Pastoral Helps
Showing 1551–1600 of 4114 results
-
Saved From Silence
$16.99Add to cartLucas Park Books
In this postmodern age, women preachers are finding their “voice” a distinctive way of proclamation. This book looks at the metaphor of voice, how women are moving to voice from silence, and how individuals can make themselves heard by those who don’t … -
Romans 1-7 For You (Student/Study Guide)
$19.99Add to cartJoin Dr Timothy Keller as he opens up the first half of the book of Romans, helping you to get to grips with its meaning and showing how it transforms our hearts and lives today.
Written for people of every age and stage, from enquirers to new believers to pastors and teachers, this flexible resource is for you to: READ: As a guide to this wonderful letter, helping you appreciate the great gift of righteousness with God. FEED: As a daily devotional to help you grow in Christ as you read and meditate on this portion of God s word. LEAD: As notes to aid you in explaining, illustrating and applying Romans 1 7 as you preach or lead a Bible study. Whoever you are, and however you use it, this is… Romans 1-7 For You -
Romans 1-7 For You (Student/Study Guide)
$17.99Add to cartJoin Dr Timothy Keller as he opens up the first half of the book of Romans, helping you to get to grips with its meaning and showing how it transforms our hearts and lives today.
Written for people of every age and stage, from enquirers to new believers to pastors and teachers, this flexible resource is for you to: READ: As a guide to this wonderful letter, helping you appreciate the great gift of righteousness with God. FEED: As a daily devotional to help you grow in Christ as you read and meditate on this portion of God s word. LEAD: As notes to aid you in explaining, illustrating and applying Romans 1 7 as you preach or lead a Bible study. Whoever you are, and however you use it, this is… Romans 1-7 For You -
Voices For Good Friday
$19.99Add to cartCreative, interpretive worship for a fresh way of telling a familiar gospel story.These interpretive, dramatic monologues give voice to selected characters from the Gospels. Presented in a reproducible, copy-friendly format, the monologues provide a creative way to present Good Friday/Tenebrae services and to tell the story of the passion of Jesus Christ. The monologues can be presented as a collective work or can be used individually as sermon helps, Bible study presentations, and in other creative ways in worship settings.
-
LeaderShifts : Mastering Transitions In Leadership And Life
$22.99Add to cartForeword by Dave Ramsey. Dealing with cultural and congregational shifts are life and death. Our world isn’t slowing down, so only those who are willing to maneuver the tectonic cultural shifts will have sustainable ministry. From his extensive experience and using the biblical story of Joseph as an extended metaphor, Bishop Joseph Walker shares practical wisdom designed to help leaders reach out and equip their church to share a relevant Christian message.
Shifting approaches to follow where God leads can also mean that leaders have to risk confronting cherished tradition, which Bishop Paul Morton calls “frozen success.” But shifting to meet new opportunities is also a delicate balance that acknowledges history while also being sensitive to those loyal people who have sustained the organization to this point. Effective leadership does not impose new ideas upon old systems without a strategy that enables everyone in the organization moving forward together. It’s not simply, “out with the old and in with the new.” Successful organizations do not forget their history, but they commit themselves to using it as a bridge to propel them to their destiny.
-
People Pleasing Pastors
$18.99Add to cartPastors and church leaders often fall into the trap of people-pleasing. Charles Stones research on thousands of pastors and ministry leaders demonstrates the dangers of approval-motivated leadership. Bringing together biblical insights and neuroscience findings, Stone shows why we fall into people-pleasing patterns and what we can do to overcome these tendencies. With practical tools for individuals and teams, Stone offers concrete resources to help you and your leadership minimize people-pleasing and have more effective ministry.
-
Loveology Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$10.99Add to cartIn the beginning, God created Adam. Then he made Eve.
And ever since we’ve been trying to figure out what to do next.
What did God intend in the Garden? How does God redeem the fallout in a post-Genesis 3 world? What is right and what is wrong in male/female relationships?
Loveology is just that—a theology of love that begins at marriage and works backward, dealing with marriage, love, sexuality, romance and dating, singleness, masculinity, and femininity.
The Loveology video study is an exploration of what the Bible says about sex and relationships for those who are tired of Hollywood’s message (sex is God), and the church’s message (sex is sin), and know there has to be an ‘Option C’. Portland pastor John Mark Comer asks the why questions, and offers intelligent, biblical, grace-and-truth answers.
This study guide is designed for use with Loveology: A DVD Study (sold separately) and contains video notes, individual or group reflection questions, and between session personal applications enhancing your journey through the video study.
-
Mediating Faith : Faith Formation In A Trans Media Era
$29.00Add to cartThe church struggles with media. Whether it is a denomination negotiating the 24-hour news cycle or a church evaluating how Facebook or online games are influencing the youth group, media is raising questions and placing demands on communities of faith in ways that could not have been imagined just 20 years ago. Thus the importance of understanding media for the church has never been greater.
