A Lay-centered Church as the Community of Faith PDF Download

Author: In Sung Chi
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Christian leadership
Languages : en
Pages : 360

View

Book Description

Author: Leonard Doohan
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1725237342
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 190

View

Book Description

Author: Michael Plekon
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1498239560
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 163

View

Book Description
The origin of the phrase "the church has left the building" lies with Elvis. In order to clear halls of his riotous fans after concerts, it was announced that "Elvis has left the building." Here, the expression highlights intense change within the church. Not only does the church change for its own existence, it also does so for the life of the world. The church cannot avoid the many past and future changes of our constantly transforming society, demographic changes long in process. What you have before you is a gathering of first-hand reflections--stories really--from a diverse group of Christians, lay as well as ordained. While each has a distinctive experience of the church in our time, all of them have something to say about the many changes in our society and how these are affecting our faith, the parish, and pastoral work. Contributors: Mary Breton Nicholas Denysenko Adam A. J. DeVille John C. Frazier David Frost Carol Fryer Kenneth J. Guest Brett Hoover Abbie Huff Wongee Joh Justin Mathews Maria Gwyn McDowell William C. Mills Robert Corin Morris Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Michael Plekon

Author: Timothy Keller
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310494192
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 400

View

Book Description
Practical and Gospel-centered thoughts on how to have a fruitful ministry by one of America's leading and most beloved pastor. Many church leaders are struggling to adapt to a culture that values individuality above loyalty to a group or institution. There have been so many "church growth" and "effective ministry" books in the past few decades that it's hard to know where to start or which ones will provide useful and honest insight. Based on over twenty years of ministry in New York City, Timothy Keller takes a unique approach that measures a ministry's success neither by numbers nor purely by the faithfulness of its leaders, but on the biblical grounds of fruitfulness. Center Church outlines a balanced theological vision for ministry organized around three core commitments: Gospel-centered: The gospel of grace in Jesus Christ changes everything, from our hearts to our community to the world. It completely reshapes the content, tone, and strategy of all that we do. City-centered: With a positive approach toward our culture, we learn to affirm that cities are wonderful, strategic, and under-served places for gospel ministry. Movement-centered: Instead of building our own tribe, we seek the prosperity and peace of our community as we are led by the Holy Spirit. "Between a pastor's doctrinal beliefs and ministry practices should be a well-conceived vision for how to bring the gospel to bear on the particular cultural setting and historical moment. This is something more practical than just doctrine but much more theological than "how-to steps" for carrying out a ministry. Once this vision is in place, it leads church leaders to make good decisions on how to worship, disciple, evangelize, serve, and engage culture in their field of ministry—whether in a city, suburb, or small town." — Tim Keller, Core Church

Author: Matthew Gorkos
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1506470106
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 167

View

Book Description
Matthew Gorkos begins The Storied Church with this compelling statement: "I believe in the church--in the power of faithful people serving a good and gracious God--and I believe in the power of a good story. Moreover, I believe, as this book will argue, that church and story--harnessed together--could be an even more powerful force for goodness in our world." Neuroscientists, anthropologists, archeologists, and psychologists all agree. Story is how our brains and our communities make sense of things. Storytelling helps us cope with change and loss. Storytelling helps us transmit lessons and life-skills to the next generation. As human beings, it seems we can't do without story. This book--indeed, this whole idea of story-centered church renewal--was born of a suspicion that the restorative, transformative, life-giving function that stories have for us as individuals may serve communities of faithful people as well. If stories help us survive as human creatures, why can't they help churches survive? The problem that story-centered renewal seeks to remedy has only become more prevalent and urgent in the age of Covid-19. Our churches need hope now more than ever. Writing from a pastor's perspective, Gorkos hopes to encourage and empower other pastors and lay leaders with both the hope and the tools they need to effect revitalizing change in their faith communities. Each chapter includes questions for reflection to help readers listen to and tell the stories that will lead to renewal and transformation.

