Confident that seminary equipped them with the tools they need for the journey ahead, they find themselves discouraged when the realities of their first call don't line up with what they came to expect from assigned readings and classroom discussions. This book, with contributions from fifteen veteran pastors, including Daniel L. Akin, Juan Sanchez, Phil A. Newton, Scott Sauls, offers real-world advice about the joys and challenges of the first five years of pastoral ministry--bridging the gap between seminary training and life in a local church. Armed with wisdom from those who have gone before them, young pastors will find encouragement to stand firm in the thick of the realities and rigors of pastoral ministry.

    These writers assert the need for such an expanded update is due to our everchanging world. For example, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism, proliferation of religious sects, and secularization of our culture greatly increase the importance of ensuring the church produces fully developed, biblically informed followers of Jesus. To that end, The Teaching Ministry of the Church presents a full overview of Christian education in four major sections: Theological Foundations, Biblical Foundations, Preparation for Teaching, and Structuring the Teaching Ministry of the Church. Within this framework, a step-by-step plan for establishing and maintaining an effective teaching ministry among preschoolers, children, youth, and adults takes shape.Key chapters: �The Bible as Curriculum,” �The Church’s Role in Teaching,” �Creating an Unforgettable Learning Experience,” and �Equipping Teachers.”

    Outlining the financial, social, and familial situations that affect many young adults today, she describes how churches can provide a safe, supportive place for young adults to nurture relationships and foster spiritual growth. There are few places left in society that allow for real intergenerational connections to be made, yet these connections are vital for any church that seeks to reflect the fullness of the body of Christ. Carol Howard Merritt, a pastor in her mid-thirties, suggests a different way for churches to be able to approach young adults on their own terms. Outlining the financial, social, and familial situations that affect many young adults today, she describes how churches can provide a safe, supportive place for young adults to nurture relationships and foster spiritual growth. There are few places left in society that allow for real intergenerational connections to be made, yet these connections are vital for any church that seeks to reflect the fullness of the body of Christ. Using the metaphor of a tribe to describe the close bonds that form when people of all ages decide to walk together on their spiritual journeys, Merritt casts a vision of the church that embraces the gifts of all members while reaching out to those who might otherwise feel unwelcome or unneeded. Mainline churches have much to offer young adults, as well as much to learn from them. By breaking down artificial age barriers and building up intentional relationships, congregations can provide a space for all people to connect with God, each other, and the world.

    Using a comprehensive systems approach to congregations, this volume enables readers to analyze the ministries, stories, and processes that are at work in congregations. It provides techniques for studying the congregation as well as a framework for understanding the nature of the congregation.

    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.

    For every celebrity pastor exiting in the spotlight, there are hundreds of lesser-known pastors leaving in the shadows. Why are so many pastors leaving the ministry? Best-selling author Paul David Tripp suggests that lurking behind the failure of a pastor is a weak leadership community.Turning to Scripture for guidance, Tripp presents readers with twelve leadership-community principles necessary for a gospel-centered leadership model. Here is a book with a message for those new to ministry as well as those experienced in it--God's abiding presence is your hope in leadership.

    Based on seven proven, easy-to-grasp laws any teacher can apply, Howard Hendricks's classic teaching manual is a must-read for anyone who wants to teach with power and passion, excitement and excellence.

    The solutions presented are inspiring and highly practical. Best of all, the keys to fruitfulness shared are universal principles that work in the “real world.” These principles will help you multiply generations of disciples, wherever you find yourself!BECOME A REPRODUCER: • Don’t just make disciples. Learn to reproduce disciple-makers! • Gain an overview of the discipling process and how to move new believers to maturity and reproduction. • Grasp the keys to successful evangelism and multiplication in the context of a disciple-making team.

    Today, shifts in technology mean that language is increasingly one of symbols and metaphors, stories and images—not words.So what does this mean for the sermon, that long-standing, word-based tradition of Christianity?In this ground-breaking resource, bestselling author Leonard Sweet offers an alternative to traditional models of preaching, one that is fitting to a new culture and a new mode of thinking. The first book of its kind to move preaching beyond its pulpit-centric fixation and toward more interactive, participatory modes of communication, Sweet presents both a challenge and a path forward for a church struggling to maintain its relevance in a post-modern, media-saturated culture.

