They talked to them, had cook-outs with them, and went to church with them. In our time of unprecedented mobility and increasing isolationism, it's hard to make lasting connections with those who live right outside our front door. We have hundreds of "friends" through online social networking, but we often don't even know the full name of the person who lives right next door.This unique and inspiring book asks the question: What is the most loving thing I can do for the people who live on my street or in my apartment building? Through compelling true stories of lives impacted, the authors show readers how to create genuine friendships with the people who live in closest proximity to them. Discussion questions at the end of each chapter make this book perfect for small groups or individual study.

    As a result, romantic hopes are often replaced with disappointment in the home. But it doesn’t have to stay that way.The Love Dare, as featured in the popular new movie Fireproof (from the makers of Facing the Giants), is a 40-day challenge for husbands and wives to understand and practice unconditional love. Whether your marriage is hanging by a thread or healthy and strong, The Love Dare is a journey you need to take. It’s time to learn the keys to finding true intimacy and developing a dynamic marriage. Take the dare!

    Expounds biblical principles that, if applied to even the unhealthiest church, the Lord can use to take the church "from embers to a flame."

    God intends for this compelling vision of His people singing—a people joyfully joining together in song with brothers and sisters around the world and around his heavenly throne—to include you. He wants you,he wants us, to sing.

    Church leaders, conference speakers, and authors are weighing the merits of the attractional church movement of the past few decades, and where they find it lacking, prescribing changes in the way we need to approach our cultures with the Gospel. There has been a consensus shift among many churches, networks, and denominations to become more focused on mission. The result is a renewed interest in reaching the lost in our cities and around the world. The Church, in many places in the Western world, is in fact returning to a biblical missional focus. Yet there is something still to be addressed in the process: thehow. For centuries, God has called missionaries to cross cultures with the Gospel, and along the way, they have developed the necessary skill-sets for a cultural translation of the Good News. These skills need to be shared with the rest of the Church in order to help them as well be effective missionaries.Tradecraft for the Church on Missiondoes exactly that. This book, in essence, pulls back the curtain on tools once accessible only to full-time Christian workers moving overseas, and offers them to anyone anywhere who desires to live missionally."

    Leaders administrate the new program, and members go on a raid. But picture a church where evangelism is just part of the culture. Leaders share their faith consistently and openly. Members follow, encouraging one another to make evangelism an ongoing way of life.Such is the way of evangelism presented by this brief and compelling book. No program here. Instead, it just might give your church a new way to live and share the gospel together.

    They simply continue to make the same old mistakes.With additional and newly updated material, this leadership classic reveals the most common errors that leaders consistently make-regardless of training or age-and the way to stop these bad habits from undermining their positive talents and accomplishments.Whether you are leading a company, a ministry, a Girl Scout troop, or your family, The Top Ten Mistakes Leaders Make is a must-read for anyone who wants to lead others effectively."If you're like me, you've grown weary of the published cookie-cutter approaches on how to lead effectively. And so has Hans Finzel. He drills to the core of the current issues on effective leadership."-Charles R. Swindoll, author and president of Dallas Theological Seminary"This is one of the most practical books on leadership I have in my own library. If you are serious about becoming a better leader, you will want to read this book."-John C. Maxwell, author, speaker, and founder of the INJOY Group

    Many believers are contemplating in a fresh way what it means to take the Great Commission seriously. Rediscovering Discipleship takes the guesswork out of Christian maturity.Based on insights gained from a decade of personally making disciples, author and pastor Robby Gallaty tackles the two hindrances that keep believers from getting involved in making disciples: ignorance and uncertainty. Since many believers have never been personally disciple, they have no model to guide them in discipling others. Their ignorance of the process fuels their uncertainty, which leaves them crippled from the start. With simple principles that are easy to apply, Rediscovering Discipleship provides readers with the tools to follow the Great Commission—to go and actually make disciples who multiply and make disciples.Gallaty begins with a brief historical overview of the discipleship ministries of influential theologians, preachers, and pastors from years past, and then identifies roadblocks that hinder believers from becoming disciples before offering a step-by-step process for readers to immediately get started on the path to effective disciple making.

    In 2 Corinthians 5:17 we find, Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come. Despite this, the church seems increasingly to be a place where transformation fails to occur. Surveying the landscape, however, there are some bright spots where churches are faithfully producing transformed disciples. Furthermore, as shown in Scripture and supported by new research, God designed such transformation to often happen in the context of smaller groups of people. But what characteristics are true of churches that are making transformed disciples through group-based ministry-whether small groups, missional communities, Sunday school, or some other expression of groups? In Transformational Groups, Ed Stetzer and Eric Geiger have created a new scorecard that will provide a map to transformational success for your church’s groups ministry. Using data from the largest survey of pastors and laypersons ever done on the condition of groups in the church, they define a simple process to lead your groups from where they are to where God wants them to be.

