The story begins when I was old enough to remember being a child in theParsonage. All PK's will identify we are the first to get to church, last to leave, and there at least 3 times a week (BTU) Baptist Training Union, Prayer Service/Bible Study, and Sunday Worship ...if this has been your experience.....yep, you'redefinitely a pastor's kid.Foremost and above all I am a (PK) a preacher's kid. I am the fourth of six children.This book is mostly about my adolescent years. As I have written the clinician inme came gushing forth. I did not want to only complain. Yet I want to share somesupporting data which is public information. Too many clergy families are beingdevastated by this thing called ministry. If the truth be told many of our pastors arein affairs outside of their marriage. The other woman is the Bride of Christ. We spendso much time with her we neglect our wives and family. I speak not from an abstractperspective. I have been up close and personal in this thing called ministry.Seton Hall UniversityNewark College of Engineerig (NJIT)Jesus the Liberator Seminary

As Christians, we are to love God with all of our being--heart, mind, soul and strength. But many of us tend to overemphasize one aspect or another, and as a result, our faith becomes imbalanced. Some of us have an intellectual faith but lack compassion or spiritual discipline. Others of us have a vibrant, heartfelt relationship with God but lack commitment to truth or doctrine. And many of us overlook translating our faith into service and ministry. In this book ethicist Dennis P. Hollinger presents a holistic, integrative vision for reuniting Christian thought, passion and action. He shows how individuals, churches and movements throughout history have focused on either the head, or the heart or the hands--often to the exclusion of other expressions. But by linking our intellect, emotions and actions, Hollinger points us toward a whole faith for the whole person, where each dimension feeds, nurtures and sustains the others.

Foreword INDIES 2021 Finalist for Religion Religious faith reduces the risk of suicide for virtually every American demographic except one: LGBTQ people. Generations of LGBTQ people have been alienated or condemned by Christian communities. It's past time that Christians confronted the ongoing and devastating effects of this legacy. Many LGBTQ people face overwhelming challenges in navigating faith, gender, and sexuality. Christian communities that uphold the traditional sexual ethic often unwittingly make the path more difficult through unexamined attitudes and practices. Drawing on her sociological training and her leadership in the Side B/Revoice conversation, Bridget Eileen Rivera, who founded the popular website Meditations of a Traveling Nun, speaks to the pain of LGBTQ Christians and helps churches develop a better pastoral approach. Rivera calls to mind Jesus's woe to religious leaders: "They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them" (Matt. 23:4). Heavy Burdens provides an honest account of seven ways LGBTQ people experience discrimination in the church, helping Christians grapple with hard realities and empowering churches across the theological spectrum to navigate better paths forward.

Making your Tithing Count for your Growth in Christ Your Tithing to Grow in Christ is more than a book. It is your devotional guide designed to practically assist you in spiritually relating to God personally in your tithing. As you use this devotional guide, you will soon find yourself experiencing seven things. These seven things are as follows: Getting you closer to God Thinking about God Praying to God Reading about God Honoring God Giving to God Hearing from God Next to the Bible, the Tithing to Grow in Christ is what you and every local church member must have. It is the devotional guide book that you need in order to tithe by the principle of knowing and relating to God personally. That was the principle of tithing God established with Abraham when he was made to tithe to Melchizedek in Genesis chapter 14. Your spiritual growth in Christ in the areas of trusting, loving, and being holy to God is guaranteed with your use of the Tithing to Grow in Christ. It situates you into building a strong personal relationship with God and to nurture the integrity of the personal presence of God in your life. The integrity of the personal presence of God is what you need to be certain about the personal influence of God in your life. Having the certainty concerning the personal influence of God in your life puts you above, calms your anxieties, reduces your stress, and gives you the peace and boldness to face any challenging situation, as it was the case with David in going out to fight with Goliath. A Groundbreaking Devotional Guide for A Strong Personal Relationship with God

