Download or read book A Church of the Poor written by Sedmak, Clemens and published by Orbis Books. This book was released on 2016-12-15 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Using resources ranging from scripture to Catholic social teaching to the early Church Fathers, the author examines how Pope Francis's emphasis on the Church of the Poor is calling us to a new epistemic practice, involving an understanding of orthodoxy as discipleship, and discipleship as a new way of getting to know and understand the world.
Download or read book Rich Church Poor Church written by J. Clif Christopher and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2012 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the bottom line at your church?
Download or read book Becoming a Church of the Poor written by Eleanor R. Dionisio and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Becoming Whole written by Brian Fikkert and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2019-03-05 with total page 327 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Western Civilization is wealthier, but it isn’t happier. We are the richest people ever to walk the face of the earth, but according to research, we aren’t becoming happier. Families and communities are increasingly fragmented, loneliness is skyrocketing, and physical and mental health are on the decline. Our unprecedented wealth doesn’t seem to be doing us much good. Yet, when we try to help poor people at home or abroad, our implicit assumption is that the goal is to help them to become like us. "If they would just do things our way, they’d be fine!" But even when they seem to pursue our path, they too find that the American Dream doesn’t work for them. What if we have the wrong idea altogether? What if the molds we are using to help poor people don’t actually fit any of us? What if the goal isn’t to turn other countries into the United States or to turn America’s impoverished communities into its affluent suburbs? In Becoming Whole (building on the best-selling When Helping Hurts), Brian Fikkert and Kelly M. Kapic look at the true sources of brokenness and poverty and uncover the surprising pathways to human flourishing, for poor and non-poor alike. Exposing the misconceptions of both Western Civilization and the Western church about the nature of God, human beings, and the world, they redefine success and offer new ways of achieving that success. Through biblical insights, scientific research, and practical experience, they show you how the good news of the kingdom of God reshapes our lives and our poverty alleviation ministries, moving everybody involved towards wholeness.
Download or read book The Church Building as a Sacred Place written by Duncan Stroik and published by Liturgy Training Publications. This book was released on 2012 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of twenty-three essays by Duncan Stroik shows the development and consistency of his architectural vision. Packed with informative essays and over 170 photographs, this collection clearly articulates the Church’s architectural tradition.
Download or read book A Church for the Poor written by Martin Charlesworth and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2017-07-10 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Motivated by genuine concern, dedicated volunteers responded to the call to action and millions of pounds have been invested to support those most in need. However, the culture of many churches fails to attract those they are helping to the very faith that motivates this compassion. Even when people from poorer or working class backgrounds start on a journey of faith, many churches struggle to create an inclusive environment where they can feel welcomed and at home. With biblical insight and practical examples A Church for the Poor, by Martin Charlesworth and Natalie Williams, presents a vision of the church as a place where people from all sections of society can find a home and play a part. It is a call to rethink our traditions and transform the church to reach the poor in Britain today.
Download or read book Blessed are the Poor written by Laurie Green and published by SCM Press. This book was released on 2015-06-30 with total page 236 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Listening intently to what the poor have to say is Laurie Green’s way into a new study of Jesus’ most famous Beatitude – Blessed are the Poor. Combining years of pavement level experience with informed biblical analysis he sets out for us how the perspective of the poor opens us up to new biblical and theological insights. These issue in a radical rethink about mission and what it means to be Church in a post-secular society. The book introduces us to Britain’s poorest housing estates and uses the radical edge of contextual theology to present a prophetic challenge to each one of us, and to a Church which is reluctant to respond seriously to the challenges of the Beatitudes.
