Understanding the Great Commission


Mark Dever - 2016
    The church is God’s plan for evangelism, discipleship, and the Great Commission. This connection between the Great Commission and the church dramatically impacts how both leaders and members should think about their work of making disciples. We do it together.

Beyond Belief to Convictions


Josh McDowell - 2002
    This is a revolution to equip churches and families to raise up a generation of the cross—young people who have been transformed by Christ and the cross, who are empowered to live crossgrain to the culture and are committed to share Christ across all cultures. Sixteen stand-alone products make up an entire family of resources that churches need to launch a church-wide revolution. These products are directed to every age group from 5 to 105, and help equip church groups and families with the tools to lead their children and youth to become transformed, passionate followers of Christ. Already a best seller, this book lays the foundations for the CrossCulture Revolution. Every product within this family of resources finds its root here. Beyond Belief to Convictions offers a revolutionary blueprint to raise up a generation of transformed followers of Christ with deepened convictions who knows why they believe what they believe.

This Delicious Life


Lekshmi Gopinathan - 2021
    A story that makes you hungry and feeds your soul. From Jaffna Crab Curry to Mor Kuzhambu, Spinach Casseroles and Tiramisu, nestled in the tiny fishing village of Iraalpatinam, comes a delicious and heartwarming tale of food, life and love. Meet the valiant lady sarpanch, the food blogger in search of peace, the able District Collector, a nomadic football coach and the beautiful fisher folks of this quaint village all bound together by their love for food. A yummy story of friendship, love and spices.

8 Hours or Less: Writing faithful sermons faster


Ryan Huguley - 2017
    The clock is every pastor’s nemesis. Between meetings, administration, counseling, and other duties, it’s hard to find enough time for sermon prep.Unless you change the process.8 Hours Or Less will show preachers how to write the same sermons they’ve been writing, but in half the time. Author Ryan Huguley reveals:The biggest time-wasters in sermon prepThe five marks of a faithful sermonA day-by-day plan for writing sermonsTips for preparing your mind, heart, and notes for preachingCommon pitfalls in ending a sermonAnd moreHuguley is a pastor and the host of a podcast featuring leaders like Matt Chandler, Doug Wilson, and Nancy Ortberg. What he shares in 8 Hours or Less is a process he’s been refining for six years, and it has radically improved both his preaching and experience in ministry.  Why work harder when you can work smarter? 8 Hours or Less brings relief to the time crunch and helps pastors be healthier, more balanced, and more effective—all without making their sermons suffer for it.

Notes From The Tilt-A-Whirl: Wide-Eyed Wonder in God's Spoken World


N.D. Wilson - 2009
     When Nate Wilson looks at the world around him, he asks "What is this place? Why is this place? Who approved it? Am I supposed to take it seriously?" What could such an outlandish, fantastical world say about its Creator? In these sparkling chapters, Wilson gives an aesthetic examination of the ways in which humanity has tried to make sense of this overwhelming carnival ride of a world. He takes a whimsical, thought-provoking look at everything from the "magic" of quantum physics, to nature's absurdities, to the problem of evil, evolution and hell. These frequently humorous, and uniquely beautiful portraits express reality unknown to many Christians-the reality of God's story unfolding around and among us. As the author says, "Welcome to His poem. His play. His novel. His comedy. Let the pages flick your thumbs."

The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity


Soong-Chan Rah - 2009
    Philip Jenkins has chronicled how the next Christendom has shifted away from the Western church toward the global South and East. Likewise, changing demographics mean that North American society will accelerate its diversity in terms of race, ethnicity and culture. But evangelicalism has long been held captive by its predominantly white cultural identity and history. In this book professor and pastor Soong-Chan Rah calls the North American church to escape its captivity to Western cultural trappings and to embrace a new evangelicalism that is diverse and multiethnic. Rah brings keen analysis to the limitations of American Christianity and shows how captivity to Western individualism and materialism has played itself out in megachurches and emergent churches alike. Many white churches are in crisis and ill-equipped to minister to new cultural realities, but immigrant, ethnic and multiethnic churches are succeeding and flourishing. This prophetic report casts a vision for a dynamic evangelicalism that fully embodies the cultural realities of the twenty-first century. Spiritual renewal is happening within the North American church, from corners and margins not always noticed by those in the center. Come, discover the vitality of the next evangelicalism.

Jesus Is: Find a New Way to Be Human


Judah Smith - 2013
    How would you finish that sentence?The subject is there, and so is the verb, but what comes next? Your answer could shed light on the path to becoming who you were made to be. In these pages, Judah Smith fills out that sentence again and again, each time further revealing the character of Jesus. He writes as if to a friend, revealing the Jesus that somber paintings and hymns fail to capture. With passion, humor, and conviction, he shows that Jesus is life. Jesus is grace. Jesus is your friend. Jesus is a new and better way to be human.

