Download or read book A Spiritual Companion to How to Get Along with Your Church written by Beverly A. Thompson and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If you are like most pastors, you earnestly thought you knew what the congregation you are serving was like when you answered God's call to serve them. Something has opened your eyes and now you know that you really don't know. The good news is, you are ready to find out!--from Day One: "I thought I knew . . ."When churches are in crisis, pastoral leadership is under attack, and pastors and church officials struggle to find a way to better understand why things happen or don't happen. Thompson's own pastoral experience led her to look beyond the popular "family systems" model to seek something that helps churches grow strong and pastors to become leaders. She found solutions in George B. Thompson, Jr.'s book, How to Get Along with Your Church: Creating Cultural Capital for Doing Ministry, and was inspired to develop a spiritual guide that strengthens the usefulness and effectiveness of his book.Specifically keyed to How to Get Along with Your Church, this spiritual companion provides 100 days of daily meditation and journaling for pastors who are learning--with a culture model--to lead their churches into a new understanding and rediscovery of their corporate calling.
Download or read book The Jesus Life written by Stephen W. Smith and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2012 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "... defines the true 'abundant life' for everyday people and shows us through eight practical ways how we can experience the life Jesus lived."--back cover.
Download or read book The Book of Common Prayer written by Alan Jacobs and published by Princeton University Press. This book was released on 2019-05-28 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "While many of us are familiar with such famous words as, "Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here." or "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," we may not know that they originated with The Book of Common Prayer, which first appeared in 1549. Like the words of the King James Bible and Shakespeare, the language of this prayer book has saturated English culture and letters. Here Alan Jacobs tells its story. Jacobs shows how The Book of Common Prayer--from its beginnings as a means of social and political control in the England of Henry VIII to its worldwide presence today--became a venerable work whose cadences express the heart of religious life for many.The book's chief maker, Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, created it as the authoritative manual of Christian worship throughout England. But as Jacobs recounts, the book has had a variable and dramatic career in the complicated history of English church politics, and has been the focus of celebrations, protests, and even jail terms. As time passed, new forms of the book were made to suit the many English-speaking nations: first in Scotland, then in the new United States, and eventually wherever the British Empire extended its arm. Over time, Cranmer's book was adapted for different preferences and purposes. Jacobs vividly demonstrates how one book became many--and how it has shaped the devotional lives of men and women across the globe"--.
Download or read book Celtic Christian Spirituality written by and published by SkyLight Paths Publishing. This book was released on 2011 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Celtic Christians beheld the world around them and perceived the divine life of God as upholding every aspect of the material universe. Their prayers and poems, their liturgies and theological interpretations give Christians a sense of faith that is confident in a merciful and infinitely creative, healing God.
Download or read book Companions in Christ written by Stephen D. Bryant and published by Companions in Christ. This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Companions in Christ is designed to develop you as a leader in guiding the spiritual life of your congregation. This resource gives you an overview of the Christian spiritual life and the practices that help people enter into the formative pattern of Christ's life: a life of prayer, study and service. Help your small-group members move from information (knowledge about) to experience (knowledge of) in the means of grace--ways in which Christ meets people, renews their faith, and deepens their life together in love. This revised Leader's Guide provides detailed guidance for leading a small group through the 28 weekly sessions. The plans have been tested and refined by groups in churches across the country. This books contains all you need, including --the Getting Started Guide, which was formerly a separate piece --a revised plan for a Closing Retreat --Weekly Needs at a Glance --page references for both the comprehensive 1-volume Participant's Book and the new 5-volume series
Download or read book Sacred Companions written by David G. Benner and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2009-08-20 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We need companions on our spiritual journey. In this inviting guide, David G. Benner introduces readers to the riches of spiritual friendship and direction, explaining what they are and how they are practiced. Through prayerful, guided attunement to God's activity, sacred companions provide care for the soul, and Benner models the kind of traveling companion who can move us toward deeper intimacy with God.
Download or read book Building Below the Waterline written by Gordon MacDonald and published by Hendrickson Publishers. This book was released on 2013-01-28 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: MacDonald uses the massive foundations of bridges not visible to the eye but essential to long term viability as a metaphor for the spiritual life of Christian leaders.
Download or read book Uncovering Your Church s Hidden Spirit written by Celia Allison Hahn and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2001-12-31 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Parishioners today look to their congregations to feed their spiritual hunger. But many members and clergy are not sure how the words "congregation" and "spirituality" fit together. Author Celia Hahn interviewed 30 lay people and clergy from five Episcopal congregations to discover their stories of congregational spirituality and to help them identify the congregation's gifts for spiritual development. Hahn becomes a spiritual companion and resource for the searching congregation, guiding the church as it begins to discover its gifts. How is God at work in our congregation? How do members empowered by the transforming Spirit minister in their workplaces, neighborhoods, and families? How do members move into a deeper relationship with one another and with God?
Download or read book I Refuse to Lead a Dying Church written by Paul Nixon and published by The Pilgrim Press. This book was released on 2007-03-01 with total page 128 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: God has called all of us to lead healthy, growing, spiritual churches. For this very reason, Paul Nixon refused to lead a dying church. Paul invites you to join his commitment in refusing, ever again, to lead a dying church. This commitment entails six choices: choosing life over death; choosing community over isolation; choosing fun over drudgery; choosing bold over mild; choosing frontier over fortress; and choosing now rather than later.
Download or read book Darkness Is My Only Companion written by Kathryn Greene-McCreight and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2006-04 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A brave and compassionate look at mental illness that offers theological understanding and personal insights from author's experiences.