    Various challenges make it is easy for ministry wives to feel discouraged about their relationship with God, lose their wonder at the mystery of the church, and forget the joy of serving alongside their husband. In this encouraging and humorous book, Gloria Furman offers pastors' wives a breath of fresh air, reminding readers that Christ stands ready to help regardless of the circumstance--whether it's late-night counseling sessions, unrealistic expectations about how they spend their time, or complaints about their husbands' preaching. Filled with life-giving truth from God's Word regarding the privilege of ministry in Christ's name, this book will help women joyfully treasure their Savior, serve their husbands, and love their churches.

    So where should full-time ministry begin?In The Path to Being a Pastor, Bobby Jamieson explains why it's better to emphasize "aspiration" over "calling" as men pursue the office of elder and encourages readers to make sure they are pastorally gifted before considering the role. He shares from his own eleven-year experience preparing to be a pastor by walking potential leaders through different stages of ministry training, from practical steps--such as cultivating godly ambition and leadership, observing healthy churches, and mastering Scripture--to personal advice on building a strong family and succeeding in seminary. Emphasizing the importance of prayer, godly counsel, and immersion in the local church, Jamieson encourages men to ask Am I qualified? instead of Am I called? when considering a life in ministry.

    Great leaders don't buy it. Great leaders lead with or without the authority and learn to unleash their influence wherever they are.With practical wisdom and humor, Clay Scroggins will help you nurture your vision and cultivate influence, even when you lack authority in your organization. And he will free you to become the great leader you want to be so you can make a difference right where you are. Even when you're not in charge.

    Churches and individual Christians typically have faulty assumptions about the causes of poverty, resulting in the use of strategies that do considerable harm to poor people and themselves. Don't let this happen to you, your ministry or ministries you help fund! A must read for anyone who works with the poor or in missions, When Helping Hurts provides foundational concepts, clearly articulated general principles and relevant applications. The result is an effective and holistic ministry to the poor, not a truncated gospel."Initial thoughts" at the beginning of chapters and "reflection questions and excercises" at the end of chapters assist greatly in learning and applying the material. A situation is assessed for whether relief, rehabilitation, or development is the best response to a situation. Efforts are characterized by an "asset based" approach rather than a "needs based" approach. Short term mission efforts are addressed and economic development strategies appropriate for North American and international contexts are presented, including microenterprise development.Now with a new preface, a new foreword, and a new chapter to assist in the next steps of applying the book's principles to your situation, When Helping Hurts is a new classic!

    "A highly practical road map."--Mark Batterson, New York Times bestselling author and lead pastor of National Community ChurchDespite the overwhelming amount of resources for time management and work-life balance, the ability to cultivate the efficiency and equilibrium needed to manage all our worthy pursuits can often feel frustratingly out of reach. The reason for our struggle is that productivity and time-management systems focus on individual habits rather than more meaningful and lasting lifestyle changes. But as it turns out, there is a better way to reach our full potential.We don't need just another approach to changing our habits. What we need is an operating system that takes into account the full scope of our lives. In these pages, bestselling author Jordan Raynor presents this system, using seven powerful time- management principles drawn from the example of how Jesus lived:1. Start with the Word: Find meaningful connection with the author of time daily. 2. Let Your Yes Be Yes: Accept only the commitments you can fulfill. 3. Dissent from the Kingdom of Noise: Create room for silence, stillness, and reflection. 4. Prioritize Your Yeses: Confidently maintain your commitments. 5. Accept Your "Unipresence" Focus on one important thing at a time. 6. Embrace Productive Rest: Live the God-designed rhythms of rest which are productive for our goals and souls. 7. Eliminate All Hurry: Embrace productive busyness while ruthlessly eliminating hurry from our lives.With these principles, you'll see how Jesus managed his time on earth and how he responded to human constraints much like the ones you face today. More than that, you'll discover corresponding practices that will help you embrace the best, most Christlike version of yourself possible: purposeful, present, and wildly productive.

    Some are true--but many are false. James Bryan Smith believes those thoughts determine not only who we are, but how we live. In fact, Smith declares, the most important thing about a person is what they think about God. The path to spiritual transformation begins here. Turning to the Gospels, Smith invites you to put your ideas to the test to see if they match up with what Jesus himself reveals about God. Once you've discovered the truth in Scripture, Smith leads you through a process of spiritual formation that includes specific activities aimed at making these new narratives real in your body and soul as well as your mind. At the end of each chapter you'll find an opportunity for soul training, engaging in spiritual practices that reinforce the biblical messages on your mind and heart. Because the best way to make a complete and lasting change is to go through the material in community, small group discussion questions also accompany each chapter. Those who are leading apprentice groups will also find additional help and opportunities to interact with other leaders at the Apprentice website, www.apprenticeofjesus.com. This deep, loving and transformative book will help you discover the narratives that Jesus lived by--to know the Lord he knew and the kingdom he proclaimed--and to practice spiritual exercises that will help you grow in the knowledge of our good and beautiful God.