Download or read book The Third Option written by Miles McPherson and published by Howard Books. This book was released on 2020-02-25 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Miles McPherson, founder of The Rock Church in San Diego, presents “a discussion about race that we desperately need...a must read” (Bishop T.D. Jakes, Senior Pastor, The Potter’s House) and argues that we must learn to see people not by the color of their skin, but as God sees them—humans created in the image of God. Pastor Miles McPherson, senior pastor of The Rock Church in San Diego, addresses racial division, a topic many have shied away from, for fear of asking the wrong question or saying the wrong thing. Some are oblivious to the impact racism has, while others pretend it doesn’t exist. Even the church has been affected by racial division, with Sunday now being the most segregated day of each week. Christians, who are called to love and honor their neighbors, have fallen into culture’s trap by siding with one group against another: us vs. them. Cops vs. protestors. Blacks vs. whites. Racists vs. the “woke.” The lure of choosing one option over another threatens God’s plan for unity among His people. Instead of going along with the culture, Pastor Miles directs us to choose the Third Option: honoring the priceless value of God’s image in every person we meet. He exposes common misconceptions that keep people from engaging with those of different racial and ethnic backgrounds, and identifies the privileges and pitfalls that we all face. The Third Option challenges us to fully embrace God’s creativity and beauty, as expressed in the diversity of His people. By following the steps and praying the prayers outlined in his book, Pastor Miles teaches us how we can all become leaders in unifying our communities, our churches, and the nation.
Download or read book The Church as Movement written by JR Woodward and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2016-07-14 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: JR Woodward and Dan White Jr. have trained church planters all over North America. In this interactive field manual, they help you and your team gain eight key competencies crucial for church planting so that you can create churches that flourish and launch their own sustainable missional and incarnational congregations.
Download or read book One Blood written by John Perkins and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2018-04-03 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Dr. Perkins’ final manifesto on race, faith, and reconciliation We are living in historic times. Not since the civil rights movement of the 60s has our country been this vigorously engaged in the reconciliation conversation. There is a great opportunity right now for culture to change, to be a more perfect union. However, it cannot be done without the church, because the faith of the people is more powerful than any law government can enact. The church is the heart and moral compass of a nation. To turn a country away from God, you must sideline the church. To turn a nation to God, the church must turn first. Racism won't end in America until the church is reconciled first. Then—and only then—can it spiritually and morally lead the way. Dr. John M. Perkins is a leading civil rights activist today. He grew up in a Mississippi sharecropping family, was an early pioneer of the civil rights movement, and has dedicated his life to the cause of racial equality. In this, his crowning work, Dr. Perkins speaks honestly to the church about reconciliation, discipleship, and justice... and what it really takes to live out biblical reconciliation. He offers a call to repentance to both the white church and the black church. He explains how band-aid approaches of the past won't do. And while applauding these starter efforts, he holds that true reconciliation won't happen until we get more intentional and relational. True friendships must happen, and on every level. This will take the whole church, not just the pastors and staff. The racial reconciliation of our churches and nation won't be done with big campaigns or through mass media. It will come one loving, sacrificial relationship at a time. The gospel and all that it encompasses has always traveled best relationally. We have much to learn from each other and each have unique poverties that can only be filled by one another. The way forward is to become "wounded healers" who bandage each other up as we discover what the family of God really looks like. Real relationships, sacrificial love between actual people, is the way forward. Nothing less will do.
Download or read book We Will Feast written by Kendall Vanderslice and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2019-05-21 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Explores the practice of eating together as Christian worship The gospel story is filled with meals. It opens in a garden and ends in a feast. Records of the early church suggest that believers met for worship primarily through eating meals. Over time, though, churches have lost focus on the centrality of food— and with it a powerful tool for unifying Christ’s diverse body. But today a new movement is under way, bringing Christians of every denomination, age, race, and sexual orientation together around dinner tables. Men and women nervous about stepping through church doors are finding God in new ways as they eat together. Kendall Vanderslice shares stories of churches worshiping around the table, introducing readers to the rising contemporary dinner-church movement. We Will Feast provides vision and inspiration to readers longing to experience community in a real, physical way.
