Download or read book Real Good Church written by Molly Phinney Baskette and published by The Pilgrim Press. This book was released on 2014-06-16 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This is a practical manual of everything our church did," says author Molly Phinney Baskette, "to reverse our death spiral and become the healthy, stable, spirited and robust community it is today—evident in the large percentage of children and young adults in our church, and a sixfold increase in pledged giving in the last decade." "Real Good Church" is a testament to Baskette's and First Church Somerville UCC's success, and a gift of hope for all churches that find themselves struggling to keep their doors open. What makes "Real Good Church" unique in the field of church growth books? It's practical. It actually tells churches what they can do—and how to do it. It offers beginning and intermediary steps for growth and renewal. Churches, no matter what situation they're in, will be able to jump in and get to work. It has a sense of humor. Baskette's easygoing, often self-deprecating writing style and approachable strategies will empower the reader and their church to revitalize itself. (If her church could do it, we can, too!)
Download or read book Real Church written by Larry Crabb and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2009-05-04 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Church as I know it usually leaves deep parts of me dormant, unawakened, and untouched. I don't much like going. So, what now?" What's happening to the Church? Why are so many people who for decades have been faithful, steady churchgoers (and others who want to start going to church but can't seem to find one that meets their needs) losing interest in even attending church, let alone getting involved? What is fundamentally wrong with the "types" of churches (Seeker, Bible, Emergent, Liberal, Evangelical) that dot the religious landscape? Larry Crabb believes it is time to rethink the entire foundation and focus of what we know today as church -- everything we're doing and are wanting to see happen. In his most honest and vulnerable book to date, the author reveals his own struggles in this area and then offers a compelling vision of why God designed us to live in community with Him and others, and what the church he wants to be a part of looks like.
Download or read book Would the Real Church PLEASE Stand Up written by Susan Greenfield and published by Xulon Press. This book was released on 2007-02 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a necessity for all ministers, counselors, and Christians. It is an informative resource that will help you to identify abuse in a Christian home. You will be challenged to Be the Real Church and Stand Up as you read this up close and personal account of living in an abusive environment. We can never know exactly what goes on behind the closed doors of other people's homes, but after reading Would the Real Church PLEASE Stand Up!, you will be more equipped to minister to victims of domestic violence. Maybe the victim is a neighbor, a co-worker, or a bank teller. Maybe the victim is your minister's wife. If you are in an abusive relationship, you will be encouraged and enlightened. Susan Greenfield is currently a divorced mother of two children. She works a secular job but is most passionate about ministering to battered women and educating people within the church about domestic violence.
Download or read book They Like Jesus but Not the Church written by Dan Kimball and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-05-26 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Many people today, especially among emerging generations, don’t resonate with the church and organized Christianity. Some are leaving the church and others were never part of the church in the first place. Sometimes it’s because of misperceptions about the church. Yet often they are still spiritually open and fascinated with Jesus. This is a ministry resource book exploring six of the most common objects and misunderstandings emerging generations have about the church and Christianity. The objections come from conversations and interviews the church has had with unchurched twenty and thirty-somethings at coffee houses. Each chapter raises the objection using a conversational approach, provides the biblical answers to that objection, gives examples of how churches are addressing this objection, and concludes with follow-through projection suggestions, discussion questions, and resource listings.
Download or read book Analog Church written by Jay Y. Kim and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2020-03-31 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Outreach Resource of the Year The Gospel Coalition Book Award What does it mean to be an analog church in a digital age? In recent decades the digital world has taken over our society at nearly every level, and the church has increasingly followed suit—often in ways we're not fully aware of. But as even the culture at large begins to reckon with the limits of a digital world, it's time for the church to take stock. Are online churches, video venues, and brighter lights truly the future? What about the digital age's effect on discipleship, community, and the Bible? As a pastor in Silicon Valley, Jay Kim has experienced the digital church in all its splendor. In Analog Church, he grapples with the ramifications of a digital church, from our worship and experience of Christian community to the way we engage Scripture and sacrament. Could it be that in our efforts to stay relevant in our digital age, we've begun to give away the very thing that our age most desperately needs: transcendence? Could it be that the best way to reach new generations is in fact found in a more timeless path? Could it be that at its heart, the church has really been analog all along?
Download or read book What Is a Healthy Church written by Mark Dever and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2007 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Guides both pastors and members to recognize key characteristics of a healthy church and then challenge each person to do his or her part in developing those characteristics in the local church body.
