Spiritual Church

If Jesus wrote you a letter, what would he say? What might he say to your church, or to the church across town? We actually have a living, breathing template in Scripture that provides great insight to these vital questions. The first three chapters of the Revelation contain dynamic messages that Jesus spoke to seven local churches.

Different makes a compelling argument that passionate love for God and the world he came to save will produce disciples who stand with, but not as, the lost world. We can walk alongside people and still stand out from them. Disciples cannot call other disciples to repentance and change if they are not themselves changed and changing. Churches cannot serve their divine purpose to call cities and systems to redemption and change if they are not themselves redeemed and redemptive.

Let's face it. Church isn't working. We hear sermons about the abundant life Jesus promised, but how many of us are actually living it? How many of our churches are thriving? How many people in our congregations are experiencing God's blessings? Maybe it's time to call it quits. Quit church? Well, not exactly. Drawing from his experience coaching hundreds of churches toward true growth, Chris Sonksen calls on us to quit our casual, cultural commitment to church as we know it....

This comprehensive guide is designed to help you and your church enter a lifestyle where the supernatural becomes normal—a lifestyle in which God’s perfect will breaks into this world, and Jesus is glorified.

Johnnie Moore, like many American Christians, didn't fully appreciate the extent of Christian persecution in other parts of the world - until he witnessed the graduation of theology students in India. Unlike graduation ceremonies in America - where feel-good speeches made by visiting celebrities are common - this one featured a remarkable oath. It wasn't an oath to excel or succeed. It was an oath to be willing to die, if necessary, for the cause of Christ. This was no empty promise. This was a choice, choosing the eternal over the temporal.

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.

Theodore Roosevelt is well-known as a rancher, hunter, naturalist, soldier, historian, explorer, and statesman. While Roosevelt's life has been written about from many angles, no modern book probes deeply into his engagement with religious beliefs, practices, and controversies despite his lifelong church attendance and commentary on religious issues. Theodore Roosevelt: Preaching from the Bully Pulpit traces Roosevelt's personal religious odyssey from youthful faith and pious devotion to a sincere but more detached adult faith.

Attending church allows us an enriched experience of God's presence. Attending church allows us to physically enjoy the continuous reminder and affirmation that God is real, and that He hears our prayers and can answer them. This assurance can move us to live a life of faith and thriving. Every human being wants to thrive, and ideally thrive today. Attending church is one thing people can do to thrive today.

The world’s racial wounds seem as deep and as ugly as ever. Is there really any hope? The answer is yes, absolutely. In As It Is in Heaven, Ken Claytor explores this question, debunks myths and stereotypes about race and the issue of racism in the modern church, and encourages believers to get involved in enacting change right where they are. Can we change the entire world? No. But we can begin to change our world by holding conversations, listening, studying Scripture, and humbly admitting where we’ve been wrong.

In Reason to Return, Ericka Andersen delves into the reasons why women are leaving church in droves. With gentle insight and thoughtful research, she invites Christian women who are hurt or disillusioned by the churches of their pasts to fulfill their unmet spiritual longings for God and community―and consider what the church might still have to offer them.

The United States is in the middle of an unprecedented spiritual, technological, demographic, political and social transformation—moving from an older, mostly white, mostly Protestant, religion-friendly society to a younger diverse, multiethnic, pluralistic culture, where no one faith group will have the advantage. At the same time, millions of Americans are abandoning organized religion altogether in favor of disorganized disbelief. Reorganized Religion is an in-depth and critical look at why people are leaving American churches and what we lose as a society as it continues.

What can we learn about leadership and influence from Paul? Most Christians know something of the Apostle Paul's life and ministry, but what about the incredible team of influencers he assembled and mobilized? Who were they, and how did Paul lead this team to accomplish God's purposes? Even more, what can we learn from their successes and failures, and how can we imitate their qualities?

In this current crucial age that we live in, to say that the storms of life have increased with greater intensity is a severe understatement. We can agree that the intensity of the storms that we have encountered in recent times has increased exponentially. The torrential rains have flooded our lives with uncertainty and loss of direction. The strong accompanying winds of these storms have blown at a velocity that we never before could have imagined or comprehended. The aftermath of the winds has sometimes caused complete disorientation and disarray.

Deep inside, we know the truth: our life’s mission is to live with purpose. For followers of Christ, living out that mission is possible because of what God has done for us through Jesus. We just need to know the steps to make it happen. In his book Mission Possible, Tim Tebow introduces the tools you need to set your priorities and align your choices with God’s call on your life. Now, in the insightful and practical Mission Possible Bible Study, he provides a clear plan for applying those principles and lessons.

WALKING IN LOVE. Nobody did it better than Jesus. Love ultimately led Him to the point of laying down His very own life for the sake of others. He set aside His personal preferences. He overlooked the wrongs He suffered. He was quick to forgive and quick to to restore. He prayed for those who despitefully used Him. And what a difference He made because of that. Multiplied millions of lives have been changed because this one Man dared to obey God and walk the Love Walk.

Does the local church today recognize its place as the beloved bride of Christ? In this audiobook, Dustin Benge invites believers who have underestimated or become disillusioned by the church to rediscover its beauty and glory. Exploring biblical qualities including the Trinitarian relationship, selfless service, and gospel proclamation, he awakens the affections of Christ's followers for their local church home.

It's easy to lose hope when the darkness never seems to lift or the mental and spiritual battles rage on with no end in sight. Yet, you are never lost. You can—and will—rise with hope again.

Each chapter in this book lends itself to the spiritual growth of the believer. We are to be aware of the very likely possibility that we will encounter false teachers and how to discern and deal with them. We are to be diligent and avoid deceptive teachings and avoid the wiles of Satan as he continually attempts to tempt us, to draw us away from our loving heavenly father. As you listen to this book, my prayer is you will hear from the heart of God as he continues to reach out and speak to his beloved church, his people, his called-out ones, as we rapidly approach the return of the king.

Don’t Take the Deal calls for God’s people to stop living a mediocre, feel-good, status-quo Christianity and instead fight for a faith that brings abundant joy and gives all the glory to God.

Marks of a Movement calls us back to the disciple-making mandate of the church through the timeless wisdom of John Wesley and the Methodist movement. With a love for history and a passion for today's church, Winfield helps us reimagine church multiplication in a way that focuses on making and multiplying disciples for the twenty-first century. Winfield Bevins reminds us of the vital multiplication lessons from the Wesleyan movement, one of the greatest missional movements the world has ever known.