Download or read book Congregational Megatrends written by Charles Jeffrey Woods and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1996-01-01 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is written as a resource to help pastors and laity (1) talk about the changes transpiring in congregations and (2) shape a new congregation for the future.

Download or read book Transforming Congregations written by James Lemler and published by Church Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2008-04-01 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can our patterns of congregational life and mission renew themselves and adjust to changing culture without selling out what Episcopalians stand for? How can local faith communities stay resilient and hopeful? What styles and practices of spirituality do most to enrich our mission? These are some of the questions James Lemler poses in this book on mission for clergy and congregational discussion. As with evangelism, there is both good and bad news about Episcopalians and mission. Lemler also provides a variety of models for moving forward in mission and hope, to a more abundant future.

Download or read book Future Faith Churches written by Don Posterski and published by Wood Lake Publishing Inc.. This book was released on 1997 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How can a church survive into the next millennium? That is the question Don Posterski and Gary Nelson asked themselves while researching and writing 'Future Faith Churches'. This book shows the way through to the 21st century by examining 14 examples of churches -- from Pentecostal to mainline liberal -- that are combining the strands of evangelism, social action, church growth, and strong leadership to create the fabric of their worshipping community.

Download or read book The Impact of Church Consultancy written by Ian G. Duncum and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-01-14 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book follows the journey of ten churches who underwent church consultancies, and explores in depth both the consultancy and its outcomes. Pre-consultancy and post-consultancy “snapshots,” four to five years apart, of vitality indicators and attendance figures (using National Church Life Survey and other data) are used to compare these with churches that have not undertaken church consultancies. Theologies of church consultancy, church health, and church growth are also developed and examined, intersecting with a wide body of literature, including contemporary ecclesiologies. Consultancy outcomes are examined in detail. This includes interviews with pastors of some of those churches, reflecting on their perceptions of whether and how the church consultancy impacted the health and growth of their church. Conclusions are drawn about the efficacy of church consultancy in influencing the health and growth of churches, as well as contexts for the best use of church consultancy. This is a significant book for denominational leaders, theological lecturers, pastors, and church leaders as they encounter lack of health in churches and seek ways forward for greater health and impact in their local communities.

Download or read book Engaging in Ministry with Older Adults written by Dosia Carlson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1997-10-01 with total page 183 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In these pages congregations will find information about the aging process as well as about implications for ministry. In addition to being beneficial for churches and synagogues, this book has a place in seminary education. Study groups may find especially useful the "Points to Ponder" page concluding each chapter. The questions found on those pages can also stimulate older readers to reflect on their life pilgrimage. If the illustrations sprinkled generously throughout the book motivate readers to adapt ideas or create their own responses to identified needs, then faithful engagement can result.

