These stories of St. Francis and his first followers have inspired millions of people over the centuries. Since they were first committed to paper, they were told to inspire people to become better followers of Jesus (not St. Francis). For that reason, they have endured unlike any other early Franciscan literature. This new paperback edition edition of The Little Flowers is unique in its physical beauty as well as its editorial arrangement. For the first time, the stories have been arranged in the most likely chronological ordering of when they happened-rather than following the traditional ordering of them handed down for centuries. As a result, today's reader is now able to read The Little Flowers as a biographical narrative of the life of St. Francis and the world-transforming movement that he founded.

At one point in her life, author and co-founder of Redeemer Presbyterian Church Kathy Keller sought pastoral ordination. Yet she came to adopt the view that men and women have different roles in marriage and ministry, and that fulfilling such roles pleases God and leads to greater personal fulfillment.

In this unapologetic but nuanced piece, Keller presents a caring and careful case for biblical gender differences and the complementarian view of women in ministry. At the same time, she encourages women to teach and lead in the church in ways that may startle some complementarians. Readers on both sides of this hot-button topic will be challenged by her ministry-tested and thoroughly Scriptural perspective.

This important study of episcopal office and clerical identity in a socially and culturally dynamic region of medieval Europe examines the construction and representation of episcopal power and authority in the archdiocese of Reims during the sometimes turbulent century between 1050 and 1150. Drawing on a wide range of diplomatic, hagiographical, epistolary and other narrative sources, John S. Ott considers how bishops conceived of, and projected, their authority collectively and individually. In examining episcopal professional identities and notions of office, he explores how prelates used textual production and their physical landscapes to craft historical narratives and consolidate local and regional memories around ideals that established themselves as not only religious authorities but also cultural arbiters. This study reveals that, far from being reactive and hostile to cultural and religious change, bishops regularly grappled with and sought to affect, positively and to their advantage, new and emerging cultural and religious norms.

In this stirring follow-up to his memoir, Steve Pemberton gives practical encouragement for how you can be a "human lighthouse" for others and through these inspiring stories will renew your hope for humanity. Our polarized, divisive culture seems to be without heroes and role models. We are adrift in a dark sea of disillusionment and distrust and we need "human lighthouses" to give us hope and direct us back to the goodness in each other and in our own hearts. Steve Pemberton found a lighthouse in an ordinary man named John Sykes, his former high school counselor. John gave Steve a safe harbor after Steve escaped an abusive foster home and together they navigated a new path that led to personal and professional success. Through stories of people like John and several others, you will identify how the hardships you have overcome equip you to be a "human lighthouse," inspiring those around you. The humble gestures of kindness that change the course of our lives can shift the course for America too. With a unique vision for building up individuals and communities and restoring trust, The Lighthouse Effect opens your eyes to those who are quietly heroic. You will reflect on the lighthouses in your own life and be reminded that the greatest heroes are alongside us--and within us.

John Habgood (1927-2019) was Archbishop of York from 1983-1995, and prior to that had served ten years as Bishop of Durham. 'Just John', the biography written at Lord Habgood's request and with his full cooperation while alive, is warm, witty and affectionate. Nonetheless, as its title implies, it is a truthful portrayal of the man that John Habgood was - guileless, flawed, just. 'Just John' is the authorised biography of the former Archbishop of York, John Habgood, by one of the people who knew him best, author and Bishop, David Wilbourne. Published on the first anniversary of John Habgood's death on 6 March 2019, this Christian biography by David Wilbourne offers an honest and insightful look into Lord Habgood's life as an Anglican theologian and former Archbishop of York. John Habdood's ability to mediate and solve what seemed impossible problems, both in the Church and modern society, is legendary. However, his formidable intellect and shy manner could make him seem a distant, enigmatic figure. 'Just John' is a biography written with meticulous detail and full of interesting personal history and anecdotes. This biography by David Wilbourne also features extracts from John Habgood's personal diary that he kept, reveals the story behind the issue of the fateful Crockford Preface and analyses Habgood's friendships with Bishops Peter and Michael Ball. Through reading this book about John Habgood, the reader will feel as if they know Habgood and have a greater understanding of the interesting yet guarded life he lived.

Originally published in 1925, this book contains three lectures delivered by the British theologian F. R. Tennant (1866-1957) at the University of London during 1924. The three lectures, all of which relate to the nature of miracles, are titled as follows: 'Miracle and the Reign of Law', Natural and Supernatural Causation', and 'Credibility and Alleged Actuality of Miracle'. Notes are included at the end of the text. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the works of Tennant and theology.

