Is your congregation concerned primarily with health and stability, or mission and outreach? Does it always or usually seek a pleasant sense of harmony and fellowship, or does it vibrate with an edgy energy? Are the members risk averse, or risk takers? In this innovative book Tom Bandy explains how harmony-the desire to minimize conflict […]
In this informative book, Jeff Patton describes six ‘levers’ for transforming a small-membership church: prayer, discerning a clear vision, indigenous worship, growth groups, membership that means something, and by pastoring. Filled with solid insights on how the principles Patton has developed can be applied in different contacts, this book will offer hope to all leaders […]
Ordained ministry, says Willimon, is a gift of God to the church–but that doesn’t mean that it is easy. Always a difficult vocation, changes in society and the church in recent years have made the ordained life all the more complex and challenging. Is the pastor primarily a preacher, a professional caregiver, an administrator? Given […]
FaithQuakes is for people who have the shakes and are looking to God’s future. With up-to-the-minute monitoring of changes and trends that affect our lives, Leonard Sweet provides refreshingly unconventional glimpses into the future that must be grasped by church leaders. We learn how to pursue a more effective, ‘go and tell’ evangelism that reaches […]
This study guide will help a church conduct a self-study anbd a complete audit of their ministries. The workshets are printed in the workbook, and are also contained in spreadsheet files on a (floppy) computer disk provided inside the back cover.
Pastors are often taught the finer points of preaching and counseling and the intricacies of theological thinking – and this is assumed to be enough – but rarely are they taught the principles of leadership. Two few leaders are identified and nurtured in seminary. Alan Nelson makes a case for that need and seeks to […]
‘Why should we change?’ This book is written for the vast majority of congregations who are cautious, tentative, and ambivalent to change and creative initiatives for mission. The vast majority will find a calm, reasonable explanation of why their stability is more shaky than ever, and their seeming congregational health hides a growing self-destructive addiction. […]
In this inspiring book, Wayne Muller draws on more than twenty years of experience as a therapist and minister to show how hard-won wisdom born of pain can become a powerful source of strength and peace. By revealing how to recognize the damaging effects of childhood wounds and how to transform them in order to […]
The economy uncertain, education in decline, cities under siege, crime and poverty spiraling upward, international relations roiling: we look to leaders for solutions, and when they don’t deliver, we simply add their failure to our list of woes. In doing do, we do them and ourselves a grave disservice. We are indeed facing an unprecedented […]
This new edition of Handbook for Congregational Studies replaces the previous edition. In this new edition, the authors update what has become the primary textbook in the field of congregational studies in the seminary classroom. Studying Congregations: A New Handbook will also be a useful reference for pastors, denominational leaders, and strategic planning committees.