Finding a Church You Can Love and Loving the Church You've Found

Finding a Church You Can Love and Loving the Church You've Found PDF Author: Kevin G. Harney
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310565782
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 164

Book Description
How to Find Your Best Fit Whether you grew up going to church twice on Sundays or never set foot in a church at all, finding and sinking your roots into a church community is crucial to your spiritual well-being. Finding the right church home can be a huge challenge, and also a lot of fun. Kevin and Sherry Harney point out that, while no church is perfect, some will fit you better than others. They show what a healthy church looks like, how to handle hot issues facing churches today, and how to determine whether a church's unique worship style will inspire or distract you. Even better, the Harneys help you discover how to plug into a church and experience the joy of giving back. In the words of the authors, "Church can be one of the most joy-filled, life-giving experiences you will ever have." Practical, encouraging, and true to the Bible, this book is your road map to finding a spiritual community you can really love.

What Is a Healthy Church?

What Is a Healthy Church? PDF Author: Mark Dever
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1581349378
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 130

Book Description
Guides both pastors and members to recognize key characteristics of a healthy church and then challenge each person to do his or her part in developing those characteristics in the local church body.

So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore

So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anymore PDF Author: Wayne Jacobsen
Publisher: Windblown Media
ISBN: 1935170015
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 154

Book Description
Jake Colsen, an overworked and disillusioned pastor, happens into a stranger who bears an uncanny resemblance (in manner) to the apostle John. A number of encounters with John as well as a family crisis lead Jake to a new understanding of what his life should be like: one filled with faith bolstered by a steady, close relationship with the God of the universe. Facing his own disappointment with Christianity, Jake must forsake the habits that have made his faith rote and rediscover the love that captured his heart when he first believed. Compelling and intensely personal, So You Don't Want to Go to Church Anything relates a man's rebirth from performance-based Christianity to a loving friendship with Christ that affects all he does, thinks, and says. As John tells Jake, "There is nothing the Father desires for you more than that you fall squarely in the lap of his love and never move from that place for the rest of your life."

Loving God When You Don't Love the Church

Loving God When You Don't Love the Church PDF Author: Chris Jackson
Publisher: Baker Books
ISBN: 144120265X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
Many Christians who experience hurt in the church don't just leave their own churches; they leave the church altogether. Whether they have been wounded by pastors or people in the pews, these believers have had enough and are jumping ship in massive numbers. Pastor and churchgoer Chris Jackson is honest about his own failings as well as those of the church at large. He identifies with many of the hurts churchgoing Christians have experienced. In Loving God When You Don't Love the Church, he hopes to provide healing to wounded and disillusioned believers and restore the wonder of a genuine relationship with Jesus and his bride, the church. Jackson's humility, compassion, and practical advice for healing and restoration will touch those who have left the church and those who love them.

Church Membership

Church Membership PDF Author: Jonathan Leeman
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN: 1433532409
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 146

Book Description
Jonathan Leeman addresses the commonly asked (and often unanswered) question of, "Why should I join a church?" in a time when many are shunning the practice of organized religion. By offering a brief, straightforward explanation of what church membership is and why it's important, Leeman gives the local church its proper due and builds a case for committing to the local body. Church Membership is a useful tool for churches to distribute en masse to new and potential members of their congregation. This volume is part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series. Look for upcoming, quick-read formats of the following marks of a healthy church: expositional preaching, biblical theology, the gospel, conversion, evangelism, church discipline, discipleship and growth, and church leadership.

Love Your Church

Love Your Church PDF Author: Tony Merida
Publisher: The Good Book Company
ISBN: 1784986097
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 140

Book Description
How to grow in love for your church. God calls us to be "devoted to one another in love" (Romans 12:10). What does this look like for us today? How can we be the kind of church member who makes a real difference? This engaging book by Tony Merida explores what church is, why being part of it is exciting, and why it’s worthy of our love and commitment. He sets out eight privileges and responsibilities of a church member: to belong, to welcome, to gather, to care, to serve, to honour, to witness and to send. As we see how wonderful it is to belong to God’s family and be a part of his amazing witness to both the earthly and the heavenly realms, we’ll grow in our love for and commitment to our local church. This is a great book for every churchgoer to read, whether they’re new or have been attending for some time but need re-energising with God’s vision for the local church. With a discussion guide at the end of the book, Love Your Church is also a great resource for small groups.

