Individuals remain selfish and stuck in their ways. Communities become spiritually lifeless or even fall apart because we don't know how to experience transformation together. Transforming community does not come primarily from listening to inspiring preaching or adding another church program. It emerges as we embrace a shared commitment to the attitudes, practices and behaviors that open us to Christ in our midst. And that's where Life Together in Christ comes in. Reflecting on the story of the two disciples who meet Christ on the Emmaus Road, Ruth Haley Barton offers this interactive guide for small groups of spiritual companions who are ready to encounter Christ in transforming ways--right where they are on the road of real life.

    As we pull back the curtain on His life, we discover that Jesus knows what it’s like to be marginalized. He understands how it feels to have society shove you to the side, to not really be accepted, and in the end to be totally rejected. He can identify with life in the margins because when God came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, He landed in the margins. On purpose. And He chose to land there because it’s in the margins that broken lives get mended, prisoners are set free, and the poor hear the Good News.Reimagine Your Life Welcome to the crowded margins of life. It’s a place where normal people don’t feel normal. Where the daily grind drowns out the soft cry within that says, “I do not have it together.” Where just beneath the surface we long for meaning and—dare we hope?—wholeness. Rick McKinley writes from experience: Only God can rescue a person from the margins. Why? Because when He came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, in the margins is where he landed. On purpose. To find you. Don’t wait till you get yourself together. Meet Jesus in the margins just as you are, and reimagine your life through the lens of His transforming love. Story Behind the BookThis book was birthed out of Rick’s ministry at Imago Dei Community Church. Rick’s heart is to communicate God’s Word in an understandable way to those who are outside the reach of traditional churches. He often calls this “unpacking the gospel”—a gospel he sees as the predominant theme in all of Scripture. Rick says the kind of people he ministers to “are not afraid of the language of theology, but the theological ideas need to be brought down from the mountain.”

    You've trained and dreamt of doing large things in famous ways as fast as you can for God's glory. But pastoral work keeps requiring your surrender to small, mostly overlooked things over long periods of time.You stand at a crossroads. Jesus stands with you. You were never meant to know everything, fix everything, and be everywhere at once. That's his job, not yours.So what now? Let the apprenticeship begin.

    Gregory the great, to the Great Schism and through the Reformation, Phyllis Tickle notes that every 500 years the church has been rocked by massive transitions. Remarkably enough, Tickle suggests to us that we live in such a time right now. The Great Emergence Examines history, social upheaval, and current events, showing how a new form of Christianity is rising within postmodern culture. Anyone interested in the future of the church in America, no matter what their personal affiliation, will find this book a fascinating exploration.

    It's a book for pastors who want the truth about the state of our churches. It presents a clear-spoken, hopeful vision for a future of sharing our faith in Christ. It gives us a way to get there?without formulas, but hand-in-hand with God! Easy to read, witty, thoughtful and genuinely spiritual, Unbinding the Gospel is based on a four-year research project on superb evangelism. Author, pastor, and lawyer Martha Grace Reese interviewed over 1000 people in some of the most successful evangelistic congregations in the country. Grounded in thorough research, the book sparkles with practicality. It is enthusiastically endorsed by Brian McLaren, John Thomas, George Hunter, Todd Hunter, Sharon Watkins, Wes Granberg-Michaelson and Cliff Kirkpatrick. Richard Peace, professor of evangelism at Fuller Seminary says, This should be required reading in all mainline churches. Our continued existence may depend upon it!

    It is inspirational. It is practical. And it has the potential to revolutionize your life.” Mark Batterson—Lead Pastor, National Community ChurchA movement is rumbling through the body of Christ—a revolutionary army of people giving hope to a hurting world through practical, personal acts of service.In Servolution, Dino Rizzo shares the story of his relentless pursuit of ways to bless the lost, poor, and hurting people of his community in Jesus’ name. You’ll be amazed and inspired by the incredible ways God has used Healing Place Church to meet the needs of thousands of people. Each chapter includes practical suggestions and resources for use in any church. Be encouraged by the testimony of how God’s Spirit can use a simple passion to serve to revolutionize your approach to ministry. Wherever you are and whatever your gifts, you can play a vital role in this revolution through serving.

    In this new work, pastor Thabiti Anyabwile attempts to answer the natural next question: What does a healthy church member look like in the light of Scripture?God intends for us to play an active and vital part in the body of Christ, the local church. He wants us to experience the local church as a home more profoundly wonderful and meaningful than any other place on earth. He intends for his churches to be healthy places and for the members of those churches to be healthy as well. This book explains how membership in the local church can produce spiritual growth in its members and how each member can contribute to the growth and health of the whole.

