Download or read book Called to Be Church written by Anthony B. Robinson and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2006-02-15 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Biblical scholar Robert Wall and pastoral leader Anthony Robinson here join forces to bring the Acts of the Apostles forward to our time as a resource for congregational renewal and transformation.Featuring both careful exegetical study and exciting contemporary exposition, the fifteen chapters of Called to Be Church each first interpret the text of Acts as Scripture and then engage Acts for today's church. The book dives into many of the most vexing issues faced by the church then and now -- such issues as conflict resolution, pluralism and multiculturalism, sexuality, money, church and state, the role of the Holy Spirit, and more.Enhanced by study questions at the end of each chapter, Called to Be Church will lend itself especially well to small-group study within congregations. Pastors, lay readers, students, and ordinary believers alike will find the book helpful and inspiring.
Download or read book New Way to be Human written by Charlie Peacock and published by Shaw. This book was released on 2004 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: God calls his people to faithfully follow Jesus in a new way--to study him, walk with him, and let him live through them. In this engaging book, award-winning recording artist and producer Peacock-Ashworth invites readers to discover the new way and to start living it.
Download or read book Deep Church written by Jim Belcher and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2009-09-25 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you feel caught between the traditional church and the emerging church, read Jim Belcher. He paints a picture of an alternate, "deep" church--a missional church committed to both tradition and contemporary culture, valuing innovation in worship, arts and community but also adhering to creeds and confessions.
Download or read book A New Kind of Church written by Aubrey Malphurs and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2007-02-01 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is no shortage of books these days on new ways of "doing church." New church models have been both warmly embraced and roundly criticized. What are church leaders and others concerned about the state of the church to make of all this? Does the Bible prescribe a standard model for doing church? Or is there freedom within certain guidelines? In A New Kind of Church, respected church consultant Aubrey Malphurs addresses these important questions and suggests that there is room for new ways of doing ministry while being true to Scripture. In the process, he offers a theological and interpretive framework for evaluating any church model, new or old. He also offers suggestions for implementing change in the local church.
Download or read book Death of the Church written by Mike Regele and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 1995 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our culture is changing at a dizzying rate. But the church seems to be left behind, caught in subcultural backwaters that have little or no impact on mainstream society. Based on the quantitative research of his group, Percept, Regele analyzes the forces in our culture and discusses how the church can fulfill its mission in the face of them.
Download or read book A New Kind of Christianity written by Brian D. McLaren and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-02-09 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Some books provide us with information about the world, but every once in a while a book appears that enables us to imagine new, more wonderful worlds. [A New Kind of Christianity] is one of these.” —Peter Rollins, Ikon A New Kind of Christianity is Brian D. McLaren’s much anticipated follow-up to his breakthrough work of the emergent-church movement, A New Kind of Christian. Named by Time magazine as one of America’s top 25 evangelicals, McLaren, along with such contemporaries as N.T. Wright, Jim Wallis, and Rob Bell, is one of the acknowledged leaders of a new generation of Christians who want to update their faith for current times while remaining true to the core message of Jesus. In this controversial and thought-provoking book, McLaren explores the questions that will determine the shape of Christianity for the next 500 years.