In Mediating Faith, church leaders of all kinds will find Clint Schnekloth an engaging and insightful guide to this new and sometimes wondrous world. In doing so he offers an evaluation and theological response to the trans-media era that highlights its potential to transform our work and world.Far from frightening, Schnekloth highlights the opportunities and the riches of this fascinating time.
-
Church Shouldnt Suck The Life Out Of You
$15.99Add to cartUsing humor and frank honesty, Pastor Jim Minor describes how his own street outreach organization transformed from a vibrant, God-infused ministry into a conventional, safe church that almost sucked all the passion for ministry right out of him. Then, Jim explains how he got his passion back again.
Who is this book for?
*Pastors and ministry leaders who have lost their focus and have grown to resent the ministries to which they have been called
*Those in the pews who have lost the spark of their passion for God and find themselves merely going through the motions and “playing church”
*Non-churchgoers who stay away because they don’t want any part of a dry, lifeless religion that doesn’t make any difference in the world
If you identify with any of those categories, this book is for you!
Let Jim Minor cast a vision for what church can be. Discover that it’s possible to venture beyond the church walls, to interact with the lost and hurting, and to watch God do miracles in people’s lives. And in the process, church might even become fun and fulfilling once again.
-
When Helping Hurts
$11.99Add to cartWhen Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation and has sold over 225,000 copies. Now there is a stand-alone resource to introduce this paradigm in an accessible way. Rather than simply looking at the economics, it looks at the poverty of relationships between man and God, man and man, man and creation, and man and self. Utilizing free, online video lessons set both in Africa and the United States, the Small Group Experience is the ideal resource for small groups, Sunday school classes, parachurch and non-profit ministries, ministry training, and even individuals.
In six lessons, the concepts of When Helping Hurts are brought to the reader in a format that is perfect for training, discussion, and application. It is in ideal introduction to life-changing ideas and offers the perfect context for engagement. The video provides expert instruction and the Small group Experience provides questions and prompts for conversation, deeper learning, and taking action.
-
Kingdom Woman Group Video Experience Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$9.99Add to cartWhen a Kingdom Woman retires for the evening, a frustrated and worn out devil ought to be saying, “We messed with the wrong woman today.” This study guide is a companion resource to the video small-group study based on the book Kingdom Woman, which instructs every Christ-following woman on how to tap into the power of God as she finds and fulfills the purpose for which God has fashioned her.
A Kingdom Woman embraces a simple premise: unless a Kingdom rests firmly under the authority of the ruler, anarchy reigns. That’s why a Kingdom Woman always seeks to align herself and operate under the authority of God-in every area of life. With practical insights and applications from coauthor Chrystal Evans Hurst, Tony Evans explains how that process can unleash new purpose, power, and possibilities-in both the lives of Kingdom Women and those they love. This curriculum can be covered in about six weeks.
-
Embracing An Alternative Orthodoxy (Student/Study Guide)
$15.95Add to cart* 5- to 10-week study for adults and young adults with appealing video format that prompts engagement and response
* Each participant uses his/her own journal for study and reflection
* Newest installment in the successful Embracing series
Each program in this series features two components sold separately:
(1) A DVD with five 10-15 minute presentations (one per group), in this case showing Fr. Richard Rohr interacting with a small group of adults
(2) a participant workbook containing all the material needed by class participants as well as for the facilitator (one each).
In this edition, Richard Rohr explores five topics central to Franciscan theology and practice: * Atonement Theory
* Eco-Spirituality
* The Christ who Existed before Christianity
* Orthopraxy vs. Verbal Orthodoxy (Living Like Jesus)
* Mysticism over Moralism -
Restless Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$16.99Add to cartIn “Restless,” an 8-session, video-based small group Bible study, Bible study teacher and author Jennie Allen helps you discover a practical plan to identify the threads of your life and how to intentionally weave them together for God’s glory and purposes.
“Restless” explores this important question: “Do I matter?” And Jennie asks, “We livewith lots of things, lots of people…but do we live for something?”
Using the story of Joseph, Jennie explains how his suffering, gifts, story, and relationships fit into the greater story of God-and how our stories can do the same. Then she also introduces Threads-a tool to help you see your own personal story and to uncover and understand the raw materials God has given you to use for his glory and purpose while on this planet.
The lessons in this study guide are engaging and interactive, offering in-depth Bible study, personal stories, and projects enabling the teaching to move off the page and into your life.
Sessions include: IntroductionGod’s StoryGiftsScarsPlacePeoplePassionHoly Spirit
Designed for use with Restless: A DVD Study.
-
Living In The Conversation
$13.95Add to cartToday’s world teaches that bigger is better. We measure success by the square feet of our homes and by the size of our bank accounts. But what if we’ve gotten it wrong? What if there’s quality in smallness?