Author: Leonard Doohan
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532606508
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 191

View

Book Description
Dr. Leonard Doohan is Professor Emeritus at Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington. He has written twenty-four books and many articles and has given hundreds of workshops throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East. Dr. Doohan has written six books on various aspects of the New Testament, and six books on the spirituality and roles of laity in the contemporary church. Doohan's recent books include Spiritual Leadership: The Quest for Integrity (2007), Enjoying Retirement: Living Life to the Fullest (2010), Courageous Hope: The Call of Leadership (2011), The One Thing Necessary: The Transforming Power of Christian Love (2012), Spiritual Leadership: How to Become a Great Spiritual Leader--Ten Steps and a Hundred Suggestions (2014), Ten Strategies to Nurture Our Spiritual Lives (2014), and Rediscovering Jesus' Priorities (2014).

Author: Pope Francis
Publisher: Image
ISBN: 0553419544
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 164

View

Book Description
The perfect gift! A specially priced, beautifully designed hardcover edition of The Joy of the Gospel with a foreword by Robert Barron and an afterword by James Martin, SJ. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus… In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” – Pope Francis This special edition of Pope Francis's popular message of hope explores themes that are important for believers in the 21st century. Examining the many obstacles to faith and what can be done to overcome those hurdles, he emphasizes the importance of service to God and all his creation. Advocating for “the homeless, the addicted, refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and abandoned,” the Holy Father shows us how to respond to poverty and current economic challenges that affect us locally and globally. Ultimately, Pope Francis demonstrates how to develop a more personal relationship with Jesus Christ, “to recognize the traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small.” Profound in its insight, yet warm and accessible in its tone, The Joy of the Gospel is a call to action to live a life motivated by divine love and, in turn, to experience heaven on earth. Includes a foreword by Robert Barron, author of Catholicism: A Journey to the Heart of the Faith and James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

Author: Leonard Doohan
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
ISBN: 1532608578
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 159

View

Book Description
Dr. Leonard Doohan is Professor Emeritus at Gonzaga University, Spokane, Washington. He has written twenty-four books and many articles and has given hundreds of workshops throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and the Far East. Dr. Doohan has written six books on various aspects of the New Testament, and six books on the spirituality and roles of laity in the contemporary church. Doohan's recent books include Spiritual Leadership: The Quest for Integrity (2007), Enjoying Retirement: Living Life to the Fullest (2010), Courageous Hope: The Call of Leadership (2011), The One Thing Necessary: The Transforming Power of Christian Love (2012), Spiritual Leadership: How to Become a Great Spiritual Leader--Ten Steps and a Hundred Suggestions (2014), Ten Strategies to Nurture Our Spiritual Lives (2014), and Rediscovering Jesus' Priorities (2014).

Author: Timothy Keller
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310520584
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 289

View

Book Description
In Serving a Movement, best-selling author and pastor Timothy Keller looks at the nature of the church’s mission and its relationship to the work of individual Christians in the world. He examines what it means to be a “missional” church today and how churches can practically equip people for missional living. Churches need to intentionally cultivate an integrative ministry that connects people to God, to one another, to the needs of the city, and to the culture around us. Finally, he highlights the need for intentional movements of churches planting new churches that faithfully proclaim God’s truth and serve their communities. This new edition contains the third section of Center Church in an easy-to-read format with new reflections and additional essays from Timothy Keller and several other contributors.

Author: Michael W. Foss
Publisher: Fortress Press
ISBN: 1451414730
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 193

View

Book Description
A powerful plan to transform church members into impassioned disciples.Drawing on his experience at Prince of Peace, Foss makes the case for transforming congregations from a membership model to a discipleship model of church affiliation. The book begins with a careful analysis of recent patterns in church membership/demographics which argue for this paradigm shift. Subsequent chapters detail the unique leadership and organizational needs of a discipleship model; explore the building and maintaining of fundamental trust-in God and in His people-as the cornerstone of the model; and provide practical helps for assessing the present and strategies for moving into the future. Addressed to rostered and non-rostered professional and non-professional church leaders interested in transforming their churches into centers for discipleship and mission, Power Surge makes the case for a dynamic, functional model of church affiliation that moves away from a membership model centered on prerogatives of membership to a discipleship model centered on the notion of Christian vocation/calling. It proposes a grace-centered, rather than legalistic, model of discipleship and builds a bridge through transferable principles between congregational mission mindedness and the individual Christian's life of faith. This book utilizes assessment tools and practical helps so that congregations can make the transition between membership and discipleship paradigms, as it draws on the experience of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church as a case study illustrating the principles of a discipleship model of church affiliation.