Download or read book The Out Of Church Christians written by Andrew Strom and published by Revival School. This book was released on 2008-06 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It all began with a Radio show and an email - when Andrew Strom was invited onto a Christian radio station to discuss the growing phenomenon of "Out-of-church Christians" - the fact that seemingly tens of thousands of dedicated believers are leaving the churches. But why? That same week he published an article on the subject on his international Email List. The result was an absolute deluge of responses from all over the world - literally thousands. Christian Pollster George Barna has stated that the number of unchurched adults in America is growing by a staggering ONE MILLION people per year. Barna's research has also found that there are more than 13 million 'Born Again' believers in America who do not attend church. Why is this trend growing? Why are thousands upon thousands of devoted Christians leaving the churches? Is it a 'movement'? And why is it occurring in so many different parts of the world? This is a book that every Christian leader should read. Hear from dozens of believers who have left - and why. Are there solutions to this crisis? A book for everyone concerned about the future of Western Christianity - and where it is heading today.
Download or read book Mapping Out Curriculum in Your Church written by James R. Estep and published by B&H Publishing Group. This book was released on 2012-06-01 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new book from top Christian education professionals integrates biblical foundations, educational theory, and practical insights into a new curriculum formation approach for the local church. Uniquely identifying curriculum as a means of ministry through the metaphor of mapmaking, it shows how believers are lost along the spiritual journey without a study plan, having no clear destination or reliable path to follow toward maturity. Detailing the theological, educational, and pastoral dimensions that make a curriculum Christian, the text is arranged into four sections: (1) rationale for curriculum, (2) curricular foundations, (3) curricular theory, and (4) the practice of curriculum. Covering areas from children’s ministry to adult education, contributors include editors James R. Estep, Karen L. Estep, and Roger White as well as Holly Allen, Mark H. Senter III, Michael S. Wilder, Timothy Paul Jones, and Brett Robbe.
Download or read book Still Christian written by David P. Gushee and published by Presbyterian Publishing Corp. This book was released on 2017-09-15 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a book for folks whose commitment to Jesus has put them at odds with American evangelicalism. —Shane Claiborne So many Americans today love their faith but have found their church doesn't love them back. They then leave, seeking community elsewhere. Of all those personal stories, few have ever been told by someone so far inside the powerful places of white evangelical Christianity. In this provocative tell-all, David Gushee opens the door to the frictions and schisms of evangelicalism, tells his own story of leaving, and shows that you, too, can find a Christianity that is worth following. Gushee’s experiences begin with becoming a born-again Southern Baptist in 1978 and end with being kicked out of evangelicalism in 2014 for his principled stance on full LGBTQ inclusion. But his religious pilgrimage proves even broader than that, as he leads his doctoral studies at Union Seminary in New York, his dismay when the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary expelled female professors and fellow colleagues, to his days as every evangelical’s least-favorite liberal, and more. In telling his story, Gushee speaks to those who have been disillusioned by American Christianity. As he describes his own struggles to find the right path at different stages of his journey, he highlights the turning points and decisions that we all face. When do we compromise, and when do we stand our ground? Is holding to moral conviction worth sacrificing friendship, jobs, and security? As he takes us through his sometimes-amusing, sometimes-heartbreaking, and always-stirring journey, Gushee shows us that we can retain our faith in Christ even when Christians disappoint us.
Download or read book How to Be a Christian without Going to Church written by Kelly Bean and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2014-06-24 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As many--young people especially--leave the traditional church in droves, they often still long for a genuine Christian community in which to practice their faith and share their spiritual journeys with others. They want to be faithful but struggle to find a place where they flourish. Whether they've already left the church behind or are merely considering it, readers will find here both heartfelt encouragement and practical steps for finding or creating a community of faith that honors God and offers rest, love, and communion with other believers. Author Kelly Bean broadens our definition of church to include many alternative forms of Christian community. With true stories of those who have given up on church and what they're doing now, this book is also helpful for pastors and churchgoers to help them understand why people leave the church--and what might be done to help them stay.
