Download or read book Pastors and Churches Gone Wild written by Texe W Marrs and published by Rivercrest Publishing. This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Texe Marrs has been following the antics of pastors and churches for over thirty-five years. He regularly reports the more intriguing cases on his weekly radio program. Now he opens his case files to allow you, the reader, to discover just how bizarre and ungodly America's pastors really are. There's the naked pastor who preaches to an all nude congregation, and the famous evangelist who demands young men get a vasectomy, then personally examines their genitals. Read about the wild pastor who claims Jesus came to him dressed as a fireman. Revel over the pastor who seriously says he is the reincarnated "Jesus" and wants his entire congregation to take a 666 tattoo. You'll find out about the pastor who says Judas got a raw deal and is now in heaven. And, the raucous evangelist who screams at and kicks people, belches loudly, spouts profanity, and beds church women. There is the "Hookers for Jesus" group and the churches that teach women how to pole dance. At one large church in Chicago, a woman wearing a skimpy bikini walks a high-up tightrope. You'll also be introduced to Pigalle, painted pink, where four transvestites dressed as nuns greet visitors. You will meet Duck Dynasty's stars who claim to be Christian, but what about those Masonic hand and body signs? One top TV evangelist claims Jesus and Red China's communist butcher, Mao Tse Tung, believed exactly alike. Meanwhile, there's the woman pastor who, at worship services, distributes free condoms to her congregation. These wild and outrageous pastors and churches are prime evidence that the Christian establishment has gone berserk. It's no wonder that one pastor recently resigned from the pulpit, exclaiming, "I'm fleeing the madhouse." Book jacket.
Download or read book Crushing written by T. D. Jakes and published by FaithWords. This book was released on 2019-04-16 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Follow God's process for growth and learn how you can benefit from life's challenging experiences with this book by bestselling inspirational author T.D. Jakes. In this insightful book, #1 New York Times bestselling author T.D. Jakes wrestles with the age-old questions: Why do the righteous suffer? Where is God in all the injustice? In his most personal offering yet, Bishop Jakes tells crushing stories from his own journey-the painful experience of learning his young teenage daughter was pregnant, the agony of watching his mother succumb to Alzheimer's, and the shock and helplessness he felt when his son had a heart attack. Bishop Jakes wants to encourage you that God uses difficult, crushing experiences to prepare you for unexpected blessings. If you are faithful through suffering, you will be surprised by God's joy, comforted by His peace, and fulfilled with His purpose. Crushing will inspire you to have hope, even in your most difficult moments. If you trust in God and lean on Him during setbacks, He will lead you through.
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.
Download or read book Preachers Gone Wild written by BRENT La PRINCE EDWARDS and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2011-10-19 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “PREACHERS GONE WILD” Where Do Preachers Go When They Hurt? An Encyclopedia of Help for Anyone in the Heat of the Spotlight By Rev. Brent La Prince Edwards Too often we hear reports of preachers getting caught up in stuff and things that make ministry and the pulpit look suspect and questionable. Yet there’s a flip side of the story. While many point fingers of blame and shame against preachers around the world many clergy are in deep personal pain with no place to vent while still having to carry on the duties of ministry. Join Reverend Edwards as he exposes deep issues clergy face rarely discussed! This book will inform, comfort, heal and revolutionize your life! While in many Christian circles there are conferences and ministries on varied subjects, where are the conferences for the wounded leader? So have preachers really gone wild or is there something much deeper going on? Also excellent reading for non-clergy vocations and anyone in the heat of the spotlight or public eye! Rev. Edwards addresses the following issues: • Preachers and Health • Preachers and Sexuality • Preachers and Money • Preachers, Marriage, and Relationships • Why Some Preacher’s Kids Are Indifferent to Ministry • Understanding the Controlling Minister • How Should Congregations Respond to Wounded Leaders • Preachers and the “Mega” Church Syndrome And Much, Much More!
