Download or read book Reimagining The End Time Church written by Wayne Manning Bass and published by WestBow Press. This book was released on 2023-07-19 with total page 153 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The pastor-author of Reimagining The End-Time Church boldly speaks biblical truth to power with the intention of maximizing the authenticity, effectiveness, and spiritual authority of the institutional church. His primary objective is to mobilize servant-leaders to prayerfully and creatively reimagine, reconfigure, and reenergize church corporate cultures, practices, ethics, and structures to manifest greater grace for all. Christ’s end-time disciples are commissioned as salt-and-light ambassadors with a sacred mandate to courageously address any social or organizational norms that impact our kingdom vision, mission, and message. Unbridled ambition, greed, influence peddling, politics, nepotism, classism, and other patently carnal agendas are becoming the acceptable order in various branches of the institutional church. Christ returns soon, but will He find the true faith that was once established and delivered unto the saints? We hold the spiritual keys.
Download or read book Reimagining Church written by Frank Viola and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2012-12-10 with total page 315 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Author Frank Viola gives readers language for all they knew was missing in their modern church experience. He believes that many of today's congregations have shifted from God's original intent for the church. As a prominent leader of the house church movement, Frank is at the forefront of a revolution sweeping through the body of Christ. A change that is challenging the spiritual status quo and redefining the very nature of church. A movement inspired by the divine design for authenticity community. A fresh concept rooted in ancient history and in God Himself. Join Frank as he shares God's original intent for the church, where the body of Christ is an organic, living, breathing organism. A church that is free of convention, formed by spiritual intimacy, and unbound by four walls.
Download or read book With written by Skye Jethani and published by Thomas Nelson. This book was released on 2011-08-22 with total page 223 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With explores the narrative of the Bible to show that we were created to be with God, and that restoring this connection is his mission. Instead of life over, under, from, or even for God, what leads us into freedom and restoration is life with God. Why are American Christians, who have more access to biblical teaching than any other people in history, failing to experience the freedom of the Christian life? Why are pastors, those closest to the work and ministry, burning out at an alarming rate? Why do many church members, who give large amounts of their time and wealth to Christ and his kingdom, secretly question the legitimacy of their efforts? And why are spiritual seekers dismissing the validity of the Christian message? Is it possible we’ve misunderstood the call of the Christian life? A life lived in rich communion with God cultivates faith, hope, and love in a way that transforms both us and the broken world we inhabit. In With, you’ll find: illustrations of concepts in the book to aid understanding; recommendations for how to practice communion with God, including three helpful practices; and a discussion guide for use when continuing the conversation with others in small groups. Endorsements: If we've grown weary of Christianity, if we find most any local church uninspiring, maybe the problem lies not in the Christian faith or these faithful bodies, but in our own disgruntled hearts. In With, Skye Jethani tenderly unmasks the clichéd posturing that too often masquerades as genuine communion with Christ. More importantly, he takes readers to the humble place they must occupy--in prayer, studying Scripture, with the Church--if faith, hope, and love are to truly mark our lives. -James H. Gilmore, author, The Experience Economy It doesn’t matter, as old theologians were rumored to argue, how many angels can dance on a pinhead. But it does matter which preposition governs your faith--over, after, against, for, from, under, with. Who knew what huge worlds turn on such tiny words? Who knew what theological riches were laced into the bones of grammar? Skye has done a great service to the church. In prose elegant and clear, with insights keen and deep, he shows how everything changes with just one word: With. It’s a book I want my whole church to read. -Mark Buchanan, author of Spiritual Rhythm Who knew that a preposition had so much influence? Skye's book will challenge the way that you think about God and faith, digging deep into our motivations and heart issues. You can't read this book and not see yourself and others differently! -Margaret Feinberg, author of Scouting the Divine and Hungry for God
Download or read book Liturgies from Below written by Claudio Carvalhaes and published by Abingdon Press. This book was released on 2020-08-04 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It’s been said that prayer is the vocabulary of faith. This book offers a wealth of resources from forgotten places to help us create a new vocabulary for worship and prayer, one that is located amidst the poor and the major issues of violence and destruction around the world today. It is a collection of prayers, songs, rituals, rites of healing, Eucharistic and baptismal prayers, meditations and art from four continents: Asia-Pacific Islands, Africa, Americas, and Europe. Liturgies from Below is the culmination of a project organized by the Council for World Mission (CWM) during 2018-2019. Approximately 100 people from four continents worked with CWM, collaborating to create indigenous prayers and liturgies expressing their own contexts, for sharing with their communities and the rest of the world. The project was called “Re-Imagining Worship as Acts of Defiance and Alternatives in the Context of Empire”. The author and others spent weeks living in each of four communities for several weeks/months, getting to know the people, and then facilitating the people’s own creation of prayers and liturgies. The author, other scholars, pastors, artists, activists and students all came from radically different ethnicities, races, sexualities, churches and Christian theologies. The people in each location were poor, living in very challenging communities, living in oppressive and seemingly hopeless situations. After some time, they wrote prayers and stories of their experience trying to live the Christian faith in utterly abandoned places. What we have here is an immensely rich and varied collection of liturgical sources from various communities dealing with issues of violence, immigration/refugees, drugs, land grabbing, war on the poor, attack on women, militarization, climate change, and so on.
