projects, visit FeastingontheWord.net.
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Systematic Theology Second Edition
$59.99Add to cartThe most widely-used text of the last 25 years in its discipline, Systematic Theology by Wayne Grudem has been thoroughly revised and expanded (all 57 chapters) for the first time while retaining the features that have made it the standard in its field: clear explanations, an emphasis on each doctrine’s scriptural basis, and practical applications to daily life.
With several hundred pages of new content, this new edition now includes the following distinctive features.
*Updated, fuller analysis of several recent controversies within evangelicalism, including the eternal relationship between the Father and the Son in the Trinity, the question of God’s atemporal eternity, the role of women in the church, “seeker-sensitive” churches, miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, and contemporary worship music.
*New, thoughtful critiques of open theism, the “new perspective on Paul,” Molinism (or “middle knowledge”), “Free Grace” theology, and the preterist view of Christ’s second coming
*Completely revised, stronger chapter on the clarity of Scripture
*Completely revised, stronger chapter on creation and evolution (including a longer critique of theistic evolution)
*New discussion of how biblical inerrancy applies to some specific “problem verses” in the Gospels
*Additional material respectfully explaining evangelical Protestant differences with Roman Catholicism, Protestant liberalism, and Mormonism.
*Completely updated bibliographies
*All Scripture quotations updated from RSV to ESV
*An explanation of why monogenes in John 3:16 and elsewhere should be translated as “only begotten” rather than merely “only” (this is a change from the first edition)
*A contemporary worship song added at the end of each chapter (while retaining the traditional hymns as well)
*Numerous other updates and corrections
Part of the brilliance of Systematic Theology over the years has been its simplicity and ease of use. Each chapter follows the same structure. First, there is discussion of the doctrine being considered, such as justification or the Trinity or the deity of Christ. An explanation of where that doctrine is supported in the Bible and possible objections follow. Personal application and key terms to know for personal growth are then provided. Chapters also include a scripture memory passage, references to other literature on the topic, and suggested hymns and worship songs.
If you are someone who thinks theology is hard to understand or
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Saving Grace Clergy Workbook (Workbook)
$22.99Add to cartLearn to create a healthy relationship with your money and possessions
Saving Grace: A Guide to Financial Health is a program to help people of faith create healthy relationships with money and possessions. Participants will move through six sessions covering such topics as saving, earning, giving, spending, and debt, along with helpful strategies for achieving a sustainable financial life. Adapted from the best-selling Freed Up Financial Living from the Good Sense Movement, this study is based on Wesleyan values and provides text and tools to help participants address life concerns and reach personal financial goals.
A special clergy module addresses financial issues unique to pastors. This three-week study brings together faith and vocation while attending to the unique financial details of living as a pastor and being employed by the church. The clergy workbook contains worksheets and downloadable planners.
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Forward Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$13.99Add to cartIn this six-session video Bible study (DVD/digital downloads sold separately), bestselling author Dr. David Jeremiah reminds us that the Christian life is to be lived looking forward and with our eyes fixed on the race in front of us-not looking back over at our shoulder at the other runners or the past. In the Bible, the apostle said as much when he wrote, “Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV).
Dr. Jeremiah draws on this key verse to show that while it is good at times to look back, we need to make sure that we don’t go back and allow the past to dictate our future. We need to celebrate our good memories but also celebrate our bad memories with finality-thanking God for the lessons that He has taught us through the experience and committing to use those lesson to make positive changes in our lives. We then need to allow our past memories to cultivate our dreams-boldly stepping into the mission God has for us and allowing Him to continually transform us to be more like Christ.
Now is the time to step past our comfort and our failure. Now is the time to move forward in following God.
Designed for use with the Forward Video Study (sold separately).
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Saving Grace Participant Workbook (Workbook)
$22.99Add to cartLearn to create a healthy relationship with your money and possessions
Saving Grace: A Guide to Financial Health is a program to help people of faith create healthy relationships with money and possessions. Participants will move through six sessions covering such topics as saving, earning, giving, spending, and debt, along with helpful strategies for achieving a sustainable financial life. Adapted from the best-selling Freed Up Financial Living from the Good Sense Movement, this study is based on Wesleyan values and provides text and tools to help participants address life concerns and reach personal financial goals.