Urban Apologetics: Answering Challenges to Faith for Urban Believers


Christopher Brooks - 2014
    But much of today's apologetics (engagement with the questions that people are asking about Christianity) come from suburban churches and academic studies. Urban believers--those who live and minister in America's inner cities--often face unique issues, not often addressed by the larger Christian community. These questions aren't neat or easy to answer but need to be addressed by applying biblical truth in the culture and challenges of urban life.Author Chris Brooks has ministered for years in the urban environment as well as received extensive theological training. In Urban Apologetics, he seeks to connect the riches of the Christian apologetic tradition with the issues facing cities--such as poverty, violence, and broken families. He brings an urban rhythm and sensitivity to the task of demonstrating the relevance of faith and the healing truth that Christ provides.

Is God anti-gay?: And other questions about homosexuality, the Bible and same-sex attraction


Sam Allberry - 2013
    Christians, the church and the Bible seem to be out of step with modern attitudes towards homosexuality. And there is growing hostility towards those who hold a different view. So is God homophobic? And what do we say, and how do we relate to to both Christians and non Christians who experience same-sex attraction.In this short, simple book, Sam Allberry wants to help confused Christians understand what God has said about these questions in the scriptures, and offers a positive and liberating way forward through the debate.

Look and Live: Behold the Soul-Thrilling, Sin-Destroying Glory of Christ


Matt Papa - 2014
    All the while he was depressed, addicted to the approval of others, and enslaved to sin. But then everything changed. He encountered the glory of God.All of us live in the tension between where we are and where we ought to be. We try our best to bully our desires into submission. And we all know, this is exhausting.Are you tired? Stuck? Still fighting the same sin you've been fighting for years? The call in these pages is not to work or to strive, but to lift your eyes. You don't need more willpower. You need a vision of greatness that sweeps you off your feet. You need to see glory. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.Look and Live.

Stuff Christians Like


Jonathan Acuff - 2010
    Sometimes, you have to shot block a friend’s prayer because she’s asking God to bless an obviously bad dating relationship. Sometimes, you think, “I wish I had a t-shirt that said ‘I direct deposit my tithe’ so people wouldn’t judge me.” Sometimes, the stuff that comes with faith is funny. This is that stuff. Jonathan Acuff’s Stuff Christians Like is your field guide to all things Christian. In it you’ll learn the culinary magic of the crock-pot. Think you’ve got a Metro worship leader—Use Acuff’s checklist. Want to avoid a prayer handholding faux pas? Acuff has you covered. Like a satirical grenade, Acuff brings us the humor and honesty that galvanized more than a million online readers from more than 200 countries in a new portable version. Welcome to the funny side of faith.

Deliberate Simplicity: How the Church Does More by Doing Less


Dave Browning - 2006
    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.

Adventuring Through the Bible: A Comprehensive Guide to the Entire Bible


Ray C. Stedman - 1997
    However, the revised and expanded edition of Adventuring through the Bible is designed to give readers a thorough overview of the entire Bible in an easy and exciting way. This full-color resource features more than 800 pages filled with outlines, themes, and applications to help the reader grasp the message of each book of the Bible. Including charts, maps, timelines, and images, Adventuring through the Bible provides the reader with a one-stop guide for studying and understanding God’s Word.

The Explicit Gospel


Matt Chandler - 2012
    Sure, many will hear about Jesus, and about being good and avoiding bad, but the gospel message simply isn't there--at least not in its specificity and its fullness. Inspired by the needs of both the overchurched and the unchurched, and bolstered by the common neglect of the explicit gospel within Christianity, Matt Chandler has written this punchy treatise. He begins with the specifics of the gospel--outlining what it is and what it is not--and then switches gears to focus on the fullness of the gospel and its massive implications on both personal and cosmic levels. Recognizing our tendency to fixate on either the micro or macro aspects of the gospel, Chandler also warns us of the dangers on either side--of becoming overly individualistic or syncretistic. Here is a call to true Christianity, to know the gospel explicitly, and to unite the church on the amazing grounds of the good news of Jesus!

Life After Art: What You Forgot About Life and Faith Since You Left the Art Room


Matt Appling - 2013
    You might as well do it on purpose.Everyone was an artist, once. But somewhere between kindergarten and now, we lost the confidence to create. We’ve crumbled under the pressure to find our place in the “real, grown-up” world and now see the art room as a happy memory with no real value.Instead of approaching the world with childhood freedom and peace, we fear unmet ambitions. We fear that our lives have little meaning, purpose, or value. We fear that God has a plan for us, but we’re missing it.Yet if we travel back to our seats in the art room, art teacher Matt Appling reminds us of lessons we’ve forgotten, the joy of creating, and the freedom we had to succeed or fail. We can relearn these lessons and practice them to lead the contented, joy-filled, and productive lives that God created us to live.