Five Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them


Book Description

Before pastors reach burnout and leave the ministry, they experience frustration and disappointment in ministry. Charles Stone, a veteran pastor, helps his fellow pastors understand and meet the challenges, regaining hope and energy to continue in their calling. Based on new information from The Barna Group and additional research, Stone shows readers what pastors are saying about ministry and how to overcome the obstacles, rebuild community within the congregation, and persevere with joy.




Five Ministry Killers and How to Defeat Them


Book Description

Before pastors reach burnout and leave the ministry, they experience frustration and disappointment in ministry. Charles Stone, a veteran pastor, helps his fellow pastors understand and meet these challenges, regaining hope and energy to continue their calling. Based on information from the Barna Group and additional research, Stone shows readers what pastors are saying about ministry and offers practical help to overcome the obstacles, rebuild community within the congregation, and persevere with joy. Ed Stetzer, president of LifeWay Research, says, "Read this book and be encouraged."




Can These Bones Live Again?


Book Description

God is asking His church to see the wounded soldiers of the cross through His eyes and asking the ever-important question to those engaged in this battle called life: In your opinion, can the fallen church members ever be used by Me in the pulpits and ministry again? We are being challenged by the Most High God to restore the fallen soldiers of the cross in the spirit of meekness, considering themselves also vulnerable to temptation. As time draws near to the final call and the church prays for an end-time revival, it is time to become the revival we are praying for.




Resilient Ministry


Book Description

Why does one well-equipped, well-meaning person in ministry succeed while another fails? Bob Burns, Tasha Chapman and Donald Guthrie undertook a five-year intensive research project on the frontlines of pastoral ministry to answer that question. What they found was nothing less than the DNA of thriving ministry today.




People-Pleasing Pastors


Book Description

Charles Stone's research on thousands of pastors and ministry leaders demonstrates the dangers of approval-motivated leadership. Bringing together biblical insights and neuroscience findings, Stone shows why we fall into people-pleasing patterns and what we can do to overcome these tendencies for more effective ministry.




Twelve Ordinary Men


Book Description

You don't have to be perfect to do God's work. Look no further than the twelve disciples, whose many weaknesses are forever preserved throughout the pages of the New Testament. Join bestselling author John MacArthur in Twelve Ordinary Men as he draws principles from Christ's careful, hands-on training of the original disciples for today's modern disciple, you! Jesus chose ordinary men--fishermen, tax collectors, political zealots--and turned their weakness into strength, producing greatness from people who were otherwise unremarkable. The twelve disciples weren't the stained-glass saints we imagine. On the contrary, they were truly human, all too prone to mistakes, misstatements, wrong attitudes, lapses of faith, and bitter failure. Simply put, they were flawed people, just like us. But under Jesus' teaching and touch, they became a force that forever changed the world. MacArthur takes you into the inner circle of the disciples--their selection, their training, their personalities, and their incredible impact. As MacArthur took a closer look at the lives of the twelve disciples, he found himself asking difficult questions along the way, including: Why did Jesus pick each of the twelve disciples? How did Jesus teach them everything he could in just eighteen short months? Can the lessons that Jesus taught the disciples can still influence our faith today? In Twelve Ordinary Men, you'll learn that disciples are living proof that God's strength is made perfect in weakness. As you get to know the men who walked with Jesus, you'll see that if he can accomplish his purposes through them, he can do the same through you.




5 Worship Team Killers


Book Description

Your worship team is under spiritual attack. If your team doesn't notice it, that may be because the battle is already over. While contexts differ, these five worship team killers show up in almost every situation and every heart: pride, inconsistency, inability, detachment, and division.Since you are a target, would you take some time to research the dangerous areas? Study through the common assaults and observe the wreckage on the roadside. And then allow the Word and the Spirit to work in your life to ensure you won't be another casualty.




Holy Noticing


Book Description

Does your life ever feel like one series of rushed moments after another? Do you want to feel more present and connected to those you love? Do you want to be able to listen without thinking the whole time of what you’re going to say next? Do you want to feel less distracted, less busy, and more whole? Most of us spend our distracted lives longing to get to the next, better moment and fail to notice the present one. We lack space between one task and the next, one thought and the next, one email and the next. Social media, TV, work deadlines, and family stress steal our enjoyment and engagement in the moment. Holy Noticing will teach you how to: become more aware of your thoughts, emotions, and environment recognize Christ’s presence in the moment reduce your stress by developing the ability to focus on God and people rather than tasks Many today think mindfulness is dangerous, unchristian, or associated with Eastern religions—and often it is! But Dr. Charles Stone reveals that the art of holy noticing—purposefully paying attention to God as he works in us, our relationships, and our world—is a spiritual discipline Christians have practiced for millennia. Holy Noticing explores the historically Christian and biblical roots of this lifestyle, as well as Dr. Stone’s BREATHe model, which teaches you to be more engaged with Christ in the everyday moments that too often slip right by us. Discover the lost spiritual discipline of holy noticing today and learn to engage the world like Christ.




Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare


Book Description

Six gentlemen, one goal: the destruction of Hitler's war machine In the spring of 1939, a top-secret organization was founded in London: its purpose was to plot the destruction of Hitler's war machine through spectacular acts of sabotage. The guerrilla campaign that followed was every bit as extraordinary as the six men who directed it. One of them, Cecil Clarke, was a maverick engineer who had spent the 1930s inventing futuristic caravans. Now, his talents were put to more devious use: he built the dirty bomb used to assassinate Hitler's favorite, Reinhard Heydrich. Another, William Fairbairn, was a portly pensioner with an unusual passion: he was the world's leading expert in silent killing, hired to train the guerrillas being parachuted behind enemy lines. Led by dapper Scotsman Colin Gubbins, these men—along with three others—formed a secret inner circle that, aided by a group of formidable ladies, single-handedly changed the course Second World War: a cohort hand-picked by Winston Churchill, whom he called his Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Giles Milton's Churchill's Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare is a gripping and vivid narrative of adventure and derring-do that is also, perhaps, the last great untold story of the Second World War.




Success Kills


Book Description

Success- we crave it, work for it, dream it, want it as a personal achievement, but how we each define it differs. Power, influence, wealth, fame, or a position of authority--the hallmarks of success we strive for can just as easily become the cause of our destruction, if we don't have a clear set of boundaries by which to live. Corporate and religious scandals of recent years have caused unprecedented havoc and heartache in the world's economy and in the church world. Executive and spiritual arrogance causes a toxic atmosphere in too many organizations. There are safeguards and principles we must focus on to ensure balance with excellence in what we do. Core questions to be considered include: Should your fear Success? Why do so many fail when they attain success? Is failure considered a friend of foe? Do you have a balanced ego or a pre-occupation with self? Take a discerning look at the concept of success in a personal, professional, and spiritual context in Success Kills. Explore the gift of adversity, finding a moral "north", learning from mistakes, and why some fear "successful" leaders. Discover a more important definition of success and the principles you can put in place today to achieve without compromising yourself or your future.