Are you looking for a mentor? Do you want to become a mentor? Are you confused about exactly what mentoring is? Walter Wright is a firm believer in relational leadership. In this book, he shares his experiences both as a mentor and a mentoree. He provides useful analogies and stories about a mentoring relationship and points out some potential pitfalls. Choosing a mentor is an important decision, as is choosing to be a mentor. This book guides you through that choice, to forming a relationship and developing that relationship over the years. It shows you how the relationship can be mutually beneficial, with both mentor and mentoree growing in maturity and knowledge. Wright identifies some qualities that make a good mentor, what you should be looking for in a potential mentor, and what a mentor should be looking to develop in themselves. Reflecting on the character, heart, and hope of relational leadership, this book is useful for anyone considering becoming a mentor, whether in a church environment or in a business environment. It identifies some key questions that a mentor should ask of their mentoree and guides you through developing the mentoring relationship.

During the 1720s, John Wesley began his quest to understand biblical holiness theologically and to experience it personally. Over the following decades, he preached and wrote about sanctification, carefully refining his grasp of the subject. This long-term investigation led him to study Scripture, reason, experience, and the Christian tradition. Then, in 1766, he published A Plain Account of Christian Perfection. That book went through several revisions and expansions, and in 1777, he issued his final edition of this work. Wesley's Plain Account of Christian Perfection became a Christian classic that now stands in the company of such devotional works as Thomas a Kempis's Imitation of Christ, William Law's Serious Call to a Devout Holy Life, Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor, and Jeremy Taylor's Holy Living and Holy Dying. This edition of the Plain Account is a transcription provided by one of the leading Wesley scholars in the world.

You were not meant to walk alone. Many of us struggle to forge deep relationships with God and other people. Modern society has isolated us as rugged individuals, deceiving us into thinking we can make it through life on our own. Individualism has likewise shaped the pattern of Christian discipleship, privatizing faith and separating us from fellow believers. But we come to know God best when others help us on the way. And our friendships develop best when we seek after God together. What would it look like to pursue God not by ourselves but in the company of friends? According to the model of the New Testament, spiritual transformation takes place in the context of Christian community. By unpacking the Gospel narratives of Jesus' ministry with his disciples, Richard Lamb demonstrates how discipleship develops within the shared community life of groups of Christians. He explores a range of topics--such as spiritual friendship, hospitality, leadership, service, conflict, forgiveness and mission--in light of Christian community. Engaging stories from real-life experience show how people can form one another spiritually when their lives are tumbled against one another. If you long for more of God, deeper friendships or both, this book will help you on the journey. Discover the transforming power of discipleship in community. Join the pursuit of God in the company of friends.

Are you looking for fresh ideas to energize your small group? Here are hundreds of activities contributed by small group experts from across the United States. Tested in the field and drawn from the front lines of small group ministry, these creative ideas will help you evaluate the state of your group and enhance the five components of healthy group life. Community activities for the four stages of a group's life help you to get acquainted, go deeper with one another, process conflict, make memories and prepare for your group's ending. Whether charismatic, liturgical or somewhere in between, you'll find ideas for worship and prayer that stretch group members in these vital areas of spiritual growth. Your group will grow closer to one another as you draw near to God together. Ideas for study offer you some creative methods for Bible study and life application as well as ideas for learning through books, videos and other resources. A section on outreach helps your group to look beyond its borders and serve the needs of others. You'll find ideas for inviting others into your group and for working together in evangelism, social action and world mission. Edited by Cindy Bunch, this edition features new ideas gathered from The Small Group Network (www.SmallGroups.com) founded by Michael Mack and now directed by Dan Lentz. Whether you are a small group leader, a group coordinator or a pastor, you will return to this valuable resource again and again.

Experienced pastor and seminary teacher R. Robert Creech helps pastoral leaders increase their effectiveness by applying family systems theory to congregational life and ministry. Creech introduces readers to the basic concepts of Bowen Family Systems Theory, applies family theory to the work of ministry in church settings, and connects systems thinking to the everyday aspects of congregational ministry, such as preaching, pastoral care, leadership, spiritual formation, and interpreting biblical texts. Each chapter contains discussion questions, and there are five helpful appendixes with supplemental information about Bowen theory.