With 45 years of church leadership experience, James Killen came to believe that some of the biggest God moments can happen in the smallest of churches. Throughout the pages of Living in the Conversation, Killen looks back through biblical history to remind us that God calls us to love Him with our hearts, minds, and souls. Ultimately, Killen convinces us that preaching and worship should always lead to a people connected to their God.
Living in the Conversation beckons the reader to abandon all presuppositions about what makes a church work, pointing back to God’s commands to walk in love and share the truth of redemption. This is how a big faith is developed, and Killen calls even the smallest of churches to anticipate a holy revelation. When we expect a God encounter, we can then begin to live out the intangibles of the kingdom — loving fellowship, vital worship, and a genuine and transformative relationship with a big and living God.
-
Lectionary Stories For Preaching And Teaching Cycle A
$12.95Add to cartEveryone loves a good story. Storytellers who excel at their craft have the ability to draw readers or listeners into the worlds they create, using characters and situations to entertain and enlighten us. Jesus, the Master Storyteller, often spoke using parables — short stories that conveyed a spiritual truth. By drawing his listeners into his story, he unlocked their minds and hearts to hear the truth he was trying to relate to them.
This compilation of stories for the Lent and Easter Seasons taken from StoryShare follows in that same tradition. StoryShare, a part of SermonSuite.com, is written by various authors brought together to meditate on scriptures in the Revised Common Lectionary for Cycle A and create stories that flesh out these passages, allowing readers to see these words in a new way. These stories can be whimsical and light-hearted or poignant and reflective, even tragic. But they all strive to bring us to a deeper understanding of the scriptures and the God who inspired them. Some of the stories are even based on actual events experienced by the authors, events that influenced their perspective on Christianity.
Useful as sermon illustrations, stand alone sermons, teaching aides, personal devotions, or even just for entertaining reading, Stories for Teaching and Preaching will draw you into new worlds with vibrant and engaging images, deepening your relationship with God in the process.
-
Navigating The Sermon Cycle A
$17.95Add to cartIn this special edition for the Sundays in Lent and Easter of Cycle A, the writers and editors of “Charting the Course,” an integral part of Emphasis: A Lectionary Preaching Journal from CSS Publishing Company, delve into the heart of the lectionary readings, providing you, the pastor with in-depth lectionary-based commentary; relating several fresh, solid ideas — based squarely on the lectionary texts — for creating sermons that speak powerfully to your audience. The team of writers looks for overall topics for the seasons of Lent and Easter in the Cycle A church year that hold the readings together. Then, they zero in on the theme and the specific scripture links, suggesting directions for the sermon and worship service. Since a single application for each week may not provide what you are looking for at that particular time, Navigating the Sermon in most cases suggests several ideas, giving you the opportunity to select the one that matches your specific needs.
This book is like having a dedicated, thoroughly versed sermon research and sermon resource team right in your own study to help you create riveting sermons that are truly yours and that speak powerfully to your audience.
-
Lectionary Preaching Workbook Series 9 Cycle A
$19.95Add to cartWhen it comes to preaching from a lectionary, it can often be a daunting task to create new ways of preaching about a passage that has been around for thousands of years. It would seem that, after a while, there would be no new ways of looking at a scripture passage. A different perspective, however, can be most beneficial in finding a new way to help your congregation see each of the readings.
This is the inspiration behind the Lectionary Preaching Workbook series and this special edition for Lent and Easter. By providing new insights into each of the readings in the Revised Common, Roman Catholic, and Episcopal Lectionaries, Mark Ellingsen has given pastors everywhere the tools they need to effectively relate the heart of the scriptures to their congregations, combining the best of scholarly techniques with pastoral experience. Each of these illustrations and thematic explorations provide the perfect jumping point for pastors to take a text and create thought-provoking, inspirational messages. Its easy-to-use format and illuminating commentary make the Lectionary Preaching Workbook an essential addition to any pastor’s library.
-
Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory Classic Edition Adult English
$6.99Add to cartWith over 5 million used, The Classic Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory has helped Christians around the world identify their God-given spiritual gifts. Administered in 20 minutes, it is fun and a valuable tool for the Christian walk. Learn how God has equipped you to minister in the local church…and in daily life!
Covers nine task-oriented “team” gifts used in daily life and ministry: Administration, Evangelism, Exhortation, Giving, Mercy-Showing, Pastoring/Shepherding, Prophecy, Serving Teaching. (For further explanation and study of spiritual gifts; different types of gifts; how gifts relate to other gifts, your daily life, etc. see the book How to Find Meaning and Fulfillment through Understanding the Spiritual Gift within You.) The Team Ministry Spiritual Gifts Inventory includes questionnaire; 2-part, self-scoring answer sheet; brief gift descriptions; and instructions.
