People view the Bible in different ways based on their education and their occupation. Every occupation has some training to it. Therefore, the thinking process is unique. When a scientist reads the Bible, that person will look for facts and figures. An economist might look for the money trail and money advantages. This book does not examine every view point. However, the authors hope that when you we read this book and you are a Bible study leader, you can adjust your teaching to the way ...

In this Gospel Coalition booklet, D. A. Carson and Timothy Keller recount the origins of the Gospel Coalition and the purpose for which it was formed: to propagate a robust understanding of the gospel’s content and to encourage gospel-centered ministry.Carson and Keller, founders of the coalition and editors of the booklet series, form a theological foundation for the organization’s mission and detail a vision for ministry in a changing world. Ministry today must entail both Bible-...

You can be a great leader. Here's how.Your job title, education, and training won't make you a great leader—only God can do that. But The Making of a Leader can help you see where you are in the process and what steps you should take next. After examining the lives of hundreds of historical, biblical, and contemporary leaders, Dr. J. Robert Clinton gained perspective on how leaders develop over a lifetime. By studying the six distinct stages he identifies,...

Divine Design calls us back to God's original intent for men and women. Clearing away the cultural noise and misconceptions, author John MacArthur tackles big issues such as authority in marriage, mothers in the home, and God's view of equality, all while exploring the innate differences between men and women. Throughout, Divine Design provides an indispensable guide for understanding your mate, and shares how embracing your unique design can foster security, blance, and ...

Much current literature on church worship rarely mentions preaching, and vice versa. Worship is often seen as restricted to music and liturgy while preaching is assumed to operate on different principles for different purposes. But veteran preacher Michael Quicke argues that preaching should be viewed as worship, as both worship and preaching belong within the same Trinitarian dynamic, serving the same purpose and marked by similar characteristics. Drawing on insights from wide-ranging lit...

Personal evangelism is the foundation for all church growth. As the culture and landscape of America shifts, people are looking for spiritual answers to life’s significant questions. However, in the increasingly crowded marketplace of spiritual ideas, people are looking to the church less and less.Will McRaney addresses this problem at the heart of the solution. If the Kingdom of God is to expand, individual Christians will have to learn to communicate their faith story in a way th...

So many contemporary leadership philosophies, even within the church, are based on worldly examples of success. These methods force church leaders to become businesslike CEOs, dramatic visionaries, or savvy stategists abandoning their true calling as teachers. This book calls readers to be what the Bible empowers them to be, teachers who follow Christ's example of leading by serving, suffering, and sacrificing for the sake of others.

In a time when churches are focusing on finding strategies and techniques to guarantee success, a movement toward the missional church is emerging. Missional churches are communities created by the Spirit with a unique nature and identity. Purpose and strategies of the church are derivative dimensions, the activities that flow naturally from the church that is focused on Spirit-led ministry.The Ministry of the Missional Church leads pastors, ministry leaders, and layperson...

“Most people today view marriage as a means of looking for love, happiness, and fulfillment. Make no mistake about it, those things are important. Those things are critical. They are just not the most critical.”—Tony EvansMarriage Matters paints a picture of what it means to have a happy marriage—as God defines happiness. By examining the nature of the covenant and the purpose of marriage, Tony Evans gives...

In Serving a Movement, best-selling author and pastor Timothy Keller looks at the nature of the church’s mission and its relationship to the work of individual Christians in the world. He examines what it means to be a “missional” church today and how churches can practically equip people for missional living. Churches need to intentionally cultivate an integrative ministry that connects people to God, to one another, to the needs of the city, and to the culture around us. Finally...

People do not trust Christianity anymore. But rather than trying to make the church look better, respected author and pastor Dr. Eric Mason calls followers of Jesus to be better.“Dr. Eric Mason has never been afraid to tell the truth, even when it hurts. In Rebranding the Church, he doesn’t just diagnose the problem; he calls us back to something deeper, older, and more powerful.”—Lecrae, artist, author, and founder of Reach Recor...

If the church is to thrive in the twenty-first century, it will have to take on a new form as it ministers to the 120 million unchurched people in the United States. Planting Growing Churches for the 21st Century is still virtually the only available text on church planting in North America and beyond.In this third edition, readers will find material on the importance of healthy, biblical change in our churches, updated appendixes, insight on our postmodern ministry context, and st...