Download or read book Who is Your Covering written by Frank A Viola and published by . This book was released on 2002-08-01 with total page 127 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Late Great Planet Earth written by Hal Lindsey and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2016-10-11 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The impact of The Late Great Planet Earth cannot be overstated. The New York Times called it the "no. 1 non-fiction bestseller of the decade." For Christians and non-Christians of the 1970s, Hal Lindsey's blockbuster served as a wake-up call on events soon to come and events already unfolding -- all leading up to the greatest event of all: the return of Jesus Christ. The years since have confirmed Lindsey's insights into what biblical prophecy says about the times we live in. Whether you're a church-going believer or someone who wouldn't darken the door of a Christian institution, the Bible has much to tell you about the imminent future of this planet. In the midst of an out-of-control generation, it reveals a grand design that's unfolding exactly according to plan. The rebirth of Israel. The threat of war in the Middle East. An increase in natural catastrophes. The revival of Satanism and witchcraft. These and other signs, foreseen by prophets from Moses to Jesus, portend the coming of an antichrist . . . of a war which will bring humanity to the brink of destruction . . . and of incredible deliverance for a desperate, dying planet.
Download or read book How the Bible Actually Works written by Peter Enns and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-02-19 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Controversial evangelical Bible scholar, popular blogger and podcast host of The Bible for Normal People, and author of The Bible Tells Me So and The Sin of Certainty explains that the Bible is not an instruction manual or rule book but a powerful learning tool that nurtures our spiritual growth by refusing to provide us with easy answers but instead forces us to acquire wisdom. For many Christians, the Bible is a how-to manual filled with literal truths about belief that must be strictly followed. But the Bible is not static, Peter Enns argues. It does not hold easy answers to the perplexing questions and issues that confront us in our daily lives. Rather, the Bible is a dynamic instrument for study that not only offers an abundance of insights but provokes us to find our own answers to spiritual questions, cultivating God’s wisdom within us. “The Bible becomes a confusing mess when we expect it to function as a rulebook for faith. But when we allow the Bible to determine our expectations, we see that Wisdom, not answers, is the Bible’s true subject matter,” writes Enns. This distinction, he points out, is important because when we come to the Bible expecting it to be a textbook intended by God to give us unwavering certainty about our faith, we are actually creating problems for ourselves. The Bible, in other words, really isn’t the problem; having the wrong expectation is what interferes with our reading. Rather than considering the Bible as an ancient book weighed down with problems, flaws, and contradictions that must be defended by modern readers, Enns offers a vision of the holy scriptures as an inspired and empowering resource to help us better understand how to live as a person of faith today. How the Bible Actually Works makes clear that there is no one right way to read the Bible. Moving us beyond the damaging idea that “being right” is the most important measure of faith, Enns’s freeing approach to Bible study helps us to instead focus on pursuing enlightenment and building our relationship with God—which is exactly what the Bible was designed to do.
Download or read book Reorganized Religion written by Bob Smietana and published by Worthy Books. This book was released on 2023-08-29 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "A superb examination of the future of Christian institutions.... A must-read for anyone invested in the fate of the American church." -Publishers Weekly (starred review) Uncover the ways the Christian church has changed in recent years--from the decline of the mainline denominations to the mega-churchification of American culture to the rise of the Nones and Exvaneglicals--and a hopeful reimagining of what the church might look like going forward. The United States is in the middle of an unprecedented spiritual, technological, demographic, political and social transformation-- moving from an older, mostly white, mostly Protestant, religion-friendly society to a younger diverse, multiethnic, pluralistic culture, where no one faith group will have the advantage. At the same time, millions of Americans are abandoning organized religion altogether in favor of disorganized disbelief. Reorganized Religion is an in-depth and critical look at why people are leaving American churches and what we lose as a society as it continues. But it also accepts the dismantling of what has come before and try to help readers reinvent the path forward. This book looks at the future of organized religion in America and outline the options facing churches and other faith groups. Will they retreat? Will they become irrelevant? Or will they find a new path forward? Written by veteran religion reporter Bob Smietana, Reorganized Religion is a journalistic look at the state of the American church and its future. It draws on polling data, interviews with experts, and reporting on how faith communities old and new are coping with the changing religious landscape, along with personal stories about how faith is lived in everyday life. It also profiles faith communities and leaders who are finding interesting ways to reimagine what church might look like in the future and discuss various ways we can reinvent this organization so it survives and thrives. The book also reflects the hope that perhaps people of faith can learn to become, if not friends with the larger culture, then at least better neighbors.