    Designed to help individuals, families, and congregations pray together across denominations, this book of common prayer will help you and your community join together each day with the same songs, scriptures, and prayers. Composed under an advisory team of liturgy experts, these three influential and inspiring authors have created Common Prayer--a tapestry of prayer that will help the church be one as God is one.This universal prayer book allows readers to greet each day together, remembering significant dates and Christian heroes in church history, as well as important historic dates in the struggle for freedom and justice. There are morning prayers for each day of the year, evening prayers for each of the seven days of the week, a midday prayer to be repeated throughout the year, and prayers for special occasions. In addition, there are morning prayers for Holy Week.Common Prayer also includes a unique songbook composed of music and classic lyrics to more than fifty songs from various traditions, including African spirituals, traditional hymns, Mennonite gathering songs, and Taize chants. Tools for prayer are scattered throughout to aid those who are unfamiliar with liturgy and to deepen the prayer life of those who are familiar with liturgical prayer.Ultimately, Common Prayer makes liturgy dance, taking the best of the old and bringing new life to it with a fresh fingerprint for the contemporary renewal of the church.

    But, between the extremes of universal salvation and everlasting torment, there shines a third view, known as annihilationism or conditional immortality, claiming the most biblical support of all.

    This book focuses readers on the essentials of God-honoring worship, combining biblical foundations with practical application in a way that works in the real world. The author, a pastor and noted songwriter, skillfully instructs pastors, musicians, and church leaders so that they can root their congregational worship in unchanging scriptural principles, not divisive cultural trends. Bob Kauflin covers a variety of topics such as the devastating effects of worshiping the wrong things, how to base our worship on God's self-revelation rather than our assumptions, the fuel of worship, the community of worship, and the ways that eternity's worship should affect our earthly worship.Appropriate for Christians from varied backgrounds and for various denominations, this book will bring a vital perspective to what readers think they understand about praising God.

    These fundamental practices are critical to the success of congregations. Their presence and strength demonstrate congregational health, vitality, and fruitfulness. By repeating and improving these practices, churches fulfill their mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Robert Schnase astutely weaves theological insight, practical advice, and exemplary stories into an inspiring book for pastors and laity alike. --L. Gregory Jones, Dean and Professor of Theology, Duke Divinity School Robert Schnase's words are thoughtful, provocative, and challenging. Any congregation will find encouragement and insight to deepen faithfulness and multiply fruitfulness. --Lovett H. Weems, Jr., Distinguished Professor of Church Leadership, Wesley Theological Seminary Stimulating. Challenging. Uniquely helpful. Bishop Schnase gives us powerful language, rich examples, and practical suggestions for fulfilling the mission God gives us. --Janice Riggle Huie, Bishop of the Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church Read the Circuit Rider Review of Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Kenneth H. Carter, Jr., senior pastor at Providence United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC. Download a brochure on all available Five Practices products.

    We continue to watch consistent church attendance shrink, and our desire to reach the lost is infected with a need for self-validation by growing our numbers at any cost. If we believe that God wants his church to grow, where do we go from here? What is the future of the church?Drawing from his 20 years and 15,000 hours of consulting, author Will Mancini shares with pastors and ministry leaders the single most important insight he has learned about church growth. With plenty of salient stories and based solidly on the disciple-making methods found in Scripture, Future Church exposes the church's greatest challenge today, and offers 7 transforming laws of real church growth so that we can faithfully and joyfully fulfill Jesus's Great Commission.

    Timothy Keller is known for his insightful, down-to-earth sermons and talks that help people understand themselves, encounter Jesus, and apply the Bible to their lives. In this accessible guide for pastors and laypeople alike, Keller helps readers learn to present the Christian message of grace in a more engaging, passionate, and compassionate way.