Your legacy, regardless of where you are in your leadership journey, starts now. Leading well now means finishing well later. - Brad Lomenick We need great leaders. More than ever we need authentic, collaborative, inspiring men and women of integrity at the helm of society- and too often our leaders fall short. Some focus on personal success, alienating those they lead. Others shift their principles when it is convenient. There is a better way. You can energize and inspire the people around you. You can equip a team of principled collaborators to answer God's calling. You can be a catalyst leader. In The Catalyst Leader, Brad Lomenick describes the skills and principles that define a true change maker. This book offers eight key essentials by which a leader can influence others and make a difference, laying out the path to the keys for becoming an effective leader. Lomenick shares wisdom, practical knowledge, and stories of success and failure from his own journey of running Catalyst, one of America's most influential leadership movements. And the lives of dozens of leaders around the world- from the creators of famous reality show to pastors, from ranch workers to a Silicon Valley designer. These men and women are living proof that good leadership inspires and innovates, while poor leadership leaves us with hopelessness and regret. Leading can be a difficult road, and many choose to follow. But you can take a better path. Begin your journey to becoming a catalyst leader.

This is a pioneering study of the finances and financiers of the Vatican between 1850 and 1950. Dr Pollard, a leading historian of the modern papacy, shows how until 1929 the papacy was largely funded by 'Peter's Pence' collected from the faithful, and from the residue the Vatican made its first capitalistic investments, especially in the ill-fated Banco di Roma. After 1929, the Vatican received much of its income from the investments made by the banker Bernadino Nogara in world markets and commercial enterprises. This process of coming to terms with capitalism was arguably in conflict both with Church law and Catholic social teaching and becoming a major financial power led the Vatican into conflict with the Allies during the Second World War. In broader terms, the ways in which the papacy financed itself helped shape the overall development of the modern papacy.

Many ministry leaders serving in churches find themselves overwhelmed, disillusioned, and depressed by the enormous and challenging task of leading and serving others. When leaders aren t healthy, the result is often an unhealthy church. Leaders need someone to shepherd their soul so that they can then lead others to the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Every church leader---from fulltime ministers to volunteer leaders---needs a Gospel Coach who will come alongside them with words drawn from Scripture and godly wisdom, grounded in the gracious saving work of Jesus Christ, and presented in the context of a trusting relationship. Gospel coaching is an intentional relationship of skillful caring for others based on four ancient shepherding principles: 1) Know the sheep 2) Feed the sheep 3) Lead the sheep 4) Protect the sheep Gospel coaches inquire about the personal, spiritual, and missional aspects of a leader s life in a loving yet focused manner, probing the heart for compulsive unbelief or selfish motivation, disobedience, and sin, leading them back to the Gospel through belief, repentance, and obedience."

In Britain and the West Christians have watched helplessly while teachers, politicians and the media have prised apart sacred and secular, consigning the sacred to the realm of the private and unimportant. After a careful analysis of the state of Western churches, Robinson and Smith challenge conventional leadership styles. They reject fix-it programmes, which rarely transplant well, and urge ministers to focus on what really matters: to help people to experience intimacy with God, to encounter the grace of God and speak about it to others. From a Christian viewpoint there can never be two worlds, only God's world, but Christians have retreated into sacred space, rather than reaching out. This book cuts across contemporary leadership thinking.

Best-selling author Paul David Tripp offers 12 gospel-centered leadership principles for both aspiring leaders and weathered pastors as they navigate the challenging waters of pastoral ministry. This resource shows the vital role that the leadership community plays in molding leaders.

This important study of episcopal office and clerical identity in a socially and culturally dynamic region of medieval Europe examines the construction and representation of episcopal power and authority in the archdiocese of Reims during the sometimes turbulent century between 1050 and 1150. Drawing on a wide range of diplomatic, hagiographical, epistolary and other narrative sources, John S. Ott considers how bishops conceived of, and projected, their authority collectively and individually. In examining episcopal professional identities and notions of office, he explores how prelates used textual production and their physical landscapes to craft historical narratives and consolidate local and regional memories around ideals that established themselves as not only religious authorities but also cultural arbiters. This study reveals that, far from being reactive and hostile to cultural and religious change, bishops regularly grappled with and sought to affect, positively and to their advantage, new and emerging cultural and religious norms.

Originally published in 1907, this book contains a biography of the historian and clergyman Gilbert Burnet, Bishop of Salisbury. The book is divided into two parts, focussing first on Burnet's early life and career in Scotland and then on his rise and fall and rise again under the Stuart monarchs. The language used is accessible, and the authors express the hope that 'this picture of a varied career, and a vivacious personality, may attract the general reader, as well as the historical student'. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the history of religion in England or the life of Burnet.

Everyone in a position of responsibility knows the tension of leadership. It may be between tasks or people, money or mission, the present or the future. One often neglected tension is between our inner spiritual longings and the outward needs of the group we lead. But we need not feel forced to choose between the two. Leadership has more in common with an ellipse with two focal points than a bull's-eye with a single target. The Leadership Ellipse is designed to help Christian leaders embrace both halves of the tension--our internal relationship with God and our external relationship with others--to find a truly authentic, integrated way to lead. If you find yourself in a lonely, isolated place of leadership, this book can be your companion. If you find yourself longing to lead in a way that is truly Christian, this book can be your guide. And if you are simply exhausted, then this book can offer you a new way to find refreshment. There is life beyond the bull's-eye.