Download or read book Paul Among the People written by Sarah Ruden and published by Image. This book was released on 2010-02-16 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is a common—and fundamental—misconception that Paul told people how to live. Apart from forbidding certain abusive practices, he never gives any precise instructions for living. It would have violated his two main social principles: human freedom and dignity, and the need for people to love one another. Paul was a Hellenistic Jew, originally named Saul, from the tribe of Benjamin, who made a living from tent making or leatherworking. He called himself the “Apostle to the Gentiles” and was the most important of the early Christian evangelists. Paul is not easy to understand. The Greeks and Romans themselves probably misunderstood him or skimmed the surface of his arguments when he used terms such as “law” (referring to the complex system of Jewish religious law in which he himself was trained). But they did share a language—Greek—and a cosmopolitan urban culture, that of the Roman Empire. Paul considered evangelizing the Greeks and Romans to be his special mission. “For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another. For the whole law is summed up in a single commandment, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” The idea of love as the only rule was current among Jewish thinkers of his time, but the idea of freedom being available to anyone was revolutionary. Paul, regarded by Christians as the greatest interpreter of Jesus’ mission, was the first person to explain how Christ’s life and death fit into the larger scheme of salvation, from the creation of Adam to the end of time. Preaching spiritual equality and God’s infinite love, he crusaded for the Jewish Messiah to be accepted as the friend and deliverer of all humankind. In Paul Among the People, Sarah Ruden explores the meanings of his words and shows how they might have affected readers in his own time and culture. She describes as well how his writings represented the new church as an alternative to old ways of thinking, feeling, and living. Ruden translates passages from ancient Greek and Roman literature, from Aristophanes to Seneca, setting them beside famous and controversial passages of Paul and their key modern interpretations. She writes about Augustine; about George Bernard Shaw’s misguided notion of Paul as “the eternal enemy of Women”; and about the misuse of Paul in the English Puritan Richard Baxter’s strictures against “flesh-pleasing.” Ruden makes clear that Paul’s ethics, in contrast to later distortions, were humane, open, and responsible. Paul Among the People is a remarkable work of scholarship, synthesis, and understanding; a revelation of the founder of Christianity.
Download or read book Refuge Reimagined written by Mark R. Glanville and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2021-02-16 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Mark R. Glanville and Luke Glanville offer a new approach to compassion for displaced people: a biblical ethic of kinship. Challenging the fear-based ethic that often motivates Christian approaches, they demonstrate how this ethic is consistently conveyed throughout the Bible and can be practically embodied today.
Download or read book Finding Organic Church written by Frank Viola and published by David C Cook. This book was released on 2009-09-15 with total page 322 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the bestselling author of Reimagining Church comes an essential guide that provides practical, effective tools for finding vibrant Christian communities. Driven by a passion for the body of Christ, Frank Viola has written some of today's most authoritative and celebrated works on the growing home, organic, and missional church movements. Now Viola shares practical keys to a healthy and successful church plant. Viola contends that many congregations today are struggling to survive, not because of bad planning, but poor planting. He presents an essential guide for starting and nourishing organic churches in any culture. Drawing from both Scripture and a wealth of experience, Viola offers real-world tools, insights, and practical suggestions so churches won't just grow, but thrive.
Download or read book Church Plantology written by Peyton Jones and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2021-04-20 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The first comprehensive textbook on effective church planting from a veteran church planter. The Apostle Paul was a veteran church planter who "laid a foundation like a wise and master builder" and there is much we can learn from his example. Paul indicated that there were basic skills and experiences required to successfully plant a church. Church Plantology examines the wide variety of church planting methods and ideologies in contemporary pastoral practice and outlines a biblical model based on the New Testament. During his time in prison, Paul spent much of his time writing to Titus, Timothy, and others who'd served alongside him in the trenches to complete their training as church plantings. We can continue to apply these time-tested, proven methods, following the pioneering example of the early church. Today, the casualty rate in is high. What if we could reduce the odds of failing? Church Plantology by Peyton Jones is a robust guide to planting that will help planters to provide the foundation necessary to survive beyond the initial first years so that they don't end up a walking statistic.
