Download or read book Congregations in America written by Mark Chaves and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2009-07-01 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More Americans belong to religious congregations than to any other kind of voluntary association. What these vast numbers amount to--what people are doing in the over 300,000 churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples in the United States--is a question that resonates through every quarter of American society, particularly in these times of "faith-based initiatives," "moral majorities," and militant fundamentalism. And it is a question answered in depth and in detail in Congregations in America. Drawing on the 1998 National Congregations Study--the first systematic study of its kind--as well as a broad range of quantitative, qualitative, and historical evidence, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the most significant form of collective religious expression in American society: local congregations. Among its more surprising findings, Congregations in America reveals that, despite the media focus on the political and social activities of religious groups, the arts are actually far more central to the workings of congregations. Here we see how, far from emphasizing the pursuit of charity or justice through social services or politics, congregations mainly traffic in ritual, knowledge, and beauty through the cultural activities of worship, religious education, and the arts. Along with clarifying--and debunking--arguments on both sides of the debate over faith-based initiatives, the information presented here comprises a unique and invaluable resource, answering previously unanswerable questions about the size, nature, make-up, finances, activities, and proclivities of these organizations at the very center of American life.
Download or read book Coming of Age Handbook for Congregations written by Sarah Gibb Millspaugh and published by Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. This book was released on 2009 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Reclaiming Rural written by Allen T. Stanton and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-05-15 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As rural America continues to undergo massive economic and demographic shifts, rural churches are uniquely positioned to provide community leadership. Leading a rural congregation requires a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing these communities, as well as a strong theological and community-focused identity. Allen T. Stanton describes how in establishing this identity, rural leaders build a meaningful and vital ministry. Reclaiming Rural explores the myths and realities of rural places, and how those common narratives impact the leadership of rural churches. Ultimately, rural congregations must practice a contextual understanding of vitality, which understands both the strengths and challenges of leading in a rural setting. Arguing for a practice of evangelism imbued with this mission of vitality, Reclaiming Rural promotes the church as a leader in economic and community development, modeled upon a Wesleyan theology of grace. Acknowledging the many challenges facing rural churches, this book is an energetic and encouraging guide to overcoming social and economic obstacles to build a thriving congregation.
Download or read book Conflict Management in Congregations written by David B. Lott and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2001-05-01 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Since its inception, the Alban Institute has earned a reputation as a leader in addressing congregational conflict management issues through its research, consulting services, educational events, and particularly its publications. Drawing on this rich heritage, the first title in our new "Harvesting the Learnings" anthology series gathers 20 classic Alban works on congregational conflict into a single, indispensable volume. Conflict Management in Congregations harvests the collected wisdom of many of the key thinkers on this topic, including such past and present Alban consultants as Speed Leas, George Parsons, Margaret Bruehl, Gil Rendle, Alice Mann, and Roy Pneumann. Much of the material found here has long been unavailable but is still much in demand. Divided into three sections that explore the dynamics of conflict, conflict management techniques, and dealing with conflict in specific contexts, this book serves as a comprehensive primer that no pastor or congregational leader will want to be without.
Download or read book Transformational Church written by Ed Stetzer and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2010 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is time to take heart and rework the scorecard. --
Download or read book Congregation Community written by Nancy Tatom Ammerman and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 1997 with total page 460 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why do some religious institutions decline in the face of racial integration whilst others grow? How do congregations deal with economic distress? This study of congregations in the face of community transformation includes stories of over 20 congregations in nine communities across America.
Download or read book The Teaching Ministry of Congregations written by Richard Robert Osmer and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this important and groundbreaking book, Osmer develops a practical theology of the teaching ministry. He begins with the Apostle Paul, identifying in Paul's letters to his congregations the core tasks of the teaching ministry.
Download or read book How Your 21st Century Church Family Works written by Peter L. Steinke and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2021-11-27 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first edition of How Your Church Family Works was written nearly thirty years ago, and the reach and velocity of change in the last three decades poses a new challenge for churches. Thirty years ago, churches functioned in a fairly stable environment and focused on growth an expansion. The tide has turned now, though, and supplanted increase with decline. Bowen family systems theory—on which How Your Church Family Works is based—has not changed, but its application has to be revised for the twenty-first century. How Your 21st-Century Church Family Works, the second edition of Peter Steinke’s landmark book, addresses the radically altered landscape of church sustainability with new introductory and concluding chapters bookending updates throughout the now-classic text. Core chapters of the book feature fresh examples of emotional process that are more exemplary of the current scene. One key addition is a new trigger of anxiety for churches—the change process. Change threatens the familiar and stable and suffers from negative connotations of endangering tradition. Where gradual change has been the norm for so long, churches now see a blistering pace of disruptions, some of which have forced change too early or too late, or sometimes in unproductive directions. How Your 21st-Century Church family works embraces the anxiety caused by change, transforming it from a source of anguish to a font of opportunity.
