Church Culture

An examination of sex and the Bible by one of the leading biblical scholars in the United States. For several decades, Michael Coogan's introductory course on the Old Testament has been a perennial favorite among students at Harvard University. In God and Sex, Coogan examines one of the most controversial aspects of the Hebrew Scripture: What the Old Testament really says about sex, and how contemporary understanding of those writings is frequently misunderstood or misrepresented.

Things are chaotic in America. Liberal policies are advancing. A rash of executive orders appears to be moving the nation closer to socialism and a one-world government. And conservatives, including many Christians, are being censored as never before. In some ways, Christians cancel each other in debates over non-essentials. There is no going backward if we want to remain effective and engaged. We can take the initiative and move forward from where we are. This book will assess and affirm the different approaches playing out.

Your church's sermons often include a call to evangelize. You've held evangelism training events. You give out invites to your Christmas and Easter services. So… where are all the new Christians? Is your church actually reaching the lost with the gospel? For many of us, despite having the best intentions our churches struggle to reach out with the gospel effectively. J.A. Medders and Doug Logan, Jr. have decades of experience in leading churches and mentoring pastors, and here they outline six principles for cultivating a genuine evangelistic culture throughout your church.

There is a church not too far from us that recently added a $25 million addition to their building. Our local newspaper ran a front-page story not too long ago about a study revealing that one in five people in our city lives in poverty. This is a book about those two numbers. It's a book about faith and fear, wealth and war, poverty, power, safety, terror, Bibles, bombs, and homeland insecurity, It's about what happens when Christians support, animate, and participate in the very things Jesus came to set people free from.

Designed to help church leaders and pastors, The Quest helps to identify and promote culture change within the church body so that members are equipped and empowered to help expand the Kingdom of God. Practical and powerful, your church will see its impact on your community grow exponentially.

The Bible tells us that the congregation gathered around God's heavenly throne will be "a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language," all singing the praises of the Lamb. God's intention has always been to delight for all eternity in a redeemed community of ethnic diversity. But this diverse community shouldn't have to wait until eternity to begin! It can be a reality in our own local churches here and now. Patterned after a worship service, In Church as It Is in Heaven gives biblical warrant for such a community.

Though they may seem to be dividing the country irreparably, today's heated cultural and political battles between right and left, progressives and the Tea Party, religious and secular are far from unprecedented. In this engaging and important work, Stephen Prothero reframes the current debate, viewing it as the latest in a number of flashpoints that have shaped our national identity.

Renewable Wellbeing reveals how re-discovering the Jesus way of wellbeing is our best hope for a tired church in a broken world. Examining episodes from Jesus’ life as seen in John’s Gospel, Ruth Rice unpacks the five culture shifts she believes the church needs today to renew wellbeing in our churches: connecting with our identity, learning the new economy of the kingdom, getting active in community, taking notice of simplicity in our habits, and giving in renewable ways and sensing our call to serve.

Has God abandoned Israel? Has the Church “replaced” Israel? What does the Bible say? As we watch the world events, it is clear that Israel is following her prophetic scenario, and a new chapter is about to be written - and there may be a big surprise on our near horizon!

Is Western civilization in an accelerating decline? And if it continues will it eventually weaken and cause us to come to the end of cultured civilization as we now know it? "Yes," says David Jeremiah in his audiobook I Never Thought I'd See the Day! Can this downward spiral be reversed? Yes, but only if, one person at a time, we return to God with our hearts, our manner of life, our dedication to genuine worship of God, and by serving God in helping others, in our giving, and in prayer.

Following the example of John the Baptist and with a careful look at the teaching of Scripture, Tim Suttle dares church leaders to risk failure by chasing the vision God has given them - no matter how small it might seem - instead of pursuing the broad path of pragmatism that leads to fame and numerical success.

Many people today think the most effective means to reach this postmodern world for Christ is for the church to become more attractive and relevant to the culture. It must reinvent itself, adjust its gospel message, be less dogmatic, more therapeutic, tolerant, and entertaining. It must pander to the culture, take up its social causes, even conform to it - but never oppose it. Yet such a position is totally foreign to scripture and therefore mitigates the power and blessing of God.

The Monkey and the Fish decodes profound shifts and events taking place in the world today due to globalism, multiculturalism and technology, and introduces an original approach to ministry, church, and leadership known as The Third Culture. The book title refers to an Eastern parable that will challenge you to reexamine fundamental assumptions of the evangelical movement, including erroneous interpretations that have made the church increasingly irrelevant in North America and the global village.

Religious traditions in the United States are characterized by ongoing tension between assimilation to the broader culture and defiant rejection of cultural incursions. However, legal theorist and Catholic theologian Cathleen Kaveny contends there is a third possibility - a culture of engagement - that accommodates and respects tradition. It also recognizes the need to interact with culture to remain relevant and to offer critiques of social, political, legal, and economic practices.

The tragic death of 13-year-old Danny Croteau in 1972 faded from headlines and memories for 20 years until the Boston abuse scandal - a string of assaults taking place within the Catholic Church - exploded in the early 2000s. Despite numerous indications, including 40 claims of sexual misconduct with minors, pointing to him as Croteau's killer, Reverend Richard R. Lavigne remains "innocent." Drawing on more than ten thousand pages of police and court findings and interviews with Danny's friends and family, fellow abuse victims, and church officials, the author uncovers the truth.

Warm, insightful, even at times amusing, Teems's depiction of King James has all the elements of a grand tale - conspiracy, kidnapping, witchcraft, murder, love, despair, loss. Majestie offers an engaging new look at the world's most cherished, revered, and influential translation of Sacred Writ and the king behind it.

Missiologist James E. Plueddemann presents a roadmap for cross-cultural leadership development in the global church. With keen understanding of current research on cultural dynamics, he integrates theology with leadership theory to apply biblical insights to practical issues in world mission. The future of the global church depends on effective multicultural leadership. God has called people from various contexts to minister and lead in every land for the sake of the gospel.

There's got to be more to church than this. People around the world are seeking a community that focuses more on others than on themselves. Yet most don't know where to start. Drawing from his own journey, Brandon Hatmaker reminds us that serving the least is not a trendy act of benevolence but a lifestyle of authentic community and spiritual transformation. In Barefoot Church, Brandon offers practical ideas for creating service-based, missional communities and explains how the organizational structure of a church can be created or restructured for mission in any context.

For many pastors and church leaders, ministry is an exhausting, frustrating, and even fruitless endeavor. Driven by programs and cultural trends, churches are competing to stay relevant and effective in a hostile world. What if there were a better way - a way of rest and of power - the way of abiding?

Christ never actually told us how to "do church". Yes, he had a lot to say about the church, but what he did say was mostly unrelated to stylistic issues or contextual trends. He never spoke about its leadership hierarchies or the pros and cons of denominational fellowships or the types of music. And yet, much of our time and energy as leaders and shepherds is consumed by chasing after tips, tricks, and secrets to "grow" churches.