While many factors contribute to the show's ongoing popularity, many fans continue to point to the basic moral principles upheld by each and every episode. The Way Back to Mayberry takes an irresistible look at these moral themes and values promoted by the show and examines them in light of biblical truth. Each episode is described, and then the message of each show is looked at in detail, along with a biblical example of the theme, and an application for our lives today.

    Why did we have to shut our doors after only three years? I was at my breaking point. Then I got the news that our nine-year-old daughter had leukemia. I would have quit ministry forever, but I had no other employable skills. False accusations were made against me and my family, wrecking our reputation permanently and forcing us to leave not only the church, but move out of the area. I've served my church for the past 27 years and I've grown that church from 150 to 24 people. What do we do when we've failed? Some ministries are shipwrecked by moral failures like affairs or embezzlement. But for most of us, the sense of failure is more ordinary: disillusionment, inadequacy, declining budgets, poor decisions, opposition, depression, burnout. Many pastors are deeply broken and wounded, and we come to doubt that God has any use for us. J.R. Briggs, founder of the Epic Fail Pastors Conference, knows what failure feels like. He has listened to pastors who were busted in a prostitution sting or found themselves homeless when ejected from ministry. With candid vulnerability, Briggs explores the landscape of failure, how it devastates us and how it transforms us. Without offering pat answers or quick fixes, he challenges our cultural expectations of success and gives us permission to grieve our losses. Somehow, in the midst of our pain, we are better positioned to receive the grace of healing and restoration.

    Women are looking for ways to grow and use the God-given leadership gifts they know are in them—and despite the obstacles, opportunities abound. What would it take to not only endure as a woman who leads, but to influence in a way that is endearing—that is Jesus-hearted? When it comes to leadership, Jodi Detrick believes this: if you have the heart, you can learn the skills. The Jesus-Hearted Woman is her guide to helping women—from beginning newbies, to veterans who’ve led for many years—develop ten essential qualities for dynamic and delightful leadership. With a blend of warm humor and “I’ve been there” compassion, Jodi weaves together memorable stories, biblical insights, and lots of real-life wisdom from her own long leadership journey.

    These principles can be used in any organization to foster integrity and self-discipline and bring a positive change.Developing the Leader Within You Workbook also allows readers to discover how to be effective in the highest calling of leadership by understanding the five characteristics that set "leader managers" apart from "run-of-the-mill managers."In this companion to the bestseller, John Maxwell shows readers how to develop the vision, value, influence, and motivation required of successful leaders.

    Through this timeless devotional, author and speaker Brennan Manning brings you from a lukewarm, distant faith to being close enough to lean against Jesus--the Great Rabbi--and listen to His heartbeat.Adapted from the best-seller Abba's Child, this daily reminder of the Father's relentless love will help you accept your identity as a child of God as you grow in spiritual formation.

    The personal restlessness and the continuous search of why the Lord chose twelve men to disciple revealed to Pastor Cesar Castellanos the model of the Government of twelve, which in this book is explained in detail. Also, this publication will be of great help in breaking schemes and will place your church, the leadership and all its ministry in a new dimension of power.

    Although almost every leader has heard of these works, very few have read them in depth and applied the lessons they contain to their own life. This is a huge oversight. Both books contain wisdom and advice which is applicable to almost any situation a leader finds they are in. Both books have a reputation for being dense and difficult to understand. This is due to the fact that both were written in other languages and for other time periods. It can be difficult to know exactly what Sun Tzu and Machiavelli intended to convey with their words - and even less how to take action on the ideas. This has all changed.For the first time ever, the ideas of The Prince and The Art of War have been combined, updated and presented in a way which is easy to understand in our modern era. Previously hard to interpret concepts have been clarified and shown to be as useful in our own era as they were in the one for which they were originally written. By reading and taking action on this book entitled Sun Tzu & Machiavelli Leadership Secrets by author Anthony D. Jensen, you give yourself the chance to become the most effective leader you can be. You will learn how to use timeless principles of leadership, psychology and power to achieve everything you set out to do. Both your private and professional lives will benefit immensely from understanding and applying the leadership secrets of Sun Tzu and Machiavelli.