Download or read book Nine Marks of a Healthy Church written by Mark Dever and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2004 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did you know that . . .FROGS drink through their skin? Instead of swallowing water with their mouths, frogs absorb moisture through their skin. Frogs can also take in oxygen through their skin, which helps them breathe better in the water.FROGS eat with their eyes closed? The eyes help the frog swallow by lowering into its head and pushing the food down its throat.FROGS can jump 20 times their own length? That’s like a human jumping past four school buses in one leap!FROGS have sticky tongues? Frogs don’t use their hands to catch food . . . they just stick out their tongues! Flies, mosquitoes, and other yummy bugs stick to the tip and get pulled into the frog’s mouth for dinner.SOME FROGS wear camouflage? Stripes and spots help frogs blend into their natural surroundings. Some frogs can even change color depending on their location or the weather.FROGS recycle? Frogs shed their skin about once a week. Then they eat the old skin to reuse the nutrients stored inside.FROGS can live to be 40 years old? Most frogs live from 4 to 15 years.A FROG wasn’t always a frog? Every frog starts as a tiny egg that hatches into a tadpole. A tadpole has a round head and a tail and lives in the water like a fish. The tadpole eats a lot as its body changes and grows new parts. After three to four months, the tadpole has four legs and no tail and can live on land—it has become a frog!AWESOME!Did you know that you can become a new creature, too? You may not have a tail and live in the water, but God can give you a new life. Do you sometimes do things that make you feel bad inside? Maybe you were mean to someone at school or told a lie to your parents. God calls those bad things sin. Everyone is born knowing how to sin, and everyone who sins must be punished. But God, who loves us, doesn’t want us to sin. He wants us to be like Him—loving, kind, and good. Just as a tadpole changes into a frog, God can help you become more like Him. God sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth to be a human, just like us, except Jesus never sinned. Even so, He chose to die so that He could pay the death penalty for our sins. Three days after He died, God raised Him back to life again!Do you want to have a clean, new life? Then just believe in what Jesus did for you. Tell God that you are sorry for your sins and thank Him for sending Jesus to save you. The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). God will change you on the inside to make you a totally new creature—just like a tadpole changes into a frog. To do this, you can pray something like this:Dear God, I am sorry for the bad things I do. Thank You for sending Jesus to pay the penalty for my sins. Please change me on the inside and help keep me from sin so I can live a clean, new life for You. Amen.If you have just prayed to ask God to change you, write your name and address on the lines below and send it to us. We will send you a free booklet to help you grow in your new life with Christ.

Download or read book Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems written by Candace R. Benyei and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-10-13 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems, you’ll take an incisive look at why sexual misconduct occurs in religious systems and how to implement proactive strategies for holistic change. Applicable to both Jewish and Christian communities, this illuminating exploration takes a look at the psychology behind scapegoating, why it is perpetuated, and how you can quell the damaging tradition of silence.Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems helps you see leaders of religious institutions in a way that the world has been afraid to see them--in a glass clearly. Enriched with metaphoric myths and fairy tales instead of technical jargon, its unique systemic perspective reveals the psychodynamics behind the obsession with family secrets and lets you understand this dysfunction from the perspectives of victim, abuser, and counselor. These specific areas will both inform and aid you in dealing with this difficult subject: the religious institution as a family system the religious system as an illusion of the perfect family the concept of God-transference and the overidealization of clergy clergy personal relationships and clergy congregational relationships vulnerability and the psychology of the victim strategies for healing dysfunctional religious systems Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems comes at just the right time--in an era when little has been written on the subject, especially from a systemic perspective, this work comes at a time when the phenomena of clergy sexual misconduct has rocked the very foundation of religious systems worldwide. Whether you’re a lay congregational leader, judicatory administrator, pastoral counselor, psychologist, or seminarian, you’ll find that the coping strategies and intervention techniques it outlines will guide you in pinpointing the sickness at its source and restoring felicity and order to your religious leaders and their communities.

Download or read book Heart Mind and Strength written by Jeffrey D. Jones and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2008-12-08 with total page 200 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Leadership, observes Jeffrey Jones, is never about you. What happens to you as a leader stems from a vast array of issues and dynamics over which you have little or no control. Leadership, Jones also insists, is always about you--Christ's disciple, part of the system, an individual with your own anxieties and a personal life that shapes both your personhood and your relationships. Heart, Mind, and Strength is about dealing with the tension between these two realities. What we know is important. So is who we are--maybe even more so. Of course, admits Jones, no book can tell u s everything we need to know about leadership--the "what" of it. And certainly no book can shape our personhood--the "who" of leadership. Jones, however, shares both theoretical and practical insights that will inform the "what' and influence the "who" of your leadership in transformative ways. Jones organizes the book around the daily practices of leadership, treating it as both a skill and an art. Heart, Mind, and Strength will enhance your practice of ministry by providing well-grounded theory related to the practical concerns you encounter in the daily work of balancing what you know with who you are.