-
Pulse
$17.99Add to cartFrom managing the nuts and bolts of ministry to maintaining margin, Pulse brings the best in real-world wisdom, innovative ideas and leadership development for KidMin professionals from trusted experts in the field. In KidzMatter’s vanguard book release, the publishers of KidzMatter Magazine recruited 35-plus contributors to address critical topics, including ministry, curriculum development and working with parents. In addition to practical advice, Pulse tackles crucial matters of spiritual and professional development, leadership growth and building a foundation for long-term ministry fruitfulness.
-
Handles : An Encouragement And Resource For Bible Teachers
$15.99Add to cartThis resource is more than a “how to” manual. It is an invitation to make a greater difference in human lives. Those who teach the Bible are not being told herein to “be real” but rather are invited into the private convictions and routine disciplines valued by the author, who himself is being altered by the patient handiwork of our Master teacher, Jesus.
Sometimes a Bible teacher will have great knowledge of the subject matter, even great passion, but simply not know how to effectively transfer it to an audience. Even when it is transferred, it may not be readily retained, or engender a desire in the recipients to use it, and pass it along to others.
Can this skill be learned?
Handles provides a practical strategy and plentiful examples of how to develop more effective lessons. It will be considered a learning resource and encouragement for new teachers as well as veterans. Whether you are assuming the responsible role of Bible teacher, leading a discipleship group, homeschooling, or investing quality time in any life-changing ministry as an instructor, Handles will become a desirable field manual.
Handles presents educated, entertaining and meaningful discussions with advice on how Bible study teachers can reach their students in the trenches of life through effective material and lesson strategy. The author’s own extensive background as a Bible study leader and his lessons for different age groups will demonstrate to readers the effectiveness of the book’s content.
-
If God Be For Us
$12.49Add to cartThe Black Church will survive because it is all about faith and family. The Black Church is not simply a crowd of people that gather in a centralized location on Sunday mornings. For many, the Black Church is viewed as an extension of one’s immediate family. This extension of family is what gives the congregation a sense of community. I’m the grandson of a pastor. I grew up in the pews of the Baptist church. As a result, I have many mothers and aunts and uncles who are not blood relatives. But then again, they are blood relatives. They are my mother, father, sister, brother, cousin, uncle and aunt in the Lord. As our churches grow in number, we must also grow in ministry. The only way to do that is to grow in relationship one with the other.
The Black Church is a village. In the most traditional use of the word, villages are small groups of families who are situated together for sociability and defense. In the village, people look out for one another. In the village, there are many mothers and fathers. The village concept is such that the success of the individual is directly connected to the success of the group. Many Black Churches function as little villages. We help each other. We support each other. There is a sense of safety that the Black Church provides to Black communities. While all Black people do not attend Black Churches, the majority of Black families appreciate the proximity of this institution within its village. It is all about faith and family. The Black Church, the black family, will survive if God be for us.
-
Listen Leader Guide (Teacher’s Guide)
$16.99Add to cartWe live in a world of noise. Everywhere we go, we hear sounds that compete for our minds and hearts. Listening to God requires a deliberate choice to shut out the chaos around us and focus our thoughts. Listen, by Rueben P. Job, is a 40-day experience created to offer help to those new to prayer, those with a daily prayer routine, and those whose lives seem too busy to pray. With a focus on listening prayer and prayer as a two-way conversation, the experience will assist individuals and groups in building and deepening a personal prayer practice and spiritual discernment. As we learn to listen, we find a new depth and fulfillment in our relationship with God and a new experience of God as guide and companion in our lives. The daily prayer pattern includes an invitation, silence, Bible reading, a story, guided time for reflecting and listening, and practical help for developing six specific prayer practices. Listen is perfect for use by individuals, small groups, or congregations during Lent, Easter, or any time of year.
-
Listen : Praying In A Noisy World
$16.99Add to cartWe live in a world of noise. Everywhere we go, we hear sounds that compete for our minds and hearts. Listening to God requires a deliberate choice to shut out the chaos around us and focus our thoughts. Listen, by Rueben P. Job, is a 40-day experience created to offer help to those new to prayer, those with a daily prayer routine, and those whose lives seem too busy to pray. With a focus on listening prayer and prayer as a two-way conversation, the experience will assist individuals and groups in building and deepening a personal prayer practice and spiritual discernment. As we learn to listen, we find a new depth and fulfillment in our relationship with God and a new experience of God as guide and companion in our lives. The daily prayer pattern includes an invitation, silence, Bible reading, a story, guided time for reflecting and listening, and practical help for developing six specific prayer practices. Listen is perfect for use by individuals, small groups, or congregations during Lent, Easter, or any time of year.
-
Problems Of Christian Leadership
$8.99Add to cartChristian leaders face challenges. But God works with us and through us to accomplish his purposes. Available here for the first time in English is John Stott’s practical wisdom for younger leaders. Speaking personally from his own experience, Stott addresses issues of discouragement, self-discipline, relationships and youth.