Download or read book Will the Real Church Please Stand Up written by James David Montgomery and published by . This book was released on 2012-08-01 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this challenging and thought-provoking book, author James David Montgomery points out that although churches dot almost every street corner in America, many have strayed from God's original design. He believes too many churches today stand in stark contrast to the first century church that turned the world upside down. Rev. Montgomery calls on Christians of every denomination to return to their roots and rediscover what made the early church great. He reminds us of the building-shaking, great-grace, fear-of-God-preaching, Pharisee-defying, souls-added-to-the-church-daily explosions of God's glory in the book of Acts.
Download or read book Foolish Church written by Lee Roorda Schott and published by . This book was released on 2019-02-04 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Messy, raw, and real aren't the words most of us use when we say what's good about our churches. But what if they were? Author Lee Schott found out, serving a beautiful church inside the Iowa women's prison. A lifelong church person, she discovered more church, and greater faithfulness, in this most unlikely setting, with room for people the church has often overlooked. She shares the lessons she has learned there, with the hope that church leaders outside of prison might be inspired, equipped, and encouraged to loosen the fetters that keep our churches so closed off. We'll explore church characterized by honest relationship, protection of the vulnerable, radical welcome, and healthy boundaries. Practical application for the local church context and discussion questions for group study are included throughout. ""A renewed concern for imprisoned persons often marks times of religious revival. While Lee Schott's fine book is about a church within a women's prison, the subject is the church itself. It is a plea for congregations to move beyond an assembly of the most respectable to make room for those on the edges of respectability for whom Jesus had such an open heart."" --Lovett H. Weems, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Church Leadership, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC ""Lee's intimate conversations from 'the Well' give this writing real emotional depth and become the background for challenging questions for the church. A must read and practical process that can be implemented by a committed group of church leaders. The ministry of 'the Well' has the power to transform the ministry of the church everywhere. But beware, church growth may take on a totally different meaning."" --Bill Selby, President, Center for Pastoral Effectiveness of the Rockies ""In my forty years living at the intersection of the church and the criminal justice system, few people have taught me as much as Lee Roorda Schott. The lessons range from the distinct issues facing women in prison to the challenge of forming community in a correctional institution. But no greater lesson have I learned from her than this--and it is the central thesis of this book--that the church exists behind the prison walls, and that any theology of prison ministry that is totally missional falls short of the truth. Incarcerated people are more than just objects of outreach. They are the church, and no ecclesiology is fully orbed without them. Foolish Church makes this point clearly and thoughtfully, humanizing and giving voice to our sisters invisible to the rest of the church. Foolish Church is now required reading in my classes."" --Harold Dean Trulear, Associate Professor of Applied Theology, Howard University School of Divinity Lee Roorda Schott is a United Methodist elder and pastor of Women at the Well, a church inside the women's prison in Mitchellville, Iowa. She is a graduate of Saint Paul School of Theology and Harvard Law School and worked as a lawyer for fifteen years before becoming a pastor. She is the author of Job, in the Immersion Bible Study series (2011).
Download or read book Everybody In The Church Ain t Saved written by Patti Trafton and published by Urban Books. This book was released on 2012-08-15 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Meet the members of the Love, Joy, Peace and Deliverance Community Choir, a group of young adults joined together through their passion for singing the Lord's praises—although their hearts are far from the things of God. Patrice Russell was raised in the church, but she is hell bent on living like the devil, not even trying to get help for the sex addiction she knows she has. Lorene McCall has been Patrice's best friend since childhood. When she's not singing, Lorene is cussin' like a sailor. Then she meets the man who inspires her to turn her life around. When an enemy from his past shows up to settle a score, Glen Pearson is out to win by any means necessary, even if it means violating the woman he loves. Dwayne Mitchell is battling with his sexual identity. When his mother makes a startling confession on her deathbed, Dwayne promises to stop allowing men to use his body. How long will he be able to hold to that promise? They may be faithful churchgoers, but this group proves that everybody in the church ain't saved!
Download or read book Happy Church written by Tim McConnell and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2016-01-06 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Has your church lost its sense of gladness? Most Christians resist the idea of pursuing happiness. We're comfortable with finding joy or being blessed, but seeking happiness seems too superficial. Offering a radical call to reclaim happiness, Tim McConnell shares his countercultural vision for radiating a deep sense of joy in a world that desperately needs it.
Download or read book Unbinding Your Church written by Martha Grace Reese and published by Chalice Press. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pastors are busy. This collection of fully integrated resources will help your church work and pray through the Unbinding the Gospel Series. Included are step-by-step planning tools as well as worship resources to allow you--the pastor--to spend time on prayer, teaching, and working directly with others in your church. The planning tools include calendars, checklists for church staff, weekly scripture tie-ins, sample church newsletter campaigns, diagrams, simple to elaborate E-vent planning suggestions, web site ideas, specific lesson plans, and much much more. Worship resources include sermons, prayers, and forms that have been placed on the Web for FREE with easy access and downloads. Change Habits, Not Just Minds. From the Unbinding the Gospel Series.
