He reveals how vision differs from mission and dispels common myths and practices.

    While they had prepared to find a waterway to the Pacific Ocean, instead they found themselves in the Rocky Mountains. You too may feel that you are leading in a cultural context you were not expecting. You may even feel that your training holds you back more often than it carries you along. Drawing from his extensive experience as a pastor and consultant, Tod Bolsinger brings decades of expertise in guiding churches and organizations through uncharted territory. He offers a combination of illuminating insights and practical tools to help you reimagine what effective leadership looks like in our rapidly changing world. If you're going to scale the mountains of ministry, you need to leave behind canoes and find new navigational tools. Reading this book will set you on the right course to lead with confidence and courage.

    It is the overflow of your relationship with Jesus. It is washing feet, loving people, making disciples, and more.In dozens of brief yet powerful chapters, Ministry Is . . . presents an actionable Bible-based guide to serving God in the local church. The insights here from authors Dave Earley and Ben Gutierrez are perfect for those considering church ministry as a vocation and applicable to anyone desiring to serve intentionally through the church.With every entry, they stay laser focused on making the reader "a spiritual change agent, a difference maker, and impact player for Jesus Christ."Endorsements"This book is like a pastoral pep talk. It'll challenge the way you think and lead."Mark Batterson, author, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day"I can't think of two young men more qualified to write a best-selling book on the topic How to Serve Jesus with Passion and Confidence."Elmer L. Towns, vice president, Liberty University"The authors are in 'Game On!' mode in every chapter. They know that a great church isnÕt about having great big talent, but leaders whom have great big servant hearts."John Hull, president/CEO, EQUIP

    It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing."To Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch, so much of how we have learned to experience and understand the faith has been divorced from the overarching adventure inherent in our God and in our calling. This book is a corrective to the dull, adventureless, risk-free phenomenon that describes so much of contemporary Christianity. It explores the nature of adventure, risk, and courage and the implications for church, discipleship, spirituality, and leadership.

    Dave Harvey helps men considering pastoral ministry to see God's active role in the process of discerning their calling.God's Word offers a clear framework for evaluating one's call, especially within the context of community. Harvey offers six diagnostic questions to help prospective pastors process their calling, and what they should be doing now if they aren't sure. Illustrated with personal and historical stories, Harvey explores biblical and practical principles for determining the pastoral call.Over the past twenty-four years of ministry, Harvey has enjoyed assisting many men in discerning whether they are called into ministry. This book will guide you through that all-important process with wisdom and confidence in God's faithfulness in your life.

    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.

    But for those who know that Christ is coming to establish a new and perfect order, ours is not just a world to endure but a world to invade. Believers have not been stationed here on earth merely to subsist but to actively subvert the enemy’s attempts at blinding people in unbelief and burying them under heartbreaking loads of human need.The kingdom of God changes all that.Ed Stetzer’s Subversive Kingdom is a personal call for Christians to reorient their thinking and lifestyle to match what Jesus described of His people in Scripture, while teaming up with other believers through their churches to bring light into a dying and darkening culture. Stetzer uses the parables of Christ to unlock the “kingdom secrets” that bring this mysterious concept within understandable reach, while urging Christians to turn this knowledge into practical, everyday, ongoing missions designed to set people free from lives headed for hopelessness.

    Challenging popular misconceptions about the biblical gospel, Matthew Bates shows that it is different, wider, and more beautiful than we have been led to believe.

    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.

    The important thing is that he is caring for his flock well. This book by Pastor Mark Driscoll looks at the ways that a father can raise his children well.

    Prayer is simple. Prayer seems like it should be so simple. Yet when it comes to actually praying, it often feels awkward and complicated.I mean, what should you actually pray about? What do you say? Is there anything you should or shouldn't say? Do you have to speak out loud? Where do you even start?To make matters worse, we've heard about prayer for so long that we feel awkward asking about it. It's like having to ask a person's name after knowing them for years. We're embarrassed to ask because we really should know their name by now.Then comes the reality and craziness of life. Between work, parenting, walking the dog, a full inbox, keeping up on social media--who has time to pray?The truth is, prayer is simple. It's like talking; talking with a good friend. Here's the best part: No matter where we are in life, God can't wait to talk with us.What does it look like to pray in the midst of your life? What do you say when you don't know how to pray? I'm asking the same questions. Let's talk.

    R.C. Sproul explains who God is and why His unveiled presence is so terrifying. Against God's pure and perfect righteousness, we see the depth of our sin and our inability to stand before His judgement. Yet the holy God is also a God of grace. He has provided a way for us to find peace with Him and boldly approach His throne. But there is only one way. Will you take it?

    In the candid and lucid style that has made McKnight's The Jesus Creed so appealing to thousands of pastors, lay leaders, and everyday people who are searching for a more authentic faith, he encourages all Christians to recognize the simple, yet potentially transforming truth of the gospel message: God seeks to restore us to wholeness not only to make us better individuals, but to form a community of Jesus, a society in which humans strive to be in union with God and in communion with others.

    Some people emphasize evangelism—sharing their faith. Still others promote a hierarchical system for spiritual growth, a way for older Christians to pass on best practices to younger believers. Yet, both ideas are incomplete. Real discipleship is so much more.Avoiding extremes and evaluating motives, Jonathan Dodson insists on a way of following Jesus that re-centers discipleship on the gospel.This book helps us understand and experience the fullness of discipleship as God intended. It combines the mess and the weight, the imperfection and transformation, the honesty and wonder of being a disciple who revolves around Jesus. Here is a practical guide to discipleship that is Spirit-filled, Christ-centered, field-tested, and easily implemented.

    For a society that measures successful leadership in terms of the effectiveness of the individual, Father Nouwen offers a counter definition that is witnessed by a "communal and mutual experience." For Nouwen, leadership cannot function apart from the community. His wisdom is grounded in the foundation that we are a people "called."This beautiful guide to Christian Leadership is the rich fruit of Henri Nouwen's own journey as one of the most influential spiritual leaders of the 20th century.