Conceived and compiled by the editors of Leadership journal, this book covers the full spectrum of ministry practice. Readers will learn about perennial topics such as time management, negotiating the terms of a call, handling crisis and conflict, hiring and managing staff, conducting special fund drives, spending church money, and dealing with tax and law considerations.This revised and expanded edition of a proven ministry resource contains new contributions from prominent ministry leaders. Contributors include Leith Anderson, Rick Warren, Brian McLaren, Luis Palau, John Ortberg, Aubrey Malphurs, and many others.

    Thomas Merton writes: "When society is made up of men who know no interior solitude it can no longer be held together by love: and consequently it is held together by a violent and abusive authority. But when men are violently deprived of the solitude and freedom which are their due, the society in which they live becomes putrid, it festers with servility, resentment and hate."Thoughts in Solitude stands alongside The Seven Storey Mountain as one of Merton's most enduring and popular works. Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, is perhaps the foremost spiritual thinker of the twentieth century. His diaries, social commentary, and spiritual writings continue to be widely read after his untimely death in 1968. Librarian note: there is an alternate cover edition of this book here

    It is a collection of essays, observations and rituals, and outlines LaVey's Satanic ideology. It contains the core principles of the Church of Satan and is considered the foundation of the philosophy and dogma that constitute LaVeyan Satanism.

    Today, such language no longer sounds like hyperbole but poses, instead, a very real threat to our freedom and our way of life. In "American Fascists," Chris Hedges, veteran journalist and author of the National Book Award finalist "War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning," challenges the Christian Right's religious legitimacy and argues that at its core it is a mass movement fueled by unbridled nationalism and a hatred for the open society. Hedges, who grew up in rural parishes in upstate New York where his father was a Presbyterian pastor, attacks the movement as someone steeped in the Bible and Christian tradition. He points to the hundreds of senators and members of Congress who have earned between 80 and 100 percent approval ratings from the three most influential Christian Right advocacy groups as one of many signs that the movement is burrowing deep inside the American government to subvert it. The movement's call to dismantle the wall between church and state and the intolerance it preaches against all who do not conform to its warped vision of a Christian America are pumped into tens of millions of American homes through Christian television and radio stations, as well as reinforced through the curriculum in Christian schools. The movement's yearning for apocalyptic violence and its assault on dispassionate, intellectual inquiry are laying the foundation for a new, frightening America."American Fascists," which includes interviews and coverage of events such as pro-life rallies and weeklong classes on conversion techniques, examines the movement's origins, its driving motivations and its dark ideological underpinnings. Hedges argues that the movement currently resembles the young fascist movements in Italy and Germany in the 1920s and '30s, movements that often masked the full extent of their drive for totalitarianism and were willing to make concessions until they achieved unrivaled power. The Christian Right, like these early fascist movements, does not openly call for dictatorship, nor does it use physical violence to suppress opposition. In short, the movement is not yet revolutionary. But the ideological architecture of a Christian fascism is being cemented in place. The movement has roused its followers to a fever pitch of despair and fury. All it will take, Hedges writes, is one more national crisis on the order of September 11 for the Christian Right to make a concerted drive to destroy American democracy. The movement awaits a crisis. At that moment they will reveal themselves for what they truly are -- the American heirs to fascism. Hedges issues a potent, impassioned warning. We face an imminent threat. His book reminds us of the dangers liberal, democratic societies face when they tolerate the intolerant.

    Now, with The Biggest Loser Simple Swaps, you can get healthy by simply swapping your old food, habit, and lifestyle choices for healthier versions every day. With 100 simple swaps that cut calories, save money, and provide better nutrition as well as more than 30 mouthwatering recipes that put these swaps into action, getting fit and healthy has never been easier. Learn how to: Swap lasagna noodles for veggies. Pasta used to be a guilty pleasure for many Biggest Losers—until they learned to make a healthy version. Try replacing lasagna noodles in your favorite recipe with slices of grilled zucchini or eggplant. Better yet, try the Veggie Lasagna recipe in Chapter 4! Swap traditional yogurt for Greek-style yogurt. Greek-style fat-free yogurt contains the same number of calories as regular fat-free yogurt but has twice the protein and half the carbs. It’s a great base for dips, too. Try using it in the French Onion Dip in Chapter 5! Swap sugary cereals for whole grains. The slow release of energy from complex carbs will help you feel full and keep your blood sugar steady and your energy revved. Or turn to Chapter 5 to make your own Hi-Pro Vanilla Breakfast Grains! Throughout the book, you’ll also find advice and tips from The Biggest Loser experts, trainers, and the contestants themselves, who understand the challenges of fitting lifestyle changes into a busy schedule. These simple, budget-friendly swaps can make a major difference in your health and weight loss efforts. Start swapping—and losing—today!

