Too often today's church is riveted on ministry technique to the neglect of leadership lifestyle.In this book, Fernando identifies the foundational elements that allow you to be both effective and joyful in your service. He shows from Jesus' own ministry that relating to the people you minister to, retreating from busyness to prayer, being affirmed and empowered by God, discipling younger leaders, and gaining strength from God's Word must be at the heart of your ministry.Rich in Scripture and full of stories from Fernando's own years of ministry, this book will help men and women commit themselves afresh to those vital basics of ministry that make for long-term service that is both fruitful and joyful.

    Evangelicalism\u2019s premier historian provides a general introduction to church history.

    But in the first half of the nineteenth century, the foundations upon which the church had rested for centuries were shaken. In the eyes of many thoughtful people, liberalism in the guise of liberty, equality, and fraternity was the quintessence of the evils that shook those foundations. At the Vatican Council of 1869-1870, the church made a dramatic effort to set things right by defining the doctrine of papal infallibility.In Vatican I: The Council and the Making of the Ultramontane Church, John W. O'Malley draws us into the bitter controversies over papal infallibility that at one point seemed destined to rend the church in two. Archbishop Henry Manning was the principal driving force for the definition, and Lord Acton was his brilliant counterpart on the other side. But they shrink in significance alongside Pope Pius IX, whose zeal for the definition was so notable that it raised questions about the very legitimacy of the council. Entering the fray were politicians such as Gladstone and Bismarck. The growing tension in the council played out within the larger drama of the seizure of the Papal States by Italian forces and its seemingly inevitable consequence, the conquest of Rome itself.Largely as a result of the council and its aftermath, the Catholic Church became more pope-centered than ever before. In the terminology of the period, it became ultramontane.

    Over two volumes, author Gregory A. Boyd argues that we must take seriously the full range of Scripture as inspired, and the centrality of the crucified and risen Christ as the supreme revelation of God.

    The SBC once affirmed slavery and openly opposed and condemned abolitionists. Even though the convention repented of this sin publicly, a profound divide between the white majority and the black and brown minority still exists for many churches.This stain is more than historical fact; it prohibits Southern Baptist churches from embracing the one new man in Christ promised in Ephesians 2:11–22 and from participating in the new song of the saints from every tongue, tribe, people, and nation in Revelation 5:9.The glorious gospel of Jesus Christ commands all his followers to do our part in removing racism from our midst. Removing the Stain of Racism from the Southern Baptist Convention is a powerful and practical call to sacrifice, humility, and perseverance—along with a relentless commitment to Christian unity—for the sake of the gospel and our brothers and sisters in Christ.

    Tracing the significance of the concept of "covenant" through both the Old and New Testaments, this book charts a middle way between covenant theology and dispensationalism--exploring the covenantal framework undergirding the history of redemption.

    With clarity and wit, he shows us how covenants carry the Bible’s story from start to finish and ultimately give root to the gospel of salvation by grace. Beginning with Adam in the garden of Eden, and ending with Jesus, our risen Covenant King, Rhodes illuminates the good news of a promise-making, promise-keeping God.Key topics include law and grace, union with Christ, baptism in the Spirit, predestination, and water baptism. Rediscover the Bible’s unified covenantal story and its unfolding message throughout Scripture.

    Four hundred years later, Baptists are the second-largest religious group in America, and their influence matches their numbers. They have built strong institutions, from megachurches to publishing houses to charities to mission organizations, and have firmly established themselves in the mainstream of American culture. Yet the historical legacy of outsider status lingers, and the inherently fractured nature of their faith makes Baptists ever wary of threats from within as well as without. In Baptists in America, Thomas S. Kidd and Barry Hankins explore the long-running tensions between church, state, and culture that Baptists have shaped and navigated. Despite the moment of unity that their early persecution provided, their history has been marked by internal battles and schisms that were microcosms of national events, from the conflict over slavery that divided North from South to the conservative revolution of the 1970s and 80s. Baptists have made an indelible impact on American religious and cultural history, from their early insistence that America should have no established church to their place in the modern-day culture wars, where they frequently advocate greater religious involvement in politics. Yet the more mainstream they have become, the more they have been pressured to conform to the mainstream, a paradox that defines--and is essential to understanding--the Baptist experience in America. Kidd and Hankins, both practicing Baptists, weave the threads of Baptist history alongside those of American history. Baptists in America is a remarkable story of how one religious denomination was transformed from persecuted minority into a leading actor on the national stage, with profound implications for American society and culture.

