Sojourners and Strangers


Book Description

What is a church? This can be a difficult question to answer and Christians have offered a variety of perspectives. Gregg Allison thus explores and synthesizes all that Scripture affirms about the new covenant people of God, capturing a full picture of the biblical church. He covers the topics of the church's identity and characteristics; its growth through purity, unity, and discipline; its offices and leadership structures; its ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper; and its ministries. Here is a rich approach to ecclesiology consisting of sustained doctrinal reflection and wise, practical application. Part of the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.




God, Church, etc.


Book Description

Ever wondered what a mitre is, why ministers wear dog collars or how we came to eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday? If so, dip into God, Church, etc. You'll find lots of short, pithy entries (with highlighted cross references), giving instant information on everything from church furniture to theological ideas to social networking.







Renovated


Book Description

Christianity has tended to focus on right beliefs and right choices as the keys for personal growth. But biblical evidence and modern brain science show that our character is shaped more by whom we love than what we believe. Through conversations he had with Dallas Willard at the Heart & Soul Conference shortly before Dallas's death, Jim Wilder shows how we can train our brains to relate to God based on joyful, mutual attachment--which leads to emotional and spiritual maturity as our identity and character are formed by our relationship with God.




Growing God's Church


Book Description

It's no secret that the evangelism methods of yesterday are not yielding the kinds of results they did in the 1970s and 1980s. So how are new Christians hearing the Gospel today? How are they finding churches? And what makes them stay at a church? The answers to these questions have the power to dramatically alter the way we do outreach. And Dr. McIntosh has them. Based on ten years of scientific research, Growing God's Church shows pastors and church leaders how people are actually coming to faith in the 21st century. It covers factors such as our motive for ministry, the priorities churches set for themselves, the reality of churchless Christians, generational and gender-based differences in evangelism effectiveness, the name of your church, the influence of pastors, and much more. The appendix includes a copy of the survey that provides the basis for McIntosh's arguments and an overview of the study is provided in the first chapter.




The Word of God for the People of God


Book Description

This book fills a real need for pastors and students. Though there is currently a large body of material on the theological interpretation of Scripture, most of it is highly specific and extremely technical. J. Todd Billings here provides a straightforward entryway for students and pastors to understand why theological interpretation matters and how it can be done. / A solid, constructive theological work, The Word of God for the People of God presents a distinctive Trinitarian, participatory approach toward reading Scripture as the church. Billings's accessible yet substantial argument for a theological hermeneutic is rooted in a historic vision of the practice of scriptural interpretation even as it engages a wide range of contemporary issues and includes several exegetical examples that apply to concrete Christian ministry situations.




When God Comes to Church


Book Description

With so much attention given to the presentation aspect of modern worship services, is it possible that many people attending church today forget to focus on the primary purpose of actually being in God's presence? Pastor Steve Gaines and coauthor Dean Merrill (Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire) fear this is the case and call for a return to the core point of corporate worship in When God Comes to Church. The goal here is to "send people out the door saying not 'What a sermon!' or 'What great music!' but rather 'What a Savior!' . . . the only 'Wow!' in a church should be God." With that in mind, Gaines and Merrill write thoroughly about what attracts God to our worship gatherings--sincere prayer, repentance, unity, etc.--and warn against the worldly hindrances to pure worship such as legalism, liberalism, and fanaticism.




The Purpose Driven Church


Book Description

The issue is church health, not church growth—if your church is healthy, growth will occur naturally. So how do we make healthy churches, driven by purpose? In order for any church to thrive, it must be built around the five New Testament purposes given to the church by Jesus Christ. In this classic of Christian church stability, pastor and bestselling author of The Purpose Driven Life Rick Warren unpacks this proven five-part strategy that will enable your church to grow: Warmer through fellowship. Deeper through discipleship. Stronger through worship. Broader through ministry. Larger through evangelism. Every church is driven by something. Tradition, finances, programs, personalities, events, seekers, and even buildings can each be the controlling force in a church. But Warren will show you how to concentrate on building people and let God build the church. In other words, healthy, consistent growth is the result of balancing the five biblical purposes of the church. And The Purpose Driven Church will show you how to do that. “The Purpose Driven Church has brought focus and direction to more pastors and church leaders than you can count. What a gift!”—John Ortberg, bestselling author.




Two Churches Only


Book Description

This book is written for the purpose of being a road map for someone wanting to understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Charts as visual aids, are entitled: “The Church of Jesus Christ Illustrated”, for the purpose of letting the reader see exactly what the “Gospel of Jesus Christ” is, and not just getting a little here and a little there, but being able to see the whole picture of what Christ is about. The book is written in a systematic approach, beginning with, “who God is”, “who are we?”, “where did we come from?”, “why are we here?”, “is there life after this?”, and “how do we fit into the scheme of things?” These are all basic questions that have often crossed people's minds, and now you do not need to wonder anymore. This book is here to answer fundamental questions, and look into some of the mysteries about God. The scriptures are explained to the point, that when the reader starts to grasp what is contained herein, will look up at the ceiling, and say WOW. It all has been right in front of me the whole time, and I could not understand it. Too many people depend on a minister, preacher, prophet, pope, bishop, doctor of divinity, pastor and other leaders, who supposedly go to college and get a degree in religion, but yet when they teach, they are those who “are ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the truth”. This book is designed to help the reader understand that the title of it, “TWO CHURCHES ONLY”, means just that. It shows everything is in one system or the other, even the Christian Churches. It talks about God, government, those who are in government, agencies, churches etc., and shows how everything is all tied together. The main purpose of this book is to show the reader what Slavery, and Freedom look like. Once a reader finishes this book, the reader will have great knowledge, and will never be the same again. They will begin to look at life much differently. To read the book, and understand the pearls contained therein, will take the Spirit of the Holy Ghost, bearing witness that it is true. The author is only a man who loves God first, and then loves his brother/sister second. He has no glamorous titles, nor college degrees, but he is just another everyday person who works for a living to feed his family. The difference is that the author has fought “the good fight”. And because of this, God has granted him knowledge, and allows him to see, because he exercises his faith in God. The information contained in this book are things the reader will not learn in church, especially those 501(c)(3) charter churches. They would much rather be politically correct, charismatic, and avoid being controversial, as if they are ashamed to learn the truth. Anyway, the reader needs to be the judge, may God bless you who are proclaimed Christian, and may he also bless you who are not, that you will have a burning desire to take upon yourself the Name of Jesus Christ, and receive his gospel.




Woke Church


Book Description

“Between the Christianity of this land, and the Christianity of Christ, I recognize the widest possible difference.” –Frederick Douglass, 1845 The prophets of old were not easy to listen to because they did not flatter. They did not cajole. They spoke hard words that often chafed and unsettled their listeners. Like the Old Testament prophets, and more recent prophetic voices like Frederick Douglass, Dr. Eric Mason calls the evangelical church to a much-needed reckoning. In a time when many feel confused, complacent, or even angry, he challenges the church to: Be Aware – to understand that the issue of justice is not a black issue, it’s a kingdom issue. To learn how the history of racism in America and in the church has tainted our witness to a watching world. Be Redemptive – to grieve and lament what we have lost and to regain our prophetic voice, calling the church to remember our gospel imperative to promote justice and mercy. Be Active – to move beyond polite, safe conversations about reconciliation and begin to set things aright for our soon-coming King, who will be looking for a WOKE CHURCH.