Download or read book Community Churches the Community Church Movement written by David Roy Piper and published by . This book was released on 1928 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Emerging Churches written by Eddie Gibbs and published by Baker Academic. This book was released on 2005-12 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides a comprehensive examination of the emerging church phenomenon, considering emerging patterns in leadership, worship, mission, spiritual practices, and cultural engagement.
Download or read book The Elusive Dream written by Korie L. Edwards and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2008-08-27 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'The Elusive Dream' demonstrates, through nuanced analysis and in-depth study, that interracial churches in fact help to perpetuate the very racial inequality they aim to abolish. The text raises provocative questions about the ongoing problem of race in the national culture.
Download or read book Gay Religion written by Scott Thumma and published by Rowman Altamira. This book was released on 2004-12-10 with total page 471 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conflicts over homosexuality and gay rights threaten to break apart denominations, if not North American society. These heated theological and political debates have, as well, obscured the fact that many gays and lesbians are religiously active individuals. Gay Religion is the first book to give a straightforward presentation of the spiritual lives, practices and expressions of gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender. Drawing from a wide range of religious traditions, new and established scholars explore the range of gay religious expression in denominations, sects, and even outside recognized religious institutions. The essays ask what these religious innovations mean to the continually evolving religious environment of North America. With its helpful section introductions and an appendix providing profiles of organizations involved, Gay Religion is a unique and compelling resource for anyone interested in homosexuality and American religion.
Download or read book Letters to a Birmingham Jail written by Bryan Loritts and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2014-03-26 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More than fifty years ago, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Much has transpired in the half-century since, and progress has been made in the issues that were close to Dr. King’s heart. Thankfully, the burning crosses, biting police dogs, and angry mobs of that day are long gone. But in their place, passivity has emerged. A passivity that must be addressed. That’s the aim of Letters to a Birmingham Jail. A collection of essays written by men of various ethnicities and ages, this book encourages us to pursue Christ exalting diversity. Each contribution recognizes that only the cross and empty tomb of Christ can bring true unity, and each notes that the gospel demands justice in all its forms. This was a truth that Dr. King fought and gave his life for, and this is a truth that these modern day "drum majors for justice" continue to beat.
Download or read book The Purpose Driven Life written by Rick Warren and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2012-10-23 with total page 369 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Discover and fulfill your God-given purpose by joining the more than thirty-five million others who have embarked on a spiritual journey that started with this #1 New York Times bestselling book by Pastor Rick Warren. Before you were born, God knew what your life had in store for you. His hope for you is to discover the life he created just for you--both here on earth, and forever in eternity. Let Rick Warren guide you as you learn to live out your true purpose. The Purpose Driven Life is more than a book; it's a road map for your spiritual journey. Combining thoughtful verses from Scripture with timely stories and perspectives from Warren's own life, The Purpose Driven Life will help you discover the answer to one of life's most important questions: What on earth am I here for? Throughout The Purpose Driven Life, Warren will teach you to spend time getting to know yourself and your creator in order to live your life to the fullest. Unlocking your true purpose will also reduce your stress, simplify your decisions, increase your satisfaction, and, most importantly, prepare you for eternity. Designed to be read over the course of forty-two days, The Purpose Driven Life will help you see the big picture, giving you a fresh perspective on the way that the pieces of your life fit together. Every chapter of The Purpose Driven Life provides a daily meditation and practical steps to help you uncover and live out your purpose, starting with exploring three essential questions: The Question of Existence: Why am I alive? The Question of Significance: Does my life matter? The Question of Purpose: What on earth am I here for? Each copy of The Purpose Driven Life also includes thoughtful discussion questions, audio Bible studies that go along with every chapter, and access to a supportive online community, giving you the opportunity to dive even deeper into each life-changing lesson.