Download or read book Revelation of the Magi written by Brent Landau and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2010-11-02 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Each Christmas, adults and children alike delight at the story of the kings from the East who followed the star to Bethlehem to offer gifts to the newborn Christ. While this familiar tale is recorded in the Gospel of Matthew, another little-known version later emerged that claimed to be the eyewitness account of the wise men. This ancient manuscript has lain hidden for centuries in the vaults of the Vatican Library, but through the determined persistence of a young scholar, Brent Landau, this astonishing discovery has been translated into English for the very first time as the Revelation of the Magi. Everything we know about the wise men is based on only a few verses from the Bible. With the Revelation of the Magi, we can now read the story from the Magi's perspective. Readers will learn of the Magi's prophecies of God's incarnation from the beginning of time, their startling visitation in the form of a star, the teachings they receive from the baby Jesus, and the wise men's joyous return to their homeland to spread the good news. This ancient version of the Christmas story is guaranteed to astonish and delight. It will also raise larger questions of the significance and meaning of Christ's birth, and the mission to spread the good news to every corner of the globe. All the drama and intrigue of the brief description of Jesus's birth in the Bible is filled out in greater, more colorful detail, offering for the first time the complete story of these beloved characters.
Download or read book Gospel in Life Discussion Guide written by Timothy Keller and published by Harperchristian Resources. This book was released on 2010-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Through this eight-week small group Bible study, Gospel in Life, Timothy Keller explores with participants how gospel can change hearts, communities, and how we live in the world. This pack includes one softcover 230-page Participant Guide and one DVD.
Download or read book Decolonizing Evangelicalism written by Randy S. Woodley and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2020-03-02 with total page 140 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The increasing interest in postcolonial theologies has initiated a vital conversation within and outside the academy in recent decades, turning many “standard theologies” on their head. This book introduces seminary students, ministry leaders, and others to key aspects, prevailing mentalities, and some major figures to consider when coming to understand postcolonial theologies. Woodley and Sanders provide a unique combination of indigenous theology and other academic theory to point readers toward the way of Jesus. Decolonizing Evangelicalism is a starting point for those who hope to change the conversation and see that the world could be lived in a different way.
Download or read book Grace Can Lead Us Home written by Kevin Nye and published by MennoMedia, Inc.. This book was released on 2022-08-09 with total page 178 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On any given night, more than half a million Americans and Canadians find themselves sleeping on the streets, in shelters, cars, and other places not meant for human habitation. Yet as this crisis continues to grow, it remains one of the least talked about—especially in churches. Even where compassion and empathy exist, the complexities around homelessness can make us feel stuck, overwhelmed, or numb to the existence of unhoused people in our cities and neighborhoods. Reporting back from his work in homeless services, minister and advocate Kevin Nye introduces readers to the Christ he’s met in tents, shelters, and drop-in centers. He demystifies homelessness by journeying into complex issues like affordable housing, mental illness, addiction, and more, while reimagining our theological approach to these matters and educating us on how they intersect with homelessness. This thorough and intimate book shows us that from the margins, Jesus has something to teach us all about grace—something that could change the landscape of homelessness entirely if we’re ready to hear it.
Download or read book The Book of Mary written by Nicola Slee and published by Church Publishing, Inc.. This book was released on 2009-06 with total page 155 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Of all the women in the Bible,” writes Nicola Slee, “Mary has been for me the most ambivalent, the most alien and yet, at some level, the most alluring. I’ve taken a long time to come to her—or for her to come to me. I grew up in a religious tradition—low church Methodism—in which Mary hardly featured, other than in the nativity story. Yet it is hardly possible to exist as an inhabitant of the western world, with even half an eye open to the visual and cultural heritage of Christendom, and not to have been in some way affected by this woman, the woman of the Christian tradition.” With a collection of prayers and liturgical material focused around the figure of Mary, and the themes of motherhood, sisterhood, and female faith, this book projects a strong, contemporary attitude. It is clearly feminist, affirming the significance of Mary in the faith journey of contemporary Christian (and other) women, plus it challenges and critiques traditional stereotypes of Mary. The author explores the sorrows of Mary, her defiance and resistance, sexuality, sensuality, aloneness, independence and freedom, companionship, sisterhood, friendship, ministry, priesthood, contemplation, prayer and silence, wisdom, authority, faith, risk, and daring.
