An appendix includes a suggested plan for using each days meditation as part of a morning or evening prayer.Paperback

    They have inherited a model of leadership that equates leading worship with being a rock star. But leading worship is more than a performance, it's about shaping souls and making disciples. Every worship leader is really a pastor.The Worship Pastor is a practical and biblical introduction to this essential pastoral role. Filled with engaging, illustrative stories it is organized to address questions of theory and practice, striving to balance conversational accessibility with informed instruction.Part One presents a series of evocative "vignettes"--intriguing and descriptive titles and metaphors of who a Worship Pastor is and what he or she does. It shows the Worship Pastor as Church-Lover, Disciple Maker, Corporate Mystic, and Doxological Philosopher.Part Two covers specific roles related to ministry within the worship service itself--the Worship Pastor as Theological Dietician, Caregiver, Mortician, Emotional Shepherd, War General, Prophetic Guardian, Missional Historian, and Liturgical Architect.Part Three looks at ministry beyond the worship service--the Worship Pastor as Visionary Teacher, Evangelist, Artist Chaplain, and Team Leader.While some worship leaders are eager to embrace their pastoral role, many are lost and confused or lack the resources of time or money to figure out what this role looks like. Pastor Zac Hicks gives us a clear guide to leading worship, one that takes the pastoral call seriously.

    Jesus established this model for us by forming and leading the first discipleship group—and it worked. The men who emerged from that group took the gospel to the world and ultimately laid down their lives for Christ. Discipleship groups can create an atmosphere for fellowship, encouragement, and accountability—building an environment where God can work. In Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples, Robby Gallaty presents a practical, easy-to-implement system for growing in one's faith. This guide offers a manual for making disciples, addressing the what, why, where, and how of discipleship. D-Groups, as Gallaty calls them, can teach you and others how to grow your relationship with God, how to defend your faith, and how to guide others in their relationships with God.Growing Up provides you with an interactive manual and resource for creating and working with discipleship groups, allowing you to gain positive information both for yourself and for others as you learn how to help others become better disciples for Christ.

    In six meditative pieces based on Scripture, he opens up God's invitation to us today to create new places of belonging and sharing, of peace and kindness, where each person is loved and accepted. The renewal of the church and the unity of Jesus' followers will come, writes Vanier, as we serve and befriend the poor and unwanted of our societies, and as we learn to live with our own poverty and loneliness.Originally given at a retreat for people who assist those with disabilities, Vanier's reflections are for all who seek to live out God's love.

    Written in 1927 as a follow up to his Missionary Methods, Allen's "Spontaneous Expansion of the Church" is a must-read classic that has stood the test of time.

    It doesn't have to be intimidating though. It isn't about money or asking people to give. It is about looking to God to provide for you. He has given you a vision for ministry, and now you get to invite others into that vision. Your job is to pray and work hard to discover those whom the Lord has already prepared to invest in you and your ministry. God has done His work. Now it's time for you to do yours. A case in point: Nehemiah was very nervous about meeting with the wealthiest, most powerful man on the planet. He was asking King Artaxerxes to fund his Jerusalem restoration project. But when it came time to make his appeal, this lowly cupbearer first looked up to the Person who really provides resources. At the moment of truth, Nehemiah lifted his heart and made The God Ask. In Nehemiah 2:4 he describes the exchange: "Then the king said to me, 'What would you request?' So I prayed to the God of heaven." Instead of going into appointments fearing what your fellow man will say, you can have confidence that God is superintending the whole process. This book will help you embrace the fact that this is not a Man Ask. No. It is a God Ask!

    Protector. Friend. Lover. God made you to be each of these…and much more. Stu Weber ’s bestseller, now revised throughout and refreshed with an attractive new look, paints a dramatic and compelling picture of balanced manhood according to God’s vision. Written in a warm, personal style, Weber presents the characteristics of tender warriors—including learning to speak the language of women, watching out for what lies ahead, and keeping commitments—in an upfront, straightforward style that challenges readers to realize God’s plan for men. More than 365,000 copies sold! Some Things Are Worth Fighting For Young men aspire to it. Women admire it. Yet the definition of manhood itself is obscured by a culture in moral free fall. This book cuts through the fog and defines a powerful blueprint for being the man—the Tender Warrior—that God desires for you and your family. You’ll discover that a Tender Warrior:    • watches out for what lies ahead—like a wagon train scout;    • keeps his commitments, no matter how painful;    • has a tender heart beating beneath his armor;    • understands his responsibility to his wife, children, and friends;    • recognizes that he is “under orders from higher headquarters.” Stu Weber ’s now classic teaching on a man’s vigilance, staying power, and consideration for the women in his life will move you to pursue the man you were created to be. Real Men Are Tender Warriors “I drank Budweiser, smoked Marlboros, and chased women…. Tender Warrior sent me deeper into my heart and soul. When I finished it, I passed it on to a friend, who was supposed to give it back but passed it on to someone else. This book changed his life. It knocked down the walls around his heart. His response: ‘The most important thing that has happened in my life started when you sent me that book.’” —A reader Praise for Tender Warrior“Tender Warrior provides hope for men by challenging their assumptions and shaping their convictions. Read it. Devour it. Then live it. This is the time for real men to emerge.” —Dennis Rainey, executive director, FamilyLife “In a day when our culture is at once confused and concerned over gender identity, men everywhere would to do well to recalibrate their personal compasses by the biblical benchmarks found in Tender Warrior . I highly recommend this book!” —Dr. Bruce Wilkinson , New York Times bestselling author

