As many pastors and counselors know, people still carry hurts from thirty or forty years ago. The truth is, time often makes things worse. Wounds that are left untended fester and spread infection throughout your entire body. Time only extends the pain if the problem isn't dealt with.Your First Step to Celebrate Recovery introduces you to a biblical and balanced program that has helped nearly a million people overcome their hurts, hang-ups, and habits. Based on the actual words of Jesus found in the Sermon on the Mount rather than psychological theory, the Celebrate Recovery program has helped people for over 20 years to grow toward full Christ-like maturity.Author and founder John Baker tells the true story of how Celebrate Recovery became one of the largest Christ-centered recovery programs in history. Baker will help you discover how God's love, truth, grace and forgiveness can bring healing into your life.

    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 honor, 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-energizing with God's vision for the local church.With discussion guides at the end of each chapter and video introductions, Love Your Church is also a great resource for small groups.

    After all, there’s no better place to experience God than in the loving, healthy community of a church. But what does an effective church look like? Is it possible to grow and be healthy at the same time? Pastor Robert Morris has experienced firsthand the spiritual and relational excitement of a growing, dynamic church. In The Blessed Church, Pastor Morris brings you practical wisdom for cultivating real growth by nurturing true and Biblical health in your spiritual community.“In The Blessed Church Robert Morris reveals why Gateway Church in Dallas–Fort Worth has become not just one of the largest churches in America but also one of the most influential. Robert’s devoted, attentive shepherding of this great fl ock is one reason why Gateway is so‘blessed.’ In The Blessed Church the biblical principles that lead to true success in the body of Christ are carefully explained. If you love the local church, as both Robert and I do, you won’t want to miss the insights found in this helpful and practical book.”—Dr. Tony Evans, senior pastor, Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship; and president, The Urban Alternative “Our world desperately needs healthy, vibrant churches, so I’m so thankful Robert Morris has written The Blessed Church—a book that draws on the Gateway ‘back story’ to describe the qualities of a healthy local church. More than anything, a heart for God and a love of people define the ministry of Pastor Morris and Gateway Church. If you want a growing vitality in your church, you will profit from every page of The Blessed Church.”—Chris Hodges, senior pastor, Church of the Highlands “How has your church remained so healthy while growing so quickly?” Robert Morris gets this question a lot. In other words, people want to know: “What’s your secret?” In The Blessed Church: The Simple Secret to Growing the Church You Love, Pastor Robert Morris unfolds why Gateway Church in suburban Dallas–Fort Worth is one of America’s fastest-growing, spiritually enriching local churches—and still one of its healthiest. Written for both church leaders and lay people, The Blessed Church looks at the qualities that make church “work” in the twenty-first century and how that can enrich your church—whatever its size or vision. With the humor and powerful stories he’s known for, Morris shows how every component of your church—including mission, church government, teaching, worship, small groups, giving, and outreach—can receive God’s richest blessings. Rather than bemoaning the problems of the contemporary evangelical church, The Blessed Church celebrates the expanding role of the body of Christ in the lives of individuals—starting right where you and your church are today.

    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.

    When he retired forty years later, it was nearing 20,000.Though Bob's ministry was a clear success, he'd be the first to say it wasn’t perfect. In After 50 Years of Ministry he shares why. He reflects on the best of what he’s learned—sometimes the hard way—about ministry and leadership, like how to:Respond to criticismProtect your marriageStop comparing yourself to other pastorsHandle a staff moral failurePrioritize preaching in your scheduleBuild trust with your eldersMake the best use of downtimeHilarious, warm, and full of great stories and illustrations, After 50 Years of Ministry is sage advice from a faithful servant of God. If you are in leadership of any kind, don’t miss this chance to learn from one of the best.

    Alison decides--after the final straw has fallen on the camel's back of her eternal maternal devotion--to run away from home for Mother's Day weekend. Her plan is perfect until disaster strikes, tables turn, and she becomes the only one who can save the day. If you--or anyone you know--has ever felt like a second-rate mother, Alison's story will let you breathe easier, laugh louder, and love a little longer.

    

    And more is better. This is the new equation for church development, a new equation with eternal results.Rejecting the “bigger is better” model of the complex, corporate megachurch, church innovator Dave Browning embraced deliberate simplicity. The result was Christ the King Community Church, International (CTK), an expanding multisite community church that Outreach magazine named among America’s Fastest Growing Churches and America’s Most Innovative Churches. Members of the CTK network in a number of cities, countries, and continents are empowered for maximum impact by Browning’s “less is more” approach. In Deliberate Simplicity, Browning discusses the six elements of this streamlined model:• Minimality: Keep it simple• Intentionality: Keep it missional• Reality: Keep it real• Multility: Keep it cellular• Velocity: Keep it moving• Scalability: Keep it expandingAs part of the Leadership Network Innovation Series, Deliberate Simplicity is a guide for church leaders seeking new strategies for more effective ministry.

    Raised by a Jewish mother and abandoned by his professional poker-playing father, Antonucci found Jesus at age twenty after studying the New Testament. When he finally went to church, he was disappointed to discover a "boring, stale religion." Through provocative storytelling and raw honesty, Antonucci unearths the life Jesus lived and wants us to experience, challenging us to move past spiritual boredom into a faith that's exciting, beautiful, and powerful. Recommended for all Christians thirsty for a fresh perspective on Christianity.

    S. Eliot, and Jrgen Moltmann's new book is a powerful testament to personal hope in chaotic, even catastrophic times.As Moltmann's award-winning volume The Coming of God laid out the systematic framework of eschatology (the doctrine of the ''last things''), so here he explores the personal meaning of that fundamental affirmation for Christians. Debunking the classic images of Christian apocalyptic scenarios, the final struggle between God and Satan, Christ and the AntichristArmageddonMoltmann instead shows that Christian expectation of the future has nothing to do with these but everything to do with new beginnings and a horizon of hope. Three parts explore three particular beginnings: birth (childhood and youth), rebirth (failures and defeats), and resurrection (death, judgment, afterlife).This brief volume promises to be one of Moltmann's most personal and compelling books.

    Revised with three new sermons, inclusive language, and NRSV texts, it is still as fresh and provocative as ever.

    

    In Reclaiming Glory, Clifton draws not only upon his own burden for revitalizing dying churches but also upon years of church rePlanting experience to offer passionate counsel for how to breathe new life into a dying church . . . all for the glory of the God who is building his church upon the immovable rock of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

    We hardly ever think of it as world-changing--and neither does society. Yet this is exactly what the first-century ekklesia was.In these vital, eye-opening pages, bestselling author Ed Silvoso takes you back to the first days of the church. Digging into Scripture, he shows how the New Testament church--devoid of buildings, professional clergy, and religious freedom--was able to transform the hostile, pagan places into which it was born and set in motion a process that changed the world forever.Even more, Silvoso offers a roadmap back to becoming the ekklesia Jesus called his church to be. In the midst of the social, economic, political, and moral chaos in our world today, we possess the hope that people and nations so desperately need--and we can become the revolutionary, transformational, life-giving voice Jesus called us to be.A new, in-depth curriculum kit--which features a DVD with 12 brand-new teaching sessions, a group guide for both leaders and participants, and a copy of the book--is also available. Expounding on the book's dynamic teachings, each kit contains everything you need to equip your group to transform the world around them.

    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 livesways to create active evangelism in your communityno-cost solutions for staffing challenges, enhancing the worship experience, and inspiring volunteersFocusing 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.