Download or read book Outgrowing the Ingrown Church written by C. John Miller and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 1986 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is a book for pacesetters -- church leaders who desire to help their churches break free of the things that turn them in on themselves. It is a masterly mix of biblical principle, objective analysis, and personal experience.
Download or read book Outgrowing Church Second Edition written by John Killinger and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-10-23 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why are so many people drifting away from today's churches? John Killinger suggests that part of the problem is that they have personally outpaced the thinking and understanding of the church so that they no longer find it adequate as a social structure for the celebration of their faith. In their attempts to find Jesus and his teachings relevant within the new culture, they strike out on their own or adhere to para-Christian organizations that retain an allegiance to Jesus without the baggage of the traditional institution. Killinger, a former big-steeple minister and theologian, describes how he himself has been forced essentially to abandon the church in order to remain faithful to the beliefs and ideals that first drew him into it.
Download or read book Outgrowing Church 2nd ed written by John Killinger and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2019-10-23 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why are so many people drifting away from today's churches? John Killinger suggests that part of the problem is that they have personally outpaced the thinking and understanding of the church so that they no longer find it adequate as a social structure for the celebration of their faith. In their attempts to find Jesus and his teachings relevant within the new culture, they strike out on their own or adhere to para-Christian organizations that retain an allegiance to Jesus without the baggage of the traditional institution. Killinger, a former big-steeple minister and theologian, describes how he himself has been forced essentially to abandon the church in order to remain faithful to the beliefs and ideals that first drew him into it.
Download or read book Outgrowing God written by Richard Dawkins and published by Random House. This book was released on 2019-10-08 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Should we believe in God? In this brisk introduction to modern atheism, one of the world’s greatest science writers tells us why we shouldn’t. Richard Dawkins was fifteen when he stopped believing in God. Deeply impressed by the beauty and complexity of living things, he’d felt certain they must have had a designer. Learning about evolution changed his mind. Now one of the world’s best and bestselling science communicators, Dawkins has given readers, young and old, the same opportunity to rethink the big questions. In twelve fiercely funny, mind-expanding chapters, Dawkins explains how the natural world arose without a designer—the improbability and beauty of the “bottom-up programming” that engineers an embryo or a flock of starlings—and challenges head-on some of the most basic assumptions made by the world’s religions: Do you believe in God? Which one? Is the Bible a “Good Book”? Is adhering to a religion necessary, or even likely, to make people good to one another? Dissecting everything from Abraham’s abuse of Isaac to the construction of a snowflake, Outgrowing God is a concise, provocative guide to thinking for yourself. Praise for Outgrowing God “My son came home from his first day in the sixth grade with arms outstretched plaintively demanding to know: ‘Have you ever heard of Jesus?’ We burst out laughing. Maybe not our finest parenting moment, given that he was genuinely distraught. He felt that he had woken up one day to a world in which his peers were expressing beliefs he found frighteningly unreasonable. He began devouring books like The God Delusion, books that helped him formulate his own arguments and helped him stand his ground. Dawkins’s new book is special in the terrain of atheists’ pleas for humanism and rationalism precisely since it speaks to those most vulnerable to the coercive tactics of religion. As Dawkins himself says in the dedication, this book is for ‘all young people when they’re old enough to decide for themselves.’ It is also, I must add, for their parents.”—Janna Levin, author of Black Hole Blues “When someone is considering atheism I tell them to read the Bible first and then Dawkins. Outgrowing God—second only to the Bible!”—Penn Jillette, author of God, No!
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 Stop Dating The Church written by Joshua Harris and published by Multnomah. This book was released on 2004 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: God designed us to build our lives around a local church. Bestselling Joshua Harris reveals how and why to fall in love with, and stay committed to, the church.
Download or read book Outgrowing Dawkins written by Rupert Shortt and published by SPCK. This book was released on 2019-11-21 with total page 60 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: ‘A great read. Rupert Shortt demolishes Richard Dawkins’s arguments with consummate elegance.’ Julia Neuberger ‘A bracing demonstration that a Christian can myth-bust an atheist quite as effectively as vice versa.’ Tom Holland In his latest book Outgrowing God, Richard Dawkins tries to show that all religious belief is intellectually nonsensical and thus highly damaging in practice. But does he even understand what he rejects? In this incisive rebuttal, Rupert Shortt exposes the main flaws in Dawkins’s arguments – his weakness for crude caricatures, selective way with evidence, ignorance of philosophy and history as well as theology, and even his questionable interpretations of science. At the same time Outgrowing Dawkins demonstrates the coherence of a mature, self-critical faith and its contribution to human progress.
