Kirk Jones
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Refill : Meditations For Leading With Wisdom Peace And Joy
$21.99Add to cartThis interaction book is designed specifically for church leaders – clergy, staff, and laity. Each week, readers experience three different meditations or exercises. Readers can approach the material in whatever way works best for them – on a regular schedule (Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday, for instance) or in whatever way works best in any given week. The three per week meditations build upon themes, with an ebb and flow allowing the reader to experience the material more deeply. The fact that this is not a daily exercise is distinctive as many devotional books are regimented and overwhelming, with an expectation of a daily commitment. Refill’s format is designed to be viable, accessible, and nurturing for busy leaders. Each page contains a nugget of wisdom about how leaders can tap into inner capacities they already possess, but which are often overlooked. These capacities include awareness, stillness, and playfulness (as we learned of in Fulfilled) but the author also includes other capacities, such as compassion, empathy, and creativity.
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Fulfilled : Living And Leading With Unusual Wisdom Peace And Joy
$20.99Add to cartLeadership can be mentally, emotionally, and spiritually exhausting. The pace is relentless. The expectations are weighty. The challenges are daunting. But it is possible to live and lead a new way, with that deep sense of contentment that all leaders yearn for. It is possible to be fulfilled, even today. Fulfilled articulates a new approach for the exhausted leader. This Christian theology of leadership is based on three inner capacities, which every leader already possesses but which most of us simply ignore or disregard: the capacity for stillness, awareness, and playfulness. The author examines these capacities and shows the reader how draw upon them in daily life. Vibrant leadership taps into this wellspring of inner capacities, continually available to every leader. It is not the exclusive possession of the gifted, faithful few, but is a grace provided for all. The fulfilled leader lives in wisdom, peace and joy, and is successful in all the most important ways.
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Morning B R E W
$12.99Add to cartUnlike other morning devotions, in which you digest the words of others, this book teaches you how to create your own devotional experiences through silence and prayerful visualization.
B.R.E.W. stands for:
Be still
Receive God’s Love
Embrace personhood
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Jazz Of Preaching
$20.99Add to cartWhat if preachers were as contagiously joyful in their preaching as Louis Armstrong was in his playing and singing? As rich in their sermonic renderings as Sarah Vaughan was in her musical vocals? As honest about heartache as Billie Holiday was every time she sang about the blues of life? As alluringly clear as the angelic voice of Ella Fitzgerald? As tenaciously uninhibited in the action of creating as Duke Ellington?
Of course, this is too much to ask of people, even those called by God. However, it is not too much to ask this question: Can preaching be enhanced through the metaphor of jazz? Can an understanding of the inner dynamics of jazz–its particular forms, rules, and styles–inform one’s practice of preaching as well? Can jazz’s simultaneous structure and spontaneity help preachers better understand their own art? The answer to these questions, says Jones, is an unqualified yes. He explains how one can dramatically improve one’s preaching through understanding and applying key elements of the musical art form known as jazz. No musical background is necessary; all examples are well explained and tied in with preaching.
The key elements include innovation (what one commentator refers to as “the experimental disposition of jazz”), improvisation, rhythm, call and response, honesty about heartaches, and delight. After discussing the reality and role of each of these elements in jazz, and how they can be important for preaching as well, each chapter concludes with five exercises for applying the jazz element to preaching preparation and performance.
Drawing on a deep love of jazz and enlivening the discussion with insights drawn from the realities of African American preaching, Jones introduces readers to rich and rewarding possibilities for constructing and delivering the sermon.