Download or read book Church Is a Team Sport written by Jim Putman and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2008-01-01 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To win the game, you need the whole team Pastor Jim Putman, a former wrestler and coach, helped his staff build Real Life Ministries into an army of thousands. But there was a problem. Early on too many sat on the sidelines. Not enough wanted a piece of the action. His voice was faltering from so many sermons and he teetered on the edge of burnout thanks to the mixed blessing of an enormous but needy flock. So he hit his knees. Hard. God's solution surprised him. Putman and his entire leadership team stood before the congregation and gave up. They were done carrying the whole load. There were too many spiritual babies and they needed mature believers to step up. They knew there must be some raw talent hidden in the pews. God led them to use a Bible-based strategy for ministry revitalization that can help bring your church to the next level. Whether you're a burned-out leader or someone ready to tackle an active role in your congregation, Church Is a Team Sport will lead you to both personal growth and renewed spiritual strength. If you're ready to get the whole team in the game, this is the playbook that will show you how to make it happen.

Download or read book Surprised by Hope written by N. T. Wright and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2008-02-05 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: For years Christians have been asking, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer. It is not heaven. Award-winning author N. T. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian's future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright, who is one of today's premier Bible scholars, asserts that Christianity's most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection. He provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus and shows how this became the cornerstone for the Christian community's hope in the bodily resurrection of all people at the end of the age. Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth," revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the "second coming" of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise. Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation—and if this has already begun in Jesus's resurrection—the church cannot stop at "saving souls" but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life. Lively and accessible, this book will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life, not only after death but before it.

Download or read book Unbelievable written by John Shelby Spong and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2018-02-13 with total page 378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Five hundred years after Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses ushered in the Reformation, bestselling author and controversial bishop and teacher John Shelby Spong delivers twelve forward-thinking theses to spark a new reformation to reinvigorate Christianity and ensure its future. At the beginning of the sixteenth century, Christianity was in crisis—a state of conflict that gave birth to the Reformation in 1517. Enduring for more than 200 years, Luther’s movement was then followed by a "revolutionary time of human knowledge." Yet these advances in our thinking had little impact on Christians’ adherence to doctrine—which has led the faith to a critical point once again. Bible scholar and Episcopal bishop John Shelby Spong contends that there is mounting pressure among Christians for a radically new kind of Christianity—a faith deeply connected to the human experience instead of outdated dogma. To keep Christianity vital, he urges modern Christians to update their faith in light of these advances in our knowledge, and to challenge the rigid and problematic Church teachings that emerged with the Reformation. There is a disconnect, he argues, between the language of traditional worship and the language of the twenty-first century. Bridging this divide requires us to rethink and reformulate our basic understanding of God. With its revolutionary resistance to the authority of the Church in the sixteenth century, Spong sees in Luther’s movement a model for today’s discontented Christians. In fact, the questions they raise resonate with those contemplated by our ancestors. Does the idea of God still have meaning? Can we still follow historic creeds with integrity? Are not such claims as an infallible Pope or an inerrant Bible ridiculous in today’s world? In Unbelievable, Spong outlines twelve "theses" to help today’s believers more deeply contemplate and reshape their faith. As an educator, clergyman, and writer who has devoted his life to his faith, Spong has enlightened Christians and challenged them to explore their beliefs in new and meaningful ways. In this, his final book, he continues that rigorous tradition, once again offering a revisionist approach that strengthens Christianity and secures its relevance for generations to come.

Download or read book Undaunted written by Christine Caine and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2019-05-07 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Embrace your identity as God's beloved, step out of your own brokenness, and bring hope to a darkened world. You have a calling to fulfill. Are you ready to take the risk of moving past your past to fulfill it? Christine Caine faced hurdles that seemed insurmountable--abuse, abandonment, and the loss of a child. Yet she decided to answer God's call on her life no matter where it would lead her. Many times, the only thing that kept her going was knowing that she was God's beloved. She was God's chosen. Secure in those truths, she moved beyond her pain so she could live the adventure of bringing God's light and love to others around the world. In this updated and expanded edition of her bestselling book, Undaunted, Christine challenges you to embrace the reality of God's love so you can speak it to others as you live out your own unique calling. As Christine writes, "Love like Christ's can lift you out of betrayal and hurt. It can deliver you from any mess. Love like that can release you from every prison of fear and confusion. And love like God's can fill you up till it spills out of you, and you have to speak about it, share it, spread it around." You already have all you need to bring hope to others. With additional biblical teaching, new stories, and a new epilogue, this updated and expanded edition of Undaunted will awaken you to how God wants to work through you and in you as you dare to become who God created you to be. Also available: Undaunted student edition, video curriculum, and study guide.