Download or read book Traveling Together written by Jeffrey D. Jones and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2005-12-30 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Anyone concerned for the life and ministry of the church, who has a sense that things are not what they might be, and who is seeking a new understanding of congregational life and mission will find hope and help in the pages of this book. Jeff Jones takes his readers on a journey, providing a guidebook that maps out the factors facing congregations in this postmodern, post-Christendom world. With the heart of a pastor, Jones shows congregational leaders how to embrace the best parts of their church's rich heritage and reclaim it for a new day.

Download or read book Temporary Shepherds written by Roger S. Nicholson and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1998-09-01 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Effective interim ministry depends on strong partnership between the interim minster and congregation. Lay leaders of congregations preparing for such a transition will value the expert guidance provided by over a dozen experienced interim pastors. What is interim ministry all about? What needs to happen during the interim? What should leaders and members expect from the interim pastor and themselves during this transition? What other resources are available for congregations?

Download or read book Facing Decline Finding Hope written by Jeffrey D. Jones and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-02-05 with total page 154 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Church today isn’t the same as it was fifty years ago—or even ten years ago. In spite of the powerful stories of turn-around churches with skyrocketing memberships, the difficult reality is that most congregations are getting smaller. Jeffrey D. Jones asks brave questions for congregations facing this reality—what if membership growth isn’t the primary goal for a church? How can churches remain vital, even with declining attendance? Facing Decline, Finding Hope is an essential resource to help congregations confront their shrinking size while looking towards the hopeful reality that God is calling them to greater faithfulness. The book draws on biblical and theological resources, as well as contemporary leadership studies, to help leaders—both clergy and laity—set aside a survival mentality and ask new questions to shape ministry more attuned to today’s world. Facing Decline, Finding Hope is a powerful book for leaders who want to honestly assess the size of their church and plan for faithful, invigorating service regardless of whether membership numbers are up or down.

Download or read book Saving Souls Serving Society written by Heidi Rolland Unruh and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2005-10-06 with total page 334 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Recent years have seen unprecedented attention to faith-based institutions as agents of social change, spurred in part by cuts in public funding for social services and accompanied by controversy about the separation of church and state. The debate over faith-based initiatives has highlighted a small but growing segment of churches committed to both saving souls and serving society. What distinguishes faith-based from secular activism? How do religious organizations express their religious identity in the context of social services? How do faith-based service providers interpret the connection between spiritual methodologies and socioeconomic outcomes? How does faith motivate and give meaning to social ministry? Drawing on case studies of fifteen Philadelphia-area Protestant churches with active outreach, Saving Souls, Serving Society seeks to answer these and other pressing questions surrounding the religious dynamics of social ministry. While church-based programs often look similar to secular ones in terms of goods or services rendered, they may show significant differences in terms of motivations, desired outcomes, and interpretations of meaning. Church-based programs also differ from one another in terms of how they relate evangelism to their social outreach agenda. Heidi Rolland Unruh and Ronald J. Sider explore how churches navigate the tension between their spiritual mission and the constraints on evangelism in the context of social services. The authors examine the potential contribution of religious dynamics to social outcomes as well as the relationship between mission orientations and social capital. Unruh and Sider introduce a new vocabulary for describing the religious components and spiritual meanings embedded in social action, and provide a typology of faith-based organizations and programs. Their analysis yields a framework for Protestant mission orientations that makes room for the diverse ways that churches interrelate spiritual witness and social compassion. Based on their observations, the authors offer a constructive approach to church-state partnerships and provide a far more objective understanding of faith-based social services than previously available.