Additional components for a six-week study include a DVD, Clergy Workbook, Leader Guide, and a 40-day devotional.
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From Burned Out To Beloved
$18.99Add to cartAs a social worker, jail chaplain, and justice advocate, Bethany Dearborn Hiser pushed herself to the brink of burnout-only to discover that she needed the very soul care she was providing to others. Tackling the effects of secondary trauma and burnout, this is a trauma-informed soul care guide for Christians working in high-stress, helping professions.
As a social worker, jail chaplain, and justice advocate, Bethany Dearborn Hiser pushed herself to the brink of burnout-and then kept going. Stress, despair, and compassion fatigue overwhelmed her ability to function. She was called to serve the abused, addicted, and homeless people in her community. Yet she was emotionally and spiritually exhausted. Something needed to change. Searching for answers, Hiser learned that trauma affects everyone who is exposed to it-not only those experiencing firsthand violence, homelessness, and addiction, but also the social workers, therapists, pastors, relief workers, teachers, and community development workers who are trying to help. Psychologists call it “secondary trauma.” Hiser discovered that she needed the very soul care that she was providing to others. From Burned Out to Beloved is Hiser’s story of burnout, self-discovery, and spiritual renewal. But more than that, it’s a trauma-informed soul care guide for Christians working in high-stress, helping professions. There are many resources on secondary trauma and spiritual disciplines, but few bring these areas together. From Burned Out to Beloved equips readers to confess their limitations, embrace their identities as beloved children of God, and flourish in the ministries where God has called them.
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Bobbie Baker And Kingdom Core Values Volume 1
$59.99Add to cartA Full Interactive Children’s Curriculum Experience
Bobbie Baker is a klutzy, goofy, messy baker, with a beautiful heart, and his mission is to reflect Jesus to the children in your classroom! The Bobbie Baker and Kingdom Core Values curriculum offers a holistic solution for a supernatural children’s ministry that is grounded in core, biblical truth.
In this fourteen-week adventure, children ages 5-10 will encounter truths that Bobbie Baker shares from his recipe book – the Bible. Each week, kids will explore a Biblical principle with Bobbie, discovering practical values like joy, God’s presence, healing, and more. Along the way, they will discover the Holy Spirit, grow in spiritual gifts, and get to know Jesus on a deeper level.
Lessons include:
*God is Good
*Salvation Creates Joyful Identity
*Jesus Empowers Supernatural Ministry
*God is Still Speaking
*Free and Responsible
*Generous Like My Father
*and so much more!Each lesson contains fun and thought-provoking activities – skits with Bobbie Baker, weekly Bible memorization games, step-by-step prophetic activations, and pre-planned, small-to-large group games.
The concepts unpacked in each lesson are easy to understand and will empower children as they learn. This curriculum is your key to building a culture that emphasizes intimacy with Father God and supernatural ministry through fun and simple activities!Look for more adventures with Bobbie and his friends coming soon!
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God And Me Volume 1 Jesus And Me
$59.99Add to cartA Full Interactive Children’s Curriculum Experience
There is no Junior Holy Spirit!
Children’s ministry is meant to be an active, dynamic experience that extends far beyond “babysitting” on Sundays. God and Me: Volume 1 empowers the youngest of children (0-5 yrs) to begin to walk in their God-given identity and do the things Jesus did!
Take your children on an anointed journey through twelve weeks of age-appropriate, customizable lessons that will help them learn to:
*hear from God
*pray for healing and breakthrough
*worship God
*make powerful declarationsThis fun, interactive curriculum provides the perfect starting point for a holistic, supernatural children’s ministry, grounded in core biblical truth. Each lesson has been intentionally crafted to model biblical principles, including activities and tools that will give every child a deep foundation in Scripture and a strong connection to the heart of God.
So, what are you waiting for? Give the youngest children in your ministry an exciting start to the most important adventure of their lives – an adventure with God!
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Connection Year B Volume 2 Lent Through Pentecost
$55.00Add to cartDesigned to empower preachers as they lead their congregations to connect their lives to Scripture, Connections features a broad set of interpretive tools that provide commentary and worship aids on the Revised Common Lectionary. This nine-volume series offers creative commentary on each reading through the lens of its connections to the rest of Scripture and then seeing the reading through the lenses of culture, film, fiction, ethics, and other aspects of contemporary life. Commentaries on the Psalms make connections to other readings and to the congregation’s experience of worship.
