A wave of new Christian churches are emerging to reach unchurched and dechurched people who live in a culture that is increasingly non-religious and multi-religious. These new forms of church gather and network with people who typically have never been to church. The new faith communities listen to people and go where they are on the journey toward Jesus. They are deeply ecumenical but do not lose their distinctiveness because they learn fresh ways to communicate their identity through discipleship.Fresh Expressions began in the United Kingdom where it ignited over 3000 new faith communities. In the United States the movement is putting down roots in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida.Ken Carter and Audrey Warren offer this book as a group study for church leaders and congregations who are in the grip of Holy Spirit motivation to renew their tradition by reaching people who are dechurched or not yet in a discipleship relationship with Jesus.Each chapter includes two Bible study experiences for group conversation.
After decades of conversation serving up a mosaic of understandings ofWesleyan evangelism (focusing on proclamation, initiation, andembodiment), Jack Jackson offers a clearer portrait of Wesley'sevangelistic vision, understood through the lens of ';offering grace.'Anydiscussion of Wesley's vision of evangelism must center on theproclamation of the story of God in Christ. But for John Wesleyevangelism was much more than preaching for conversion. This book offersa fresh conception of Wesley's evangelistic vision by analyzing hismethod of gospel proclamation. Wesley was not constrained by thetruncated vision of evangelism that has been dominant since the latenineteenth century, one that all too often centers on group preachingwith a sole emphasis on conversion. Rather, he stressed a number ofpractices that focus on a verbal proclamation of the gospel. These practices occur in a variety of settings, only one of which ispublic preaching, and result in a number of responses, only one of whichis conversion. Of crucial importance for current theological students,clergy, and church leaders around the world, the book demonstrates thatvisitation, for the purpose of spiritual direction and evangelism, wasin many ways the critical leadership and pastoral practice of earlyBritish Methodism. This book offers important insights into earlyMethodism that inform both contemporary practices of evangelism andChristian leadership for both clergy and laity.
Before he was one of the best-known church consultants in the country, Bill Easum served a lengthy pastorate in San Antonio, Texas. When he arrived at the church it was in serious decline, with the possibility of having to close its doors beginning to loom over it. By the time he left it was the most vibrant, fastest-growing congregation in its city and region. Shortly after he arrived, Easum preached a series of sermons on the book of Acts that challenged the congregation to become an authentic New Testament church. He called on parishioners to step out of their comfort zones, stop expecting their pastor to be a personal chaplain, and join together to reach their city with the message of Jesus. Preaching for Church Transformation provides updated versions of the sermons Easum preached as he issued this challenge to the congregation shortly after his arrival. Interspersed with the sermons is commentary telling the reader how to adapt them for her or his own situation. Anyone wanting to lead a congregation from the status quo to growth and faithful witness will find Preaching for Church Transformation an indispensable resource.
Jim and Jen Cowart, authors of Start This, Stop That, offer a fresh strategy for developing community groups for your whole church and beyond. Harvest Church (www.harvestchurch4u.org), a young United Methodist congregation twenty miles southwest of Macon, met for seven years (on Sundays) on the move in a rented theatre. They learned about adaptive systems, digital tools, and flexible overhead. Since building a multipurpose facility on 43 acres near Warner Robins, Georgia in 2007, Harvest Church applied what they learned about mobility and sustained rapid growth to 2700 in worship attendance, with seven weekend services. They dispensed with a typical education wing (at significant cost savings) and classrooms in favor of four multipurpose rooms. They adapted a community groups strategy, which meets primarily in homes. They have expanded from 72 community groups to more than 300 in one year.In this leadership book, Jen and Jim offer a five-part method for transforming a congregation through launching community groups. Community groups become a multiplication strategy because they nurture an urgent expectation outside the congregation to share the good news with persons not yet professing faith, while creating a well defined path for growth in discipleship. The book will include the following themes: Group Explosion New Strategy for 100% plus group participation Overcoming Obstacles Structuring for Maximum Growth vs Control Crowd to Core Group Growth The Power of the Pulpit This system is driven from the stage Living the 5 through Group Life How the CG lives into Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, Evangelism, and Worship Creating Infrastructure for Facilitators
Children will ride through United Methodist history with John Wesley and the early Methodists.
Many church choir directors are not formally trained in all disciplines needed to direct a music program. One area which intimidates many directors is that of vocal training and how to increase the ability of the choir. Choral Therapy features a basic, practical, "hands-on" approach to learning skills in this area of choir leadership. These include the following areas: Breath Control Posture Resonance Basic principles of diction Blending of vocal parts Vocal exercises and warm-ups Problem-solving Other areas such as tuning and ensemble Choral Therapy presents its material in a conversational style with many concrete musical examples and exercises. Written by one of America's most respected choral directors and instructors, it is for new directors or the director wanting more training. Designed in an easy-to-read and easy-to-use practical format and style, containing examples and illustrations that convey key concepts. Helps music leaders become more comfortable with music leadership, while giving them a higher level of confidence in directing.
A fresh new look at the Bible, from beginning to end, and what it means in believers' lives.
