Download or read book Bedrock for a Church on the Move written by Merwyn S. Johnson and published by . This book was released on 2019-08-15 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book addresses the current turmoil in American Christianity and culture. The Church is at a crossroads, often trapped by its own message. Only Jesus Christ can provide bedrock for such a time as this. American Christianity has boxed itself in at two crucial points. (1) The message of salvation, including the afterlife, typically focuses on Jesus dwelling in our hearts to make us good, make society good, and through us make others good. This message raises tough questions from within. If we do not feel Jesus in our hearts, is God still there? Are we still saved? Is it finally up to us to make ourselves good? Where, then, does God fit in? (2) Many American Christians set up a distinction between the Church as the place where God dwells and the World as a secular place without God. Does our World now confidently embrace secularism? If so, how do Christians--and the Church--fit into such a World? On both fronts, the Church now faces a crisis of authenticity, relevance, and community. The true Christian bedrock, Jesus Christ, offers new directions for moving forward. When the message shifts from claiming that Christ is in us to affirming that we are in Christ, the emphasis changes from embodying God in ourselves to participating in what God is doing all around us. The mantra, where the Church is, there is Christ, gives way to where Christ is, there is the Church. God's gracious presence brings out joy in every moment, and in Christ we experience a vigorous fellowship with God and others in all of life. Bedrock draws on the Bible and Christian theology to reflect on Jesus Christ as bedrock for a Church on the move.
Download or read book Bedrock Faith written by Esther Seaton-Dummer and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2012-09-12 with total page 506 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Potent Probing Powerful Up Close and Personal! A Wake-up Call to All The author is an amazing and most timely gift of God to His Church. My heart is more than stirred. My spiritual motor is revved up and I am grabbing another gear to pursue His presence and power for the new season of my life and ministry. Thanks Esther, for providing the high octane in Bedrock Faith. Ormel Chapin, founder of Pastors Power-Up Connection, Bend, Oregon Bedrock Faith caused my heart to race from beginning to the end. God spoke off the pages and required an answer. This book is personal! Bedrock Faith breaks the fallow ground and challenges the hearts of believers to say, Yes, Lord, I am there! Lucinda Waddell, pastor, New Harvest Fellowship, Amity, Oregon
Download or read book The Black Church written by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The instant New York Times bestseller and companion book to the PBS series. “Absolutely brilliant . . . A necessary and moving work.” —Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., author of Begin Again “Engaging. . . . In Gates’s telling, the Black church shines bright even as the nation itself moves uncertainly through the gloaming, seeking justice on earth—as it is in heaven.” —Jon Meacham, New York Times Book Review From the New York Times bestselling author of Stony the Road and The Black Box, and one of our most important voices on the African American experience, comes a powerful new history of the Black church as a foundation of Black life and a driving force in the larger freedom struggle in America. For the young Henry Louis Gates, Jr., growing up in a small, residentially segregated West Virginia town, the church was a center of gravity—an intimate place where voices rose up in song and neighbors gathered to celebrate life's blessings and offer comfort amid its trials and tribulations. In this tender and expansive reckoning with the meaning of the Black Church in America, Gates takes us on a journey spanning more than five centuries, from the intersection of Christianity and the transatlantic slave trade to today’s political landscape. At road’s end, and after Gates’s distinctive meditation on the churches of his childhood, we emerge with a new understanding of the importance of African American religion to the larger national narrative—as a center of resistance to slavery and white supremacy, as a magnet for political mobilization, as an incubator of musical and oratorical talent that would transform the culture, and as a crucible for working through the Black community’s most critical personal and social issues. In a country that has historically afforded its citizens from the African diaspora tragically few safe spaces, the Black Church has always been more than a sanctuary. This fact was never lost on white supremacists: from the earliest days of slavery, when enslaved people were allowed to worship at all, their meetinghouses were subject to surveillance and destruction. Long after slavery’s formal eradication, church burnings and bombings by anti-Black racists continued, a hallmark of the violent effort to suppress the African American struggle for equality. The past often isn’t even past—Dylann Roof committed his slaughter in the Mother Emanuel AME Church 193 years after it was first burned down by white citizens of Charleston, South Carolina, following a thwarted slave rebellion. But as Gates brilliantly shows, the Black church has never been only one thing. Its story lies at the heart of the Black political struggle, and it has produced many of the Black community’s most notable leaders. At the same time, some churches and denominations have eschewed political engagement and exemplified practices of exclusion and intolerance that have caused polarization and pain. Those tensions remain today, as a rising generation demands freedom and dignity for all within and beyond their communities, regardless of race, sex, or gender. Still, as a source of faith and refuge, spiritual sustenance and struggle against society’s darkest forces, the Black Church has been central, as this enthralling history makes vividly clear.
