English Church

Drawing on the wisdom gleaned from thriving mega-churches and innovative business leaders while anchoring their vision in the Eucharistic center of Catholic faith, Fr. Michael White and lay associate Tom Corcoran present the compelling and inspiring story to how they brought their parish back to life. Rebuilt is a story of stopping everything and changing focus. When their parish reached a breaking point, Fr. Michael White and lay associate Tom Corcoran asked themselves how they could make the Church matter to Catholics.

How have so many Christian leaders and institutions been lured by toxic and abusive power? Why are so many Christians tempted to chase worldly success and status? Because, according to Jamin Goggin and Kyle Strobel, rather than seeking kingdom power embodied by Jesus, we have embraced a form of power that is antithetical to the cross. Christians have succumbed to the temptations of power and forgotten Jesus’ seemingly contradictory path to power - first giving it up.

In a breakthrough book first published in 1991, the authors address the dynamics in churches that can ensnare people in legalism, guilt, and begrudging service, keeping them from the grace and joy of God's kingdom.

Understanding the Bible isn't for the few, the gifted, the scholarly. The Bible is accessible. It's meant to be comprehended by everyone from armchair listeners to seminary students. A few essential insights into the Bible can clear up a lot of misconceptions and help you grasp the meaning of Scripture and its application to your 21st-century life. More than three quarters of a million people have turned to How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth to inform their understanding of the Bible.

Ancient Faith has produced a fresh update and redesign of a book cherished by a generation of seekers. Written in an accessible manner for the average lay person, Orthodox Worship offers insights into the Orthodox liturgy. Early Christians preserved a continuity of worship from the Old Covenant to the New, employing elements from the Jewish Temple liturgy, the synagogue liturgy, and the rituals of the Jewish home.

Every church is driven by some controlling force: tradition, finances, programs, events, personalities, or even the building itself. But author and pastor Dr. Rick Warren, the founder of Saddleback Valley Community Church in California, believes that a church can only be truly healthy if it becomes "purpose-driven," built around the 5 goals Jesus stated in the New Testament. Dr. Warren's illuminating work outlines a proven 5-part strategy that will enable your church to become warmer through fellowship, deeper through discipleship, stronger through worship, broader through ministry, and larger through evangelism. By shifting the focus away from church-building programs, Dr. Warren emphasizes a people-building, inclusive process that will allow your church to grow without compromising its message and mission.

“Don’t ask too many questions. Just go with the flow.” This is the mantra of legalistic religion. It leaves many of us wallowing in confusion as we still have burning questions about our faith. Sometimes, these questions almost seem off-limits: Is there actually an unforgivable sin? Can we lose our salvation? Is masturbation always a sin? Am I really supposed to give 10 percent of my income to the church? Is divorce and remarriage wrong for a Christian?

In Deep Church, Belcher brings the best insights of all sides to forge a third way between emerging and traditional. In a fair and evenhanded way, Belcher explores the proposals of such emerging church leaders as Tony Jones, Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt. He offers measured appreciation and affirmation as well as balanced critique.

Based on a study that was commissioned by the Leadership Network, this book reveals the best practices in church planting and uncovers the common threads among them. A much-needed resource, this book will inform, guide, and even catalyze today's many church planting leaders. The authors clearly show leaders how to plant churches that create a multiplication movement and offer inspiration for them to do so. The book addresses their questions about what to do next in their church planting strategies, in light of research on what's actually working best.

For those who are weary of Christian cliché and compromise crowding out what was supposed to be good news, The Naked Gospel offers the fresh take on the story of Jesus you've been waiting for. As a university student, Andrew Farley found himself physically and emotionally addicted to street evangelism and Bible study. Yet despite his fervid behavior, he knew something was missing. That something was an understanding of the gospel that is stripped of the churchy jargon and hypocrisies of the modern church.

Throughout history, there have been certain figures who have stood the test of time and had an enduring impact on the church at large. One such person was the famed Welsh preacher Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. In this carefully curated collection of sermons, contemporary listeners are introduced to one of the most influential pastors of the 20th century. Compiled and expertly edited by his daughter and grandson, this powerful anthology will help you learn from “the Doctor’s” prophetic preaching - even today.

Hearing God's voice is one of the greatest gifts we've been given, but it can also feel complex and frustrating. As a teenager, Havilah Cunnington didn't think she could hear God's voice, thinking it was like trying to tune into a radio station and never finding the correct frequency. But one night at a conference, she had an encounter with God that changed everything. She realized He had been speaking to her the whole time—she just hadn't learned to recognize His voice.

Biblical womanhood - the belief that God designed women to be submissive wives, virtuous mothers, and joyful homemakers - pervades North American Christianity. From choices about careers to roles in local churches to relationship dynamics, this belief shapes the everyday lives of evangelical women. Yet biblical womanhood isn't biblical, says Baylor University historian Beth Allison Barr. It was born in a series of clearly definable historical moments.

"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.

On a clear spring day in 1995, five members of a religious cult unleashed poison gas on the Tokyo subway system. In attempt to discover why, Haruki Murakmi talks to the people who lived through the catastrophe, and in so doing lays bare the Japanese psyche. As he discerns the fundamental issues that led to the attack, Murakami paints a clear vision of an event that could occur anytime, anywhere.

Whether disillusioned by the dominant church or unfulfilled by traditional expressions of faith, many of us long for a deeper spirituality. Victoria Loorz did. Coping with an unraveling vocation, identity, and planet, Loorz turned to the wanderings of spiritual leaders and the sanctuary of the natural world. With an ecospiritual lens on biblical narratives and a fresh look at a community larger than our own species, Church of the Wild uncovers the wild roots of faith and helps us deepen our commitment to a suffering earth by falling in love with it—and calling it church.

Daniel's story is one of extraordinary faith in God lived out at the pinnacle of executive power. It tells of four teenage friends, born in the tiny state of Judah about 26 centuries ago, but captured by Nebuchadnezzar, emperor of Babylon. Daniel describes how they eventually rose to the top echelons of administration. Daniel and his friends did not simply maintain their private devotion to God; they maintained a high-profile witness in a pluralistic society antagonistic to their faith.

A number of efforts were made in the US during the 19th century to create a single textbook of Roman Catholic Christian doctrine that might be used by all American Catholics. In 1885, a catechism was put together by the Order of the Third Council of Baltimore.

History is clear: Whenever the church has aligned itself with worldly, coercive power, it ends up on the wrong side of important justice issues. But when the church cooperates with God's power through his presence among the least powerful, its witness for Jesus transforms the world into a better place. In Reckoning with Power, David Fitch unpacks the difference between worldly power, or power over others, and God's power, which engages not in coercion but in love, reconciliation, grace, forgiveness, and healing.

Indispensable Church provides you and your church real-world, hands-on steps to create a revolution of service to your local community in the name of Christ. By exploring the life of Jesus and the strategic ways he modeled serving the people around him, pastor Chris Sonksen shows you how to put love into action in your neighborhood and your city. The step-by-step instructions, biblical challenges, and teaching resources will help you take love to the streets and make an impact right where you live.