Pop Goes the Church


Book Description

Whether you're a regular attender, a leader, or have yet to step foot in a church, you may have questions about church that aren't being answered. How can the church remain relevant while communicating the unchanging integrity of God's truth? Author Tim Stevens makes an inspiring case for leveraging pop culture to reach out to people in the language of their lives. He offers a new perspective that gives relevance and impact to the church by using pop culture, meeting people in the real world with words, sounds and images that speak to them. He encourages us to get out of our comfort zones and look people in the eyes, meeting them wherever they are, relating to their problems and society's challenges, even celebrating pop culture, where there are exciting signs of spiritual seeking. Pop Goes the Church will open your mind to church in a way that breaks down walls, engages the culture and speaks to a generation that needs to hear good news.




Pop Goes Religion


Book Description

Johnny Cash, Harry Potter, the Simpsons, and John Grisham. What do all of these icons in pop culture have to do with faith? Find the answer in Pop Goes Religion; relevant insight into the world of today's entertainment. In this collection of essays, popular American journalist, Terry Mattingly teaches readers how to identify elements of faith in today's pop culture. Topics include: God & Popular Music Faith & the Big Screen God on TV Ink, Paper, and God Politics and Current Events From music to movies, politics to the pope, Mattingly explores the matters of the heart with a fresh and relevant perspective.




Pop Goes the Gospel


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Let It Go


Book Description

Shares uplifting advice about the virtues of forgiveness, offering strategic and biblically based advice on how to achieve peace and personal fulfillment by letting go of past wrongs.




Transforming Church in Rural America


Book Description

"No matter what size church you are a part of, this book will challenge your traditional thinking, force you to look beyond the status quo, and enable you to grasp a bigger vision of what God has in store for your ministry and your leadership." -Ed Young, Fellowship Church "Shannon O'Dell's passion for the rural church in America is contagious" -Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv Small church buildings dotting the countryside are home to ministries that often struggle with limited attendance, no money, and little expectation that change can revitalize their future. In Transforming Church in Rural America, Pastor Shannon O'Dell shares a powerful vision of relevance, possibility, and excellence for these small churches, or for any ministry that is stuck in a "rural state of mind." The book reveals: how to generate growth through transformed lives ways to create active evangelism in your community no-cost solutions for staffing challenges, enhancing the worship experience, and inspiring volunteers Focusing on vision, attitude, leadership, and innovation, you can learn the practical strategies and biblical guidance that helped to grow a church of 31 into a multi-campus church of several thousand, with a national and global outreach. Discover effective structure and ways to cast God-given vision so others can follow and make an impact. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches no matter where the location or how small it may be. MORE INFO




Mad Church Disease


Book Description

Growing up the daughter of a pastor, Anne Jackson experienced firsthand the conflict, stress, and struggle church leaders often face. She vowed her life in ministry would be different. Yet, years later, as a church leader, she was hospitalized because stress began wreaking havoc on her body. After being released from the hospital, an associate pastor asked her, 'Does working at this church interfere with your communion with Christ?' The question was aramount in turning her life around. Thinking she wasn't alone, Anne developed a website that allowed church leaders to share their struggles. Within a few days, she was flooded with over a thousand responses from people pouring out their stories of burnout. Using anecdotal parallels between Mad Cow Disease and leadership trends in the church, she writes not only to help us realize what church leaders are facing, but also to provide practical and positive treatment plans. Mad Church Disease is a lively, informative, and potentially life-saving resource for anyone in ministry---vocational or volunteer---who would like to understand, prevent, or treat the epidemic of burnout in church culture.




Exploring the Spiritual in Popular Music


Book Description

This book highlights how the diverse nature of spiritual practices are experienced and manifest through the medium of popular music. At first glance, chapters on Krishnacore, the Rave Church phenomenon and post-punk repertoire of Psychic TV may appear to have little in common; however, this book draws attention to some of the similarities of the nuances of spiritual expression that underpin the lived experience of popular music. As an interdisciplinary volume, the extensive introduction unpacks and clarifies terminology relating to the study of religion and popular music. The cross-disciplinary approach of the book makes it accessible and appealing to scholars of religious studies, cultural studies, popular music studies and theology. Unlike existing collections dealing with popular music and religion that focus on a specific genre, this innovative book offers a range of music and case studies, with chapters written by international contributors.




Branded Faith


Book Description

Christianity may be the greatest story ever told, but in Western culture it is losing ground against the powerful forces of secularization. In examining the root causes of this cultural shift, does the church have anything to learn from secular society and the business sector? For decades the church has resisted the idea of using business methodologies in the religious sphere. Yet a closer look reveals that most church hierarchies have borrowed much of their organizational structure from the business sector. But the church is not alone in its borrowing. Today the lines between the church and the business sector are blurred, as both entities influence each other interchangeably. In Branded Faith, Rajkumar Dixit enters an engaging and intellectually stimulating analysis of what the church can learn from the business practices of marketing, branding, and contextualization. Using examples drawn from widely recognized companies such as Nike, Starbucks, Coca-Cola, and Subway, Dixit systematically builds a case for the power of a story, and emphasizes the importance of seeking culturally relevant ways to spread it. Those who care deeply about sharing Christianity powerfully and effectively will find in Branded Faith a thoughtful presentation of ideas on how to maintain the integrity of the gospel, while exploring fresh methods of communicating the good news to a postmodern society.




Donahoe's Magazine


Book Description




The Measure of Our Success


Book Description

Highly respected pastor and mentor challenges pastors to remember their calling, redefine success, and avoid the pitfalls of self-focused ministry.