Download or read book Why I Left Church to Find Jesus written by Julie McVey and published by . This book was released on 2019-11-25 with total page 58 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Have you ever felt like you were outgrowing your childhood religion or the religion in which you have spent many years investing your time, resources, and most importantly, your faith? Have you ever experienced being shunned for religious reasons? It's hard enough to spiritually evolve and accept that many doctrines of your once beloved religion no longer resonate with you, but to be shunned by family or close friends because of it is one of the most painful realities one can endure as it forces one to go through the loss of a person still alive. The grief is real. In Why I Left Church to Find Jesus: A Personal Odyssey, you will take a journey of carefree freedom in innocent faith to bondage in an authoritarian religion to freedom once again but not without the high cost that comes with spiritual transformation. Christians, ex-Christians, and religious outcasts will relate to the heartache, confusion, and betrayal of not only a religion lost in such a spiritual evolution but, more painfully, of friendships lost.
Download or read book And the Shofar Blew written by Francine Rivers and published by Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.. This book was released on 2013-05-31 with total page 601 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A relevant and timely novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love and The Masterpiece. He seemed like the perfect pastor to lead Centerville Christian Church. She was the perfect pastor’s wife. When Paul Hudson accepted the call to pastor the struggling church, he had no idea what to expect. But it didn’t take long for Paul to turn Centerville Christian Church around. Attendance was up-way up. Everything was going so well. If only his wife could see it that way. Still, he tried not to let her quiet presence disturb him. She knew something wasn’t right, and it hadn’t been for a long time. . . . Eunice closed the bedroom door quietly and knelt beside her bed. “I’m drowning, God. I’ve never felt so alone. Who can I turn to but you, Lord? Where else does a pastor’s wife go for help when her marriage is failing and her life is out of control? Who can I trust with my anguish, Lord? Who but you?” Grasping her pillow, she pressed it tightly to her mouth so that her sobs would not be heard. “This book is a powerful and almost-prophetic statement of the church in America. . . . And the Shofar Blew is a must-read.” —Anne Graham Lotz, bestselling author and speaker “[Rivers] as usual turns in a strong narrative, posing issues that ring loud and clear.” —Booklist “Meticulously plotted, Francine Rivers’s new masterpiece, And the Shofar Blew, brims with unforgettable characters.” —Romantic Times Also available in The Francine Rivers Contemporary Collection (e-book only).
Download or read book Mama Bear Apologetics Guide to Sexuality written by Hillary Morgan Ferrer and published by Harvest House Publishers. This book was released on 2021-10-05 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Raise Them to Value God’s Design Starting at a young age, kids are being fed damaging misinformation about sexuality, gender identity, and human biology. As a parent, it’s up to you to help your children understand God’s truth about these integral concepts in the face of the candy-coated lies that saturate today’s world. In the footsteps of the bestselling Mama Bear Apologetics comes this invaluable guide to training your kids to know and respect God’s design in a world that has rejected it. This book will equip you to… understand God’s design for gender, sex, marriage, and family as a beautiful portrait that reveals the nature of God Himself identify the tactics being used to trick children into adopting an unbiblical view of sexuality under the guise of Christian-sounding words like love, identity, tolerance, and justice teach your kids to treat those who hold different beliefs with gentle, Christlike compassion without compromising biblical values As society continues to blur the lines of what is good, true, and acceptable, God’s standards remain clear and unchanging. This book will give you the wisdom to confidently raise your children to understand sex and gender through a biblical lens.
Download or read book The Transcended Christian written by Daniel A. Helminiak and published by CreateSpace. This book was released on 2013-09 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spiritual crisis is symptomatic of our age. In a global society, even in our own neighborhoods, we know of many religions. They all claim to be true, yet their teachings differ. How do you know what to believe? What is it today to really follow God's way? The Transcended Christian addresses these questions head on. It's about staying deeply rooted in Jesus while branching out to a world of diversity. It's about religion outside the box. Daniel Helminiak made that trek himself. He was ordained a Catholic priest in Rome. He ministered in a large suburban parish. He earned a PhD in theology. He taught graduate theology to seminary students. He realized he's gay and learned how it feels to be a religious outcast. He earned a second PhD in psychology and made spiritual growth his focus. Still a practicing Catholic, he is a Professor in the humanistic and transpersonal Department of Psychology at the University of West Georgia near Atlanta, where he lives. In a series of essays on all facets of Christianity, Daniel shares the wisdom he learned along his spiritual journey. He is also author of eight other books on religion, spirituality, psychology, and sexuality. He is most widely known for the international best-seller What the Bible Really Says about Homosexuality. Visit him on line at www.visionsofdaniel.net.