Download or read book Church Planting Movements written by V. David Garrison and published by WIGTake Resources. This book was released on 2007 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: David Garrison, PhD University of Chicago, defines Church Planting Movements as rapidly multiplying indigenous churches planting churches that sweep across a people group or population segment. Garrison's Church Planting Movements: How God Is Redeeming a Lost World signaled a breakthrough in missionary church planting. After the publication of Garrison's book in 2004 it became impossible to talk about missions without referencing Church Planting Movements. Church Planting Movements examines more than two-dozen movements of multiplying churches on five continents. After presenting these case studies, Garrison identifies ten universal elements present in each movement. He then broadens the circle of examination to identify a further ten common characteristics, factors identified in most, but not all, of the movements. He concludes his examination with a list of "Seven Deadly Sins," i.e. harmful practices that stifle or impede Church Planting Movements. Important for evangelical readers, the author returns to his findings to see how they stand up to the light of Scripture. What he discovers is that Church Planting Movements are much more consistent with the New Testament lay-led house-church movements that swept rapidly through the Mediterranean world in the face of hostile opposition than today's more sedentary professional institutionalized Christianity. Learn more about Church Planting Movements from the book's website: www.ChurchPlantingMovements.com.
Download or read book Micro Church Networks written by Larry Kreider and published by House to House Publications. This book was released on 2020-09 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Micro churches, as a fresh expression of the bride of Christ living in community, are flourishing in many parts of the world. In Micro Church Networks, Larry Kreider explains from decades of first-hand experience how these networks fit the needs, call and passion of believers from many generations. Typical questions such as "How are micro churches different from small groups?" and "How do micro church networks relate to churches with a more traditional structure?" are well-answered in this timely publication. God is always ready to do a new thing. Larry helps us perceive this new move of God and recognize the significant role of micro church networks in the advancement of God's Kingdom in our present time.
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 Oneness Embraced written by Tony Evans and published by . This book was released on 2015-10-06 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the Bible as a guide and heaven as the goal, Oneness Embraced calls God's people to kingdom-focused unity. It tells us why we don't have it, what we need to get it, and what it will look like when we do. Mr. Evans weaves his own story into this word to the church.
Download or read book We Are Church A Small Group Experience written by Francis Chan and published by . This book was released on 2011-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: BASIC.We Are ChurchA Small Group ExperienceFRANCIS CHAN In this bold new interactive 9-session small group study, Francis Chan takes on the practical aspects of the church, distilling the reality of God's design for the church into foundational truths that will challenge Christians to become the church described in Scripture. Features the final four BASIC films on DVD, each enhanced with two exclusive study sessions found only in this small group experience.- BASIC.Fellowship DVD- BASIC.Teaching DVD- BASIC.Prayer DVD- BASIC.Communion DVD- Six (6) We Are Church Follower's Guides, corresponding to the interactive DVD studies- Resource DVD with video clips, trailers, and poster for church use, sermon outlines for pastors, tips for leaders, and more.
Download or read book Brown Church written by Robert Chao Romero and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2020-05-26 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Latina/o culture and identity have long been shaped by their challenges to the religious, socio-economic, and political status quo. Robert Chao Romero explores the "Brown Church" and how this movement appeals to the vision for redemption that includes not only heavenly promises but also the transformation of our lives and the world.
Download or read book Church of the Wild written by Victoria Loorz and published by Broadleaf Books . This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 262 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2024 Nautilus Book Awards Silver Winner in "Religion / Spirituality of Western Thought" CategoryWinner of the Living Now Book Award, Church of the Wild reminds us that once upon a time, humans lived in an intimate relationship with nature. Whether disillusioned by the dominant church or unfulfilled by traditional expressions of faith, many of us long for a deeper spirituality. Victoria Loorz certainly did. Coping with an unraveling vocation, identity, and planet, Loorz turned to the wanderings of spiritual leaders and the sanctuary of the natural world, eventually cofounding the Wild Church Network and Seminary of the Wild. With an ecospiritual lens on biblical narratives and a fresh look at a community larger than our own species, Church of the Wild uncovers the wild roots of faith and helps us deepen our commitment to a suffering earth by falling in love with it--and calling it church. Through mystical encounters with wild deer, whispers from a scrubby oak tree, wordless conversation with a cougar, and more, Loorz helps us connect to a love that literally holds the world together--a love that calls us into communion with all creatures.