Download or read book PreachersNSneakers written by Ben Kirby and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2021-04-27 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Founder of the phenomenon social media account PreachersNSneakers tackles how faith, capitalism, consumerism, and (wannabe) celebrity have collided and asks both believers and nonbelievers alike: how much is too much? What started as a joke account on Instagram has turned into a movement. Through this provocative project, the founder of PreachersNSneakers is helping thousands of Jesus followers wrestle with the inevitable dilemmas created by our Western culture obsessed with image and entertainment. In PreachersNSneakers: Authenticity in an Age of For-Profit Faith and (Wannabe) Celebrities, Ben Kirby approaches many of the difficult questions plaguing countless Christians’ minds, presenting experiences and input from both sides of difficult questions, such as: Should pastors grow wealthy off of religion, and can their churches ever be too large? Do we really believe that divine blessings are monetary, or is that just religious wallpaper to hide our own greed? Is there space in Christendom for celebrities like Kanye and Bieber to exist without distorting the good news? What about this: Is it wrong for someone—even wrong for author Ben Kirby—to call out faith leaders online and leverage “cancel culture” to affect change? PreachersNSneakers will navigate these challenging questions and many more with humor, wit, candor, and a few never-before-published hijinks. Each chapter will explore the various sides of the debate, holding space for us to make up our own minds. This book is not about finding the perfect, “right” way to do something, but instead learning how to articulate what we believe, why we believe it, and what to do when we want to stand up against cultural norms. This book will doubtlessly become a staple for church small groups, college ministries, and book clubs, emboldening struggling believers who want to live a more genuine faith. After all, the Lord works in mysterious colorways.
Download or read book 100 Best Ideas to Turbocharge Your Children s Ministry written by Dale Hudson and published by Group Publishing, Inc. . This book was released on 2013-05-01 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A treasure trove of tools and techniques to take your children’s ministry to the next level...and impact kids' lives like never before. These 100 sure-fire "how-tos" were developed by children’s ministry leaders who’ve spent years fine-tuning the strategies that bring real success. You'll discover how to: • Equip volunteers to love serving and stay for the long haul • Develop a dynamic ministry area that kids love and bring their friends to • Rev up your vision and get your team excited • And much, much more!
Download or read book At Your Best written by Carey Nieuwhof and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2021-09-14 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A perceptive and practical book about why our calendars so rarely reflect our priorities and what we can do to regain control.”—ADAM GRANT “Carey’s book will help you reorganize your life. And then you can share a copy with someone you care about.”—SETH GODIN You deserve to stop living at an unsustainable pace. An influential podcaster and thought leader shows you how. Overwhelmed. Overcommitted. Overworked. That’s the false script an inordinate number of people adopt to be successful. Does this sound familiar: ● Slammed is normal. ● Distractions are everywhere. ● Life gets reduced to going through the motions. Tired of living that way? At Your Best gives you the strategies you need to win at work and at home by living in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow. Influential podcast host and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof understands the challenges of constant pressure. After a season of burnout almost took him out, he discovered how to get time, energy, and priorities working in his favor. This approach freed up more than one thousand productive hours a year for him and can do the same for you. At Your Best will help you ● replace chronic exhaustion with deep productivity ● break the pattern of overpromising and never accomplishing enough ● clarify what matters most by restructuring your day ● master the art of saying no, without losing friends or influence ● discover why vacations and sabbaticals don’t really solve your problems ● develop a personalized plan to recapture each day so you can break free from the trap of endless to-dos Start thriving at work and at home as you discover how to be at your best.