Download or read book Companions in Christ written by Gerrit Scott Dawson and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 326 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over 28-weeks, the Companions in Christ Participant's Book moves through five areas: -- Embracing the Journey -- an exploration of spiritual formation as a journey toward wholeness and holiness; -- Feeding on the Word -- several ways of meditating on and praying with scripture; -- Deepening our Prayer -- an experience of various classic forms and styles of prayer; -- Responding to Our Call -- a presentation of gifts and call; -- Exploring Spiritual Guidance -- different ways of giving an receiving spiritual guidance. Well-known writers for Upper Room Ministries introduce weekly themes. Gerrit Scott Dawson, Adele Gonzalez, E. Glenn Hinson, Rueben Job, Marjorie Thompson, and Wendy Wright combine personal, firsthand accounts with wisdom from the Christian tradition to provide focus and background for the weekly exercises. Following each reading are five daily exercises that help participants reflect on the theme more deeply and prepare for the group meeting. These exercises involve some combination of scripture reading, spiritual practice, and reflection questions. Responses are recorded in a journal each day and reviewed during the opening portion of the weekly gathering.
Download or read book Journeying Toward Renewal written by Melissa Bane Sevier and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2002-08-01 with total page 147 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Time to reflect. Time. This is what clergy renewal is about. To continue in ‘the heat of work’ our whole career is to rob ourselves and our congregations of the time we and they need to reflect on our lives and our call. Here is where change begins.” - Melisa Bane Sevier “Melissa Bane Sevier – fresh from (and refreshed by) a much-needed sabbatical – offers personal testimony, practical advice, and an array of helpful resources that will inspire and empower pastors to seek and then to drink deeply of a time apart. This is a moving statement from and on behalf of our hard-working clergy, written for them but also for those who care about their well-being and that of the congregations they serve.” - Dorothy C. Bass - Author, Receiving the Day: Christian Practices for Opening the Gift of Time “Vital congregational ministry depends on the leadership of pastors, priests, and rabbis whose hearts sing with vision, creativity, faith, competence, and passion. In Journeying toward Renewal Melissa Sevier uses her pastoral sensitivity to tell her own renewal story and the stories of those who have been lead in the planning and practice of renewal leave by the question “What will make my heart sing – again?” Whether you’re planning an extended time of renewal leave, or just trying to bring regular sabbath time back into your days and weeks, this book will be a trustworthy guide.” - Richard Bruesehoff - Director for Leadership Support, ELCA - Co-author of Clergy Renewal: The Alban Guide to Pastoral Sabbaticals
Download or read book When One Religion Isn t Enough written by Duane R. Bidwell and published by Beacon Press. This book was released on 2018-11-13 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exploration into the lives of people who embrace two or more religious traditions, and what this growing community tells us about change in our society Named a best book of 2018 by Library Journal In the United States, we often assume religious and spiritual identity are pure, static, and singular. But some people regularly cross religious boundaries. These “spiritually fluid” people celebrate complex religious bonds, and in the process they blur social categories, evoke prejudice, and complicate religious communities. Their presence sparks questions: How and why do people become spiritually fluid? Are they just confused or unable to commit? How do we make sense of them? When One Religion Isn’t Enough explores the lives of spiritually fluid people, revealing that while some chose multiple religious belonging, many more inherit it. For many North Americans, the complicated legacies of colonialism are part of their family story, and they may consider themselves both Christian and Hindu, or Buddhist, or Yoruban, or one of the many other religions native to colonized lands. For some Asian Americans, singular religious identity may seem an alien concept, as many East Asian nations freely mix Buddhist, Confucian, Taoist, and other traditions. Some African American Christians are consciously seeking to reconnect with ancestral spiritualities. And still other people are born into religiously mixed families. Jewish-Christian intermarriage led the way in the US, but religious diversity here is only increasing: almost four in ten Americans (39 percent) who have married since 2010 have a spouse who is in a different religious group. Through in-depth conversations with spiritually fluid people, renowned scholar Duane Bidwell explores how people come to claim and be claimed by multiple religious traditions, how spiritually fluid people engage radically opposed truth claims, and what this growing population tells us about change within our communities.
Download or read book Companions in Christ written by Rueben P. Job and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Embracing the Journey: The Way of Christ focuses on an exploration of spiritual formation as an individual and corporate journey toward wholeness and holiness through the grace of God. This book is the first segment of a five-volume study of the original 28-week Companions in Christ resource. The five-piece participant series is designed for groups who will take breaks between the other four volumes: --Feeding on the Word (scripture) --Deepening Our Prayer (prayer) --Responding to Our Call (vocation) --Exploring Spiritual Guidance (spiritual companionship)
Download or read book Spiritual Friendship written by Mindy Caliguire and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2010-04-29 with total page 98 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We long to nurture our weary souls. But what if ordinary relationships are the answer? Intimacy with others is a part of our soul's architecture, and it can restore life and health to our depleted souls. Spiritual Friendship introduces you to principles of friendship that bring focus to your spiritual life. You'll discover what it takes to have a rich, God-centered relationship that will nourish your soul.
Download or read book A Stranger in the House of God written by John Koessler and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-08-30 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Growing up the son of agnostics, John Koessler saw a Catholic church on one end of the street and a Baptist on the other. In the no-man’s land between the two, this curious outside wondered about the God they worshipped—and began a lifelong search to comprehend the grace and mystery of God. A Stranger in the House of God addresses fundamental questions and struggles faced by spiritual seekers and mature believers. Like a contemporary Pilgrim’s Progress, it traces the author’s journey and explores his experiences with both charismatic and evangelical Christianity. It also describes his transformation from religious outsider to ordained pastor. John Koessler provides a poignant and often humorous window into the interior of the soul as he describes his journey from doubt and struggle with the church to personal faith
Download or read book The Little Way of Lent written by Gary Caster and published by . This book was released on 2023-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