-
Violent Takers 1
$15.99Add to cartThe biblical concept of faith has remained incomprehensible to many Christians, yet the concept and the practice of it is fundamental to a successful Christian life. Faith is the single most important weapon that God has given believers to overcome life challenges. When we know it and use it, we make God happy. In other words, God wants us to overcome life challenges and has provided us with faith as a tool to do that.
The Violent Takers uses real life stories to teach faith, perseverance and taking of bold actions towards obtaining any good thing that one desires. It teaches believing in oneself through believing in God. It encourages one to exploit the abilities, gifts, talents, ideas and opportunities at one’s disposal and use such to break out of the box and change whatever undesirable circumstance there may be in one’s life. This book does not teach or encourage violence or violent behaviors. It is, rather, intended to inspire the readers to emulate the characters in the stories by taking Godly bold actions that can forever change
their circumstances and the world. -
Invasion Of The Dead
$27.00Add to cartOur world and our churches are neither sinful nor lost, they are dead. This dead world is the one that God engages and into which Jesus invaded with a radically different vision of life.
In this groundbreaking work, based on his 211 Yale Beecher lectures, Brian K. Blount helps preachers effectively proclaim resurrection in a world consumed by death. Recognizing that both popular culture and popular Christianity are mesmerized by death and dying, Blount offers an alternative apocalyptic vision for our time–one that starts with a clear vision of life that obliterates death and reveals life’s essence. Blount explores the portrait and meaning of resurrection through the New Testament (the Book of Revelation, the letters of Paul, and the Gospel of Mark) and explores how to biblically and theologically reconfigure apocalyptic preaching for today. With three illustrative sermons, this book is an ideal resource to help preachers proclaim the power of resurrection.
-
Researching Practice In Mission And Ministry
$35.99Add to cartThis book proposes to bring together three elements for the benefit of those researching practice in ministry and mission:
* how to design research that enables questions about practice to be answered in a theological framework.
* how to address the methodological and epistemological issues that arise in relating empirical research to theology.
* how to manage a piece of research as a project alongside other responsibilities.Students in PT mostly rely on research methods books written for social science students which tend to assume that the student is young and full-time. This book will act as a companion to student and supervisor needing to bring all three elements listed above together.
-
Love Does Study Guide
$12.99Add to cartIn “Love Does,” a five-session, video-based small group study, you will discover the whimsy of “New York Times” best-selling author Bob Goff through a sometimes humorous, thought-provoking, meaningful lesson that makes faith in God simple and real.
You will discover the paradigm shifts, musings, and stories from one of the world’s most delightfully engaging and winsome people. What fuels his impact? Love. But it’s not the kind of love that stops at thoughts and feelings. Bob’s love takes action, just like Jesus did. Bob believes “Love Does.”
When “Love Does,” life gets interesting. Light and fun, unique and profound, the lessons drawn from Bob’s life and attitude just might inspire you to be secretly incredible too.
This companion study guide is designed for use with “Love Does” A DVD Study and will lead you and your group deeper into the video content (sold separately) with video notes, group discussion questions, and between session personal reflections and actions to enhance the group experience.
Sessions include:
1.I’m With You
2.Not Defined by Our Failures
3.God’s Audacious Love
4.The Story
5.That’s What Love Does -
Leading Worship : Learning And Leading
$10.00Add to cartThis advanced course in Lay Servant Ministries focuses on the ministry of the Lay Servant who either regularly or occasionally leads a group, class, organization, or the congregation in worship. The course is grounded in the classic patterns of Christian worship and the practices of leading worship. Participants will come to understand more about Christian worship in order to lead worship with more confidence. They will practice leading worship in a variety of formats throughout the course.
-
Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl Participants Guide (Student/Study Gui
$14.99Add to cartJoin bestselling author Lysa TerKuerst for Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl, a six-session small group Bible study that helps you figure out how to trade in going through the motions for the spiritual healthy and vibrant life for which you long.
‘I really want to know God, personally and intimately.’
Do those words resonate with you? You’re tired of just going through the motions of being a Christian: Go to church. Pray. Be nice. That spiritual to-do list just doesn’t cut it. But what does? How do you step out of the drudger of religious duty to experience a living, moment-by-moment, deeply intimate relationship with God? Join Lysa in six small group sessions that will transform your walk with Go from lackluster theory to vibrant reality!
The most invigorating and rewarding journey of your life awaits you as you discover how to: *Build personal, two-way conversations with God.
*Study the Bible and experience life change for yourself.
*Cultivate great authenticity and depth in your relationships.
*Make disappointments work for you, not against you.
*Find incredible joy as you live out your faith in everyday circumstances.This Participant Guide is filled with helpful discussion starters, video overviews, space for writing thoughts, a helpful Leader’s Guide and much more. It’s designed to be used with the companion Becoming More Than A Good Bible Study Girl DVD (sold separately) which features six 10-15 minute teaching sessions.