Download or read book Unchurching written by Richard Jacobson and published by . This book was released on 2016-07-12 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Millions of believers are currently leaving the organized church, without giving up their faith. Sadly, many are only defining themselves by what they don't do, as Christians who simply "don't go to church." It's time for these believers to catch a vision for genuine spiritual community, outside the walls of organized Christianity, a way of being the church without going to church. Unchurching: Christianity Without Churchianity will challenge everything you thought you knew about church. Unchurching boldly examines whether organized churches are even biblical. It thoroughly deconstructs the idea of special church buildings, paid pastors, weekly sermons, mandatory tithes and offerings, gender inequality in church leadership, and much more. Unchurching is intended to empower believers who are done with organized church but aren't ready to abandon their faith. It will give non-churchgoing Christians a vision for genuine spiritual community that simply functions like an extended spiritual family. And it will equip them with the language to finally articulate that vision to others. Here's what others are saying about Unchurching: "Lots of books that invite Christians to follow Jesus outside of the four walls of churchianity are filled with harsh judgment and criticism of how others 'do church.' But not this book! Unchurching by Richard Jacobson is full of love and grace. There is no judgment, condemnation, or guilt-casting of any kind. Beginning with the Trinity of God, Jacobson presents a grand vision of what the church can be and how we can truly have community as followers of Jesus. Read this book and be encouraged to take the next step of your journey!" Jeremy Myers, author and blogger at RedeemingGod.com "Unchurching: Christianity without Churchianity validates and empowers the rapidly growing number of people who are in the transition between traditional church and an informal community of disciples meeting outside the four walls of the church building. Richard Jacobson has been on both sides of this shift and is uniquely qualified to write about it-which he does well, with insight, humility, and scholarship. I especially valued his comments on the freedom that women have to do and be everything God is calling them to. Highly recommended." Felicity Dale: author, An Army of Ordinary People; co-author, Small is Big "Unchurching presents us with a picture of a church that is all about one person-Jesus. As I read this book I felt my pulse quicken and my heart leap for joy because everything Richard writes about is centered on, around, and in relation to the One who would rather die than live without us. Anyone who loves Jesus and who longs to take hold of Him in a gathering where He is the focal point will delight in this book. It's truly amazing what happens when we get out of the way and allow Jesus to take center stage. This book shows us what that can look like, if we are willing to let go of our traditions and embrace the living, breathing Christ who longs to share His life with us throughout eternity, starting right now!" Keith Giles, author of This Is My Body: Ekklesia As God Intended; author of Jesus Untangled
Download or read book The 5 Masculine Instincts written by Chase Replogle and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2022-03-01 with total page 167 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Don’t trust your instincts—there is a better path to becoming a better man. It’s no secret: today’s men face a dilemma. Our culture tells them that their instincts are either toxic or salvific. Men are left with only two options: deconstruct and forfeit masculine identity or embrace it with wild abandon. They’re left to decide between ignoring their instincts or indulging them. Neither approach helps them actually understand their own masculine experiences nor how those experiences can lead them to become better men of God. The Bible doesn’t shy away from the reality of masculine instincts nor all of the ways those instincts can lead to destruction. Examining the lives of five men of the Bible, The 5 Masculine Instincts shows that these men aren’t masculine role models or heroes but are men who wrestled with their own desires and, by faith, matured them into something better. Through this book you’ll discover your own instincts are neither curse nor virtue. They are the experiences by which you develop a new and better instinct—an instinct of faith. By exploring sarcasm, adventure, ambition, reputation, and apathy, The 5 Masculine Instincts shows you how to better understand yourself and how your own instincts can be matured into something better. This is the path by which we become better men.
Download or read book Holy Noticing written by Charles Stone and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2019-03-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Does your life ever feel like one series of rushed moments after another? Do you want to feel more present and connected to those you love? Do you want to be able to listen without thinking the whole time of what you’re going to say next? Do you want to feel less distracted, less busy, and more whole? Most of us spend our distracted lives longing to get to the next, better moment and fail to notice the present one. We lack space between one task and the next, one thought and the next, one email and the next. Social media, TV, work deadlines, and family stress steal our enjoyment and engagement in the moment. Holy Noticing will teach you how to: become more aware of your thoughts, emotions, and environment recognize Christ’s presence in the moment reduce your stress by developing the ability to focus on God and people rather than tasks Many today think mindfulness is dangerous, unchristian, or associated with Eastern religions—and often it is! But Dr. Charles Stone reveals that the art of holy noticing—purposefully paying attention to God as he works in us, our relationships, and our world—is a spiritual discipline Christians have practiced for millennia. Holy Noticing explores the historically Christian and biblical roots of this lifestyle, as well as Dr. Stone’s BREATHe model, which teaches you to be more engaged with Christ in the everyday moments that too often slip right by us. Discover the lost spiritual discipline of holy noticing today and learn to engage the world like Christ.
