This important book on priestly identity embraces the many contemporary varieties of priestly ministry: male and female, paid and unpaid, parish and work–based, catholic, evangelical, charismatic. Examining the “root,” the “shape,” and the “fruit” of priestly identity, On Being a Priest Today is essential reading for priests, priests in training, and everyone considering the ministry. Part One “roots” a priest's human and church life in the theological convictions derived from the...

There are lots of books about discovering or developing a vision for your organization, but this one is about making that vision endure the corrosion of time and complexity--how to make your vision stick.Influential author and pastor Andy Stanley reveals the reasons why leaders' visions often falter, and he delivers 5 in-depth strategies so that you can dodge the pitfalls:How to state your vision simply.How to cast ...

An intimate and personal glimpse inside the mind of the former leader of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, through his own words...“I believe in the kindness of others, and that I must love them without fear.”—Jorge Bergoglio, Pope FrancisJorge Bergoglio was the first Latin American pope, the first Jesuit pope, and the first to take the name Francis, after Saint Francis of Assisi, the thirteenth-century friar known for his charity and kindness. He...

“Reading of God's silence in the Bible gives me courage to explore the practice of restraint in preaching-not as a deliberate withholding of God's word nor, I hope, as a rationale for my own reticence, but as a sober reaching for more reverence in the act of public speaking about God.”In these 1997 Lyman Beecher Lectures in Preaching delivered at Yale Divinity School, Barbara Brown Taylor focuses on the task of those who preach and those who hear sermons in a world where people thi...

An exploration of identity and faith, Seeing Through the Fog invites readers to a vibrant life, an expectant life, a life of joy in each new morning.Pastor Ed Dobson has spent his life preaching sermons, but this book is not a sermon. He has spent more than ten years with a debilitating illness, but this book is not about grief. He has found joy in the midst of sorrow, but this book is not about looking on the bright side.Seeing Through the Fog...

In this newly updated and revised introduction to the permanent diaconate, Plater includes a history of deacons in the early church, a survey of deacons from the Reformation to the present, stories of modern diaconal ministries, including first-hand accounts, and a discussion of the formation, training, and deployment of deacons. This book is a basic, essential text for discernment committees and commissions on ministry, and a comprehensive look at a vital ministry in the church today.

Drawing on the work of Bowen, Friedman, and his own many years' counseling experience, Peter Steinke shows how to recognize and deal with the emotional roots of such issues as church conflict, leadership roles, congregational change, irresponsible behavior, and the effect of family of origin on current relationships. Discover why working relationships may be "stuck" in certain behaviors. Psychologically sound, theologically grounded, and practically illustrated with case studies, How Your ...

Seventy million assorted individuals comprise a church family that is renowned for its rich diversity. Christians of all shades of belief together make up the Anglican Communion, a fellowship of churches that extends around the world and includes the Episcopal Church in the United States. At its best, the spirit of openness that marks this fellowship is a sign of openness to the Holy Spirit. Few Anglicans would presume to have “arrived” spiritually, and the door is always open to all who a...

There are two styles of leadership at war in the world.On one side the mechanical leader casts a vision of heroic action aided by pragmatism, reason, technology, and power.On the other side the organic leader strives to bring forth creativity, defying convention, and relishing life in culture’s margins.This leadership battle is at the heart of our contemporary culture, but it is also an ancient battle. It is the reinvocation of two...

The first comprehensive resource for pastoral care in the face of disastera vital resource for clergy, seminarians, pastoral counselors and caregivers of all faith traditions.This essential resource for clergy and caregivers integrates the classic foundations of pastoral care with the unique challenges of disaster response on community, regional and national levels.Offering the latest theological perspectives and tools, along with basic theory and skills from the best disaster res...

From the moment he was elected into the papacy, Pope Francis has captured the attention of the world with his humility, charisma, and reformist spirit.This one-of-a-kind, illustrated biography of the first Jesuit pope offers more than 250 photographs and 50 removable documents from Francis's life. Written by Vatican Radio reporter Marie Duhamel, this intimate portrait includes his parents emigration from Italy, his birth as Jorge Mario Bergoglio in 1936, his love of...

Abusive churches look great on the surface. But Satan masquerades as an angel of light and will come looking like a ministry full of light and life and all things wonderful. Abusive churches often aren't obvious. Many have a very slick veneer of spirituality that deceives those who attend into thinking they are in a solid fellowship. The truth isn't apparent until you've been there for awhile and start to see the junk that goes on underneath the surface. Scripture is twisted to meet the re...