    Through this provocative project, the founder of PreachersNSneakers is helping thousands of Jesus followers wrestle with the inevitable dilemmas created by a culture obsessed with image and entertainment.In PreachersNSneakers: 9 Questions to Help You Live Your Faith in an Age of Capitalism, Consumerism, and (Wannabe) Celebrity, the author boldly confronts many of the difficult questions plaguing countless Christians’ minds, such as:Should pastors grow wealthy off of religion, and why do we get so angry when they do?Is it okay to stoke envy among others with curated “lifestyle” images on social media?Do we really believe that divine blessings are monetary, or is that just religious wallpaper to hide our own greed?Is there space in Christendom for celebrities like Kanye and Bieber to exist without distorting the good news?What about this: Is it wrong for someone like this author to call out faith leaders online and leverage “cancel culture” to affect change?PreachersNSneakers will navigate these challenging questions and many more with humor, wit, candor, and a few never-before-published hijinks. Each chapter will explore the various sides of the debate, holding space for readers to make up their own minds. The book will doubtlessly become a staple for church small groups, college ministries, and book clubs, emboldening struggling believers who want to live a more genuine faith.After all, the Lord works in mysterious colorways.

    It doesn’t matter whether a church is alive and growing or barely surviving on life support. God has a plan for it. It doesn’t matter whether a church is facing financial challenges, internal divisions, or strife among its leaders. God has a plan for it. God is able to deal with any problem a church will ever face--as long as his people earnestly seek him. As the pastor of The Brooklyn Tabernacle, Cymbala knows that God’s blessing and grace is available to us today just as much as it was in the early church, when thousands of people became believers despite the fact that the church lacked everything we consider vital: church buildings, seminaries, printed materials, sound systems, choirs, and money. None of these things mattered. What mattered was that God’s hand was on the church, working through his people to build the kingdom. Then, as now, God chose the church to manifest his presence to the world. In this companion book to The Life God Blesses, Cymbala describes the kind of church God wants to bless and use. Based on the Word of God and personal experience, The Church God Blesses describes the key elements found in a vitally alive church and offers church leaders and individual Christians a fresh and invigorating look at what God intends the church to be. The church God blesses is not necessarily the largest, newest, or loudest church in town. Instead, it’s a place where believers: * Receive solid spiritual nourishment *Can trust in God’s protection *Engage in vital praise and worship *Become effective in ministry *Learn that confession of sin is the channel to God’s power

    The mighty men weren't drafted into David's army because of their impressive resumes. They were broken men who, given an opportunity to achieve greatness, responded like champions. The author uses the story to illustrate the six battles David's men fought and men today must win to become powerful and effective warriors in God's kingdom.

    It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."To Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, so much of how we have learned to experience and understand the faith has been divorced from the overarching adventure inherent in our God and in our calling. This book is a corrective to the dull, adventureless, risk-free phenomenon that describes so much of contemporary Christianity. It explores the nature of adventure, risk, and courage and the implications for church, discipleship, spirituality, and leadership.

    Are you ready for a new way to develop leaders that doesn’t add to your busy schedule? Leadership expert, Dr. Keith E. Webb, presents a radically different approach to developing leaders. Coaching allows you to develop both skills and character in other people, while doing ministry. Rather than giving advice, asking powerful questions will draw out what the Holy Spirit has put in. In this book, you will learn practical ways to develop the people around you and multiply your ministry impact through coaching. You will learn:• How to reach ministry goals and develop other people along the way.• How to be free of the pressure of having all the answers.• How to know when to mentor and when to coach.• How to ask powerful questions that lead to change.• How to move people into action with one simple question.Based on first-hand experience and taught around the world, this book will give you the tools you need to move forward. It is possible to develop leaders and have greater ministry impact — while also having more margin in your life.

    After gathering on a Sunday, do we simply go about our business, void of true transformation? Is the gospel simply a self-help tool, the church just a place where our needs can be met? It's time to ask ourselves, "Am I really following Jesus? Or am I just faking it?"With eye-opening personal stories, Scripture, and thought-provoking questions, Andi Andrew lovingly invites readers to examine their hearts to discover whether their faith is a genuine, life-giving marriage of belief and practice in response to Christ's life and sacrifice, or if it is just a lifestyle choice on par with any other. She encourages readers to surrender their whole lives to Jesus daily, grapple with hard questions they may have been avoiding, and discover a life fully alive, following in the way, the truth, and the life of Jesus Christ.

    

    You will learn how Scripture can help you powerfully respond to the hurtful voice inside that whispersI'm not good enoughI can't forgive myselfGod is punishing meMy life is hopelessSatan gives his best efforts to undermine your potential and worth. By intentionally replacing those lies with God's truth, you will grow in confidence and learn to rest in your identity as an imperfect—but wholly and beautifully redeemed—woman of value.