Download or read book The Pastor s Personal Friendships Conflicts Boundaries and Benefits written by David Simmons and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2014-04-28 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the pastor's friendships as they impact a pastor's effectiveness in ministry and his or her personal well-being. Because friendships require high levels of self-disclosure, friendships introduce potential conflict for the pastor as personal self-disclosure may conflict with the pastor's expected role. Taking a qualitative approach, this study looks at how pastors navigate the areas of friendship both inside and outside their congregations. The research involved interviews with ten congregational pastors and reports themes that emerged from the interviews. The researcher developed four friendship types that assist the pastor in balancing pastoral role expectation with expression of vulnerability.

Download or read book Ecclesial Leadership as Friendship written by Chloe Lynch and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-03-01 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When it comes to talking about the activity of directing the church, the language of leadership and leaders is increasingly popular. Yet what is leadership – and how might theological narratives better resource the discourse and practice of leadership in ecclesial contexts? In identifying and critiquing managerialism as a dominant narrative of leadership in the Western church, this book calls for an alternative approach founded on the concept of friendship. Engaging with the wider field of leadership studies, the book establishes an understanding of leadership activity and brings it into conversation with an incarnational ecclesiology. The result is a prophetic reimagining of ecclesial leadership in terms of a relational, kenotic praxis. This praxis of mutuality and love is framed here in the rich language of Christian friendship. The book also wrestles deeply with the embodiment of such a praxis, making explicit the power behaviours typical of friendship-leadership and offering constructive guidance for practitioners in the task of implementation within a complex and fractured world. This book offers a new vision of the centrality of friendship to leadership of a healthy church community. As such, it will be of great use to scholars of practical theology, ecclesiology and leadership, as well as practitioners in church ministry.

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 Boundaries written by Henry Cloud and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2002-03-18 with total page 324 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When to say yes, when to say no to take control of your life.

Download or read book Staying in Bounds written by Eileen Schmitz and published by Chalice Press. This book was released on 2010-09-01 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Boundaries are healthy and necessary parts of life and ministry. Staying in Bounds provides straight-talk guidance to ministers and other leaders of churches and faith-based organizations on the what, why, and how of relational boundaries. Provides guidance on identifying, implementing, and enforcing healthy boundaries, with a special focus on ministry settings. The author develops the concept of boundaries from psychological and theological perspectives, discusses the benefits of boundaries, and then explains the importance of healthy boundaries in the church.

Download or read book Reaching Out written by Henri J. M. Nouwen and published by Image. This book was released on 1986-08-05 with total page 193 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With clarity and depth characteristic of the classics, this spiritual bestseller from the author of The Return of the Prodigal Son lays out a perceptive and insightful plan for the spiritual life and achieving the ultimate goal of that life—union with God. “One of the world’s greatest spiritual writers.”—Christianity Today Henri Nouwen views our spiritual “ascent” as evolving in three movements: The first, from loneliness to solitude, focuses on the spiritual life as it relates to the experience of our own selves. The second, from hostility to hospitality, explores our spiritual life as a life for others. The final movement, from illusion to prayer, offers penetrating thoughts on the most mysterious relationship of all: our relationship with God. Throughout, Nouwen emphasizes that the more we understand (and not simply deny) our inner struggles, the more we will be able to embrace a prayerful and genuine life that is also open to others’ needs. Reaching Out is a rich book to be read, reread, pondered, and shared. It “does not offer answers or solutions,” Nouwen cautions, “but is written in the conviction that the quest for an authentic Christian spirituality is worth the effort and the pain, since in the midst of this quest we can find signs offering hope, courage, and confidence.”

Download or read book Boundaries in Marriage written by Henry Cloud and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-05-18 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Learn when to say yes and how to say no in the context of your marriage relationship. In Boundaries in Marriage, Drs. Henry Cloud and John Townsend, counselors and authors of the New York Times bestseller Boundaries, teach us that healthy boundaries are the property lines that define and protect you and your spouse as individuals. Once you have them in place, a good marriage can become better, and a less-than-satisfying one can even be saved. Boundaries in Marriage will give you the tools and encouragement you need to: Set and maintain personal boundaries and respect those of your spouse Understand and practice two key ingredients to a successful marriage: freedom and responsibility Establish values that form a godly structure and architecture for your marriage Protect your marriage from different kinds of "intruders" Work with a spouse who understands and values boundaries--or with one who doesn't It's time to deepen your love by providing a better environment for it to flourish, and Drs. Cloud and Townsend are here to help. Discover how boundaries can make life better today!

