How does the local church rise to the community engagement challenges of the current context, as we face major socio-cultural change, accelerated by the global pandemic, amidst deeply polarized societies? Just asking the same old “church questions,” such as how to fill empty pews, is no longer enough. We have to ask the “God questions,” such as how God is already at work in our local neighborhoods.What does it take for local churches to engage in more mutually resp...

Merleau-Ponty and Buddhism explores a new mode of philosophizing through a comparative study of Maurice Merleau-Ponty's phenomenology and philosophies of major Buddhist thinkers such as Nagarjuna, Chinul, Dogen, Shinran, and Nishida Kitaro. Challenging the dualistic paradigm of existing philosophical traditions, Merleau-Ponty proposes a philosophy in which the traditional opposites are encountered through mutual penetration. Likewise, a Buddhist worldview is articulated in the the...

Congregations cannot exist without finances, priorities, leadership, worship, and decision making, yet these five aspects breed the most conflict between church members and clergy. These conflicts unfortunately tend to bring about the most negative consequences: drops in giving, resignation of leaders, and, perhaps most pointedly, loss of members. The importance of congregations and their effect on our lives is clear, yet what is less clear is what makes conflicts in faith communities inev...

All local churches experience a predictable life cycle of growth and decline. But if a church is on a downward trend, how can it turn around? Taking Your Church to the Next Level explains the impact of age and size on churches and outlines the improvements that must be made at each point for a church to remain fruitful and faithful to its mission. McIntosh deftly describes the cycles of fruitfulness and the importance of continual improvement to diminish destructive forces that ke...

Attract kids to church, the logic often goes, and you get parents in the pews. All that's left, then, is to get the kids out of the way. Here children's ministers David Csinos and Ivy Beckwith draw on research in human development and spiritual formation to show how children become disciples and churches become centers of lifelong discipleship. For too long, the local church has focused primarily on programs for children rather than ways of doing ministry with children. But in light of eme...

This fresh perspective on the church explores its essential nature as a community of people governed by the Word and led and taught by the Spirit.

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.

No one can deny our culture is opposed to Christian values, and the influences bombarding our children's moral development are difficult to contend with. But few parents and church leaders realize that a child's moral development is set by the age of nine. It is therefore critical to start developing a child's biblical worldview from the very earliest years of life.The problem is complex: parents who themselves did not receive early spiritual training leave their children's trainin...

Churches over the past generations have been weakened by a failure to meet both the physical and spiritual needs of their communities. Many have adopted a narrow vision, focusing on only one aspect of ministry. But in today's environment of faith-based opportunities many Christians are eager to start reaching out to their world with both Good News and good works, and therefore they are searching for appropriate ways to integrate both into their ministry.In Churches That Make a D...

Christians worldwide are learning new ways to connect their faith to everyday life. Gospel communities are popping up everywhere; in cafes, gyms, tattoo parlours, laundromats. This movement, called Fresh Expressions, is attracting thousands and growing rapidly. With over 120 real-life examples, Michael Moynagh describes easy ways for ordinary Christians to embrace this highly effective approach to local mission. Anyone can do it!

Inclusion, says the author, is a discipline of consciously extending the boundaries of our communities to embrace and affirm people of diverse backgrounds and experiences. In this resource for ministers and church leaders, Law provides models, theories, and strategies that are both practical and theologically sound for moving faith communities toward greater inclusion.

In his First Letter to the Corinthians Paul cites “administrators” as one of God’s gifts to the Christian community (1 Cor 12:28). But many who serve in administrative service today have difficulty seeing how their everyday work is an expression of discipleship. This book, written by an experienced administrator and noted biblical scholar, shows how the various functions of institutional administration are deeply rooted in the Scriptures and are a genuine expression of our call to disciple...