Download or read book You Lost Me written by David Kinnaman and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2011-10-01 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Close to 60 percent of young people who went to church as teens drop out after high school. Now the bestselling author of unChristian trains his researcher's eye on these young believers. Where Kinnaman's first book unChristian showed the world what outsiders aged 16-29 think of Christianity, You Lost Me shows why younger Christians aged 16-29 are leaving the church and rethinking their faith. Based on new research, You Lost Me shows pastors, church leaders, and parents how we have failed to equip young people to live "in but not of" the world and how this has serious long-term consequences. More importantly, Kinnaman offers ideas on how to help young people develop and maintain a vibrant faith that they embrace over a lifetime.
Download or read book Coming Out Christian in the Roman World written by Douglas Ryan Boin and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2015-03-03 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The supposed collapse of Roman civilization is still lamented more than 1,500 years later-and intertwined with this idea is the notion that a fledgling religion, Christianity, went from a persecuted fringe movement to an irresistible force that toppled the empire. The “intolerant zeal” of Christians, wrote Edward Gibbon, swept Rome's old gods away, and with them the structures that sustained Roman society. Not so, argues Douglas Boin. Such tales are simply untrue to history, and ignore the most important fact of all: life in Rome never came to a dramatic stop. Instead, as Boin shows, a small minority movement rose to transform society-politically, religiously, and culturally-but it was a gradual process, one that happened in fits and starts over centuries. Drawing upon a decade of recent studies in history and archaeology, and on his own research, Boin opens up a wholly new window onto a period we thought we knew. His work is the first to describe how Christians navigated the complex world of social identity in terms of “passing” and “coming out.” Many Christians lived in a dynamic middle ground. Their quiet success, as much as the clamor of martyrdom, was a powerful agent for change. With this insightful approach to the story of Christians in the Roman world, Douglas Boin rewrites, and rediscovers, the fascinating early history of a world faith.
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 From Jesus to the Church written by Craig A. Evans and published by Presbyterian Publishing Corp. This book was released on 2014-02-07 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Did Jesus intend to found a church separate from Judaism? Who were the very first followers of Jesus? And how did a clash between two families--the family of Jesus on one hand and the family of high priest Annas and their aristocratic allies on the other--eventually lead to the formation of Christianity? In this study, best-selling author Craig A. Evans looks at how a tumultuous chain of events from 30-70 CE--beginning with Jesus's entry into Jerusalem and subsequent crucifixion and ending with the destruction of the temple--led to the separation between the followers of Jesus and other Jews. Topics include the following: 1) whether Jesus actually intended to found the Christian Church; 2) the ways in which Jesus's proclamation of the “Kingdom of God†relate to the Christian Church; 3) the role of James, brother of Jesus, in the new movement in Jerusalem; 4) the tension between James and Paul in the matter of law and works; 5) the conflict between the families and followers of Jesus and those of the high priest Annas before the destruction of the temple; and 6) the aftermath of the Jewish rebellion, whereby the Church moved away from its Jewish roots. An appendix further explores the reasons behind the rift between the Jesus movement and the synagogue. This fascinating volume is suitable for historical Jesus and early church studies, along with anyone else interested in learning about the very first followers of Jesus.
Download or read book If the Church Were Christian written by Philip Gulley and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010-02-02 with total page 230 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “[Philip Gulley’s] vision of Christianity is grounded, gripping, and filled with uncommon sense. He is building bridges instead of boundaries, and such wisdom is surely needed now.” —Richard Rohr, O.F.M, author of Everything Belongs Quaker minister Philip Gulley, author of If Grace Is True and If God Is Love, returns with If the Church Were Christian: a challenging and thought-provoking examination of the author’s vision for today’s church… if Christians truly followed the core values of Jesus Christ. Fans of Shane Claiborne, Rob Bell, and unChristian will find much to discuss in If the Church Were Christian, as will anyone interested in the future of this institution.
Download or read book Revelation written by and published by Canongate Books. This book was released on 1999-01-01 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The final book of the Bible, Revelation prophesies the ultimate judgement of mankind in a series of allegorical visions, grisly images and numerological predictions. According to these, empires will fall, the "Beast" will be destroyed and Christ will rule a new Jerusalem. With an introduction by Will Self.