Connections is published in partnership with Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
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Ruth For You
$16.99Add to cartApplied expository guide on the book of Ruth: a story of redemption that points us to Jesus.
The book of Ruth is a love story. Like all love stories it has twists and turns, tension and resolution, and a happy ending.But it’s far more than that because it reveals to us a God who is deeply committed to caring for his people. In Boaz, God provides Ruth with a loving husband to free and provide for her, pointing us to the Bible’s grand story of redemption and David’s greatest son, Jesus.
Tony Merida’s compelling story-telling and Christ-centered insights make this both an accessible and absorbing expository guide to the book of Ruth. It can be used for personal devotions, or for leading small-group studies, or for sermon preparation.
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Preaching Hope In Darkness
$23.99Add to cartHow can a preacher best address suicide from the pulpit?
Pastors face many challenges. Suicide in a congregation is amongst the most heart-rending and intimidating. However, the preacher has a unique capacity to engender gospel hope for preparing the congregation and comforting the bereaved. To do so, preachers need help understanding the challenges and opportunities presented by addressing suicide from the pulpit.
In Preaching Hope in Darkness, two practitioners in fields that do not typically interact–homiletics (Scott M. Gibson) and psychology (Karen Mason)–work together to support the preacher in this difficult task. Gibson and Mason offer wise advice on a range of topics such as suicide prevention, post-crisis care, and funeral sermon preparation. With an appendix of sample sermons and a sample funeral liturgy, Preaching Hope in Darkness is an essential go-to guide for this difficult topic.
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Insider Church : Ekklesia And The Insider Paradigm
$19.99Add to cartInsider Movements = Church-planting Movements?
?In the last few decades, the Church has witnessed a growing harvest of Muslim-background believers coming to Christ. However, a divide remains over whether the “insider” paradigm contributes to the flourishing and multiplication of healthy, biblical churches among Muslims.
S. T. Antonio advances this conversation beyond the old arguments through a fresh analysis of the insider paradigm by asking the question, What is church? Starting with the identity-shaping narrative of the people of God, Antonio digs deep into the nature of biblical ekklesia from multiple angles-local and universal, visible and invisible, the classical “marks” of the church, and missional identity. Combining a robust, biblical vision with a nuanced contextualization framework, and informed by firsthand ministry among Muslims, Antonio uncovers the roots and contours of the ecclesial vision of the insider paradigm. Insider Church provides an innovative diagnosis of a paradigm that has been surrounded by controversy, challenging it with constructive analysis for multiplying biblical churches among Muslims.
This integrative study draws together biblical, theological, and missiological scholarship in service of Christ’s mission. Insider Church helps guide mission practitioners, leaders, and students toward a wise assessment of insider movements and a vision for church multiplication that is both fruitful and faithful to the Lord of the harvest.
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Purpose Pattern And Character Of Worship
$40.99Add to cartWithin the broad range of Christianity we find diverse understandings of what makes for “good worship.” This book develops a typology of Christian worship to provide a method of assessing the decisions of congregations and leaders in forming and changing the orders of their worship.
Among contemporary western Protestants, we find at least six discrete characteristics of worship:
-the Revival,
-the Sunday School,
-the Aesthetic Revival,
-the Pentecostal/holiness movement,
-the Prayer Meeting,
-and the twentieth-century Catholic Liturgical Renewal.These patterns find contemporary expression as:
-Seeker Worship,
-Creative Worship,
-Traditional Worship,
-Praise Worship,
-House Church Worship,
-and Word and Table Worship.Absent an overall authority for the structure of worship (such as the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer), many Protestant congregations have developed a “conflation of patterns,” which often creates incoherent worship. This book helps leaders define the purpose, character, and pattern of their community’s worship.
