Jill Bolte Taylor was a 37-year-old Harvard-trained and published brain scientist when a blood vessel exploded in her brain. Through the eyes of a curious neuroanatomist, she watched her mind completely deteriorate whereby she could not walk, talk, read, write, or recall any of her life. Because of her understanding of how the brain works, […]
Critics of the church growth movement have often emphasized the need for quality congregations. We should not focus on numerical growth, but rather, we should concentrate on qualitative growth. Christian Schwarz has done extensive research world-wide and found that healthy, growing churches seem to share eight quality characteristics. These characteristics are: – Empowering leadership – […]
From the Publisher’s Note: The Theological Task Force on Peace, Unity, and Purity of the Church was created by the 213th General Assembly (2001) in a denominational context of polarization.… In the pages that follow, you are invited to engage this process of consideration via the ruminations of three leaders of the church. It is my hope that these […]
The Presbytery of Ohio Valley presents a one-day workshop with Jill Hudson on the formation and function of personnel committees. The morning session covers ‘Role and Responsibility of a Personnel Committee’ – How to set up a personnel committee and what the responsibilities of such a committe are. The afternoon session focuses on ‘Personnel Issues,’ […]
These videos were produced as part of the Chicago Police Department’s desire to communicate more effectively with religious groups after the Sept. 11 attacks. They focus on Sikhs, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists and Hindus. Each contains scenes shot inside homes and houses of worship, as well as interviews in which religious and community leaders explain aspects […]
When congregations go through difficult times, worship will both reflect and influence those difficulties. The practice of worship itself can be a key part of the congregation’s healing process. Teacher and consultant Kathleen Smith successfully demonstrates this truth in Stilling the Storm, a book for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of the ways that worship intertwines […]
Mike Graves begins this book with the question “If preaching is intended to enliven the church, why is it killing so many ministers?” His answer? Because it has become divorced from the vitality and diversity of the preacher’s daily life. He invites preachers to discover how preaching can be renewing rather than draining. Graves includes […]
This is an invitation to a conversation on the pastoral life from one of America’s most respected clergy. Dean Lueking shares the fruits and foibles of his 50 years in parish minstry, 44 of them in the same congregation, Grace Lutheran in River Forest, Illinois. A lively storyteller, Lueking writes as the wise friend and […]
Sketches the life of John Calvin. Shows how Presbyterianism spread throughout Europe, and depicts three centuries of church growth in America, including reunification.
Jesus said, ‘The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who casts seed upon the ground, and goes to bed at night and gets up by day, and the seed sprouts up and grows — how, he himself does not know. The earth produces crops all by itself, ‘ Mark 4: 26-29. There is a […]