Church Ministry

We live in confusing times. Our society has shifted on its moral axis, and many are asking whether Christianity needs to be reinvented - or even reimagined - in order to save it. In Saving Christianity?, Dr. Michael Youssef explores this train of thought and its pitfalls. He describes how similar discussions in Christianity's recent past explored the very same question. Saving Christianity? will help you discern what is going on within the church while it reviews the essentials of the Christian faith as described in the Bible.

When it comes to interacting with guests, churches typically gravitate towards one of two camps: over-the-top, shock-and-awe, let-us-entertain-you or oh-man,-some-people-just-showed-up, underwhelming experience. Each extreme has drawbacks: on one end, people become the center of the universe. On the other, hospitality is effectively ignored in deference to the "serious business" of worship. People Are the Mission proposes a healthy middle, one where guests are esteemed but the gospel is the goal.

Through a close exegetical reading of Paul's letters, this volume shows how Paul prioritized moral formation and community-building in his pastoral ministry and placed the practice of communal discernment in churches at the heart of life in the Spirit. Applying these fundamental insights for today's churches, Lewis reclaims Paul's primary pastoral emphasis on moral discernment and community-building, showing how this practice can be used in a variety of local church communities.

Will God's wrath fall on America? What happens when a country glories in its immorality, turning away from faith in God and obedience to him? Jeff Kinley, author of As It Was in the Days of Noah, explores historical and biblical precedents for the demise of a nation and addresses pressing questions.

How Christ Came To Church is an enlivening spiritual autobiography that grew out of a beleaguered pastor's dream. This dream was the seminal event out of which blossomed a complete change in Gordon's approach to ministry and a vivid transformation in his parishioners.

How do we live out the message of Jesus in today’s ever-changing culture? The church is facing its greatest challenge - and its greatest opportunity - in our postmodern, post-Christian world. God is drawing thousands of spiritually curious “imperfect people” to become his church - but how are we doing at welcoming them? No Perfect People Allowed shows you how to deconstruct the five main barriers standing between emerging generations and your church by creating the right culture.

Ministry Makeover examines the decline within the church, especially the United Methodist Church (UMC), and some causes for this decline. It calls for a reforming of United Methodist structure and polity by drawing more attention to the value of the bi-vocational model of ministry and a re-visitation of the Wesleyan/United Brethren view and historical perspective.

The church began as a discipleship movement known as “The Way”. Despite the best of intentions, church as we know it in the West is unknowingly blocking discipleship multiplication - which we must have to accomplish the Great Commission. It’s time for the church in the West to be in The Way, without being in the way.

If you're brave enough to take an honest look at the issues facing the culture-controlled church - and the issues in your own life - read on.

Do you ever look at how the Christian faith is being lived out in the new millennium and wonder if we're not doing what we're supposed to be doing? That we still haven't quite 'gotten it'? That we've missed the point regarding many important issues? It's understandable if we've relied on what we've been told to believe or what's widely accepted by the Christian community. But if we truly turned a constructive, critical eye toward our beliefs and vigorously questioned them....

Administration is an essential component of every church. Pastors, ministers, and church leaders will benefit from this practical guide to understanding and managing administrative details such as church finances, policies, and staff.

The world hates the Church that Jesus founded, just as He said it would (John 15:18). It reviles her doctrines, mocks her moral teachings and invents lies about her history. In every age, but especially in our modern day, historians and political powers have distorted the facts about her past (or just made up novel falsehoods from scratch) to make the Church, and the civilization it fostered, seem corrupt, backward, or simply evil.

In Sticky Church, author and pastor Larry Osborne makes the case that closing the back door of your church is even more important than opening the front door wider. He offers a time-tested strategy for doing so: sermon-based small groups that dig deeper into the weekend message and tightly velcro members to the ministry. It's a strategy that enabled Osborne's congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation - without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church's phenomenal growth and offers practical tips.

Christian organizations have come to be known mostly for what we're against. And all too often, that includes being against each other. But amid growing distrust of religious institutions, Christ-centered nonprofits have a unique opportunity to link arms and collectively pursue a calling higher than any one organization's agenda. Rooting for Rivals reveals how your ministry can multiply its impact by cooperating rather than competing with others, modeling Christlike love and generosity in the process.

What should a Christian say when confronted with today's burning political questions? How can a person of faith use the Bible as a resource when navigating controversial cultures issues? Skyline Church pastor James L. Garlow presents Well Versed, the ultimate Scripture-based guide for Christians looking for answers, reassurance, and resources on the issues of today. Topics include Israel, social justice, sexual identity, debt, taxes, abortion, bioethics, the role of government, war, Islam, entertainment, and more.

Churches and their leaders have innovation fever. Innovation seems exciting—a way to enliven tired institutions, embrace creativity, and be proactive—and is a superstar of the business world. But this focus on innovation may be caused by an obsession with contemporary relevance, creativity, and entrepreneurship that inflates the self, lacks theological depth, and promises burnout. In this follow-up to Churches and the Crisis of Decline, leading practical theologian Andrew Root delves into the problems of innovation.

In A Change of Allegiance, Taylor takes the listener on a moving journey through the Scriptures, Christian history, and his own life's story demonstrating the incompatibility of Christianity and war. Ultimately, Taylor challenges his listener to consider where their allegiance really lies.

God called. He wants his church back. Many Christians have begun to recognize that God desires his church to function as an organism rather than an organization. After over 11 years of experience founding and facilitating a house church, author Keith Giles shares the insights he developed in the trenches. Filled with practical, real-world examples of how to plant and nurture an organic gathering, listeners will find a wealth of information to help them bring Jesus back to the forefront of every meeting.

Neil Cole's best-selling book Organic Church described the fastest growing segment of contemporary Christianity - the so-called organic church. Now in this next-step book, he answers questions about how to deal with theological and organizational issues that come up. He talks about issues such has what to do with finances, children, heresy, leader training, and rituals and ordinances. Without the top-down structure of a denomination, even people who are proponents of this small, house-church model worry that they are not doing it right.

The Art of Overcoming explores how we deal with loss, grief, and hurt, and challenges listeners to keep what looks like endings from discouraging or derailing us. The pain we experience is real—but there’s a difference between acknowledging it and giving into it. Rather than seeking a fake hope that pretends loss doesn’t exist or doesn’t matter, author and pastor Tim Timberlake encourages us to pursue hope rooted in God and gives this reminder: don’t quit!

In this provocative new contribution to public theology, world-renowned theologian Miroslav Volf (named "America's New Public Intellectual" by Scot McKnight on his Jesus Creed blog) and Matthew Croasmun explain that the intellectual tools needed to rescue us from our present malaise and meet our new cultural challenge are the tools of theology. A renewal of theology is crucial to help us articulate compelling visions of the good life, find our way through the maze of contested questions of value, and answer the fundamental question of what makes life worth living.