    Building Up One Another has been helping believers do just that since 1976, when Gene Getz first published what has since become a best-selling classic. This book, the cornerstone of the well-known “One Another Series,” has now been thoroughly updated and rewritten, drawing upon Dr. Getz’s church planting and “building up” experience. It also includes a personal and group study.Explore with Dr. Getz twelve significant “one another” commands of the New Testament, and follow the practical steps for developing them in your own life and in the life of your church. It’s a long-term building process, but one that pleases God and reaps rewards not just in this lifetime but in the next.

    When First Presbyterian Church in Altadena, California, was asked to provide a mission study report for its pastor nominating committee, the congregation was afraid they would find themselves engaging in busy work and producing a report that would wind up in a file gathering dust. They then asked professor Mark Lau Branson to consult with them on writing this report. He invited them to join in a process of Appreciative Inquiry--a transformational organization change process--which resulted in a major shift in congregational conversations and a new sense of hope. Memories, Hopes, and Conversations recounts the experience of First Presbyterian and outlines a process that any congregation can utilize to harness the energies of the congregation at all levels of its common life. Branson first leads readers through the foundations of Appreciative Inquiry and bracingly explores biblical texts for understanding the practice in a faith context. He then outlines and illustrates a four-step process--Initiate, Inquire, Imagine, Innovate--that creatively employs constructive conversations and questions to evoke storytelling and spur imaginations. Branson persuasively demonstrates how concentrating on needs and problems can mire a congregation in discouragement and distract it from noticing innate strengths. By focusing on memories of the congregation at its best, members are able to construct "provocative proposals" to help shape the church's future. Grounded in solid theory and real-life practice, Memories, Hopes, and Conversations is a groundbreaking work of narrative leadership and the first book to apply the principles of Appreciative Inquiry to the lives of congregations.

    Is this really what Jesus died for? If He chose the way of the cross, where would He hesitate leading us? Is it possible that to follow Jesus is to choose the barbarian way?Jesus never made a pristine call to a proper or safe religion. Jesus beckons His followers to a path that is far from the easy road. It is a path filled with adventure, uncertainty, and unlimited possibilities―the only path that can fulfill the deepest longings and desires of your heart.This is the barbarian way: to give your heart to the only One who can make you fully alive. To love Him with simplicity and intensity. To unleash the untamed faith within. To be consumed by the presence of a passionate and compassionate God. To go where He sends you, no matter the cost.

    In fact, prayer in the church often gets subtly pushed to the side in favor of pragmatic practices that promise tangible results. Rather than being a hallmark of churches, dependence on prayer is usually emphasized only in times of major crisis--if at all. The latest book in the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series focuses on the necessity of regular prayer as a central practice in the local church. Examining what Jesus taught about prayer, how the first Christians approached prayer in the early church, and what steps can be taken to prioritize prayer in churches, this book is intended to awaken readers to the need and blessing of prayer in their personal lives and in the life of their local church.

    But what if instead of searching for a church that makes us comfortable, we learned to love our church, even when it's challenging? What if some of the discomfort that we often experience is actually good for us?This book is a call to embrace the uncomfortable aspects of Christian community, whether that means believing difficult truths, pursuing difficult holiness, or loving difficult people--all for the sake of the gospel, God's glory, and our joy.

    Your heart will be challenged by the vision of Joshua, the passion of Nehemiah, and the faith of Joseph.

    Includes a copy of the best-selling book and a reproducible study guide.

    Worship consciously regulated by God's Word is a distinct characteristic of the Reformed church. Yet today many churches do not understand that both the Old and New Testaments have much to say about appropriate worship before God. Ligon Duncan lays the foundations of the regulative principle in worship, providing full biblical support as well as historical context. He also answers objections: Is this "right worship" essentially European? Is it flexible to different churches and contexts? Is it really still applicable today?