Download or read book The Bedrock of Christianity written by Justin Bass and published by Lexham Press. This book was released on 2020-04-08 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can we all agree on some things about Jesus, regardless of our belief--or unbelief? Perhaps surprisingly, there is a lot upon which all scholars can agree. When surveying historical scholarship, there are certain truths about Jesus that Christians, agnostics, and skeptics must affirm. In The Bedrock of Christianity, Justin Bass shows how--regardless of one's feelings about Christianity--there lies a bedrock of truths about Jesus's life and ministry that are held by virtually all scholars of religion. Through an examination of each of these key facts, readers will encounter the unalterable truths upon which everyone can agree. Useful for both Christians and non-Christians alike, this study demonstrates what we can really know about the historical truth of Jesus' death and resurrection.
Download or read book The Disciple Making Pastor written by Bill Hull and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2007-10-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christ commanded the church to make disciples, to produce people who love and obey God, bear fruit, and live with joy. The crisis at the heart of the church is that we often pay lip service to making disciples, but we seldom put much effort behind doing it. For the pastor who is ready to put words into action, The Disciple-Making Pastor offers the inspiration and practical know-how to do so. Bill Hull shows pastors the obstacles they will face, what disciples really look like, the pastor's role in producing them, and the practices that lead to positive change. He also offers a six-step coaching process to help new disciples grow in commitment and obedience and practical ideas to integrate disciple making into the fabric of the church.
Download or read book The Messianic Feast written by Tennent and published by Messianic Publishing, LLC. This book was released on 2022-04-19 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A gold 2014 IPPY award-winner, The Messianic Feast proves the Last Supper wasn't the Passover, how the bread and wine parables relate to the Showbread, and how God wants spiritual communion, not a ritual.
Download or read book Evangelism Handbook written by Alvin Reid and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2009 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A thoroughly updated overview of how evangelism should happen, detailing the work of the Great Commission in four key categories: biblical, spiritual, intentional, missional.
Download or read book Human Origins written by John S. Compton and published by . This book was released on 2016 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Theology in Service to the Church written by Allan Hugh Cole Jr. and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2014-07-17 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As a global religion with growing numbers of expressions, Christianity calls for deepening relationships across traditions while also formulating collaborative visions. A thriving church will require Christians from various traditions and on varying trajectories to become familiar with one another, appreciate one another, and work in common service to God in Jesus Christ. In this book, a group of thirteen distinguished scholars from around the world and representing a range of Orthodox, Catholic, and Protestant perspectives demonstrate how theological reflection and broad-based ecumenical conversations may serve the church. Reflecting on numerous salient matters facing the global church, these scholars model what may be accomplished in ecumenical conversations that recognize the gifts that come with unity across diversity among those who seek to be faithful to Jesus Christ.