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Wisdom From Babylon
$25.99Add to cartWhat does it mean to provide leadership for the church in an increasingly secular context? When religion is privatized and secularism reigns in the public square, Christians are often drawn toward either individualist escapism or constant cultural warfare. But might this context instead offer a fresh invitation for the church to adapt and thrive? Gordon Smith is passionate about the need for capable, mature leaders to navigate and respond to a changing society. In this book, he draws on his extensive experience as a university president, pastor, and international speaker to open a multidisciplinary conversation about the competencies and capacities essential for today’s leaders. After analyzing the phenomenon of secularization in the West and charting common Christian responses, Smith introduces four sources of wisdom to help guide us through this new terrain: the people and prophets of Judah during the Babylonian exile, the early church in its pagan environment, contemporary churches across the Global South, and Christian thinkers in post-Christian Europe. From these resources he identifies practices and strategies-from liturgy and catechesis to mission and hospitality-that can give shape to faithful, alternate communities in such a time as this. In cultures fraught with fear and division, Smith calls for leaders who can effect change from the margins, promote unity and maturity among Christians, and provide a non-anxious presence grounded in the presence of Christ. Educators, church leaders, and anyone seeking to understand the times will find this book to be an indispensable resource for cultivating distinctively Christian leadership.
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Bigger Table Expanded Edition With Study Guide (Expanded)
$22.00Add to cartThis new edition includes a small-group study guide complete with ideas for exploring A Bigger Table in a congregation-wide sermon series and program along with a new foreword by Jacqui Lewis and new afterword by the author to explore the challenges of living out the bigger table when voices of hate and exclusion seem stronger and louder than ever.
A Bigger Table invites readers to envision a church that is big enough for everyone, by holding up a mirror to the modern church and speaking clearly on issues at the heart of the Christian community: LGBT inclusion, gender equality, racial tensions, global concerns, and theological shifts. John Pavlovitz shares moving personal stories, his careful observations as a pastor, and his understanding of the ancient stories of Jesus to set the table for a new, positive, more loving conversation on these and other important matters of faith. Though there are many who would remove chairs and whittle down the guest list, we can build the bigger table Jesus imagined, practicing radical hospitality, total authenticity, messy diversity, and agenda-free community.
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Uncommon Church : Community Transformation For The Common Good
$20.99Add to cartHow can the people of God develop churches in ways that help and don’t hurt poor neighborhoods? In urban ministry, Christians too often treat the poor as goodwill projects instead of people. Because of this mindset, many remain unchurched. Healthy, local, urban churches are needed because they combine personal empowerment and community transformation. Every poor neighborhood needs uncommon churches that will seek the common good of their communities. Alvin Sanders engages hard truths about these neighborhoods and provides a model for how to do ministry in difficult conditions. The local, urban church is the key to community transformation, as it plays three crucial roles of empowering, partnering, and reaching. Pastors and church planters interested in Christian community development will find here practical insights into the power of the local church, which is often underrated. Churches can serve their communities and improve the quality of life of every facet of the neighborhood.
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Honor Shame And The Gospel
$17.99Add to cartAn Honorific Gospel: Biblically Faithful & Culturally Relevant
Christians engaged in communicating the gospel navigate a challenging tension: faithfulness to God’s ancient, revealed Word-and relevance to the local, current social context. What if there was a lens or paradigm offering both? Understanding the Bible-particularly the gospel-through the ancient cultural “language” of honor-shame offers believers this double blessing.
In Honor, Shame, and the Gospel, over a dozen practitioners and scholars from diverse contexts and fields add to the ongoing conversation around the theological and missiological implications of an honorific gospel. Eight illuminating case studies explore ways to make disciples in a diversity of social contexts-for example, East Asian rural, Middle Eastern refugee, African tribal, and Western secular urban.
Honor, Shame, and the Gospel provides valuable resources to impact the ministry efforts of the church, locally and globally. Linked with its ancient honor-shame cultural roots, the gospel, paradoxically, is ever new-offering fresh wisdom to Christian leaders and optimism to the church for our quest to expand Christ’s kingdom and serve the worldwide mission of God.
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Making Room : The Purpose And Practice Of Youth Ministry
$19.99Add to cartIn Making Room, Michael A. Kipp contends that the primary purpose of youth ministry is to integrate young people into the body and mission of Christ. A lifelong youth ministry practitioner and researcher, Kipp shares the narrative of his and others’ experiences in order to help the church embrace and understand youth ministry more fully in practice, not just in theory.