    She vowed her life in ministry would be different.Yet, years later, as a church leader, she was hospitalized because stress began wreaking havoc on her body. After being released from the hospital, an associate pastor asked her, 'Does working at this church interfere with your communion with Christ?' The question was paramount in turning her life around.Thinking she wasn't alone, Anne developed a website that allowed church leaders to share their struggles. Within a few days, she was flooded with over a thousand responses from people pouring out their stories of burnout. Using anecdotal parallels between Mad Cow Disease and leadership trends in the church, she writes not only to help us realize what church leaders are facing, but also to provide practical and positive treatment plans.Mad Church Disease is a lively, informative, and potentially life-saving resource for anyone in ministry---vocational or volunteer---who would like to understand, prevent, or treat the epidemic of burnout in church culture.

    Avoiding tired labels of past debates (Exclusivism, Pluralism, and Inclusivism), Knitter suggests four different models (Replacement, Fulfillment, Mutuality, and Acceptance) that more adequately link together thirteen ways of approaching and understanding the variety of the world's religious expressions.

    A collection of sermons by this martyred Black American leader which explains his convictions in terms of the conditions and problems of contemporary society.

    Believers need resources that defend the veracity of their faith. They are searching for clear, concise, and credible answers to both doubts of their own and objections from their unbelieving friends.Nathan Busenitz provides such resources to believers. Reasons We Believe confirms and strengthens the faith of believers by demonstrating the reliability of the twofold authority on which Christianity rests: the Word of God and the person of Jesus Christ. Reasons builds a biblical foundation for the authority of the Bible and then shows how extra-biblical evidence corresponds with and thereby attests to what the Bible claims.This study seeks to reinforce the faith of Christians while also providing them with a straightforward evangelistic tool for reaching non-Christians.

    Few, if any, address for a contemporary audience the biblical foundations of the government of the church. But this should be a priority for us, because God emphasizes the government of his church throughout Scripture. Why should we be church members? How do church officers reflect Jesus' reign over us? Where do the church's responsibilities begin and end? Where do ours? These, and other important questions, are answered in Guy Prentiss Water's vital examination of How Jesus Runs the Church. At a time when church authority is treated with contempt, it's important that we honor God in our churches more than ever.

    Paul Tillich, a leading theologian of the twentieth century, explores the idea of faith in all its dimensions, while defining the concept in the process.This graceful and accessible volume contains a new introduction by Marion Pauck, Tillich's biographer.

    A survey of the controversy surrounding Mormon founder Joseph Smith's claim that he translated the Book of Abraham from an ancient Egyptian papyrus.

    Christian education, according to Westerhoff, has modeled itself on the schooling-instructional paradigm of our secular schools. Instead of expecting faith formation to happen within a variety of contexts -- the family, church, school, and the church school -- religious education has been relegated entirely to Sunday morning classes. There children learn the facts about religion, but will they learn or experience faith? How can we be communities that nourish and nurture the faith of children, instead of only teaching them facts?This revised edition includes a new foreword that summarizes Westerhoff's own faith journey that led him to write this book, and even to rethink portions of it today. Each of the original chapters concludes with notes that reveal some of Westerhoff's rethinking of the material since 1976. A new Afterword explores the context in which we live currently, and its implications for catechetical ministry.

    Though many people today like Jesus, they are growing tired of traditional religious institutions. Even those who follow Jesus aren't so sure they always like what Christianity and the church represent.For many years, Dan Kimball would have agreed, until an encounter with a small group of Jesus followers started him on a journey that challenged him to rethink everything he had ever assumed about the church.andamp;nbsp; In Adventures in Churchland, Dan invites you to join him as he uncovers what the Bible really says about the church and reminds us that it's more than just buildings and institutions, it's a beautiful mess of broken people learning to follow Jesus together. As you journey with Dan, you'll begin to see the church as Jesus intended it to be: a community of forgiven misfits coming together to serve the world around them with passion, creativity, innovation, and grace. 'If you don't like the church, or if you're thinking about leaving, please read this book first. Dan's stories will make you laugh, make you think, and make you appreciate the church like never before.' -- Mark Batterson, author of The Circle Maker 'As a non-Christian, I was inspired and moved, and have been enthusiastically recommending it to my friends. This is a book for everybody.' -- Mark Frauenfelder, editor-in-chief of MAKE, founder of boingboing.net 'Dan encourages us to break through the tension and messiness that church communities inevitably encounter to experience the beauty of being in community and sharing God's infinite love with others.' -- Zach Lind, drummer, Jimmy Eat World'I am so glad that my friend Dan has written this book, because there is a lot of confusion out there about Jesus and the church.' -- Wanda Jackson, Queen of Rockabilly and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

    Friedman is a fascinating, intellectual, yet highly readable analysis and investigation into the authorship of the Old Testament. The author of Commentary on the Torah, Friedman delves deeply into the history of the Bible in a scholarly work that is as exciting and surprising as a good detective novel. Who Wrote the Bible? is enlightening, riveting, an important contribution to religious literature, and as the Los Angeles Times aptly observed in its rave review, “There is no other book like this one.”