Download or read book Silver Screen Sacred Story written by Michael G. Bausch and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2002-12-31 with total page 150 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our culture has undergone a major shift: younger generations have less and less interest in the printed word as they become predominantly image oriented. In response, as congregations increasingly learn to be more sophisticated in using newer electronic technologies, they are finding themselves at different places in the quest to understand, acquire, manage, and benefit from the technology boom. Worship leaders in congregations already using some electronic media are realizing that they could be doing more with it, and are seeking new ideas. Congregational leaders scrambling to catch up with a worship committee that has decided it's time for a change aren't sure of the next steps. Or maybe there's been a gift to the congregation to be spent on electronics, and no one is quite sure how best to use the money. Michael Bausch's book grows out of several years' of conversation, personal experimentation, and experience with multimedia worship in one modest-sized, small-town church, while also drawing on the experiences and work of other churches learning to use electronic media in worship. Bausch balances concern for practical issues, such as finances and architecture, with attention to theological integrity and the challenges of sustaining media-enhanced worship. He skillfully shows how the artistic resources of the world around us can enhance our awareness of God's presence in worship.

Download or read book Finding a Spiritual Home written by Rabbi Sidney Schwarz, PhD and published by Turner Publishing Company. This book was released on 2012-07-12 with total page 432 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Jewish community has lost some of the most sensitive spiritual souls of this generation. They are Jews who were looking for God and found spiritual homes outside of Judaism. Their journeys traversed the Jewish community, but nothing there beckoned them. The creation of synagogue-communities in which the voices of seekers can be heard and their questions can be asked will challenge many loyalist Jews. It will upset and enrage them. But it would also enrich them. —from Chapter 18 In this fresh look at the spiritual possibilities of American Jewish life, Rabbi Sidney Schwarz presents the framework for a new synagogue model—the synagogue community—and its promise to transform our understanding of the synagogue and its potential for modern Judaism. Schwarz profiles four innovative synagogues—one from each of the major movements of Judaism—that have had extraordinary success with their approach to congregational life and presents practical ways to replicate their success. Includes a discussion guide for study groups and book clubs as well as a new afterword by the author describing developments in synagogue change projects since the book was first published.

Download or read book Making Your Church a Place to Serve written by Don Waddell and published by College Press. This book was released on 2001 with total page 164 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Ethics and Spiritual Care written by Karen Lebacqz and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ethics and Spiritual Care responds to three phenomena of increasing importance: • Although spiritual care is at the heart of ordained ministry, there is no text in professional ethics for clergy that focuses specifically on spiritual care. What ethical guidelines are needed to ensure that spiritual care in ministry is appropriate? • Many people in our world do not consider themselves “religious,” but use the term “spiritual.” The burgeoning interest in “spirituality” is an invitation to people with little training to set themselves up as “spiritual directors.” Guidelines are needed not simply for the ethical practice of parish ministry, but for specific practices of spiritual direction. • Allegations of “spiritual abuse” have been made both in practice and in the literature; the term is being used with some frequency. The development of this term and its implications requires some scrutiny and response, as sexual abuse is not a good model for understanding spiritual abuse.

Download or read book Burning Center Porous Borders written by Eleazar S. Fernandez and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2011-10-17 with total page 399 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Burning Center, Porous Borders articulates what the church is and is called to be about in the world, a world now globalized to the point that the local is lived globally and the global is lived locally. The church must respond creatively and prophetically to the challenges-economic disparity, war and terrorism, diaspora, ecological threat, health crisis, religious diversity, and so on-posed by our highly globalized world. It can do so only if the church's spiritual center burns mightily. Conversely, it can burn mightily in the spirit of Christ only if its borders are porous and allows the fresh air/spirit of change to blow in and out. While there is much rhetoric about change, the most common response to change is to continue doing business as usual. This is particularly the case in the face of perceived global threats. In spite of the hoopla and euphoria of the global village, walls of division and exclusion are rising, hearts are constricting, and moral imagination shrinking. In response to this context, Burning Center, Porous Borders proposes alternative ways or images of being a church: burning center and porous borders, wall-buster and bridge-builder, translocal (glocal), mending-healer, radical hospitality, community of the earth-spirit, household of life abundant, dialogians of life, and community of hope. In Burning Center, Porous Borders congregational vitality and progressive praxis kiss and embrace!