Download or read book Women and Authority written by Ian Paul and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Last Christian Generation written by Josh McDowell and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The research on the current generation of young people reveals an alarming fact: they have redefined what it means to be Christian. The majority of our churched young people do not believe Christ is the Son of God, do not believe the Holy Spirit is a real entity, and think 'doing good' earns them a place in heaven. And just as disturbing is the fact that their attitudes and behavior are virtually no different than those of non-Christians. In this defining message of his 40 years of ministry, Josh McDowell strikes at the heart of the problem and offers a clear solution. "We must bring this new generation face to face with who Christ really is," Josh explains. "They know the facts, but they don't know Him. They are believing distorted views of Christianity. This means we must first model Christlikeness to them and then continually lead them through a basic spiritual formation process that sets them on a solid foundation for building a life that is authentically Christian." Reintroduce the real and relevant Christ to your young people, lead them through the process of Christlikeness and you may very well ignite a spiritual revolution for an entire generation.

Download or read book Seeds of Hope written by Henri J. M. Nouwen and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An updated edition of the classic anthology, including extracts from The Return of the Prodigal Son and The Inner Voice of Love.

Download or read book Same Sex Unions written by Ian Paul and published by . This book was released on 2014 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book 1 and 2 Timothy written by John F. MacArthur and published by HarperChristian Resources. This book was released on 2016-05-31 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pastor John MacArthur will take you through the two short letters to Timothy, passage by passage, so that you can better understand Paul's instructions to church leaders and the cultural context that makes these letters so relevant today. Timothy was a close associate of Paul who was facing problems within the church that he was leading in Ephesus. In these personal letters, Paul gives practical pastoral instruction to his protégé, highlighting godliness and holy living to help Timothy fulfill his calling and effectively carry out his important tasks in the church. Paul's gentle encouragement in these letters challenges Timothy to persevere in his faith—a faith that might have been weakening under the pressure of the church and the persecution of the world. Paul's godly counsel was helpful not only to Timothy, a first-century Christian leader, but is also helpful to each of us as believers today. —ABOUT THE SERIES— The MacArthur Bible Study series is designed to help you study the Word of God with guidance from widely respected pastor and author John MacArthur. Each guide provides intriguing examinations of the whole of Scripture by examining its parts and incorporates: Extensive, but straight-forward commentary on the text. Detailed observations on overriding themes, timelines, history, and context. Word and phrase studies to help you unlock the broader meaning and apply it to your life. Probing, interactive questions with plenty of space to write down your response and thoughts.

Download or read book The New Testament written by and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Uneasy in Babylon written by Barry Hankins and published by University of Alabama Press. This book was released on 2002-04-24 with total page 357 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The definitive account of how conservative Southern Baptists came to dominate the nation's largest Protestant denomination In 1979 a group of conservative members of the Southern Baptists Convention (SBC) initiated a campaign to reshape the denomination’s seminaries and organizations by installing new conservative leaders who made belief in the inerrancy of the Bible a condition of service. They succeeded. This book is a definitive account of that takeover. Barry Hankins argues that the conservatives sought control of the SBC not or not only to secure the denomination's orthodoxy but to mobilize Southern Baptists for a war against secular culture. The best explanation of the beliefs and behavior of Southern Baptist conservatives, Hankins concludes, lies in their adoption of the culture war model of American society. Believing that "American culture has turned hostile to traditional forms of faith,” they sought to deploy the Southern Baptist Convention in a "full-scale culture war" against secularism in the United States. Hankins traces the roots of this movement to the ideas of such post-WWII northern evangelicals as Carl F. H. Henry and Francis Schaeffer. Henry and Schaeffer viewed America's secular culture as hostile to Christianity and called on evangelicals to develop a robust Christian opposition to secular culture. As the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, SBC positions on divisive cultural issues like abortion have remade the American political landscape, most notably in the reversal of Roe v. Wade. Hankins also argues, however, that Southern Baptist conservatives sought more than orthodox adherence to Biblical inerrancy. They also sought an identity that was authentically Baptist and Southern. Hankin’s excellent and prescient work will fascinate readers interested in contemporary American religion, culture, and public policy, as well as in the American South.

Download or read book Marriage in Interesting Times written by Robert D. Cornwall and published by Energion Publications. This book was released on 2016-05-13 with total page 109 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a study guide on marriage. Discussions include: covenant vs contract, concepts of biblical marriage, loneliness and looking for a mate, the realities of divorce, and family in the larger community. I titled the study guide “Marriage in Interesting Times,” because we are living at a time when profound changes in the way marriage is understood. Not that long ago, it was assumed by many in American society that traditional marriage not only involved a man and a woman, but the man was the head of the household and the woman was a homemaker. The man earned the money, and the woman cared for the children and kept the house in order. Then came the idea that husband and wife were equal partners in the marriage. In most cases both partners worked outside the home, and they shared more equally the duties of the home. Today, the definition of marriage has evolved one more time to include same-sex couples … So, when we talk about marriage in the twenty-first century, at least in the United States, and a number of other nations around the globe, we must remember that the legal definition, if not the religious one, includes both gay and straight couples. Yes, these are interesting times. Dr. Bob Cornwall It is the hope of both Dr. Cornwall and Energion Pubications that there will be more dialogue during this study and less diatribes.