Being a Christian

Being a Christian PDF Author: Jason K. Allen
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
ISBN: 1462761941
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 110

Book Description
What does it mean to be a Christian? The gospel of Jesus Christ is the best news in history, but we often live as though it has minimal impact on our lives. Being a Christian isn’t just about Sunday mornings, small groups, and studying the Bible. The good news is that Jesus redeems everything. In the Bible, we read story after story of people meeting God and walking away completely changed. The same is true for Christians today. Being a Christian, by Dr. Jason Allen, shows how Jesus redeems all of life. Useful for new and mature believers, small group and personal study, Being a Christian walks readers through the gospel’s impact on all facets of life, from your relationships to your resources, from your work to your rest, from your past to your future.

Discerning Your Call to Ministry

Discerning Your Call to Ministry PDF Author: Jason K. Allen
Publisher: Moody Publishers
ISBN: 0802494633
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 170

Book Description
“The church has needed this book for a long time.” — Russell Moore If you are considering the ministry, there are two mistakes to avoid. The first is taking up a calling that isn’t yours. The second is neglecting one that is. Discerning Your Call to Ministry will help you know the difference. A tool for seminary students, pastors-in-training, and even current pastors, it serves to confirm or prompt deep thought about the calling to ministry through 10 probing questions, including: Do you desire the ministry? Does your church affirm your calling? Do you love the people of God? Are you willing to surrender? Pastoral dropout rates are high, and seminary admission rates are declining—signs that many of us don’t quite know what we’re signing ourselves up for. Author Jason Allen, a former pastor and the president of North America’s fastest growing seminary, gives readers a better picture of the calling. Presenting a series of diagnostic questions informed by Scripture, church history, and his own experience, he helps those seeking ordination or ministry positions make confident decisions about their service to God, one way or the other.

A Mile Wide

A Mile Wide PDF Author: Brandon Hatmaker
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 0718078519
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 222

Book Description
What if we’re just skimming the surface? Christianity holds out the promise of a better way and a better day. So we’ve studied, joined more small groups, and checked all the boxes—yet, we’re still hungry for more. What if the gospel we’ve come to know is even deeper than we ever imagined? What if the same gospel that works in us to change us continues to work through us to change everything else? Speaking from more than twenty years of experience working in the local church, Brandon Hatmaker leads us past the hurdles between our current lives and the lives we crave. He shows us how Jesus changes everything and how a greater understanding of the gospel leads to deeper faith, richer community, and more fulfilling purpose.

Searching for Sunday

Searching for Sunday PDF Author: Rachel Held Evans
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 0718022130
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
Are you struggling to connect with your church community? Do you find yourself questioning the core beliefs that you once held dear? Searching for Sunday, from New York Times bestselling author Rachel Held Evans is a heartfelt ode to the past and a hopeful gaze into the future of what it means to be a part of the modern church. Like millions of her millennial peers, Rachel Held Evans didn't want to go to church anymore. The hypocrisy, the politics, the gargantuan building budgets, the scandals--to her, it was beginning to feel like church culture was too far removed from Jesus. Yet, despite her cynicism and misgivings, something kept drawing Evans back to church. Evans found herself wanting to better understand the church and find her place within it, so she set out on a new adventure. Within the pages of Searching for Sunday, Evans catalogs her journey as she loves, leaves, and finds the church once again. Evans tells the story of her faith through the lens of seven sacraments of the Catholic church--baptism, confession, holy orders, communion, confirmation, the anointing of the sick, and marriage--to teach us the essential truths about what she's learned along the way, including: Faith isn't just meant to be believed, it's meant to be lived and shared in community Christianity isn't a kingdom for the worthy--it's a kingdom for the hungry, the broken, and the imperfect The countless and beautiful ways that God shows up in the ordinary parts of our daily lives Searching for Sunday will help you unpack the messiness of community, teaching us that by overcoming our cynicism, we can all find hope, grace, love, and, somewhere in between, church.