Download or read book We Confess written by Deborah Brunt and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2011-11 with total page 303 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How could a church culture that lifted high the name of Jesus make covenant with the Confederacy? How did the Southern Baptist Convention lead the way? How do divided hearts and unholy covenants still hinder awakening in the conservative US church culture? What dramatic changes will a spirit of grace and supplication bring? We Confess! The Civil War, the South, and the Church uncovers the answers, historically and biblically. God is revealing what we haven't wanted to see, so we can become who we truly are. He promises to cleanse us from bloodguilt not yet cleansed, as we say what we haven't dared say. As we confess, healing, life, oneness, witness and true worship flow. As we confess, our Lord is honored and his kingdom furthered. So why don't we, who most tend to gravitate to the word "celebrate" when talking of the Civil War, instead throw all caution to the wind--and confess? Honest, compelling, courageous, redemptive, this remarkable look at the conservative church culture rooted in the Deep South explores such topics as king cotton and mighty oaks; the fast God has chosen; spiritual bulimia; spiritual schizophrenia; blood covenant; cleansing from bloodgui“/li> an undivided heart.
Download or read book Under the Banner of Heaven written by Jon Krakauer and published by Anchor. This book was released on 2004-06-08 with total page 434 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NATIONAL BESTSELLER • From the author of Into the Wild and Into Thin Air, this extraordinary work of investigative journalism takes readers inside America’s isolated Mormon Fundamentalist communities. • Now an acclaimed FX limited series streaming on HULU. “Fantastic.... Right up there with In Cold Blood and The Executioner’s Song.” —San Francisco Chronicle Defying both civil authorities and the Mormon establishment in Salt Lake City, the renegade leaders of these Taliban-like theocracies are zealots who answer only to God; some 40,000 people still practice polygamy in these communities. At the core of Krakauer’s book are brothers Ron and Dan Lafferty, who insist they received a commandment from God to kill a blameless woman and her baby girl. Beginning with a meticulously researched account of this appalling double murder, Krakauer constructs a multi-layered, bone-chilling narrative of messianic delusion, polygamy, savage violence, and unyielding faith. Along the way he uncovers a shadowy offshoot of America’s fastest growing religion, and raises provocative questions about the nature of religious belief.
Download or read book When Everything s on Fire written by Brian Zahnd and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2021-11-09 with total page 159 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Is it possible to hold on to faith in an age of unbelief? Written with personal and pastoral experience, Brian Zahnd extends an invitation to move beyond the crisis of faith toward the journey of reconstruction. As the world rapidly changes in ways that feel incompatible with Christianity, this book provides much-needed hope that a stronger, more confident faith is possible.
Download or read book Using Vintage Hymns in Worship written by Gillian Warson and published by Sacristy Press. This book was released on 2021-06-01 with total page 104 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can hymn-singing continue as a flourishing tradition with old and new coexisting comfortably alongside each other? Gillian Warson invites us to see that vintage hymn texts should be lovingly preserved so that they can be enjoyed for generations to come.
Download or read book Born of Conviction written by Joseph T. Reiff and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2016 with total page 409 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In early 1963, twenty-eight white Methodist ministers caused a firestorm of controversy by publishing a statement of support for race relations change. Born of Conviction explores the statement's resulting influences on their lives, their reasons for signing the statement, and the various interpretations and legacies of the document.
