Church Leadership

Longtime pastor Douglas Wilson takes a hammer to some of our very favorite graven images, and (surprise, surprise) we've set up display cases for most of them in our churches: liturgy, tradition, systematics, infant baptism, and that crafty old Baal doctrine. Alongside a critique of philosophical assumptions about human nature, dualism, and grace, Wilson stresses the unavoidable and absolute necessity of individual hearts being born again. He concludes by laying out the case for the church.

If the fear of the Lord is "the beginning of wisdom," then it must be the starting point for fruitful Christian leadership. David Cook and Shane Parker offer an accessible volume focused on Christian leadership philosophy and practice from the foundational viewpoint of the fear of the Lord. This unique approach will enable developing and seasoned leaders to grow in godliness for the sake of the gospel and the church.

The idea of Christian unity presents an attractive ideal. Yet it is more than an ideal. Those who have been joined together with Christ through the new covenant have also been joined together with one another. Such ideas can be difficult to accept considering the overall state of the church today. But God has a plan for these last days, and it involves the members of his unified body loving one another and working together to fulfill his purposes.

¿No es suficiente con que un cristiano siga la transmisión en vivo de un servicio de la iglesia? ¿Todavía vale la pena unirse a una congregación local? ¿En realidad es tan importante reunirse todas las semanas? ¿Por qué debería ir a la iglesia (de nuevo)? Collin Hansen y Jonathan Leeman abordan estas preguntas. Quieren ayudarte a redescubrir por qué la iglesia es tan importante. La iglesia es más que una transmisión en vivo; es una comunidad que, como pueblo de Dios, aprende a ser el cuerpo de Cristo. Necesitas a otros (y otros necesitan de ti) para ser cristiano.

We live in a leadership paradox: In a time that needs leadership more than ever, people are more reluctant than ever to take on the responsibility of leadership. In addition, the average leader in our churches or faith-based organizations doesn’t necessarily have the time or desire to pore through shelves of leadership material. To Lead: A Practical Guide for Leaders in Churches and Faith-Based Organizations is Joel Milgate’s contribution toward filling that gap.

This book captures the story of a widespread movement of churches that are expanding their ministries to include multiple formats, venues, and locations, using dozens of in-the-trenches examples, identifying the primary reasons churches succeed as well as how they overcome common snags on the route to "one church, many congregations".

Qui a besoin de l’Église ? De nombreux chrétiens considèrent qu’il n’est pas nécessaire d’aller à l’église. « Ce n’est qu’un bâtiment », disent-ils. « Je peux prier n’importe où. Je n’ai pas besoin de me réunir avec d’autres chrétiens. » Dans ce petit livre, R. C. Sproul explique que l’Église ne désigne pas simplement un bâtiment, mais aussi l’ensemble des personnes qui s’y réunissent.

Pastoral failure, volunteer fatigue, exhausted staff members, church wounds, and increasing membership decline have left us wondering, how do we lead from God-with-us rather than the world’s hustle culture? Non-Anxious Churches examines communities’ need for churches that are authentic, real, and non-anxious. Unfortunately, churches are not immune to anxiousness and can even perpetuate it by juggling tasks, getting caught up in activities, and focusing on the wrong goals.

Grieving the Loss of the Church You Love walks the listener through a process to revitalize their church. Additionally, the listener walks though their own personal grief for personal healing and uses that cathartic process to better relate to and understand their church’s grief.

The evangelical church is home to many who claim to follow Christ but who show little evidence of a truly transformed life. Todd Wilson's Real Christian: Bearing the Marks of Authentic Faith biblically defines what it means to be a true Christian, calling listeners to look at their own lives and diagnose where they aren't living authentically for God.With a prophetic voice, Wilson looks at how we deceive ourselves into thinking we are really living for God through believing the right things or doing lots of spiritual activities.

Among the top 10 trends that are changing American life, Time magazine recently listed a rising dissatisfaction with organized religion. Though many people today like Jesus, they are growing tired of traditional religious institutions. For many years, Dan Kimball would have agreed, until an encounter with a small group of Jesus followers started him on a journey that challenged him to rethink everything he had ever assumed about the church.

Self-identifying as 'evangelical' is risky business these days. What is Evangelicalism? Is it a historical artifact? A political philosophy? A set of doctrines? A litmus test for genuine faith? Perhaps more important, what will come to mind when future generations hear something described as 'evangelical'? Routes and Radishes invites you into a conversation about what the evangelical movement has been and what it is going to be.

When I was called to pastor my first church, I was certain of only one thing—I was in over my head! This small church had nearly closed its doors. They were running about 35 on a Sunday, were steeped in tradition, and I was bi-vocational. I had a dream of revitalizing our church to become a healthy, evangelistically effective church that was fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission but wasn’t sure how to do it. The D.R.E.A.M. Church shares the strategies that our church and thousands of others have used to experience healthy, long-term growth.

The United States is recognized as the most religiously diverse country in the world, and yet its laws and customs, which many have come to see as normal features of American life, actually keep the constitutional ideal of “religious freedom for all” from becoming a reality. Christian beliefs, norms, and practices infuse our society; they are embedded in our institutions, creating the structures and expectations that define the idea of “Americanness.”

In an audiobook eagerly awaited by her growing retinue of fans, she brings listeners inside the world's oldest Christian faith, illuminating Eastern Orthodoxy in a manner similar to Kathleen Norris's exploration of Benedictine spirituality. An ex-hippie and former social radical, the author often writes humorously about her unusual road from Woodstock to the altar of an Orthodox church, where she is the pastor's wife.

Der Wahl des neuen Papstes ist eine Revolution, eine Umwälzung von gewaltiger Bedeutung, im Vatikan vorausgegangen, die ihren Schatten auf alle folgenden Ereignisse geworfen hat. Was hat Benedikt XVI. tatsächlich zum Rücktritt, zum ersten Rücktritt eines Papstes seit über 700 Jahren, bewogen?

Moments after our pastor exited the building that afternoon in 2008, most of the congregation sat in shock. A tiny but powerful minority wore victorious smiles at the minister's ousting. The lady to my left wept. Her pleading question kept me awake all night. "Why did our pastor have to leave?" Polls reveal startling statistics regarding pastoral ministry: 91 percent of ministers know three to four others who've been forced out of pastoral positions.

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 this inspiring autobiography, Morris West, aged 80, reviews the chronicle of his life and belief, offering a lyrical, intimate and affirming account of his pilgrimage as a 20th-century Christian. From the vantage point of his hard-won and deeply held faith, West shares a remarkable and moving journey, through doubting and questioning to ultimately embracing faith in God.

Journalistic stories - some with a happy ending, others ending with a crashing tragedy; simple or unbelievably complex, full of love or burning bitterness. Marcin Wójcik, a journalist from Duży Format, in his comprehensively documented and well-balanced book gives a voice to the clergymen, showing them as flesh and blood people who feel hunger, thirst, tiredness, and...have sex drive.