Download or read book Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence written by Steve Corbett and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2015-09-22 with total page 165 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When a low-income person asks your church for help, what do you do next? God is extraordinarily generous, and our churches should be, too. Because poverty is complex, however, helping low-income people often requires going beyond meeting their material needs to holistically addressing the roots of their poverty. But on a practical level, how do you move forward in walking with someone who approaches your church for financial help? From the authors of When Helping Hurts comes Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence, a guidebook for church staff, deacons, or volunteers who work with low-income people. Short and to the point, this tool provides foundational principles for poverty alleviation and then addresses practical matters, like: How to structure and focus your benevolence work How to respond to immediate needs while pursuing long-term solutions How to mobilize your church to walk with low-income people With practical stories, forms, and tools for churches to use, Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence is an all-in-one guide for church leaders and laypeople who want to help the poor in ways that lead to lasting change.
Download or read book Church in Hard Places written by Mez McConnell and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2016-01-14 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, paying particular attention to the downtrodden and the poor. As followers of Jesus, Christians are called to imitate his example and reach out to those who have the least. This book offers biblical guidelines and practical strategies for reaching those on the margins of our society with the gospel of Jesus Christ. The authors—both pastors with years of experience ministering among the poor—set forth helpful “dos” and “don’ts” related to serving in the midst of less-affluent communities. Emphasizing the priority of the gospel as well as the importance of addressing issues of social justice, this volume will help pastors and other church leaders mobilize their people to plant churches and make an impact in “hard places”—in their own communities and around the world.
Download or read book When Helping Hurts written by Steve Corbett and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2014-01-24 with total page 355 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With more than 450,000 copies in print, When Helping Hurts is a paradigm-forming contemporary classic on the subject of poverty alleviation. Poverty is much more than simply a lack of material resources, and it takes much more than donations and handouts to solve it. When Helping Hurts shows how some alleviation efforts, failing to consider the complexities of poverty, have actually (and unintentionally) done more harm than good. But it looks ahead. It encourages us to see the dignity in everyone, to empower the materially poor, and to know that we are all uniquely needy—and that God in the gospel is reconciling all things to himself. Focusing on both North American and Majority World contexts, When Helping Hurts provides proven strategies for effective poverty alleviation, catalyzing the idea that sustainable change comes not from the outside in, but from the inside out.
Download or read book The Option for the Poor in Christian Theology written by Daniel G. Groody and published by University of Notre Dame Pess. This book was released on 2007-04-01 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since the publication of Gustavo Gutiérrez's 1973 groundbreaking work, A Theology of Liberation, much has been written on liberation theology and its central premise of the preferential option for the poor. Arguably, this has been one of the most important yet controversial theological themes of the twentieth century. As globalization creates greater gaps between the rich and the poor, and as the situation for many of the world’s poor worsens, there is an ever greater need to understand the gift and challenge of Christian faith from the context of the poor and marginalized of our society. This volume draws on the thought of leading international scholars and explores how the Christian tradition can help us understand the theological foundations for the option for the poor. The central focus of the book revolves around the question, How can one live a Christian life in a world of destitution? The contributors are concerned not only with a social, economic, or political understanding of poverty but above all with the option for the poor as a theological concept. While these essays are rooted in a solid grounding of our present “reality,” they look to the past to understand some of the central truths of Christian faith and to the future as a source of Christian hope. Following Gustavo Gutiérrez's essay on the multidimensionality of poverty, Elsa Tamez, Hugh Page, Jr., Brian Daley, and Jon Sobrino identify a central theological premise: poverty is contrary to the will of God. Drawing on scripture, the writings of the early fathers, the witness of Christian martyrs, and contemporary theological reflection, they argue that poverty represents the greatest challenge to Christian faith and discipleship. David Tracy and J. Matthew Ashley carry their reflection forward by examining the option for the poor in light of apocalyptic thought. Virgilio Elizondo, Patrick Kalilombe, María Pilar Aquino, M. Shawn Copeland, and Mary Catherine Hilkert examine the challenges of poverty with respect to culture, Africa, race, and gender. Casiano Floristán and Luis Maldonado explore the relationship between poverty, sacramentality, and popular religiosity. The final two essays by Aloysius Pieris and Michael Signer consider the option for the poor in relationship to other major world religions, particularly an Asian theology of religions and the meaning of care for the poor within Judaism.