Download or read book Move written by Greg L. Hawkins and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2011-08-12 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Most church leaders are passionate about their calling to “go and make disciples.” However, despite their most creative thinking, diligent efforts and rigorous assessments, year after year they arrive at the end of a ministry season with no way of knowing for sure whether they have succeeded or failed in their calling. “I want to serve God,” the refrain goes, “and on most days, I believe I’m doing what I’m called to do. But what if my approach is off-track? What if the work we’re doing as a church doesn’t really help people grow at all?” The only indicators of success most leaders have are numbers. Is attendance up? Are giving trends on the rise? Are we baptizing more people this year than last? Numbers are helpful, but they still come up short. Numbers may tell leaders how active their congregants are, but they reveal very little about whether or not anyone’s heart is changing as a result. Leaders need more than numbers to help them assess their efforts and make strategic ministry decisions. The crux of spiritual growth is not how busy people are with spiritual activities but how engaged they are with Christ. How close is a person to Christ? Are they fully surrendered to his will and his teaching? Do they prioritize faith in their daily lives? Are they growing in their love of God and others? In order to answer these questions, leaders need more than numbers; they need to see inside people’s hearts.In 2004, Willow Creek Community Church completed research that would eventually become the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey. Based on those initial findings, as well as data from more than 150,000 congregants in 500 churches, the REVEAL team discovered a way to see inside the hearts and minds of congregants. The Christ-Centered Heart presents discoveries not from a hypothetical, theoretical or opinion-driven point of view, but from an empirical one. By linking biblical principles with spiritual attitudes and behaviors, REVEAL research The Christ-Centered Heart provides a foundational understanding of this new lens for spiritual growth and presents findings from the latest REVEAL research. Focusing on Jesus’ definition of spiritual growth as increasing love of God and others (Matthew 22:36 – 40), the book draws on compelling stories of real people as well as engaging charts and graphs to illustrate key concepts and insights. It includes four parts: PART ONE: The Heart of the Matter explains the brutal truth about spiritual growth and an orientation on how REVEAL takes us “inside” the hearts of congregants.PART TWO: The Spiritual Continuum identifies the five segments of intimacy with Christ and describes people with “closed hearts,” who are Far from Christ; people with “searching hearts,” who are Exploring Christ; people with “open hearts,” who are Growing in Christ; people with “engaged hearts,” who are Close to Christ; and people with “surrendered hearts,” who are “Christ-Centered.”PART THREE: Spiritual Movement details the distinct spiritual catalysts that move people toward increasing intimacy with Christ. This includes four spiritual movements: from rejection to searching for Christ; from searching to accepting Christ; from growing in Christ to becoming close to him; and from close to Christ to becoming Christ-centered. We name two primary barriers to spiritual growth—becoming “stalled” along the journey toward intimacy with Christ, and becoming “dissatisfied” with the church’s ability to lead people there.PART FOUR: Spiritual Leadership presents five key findings based on REVEAL’s proprietary “Spiritual Vitality Index,” which ranks a church’s effectiveness in helping people grow. The findings explain the importance of getting people moving once they express interest in knowing Christ; embedding the Bible in everything the church does; creating ownership on the part of the Christ-follower; pastoring the local community rather than merely “doing ministry” inside the church’s four walls; and re-establishing
Download or read book Church Mergers written by Thomas G. Bandy and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-10-12 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The need to merge churches is growing ever more crucial as congregations assess how to thrive in cultural diversity and ever-changing times. Every denomination faces the urgency to shift from maintenance to mission, and from survival to renewal. Church Mergers offers churches of all sizes and traditions practical advice on how to merge successfully. Authors Thomas G. Bandy and Page M. Brooks draw on decades of experience to illustrate why and how missional mergers are possible. Church Mergers guides congregational leaders and regional planners through the process of successful mergers. It shares the stories of four churches in the merger process, explaining the steps to assess their situations, build trust, and discern vision. The book offers guidance to assess the potential for merger, explore contextual relevancy and lifestyle compatibility, overcome internal and external obstacles, define strategic priorities, create new boards, build leadership teams, combine assets, and more. Church Mergers shows that a faithful, healthy, missional merger is possible, and it illustrates that the whole can indeed be greater than the sum of its parts.
Download or read book Bermuda written by Brent Fortenberry and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2017-12-02 with total page 387 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This special issue ofPost-Medieval Archaeology, guest edited by Brent Fortenberry (Boston University) and Marley Brown III (The College of William and Mary), celebrates archaeology in Bermuda on the eve of the island's 400th anniversary. The volume presents the diverse nature of contemporary archaeological research on Bermuda, drawing together a wide array of scholars from the disciplines of archaeology, history, material culture studies, heritage and architectural history. The volume seeks to bring about a greater awareness of the island's archaeology and to explore its place within the historic and contemporary Atlantic world."