    In this classic book Carl F. H. Henry, the father of modern fundamentalism, pioneered a path for active Christian engagement with the world -- a path as relevant today as when it was first staked out.Now available again and featuring a new foreword by Richard J. Mouw, The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism offers a bracing world-and-life view that calls for boldness on the part of the evangelical community. Henry argues that a reformation is imperative within the ranks of conservative Christianity, one that will result in an ecumenical passion for souls and in the power to meaningfully address the social and intellectual needs of the world.

    Although separated by time and culture, we have much to learn from their lives and teaching.This book is an organized and convenient introduction to how to read the church fathers from AD 100 to 500. Michael Haykin surveys the lives and teachings of seven of the Fathers, looking at their role in such issues as baptism, martyrdom, and the relationship between church and state. Ignatius, Cyprian, Basil of Caesarea, and Ambrose and others were foundational in the growth and purity of early Christianity, and their impact continues to shape the church today.Evangelical readers interested in the historical roots of Christianity will find this to be a helpful introductory volume.

    Instead, it is the historical unfolding of God’s covenantal involvement in this world, the culmination of which is God’s coming into this world in the person of Jesus Christ.Far as the Curse if Found is a retelling of the biblical story of God’s unfolding covenant from creation to new creation. Readers are led to wonder anew at the redemptive work of God in our own history, in our own human flesh. Pastors, students, and those interested in biblical theology are among the many that will gain fresh insight into the biblical story of redemption.

    Written by more than sixty specialist from ten countries that tells the story of Christianity's 2000-year history.

    It contains thirteen essays from some of today's best evangelical scholars including C. John Collins, Thomas Schreiner, Gordon Wenham, and Darrell Bock, and will help you to:See the big-picture storyline of the Bible Understand the theology of the Old and New Testaments Read the different sections of Scripture effectively Know what happened between the testaments In addition to essays on each genre of the Bible, the book addresses the general Greco-Roman world and specific Jewish groups at the time of the New Testament. To aid in putting Bible passages in context, it also includes timelines of the Old and New Testaments and intertestamental events.Useful as both a general overview of the Bible and as a tool for more specific reference and training, this book will help you grow in your understanding of Scripture and your ability to apply the Bible to life.

    And yet, many more Gospels once existed. Who, then, determined which Gospels would, for the next two thousand years, serve as the main gateways to Jesus and his teaching? Recent books and films have traced the decision to a series of fourth-century councils and powerful bishops. After achieving victory over their rivals for the Christian name, these key players, we are now told, conspired to 'rewrite history' to make it look like their version of Christianity was the original one preached by Jesus and his apostles: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John became the prime tools for their re-sculpting of the Christian story, leading to the destruction of previously treasured writings like the Gospels of Judas, Mary, and Thomas. Are the four canonical Gospels, then, in the Bible as the result of a great, ecclesiastical conspiracy? Or does this explanation itself represent another 'rewriting of history', this time by a group of modern academics? Who Chose the Gospels? takes us to the scholarship behind the headlines, examining the great (and ongoing) controversy about how to look at ancient books about Jesus. How the four Biblical Gospels emerged into prominence among their competitors is a crucial question for everyone interested in understanding the historical Jesus and the development of the Christian church.

    Best-selling author John Piper puts the life of Andrew Fuller on display as inspiration for Christians to devote themselves to knowing, guarding, and spreading the true gospel to the ends of the earth.