15th Annual Outreach Magazine Resource of the Year - Also Recommended in Church In Christ, a new world is being born and the new creation is unfurling all around us. God is directing history toward the future restoration, repair, and renewal of all creation. And our job is to cooperate with God in being a sign and foretaste of that coming world. Renowned missional leaders Michael Frost and Christiana Rice introduce the bold metaphor of a midwife to depict us as God's birthing attendants as the kingdom comes on earth as it is in heaven. With groundbreaking ideas and practical illustrations from all corners of the globe, To Alter Your World will change the way you see how your church can partner in God's world-altering mission. Nothing else could be more rewarding than laboring alongside a God who is birthing the new creation and inviting all to join in its benefits and blessings.

The revised and expanded edition includes new information, new teaching resources, and perspectives gained in the last eight years, as well as the General Convention resolutions of 2015. Beyond Business as Usual is full of resources for forming the vestry as a learning community. It deals with the "soft" side of leadership that enables the pastor and vestry together to journey along the leadership path. Each chapter can be read and reviewed at a series of vestry meetings or as part of a vestry retreat, and includes questions for group and individual discussion. The book also contains resources for vestries, based upon different preferred learning styles, for the formation part of the vestry meeting or retreat.

Lively record of 14c ecclesiastical life in the north of England. John Kirkby's episcopate was an eventful one. It coincided with a period of Anglo-Scottish warfare in which the bishop participated with gusto, but even domestically his tenure of the see of Carlisle was stormy: the bishop was involved in feuding among the local gentry, and quarrelled with his archdeacon and with the dean and chapter of York during the vacancy of 1340-42. This second volume of Kirkby's register includes a rental of episcopal manors, an appendix of transcripts of documents, and the index, adding to the calendar contained in the first volume and providing a lively record of life in a remote part of the country. R.L. STOREYis Emeritus Professor of Medieval History, Nottingham University. He is the author of several standard books on late-Medieval England.

If I had known the Enneagram earlier in my ministry, I would have been a much better pastor. When this thought came to Todd Wilson, he had already served as a pastor in several churches for the better part of fifteen years and was successfully leading a large, historic, and diverse congregation. He'd started out in ministry with a strong education in everything from biblical exegesis and homiletics to organizational development and Christian education. However, at its root, pastoral ministry is about shepherding, serving, leading, and loving people, and Todd realized that what he lacked was wisdom about how people work. He says, "When it came to empathetically shepherding people and sensitively engaging their manifold personalities and diverse ways of seeing the world, I was an amateur." Whether you are on a church staff or leading a small group, you will find that the insights from the Enneagram that have helped many grow in self-awareness can be applied to life in our faith communities. The Enneagram can help us to become better teachers. It can influence how we develop worship and Christian education. And it can guide us in building and leading teams. It's time to take the Enneagram to church-and to allow it to shape our life together.

Part of the Loyalty series, Loyalty and Disloyalty deals firmly with the fine line that distinguishes between the two attitudes, and talks about the defining moments we should all be aware of in our own lives, and the lives of those around us. This book is a roadmap for both leaders and followers. As leaders, we need wisdom to guide our sensitivities. Picking up disloyalty early on in those around us can prevent disaster later. Taking action swiftly and firmly is vital. As followers, we need to be keenly aware when our own loyalty to our shepherds is being diverted within ourselves. Though a primary requirement of God for leaders, very little has been written on this subject. In this book, Dag Heward-Mills outlines very important principles, with the intention of increasing the stability of churches. So relevant and practical is the content of this book that it has become an indispensable tool for many church leaders. Dag Heward-Mills is the founder of Lighthouse Chapel International, which has become a worldwide denomination. He is the author of several best-selling books and his radio, TV and internet programs reach millions around the world. Other outreaches include conferences for pastors and ministers, and the renowned Anagkazo Bible Ministry & Training Centre. "...a life-changing book. I believe your life will be greatly enriched and renewed as you absorb and apply the truth it brings to light. Surely it is God's desire that you become a leader who has purpose, and is consistent in your personal life and ministry. You will not only perceive your need to be a great leader, but you will understand how to achieve it with victory and confidence." - John Delgado, President, Vision International University, Florida, USA.

Changing Lives covers everything you need to know about working with children and families - the why to, the how to, the when to and the where to. Mark Griffiths examines the history, theology and practice of children's ministry and shares the wisdom he has gained from many years' experience of leading hundreds of groups, assemblies and youth services. In practical chapters, backed with sample resources, he shows how to communicate with children in the brave new postmodern world of church, school and community. This one stop resource covers everything from the vision for children's work to matters such as record keeping, home visits, timetables, child protection legislation and templates for lessons.

Ivo of Chartres was one of the most learned scholars of his time, a powerful bishop and a major figure in the so-called 'Investiture Contest'. Christof Rolker here offers a major new study of Ivo, his works and the role he played in the intellectual, religious and political culture of medieval Europe around 1100 AD. Comparing Ivo's extensive correspondence to the contemporary canon law collections attributed to him, Dr Rolker provides a new interpretation of their authorship. Contrary to current assumptions, he reveals that Ivo did not compile the Panormia, showing that its compiler worked in a distinctly different mental framework from Ivo. These findings call for a reassessment of the relationship between Church reform and scholasticism and shed new light on Ivo as both a scholar and bishop.