Download or read book Truth and the New Kind of Christian written by R. Scott Smith and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2007-05-01 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The latest clarion call in the never-ending cavalcade of "what's new" in the evangelical world is the confident assertion from some quarters that the church needs to embrace "postmodernism" if it is going to engage postmoderns effectively. Pastors trying to break down the often indigestible subject matter of postmodernism into bite-size chunks in order to equip their people to engage it, and teachers who are aiming at giving their students a working knowledge of the way postmodernism is impacting the church will find a good deal of help from Smith. -J. Ligon Duncan III, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Jackson, Mississippi Scott Smith and I agree on a lot. We share a deep commitment to Jesus Christ, a love of the Bible, and a passion for the church. We also agree that we're currently living in a liminal time, and it's those "boundary times" when people look most closely at the beliefs that underlie their practices. So, we've all got some things to figure out right now, including what we can really know and the certainty with which we can state our claims in a pluralistic society. I appreciate Scott's voice in this conversation. He is a careful reader of my work, and he writes with a gracious and generous tone. Interlocutors like Scott will be a helpful challenge to all of us in the "emerging church." I consider him a friendly critic and a brother in Christ. -Tony Jones, author of Postmodern Youth Ministry and National Director, Emergent Scott Smith is uniquely suited to enter the Emergent conversation with this helpful volume. Not only is he an analytic philosopher with a razor-sharp mind who has specialized in analyzing postmodernistic views on the relationship between language and the world, but he is also a man who cares for the lost, loves the church, and has an ability to communicate complex truths to people in the pew. -Justin Taylor, Executive Editor, Desiring God Every leader in the new Emergent Movement will want to read this fascinating book. They simply will not find a more engaging, knowledgeable, balanced, and kind treatment of their concerns, ideas, and practices. -Craig J. Hazen, Professor of Comparative Religion, Biola University Scott Smith's study challenges us to take seriously the truth claim of the gospel both in how we proclaim it in words and in how we manifest it in our personal and community lives. -Gary Inrig, Senior Pastor, Trinity Church, Redlands, California
Download or read book Church Unique written by Will Mancini and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2010-06-15 with total page 309 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written by church consultant Will Mancini expert on a new kind of visioning process to help churches develop a stunningly unique model of ministry that leads to redemptive movement. He guides churches away from an internal focus to emphasize participation in their community and surrounding culture. In this important book, Mancini offers an approach for rethinking what it means to lead with clarity as a visionary. Mancini explains that each church has a culture that reflects its particular values, thoughts, attitudes, and actions and shows how church leaders can unlock their church's individual DNA and unleash their congregation's one-of-a-kind potential.
Download or read book Slow Church written by C. Christopher Smith and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2014-05-06 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In today's fast-food world, Christianity can seem outdated or archaic. The temptation becomes to pick up the pace and play the game. But Chris Smith and John Pattison invites us to leave franchise faith behind and enter the kingdom of God, where people know each other well and love one another as Christ loves the church.
Download or read book Get Their Name written by Bob Farr and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you 'evangelizing' in the wrong direction?
Download or read book Created for More written by Jonathan Malm and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2014-08-15 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you compartmentalizing God? If you ever feel like your times spent praying or trying to read the Bible are disconnected from the rest of your day, you need this book. Devotions aren’t supposed to be isolated from your life; the God who created you also calls you to create—whether that is a business, a family, a book, a photograph, a website, a sermon, or a meal. Created for More ties together our drive to create and our desire for God. Spend 30 days learning to be more than you thought you could be. Be humble. Be intentional. Be limited. Be parallel. Be invested. Be brave. Be a creator as you draw near to the God who created you.
Download or read book A New Way to Be Church written by Jezreel, Jack and published by Orbis Books. This book was released on 2018-09-20 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Building on his experience as founder of JustFaith, a parish-based program for adult Catholics, Jezreel presents the case for how to renew parish life by promoting lay ministry with an outward mission-driven identity that connects evangelization, faith-formation, service, and social justice.
Download or read book Restless Bible Study Guide written by Jennie Allen and published by HarperChristian Resources. This book was released on 2014-01-14 with total page 187 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Do you feel like you're just waiting to find your purpose? Do you want to live like you were made for more? Many of us feel restless, and that might not be a bad thing. . . When our restlessness awakens our longing to be woven into God's story, it can launch us into living the life of purpose God designed for us. In this video-based small group Bible study (DVD/video streaming sold separately), Bible study teacher and author of Get Out of Your Head Jennie Allen helps you discover a practical plan to identify the loose threads of your life and how to weave them together for God's glory and purposes. Jennie uses the story of Joseph in the book of Genesis to explain how his suffering, gifts, story, and relationships fit into the greater tapestry of God’s narrative—and how our story can do the same. In this study you will: Explore practical ways to identify the threads of your life. Learn how to intentionally weave those threads together. Discover how your gifts, passions, places, and relationships aren’t random; they’re deliberate and meaningful. Speak the truth about your suffering: it’s possible it has produced the very thing you want to give back to the world. The Restless Study Guide engages the mind and heart through stories, Bible study from the life of Joseph, and 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. What would happen if you spent the rest of your life running without reservation after His purposes for you? Designed for use with the Restless Video Study (9780879922374), sold separately
Download or read book The Innovative Church written by Scott Cormode and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 259 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The church as we know it is calibrated for a world that no longer exists. It needs to recalibrate in order to address the questions that animate today's congregants. Leading congregational researcher Scott Cormode explores the role of Christian practices in recalibrating the church for the twenty-first century, offering church leaders innovative ways to express the never-changing gospel to their ever-changing congregations. The book has been road-tested with over one hundred churches through the Fuller Youth Institute and includes five questions that guide Christian leaders who wish to innovate.