-
Ministering To Problem People In Your Church
$18.00Add to cartHelp for Pastors Who Minister under All-Too-Common Destructive Conditions–
from the Editor of Leadership JournalEvery pastor faces hostility, resistance, and interference from often well-meaning (but difficult) people in the church. Using real-life stories of battle-scarred veterans, Shelley, editor of Leadership Journal, presents a clear picture of God’s love for those on both sides of the problem. He offers tested strategies to communicate love and turn dissidents into disciples. This newly updated book will not only help pastors and church leaders preserve their sanity (and maybe their jobs), it will help them minister more effectively–even to those who make their lives difficult.
-
Evidence Based Practices For Christian Counseling And Psychotherapy
$40.99Add to cartAre Christian treatments as effective as secular treatments? What is the evidence to support its success? Christians engaged in the fields of psychology, psychotherapy and counseling are living in a unique moment. Over the last couple decades, these fields have grown more and more open to religious belief and religion-accommodative therapies. At the same time, Christian counselors and psychotherapists encounter pressure (for example, from insurance companies) to demonstrate that their accommodative therapies are as beneficial as secular therapies. This raises the need for evidence to support Christian practices and treatments. The essays gathered in this volume explore evidence-based Christian treatments, practices, factors and principles. The authors mine the relevant research and literature to update practicing psychotherapists, clinical researchers, students, teachers and educated laypersons about the efficacy of certain Christian-accommodative therapies. Topics covered in the book include: devotional meditationcognitive-behavior therapypsychodynamic and process-experiential therapiescouples, marriage and family therapygroup intervention The book concludes with a review of the evidence for the various treatments discussed in the chapters, a guide for conducting clinical trials that is essential reading for current or aspiring researchers, and reflections by the editors about the future of evidence-based Christian practices. As the editors say, “more research is necessary.” To that end, this volume is a major contribution to a field of inquiry that, while still in its infancy, promises to have enormous implications for future work in Christian counseling and psychotherapy.
-
Making Disciples In The 21st Century Church
$14.95Add to cartMore than a decade ago, Bill Hull wrote The Disciple Making Pastor. Hull criticized America’s Sunday attendance strategies as being totally inadequate and emphasized the need to make disciples. I resisted Hull’s teaching, thinking he lacked church growth insight. At that time, I primarily judged church growth success by how many were seated in a church in the worship service.
Yet now I applaud the concept of growing a church from the inside out and measuring success by disciples made and sent forth. The only command, in fact, of Christ’s great commission was to make disciples. The rest of the verbs in Matthew 28:18-20 are not in the command form but are actually participles. Jesus literally said, “having gone, make disciples.” (Matt. 28:18).
We know that the goal of the Christian life is to glorify God and to enjoy him forever. While this is God’s ultimate plan, does he have a particular purpose for the cell-based church? I’ve been wrestling with this question for the past twenty-two years. This question confronts me every time I coach a pastor or pastors. In preparation for coaching, I ask myself, “What is my principal objective in helping this pastor?” “Where am I guiding this church?” “What am I trying to do?”
This book answers these questions.
I’ve come to the conclusion that the primary goal of cell ministry is to make disciples who make disciples. Christ’s last command to his disciples was for them to repeat the process and to reproduce new disciples. But how were they supposed to do that?
We in North America and the Western world often project our own cultural bias into Christ’s great commission (Matthew 28:18-20). Most discipleship books, in fact, assume that discipleship is an individualistic endeavor–between me and God. And yes, there is an important individual aspect (e.g., personal devotions, etc.). Yet in Matthew 28, Jesus was talking to a group of disciples. He wanted them to follow his example by making disciples in a group. Jesus molded twelve disciples in a group and then sent them house to house.
The early church followed Christ’s pattern by making disciples through the house churches that periodically celebrated together in public worship. In 2 Timothy 2:1-2, Paul tells Timothy to continue the discipleship process by passing on the pure gospel message to faithful men and women. Even though the term “disciple” is later replaced by words such as “brothers/sisters,” “Christians,” and “saints,” the concept remain
-
Childrens Ministry In The Way Of Jesus
$24.99Add to cartAttract kids to church, the logic often goes, and you get parents in the pews. All that’s left is to get the kids out of the way. Here children’s ministers David Csinos and Ivy Beckwith draw on research in human development and spiritual formation to show how children become disciples and churches become centers of lifelong discipleship.
-
Transforming Congregations Through Community
$28.00Add to cartIn this helpful book, Boyung Lee offers an encouraging vision of the mainline church’s future. Lee grapples with some of the greatest challenges facing the mainline church, offering compelling responses to recurring questions: What does faithfulness to the gospel look like in this changing world? What is our distinctive voice in the larger society? How does theological education have to change if it is to serve the needs of a new century?
