One of the year's Top Ten Books on Religion and Spirituality ( Booklist) , Being Alive and Having to Die is the story of the remarkable public and private journey of Reverend Forrest Church, the scholar, activist, and preacher whose death became a way to celebrate life.Through his pulpit at the prestigious Unitarian Church of All Souls in New York, Reverend Forrest Church became a champion of liberal religion and a leading opponent of the religious right. An inspir...

1001 Conversation Starters for Any OccasionMost of us realize that raising questions is a powerful way to get interesting dialogue. But asking good ones can be another matter—they’re not always that easy to think up! That’s where The Complete Book of Questions comes in. This book is one big compilation of questions—1001 of them you can use to launch great conversations in almost any context. And many of these questions are likely to trigger other questions you may also wish to discuss. Thi...

A classic in the field of Christian counseling, Competent to Counsel is one of the first works to fully articulate a vision of "nouthetic" counseling—a strictly biblical approach to behavioral counseling and therapy.Dr. Jay Adams defends the idea that the Bible itself, as God's Word, provides all the principles needed for understanding and engaging in holistic counseling. Using biblically directed discussion, nouthetic counseling works by means of the Holy...

A careful and informed assessment of the “emerging church” by a respected author and scholar The “emerging church” movement has generated a lot of excitement and exerts an astonishingly broad influence. Is it the wave of the future or a passing fancy? Who are the leaders and what are they saying? The time has come for a mature assessment. D. A. Carson not only gives those who may be unfamiliar with it a perceptive introduction to the emerging church movement, but also includes a skillful a...

Every year thousands of God's servants leave the ministry convinced they are failures. Years ago, in the midst of a crisis of faith, Kent Hughes almost became one of them. But instead he and his wife Barbara turned to God's Word, determined to learn what God had to say about success and to evaluate their ministry from a biblical point of view.This book describes their journey and their liberation from the "success syndrome"-the misguided belief that success in ministry means increa...

Is it singing? A church service? All of life? Helping Christians think more theologically about the nature of true worship, Rhythms of Grace shows how the gospel is all about worship and worship is all about the gospel. Mike Cosper ultimately answers the question: What is worship?

Over the past two decades, small groups have gone from spontaneous gatherings among friends to a major and elaborate phenomenon in the church. Many evangelical churches have some form of small groups ministry in place. But there's just one problem, says Bill Search--what started as a simple get-together has become a complicated process, especially for small group leaders. They are often not sure what is expected of them or what to expect from their groups as a result of their efforts.

Why settle for adequate when you can be first-rate?There is no shortage of ministers who desire to achieve excellence. But only a few dare to demand it of themselves. In this clear call for action, Kenneth Copeland shows how to turn that inner desire into a firm decision to be all that God has called you to be. No matter what area of God’s service you’re in, don’t stop short of these Six Steps to Excellence in Ministry.

Sometimes something happens in your Christian life and it changes your world forever - sociologists call it a paradigm shift. Such a change happened to Mark Stibbe, and this book is the result! One Touch from the King is about how God can radically transform our lives with one simple touch. One moment of divine contact can bring an invasion of heaven into our world that means we can never be the same again. Filled with Mark Stibbe's trademark combination of sound biblical teaching...

Each book introduces every chapter's theme, author, and general time period and follows with a fast-reading outline of the book, noting cultural traditions and other influences.

Small churches can be found in every denomination and among every ethnic group but often these churches struggle to survive in the shadow of the larger churches around them. And many of these churches are afflicted with unhealthy issues such as feelings of unimportance, a lack of vision, exclusivity, limited resources, and unbalanced leadership. It is because of these aliments that many churches fail to survive. But it is possible for an unhealthy church to become a healthy church capable ...

What are the 'sacred cows' of the Christian life? Why are they there? And should they be challenged? For the sake of the future of the church, Dave Gilpin has become the smiling assassin of the holy cow.