12 Pillars of a Healthy Church


Book Description




12 Pillars of a Healthy Church


Book Description

This book doesn't just explain the Scriptures; it has a worktext approach that provides an effective path to increased fruitfulness. The practical handles that Dr. Werning has provided translate Biblical principles into action that God can use to revitalize the church.







What Is a Healthy Church?


Book Description

Guides both pastors and members to recognize key characteristics of a healthy church and then challenge each person to do his or her part in developing those characteristics in the local church body.




Nine Marks of a Healthy Church


Book Description

Did you know that . . .FROGS drink through their skin? Instead of swallowing water with their mouths, frogs absorb moisture through their skin. Frogs can also take in oxygen through their skin, which helps them breathe better in the water.FROGS eat with their eyes closed? The eyes help the frog swallow by lowering into its head and pushing the food down its throat.FROGS can jump 20 times their own length? That’s like a human jumping past four school buses in one leap!FROGS have sticky tongues? Frogs don’t use their hands to catch food . . . they just stick out their tongues! Flies, mosquitoes, and other yummy bugs stick to the tip and get pulled into the frog’s mouth for dinner.SOME FROGS wear camouflage? Stripes and spots help frogs blend into their natural surroundings. Some frogs can even change color depending on their location or the weather.FROGS recycle? Frogs shed their skin about once a week. Then they eat the old skin to reuse the nutrients stored inside.FROGS can live to be 40 years old? Most frogs live from 4 to 15 years.A FROG wasn’t always a frog? Every frog starts as a tiny egg that hatches into a tadpole. A tadpole has a round head and a tail and lives in the water like a fish. The tadpole eats a lot as its body changes and grows new parts. After three to four months, the tadpole has four legs and no tail and can live on land—it has become a frog!AWESOME!Did you know that you can become a new creature, too? You may not have a tail and live in the water, but God can give you a new life. Do you sometimes do things that make you feel bad inside? Maybe you were mean to someone at school or told a lie to your parents. God calls those bad things sin. Everyone is born knowing how to sin, and everyone who sins must be punished. But God, who loves us, doesn’t want us to sin. He wants us to be like Him—loving, kind, and good. Just as a tadpole changes into a frog, God can help you become more like Him. God sent His only Son, Jesus, to earth to be a human, just like us, except Jesus never sinned. Even so, He chose to die so that He could pay the death penalty for our sins. Three days after He died, God raised Him back to life again!Do you want to have a clean, new life? Then just believe in what Jesus did for you. Tell God that you are sorry for your sins and thank Him for sending Jesus to save you. The Bible says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). God will change you on the inside to make you a totally new creature—just like a tadpole changes into a frog. To do this, you can pray something like this:Dear God, I am sorry for the bad things I do. Thank You for sending Jesus to pay the penalty for my sins. Please change me on the inside and help keep me from sin so I can live a clean, new life for You. Amen.If you have just prayed to ask God to change you, write your name and address on the lines below and send it to us. We will send you a free booklet to help you grow in your new life with Christ.




WEIRD


Book Description

"When people describe my lifestyle or family as weird, I find comfort," writes author Craig Groeschel. He then shares a Christ-centered philosophy, on everything from money to scheduling to purity, to help you break out of the normal rut and live according to the rhythms of God’s grace and truth of his word. Normal people are stressed, overwhelmed, and exhausted. Many of their relationships are, at best, strained and, in most cases, just surviving. Even though we live in one of the most prosperous places on earth, normal is still living paycheck to paycheck and never getting ahead. In our oversexed world, lust, premarital sex, guilt, and shame are far more common than purity, virginity, and a healthy married sex life. And when it comes to God, the majority believe in him, but the teachings of scripture rarely make it into their everyday lives. Simply put, normal isn't working. Groeschel’s WEIRD will help you break free from the norm to lead a radically abnormal (and endlessly more fulfilling) life.




Discipled Warriors


Book Description

Using solid biblical exegesis, Chuck Lawless presents a well-rounded, proven model for fighting the enemy through the development of a spiritually healthy church. This unique book suggests workable strategies and resources for developing disciples prepared for spiritual warfare.




The Twelve Pillars of the Christian Faith


Book Description

The Twelve Pillars represent 12 key doctrines or teachings that are basic to true faith for every Christian. These 12 doctrines stand or fall together. They all relate to each other and are essential to a true "Gospel of Grace". . There are many today who are deluded by false 'gospels'. These 12 'pillars' may be seen be a test of the true way of salvation as revealed in the New Testament. They are entitled: The Sovereignty of God, The Gospel of Grace, The Five 'Solas' and The Five Doctrines of Grace, This book may be used to teach new disciples so that they may be grounded in the Faith and enabled to share that faith with others. It will also be of great help to those who have been believers for many years, but seem not to have grown in their understanding of Bible-based Christian Doctrine or in faith itself.




Building the Body


Book Description

Just as a physically healthy person--at an ideal weight and with good blood pressure and cholesterol numbers--might not actually be fit enough to run a 5k, so churches can appear healthy--with no obvious issues, maintaining a healthy size--and yet not exhibit fitness. A fit church is one that is not satisfied with merely coasting along with no problems. A fit church is actively making disciples, maturing in faith, developing strong leaders, reaching out to the community, and more. Building the Body offers pastors and church leaders twelve characteristics of fit churches and shows them how they can move their church through five levels of fitness, from beginner all the way to elite--just as an athlete, through training and practice, can become the top in his or her class. Includes comparison charts at the end of each chapter so readers can clearly see where their church currently falls and concluding "Complete the Progress Chart" so that they can see what their goals should be for the future.




The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments


Book Description

Winner of a 2018 Catholic Press Association Award: Sacraments. (Second Place). In the first book to directly integrate the Twelve Steps with the practice of Catholicism, Scott Weeman, founder and director of Catholic in Recovery, pairs his personal story with compassionate straight talk to show Catholics how to bridge the commonly felt gap between the Higher Power of twelve-step programs and the merciful God that he rediscovered in the heart of the sacraments. Weeman entered sobriety from alcohol and drugs on October 10, 2011, and he's made it his full-time ministry to help others who struggle with various types of addiction to find spiritual wholeness through Catholic in Recovery, an organization he founded and directs. In The Twelve Steps and the Sacraments, Weeman candidly tackles the struggle he and other addicts have with getting to know intimately the unnamed Higher Power of recovery. He shares stories of his compulsion to find a personal relationship with God and how his tentative steps back to the Catholic Church opened new doors of healing and brought him surprising joy as he came to know Christ in the sacraments. Catholics in recovery and those moving toward it, as well as the people who love them will recognize Weeman's story and his spiritual struggle to personally encounter God. He tells us how: Baptism helps you admit powerlessness over an unmanageable problem, face your desperate need for God, and choose to believe in and submit to God’s mercy. Reconciliation affirms and strengthens the hard work of examining your life, admitting wrongs, and making amends. The Eucharist provides ongoing sustenance and draws you to the healing power of Christ. The graces of Confirmation strengthen each person to keep moving forward and to share the good news of recovery and new life in Christ. Weeman's words are boldly challenging and brimming with compassion and through them you will discover inspiration, hope, sage advice, and refreshingly practical help.