Download or read book Blue Like Jazz written by Donald Miller and published by Thomas Nelson Inc. This book was released on 2012-04 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This contemporary classic gets a limited edition makeover with movie art and a new preface from Donald Miller. In print for nearly a decade, Blue Like Jazz has earned a coveted spot on readers' shelves and in their hearts. Many have said that Donald Miller expressed exactly what they were feeling but couldn't find the words to say themselves. In this landmark book that changed what people expected from Christian writers, that changed what people needed for their spiritual journeys, Donald Miller takes readers through a real life striving to understand relationship with God. Heartwarming and hilarious, poignant and unexpected, Blue Like Jazz has become a contemporary classic. For anyone wondering if the Christian faith is still relevant in a postmodern culture, thirsting for a genuine encounter with a God who is real, or yearning for a renewed sense of passion in life . . . Blue Like Jazz is a fresh and original perspective on life, love, and redemption.
Download or read book Pursuing God s Will Together written by Ruth Haley Barton and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2012-04-25 with total page 257 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Church boards and other Christian leadership teams have long relied on models adapted from the business world. Ruth Haley Barton, president of the Transforming Center, helps teams transition to a much more fitting model—the spiritual community that practices discernment together.
Download or read book Becoming Sage written by Michelle Van Loon and published by Moody Publishers. This book was released on 2020-04-07 with total page 175 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why Do We Act Like There Is An Age Restriction on Spiritual Growth? For the last several decades, Western churches have focused the bulk of their resources on the early stages of discipleship—children’s Sunday school, youth group, college ministry. While these are all important, we have neglected the spiritual growth of those in the second half of life. In fact, an outside observer might think that after the growth of the college years, the goal is simply to coast through the rest of your Christian life. Michelle Van Loon has a different idea. In Becoming Sage, she challenges those in midlife and beyond to continue pursuing radical spiritual growth, and she’ll help you get started. She explores what the unique challenges of midlife can teach us about Jesus and how to think about everything from church, friends, and family, to money, bodies, and meaning. Don’t settle for a life of coasting. Revitalize your spiritual growth today.
Download or read book Faithful Endurance written by Collin Hansen and published by Crossway. This book was released on 2019-04-17 with total page 105 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book will prove to be a spiritual tonic for pastors." —Thomas R. Schreiner This book offers pastors examples of long-term faithfulness in ministry and practical wisdom from veteran pastors for real-life issues. Attending to your personal spiritual life (Tim Keller) Leaving a church (D. A. Carson) Crafting sermons week after week (Bryan Chapell) Facing criticism (Dan Doriani) Pastoring a church you wouldn't attend (Tom Ascol) Caring for your wife in the midst of criticism (Juan R. Sanchez with Jeanine D. Sanchez) Feeling deserted by members leaving (Dave Harvey) Pastoring a small church that seems insignificant (Mark McCullough) Experiencing burnout (John Starke) Shepherding a church that has outgrown your gifts (Scott Patty) Handling financial burdens (Brandon Shields) Doubting your calling (Jeff Robinson Sr.)
Download or read book Your Jesus is Too Safe written by Jared Wilson and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative new book that calls Christians to stop making Jesus so "convenient"
Download or read book Who Stole My Church written by Gordon MacDonald and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2010-01-11 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A challenging, innovative approach to a delicate subject. It’s sure to benefit church leaders and members of all ages who dream of a “reinvented” church. —Publishers Weekly Has your church been stolen out from under you? A storm hits a small New England town late one evening, but the pelting rain can’t keep a small group of church members from gathering to discuss issues that lately have been brewing beneath the surface of their congregation. They could see their church was changing. The choir had been replaced by a fl ashy “praise band.” The youth no longer dressed in their “Sunday best.” The beautiful pipe organ sat unused. How will this group overcome a deepening rift in their fellowship and nourish the relationship between the young and old? Can their church survive or even thrive? Who Stole My Church? is a fictional story that tells the all too real tale of many church communities today. In this book you can walk alongside an imaginary community, led by real life pastor Gordon MacDonald and his wife, Gail, and discover how to meet the needs of all believers without abandoning the dreams and desires of any.