Download or read book Practicing the King s Economy written by Michael Rhodes and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2018-04-17 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The church in the West is rediscovering the fact that God cares deeply for the poor. More and more, churches and individual Christians are looking for ways to practice economic discipleship, but it's hard to make progress when we are blind to our own entanglement in our culture's idolatrous economic beliefs and practices. Practicing the King's Economy cuts through much confusion and invites Christians to take their place within the biblical story of the "King Jesus Economy." Through eye-opening true stories of economic discipleship in action, and with a solid exploration of six key biblical themes, the authors offer practical ways for God's people to earn, invest, spend, compensate, save, share, and give in ways that embody God's love and provision for the world. Foreword by Christopher J. H. Wright.
Download or read book The Purpose Driven Church written by Rick Warren and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2007-09-04 with total page 401 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The issue is church health, not church growth—if your church is healthy, growth will occur naturally. So how do we make healthy churches, driven by purpose? In order for any church to thrive, it must be built around the five New Testament purposes given to the church by Jesus Christ. In this classic of Christian church stability, pastor and bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren unpacks this proven five-part strategy that will enable your church to grow: Warmer through fellowship. Deeper through discipleship. Stronger through worship. Broader through ministry. Larger through evangelism. Every church is driven by something. Tradition, finances, programs, personalities, events, seekers, and even buildings can each be the controlling force in a church. But Warren will show you how to concentrate on building people and let God build the church. In other words, healthy, consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church. And The Purpose Driven Church will show you how to do that. “The Purpose Driven Church has brought focus and direction to more pastors and church leaders than you can count. What a gift!”—John Ortberg, bestselling author.
Download or read book Fresh Wind Fresh Fire written by Jim Cymbala and published by ReadHowYouWant.com. This book was released on 2010-09 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Times Are Urgent God Is on the Move Now Is the Moment to ... ask God to ignite his fire in your soul! Pastor Jim Cymbala believes that Jesus wants to renew his people-to call us back from spiritual dead ends, apathy, and lukewarm religion. Cymbala knows the difference firsthand. Thirty-five years ago his own church, the Brooklyn Tabernacle, was a struggling congregation of twenty. Then they began to pray ... God began to move ... street-hardened lives by the hundreds were changed by the love of Christ ... and today they are more than ten thousand strong. The story of what happened to this broken-down church in one of America's toughest neighborhoods points the way to new spiritual vitality in the church and in your own life. Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire shows what the Holy Spirit can do when believers get serious about prayer and the gospel. As this compelling book reveals, God moves in life-changing ways when we set aside our own agendas, take him at his word, and listen for his voice.
Download or read book The Church of Irresistible Influence written by Robert Lewis and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2002-10-27 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now available in paperback. The inspiring story of how a church showed God's love to a dying culture by building bridges to its neighborhood, community, and world.
Download or read book Not Your Parents Offering Plate written by J. Clif Christopher and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 120 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hearing a young attorney speak of the faith-based reasons for which he had just made a substantial monetary gift to a community youth center, Clif Christopher asked the speaker if he would consider making a similar contribution to the congregation of which he was an active member. "Lord no, they wouldn't know what to do with it" was the answer. That, in a nutshell, describes the problem churches are facing in their stewardship efforts, says Christopher. Unlike leading nonprofit agencies and institutions, we too often fail to convince potential givers that their gifts will have impact and significance. In this book, Christopher lays out the main reasons for this failure to capture the imagination of potential givers, including our frequent failure simply to ask. Written with the needs of pastors and stewardship teams in mind, Not Your Parents’ Offering Plate provides immediate, practical guidance to all who seek to help God’s people be better stewards of their resources.
Download or read book God s Big Picture written by Vaughan Roberts and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2012-06-11 with total page 171 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sixty-six books written by forty people over nearly 2,000 years, in two languages and several different genres. The Bible is clearly no ordinary book. How can you begin to read and understand it as a whole? This excellent overview gives you the big picture, providing both the encouragement and the tools you need to read the Bible with confidence and understanding.