A fresh new look at the Bible, from beginning to end, and what it means in believers' lives
Unlike weddings, funerals rarely take place after extensive planning. Often the deceased is not someone the pastor has known well, and preparations for the service of death and resurrection take place in the midst of pastoral care of the grieving, writing the funeral sermon, and the pastor's regular duties. These circumstances make it especially hard to plan an appropriate and meaningful order of worship for the funeral service.Christian Funerals will help pastors as they attend to this crucial ministry of the church. Drawing on the books of worship from a number of denominations and traditions, it provides several options for each of the elements of the funeral service, from gathering texts to opening prayers to scripture lessons to final prayers.The book is bound in a way that makes it suitable for use at church services and at the grave side.
Have you ever felt a little bored, tired, or stressed about your lifeand even your faith? Haven't we all? This ';world weariness' can happento anyone. Yet Jesus came that we might have exciting, joyful, abundantlife! The question is how?In Are You Fired Up or Burned Out?best-selling author James W. Moore explains how to move from fatigue tofavor. In short, encouraging, and practical chapters, you will learnhow to Recognize-Remember-Relax: Recognize your fatigue limit Remember your priorities Relax your soul in GodToday's busy world may bring a tiredness that cansettle on the human spirit. Struggling through hectic, frenzied,stressful lives, we scrape and scramble toward something that leavesus...empty...and feeling cheated, let down, and bone weary. God doesn'twant it to be that way for us. Find out how, with His help, you can stay excited,exhilarated, fulfilled, and truly fired up about life.
Every significant layer of the New Testament features the distinctiveconcerns of apocalyptic literature, including the expectation of amessiah, hope for a resurrection, expectation of a final judgment, and aspiritual world that includes angels and demons. Yet many contemporaryreaders shy away from things apocalyptic, especially the book ofRevelation. This introduction considers the influence ofapocalyptic literature throughout the Gospels and Acts, Paul's letters,and Revelation. It argues that early Christian authors drew uponapocalyptic topics to address an impressive array of situations andconcerns, and it demonstratesexample after examplehow apocalypticdiscourse contributed to their ongoing work of contextual theology.
Lucy and Charlie Tuttle agree on one thing: they're committed to each other for life. Trouble is, neither of them expected life to look like this. While Charlie retired early, Lucy is devoted to a long-term career . . . until the day she has no choice. Forced to retire from her position as music educator in a small Midwestern K-8 school, Lucy can only watch helplessly as the program her father started years ago disintegrates before her eyes. As the music fades and a chasm separates her from the passion of her heart, Lucy wonders if her faith's song has gone silent, too. The musical score of her life seems to be missing all the notes.When a simple misstep threatens to silence Lucy forever, a young boy and his soundless mother change the way she seesand hearseverything.
In this work, Moore explores the ways in which Jesus teaches how to make God the number-one priority.
When the church turned the world upside down.
Creative, interpretive worship for a fresh way of telling a familiar gospel story.
Designed for use with the One journal and video (DVD or Mp4), The Leader Guide helps leaders facilitate a small group using Onecurriculum. It contains instructions on how to use the interactivejournal and video in each session, as well as additional teachingcontent from the author.
No figure in history has received more attention, and been less understood, than Jesus of Nazareth. Too much of what has been written recently portrays Jesus as a vaguely kind and friendly person whose message sometimes pleases but never challenges us, whose presence might comfort but never completes us. That Jesus, in other words, looks a lot like we do, just with better manners. Meeting that Jesus for the first time, the reader is tempted to ask "e;"e;Why all the fuss? What here is worth devoting my life to?"e;"e;Very little about that Jesus is worth it, says Will Willimon. Yet there is another Jesus, the mysterious preacher from Nazareth who continues to invite men and women to claim the true meaning of their lives by giving their lives away in service to God and others. This Jesus continues to fascinate and compel us, in spite of all the attempts to domesticate his message and put distance between us and the call to follow. In his radical teachings, his self-sacrificial death, and his liberating life beyond death, this Jesus teaches and shows us the true meaning and purpose of our own lives.
Do Christians bring a unique, scriptural understanding of social justice to bear on the ills of society? Would such an understanding reshape the way Christians engage and partner with others working to create a more just world?
We are not all the same. The time has come for us to honestly name the ways we are different and similar so that we can serve together in unity, grace and trust. Women in ministry experience unique challenges in their church settings which continue to hinder their vocational, professional, and personal success. Women in ministry need a trusted and comprehensive resource not only to be able to survive but to thrive in their places of call. She provides theoretical, theological, and practical frameworks and strategies for flourishing as a woman in ministry and engages critical reflection on the practice of ministry in light of current feminist theory, biblical interpretation, and experience. Covering everything from biblical arguments for and against women in the church to what not to wear, this book offers background information and tools for negotiating the many and varied issues that woman in ministry face, including leadership, the authority and office of the clergy, and structures and power in the church. A trusted and comprehensive resource for women in ministry, equipping them to thrive in their places of call, and for the men who serve alongside them."e;For women in ministry, one 'a-ha' moment after another spills from the pages of this book. Decades after ordination opened for women in mainline churches, the struggle for acceptance and equality goes on. This is an important book which narrates the deep costs of sexism and imagines a new form of women's leadership rooted and grounded in authentic love and genuine hospitality. In telling the truth about persistent sexism in the church, Karoline Lewis, paradoxically, blesses her readers with hope. This hope emerges in naming the challenges for women leaders and then pointing the way forward."e; - Leanne Van Dyk, President and Professor of Theology, Columbia Theological Seminary, Decatur, GA
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