Ministry Leadership

She provides women with a fresh and unique perspective on many of the hot issues women face today. Twenty-something single recording artist Rebecca St. James teams up with 40-something radio talk show host and mother of three Lynda Hunter Bjorklund to present a multigenerational look at why women feel out of control and vulnerable. She helps women understand how they can be safe, healthy, and empowered as they find their identity and security in God.

The founder of Better Life Bags, Rebecca Smith, teaches us how to take little steps, say yes when God calls, and follow the passion he has given us. Let love stretch you. As the founder of one of the most popular custom handbag companies in the country, Rebecca Smith knows a thing or two about business. A highly successful entrepreneur in a world where the focus is on scalability, brand strategy, and global marketing, Rebecca Smith also knows the truth.

The church of God, which includes all the denominations and persuasions of the faith, is in a crisis that appears to have no ready solution. The church's response to the crisis has for the most part been a general resignation and acceptance of the way things are, with course changes aimed at coping with rather than contesting the social, cultural and political changes that have occurred in the world. But it has not worked, and it will not work, for it is not what God in His Word says to do. We have become ineffective laborers in His vineyard....

Many today have given up on church. But God has not and does not give up on the church. The church is God's idea. And once we truly understand what God has in mind for his people, we can become who he wants us to be. Bishop Claude Alexander shows how the original Christians did not always understand what the church was supposed to be, but God worked in them anyway to become the community that he intended.

C'è un'ansia di cambiamento nel mondo. Papa Francesco la raccoglie nei suoi gesti e nelle sue parole, specialmente in un tempo di crisi quale quello che stiamo vivendo. È chiaro che abbiamo tutti bisogno di capire che cosa ci sta accadendo, di dare una lettura umana e spirituale di quel che viviamo. Francesco, come si comprende in questo volume, assimila la visionedi sant'Ignazio di Loyola così come emerge negli Esercizi Spirituali.

In the 1980s, Erika Bornman’s family join, and ultimately move to, KwaSizabantu, a Christian mission based in KwaZulu-Natal, which is touted as a nirvana, founded on egalitarian values. But something sinister lurks beneath ‘the place where people are helped’. Life at KwaSizabantu is hard. Christianity is used to justify harsh punishments, and congregants are forced to repent for their sins. Threats of physical violence ensure adherence to stringent rules. Parents are pitted against children. Friendships are discouraged.

The multi-site church movement is reshaping the way we do church. But how does it actually work? And is it right for your church? Enjoy a guided tour of multi-site churches across America and see for yourself how churches are growing and reaching their communities. This companion to The Multi-Site Church Revolution gives you on-site pictures of the new and creative ways churches are expanding their impact through multiple locations.

L'autore, filosofo e storico anglo-americano ha esaminato la relazione tra religione e scienza, respingendo le idee di armonia e presentando la storia della scienza come "non una semplice registrazione di scoperte isolate; è una narrazione del conflitto di due potenze in competizione, la forza espansiva dell'intelletto umano da una parte, dall'altra la comprensione derivante dalla fede tradizionale e dagli interessi umani".

Eine überfällige Auseinandersetzung mit dem hochaktuellen Thema Kirchenkritik – und gleichzeitig der Liebesbrief eines modernen Theologen, der keine Angst davor hat, unangenehme Fragen zu stellen. Denn was ist eigentlich los mit der Kirche? Warum wenden sich immer mehr Menschen von ihr ab, und das in einer Zeit, in der die Sehnsucht nach Orientierung größer denn je zu sein scheint? Wie ist es überhaupt so weit gekommen? Und was kann die Kirche tun? Julian Sengelmann geht mit kritischem Blick diesen Fragen nach und zeigt, warum es die Kirche heute so schwer hat.

Stepping into any leadership position comes with a unique set of challenges. Many we address only as we identify them, others take us by surprise, leaving us confused and often questioning our vision and purpose. In Expecting the Unexpected, JD Pearring provides foresight to a series of challenges likely to come our way in the course of leadership.

Many pastors feel isolated and helpless, especially those beginning pastoral ministry. Phil Newton and Rich Shadden know what this road is like, and they want to share what they have gained from pastoral mentoring—Rich, a young pastor receiving support and guidance from Phil, an older, more experienced shepherd.

We must change our priorities in the Body of Christ. The pursuit of success, prosperity and breakthroughs should not drive us to betray one another just to achieve our goals. It is time for radical heart searching. We cannot continue to divide the body of Christ with doctrines and attitudes that are aimed at making us happy and fulfilled at the expense of everybody else.

This small book has two main themes. The first is the argument that Scripture requires ministers in the church to be men - that is, they must be male. The second theme addresses the reason why this has become an issue at all (when the texts are so plain) and will argue that ministers in the Christian church must be more than male - that is, they must be vertebrates. The ministry calls for men in both senses of that word.

After a dramatic election amid a raging pandemic, racial violence, economic collapse, and historic national divisions that have threatened our democracy, Joe Biden succeeds Donald Trump as the 46th president of the United States. For Catholics, this is a momentous occasion in US public life, as he is the second Catholic to be elected to the nation’s highest office, joining John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

Trabajar en equipo es un desafío y puede ser muy alentador, ¡siempre y cuando el equipo funcione bien! Este libro, dirigido a personas que trabajan, han trabajado o esperan trabajar en equipos multiculturales, contiene vivencias de obreros latinoamericanos que han pasado por diversos malentendidos culturales. El lector podrá reconocer aspectos que pueden ocasionar problemas, divisiones e, incluso, el regreso del campo de misión.

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.

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.”

Lyn Brakeman was among the first women to enter the ordination process in the Episcopal Church just after the General Convention voted in 1976 that women could be priests. The bishop of her diocese had voted against ordaining women priests, and hospitality toward female aspirants was guarded at best. So why would a 40-year-old institutional naïf, suburban housewife, and mother of four enter such unfriendly territory to seek priestly ordination at a time when her personal life was in chaos?

As you face daily choices that require yes or no decisions, there are times when you feel paralyzed - either from fear of making the wrong choice or because of too many seemingly equal options. Social entrepeneur Jeff Shinabarger helps you break through these moments of tension and transition with proven ways to move toward good choices.

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.