Community Ministry

Men were designed, created, and commanded to bear responsibility, but our history of failure in this area stretches all the way back to Adam. Today, irresponsibility is considered normal, even a birthright. Jim Wilson outlines the causes and results of this failure, the biblical principles and characteristics that define a responsible man, and how men can apply them both in their own lives and in raising their sons.

Todd Wilson’s church was devoted to the gospel and had long aspired to be the kind of city on a hill Jesus talks about in the Sermon on the Mount. They wanted their hurting neighbors to see the light of Christ and be drawn to meet Jesus, and they found the answers they were looking for in Titus. In that often-overlooked book of the Bible, they discovered a call to be zealous for good works. Zealous for Good Works is an exposition of Titus with a particular focus on mobilizing the church towards acting in kindness and goodness toward her neighbors.

Today, many of us have lost our appreciation of the beauty of covenant theology and covenant community, and this has had dire consequences for us, resulting in misunderstandings of theology and individualism and isolationism in the church. Author Sarah Ivill believes that a key solution to this problem is a robust understanding of covenant theology, which will deepen our knowledge of Scripture and enable us to truly serve our sisters by pointing them to Christ.

We are made for community. Deep within the heart of people is a longing to both know others and be known by them, and groups ministry has the opportunity to meet these needs in every church. Groups are an art, not a science. There's no one-size-fits-all formula for designing transformational groups that God uses to mold people into the image of Christ together.

The African-American community represents a paradox of sorts. While collective success has been achieved in many areas, African-Americans still disproportionately suffer from a variety of social ills. The residual impact of years of slavery and exclusion from the major institutions of American life are still trenchant. Yet there is hope. As we move forward into a new millennium, our greatest answers can be found by exploring the past.

There are many temptations to disunity within Christianity - denominational splits, following particular pastors or authors, theological differences - the list goes on. The primary assumption in this book is the authority and inspiration of the Scriptures. There are promises, prayers, and commands in the New Testament concerning the church’s unity in Christ. The Christian church is made up of individual members of the body of Christ. This book is written to those individuals. The church as a whole cannot obey God. Only the parts can.

"Revolutionary love" sounds like an oxymoron. Revolution is usually a negative, violent, and destructive change, while love is positive, peaceful, and contented. But true love always changes people. And Christ’s love brings the most revolutionary change of all. Festo Kivengere (1919 - 88) experienced both kinds of revolution. He escaped Uganda when the brutal regime of Idi Amin seized power. But he could not escape the pursuit of Jesus, who came into his life with radically transformative grace.

Jesús discipuló a sus seguidores por medio de relaciones interpersonales - y espera que nosotros hagamos lo mismo. A lo largo de las Escrituras encontramos abundantes exhortaciones a servirnos unos a otros. Este audiolibro le mostrará cómo hacerlo. La vida de aislamiento de la cultura occidental de hoy crea un deseo por vivir en comunidad y el mundo entero anhela ver discípulos relacionales en acción.

Everyone needs advice, and everyone gives advice. In a world of dysfunctional families, churches, and societies, professional counseling is in great demand as a solution to our problems. The weak link in this solution is the inability to determine a counselor’s qualifications apart from his professional accreditation. Academics can give you knowledge, but no learning or books can give you wisdom. There are no graduate degrees in love or compassion. You cannot get a PhD in virtue. However, these things are available to everyone freely through Christ.

In this collection of short meditations, Heather Torosyan explores the theme of joy in Scripture and discusses how it applies to our daily lives. This is not an academic treatise, but a study meant to encourage the listener so you also may be filled with inexpressible, overflowing joy.

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” (Rom. 11:33). Our heavenly Father has given us unfathomable blessings, but we often fail to live as if they are truly ours. In Thankfulness and Confession, Brad Scheelke encourages listeners to meditate on and rejoice in the glorious riches of our inheritance in Christ. As we regularly give thanks for what God has given us, our thoughts and actions will begin to change . . . often in surprising ways. Gratitude also changes how we deal with sin.

Back in the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation took Europe by storm. The havoc wreaked saw the split of churches and the emergence of the Amish, led by Jakob Ammann. By the 18th century, a group of Amish had crossed the seas to the United States, where they made their home, and today the Amish are now one of the fastest-growing populations in the world.

Like so many saints before him, Samuel Rutherford did his best work while he was imprisoned for the gospel. While in exile from his hometown, he wrote hundreds of letters to his friends and members of his congregation. Christians of all walks have drawn strength from Rutherford's letters, which were printed several years after his death in 1661 and have been called “the most remarkable series of devotional letters that the literature of the Reformed churches can show.” The Loveliness of Christ is a collection of short excerpts from these letters.

In An Honorable Heritage, Pandita Ramabai tells her story of being born into the privileged Brahman caste and leaving tradition behind for something far better—the light and hope she found in Christ. After years of searching for something more than the hopeless existence her religion offered to those not born into a high caste, Pandita had at last discovered someone who could uplift the downtrodden women of India—and every land.

Sometimes when we look for black and white, all we find is more grey. Sometimes we are waiting on God to answer our prayer before we feel like we can trust he’s even listening. Toby Slough, a seasoned leader and pastor of a large church, shares candidly about his public battle with anxiety and depression. Through his story, you will find God at work in the most unlikely, “un-churchy” things.

Jesus lived with his disciples for three years and taught them life lessons in a relational atmosphere. After three years, he commanded them to "go and do likewise" (Matthew 28:18-20). Our God, the Trinity, is a relational God. He lives in perfect harmony with the other members of the Godhead. His word is full of exhortations to love and serve one another. This book will tell you how.

砕かれた葉は美しい。米国人音楽家が魅せられた日本の文化。そこには聖書の説く福音のメッセージが溢れている。日本文化・芸術・生活の中で、神がいかにご自身を明らかにしておられるかに気づく、10の短いメディテーション（黙想）。

Dr. David K. Ewen's latest book serves as a profound continuation of his previous work, "Unveiling the Invisible: Exploring Homelessness in Massachusetts." In this new publication, Dr. Ewen delves deeper into the intricate realities faced by individuals experiencing homelessness, exploring the profound themes of recognizing despair within this marginalized population and advocating for the transformative power of hope.

Whether we know it or not, all of us have had heart trouble. The good news is that Jesus Christ is the best heart specialist of all time. In this collection, Bessie examines the Bible’s references to the heart: what God says about our condition, and what provision he has made for us in Jesus Christ. It is no-nonsense Bible teaching with an emphasis on practical application.