ABOUT THE BOOK: Gerald Roe was interrupted while lecturing in his church-planting class by a student who asked, "What if Jesus came back right now to live on earth like He did in Bible days? Wouldn't He go to church the same way He went to the synagogue back then? Which church would He choose? If the true church is all about Jesus, wouldn't it be a good idea to consider what Jesus would look for in a church and make that part of our church planting methodology?" Where Would Jesus Go to Church? answers those questions. As Dr. Roe makes clear, for the blessings of God to rest upon any congregation, the church must answer two important questions: What is the true church? and What is the church to do? In far too many instances, these questions are being asked in the reverse order, leading to a compromising disconnect between the church's essential biblical character and its earthly effectiveness. Where Would Jesus Go to Church? sheds needed light and offers practical, biblical answers. **** ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Gerald Roe is currently department chair and associate professor of intercultural studies/missions at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina. Prior to moving to South Carolina, Gerald spent over thirty years in ministry serving churches as senior pastor in Texas, Hawaii, and Kentucky and as the Director of Missions for the Massachusetts Baptist Association under missionary appointment of the North American Mission Board, SBC. Additionally, Gerald continues his pastoral ministry by assisting churches in various forms of transition and as interim pastor. Dr. Roe earned his undergraduate degree from Wayland Baptist University in Plainview, Texas, and two graduate degrees from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. His passion is for pastors and local churches, both current and future. He is married to Cheryl Dianne and has four grown children and four grandchildren.

Leading ethicist and pastoral theologian Brian Brock reflects on the challenge of disability, refuting widely held misconceptions and helping readers respond well to the pastoral implications of disability. Brock, the father of a child with special needs, weaves together theological commentary with narrative reflection, offering rich theological wisdom for shepherding people with disabilities. He shows pastors and ministers-in-training that thinking more closely and theologically about disability is a doorway into a more vibrant and welcoming church life for all Christians.

This volume contributes to an emerging field that could be referred to as "plural spiritual care and chaplaincy". It's innovative approach brings together contributions from a broad range of contexts and religious traditions and includes empirical work and conceptual explorations. It helps to fill the gap between practices and developments related to plural spiritual care and chaplaincy in the scholarly discourse.

Heather Zempel oversees the community life at a multisite church in Washington, D.C., a challenging population with one of the highest relocation rates in the United States. And yet under her leadership, National Community Church has become a model for creative, dynamic, deep small group ministry. Drawing from her background as an environmental engineer (including such bizarre experiences as monitoring a pig lagoon and the unintended slaughter of a hundred innocent fish), Heather Zempel assesses the perils and possibilities inherent in small groups and other environments for Christian community. The book helps leaders begin to see the inherent "mess" of such gatherings as raw material for arriving at something beautiful. Read this book and discover fresh insights into how we can support one another's unique paths to maturity in Christ while maintaining cohesion as a community and blessing the world around us.

There are some things we just don't talk about. Things like sex, particularly when our sexuality is a matter of personal struggle. Things like the vulnerabilities of our pastors, who must maintain a fa?ade not merely of respectability but of moral and psychological superiority. We don't talk about things that make us feel insecure, that make us feel unsettled. But the nature of spiritual growth, even the story of Christian faith, is a matter of being unsettled from the comfortable compromises we've made and set on a course together toward wholeness and mutually supportive community. Pastor T. C. Ryan takes us on an unsettling journey through his lifelong struggle with sexual addiction, one that predated and pervaded his pastoral ministry--one which for far too long he faced in secrecy and isolation, separated from the brothers and sisters in Christ who were called to bear one another's burdens. Ashamed No More doesn't cast blame or argue for looser moral standards. It does, however, call us to the unsettling ministry that a God who is love calls us to--the unsettling grace that is the audacious gospel of Christ.

Have you ever wondered about the correctness of the messages and teachings of preachers behind the pulpits and on TV today? Who holds them accountable for explanations and outlines of the truth? Who questions them or anything they say? With sound biblical exegesis, this book challenges you to keep an open mind and determine for yourself what is true or false. As an ordained Word of Faith preacher, Joe Bachota has firsthand knowledge of the doctrines being preached.

"Word of Faith Preachers" isn't meant to be an exhaustive discussion of every doctrinal position taken by the movement. Instead, it explores a few of the major heresies the Word of Faith churches are teaching, with the goal of preventing you from being led astray if you are exposed to them. Even though Bachota once believed, preached, and taught most of these doctrines, the Lord has led him in another direction, opening his eyes to the heresies contained in some of the Word of Faith doctrine. Hopefully, this book will lead you in the same way and enable you to come to the same conclusion he did: the teachings of many churches today, particularly Word of Faith churches, are completely out of touch with sound biblical doctrine.

What signals are you sending when you share the gospel? The importance of signs for communicating truth has been recognized throughout the ages. Crystal L. Downing traces this awareness from biblical texts, through figures from church history like John Wycliffe and William Tyndale, to more recent writers Samuel Taylor Coleridge and C. S. Lewis. In the nineteenth century, this legacy of interest in the activity of signs brought about a new field of academic study. In this book, Downing puts the discipline of semiotics within reach for beginners through analysis of the movement's key theorists, Ferdinand de Saussure, Charles Sanders Peirce, Mikhail Bakhtin and others. She then draws out the implications for effective communication of the gospel of Jesus Christ within our shifting cultural landscape. Her fundamental thesis is that "Failure to understand how signs work--as effects of the cultures we seek to affect--inevitably undermines not just our political and moral agendas but, worse, the gospel of Jesus Christ." Writing with humor, clarity and flare, Downing lucidly explains the sophisticated thinking of leaders in semiotics for nonexperts. Of value to all those interested in communication in any context, this work will be of special interest to students majoring in communications or English or to students in evangelism and preaching courses at the undergraduate and graduate level.

This complete guide to giving and stewardship sheds new light on solid financial resources, one of the 12 keys to building an effective church. Here is a practical plan for the growth and development of giving and stewardship in your congregation, complete with action worksheets that advance the progress of the plan over four years.