Great Commission, Great Compassion


Book Description

Go and do. Jesus commands it, and the world needs it. Mission mobilizer Paul Borthwick shows how proclamation and demonstration of the gospel go hand in hand, bringing together the Great Commission of Matthew 28 and the Great Compassion of Matthew 25, while offering practical, holistic ways for us to live them out in every sphere of our lives.




Compassion (&) Conviction


Book Description

Have you ever felt too progressive for conservatives, but too conservative for progressives? It's easy for faithful Christians to grow disillusioned with civic engagement or fall into tribal extremes. Representing the AND Campaign, the authors of this book lay out the biblical case for political engagement and help Christians navigate the complex world of politics with integrity.




Together


Book Description

INSIGHTS AND INSPIRATION FOR PURSUING THE GREAT COLLABORATION For more than a generation, the church in the West has looked to the star pastor or the efforts of a fast-growing church to lead the way in helping us accomplish the mission of Jesus. It's not working. We have forgotten God's truth that we are better together. In their new book, Dave Ferguson and Patrick O'Connell identify the critical missing piece, pointing us to Jesus' prayer in John 17. It is the third "Great" command. We are to Go (the Great Commission) in Love (the Great Commandment) Together (the Great Collaboration). It's when we put all three together--and only when we obey all three--that we'll realize the dream of the kingdom of God. Dave and Patrick use their collective experience and tell the stories of others to share how God is working through collaboration--specifically reproducing church networks--to create an infrastructure for kingdom movement. If you've ever asked why you should join a network or wanted to start one, don't miss these insights from these leaders. Together, they remind us, we can change the world. "A strong church planting network will bring the infrastructure that's essential to multiplying churches. It will also provide the equipping, training and care you and your family will need when times get tough. If we're going to see a wave of church planting across North America, it will depend on strong networks that support and produce healthy church plants." --Kevin Ezell, Send Network "Networks allow us to do what we couldn't do on our own. They help create a new reality and being part of a network lets us imagine things that weren't previously possible. Whether you are part of a large resourced church, or a brand-new church plant, networks give you a seat at the table as you pursue God's mission together." --Chad Clarkson, Houston Church Planting Network "Only through collaboration with other churches, church planters, church leaders and Christ followers is there any hope of seeing the Jesus mission accomplished. Together is that watershed book we need to move forward." --Troy McMahon, Kansas City NewThing Network DAVE FERGUSON is an award-winning author and founding and lead pastor of Chicago's Community Christian Church, a missional multisite community considered one of the most influential churches in America. Dave also provides visionary leadership for NewThing, an international church planting movement, and is president of the Exponential conference. Dave is married to Sue, and they have three amazing kids, Amy, Josh and Caleb. PATRICK O'CONNELL is the Global Director of NewThing, a catalyst for movements of reproducing churches. He is passionate about helping people start new things for the kingdom. He's married to Nancy and they have three great kids.




Compassion to Action


Book Description

Compassion to Action reminds us of the heart of God for people. Jesus is moved by compassion for all types of people, not just the poor. Jesus was, and is, a sign and a wonder. His life represents the heart of the Father and the compassion and mercy He has for humanity. Compassion is a gift from God. It is a love that empowers us to feel what God feels toward people and helps empower us into action. Jesus was moved with compassion, and it led Him into action. What will it lead you to do?




Invitation to Evangelism


Book Description

Essential guidance for a lifestyle of sharing God's good news with a lost world. What exactly does it mean to "evangelize" in a Christian sense? And how is such evangelizing supposed to be done? Longtime pastor, evangelist, and professor of evangelism Timothy K. Beougher answers these questions and more from theological, historical, and practical perspectives. Beougher demonstrates God's goodness in evangelism through relatable anecdotes, Bible teaching, and encouraging instruction. Invitation to Evangelism welcomes believers into the experience of stepping out in faith of behalf of people God loves. Most Christians know that they should be sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with nonbelievers, and most also know they aren't witnessing very well, or even at all. They need help internalizing the content of gospel proclamation and identifying the best way to go about making evangelism a natural part of their lives. Invitation to Evangelism guides readers through the essential issues of the gospel message, evangelism methods, and witnessing models so they are ready and excited to move out in faith as everyday evangelists. Beougher's biblical, theological, historical, and practical teaching revolves around following essential aspects of being an evangelist: Having compassion as the motivation for evangelism Understanding the good news of Jesus Christ Seeing lost people as persons God loves Relying on the power of the Holy Spirit Paving the way for new believers to share their faith eagerly with others