Download or read book The Other Half of Church written by Jim Wilder and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 206 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Could brain science be the key to spiritual formation? Why does true Christian transformation seem fleeting? And why does church often feel lonely, Christian community shallow, and leaders untrustworthy? For many Christians, the delight of encountering Christ eventually dwindles—and disappointment sets in. Is lasting joy possible? These are some of the questions Michel Hendricks has considered both in his experience as a spiritual formation pastor and in his lifetime as a Christian. He began to find answers when he met Jim Wilder—a neurotheologian. Using brain science, Wilder identified that there are two halves of the church: the rational half and the relational half. And when Christians only embrace the rational half, churches become unhealthy places where transformation doesn’t last and narcissistic leaders flourish. In The Other Half of Church, join Michel and Jim's journey as they couple brain science with the Bible to identify how to overcome spiritual stagnation by living a full-brained faith. You'll also learn the four ingredients necessary to develop and maintain a vibrant transformational community where spiritual formation occurs, relationships flourish, and the toxic spread of narcissism is eradicated.
Download or read book Coming Out Christian written by Jen Austin and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Fundamentalists often position homosexuality to be something that a person ?falls into? after straying from the ?good Christian path,? but what happens when a homosexual awakening is part of that path? Jen Austin takes us on a journey of self-discovery that addresses many of the familiar issues that plague the coming out process, and shows why it?s a good thing that the path to wholeness in God isn?t always a straight one. Brokenness that stems from homophobia, judgment, and other outside factors can be effectively overcome with faith, and the healing that rises out of that provides a freedom that no right-wing, anti-gay rhetoric can ever take away.
Download or read book The Myth of a Christian Nation written by Gregory A. Boyd and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2007 with total page 227 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Arguing from Scripture and history, the author makes a compelling case that getting too close to any political or national ideology is disastrous for the church and harmful to society.
Download or read book Serve the Community of the Church written by Andrew D. Clarke and published by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. This book was released on 2000 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume explores the nature of leadership in the Christian community, especially as it was variously taught by Paul and practiced in the congregations of the first century. Exploring valuable ancient source material as well as the New Testament texts, Andrew Clarke describes the theories and practices of organization and leadership in key areas of first-century society-the city, the colony, associations, Jewish synagogues, the family-and discusses the extent to which these models influenced the first-century Christians as they sought to define the parameters and distinctives of their own communities.
Download or read book God and the Gay Christian written by Matthew Vines and published by Convergent. This book was released on 2014 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Reinterpretations of key Bible texts related to sexual orientation, written by a Harvard student, present an accessible case for a modern Christian conservative acceptance of sexual diversity.
Download or read book The Non Religious Christian written by Vern Jones and published by . This book was released on 2011-10-14 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Are you more spiritual than religious? Have you ever wished for a way to engage the question of faith without suffering the scorn and judgment from those who call themselves Christian? In The Non-Religious Christian, Vern Jones shares his journey growing up constrained by the strict dogma of an evangelical Baptist church to a renewed faith without the myths and restrictive ideology taught by so many churches. Through the eyes of a scientist who has studies the Bible his entire life, Jones debunks many so-called biblical truths and the whole notion of biblical inerrancy. He then puts forth a new and exciting way of looking at faith, without the restrictions placed by organized religions nor the need to e a part of a church to be a Christian. Many of the significant social issues of our time including abortion, stem cell research, school prayer, evolution and the display of the 10 Commandments are addressed in this book with new insights that run contrary to those in the traditional evangelical movement. Vern is not attempting to convert anyone, but simply sharing his years of research with fellow truth seekers to find a faith that they may call their own.
Download or read book Single Gay Christian written by Gregory Coles and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2017-08-22 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In an age where neither society nor the church knows what to do with gay Christians, Greg Coles shares his story—a story about a boy in love with Jesus who, at the fateful onset of puberty, realized his sexual attractions were persistently and exclusively for other guys. This honest, hopeful account shows life through one man's eyes and assures all people: "You are not a mistake."