Download or read book Who Shall Lead Them written by Larry A. Witham and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2005-07-01 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The clergy today faces mounting challenges in an increasingly secular world, where declining prestige makes it more difficult to attract the best and the brightest young Americans to the ministry. As Christian churches dramatically adapt to modern changes, some are asking whether there is a clergy crisis as well. Whatever the future of the clergy, the fate of millions of churchgoers also will be at stake. In Who Shall Lead Them?, prizewinning journalist Larry Witham takes the pulse of both the Protestant and Catholic ministry in America and provides a mixed diagnosis of the calling's health. Drawing on dozens of interviews with clergy, seminarians and laity, and using newly available survey data including the 2000 Census, Witham reveals the trends in a variety of traditions. While evangelicals are finding innovative paths to ministry, the Catholic priesthood faces a severe shortage. In mainline Protestantism, ministry as a second career has become a prominent feature. Ordination ages in the Episcopal and United Methodist churches average in the 40s today. The quest by female clergy to lead from the pulpit, meanwhile, has hit a "stained glass ceiling" as churches still prefer a man as the principal minister. While deeply motivated by the mystery of their "call" to ministry, America's priests, pastors, and ministers are reassessing their roles in a world of new debates on leadership, morality, and the powers of the mass media. Who Shall Lead Them? offers a valuable snapshot of this contemporary clergy drama. It will be required reading for everyone concerned about the rapidly shifting ground of our churches and the health of religion in America.

Download or read book Guardrails Participant s Guide written by Andy Stanley and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2013-04-24 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this six-session small group Bible study (DVD/digital video sold separately), Andy Stanley challenges us to stop flirting with disaster and establish personal guardrails. Guardrails. They're everywhere, but they don't really get much attention ... until somebody hits one. And then, more often than not, it is a lifesaver. Ever wonder what it would be like to have guardrails in other areas of your life-areas where culture baits you to the edge of disaster and then chastises you when you step across the line? Your friendships. Your finances. Your marriage. Maybe your greatest regret could have been avoided if you had established guardrails. In this six-session video-based small group bible study, Andy Stanley challenges us to stop flirting with disaster and establish some personal guardrails. Sessions include: Direct and Protect (20:00) Why Can’t We Be Friends? (18:30) Flee Baby Flee! (21:30) Me and the Mrs. (15:00) The Consumption Assumption (19:00) Once and for All (17:30) Designed for use with the Guardrails Video Study (sold separately).

Download or read book Relationship Goals written by Michael Todd and published by WaterBrook. This book was released on 2020-04-28 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A candid, inspiring guide to finding lasting love and sustaining a healthy relationship by getting real about your goals—based on the viral, multi-million-view sermon series about dating, marriage, and sex “No matter where you are and no matter what stage of life you are in, Relationship Goals will be a game changer.”—Levi Lusko NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY COSMOPOLITAN You scroll through photo after photo of happy couples and think, I want a relationship like that! The thing is, those intimate relationships are a mirage—the closer you get to them, the more you realize they aren’t real at all. So what does a real relationship look like? And how do you get there? In Relationship Goals, Pastor Michael Todd digs deep to give you good news and real-life ideas for making the most of your most important relationships. Take a look at • what it means to choose intentional dating over recreational dating • how to move on from mistakes you’ve made in the past • why love gets stronger after marriage • what the Bible has to say about sex (hot take: it’s more sizzling than you think) • why the best friendships have God at the center Whether you are married, single, or it’s complicated, aiming for the right targets will make all the difference in finding true satisfaction. As it turns out, God’s got the best relationship goals of all for your life. Why settle for less?

Download or read book Preventing Ministry Failure written by Michael Todd Wilson and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2013-12-16 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Brad Hoffman and Michael Todd Wilson present this workbook designed to be used by people in vocational ministry, alongside their peers, to safeguard them from burnout, moral failure and spiritual exhaustion.