Download or read book Biblical Literalism A Gentile Heresy written by John Shelby Spong and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2016-02-16 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A global and pioneering leader of progressive Christianity and the bestselling author of Why Christianity Must Change or Die and Eternal Life explains why a literal reading of the Gospels is actually heretical, and how this mistaken notion only entered the church once Gentiles had pushed out all the Jewish followers of Jesus. A man who has consciously and deliberately walked the path of Christ, John Shelby Spong has lived his entire life inside the Christian Church. In this profound and considered work, he offers a radical new way to look at the gospels today as he shows just how deeply Jewish the Christian Gospels are and how much they reflect the Jewish scriptures, history, and patterns of worship. Pulling back the layers of a long-standing Gentile ignorance, he reveals how the church’s literal reading of the Bible is so far removed from these original Jewish authors’ intent that it is an act of heresy. Using the Gospel of Matthew as a guide, Spong explores the Bible’s literary and liturgical roots—its grounding in Jewish culture, symbols, icons, and storytelling tradition—to explain how the events of Jesus’ life, including the virgin birth, the miracles, the details of the passion story, and the resurrection and ascension, would have been understood by both the Jewish authors of the various gospels and by the Jewish audiences for which they were originally written. Spong makes clear that it was only after the church became fully Gentile that readers of the Gospels took these stories to be factual, distorting their original meaning. In Biblical Literalism: A Gentile Heresy, Spong illuminates the gospels as never before and provides a better blueprint for the future than where the church’s leaden and heretical reading of the story of Jesus has led us—one that allows the faithful to live inside the Christian story in the modern world.

Download or read book Flourishing in Ministry written by Matt Bloom and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-10-09 with total page 149 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Pastoral work can be stressful, tough, demanding, sometimes misunderstood, and often underappreciated and underpaid. Ministers devote themselves to caring for their congregations, often at the expense of caring for themselves. Studies consistently show that physical health among clergy is significantly worse than among adults who are not in ministry. Flourishing in Ministry offers clergy and those who support them practical advice for not just surviving this grueling profession, but thriving in it. Matt Bloom, director of the Flourishing in Ministry project, shares groundbreaking research from more than a decade of study. Flourishing in Ministry project draws on more than five thousand surveys and three hundred in-depth interviews with clergy across denominations, ages, races, genders, and years of practice in ministry. It distills this deep research into easily understandable stages of flourishing that can be practiced at any stage in ministry or ministry formation.

Download or read book Deo Ecclesiae Patriae written by Paul John McKeown and published by Australian National University, Research School of Social Sciences. This book was released on 1979-01-01 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Overcoming Self Negation written by Carlton Turner and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2020-10-07 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Bearing in mind the complex and multiple legacies of slavery and colonialism, particularly as they present themselves in the African Caribbean, Turner addresses what he sees as a fundamental but underexplored phenomenon: Self-Negation. He defines this as the tendency for persons living in the aftermath of slavery and colonialism to "not" like themselves, or to live with a dissonance in their identity. This problem is particularly seen in the relationship between the Church and African indigenous religious heritages within the region. Using the Bahamas as the site for qualitative research and theological reflection, he explores the complex relationship between the Church and Junkanoo, an African Caribbean street festival. Whilst Bahamians eagerly participate in both spheres, it is the common belief that Church is sacred and Junkanoo is secular, and the two should never mix. Turner theorizes that the theological root of the issue is the kinds of colonial hermeneutics that still inform church and cultural practices. Whilst Self-Negation is perpetuated by a hermeneutic of dichotomy, Turner proposes a counter, a hermeneutic of embrace, that takes African indigenous cultural heritages seriously and brings wholeness to the kinds of religious and cultural identities within postcolonial and post-slavery societies.

Download or read book The End of the Christian Life written by J. Todd Billings and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2020-09-15 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We're all going to die. Yet in our medically advanced, technological age, many of us see death as a distant reality--something that happens only at the end of a long life or to other people. In The End of the Christian Life, Todd Billings urges Christians to resist that view. Instead, he calls us to embrace our mortality in our daily life and faith. This is the journey of genuine discipleship, Billings says: following the crucified and resurrected Lord in a world of distraction and false hopes. Drawing on his experience as a professor and father living with incurable cancer, Billings offers a personal yet deeply theological account of the gospel's expansive hope for small, mortal creatures. Artfully weaving rich theology with powerful narrative, Billings writes for church leaders and laypeople alike. Whether we are young or old, reeling from loss or clinging to our own prosperity, this book challenges us to walk a strange but wondrous path: in the midst of joy and lament, to receive mortal limits as a gift, an opportunity to give ourselves over to the Lord of life.