Download or read book Creating Congregations of Generous People written by Michael Durall and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 1999-12-01 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Asking parishioners for money is very different from creating congregations of generous people. In this provocative book, stewardship consultant Michael Durall argues convincingly that annual pledge drives inadvertently perpetuate low-level and same-level giving in congregations. Written with the voice of experience, this book will help clergy and lay leaders initiate and sustain effective stewardship programs. Durall believes that asking for money eventually becomes routine, even tedious-but creating a congregation of generous people becomes ever more meaningful with passing time.
Download or read book Transforming Congregational Culture written by Anthony B. Robinson and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2003-01-21 with total page 152 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Argues in behalf of transforming main-line congregations into "missional communities," which will give hope to declining churches in the twenty-first century.
Download or read book Congregations in Conflict written by Penny Edgell and published by . This book was released on 1999 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Congregations in Conflict examines the nature of America's congregations as institutions, looking in particular at how they deal with conflict within their ranks, to gain insight into religious culture, or the moral order of local religious life.
Download or read book American Congregations Volume 2 written by James P. Wind and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 1998-09 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Continuing this two-part series on American religion, Volume 2 addresses three questions: Where is the congregation located on the broader map of American cultural and religious life? What are congregations' distinctive roles in American culture? And, what patterns of leadership characterize congregations in America?
Download or read book Building Strong Congregations written by Bruce Wrenn and published by Autumn House Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 562 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: You probably have a fairly good idea of what it took to construct the building in which your congregation meets. First, there was a recognized need for a building, followed by a budget, blueprints, fund-raising, construction workers, and building materials, and voil! The structure proudly stands as a monument to the effective implementation of a well-thought-out plan.
Download or read book Working with Religious Congregations written by and published by . This book was released on 1997 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Leadership in Congregations written by Richard Bass and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2006-12-31 with total page 217 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new book in Alban's Harvesting the Learnings Series gathers the collected wisdom of over 10 years of Alban research and reflection on what it means to be a leader in a congregation, how our perceptions of leadership are changing, and exciting new directions for leadership in the future. With pieces by such diverse church leaders as Graham Standish, Diana Butler Bass, Jeffrey Jones, Donna Schaper, Gil Rendle, Ann Svennungsen, Mark Lau Branson, and many others, this volume gathers in one place a variety of essays that approach the leadership task and challenge with insight, depth, humor, and imagination. The book also includes the full text of Alban's 2001 special report, "The Leadership Situation Facing American Congregations" by James P. Wind and Gil Rendle. That report examined the evidence for turmoil on the one hand and ferment on the other. The Alban Institute, it declared, stood on the side of ferment. To live into the ferment, we need to see leadership in new ways and learn a new set of adaptive skills that allow them to shape new patterns of congregational life and new leadership roles. Based in research and experience, this volume makes available the best of Alban's learning on how the leaders of congregations can go about this important work.
Download or read book Holy Conversations written by Gil Rendle and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2003-11-01 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Planning can be challenging in the contemporary congregation, where people share a common faith and values but may have very different preferences and needs. Much of the literature on congregational planning presents it as a technical process: the leader serves as the chief problem solver, and the goal is finding "the solution to the problem." Rendle and Mann equip congregational leaders with a broad and creative range of ideas, pathways, processes, and tools for planning. By choosing the resources that best suit their needs and context, congregations will shape their own strengthening, transforming, holy conversation. They will find a path that is faithful to their identity and their relationship with God. Resource materials are available to purchasers of the book. E-mail [email protected] for more information.
Download or read book Singing the Congregation written by Monique M. Ingalls and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2018-09-17 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contemporary worship music shapes the way evangelical Christians understand worship itself. Author Monique M. Ingalls argues that participatory worship music performances have brought into being new religious social constellations, or "modes of congregating". Through exploration of five of these modes--concert, conference, church, public, and networked congregations--Singing the Congregation reinvigorates the analytic categories of "congregation" and "congregational music." Drawing from theoretical models in ethnomusicology and congregational studies, Singing the Congregation reconceives the congregation as a fluid, contingent social constellation that is actively performed into being through communal practice--in this case, the musically-structured participatory activity known as "worship." "Congregational music-making" is thereby recast as a practice capable of weaving together a religious community both inside and outside local institutional churches. Congregational music-making is not only a means of expressing local concerns and constituting the local religious community; it is also a powerful way to identify with far-flung individuals, institutions, and networks that comprise this global religious community. The interactions among the congregations reveal widespread conflicts over religious authority, carrying far-ranging implications for how evangelicals position themselves relative to other groups in North America and beyond.
