There's something different about AWESOME women. They're distinctive for at least two reasons:• Women called to ordained ministry in the Church of England• Women from the evangelical traditionThat distinctive difference can be a challenge. It's a challenge to follow God's calling when others in the church argue that women should not be church leaders. And it's a challenge to be an evangelical woman in ministry: passionate about being Christ-like, about making discipl...

The Kingdom of God Is Within You, an influential Christian anarchist philosophical work, faced an initial ban in Russia and found publication in Germany in 1894. This culmination of Tolstoy's three decades of contemplation presents a unique societal structure based on a Christian interpretation centered on universal love. Inspired by Luke 17:21, the book explores nonviolent resistance, pivotal for Tolstoyan followers of nonviolence and Christian anarchism. Tolstoy discusses the pr...

A church in deep debt with attendance down by the thousands. A college that had lapsed into a coma, its buildings in shambles, its faculty demoralized, its enrollment at rock bottom. A university facing lawsuits, scandal, and near-bankruptcy. Each situation involved different financial needs, different lost dreams, different personal wounds. But they each had one thing in common: each needed a leader who could restore hope, vision, and viability.Dr. Mark Rutland has led three insti...

For the new small group leader, the seasoned leader who feels their small group lacks purpose, or the leader who is itching to move their small group to the next level, Leading Small Groups with Purpose is the road map to follow. Steve Gladen, author of Small Groups with Purpose and pastor of small groups at Saddleback Church for more than a decade, takes small group leaders step-by-step toward a healthy, dynamic group with focus and purpose.Every chapter includes...

Combines in one volume classic works on servant-leadership and its relationship to the art of teaching and the act of learning.

Anxious times call for steady leadership. When tensions emerge in a congregation, its leaders cannot be as anxious as the people they serve. To remain effective, congregational leaders must control their own uneasiness. This takes self-awareness and confidence to manage relationships and influence behaviors. Knowing how to deal with anxiety and how to work throug complex challenges can lead a congregation to new insights, growth, and vitality. Anxious times hold not only the potential for ...

Just as our life is in our blood, the life for Christ’s body is in His blood. Changing a church is more than a new goal or direction. Our churches need more than an organizational transition; we need a full transfusion of Jesus' blood, His life, within every disciple. Anything less than that will only perpetuate more of the dysfunction and unhealthy church practices that have already plagued us for too long. We are in desperate need of the internally transforming power of...

How can a pastor, whether fresh out of training or with many years of experience, be effective in his ministry?Thomas Murphy, a renowned Presbyterian minister from the late 1800s set out to answer that question in this book.Being effective starts with the pastor's close personal relationship with God, so Murphy spends time exhorting pastors to make their relationship with God paramount in their ministry and teaching them how they should cultivate it over time.Murphy...

Jack Mezirow, a leader in education theory, suggests that all transformative learning begins with a 'disorienting dilemma': an idea or experience that challenges or shifts fundamental values and assumptions. Gary Nelson and Peter Dickens, pastors and teachers with vast experience working with congregations and organizations, believe it is time for Christian leaders to be 'disoriented,' for the fundamental values and assumptions of Christian leadership to be reframed and broken down so they...

Theology for Ministry is for beginning ministry students, seasoned lay leaders, and anyone in between who wants to learn more about the faith that feeds their call to serve. Six easy-to-read chapters introduce the main areas of theology that every lay minister ought to know: the notion of vocation, the doctrine of God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, church, and ministry. By sharing personal stories and simple examples, Edward Hahnenberg brings the Bible to life and dusts off ancient church...

'Collaborative Ministry' has become a 'buzz phrase' in the church, following on from phrases such as 'every member ministry' and 'the priesthood of all believers'. It is referred to by those who speak and write about leadership, the Church and outreach, but what exactly does it mean? And does it fit with existing leadership structures?This book comprehensively explores the theology and practice of this style of 'being church', considering the implications for churches both large and...

Many Christians would readily agree that the pastor of a local church has specific religious responsibilities, duties, and obligations owed to the members of his church. Such responsibilities easily can be found in Holy Scripture and are often a favorite topic of discussion among clergy and laity members. However as a member of the congregation of your local church, as one who is not the pastor, have you ever pondered what might be your religious responsibilities, duties, and obligations, ...