Let the Nations be Glad


Book Description

'Mission is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exist because worship doesn't. Worship is ultimate.' John Piper's contemporary classic draws on key biblical texts to demonstrate that worship is the ultimate goal of the church and that proper worship fuels missionary outreach. Piper offers a biblical defence of God's supremacy in all things, providing a sound theological foundation for missions. He examines whether Jesus is the only way to salvation and issues a passionate plea for God-centredness in the missionary enterprise, seeking to define the scope of the task and the means for reaching 'all nations'. Let the Nations Be Glad! is a trusted resource for missionaries, pastors, church leaders, youth workers, seminary students, and all who want to connect their labours to God's global purposes. This third edition has been revised and expanded throughout and includes new material on the 'prosperity gospel'.




The Great Omission


Book Description

The last command Jesus gave the church before he ascended to heaven was the Great Commission, the call for Christians to "make disciples of all the nations." But Christians have responded by making "Christians," not "disciples." This, according to brilliant scholar and renowned Christian thinker Dallas Willard, has been the church's Great Omission. "The word disciple occurs 269 times in the New Testament," writes Willard. "Christian is found three times and was first introduced to refer precisely to disciples of Jesus. . . . The New Testament is a book about disciples, by disciples, and for disciples of Jesus Christ. But the point is not merely verbal. What is more important is that the kind of life we see in the earliest church is that of a special type of person. All of the assurances and benefits offered to humankind in the gospel evidently presuppose such a life and do not make realistic sense apart from it. The disciple of Jesus is not the deluxe or heavy-duty model of the Christian -- especially padded, textured, streamlined, and empowered for the fast lane on the straight and narrow way. He or she stands on the pages of the New Testament as the first level of basic transportation in the Kingdom of God." Willard boldly challenges the thought that we can be Christians without being disciples, or call ourselves Christians without applying this understanding of life in the Kingdom of God to every aspect of life on earth. He calls on believers to restore what should be the heart of Christianity -- being active disciples of Jesus Christ. Willard shows us that in the school of life, we are apprentices of the Teacher whose brilliance encourages us to rise above traditional church understanding and embrace the true meaning of discipleship -- an active, concrete, 24/7 life with Jesus.




Compassion


Book Description

In this provocative essay on that least understood virtue, compassion, the authors challenge themselves and us with these questions: Where do we place compassion in our lives? Is it enough to live a life in which we hurt one another as little as possible? Is our guiding ideal a life of maximum pleasure and minimum pain? Compassion answers no. After years of study and discussion among themselves, with other religious, and with men and women at the very center of national politics, the authors look at compassion with a vigorous new perspective. They place compassion at the heart of a Christian life in a world governed far too long by principles of power and destructive control. Compassion, no longer merely an eraser of human mistakes, is a force of prayer and action -- the expression of God's love for us and our love for God and one another. Compassion is a book that says no to a compassion of guilt and failure and yes to a compassionate love that pervades our spirit and moves us to action. Henri Nouwen, Donald McNeill, and Douglas Morrison have written a moving document on what it means to be a Christian in a difficult time.




True Worship


Book Description

What is the nature of true worship? What are we actaully doing when we meet together for 'church' on Sundays? And how does that connect with what we do the rest of the week? Vaughan Roberts answers these questions and more, as he brings readers back to the Bible in order to define what worship is and isn't, and what it should and shouldn't be. While we may struggle to define worship by arguing about singing hymns with the organ, versus modern songs with guitars and drums, or about the place of certain spiritual gifts, Roberts suggests we are asking the wrong questions. For true worship is more than this - it is to encompass the whole of life. This book challenges us to worship God every day of the week, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength.




Welcoming the Stranger


Book Description

World Relief staffers Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang move beyond the rhetoric to offer a Christian response to immigration. With careful historical understanding and thoughtful policy analysis, they debunk myths about immigration, show the limits of the current immigration system, and offer concrete ways for you to welcome and minister to your immigrant neighbors.