-
Sound Doctrine : Teaching That Leads To True Fear Of The Lord
$17.98Add to cartAccording to the Bible, sound doctrine creates true fear of the Lord. If this fear of the Lord is missing in our churches, as it seems to be, it must be a sign that we do not preach the true Word of God and sound doctrine. Teaching sound doctrine should cause us to see a need to surrender everything to God and to live in the light. There is no darkness, no sin, when we are walking in the light ( 1 John 1:7). True godliness and holiness is required to walk with God. In this prophetic word to the Church, Torben brings us back to the Bible where sound doctrine is found, including how to address sin in the church and in the individual. Has the church been teaching sound doctrine? Has it become soft on sin? Can the church expect its prayers to be answered if there is sin in the camp? Is the church accursed because it has allowed sin to thrive unchallenged? Can a person truly be born again and continue in conscious sin? Have we been teaching a grace that tramples the blood of Jesus? These are serious questions that must be addressed if we expect God to hear our prayers. His word to the church: REPENT!
-
Sermon Workbook : Excercises In The Art And Craft Of Preaching (Workbook)
$27.99Add to cartBoth experienced and novice preachers need a new approach for sermon development skill-building. A Sermon Workbook offers a unique and flexible resource that is instantly accessible and useful for anyone tasked with the proclamation of the Word. The workbook format can be used in a linear fashion, beginning to end. Or readers can pick and choose the chapters to tailor-fit their own needs. In either case, readers build skill upon skill, working through inventive and engaging exercises first developed and taught at Yale Divinity School. The book addresses the skills and arts that are essential for effective preaching in our multi-tasking, multi-ethnic, sound-byte society. It offers theological clarity about why we preach, and what matters most. The creative, collaborative, and charming authors present the principles as they do in their classroom: in two voices-one male and one female–with the two complementing and supporting one another.
-
Christ Centered Sermons
$29.00Add to cartHighly regarded preacher and teacher Bryan Chapell shows readers how he has prepared expository sermons according to the principles he developed in his bestselling Christ-Centered Preaching. This companion volume provides concrete examples of how a redemptive approach to Scripture is fleshed out in various types of sermons and various genres of the Bible. The example sermons not only demonstrate different approaches but also are analyzed for pedagogical purposes, helping readers move from theory to practice. In essence, the book allows students and preachers to look over Chapell’s shoulder as he prepares these messages to learn how to construct their own expository sermons that communicate grace and truth from both the Old and New Testaments.
-
Missional Quest : Becoming A Church Of The Long Run
$17.99Add to cartIntroduction: Before The First Step
Part I: Fostering A Missional Mindset
1. The Starting LinePart II: Fostering A Missional Posture
2. Stop And Go
3. AD 30 All Over Again
4. Won’t You Be My Neighbor
5. Home, Work And God’s Mission
6. Where Everybody Knows Your Name
7. Launching Pads
8. Follow The Follower
9. Have A Great Trip
Appendix
EndnotesAdditional Info
When Christ calls people, he invites them on a journey-a journey taken together in community. We have reached a point in history, however, when we think of the church as a fixed place where isolated individuals show up, consume a Christian message, drink some coffee, and get on with their lives. The times demand, and the gospel proclaims, that we recover our identity as a church that is a people on a quest for the kingdom of heaven, formed intimately by a loving God and called onto a long journey for the sake of our neighbors and our world. In The Missional Quest you’ll learn how to take your church on a long run, and how to sustain yourselves and one another along the way, through the power of God for the sake of the world. -
God Story Daily Readings
$9.99Add to cartDeveloped by Jacob Armstrong, founding pastor of Providence UMC in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, The God Story is a seven-week sermon series seeking to help congregants see the threads that run throughout the story of God’s people culminating in Jesus and the resurrection. The series uses classic components of story to help people see their place and role in God’s story. The devotional participant books allow individual church members to bring the sermon message home and provide additional insights and inspiration until the next Sunday sermon.
-
Loving Large Daily Readings
$8.99Add to cartLoving Large is a four week series that seeks to move people to action in their Christian faith. In a world that seems to run on money, greed, oil, power, etc., what would our world look like if it ran on the love of God? How can we infuse this world-changing love into our community and world? The series gives real opportunities for people to serve God and love their neighbor. It could possibly culminate with a church-wide day of service to the community. The devotional participant books allow individual church members to bring the sermon message home and provide additional insights and inspiration until the next Sunday sermon.
-
Volunteer Youth Workers Guide To Leading A Small Group
$7.99Add to cart1. Why Small Groups?