Download or read book Sticky Teams written by Larry Osborne and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2010 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Sticky Teams, Larry Osborne exposes the hidden roadblocks that all too often sabotage the health and harmony of even the best intentioned ministry teams. Then, with practical and seasoned advice, he shows what it takes to get a leadership board, ministry team, and an entire congregation headed in the same direction.

Download or read book Limits to Friendship written by Robert A. Pastor and published by Vintage. This book was released on 2011-03-30 with total page 433 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An unfettered, probing dialogue between Mexican and American political analysts on the complex relationship between their countries. Few nations are as closely interrelated as the United States and Mexico. Few relationships between nations are so prickly. America's inveterate problem-solving strikes Mexicans as clandestine imperialism. Mexicans are accused of ignoring the flow of drugs through their country; Americans are accused of saddling Mexico with their drug problem. Americans brood over the influx of Mexican immigrants; Mexicans worry that their culture and traditions are being diluted from the north. These differences are now aired−and their origins made clear−in this landmark book by a former official in the Carter administration and one of Mexico's most respected political scholars. In alternating chapters on foreign policy, economic relations, immigration, and social influence, Robert A. Pastor and JorgeC. Castañeda offer a multifaceted view of the ties and conflicts between their countries.

Download or read book Why Pastors Quit written by Bo Lane and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2014-03-25 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: My journey as a pastor had quite a few ups and downs. Although there were many aspects of serving in full-time ministry that I loved, there were more things that happened along the way that made a negative impact on both myself and my family. After I resigned from the pastorate, it took several years of forgiving and getting plugged in to a healthy church before I really began to heal from the hurt. Whether you've spent your entire career as a pastor or if you have recently thrown in the towel, Why Pastors Quit is an easy-to-read book that will encourage you and make you ask the question: What can I do to help change the statistics?

Download or read book Law for the Christian Counselor written by George W. Ohlschlager MSW, JD and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2012-04-23 with total page 382 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Contents Part IThe Grave New World of Christian Counseling Liability Part IISexual Misconduct in Christian Counseling Part IIIConfidentiality and Its Many Exceptions Part IVThe Counseling Process: Managing Liability Risk Part VSpecial Counseling Modes and Controversial Cases Part VICorporate Risks and Counseling Credentials Part VIIThe Maturation of the Christian Counseling Profession

Download or read book Saying No to Say Yes written by David C. Olsen and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2015-03-06 with total page 141 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book explores the difficulties clergy face when they attempt to say “no” by setting effective boundaries in order to say “yes” to the life-giving call of ministry. It illustrates the benefits of good boundaries, even as it traces the legacy of denominational boundary trainings in the wake of the public clergy sexual misconduct crisis. Devor and Olsen supplement anecdotes from their experience leading boundary trainings with an examination of clergy/congregation dynamics through the lenses of both self-psychology and family systems theory—elucidating how some obstacles to effective boundary setting are caused by innate personality tendencies that are exacerbated by a stressful church environment. A perfect storm occurs when clergy vulnerabilities and systemic congregational anxiety interact, leading to burn-out and boundary problems which hinder pastoral excellence. Readers will find both practice questions to assist them in a deeper assessment of personal and systemic obstacles as well as strategies for setting boundaries, creating the space needed to pursue excellence in ministry.

Download or read book The Integrity of the Body of Christ written by Arden Mahlberg and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2016-05-23 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For religious communities to have integrity and credibility they must flourish as places of love and respect. Every aspect of church life is defined and protected by essential boundaries: boundaries around space, time, thought, speech, will, emotion, and behavior--both for clergy and church members. Lack of awareness and attention to boundary keeping diminishes the integrity of the church and harms its mission, whereas insight and vigilance about best practices lend freedom and energy to the calling of the church to care for others and to reach out to the world. In a flourishing Christian community, a wide array of boundaries must be recognized, celebrated, and navigated--from the boundaries that define and protect us as individual persons to role boundaries and the boundaries that define essential communal functions, such as worship. This book is no conventional account of boundaries. It takes a comprehensive approach to the challenge of understanding and creating healthy boundaries. It applies the lessons from the emerging field of behavioral ethics to the rich and rewarding complexity of boundaries in church life, helping us to be more loving and responsible in how we think, speak, and act, so that the church can be true to its identity and mission.