Many have adopted a narrow vision, focusing on only one aspect of ministry. But in today's environment of faith-based opportunities many Christians are eager to start reaching out to their world with both Good News and good works, and therefore they are searching for appropriate ways to integrate both into their ministry. In Churches That Make a Difference, best-selling author Ron Sider and his coauthors give those involved in community outreach a comprehensive resource for developing holistic ministry--a balance of evangelism and social outreach. Illustrations and helpful organizational tips detail the how-to's of an effective holistic ministry. Case studies that show how different churches across the United States reach out to their communities provide a variety of ideas and practical applications. User-friendly tools are included as well for congregational studies, surveys, evaluations, and community assessments. The authors draw on extensive experience with church ministries and faith-based organizations as they share the life-changing vision and biblical mandate for living the whole gospel. Church leaders will be encouraged in their process of developing and maintaining a holistic ministry, and local churches will rediscover a passion for loving the whole person the way Jesus did.

    Biblical and practical, this book gets down to the real questions in the disciple making process: What is the biblical case for making disciples? How can I disciple others if I was never discipled? How do I select someone to disciple? How do I get started? How do I become the kind of close friend that can influence another? What sort of goals should we set? What kind of study content is most helpful? How can I foster a love of prayer in another? Why are some models followed more than others? How can I create a life-long thirst for doing ministry? How can I effectively coach my friend in his or her ministry? When can I release a disciple to independence? These authors are experts who have raised up hundreds of house church leaders and other Christian workers during their combined 60 years of experience.

    Weaving together scripture and biblical principles with humor and personal anecdotes, author Michael McKinley asserts that a pastor's faithful exposition of God's Word, passion for sharing the gospel, and care in the training of other godly leaders are more important than the size of his church.McKinley honestly shares his own fears and rookie mistakes, along with encouraging stories of how God moved at Guilford Baptist. We are reminded that God uses weak and fearful pastors in plants and revitalizations; church planting is indeed for "wimps." For pastors and seminarians considering a church plant and those already struggling in their own fledgling congregations, this book is a thoughtful and encouraging resource.

    Prior to the tournament, a statistician calculated the Bulldogs as a 200-to-1 shot to win. But as fascinating as what Butler accomplished was how they did it. Underdawgs tells the incredible and uplifting story. Butler’s coach, 33-year-old Brad Stevens, looked so young he was often mistaken for one of the players, but he had quickly become one of the best coaches in the nation by employing the “Butler Way.” This philosophy of basketball and life, adopted by former coach Barry Collier, is based on five principles: humility, passion, unity, servanthood, and thankfulness. Even the most casual observer could see this in every player, on the court and off, from NBA first-round draft pick Gordon Hayward to the last guy on the bench. Butler was coming off a great 2009–10 regular season, but its longtime existence on the periphery of major college basketball fostered doubt as March Madness set in. But after two historic upsets, one of top-seeded Syracuse and another of second-seeded Kansas State, and making it to the Final Four, the Bulldogs came within the diameter of a shoelace of beating the perennial leaders of college basketball: the Duke Blue Devils. Much more than a sports story, Underdawgs is the consummate David versus Goliath tale. Despite Duke’s winning the championship, the Bulldogs proved they belonged in the game and, in the process, won the respect of people who were not even sports fans.

    What makes for good preaching?In this accessible volume--written for preachers and preachers in training--pastor David Helm outlines what must be believed and accomplished to become a faithful expositor of God's Word.In addition to offering practical, step-by-step guidance for preachers, this short book will equip all of us to recognize good preaching when we hear it.

    He spoke to Abram and his household and they became a family on mission. We see Jesus operating in the same way, gathering an extended-family-like group of disciples around himself before embarking on his mission. Jesus needed a family on mission. Within the Trinity, the unity of God is expressed in a diversity of persons, which means that at the very heart of God’s nature is family on mission. And thus God’s preferred mode of operation has always been family on mission. In fact, discipleship doesn’t really work apart from the context of a family on mission. Without that texture, discipleship becomes programmatic and mechanical, not really producing people with the character and competency of Jesus. The good news is that today, Jesus our Brother and King is wanting to empower us to live as covenant families caught up in kingdom mission. It seems that the Holy Spirit is moving us away from the destructive dichotomy of Family OR Mission, where we can only do one or the other, away from the band-aid fix of Family AND Mission, where we keep them separate and manage boundaries and margins, toward the integrated life of Family ON Mission, where we wholeheartedly embrace being part of a covenant community AND with those people play our part in God’s kingdom mission. This book is about our journey in leading a family on mission, as well as looking deeply at how Jesus built his family on mission in the Gospels, as well as practical strategies for growing as a family on mission, imitating Jesus as his disciples.