Download or read book Growing God s Church written by Gary L. McIntosh and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2016-01-12 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It's no secret that the evangelism methods of yesterday are not yielding the kinds of results they did in the 1970s and 1980s. So how are new Christians hearing the Gospel today? How are they finding churches? And what makes them stay at a church? The answers to these questions have the power to dramatically alter the way we do outreach. And Dr. McIntosh has them. Based on ten years of scientific research, Growing God's Church shows pastors and church leaders how people are actually coming to faith in the 21st century. It covers factors such as our motive for ministry, the priorities churches set for themselves, the reality of churchless Christians, generational and gender-based differences in evangelism effectiveness, the name of your church, the influence of pastors, and much more. The appendix includes a copy of the survey that provides the basis for McIntosh's arguments and an overview of the study is provided in the first chapter.
Download or read book Future Church written by Will Mancini and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2020-12-01 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Church growth models have often been long on promises and short on disciple-making. We continue to watch consistent church attendance shrink, and our desire to reach the lost is infected with a need for self-validation by growing our numbers at any cost. If we believe that God wants his church to grow, where do we go from here? What is the future of the church? Drawing from his 20 years and 15,000 hours of consulting, author Will Mancini shares with pastors and ministry leaders the single most important insight he has learned about church growth. With plenty of salient stories and based solidly on the disciple-making methods found in Scripture, Future Church exposes the church's greatest challenge today, and offers 7 transforming laws of real church growth so that we can faithfully and joyfully fulfill Jesus's Great Commission.
Download or read book Real Christianity written by R. J. Dawson and published by Biblica. This book was released on 2013-01-29 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is "Real" Christianity? Have you ever wondered how the two thousand year-old discipleship school of an obscure Jewish teacher supposedly developed into modern-day Christianity? Have you ever tried to figure out how a small band of uneducated Galileans morphed into a multi-denominational world religious body? Have you ever been just the slightest bit confused about the overwhelming differences between the Lord's single community at its birth and the scads of disjointed non-relational "churches" spread over the planet today? If so, this book will undoubtedly give you some of the answers you seek as well as greater insight into the nature of the real Church, including the following: * The real foundation for the Church. * The real purpose of the Church. * Real "fellowship" and why every believer is called to function in some form of ministry. * The real "abundant life" promised by the Lord for every believer. * The real Word of God. * The real creative ability the Lord placed within His community. * Real discipleship. * A real living relationship with the Lord Jesus. "Real Christianity" gives much deserved attention to the first-century community of believers and the great spiritual accomplishments they achieved as a result of their close relationship with the Lord, their obedience to Him, and their love for one another. In order for believers of the present to do the same, the author calls for: (1) a Church-wide rededication to the sole authority of the Lord Jesus, and (2) the reestablishment of the Lord's discarded and largely forgotten mandate of mutual ministerial sharing ("Koinonia" in the Greek, usually translated as "fellowship," but often improperly applied), in which every believer finds and fulfills his purpose in the Body of Messiah. And rather than appealing to religious authority, the author eliminates the middleman and goes straight to the source - using reams of Scripture to back up his claims, especially emphasizing the pure teachings and example of the Lord Jesus, the most real person of all time.
Download or read book Transforming Church written by Kevin G. Ford and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drawn from extensive research, Transforming Church shares how all churches can experience genuine change and growth.
Download or read book The Connecting Church 2 0 written by Randy Frazee and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2013-03-12 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The development of meaningful relationships, where every member carries a significant sense of belonging, is central to what it means to be the church. So why do many Christians feel disappointed and disillusioned with their efforts to experience authentic community? Despite the best efforts of pastors, small group leaders, and faithful lay persons, church too often is a place of loneliness rather than connection. In this revised and updated version of his best-selling book, Randy Frazee shows us how church can be so much...better. More intimate and alive. The answer may seem radical today, but it was a central component of life in the early church. First-century Christians knew what it meant to live in vital community with one another, relating with a depth and commitment that made "the body of Christ" a perfect metaphor for the church. What would it take to reclaim that kind of love, joy, support, and dynamic spiritual growth? Read this book and find out.
Download or read book Leaving Church written by Barbara Brown Taylor and published by Canterbury Press. This book was released on 2013-01-25 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Tells how a renowned preacher left her ministry to rediscover the authentic heart of her faith. A moving reflection on keeping faith amidst the relentless demands of modern life.
