Church Ministry

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.

In recent decades, Americans in Rome have revived an ancient Christian custom: the daily pilgrimage to dozens of Rome's most striking churches during Lent and Easter Week. Along this historical and spiritual pathway, pilgrims encounter hidden artistic wonders and treasured Christian commentaries while also confronting the great mysteries of the Christian faith through a program of biblical and early Christian readings. The itinerary of the Roman station church pilgrimage offers Christians an opportunity to reflect on their religion and ponder the quality of their discipleship.

Evangelical Christianity is a paradox. Evangelicals are radically individualist, but devoted to community and family. They believe in the transformative power of a personal relationship with God, but are wary of religious enthusiasm. They are deeply skeptical of secular reason, but eager to find scientific proof that the Bible is true. In this groundbreaking history of modern American evangelicalism, Molly Worthen argues that these contradictions are the products of a crisis of authority that lies at the heart of the faith.

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.

As faith-filled Catholics, we are called to go out and spread the good news of the Gospel, build up the Church, and fuel its mission. We are supernaturally empowered by God to do this through the charisms we receive at baptism. Learn about each charism, what they are, and how discipleship unleashes these powerful gifts to produce fruit that lasts.

Guided by current research from Barna Group, Mettes illustrates the profound physical, emotional, and social toll of loneliness in the United States. Surprisingly, her research shows that it is not the oldest Americans but the youngest adults who are loneliest and that social media can actually play a positive role in alleviating loneliness.

In The Shepherd Leader, pastor and professor Tim Witmer laid out seven elements of an effective shepherding plan, showing church leaders how to minister to their congregations in practical, pastoral ways. Now, in this stand-alone but complementary volume, he gathers seven church leaders to show how they and their churches have addressed specific shepherding challenges in innovative ways.

This Very Short Introduction tells the evangelical story from the preacher-led revivals of the eighteenth century, through the frontier camp meetings of the nineteenth, to the mass urban rallies of the twentieth and the global megachurches of the twenty-first. More than just a sketch of where evangelicals have come from, this volume aims to examine the heart of evangelical phenomenon.

Nearly all churches and ministries consider themselves dedicated to evangelism, and many explicitly include outreach in their mission statements. But few are actually bearing fruit. Kevin Harney diagnoses this problem and offers guidance for multiplying the outreach impact of churches. Organic Outreach for Churches provides direction for local congregations to weave evangelism into the fabric of the church. Commitment to the Great Commission is not simply about sending money and prayers to missions or holding occasional events to reach out (although these things are good).

Spiritual writer, theologian, and philosopher Jesuit Fr. Robert Spitzer tackles the topic of recognizing and overcoming spiritual evil. His focus is the human heart. His goal: our moral and spiritual transformation, which leads to true peace and genuine happiness. The book is divided into two main parts: the realities of God's goodness and of spiritual evil, and recognizing and overcoming diabolical tactics, which range from temptation and deception to the Deadly Sins.

We are living in angry times. No matter where we go, what we watch, or how we communicate, our culture is rife with conflict. Unfortunately, Christians appear to be caught up in the same animosity as the culture at large. We are perceived as angry, judgmental, and defensive, fighting among ourselves in various media while the world looks on. How have we failed to be a people of reconciliation and renewal in the face of such tumult?

In a debut memoir that is funny and earnest, Riley invites questioners, doubters, misfits, and curious believers to participate in the universal search to heal what life has broken. Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome takes you by the hand and reminds you that sometimes you first have to be lost in order to be found.

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.

Neither "everything's fine" nor "burn it all down", Stringer offers a thoughtful appreciation of evangelicalism's history, identity, and strengths, but also lament for its blind spots, toxic brokenness, and complicity with injustice. From this complicated space, we can move forward with informed vision rather than resignation and with hope for our future together.

Budgeting for a Healthy Church examines each section of the budget in light of Biblical principles to show how a church budget can lock in healthy approaches to ministry. Whereas most books on church budgeting are "how" books, explaining how the budgeting process should work, this is a "what" book, helping church leaders determine the pastoral implications of what they choose to fund in their budgets.

The enduring influence of the Catholic Church has many sources, but in the first half of the 19th century, the foundations upon which the church had rested were shaken. For many people, liberalism in the guise of liberty, equality, and fraternity was the quintessence of the evils that shook those foundations. At the Vatican Council of 1869-1870, the church made an effort to set things right by defining the doctrine of papal infallibility. Author John W. O'Malley draws us into the bitter controversies over papal infallibility that at one point seemed destined to rend the church in two.

People are leaving the church J. D. Greear pastors. Big givers. Key volunteers. Some of his best leaders and friends. And that's exactly how he wants it to be. When Jesus gave his disciples the Great Commission, he revealed that the key for reaching the world with the Gospel is found in sending, not gathering. Though many churches focus time and energy on attracting people and counting numbers, the real mission of the church isn't how many people you can gather.

Homosexuality is one of the most controversial moral issues of our day. Headlines teem with stories of athletes "coming out", politicians changing positions, and courts handing down same sex marriage rulings. Sadly, the church has often been afraid to talk about homosexuality. Many Christians feel confused and divided between the call to love and the call for truth. The time is ripe for God's people to think and speak about same sex attraction in a way that is both biblical and beneficial. Love into Light is designed to move the church toward that end.

The twenty-six biblical qualifications for church elders/bishops found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 are a supernatural revelation given to the apostle Paul by the Holy Spirit. It is such a revealing study into Gods holiness and standards. The Lord really loves His church, and He requires that only well-qualified believers be appointed and placed in leadership positions.

In the 1970s, many campus radicals raised in Christian homes brought neo-Marxist ideas from college back to church with them. At first, figures like Jim Wallis, Ron Sider, and Richard Mouw made great gains for their progressive evangelical cause. But, after the defeat of Jimmy Carter, the religious right stole the headlines. Today, a new crop of mainstream evangelicals has taken up the cause of the New Left, whether they know it or not.