    It's not enough to simply know what to believe (theology) or, on the other hand, how to do ministry (methodology)—they need something in between. They need help thinking about ministry in a culture that no longer believes Christianity is a force for good, let alone the source of ultimate revealed truth in the person of Christ. Center Church, a collection of twelve essays by Timothy Keller, outlines a theological vision for ministry that is 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 underserved 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.

    Writing out of his personal experience and biblical conviction, Driscoll here examines six key areas of church leadership.

    Serious, divisive conflict is everywhere-within families, in the church, and out in the world. And it can seem impossible to overcome its negative force in our lives. In The Peacemaker, Ken Sande presents a comprehensive and practical theology for conflict resolution designed to bring about not only a cease-fire but also unity and harmony. Sande takes readers beyond resolving conflicts to true, life-changing reconciliation with family members, coworkers, and fellow believers.Biblically based, The Peacemaker is full of godly wisdom and useful suggestions that are easily applied to any relationship needing reconciliation. Sande's years of experience as an attorney and as president of Peacemaker Ministries will strengthen readers' confidence as they stand in the gap as peacemakers.

    It's a strategy that enabled Osborne's congregation to grow from a handful of people to one of the larger churches in the nation—without any marketing or special programming. Sticky Church tells the inspiring story of North Coast Church's phenomenal growth and offers practical tips for launching your own sermon-based small group ministry.Topics include:Why stickiness is so importantWhy most of our discipleship models don’t work very wellWhy small groups always make a church more honest and transparentWhat makes groups grow deeper and sticker over timeSticky Church is an ideal book for church leaders who want to start or retool their small group ministry—and velcro their congregation to the Bible and each other.

    The Littauers describe the characteristics that each of the four personality types--Sanguine, Choleric, Melancholy, and Phlegmatic--bring into the workplace, and they reveal how the strengths and weaknesses of each can be structured into a productive, congenial workplace.

    Prayer is the determining factor for maximum spiritual impact. The more we pray the more God works. Of all the skills needed by the difference-making spiritual leader, none is more important than prayer.Tracing the lives of high-impact Christian leaders from Abraham to Billy Graham, Dave Earley reveals the central role that prayer played in their effectiveness. In doing so, he points out the eight practices Christian leaders can apply to become more effective in their prayer lives, and therefore, more spiritually influential as a leader.While prayer is not the only weapon in the Christian leader's arsenal, it is one of the most powerful and often under-utilized. This book will inspire, transform, stretch, enhance, strengthen, and renew the prayer lives of readers.Prayer: The Timeless Secret of High-Impact Leaders is filled with juicy quotes and anecdotes; it gives dozens of practical applications of the principles discussed.

    Inviting others to faith requires leaning in to your own story, overcoming fear, and stepping out. But the good news is for everyone, always. And you can help keep it going.Using Scripture and story, Steve Carter casts a vision for non-threatening conversations that point people to Christ. Most significantly, Steve shows that only through risking it all will we discover what God is truly like.

    Leadership is about character, the authors assert, and character weaves values like integrity, honesty, and selflessservice into the fabric of our lives, organizations, andcultures.The Ascent of a Leader is written for ordinary people-mothers, husbands, bosses, secretaries, pastors, teachers, and students-whowant to develop extraordinary character, find and follow God's planfor their lives, and lead others where they need to go. We all haveinnate leadership potential. To maximize it, we must do much morethan develop performance-based skills, the authors assert. We mustconsciously choose who and what we allow to influence us, find anddevelop our humility, and build Anduring relationships withcolleagues, family, friAnds, and God. They offer engaging real-lifeexamples to show how we can grow into our true potential as leadersand inspire us to "make a difference in the 21st century-in ourfamilies, our communities, our companies, our government, and evenour world."With a foreword by Ken Blanchard.

    Where the world stresses the importance of success, Bird invites readers to embrace nine specific failures in the areas of our personal lives, our relationships, and the church. Why? Because what human wisdom deems indispensable is so often an impediment to our spiritual growth, and what it deems insignificant is so often essential to it.With compelling examples from the Bible and today, Bird paints an enticing picture of the counterintuitive, countercultural life that God wants for us. He helps readers delight in all of the ways that Jesus turned the world upside-down, allowing us to experience true freedom, not from our weaknesses but in the midst of them.