Study groups, church leaders, and all seeking to enrich their experience of worship will profit from this insightful look at the kind of worship that pleases God.

    Mike Cosper ultimately answers the question: What is worship?

    Like everyone else, preachers long to be understood. Unfortunately, the rules first learned in seminary, if misapplied, can quickly turn homiletic precision into listener boredom. To capture heart and mind, Mark Galli and Craig Larsen suggest preachers turn to the lessons of journalism. In Preaching That Connects, they show how the same keys used to create effective, captivating communication in the media can transform a sermon. Amply illustrated from some of today’s best preachers, Preaching That Connects walks through the entire sermon, from the critical introduction to the bridge to illustrations and final application. Key points include the five techniques for generating creative ideas, your six options for illustrations, and the ten rules for great storytelling—and why the transition sentence is the hardest sentence you’ll write. Preaching That Connects is for all who seek to hone their craft to communicate the truth of the gospel effectively.

    God radically changes people, and he offers us the opportunity--and the ability, by his power--to be involved in that change. We can live not just as grateful objects of his love but as effective instruments of his love in the lives of the people around us. Have you been satisfied by too little? Content with small changes in your life and the lives of others? Unsure of how to help others and uncomfortable when you encounter their needs? You don't need to start with a strategy or technique, Tripp argues--you need a renewed imagination! Only then can you grasp what is real but unseen and live accordingly. The kingdom of God is near, and it takes us far beyond our personal situations and relationships, making ordinary people a part of God's extraordinary plan for the world. This guidebook shows us how.

    What can the church do to empower the family? How can the family emphasize the work of the church? They can Think Orange. Former family ministry director Reggie Joiner looks at what would happen if churches and families decided they could no longer do business as usual, but instead combined their efforts and began to work off the same page for the sake of the kids. Think Orange shows church leaders how to make radical changes so they can: Engage parents in an integrated strategy Synchronize the home and church around a clear message Provoke parents and kids to fight for their relationships with each other Recruit mentors to become partners with the family Mobilize the next generation to be the church With a transparent, authentic approach that gives every family and church hope for being more effective in their common mission, Think Orange rethinks the approach to children's, youth, and family ministry.

    Too many church leaders perceive of themselves as a "board of directors" when the Bible is clear that they are to know, feed, lead, and protect the flock entrusted to their care.

    Which social medium platforms make sense for your church community? How can you make them an effective tool for ministry? As a veteran social media expert, author, and sociologist, Meredith Gould has helped answer these questions and more in her best-selling book The Social Media Gospel. In this second edition, Gould provides an easy-to-understand, step-by-step guide to digital ministry for those wishing to embrace new technologies to build community and deepen faith. In this expanded edition, Gould delivers new content with humor, helpful tips, and counsel anchored in practical experience. She focuses on key topics for effective church communication, including: • Building and ministering to online communities • Privacy and self-disclosure in the digital age • Integrating communications across digital platforms • Managing and monitoring social media • Faith storytelling with visual social media • Hashtag development and live-tweeting

    Now the bestselling author of "unChristian" trains his researcher's eye on these young believers. Where Kinnaman's first book "unChristian" showed the world what outsiders aged 16-29 think of Christianity, "You Lost Me" shows why younger Christians aged 16-29 are leaving the church and rethinking their faith. Based on new research, "You Lost Me" shows pastors, church leaders, and parents how we have failed to equip young people to live "in but not of" the world and how this has serious long-term consequences. More importantly, Kinnaman offers ideas on how to help young people develop and maintain a vibrant faith that they embrace over a lifetime.

    What makes for good preaching?In this accessible volume--written for preachers and preachers in training--pastor David Helm outlines what must be believed and accomplished to become a faithful expositor of God's Word.In addition to offering practical, step-by-step guidance for preachers, this short book will equip all of us to recognize good preaching when we hear it.

    The Leader's Journey provides a blueprint and the practical tools needed to transform the lives of pastors and congregational lay leaders so that they can become truly effective leaders. Blending the best of sound psychological research, solid Biblical principles, and proven congregational experiences-- authors Jim Herrington, Robert Creech, and Trisha Taylor offer step-by-step guidance for engaging in the personal transformation journey as part of effective congregational leadership.

    the smoke rises ... the band starts playing. It's a familiar scene, as youth ministers everywhere use entertaining and trendy approaches to draw in teens. But when the lights come on and the fog clears, what do we find?Far too many teenagers raised in Christian homes drift away from the church after high school. Why is this true? Could it be because youth groups, in seeking to elevate experience over truth, have left teens dissatisfied and hungry for that truth?Brian Cosby demonstrates a ministry approach that nurtures teens and brings them back for more--one solidly grounded in Christ and patterned after the means of grace: the Word, sacraments, prayer, service, and community. Learn how much teenagers not only need a deeper ministry, but want one too.

    Much of the literature on congregational planning presents it as a technical process: the leader serves as the chief problem solver, and the goal is finding "the solution to the problem." Popular Alban consultants and authors Gil Rendle and Alice Mann cast planning as a "holy conversation," a congregational discernment process about three critical questions: -Who are we? -What has God called us to do or be? -Who is our neighbor? Rendle and Mann equip congregational leaders with a broad and creative range of ideas, pathways, processes, and tools for planning. By choosing the resources that best suit their needs and context, congregations will shape their own strengthening, transforming, holy conversation. They will find a path that is faithful to their identity and their relationship with God. Resource materials are available to purchasers of the book. E-mail resources@rowman.com for more information.

    The Common English Bible is relevant, readable, and reliable. The result is a new version that the typical reader or worshipper is able to understand. 115 leading biblical scholars from 22 faith traditions and 77 reading specialists in 13 denominations worked on this translation. Contains Apocrypha books.

    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.

    Careful, meditative and painstaking exegesis brings a potential liability, that of losing the vitality, which must accompany exposition.The Puritans called it 'that certain unction', Martyn Lloyd-Jones called it 'an access of power', others have called it 'the anointing'. If you desire that your preaching be lifted up to a position in which you are being used by the Spirit as a channel, then Arturo Azurdia can help you.The insights in this book are gained from Art's careful study and practical experiences of being used by the Holy Spirit in his ministry.