Download or read book Finding a New Way Home written by Russ Dean and published by Nurturing Faith. This book was released on 2020-10-28 with total page 198 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a memoir of my journey in faith. That journey began in the home of my childhood, but the chapters cover experiences extending from some of my earliest memories until just a few years ago. I had already begun reflecting on these experiences, theologically, as the later ones were occurring, but it was not until a friend invited me to speak to his congregation that I connected them. "You're not what most of our people think of when they hear the word Baptist," the priest of a local Episcopal church said. "Come talk to us about how you got where you are from where you started." It was a fascinating challenge. As I sat down to prepare a one-hour Sunday school lesson for Episcopalian adults, I realized I had a story to tell. My suspicion is that this story, regardless of how eloquently I have or have not told it, will resonate with many people. Too frequently I hear people speak of their "bad experiences" with the church, experiences often occurring in the formative years of childhood or adolescence. Sadly, too many of these folks leave organized religion, if not turn their backs altogether on a God they suspect has turned a blind eye or a judgmental whim against them. I have managed to stay within the realm of organized religion. In fact, it is my life. I have not felt the need to abandon or reject God. In fact, God has become more important, more real, more central to my story. I understand those who leave, but because I believe so strongly in the church and the value of faith in one's life, I hope my experience might be an encouragement. One can question, doubt, reject much of what we learned in our childhood, and still remain faithful. There is a "new way home." Maybe my experiences will help some of you find it. Each chapter includes a sermon I have preached over the course of the last eighteen years as co-pastor of the Park Road Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, with my wife, Amy Jacks Dean. I include these sermons as a testimony to the faith that has been developing and changing. I have enjoyed the privilege of being a "professional proclaimer" of Christianity, and although I did not write the sermons for this book, it should be clear in reading them that the faith which is very real to me continues to be a "work in progress." Each chapter also begins with several "Questions to Consider." Unlike many books that conclude chapters with similar reflection/study questions, I have included these questions as a prelude to each chapter. I hope they will whet your appetite and get your wheels turning in the right direction for the chapter and sermon that follow. To get the most out of these questions, you might reflect on them briefly before you read and then come back to them before starting the next chapter. There is room for you to make notes about your own experience and any deepened insight you may have gained by reading my story and relating it to your own faith experience. Finding a New Way Home is not just a book; it really is the experience of my life. I am glad to have this opportunity to share it with you. Especially if you have strayed from the path and have considered leaving it all behind, I welcome you. It's a journey worth taking, because even if you are surprised where you find yourself along the way today, you can be sure that home is where your heart is-and where God is-and there's just no place like it. Welcome to the journey. Welcome home!
Download or read book Starting a House Church written by Larry Kreider and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2007-04-05 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There's a new way of doing church and it's taking North America by storm! Here a recognized authority on the house church movement and a popular speaker and pastor share their expertise in starting and maintaining a healthy house church. Together they look at current and future trends in the house church movement and provide best practice models for planting and leading house churches. Also, they explore how house churches are not always the same as simple cell-groups or small groups, especially in the areas of leadership and money. Readers will discover all the information they need to begin a house church in their community.
Download or read book The Underground Church written by Robin Meyers and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2012-02-13 with total page 293 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A new way to follow Jesus that draws on old ways of following Him The Underground Church proposes that the faithful recapture the spirit of the early church with its emphasis on what Christians do rather than what they believe. Prominent progressive writer, speaker, and minister Robin Meyers proposes that the best way to recapture the spirit of the early Christian church is to recognize that Jesus-following was and must be again subversive in the best sense of the word because the gospel taken seriously turns the world upside down. No matter how the church may organize itself or worship, the defining characteristic of church of the future will be its Jesus-inspired countercultural witness. Debunks commonly held beliefs about the early church and offers a vision for the future rooted in the past Proposes that the church of the future must leave doctrinal tribalism behind and seek a unity of mission instead Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said,"Robin Meyers has spoken truth to power, and the church he loves will never be the same."
