English Church

Views on the roles of deacons vary widely among evangelical Christians. What does scripture actually teach about deacons and their role in the church? Views range from deacons being the board of directors to the church-building maintenance crew. Strauch states that his purpose in writing this book is to encourage my deacon friends and fellow church leaders to think more critically about what they are saying, what they are doing, and what scripture actually teaches about deacons.

The religious right taught America to misread the Bible. Christians have misused Scripture to consolidate power, stoke fears, and defend against enemies. But people who have been hurt by the attacks of Christian nationalism can help us rediscover God's vision for faith in public life. Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove explores how religious culture wars have misrepresented Christianity at the expense of the poor, and how listening to marginalized communities can help us hear God's call to love and justice in the world.

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.

Practiced as a personal spirituality or in communion with others, Church of the Wild is more than a novel way to do church outside or declare nature your church. Expanding beyond religious and institutional boundaries, this book offers ways to rewild your spirituality no matter your spiritual heritage.

In a lonely village in the Peak District, during the onset of a once-in-a-lifetime snow storm, Constable Ellie Cheetham finds a body. The man, a local ne'er-do-well, appears to have died in a tragic accident: he drank too much and froze to death. But the facts don't add up: the dead man is clutching a knife in one hand, and there's evidence he was hiding from someone. Stranger still, an odd mark has been drawn onto a stone beside his body.

A right understanding of honor is vital to healthy churches. It’s a word that’s mentioned hundreds of times throughout the Bible. But what does honor really look like for us in everyday church life? Who should we honor, and how? Adam Ramsey brings a fresh understanding of true honor in our churches. He paints a vision of an honoring church that captivates your mind and heart—a church that shines brightly in the community because of the way its members value and respect each other and their leaders and, above all else, bring honor to God.

"I'm tired of helping others enjoy God―I just want to enjoy God for myself." With this painful admission, Ruth Haley Barton invites us to an honest exploration of what happens when spiritual leaders lose track of their souls. Each chapter includes a spiritual practice to ensure your soul gets the nourishment it needs. Forging and maintaining a life-giving connection with God is the best choice you can make for yourself and for those you lead.

What world missions ministry would arise if you only had the Bible? Answer: It would start and end with the local church. A focus on the local church is biblical, practical, and effective. It aligns with the New Testament. Local churches everywhere display God's wisdom and the glory of Christ in the gospel. You’ll see it from the view of Christ, the Great Commission, first-century Christians, Paul, and the New Testament canon itself. Once you see it, you can’t un-see it! This book walks through these steps: A.

Liv Reese wakes up in the back of a taxi with no idea where she is or how she got there. When she’s dropped off at the door of her brownstone, a stranger answers—a stranger who claims to live in her apartment. She reaches for her phone to call for help, only to discover it’s missing. In its place is a bloodstained knife. Her hands are covered in scribbled messages, like graffiti on her skin: STAY AWAKE. Two years ago, Liv was thriving as a successful writer for a trendy magazine. Now, she’s lost and disoriented in a New York City that looks nothing like what she remembers.

In our current culture, the church and prayer are often dismissed as irrelevant. But when believers gather and pray together, powerful things happen: the Spirit equips the saints for ministry, the helpless are met with help, and believers experience the joy of being led by the Spirit of Jesus. In this audiobook, Paul E. Miller, bestselling author of A Praying Life, casts a vision for a return to the simple yet life-changing practice of praying together. Through personal stories and biblical examples, Miller teaches the why, what, and how of praying together.

Crashing the chatterbox = Overpowering lies of insecurity, fear, condemnation, and discouragement with the promises of God. “I used to think that someone who struggled with the kinds of weaknesses I deal with daily was useless to God. I felt so often like I was drowning in internal dialogue I couldn’t control. It had been the soundtrack of my life for as long as I could remember.

Leaving the Saints is an unforgettable memoir about one woman's spiritual quest and journey toward faith. As "Mormon royalty" within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Martha Beck was raised in a home frequented by the Church's high elders, known as the apostles, and her existence was framed by their strict code of conduct.

Twenty-seven years ago, a Duke with a grudge led a ruthless coup against the empire of Semilla, killing thousands. He failed. The Duke was executed, a terrifyingly powerful sorcerer was imprisoned, and an unwilling princess disappeared. The empire moved on. Now, when Quill, an apprentice scribe, arrives in the capital city, he believes he's on a simple errand for another pompous noble: fetch ancient artifacts from the magical Imperial Archives.

In today's frenetic society, people rarely develop intimate friendships. Instead, they spend their lives essentially disconnected from others, rushing through life content with brief visits and casual conversations. But what if one were to develop a community, a spiritual community, of people who walked with and supported each other through life's journey? A community of real friends who listened to each other's personal tragedies without merely trying to fix the problems, who encouraged and nurtured each other's strengths, and who accepted people for who they really are.

The Knights Templar existed officially for less than 200 years. Founded to protect pilgrims who were travelling through the Holy Lands, their rise to power was sudden. They became some of the most feared warriors in the region, they had a mandate from God, they controlled perhaps the world's first real banking system, and they waged war against anyone who tried to wrestle Christianity and seize holy grounds from the control of the Catholic Church.

Author and pastor Jared C. Wilson shows how to lead a culture shift in a church from a focus on numerical success to the metrics of grace. Leading a church culture to shift from numerical success to the metrics of grace can be costly, but leaders who have conviction, courage, and commitment can lead while avoiding some of the land mines that often destroy churches.

We hear the voices of the early Church Fathers even today. Their teachings, their guidance, their insights, and their sacrifice shaped the Catholic Church. They defined the canon of Scripture. They developed our creeds and forms of worship. They defined Christianity's distinctive moral sense. But who were they? What can we learn from their ancient teachings? What can the Fathers teach the twenty-first century—about holiness, culture, faith, and the Gospel.

This is a book of wisdom and insight that explains how providential are the trials through which the Catholic Church is now passing. All these themes receive new clarity and depth from Cardinal Ratzinger.

The Apostolic Church: In the Twenty-First Century is a collection of articles and essays on the nature and mission of the church. Written in an accessible style, this book will help both ministers and laypersons understand how to live out their faith in the community we know as the church.

Much of the church has forgotten that we worship a disabled God whose wounds survived resurrection, says Amy Kenny. It is time for the church to start treating disabled people as full members of the body of Christ who have much more to offer than a miraculous cure narrative and to learn from their embodied experiences. Written by a disabled Christian, this book shows that the church is missing out on the prophetic witness and blessing of disability.