    Used wisely, it is one key to accomplishing our goals, providing for our needs, and fulfilling our life purpose. In recent years, many of us ignored the wisdom of the past when it came to managing and spending our money. Credit card debt soared, savings rates plummeted, and our home equity became something to be tapped into and spent rather than a source of security in retirement. We felt an insatiable desire for more. And we found ourselves spending tomorrow's money today in order to have what we hoped would satisfy. The result of all of this was not greater happiness and satisfaction, but greater stress and anxiety. Enough is an invitation to rediscover the Bible's wisdom when it comes to prudent financial practices. In these pages are found the keys to experiencing contentment, overcoming fear, and discovering joy through simplicity and generosity. This book could change your life, by changing your relationship with money. "We Americans love our stuff. We're living in a fast-paced, me-first, instant-gratification world, and it's finally catching up to us. Debt is out of control, homes are in foreclosure ... even banks are going out of business. What the world needs today is the message of contentment and simplicity, and that's exactly what Pastor Adam Hamilton delivers in Enough." Dave Ramsey, New York Times Best-Selling Author and Nationally Syndicated Radio Talk Show Host "Once again, Adam Hamilton is leading the church; 'Enough is enough' was once a Wesleyan watchword. Adam breathes new life into the Wesleyan commitment to simplicity. Amid a culture of greed and conspicuous consumption Adam calls us to a biblically based, evangelical joy of having the faith to say 'enough is enough.'" Bishop Will Willimon United Methodist Church, Birmingham Area "I pay close attention to whatever Adam Hamilton writes. His books are marked by extraordinary pastoral insight, biblical and theological depth, courage to speak the truth, and down-to-earth practicality. Enough comes like an antidote in the middle of a pandemic. I hope that classes, groups, couples, and individuals will use this book--and the economic crisis it addresses--as a challenge to get healthy again by deepening our discipleship in the vital area of money and possessions." Brian McLaren, Author/Networker (brianmclaren.net)

    It’s about getting the right things done—the things that count, make a difference, and move the world forward. In our current era of massive overload, this is harder than ever before. So how do you get more of the right things done without confusing mere activity for actual productivity?When we take God’s purposes into account, a revolutionary insight emerges. Surprisingly, we see that the way to be productive is to put others first—to make the welfare of other people our motive and criteria in determining what to do (what’s best next). As both the Scriptures and the best business thinkers show, generosity is the key to unlocking our productivity. It is also the key to finding meaning and fulfillment in our work.What’s Best Next offers a practical approach for improving your productivity in all areas of life. It will help you better understand:• Why good works are not just rare and special things like going to Africa, but anything you do in faith even tying your shoes.• How to create a mission statement for your life that actually works.• How to delegate to people in a way that actually empowers them.• How to overcome time killers like procrastination, interruptions, and multitasking by turning them around and making them work for you.• How to process workflow efficiently and get your email inbox to zero every day.• How your work and life can transform the world socially, economically, and spiritually, and connect to God’s global purposes.By anchoring your understanding of productivity in God’s purposes and plan, What’s Best Next will give you a practical approach for increasing your effectiveness in everything you do.

    Long has updated the language, expanded the key chapter on biblical exegesis, and included more examples of sermon forms, illustrations, and conclusions. He continues to critically engage the best thinkers in the field of homiletics, bringing into the conversation both important new voices and the latest works of those who appeared in the first edition. In addition, he addresses some of the new forces at work, such as the use of video clips and PowerPoint presentations in sermons.

    Instead, God wants His church to function as a family—a group of real people who love each other and care for one another’s needs, no matter how messy.   Our culture is dying for the kind of community that only the church can provide—if we are living as God intended: as a family, protecting one another, extending grace, and loving unconditionally.   We are not called to be consumers who ask what the church can offer us. We are called to love deeply, fight fairly, and bring hope to a generation of people starving to belong to something greater than themselves. Welcome to the family. You belong here.

    No wonder God has so much to say about our words. We are all counselors, whether we realize it or not! Speaking Truth in Love is a blueprint for communication that strengthens community in Christ. The principles outlined in this pivotal work are specific to counseling, yet extend to marriage, family, friendship, business and the church. ? Have you ever wondered how to be a more effective counselor? ? Have you ever looked for a better way to talk to difficult people? ? Have you ever wanted to express faith and love more naturally in your relationships? Practical in its approach yet comprehensive in its scope, Speaking Truth in Love is sure to become required reading for anyone interested in pursuing a career as a counselor or anyone else who longs for ways to redeem relationships.

    But this message also creates human beauty--beautiful relationships in our churches, making the glory of Christ visible in the world today.In this timely book, Pastor Ray Ortlund makes the case that gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. In too many of our churches, it is the beauty of a gospel culture that is the missing piece of the puzzle. But when the gospel is allowed to exert its full power, a church becomes radiant with the glory of Christ.

    It’s the clash between our sense of stubborn self-sufficiency and God’s call to recognize that we’re really nothing without Him. It’s pride versus humility. And it’s a fight we can’t win without looking repeatedly to Christ and the cross. C. J. Mahaney raises a battle cry to daily, diligently, and deliberately weaken our greatest enemy (pride) and cultivate our greatest friend (humility). His examination clarifies misconceptions, revealing the truth about why God detests pride and turns His active attention to the humble. Because pride is never passive, defeating it demands an intentional attack. The blessing that follows is God’s abundant favor. “This is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit.” —Isaiah 66:2, ESV God clearly states that He is drawn to the humble. He’s also clear that He opposes the proud. These two, humility and pride, cannot coexist. Where one is fostered, the other is defeated. Which will you pursue?

    How are we to formulate a clear, biblical understanding of the gospel? Tradition, reason, and experience all leave us ultimately disappointed. If we want answers, we must turn to the Word of God.Greg Gilbert does so in What Is the Gospel?. Beginning with Paul's systematic presentation of the gospel in Romans and moving through the sermons in Acts, Gilbert argues that the central structure of the gospel consists of four main subjects: God, man, Christ, and a response. The book carefully examines each and then explores the effects the gospel can have in individuals, churches, and the world. Both Christian and non-Christian readers will gain a clearer understanding of the gospel in this valuable resource.