Church Ministry

“Meester Volansky, how you say in English? In Ukrainian, we say it like when person live in house. Jesus is my house. I live in Him . . . Because Jesus is like my house . . . I has hope!” Where did Diana get her hope? Somehow, despite the horror of the moment in which the Wolansky family found themselves, and despite whatever horrors Diana had faced in her past over her own children, she seemed to have enough hope to calm everyone else down and to take charge of the situation. Where did she get that capacity? Could Petr and Jen find this type of hope to endure?

Pandemic of Pastors and the Leadership Lie explores the crisis of modern church leadership, exposing how cultural trends have overshadowed biblical shepherding. This book calls the Church to return to Scripture's foundational truths, urging those truly called by the Spirit to embrace humble, faithful shepherding and to recognize false leaders disguised as shepherds. It is a compelling wake-up call for pastors, church leaders, and believers who long for Spirit-led discipleship centered on Christ, the true Shepherd.

An engaging and timely guide to preaching with passion from minister and professor Lucas Hergert. Done well, preaching engages mind and heart, soul and body. Passionate preaching offers more than discussion about topics held at a distance; it claims a stake in them. This is especially true right now, as progressive preachers must address today’s social issues with power and conviction. But how does a preacher ensure the congregation not only receives but also feels the message?

With its play-on-words title that points to the familiar biblical metaphor around shepherds and flocks of sheep in need of attentive care, David McCauley's You Don't Know Sheep provides road-tested insight for some of today's most perplexing faith-based leadership issues. You Don't Know Sheep offers new perspectives; solutions to problems you've been wanting to fix; and the good-natured realization that leading people successfully requires wise shepherding—starting with a shepherd who knows the way.

The following is a compilation of the warnings that the Lord has given me to preach, teach, and prophesy to all who will listen. May the Lord use this to open your eyes to the truth, bring you to repentance, and draw you closer to the God who loves you.

One of the church's primary responsibilities is to foster genuine spiritual growth in people's lives. Today's pastors bring tremendous effort and passion to this task, but they are often disappointed by people who sit in the pews for years, knowing about Jesus but never really knowing him. In 2004, Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago undertook a three-year study to measure spiritual growth called the REVEAL Spiritual Life Survey. Over the next six years, additional data was collected from over a quarter million people in well over a thousand churches of every size....

A church's culture is the launchpad for everything a church does, the starting point for every ministry. If the culture is "off," everything else will be out of kilter. Church Culture equips every pastor and leader with the tools necessary for culture change. Authors Ozier and Thibodeaux, both experts in this area of church leadership, teach the basic concepts so listeners can understand what culture is and why it's so crucial. Even more importantly, they provide a step-by-step process leaders can use to diagnose and gently shift the culture in their church.

Este libro es una crónica sobre el Grupo Pequeño o Movimiento Celular, partiendo de la época de Jesús hasta llegar a la explosión celular en los tiempos modernos. Comiskey destaca las fortalezas y debilidades de estos movimientos históricos de grupos pequeños, y aplica estos principios a la iglesia actual. Crecerás en gratitud y en entendimiento de los valores clave de las células a causa de aquellos pioneros que allanaron el camino.

Biblical eldership is too important to the local church to be muddled in confusion and unscriptural church traditions. According to the New Testament, elders jointly pastor the church, teach the word, protect the church from false teachers, exhort and admonish believers in sound doctrine, pray with the sick, and judge doctrinal issues. In biblical terminology, elders shepherd, oversee, lead, manage, and care for the local church. By developing a healthy eldership, we develop a healthy church.

What if I told you that you were only one step away from unlocking new levels of maturity and growth in your church? The myth of the silver bullet still exists because we desperately want it to. We all prefer quick fixes and bandage solutions to the long, hard, slow work that produces real change. What if the solution isn't a new model or a complicated strategy but a shift in perspective? What if you could keep your church's current vision, values, and model and simply make a few microshifts...leading to macrochanges?

A great reckoning is underway in the church today: a naming and exposing of the exclusivity, abuse, racism, patriarchy, and unchecked power that have marked evangelical Christianity for far too long. What kind of church will emerge on the other side?

Although the vast majority of human beings have always believed in the universe having a creator, concepts of God vary greatly among them today. For many people, important questions remain unresolved, such as: Are religions divine in origin or man-made? Can God really do "all things" like some scriptures claim? Could he create a rock too heavy for him to lift? Who created the Creator, and did God become man?

You can be young, passionate about Jesus Christ, surrounded by diversity, engaged in a postmodern world, and reared in evangelicalism and not be an emergent Christian. In fact I want to argue that it would be better if you weren't. The Emergent Church is a strong voice in today's Christian community. And they're talking about good things: caring for the poor, peace for all men, loving Jesus. They're doing church a new way, not content to fit the mold. Again, all good. But there's more to the movement than that.

In Radical, David Platt's plea for Christians to take back their faith from the American Dream resonated with readers everywhere and quickly became a New York Times bestseller. Now in Radical Together, the author broadens his call, challenging us to unite around a gospel-centered vision. How, he asks, might such a vision reshape our priorities as the body of Christ?

A practical guide to multicultural ministry in a changing America, with motivating stories and examples from the author’s personal experiences in successful multicultural ministry. It also offers practical how-to ideas from a wide circle of churches.

What if the secret to pastoral success is to do less ministry? Or, maybe, it’s more like a two-part secret: do less ministry, develop more people. The typical pastor takes on far too much. Who visits the hospital? Who counsels couples? Who teaches and preaches and disciples? Usually, the pastor. But according to Ephesians 4, a pastor’s true goal should be to equip the so-called ordinary members of their church to take on these pastoral tasks.

We are living in historic times. Not since the Civil Rights Movement of the '60s has our country been as vigorously engaged in the reconciliation conversation. There is a great opportunity right now for culture to change, to be a more perfect union. However, it cannot be done without the church, because the faith of the people is more powerful than any law government can enact.

Healing miracles would seem almost commonplace, but this time, it is done by a small child. Dale's 15-year-old daughter is in trouble. Angela must rescue Maynard from a serious charge. Protestors nearly wreck a downtown business. Who is behind it? Is there a contract out on this well-known local businessman? Maynard Springs is soon in trouble with his boss, Giuseppi Donnatelli. How could he mistake the well-dressed gentleman for a terrorist? Maynard is quickly arrested on gun charges and attempted murder. It falls to Alan’s new assistant to follow the clues.

When Jesus looks for grace in your church, it’s like spotting the sunrise in the dark sky. The smallest rays of grace eclipse sin, each sunbeam from the Spirit stirring the heart of the Son. Unfortunately, apart from the Spirit, we don’t naturally see the church as Jesus does.

Sound doctrine is the life-blood of God's people, providing the foundation for the church's unity and witness. From shaping the corporate life of the church to directing individuals in the practical issues of life, right thinking about God, humanity, sin, and salvation, good theology is indispensable for real growth. This short, accessible book speaks to the importance of solid doctrine for godly living and powerfully argues that truth is always meant to lead to transformation.