2. What’s The Point?
3. What Does Change Look Like?
4. Thinking Structure
5. Leading Great Discussions
6. Asking Great Questions
7.Things That Might Help
8.Stop Reading!Additional Info
A lot of churches and youth ministries have given up on the idea of small groups, writing them off as too tedious, too difficult to manage, too hard to find volunteers for, too expensive to provide materials or curriculum for, or any other number of reasons. In A Volunteer Youth Worker’s Guide to Leading a Small Group, Mark Oestreicher argues a different perspec- tive, however. Marko insists that small groups pro- mote safe spaces to grow, consistency in teenagers’ emotionally tumultuous lives, and repetition that instills in them the importance of trust and tradi- tion. The Guide to Leading a Small Group is perfect for anyone feeling disenchanted with the concept of small groups, and after Marko succeeds in changing your mind in the first few pages, he’ll use the rest of the book to help you restructure and rethink your small-group programming so you don’t get burned out again. Marko is leading the charge in reviving small groups, and you can join him today. -
Volunteer Youth Workers Guide To Resourcing Parents
$7.99Add to cartEvery youth leader, volunteer, or pastor has failed at some point in their communication or interaction with their teenagers’ parents. Most youth workers are still pretty young themselves, and most parents are guarded and pro- tective of their kids. These factors combine to create a minefield, of sorts, for parents and youth workers to navigate. In fact, youth ministry mogul Mark Oestreicher starts off A Volunteer Youth Worker’s Guide to Resourcing Parents by admitting some of his own failures in his interactions with students’ parents. But then Marko uses the rest of the book to explore the importance and deep significance of being intentional with parent contact and interaction, and not letting family ministry slip through the cracks in favor of teenager-only ministry. If you’ve had some discouraging interactions with parents lately, this book might help provide a new perspective, allowing you to show some grace, both to yourself and the parents you’re trying to minister to.
-
Volunteer Youth Workers Guide To Understanding Todays Teenagers
$7.99Add to cartMany parents have taken a defeatist approach toward understanding their teens. But that’s where you, the volunteer youth worker, come in. Mark Oestreicher shows that Understand- ing Today’s Teenager is both possible and rewarding, if one has the right tools. Marko explores the dimensions of nature vs. nurture, brain activity, culture, biology, and emotional development, all of which lead teenagers to do the wacky things they do that adults don’t understand and often can’t remember having done themselves. Marko also reminds us that adolescent development doesn’t end at the age of 18 just because United States law says it does. A Volunteer Youth Worker’s Guide to Understanding To- day’s Teenager uses a combination of science, logic, and compassion to help bring us back from the cliff edge and remember why we started working with teens in the first place. Use this book is a jumping- off point to re-ignite your passion for teens.
-
Art And Practice Of Bivocational Ministry
$14.99Add to cart“It’s a balancing act.
If you are a bivocational pastor, you are familiar with the stresses, complications, and unique hurdles that come with bivocational ministry. You have a special calling.
In The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry, Dennis Bickers provides solid advice to help you succeed in your ministry while juggling a full-time job and a family at home. Along with his seasoned insights, you will find true-to-life case studies of challenges bivocational ministers face daily. More than just a guide, this book is a mentor in print and an invaluable resource for anyone balancing part-time ministry with a full-time job.”
-
77 Fairly Safe Science Activities For Illustrating Bible Lessons (Reprinted)
$16.99Add to cartNothing captures the attention of young people (and adults) like a creative object lesson. This hands-on book gives pastors, teachers, speakers, and homeschoolers 77 exciting science activities that reveal the order and grandeur of creation and encourage an appreciation of all God has made. These easy experiments illustrate the laws of nature, teach Bible principles, and affirm God’s power as Creator. With catchy or unexpected results, the demonstrations make Bible truth unforgettable. The clearly explained experiments use common household objects, require little setup, and are illustrated with pictures and diagrams.
-
Fight Study Guide (Student/Study Guide)
$12.99Add to cartIn Fight, a five-session, video-based small group Bible study, pastor and bestselling author Craig Groeschel explores the life of Samson, helping you uncover who you really are—a man created with a warrior’s heart in the image of God—and how to stand up and fight for what’s right. Find the strength to fight the battles you know you need to fight—the ones that determine the state of your heart, the quality of your marriage, and the spiritual health of your family. The battles that make you dependent on God as the source of your strength. The battles that make you come alive. Craig looks at the life of Samson, showing how much we have in common with this guy. Things didn’t work out so well for him in the end. But by looking at his life, you’ll learn how to defeat the demons that make strong men weak. You’ll become who God made you to be—a man who knows how to fight for what’s right. Learn how to fight with faith, with prayer, and with the Word of God. Then, when your enemy begins to attack, fight for the righteous cause that God gave you. Draw a line in the sand. Make your enemy pay. Make sure he gets the message. Don’t cross a warrior. Don’t mess with this man of God. Come out fighting. And don’t show up for this fight unarmed. Use the weapons God gave you, and you’ll win. Can you feel it? It’s inside you. It’s time to fight like a man. Designed for use with the Fight Study Guide (sold separately).