Download or read book People Pleasing Pastors written by Charles Stone and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2014-01-10 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Charles Stone's research on thousands of pastors and ministry leaders demonstrates the dangers of approval-motivated leadership. Bringing together biblical insights and neuroscience findings, Stone shows why we fall into people-pleasing patterns and what we can do to overcome these tendencies for more effective ministry.
Download or read book Family Driven Faith written by Voddie T. Baucham Jr. and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2007 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: More teens are turning away from the faith than ever before: it is estimated that 75 to 88% of Christian teens walk away from Christianity by the end of their freshman year of college. Something must be done. Family Driven Faith equips Christian parents with the tools they need to raise children biblically in a post-Christian, anti-family society. Voddie Baucham, who with his wife has overcome a multi-generational legacy of broken and dysfunctional homes, shows that God has not left us alone in raising godly children. He has given us timeless precepts and principles for multi-generational faithfulness, especially in Deuteronomy 6. God's simple command to Moses to teach the Word diligently to the children of Israel serves as the foundation of Family Driven Faith. - Publisher.
Download or read book So You Don t Want to Go to Church Anymore written by Wayne Jacobsen and published by Windblown Media. This book was released on 2008-09-02 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jake Colsen, an overworked and disillusioned pastor, happens into a stranger who bears an uncanny resemblance (in manner) to the apostle John. A number of encounters with John as well as a family crisis lead Jake to a new understanding of what his life should be like: one filled with faith bolstered by a steady, close relationship with the God of the universe. Facing his own disappointment with Christianity, Jake must forsake the habits that have made his faith rote and rediscover the love that captured his heart when he first believed. Compelling and intensely personal, So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anything relates a man's rebirth from performance-based Christianity to a loving friendship with Christ that affects all he does, thinks, and says. As John tells Jake, "There is nothing the Father desires for you more than that you fall squarely in the lap of his love and never move from that place for the rest of your life."
Download or read book A Change of Affection written by Becket Cook and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2019-07-30 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The powerful, dramatic story of how a successful Hollywood set designer whose identity was deeply rooted in his homosexuality came to be suddenly and utterly transformed by the power of the gospel. When Becket Cook moved from Dallas to Los Angeles after college, he discovered a socially progressive, liberal town that embraced not only his creative side but also his homosexuality. He devoted his time to growing his career as a successful set designer and to finding "the one" man who would fill his heart. As a gay man in the entertainment industry, Cook centered his life around celebrity-filled Hollywood parties and traveled to society hot-spots around the world--until a chance encounter with a pastor at an LA coffee shop one morning changed everything. In A Change of Affection, Becket Cook shares his testimony as someone who was transformed by the power of the gospel. Cook's dramatic conversion to Christianity and subsequent seminary training inform his views on homosexuality--personally, biblically, theologically, and culturally--and in his new book he educates Christians on how to better understand this complex and controversial issue while revealing how to lovingly engage with those who disagree. A Change of Affection is a timely and indispensable resource for anyone who desires to understand more fully one of the most common and difficult stumbling blocks to faithfully following Christ today.
Download or read book Mad Church Disease written by Anne Jackson and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009 with total page 194 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mad Church Disease is a lively, informative, and potentially life-saving resource for anyone in ministry---vocational or volunteer---who would like to understand, prevent, or treat the epidemic of burnout in churches. The book draws on research and interviews with leaders from across the United States, providing statistics, stories, and hope for healing.
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 Varieties of Southern Evangelicalism written by David Edwin Harrell (Jr.) and published by Mercer University Press. This book was released on 1981 with total page 138 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
