The general decline of American mainline Protestant churches today is well documented. Church redevelopment imagining and actualizing new life for dying churches is a productive and vital response to congregational decline, but it can be daunting. Here is guidebook for church leaders, to help them reinvigorate their churches with both practical advice and tested theory. A comprehensive case study of Beneficent Congregational Church, which successfully turned the tide and quadrupled its worship attendance, provides inspiration as well as concrete strategies for church redevelopment. The study indicates that successful and faithful church redevelopment involves a shift from a modern-patronage ministry model to a postmodern-plural ministry model. Building on current church redevelopment literature by bringing selected Biblical and theological texts into conversation with leadership concepts, systems theory, social sciences, and congregational studies, this book creates a multidisciplinary transformative conversation. The result is both strategic proposals for growing your church and a model for doing practical theology in your own ministry context. Dedicated, trained leadership in cooperation with the power of the Spirit can create the possibility of new life in dying congregations."

This vital revised and expanded update to How to Thrive in Associate Staff Ministry (Alban, 2000) provides guidance to the growing population of staff members employed by churches. Churches are expanding their staffs, but the turnover rate remains high, often due to stress, isolation, and conflict on the job. Lawson and Boersma address what it takes to thrive personally, professionally, and relationally within associate staff ministry. Based on updated research and interviews with over 600 veteran associate staff members from many different denominations, Lawson and Boersma describe the priorities, attitudes, and practices that can help associate staff members thrive in their ministry roles. They present, explain, and illustrate a four-part Model for Thriving in Associate Staff Ministry, a concrete framework that readers can use to help achieve satisfaction and balance in their own lives. In addition to addressing those in associate staff roles, the book also includes chapters to help supervising pastors and church boards support their associate staff members. Each chapter includes questions for personal reflection or discussion with others to help readers engage with the material and determine what steps they might take to improve their own experience in associate staff ministry."

The Mission of God is a basic book for every Christian who is serious about his part in the mission of God to the world. It reflects responsible Biblical understanding and current changes in missionary thinking. Already widely known in German as Missio Dei, this English edition will extend its influence.

Are churches looking for the wrong kind of leaders? The last decade has witnessed a rising number of churches wrecked by spiritual abuse--harsh, heavy-handed, domineering behavior from those in a position of spiritual authority. And high-profile cases are only a small portion of this widespread problem. Behind the scenes are many more cases of spiritual abuse that we will never hear about. Victims suffer in silence, not knowing where to turn. Of course, most pastors and leaders are godly, wonderful people who don't abuse their sheep. They shepherd their flocks gently and patiently. But we can't ignore the growing number who do not. We have tolerated and even celebrated the kind of leaders Jesus warned us against. We need gentle shepherds now more than ever, and in Bully Pulpit, seminary president and biblical scholar Michael J. Kruger offers a unique perspective for both church leaders and church members on the problem of spiritual abuse, how to spot it, and how to handle it in the church. "Every Christian from pulpit to pew needs to read this wise and timely work." - Karen Swallow Prior "Both urgent and timely." - Sam Storms "Thoughtful, wise, and biblical." - Mark Vroegop

The Roman Catholic leadership still refuses to ordain women officially or even to recognize that women are capable of ordination. But is the widely held assumption that women have always been excluded from such roles historically accurate? How might the current debate change if our view of the history of women's ordination were to change?
In The Hidden History of Women's Ordination, Gary Macy offers illuminating and surprising answers to these questions. Macy argues that for the first twelve hundred years of Christianity, women were in fact ordained into various roles in the church. He uncovers references to the ordination of women in papal, episcopal and theological documents of the time, and the rites for these ordinations have survived. The insistence among scholars that women were not ordained, Macy shows, is based on a later definition of ordination, one that would have been unknown in the early Middle Ages. In the early centuries of Christianity, ordination was understood as the process and the ceremony by which one moved to any new ministry in the community. In the early Middle Ages, women served in at least four central ministries: episcopa (woman bishop), presbytera (woman priest), deaconess and abbess. The ordinations of women continued until the Gregorian reforms of the eleventh and twelfth centuries radically altered the definition of ordination. These reforms not only removed women from the ordained ministry, but also attempted to eradicate any memory of women's ordination in the past.
With profound implications for how women are viewed in Christian history, and for current debates about the role of women in the church, The Hidden History of Women's Ordinationoffers new answers to an old question and overturns a long-held erroneous belief.

Your complete leadership resource for contemporary worship Is your church launching a contemporary service, trying to balance traditional and modern musical tastes, or seeking relevant worship for a secularized society? If so, here is the complete guide to making it happen. From enlisting and training an effective leadership crew to overcoming opposition from resistant church members, The Art of Worship charts a clear course through every aspect of worship. Comprehensive technical details, biblical principles, and action steps make this an invaluable resource for musicians, leaders, pastors, and students reaching for new horizons in ministry. ???The Art of Worship is a very practical tool. It will enable the worship leader or worship committee to thoughtfully analyze their current style of worship and to plan step by step for future change.??????Robert E. Webber, Northern Seminary, author of Ancient-Future Faith ???This comprehensive guide to the nuts and bolts of contemporary worship leadership will challenge both new and veteran leaders to rethink their approach to a host of practical challenges. Greg Scheer demonstrates that we never have to choose between integrity and relevance in preparing to lead God??'s people in worship.??????John D. Witvliet, author of Worship Seeking Understanding ???This book should be read by those on the inside of ???contemporary??? worship leadership who do not yet understand the full breadth and depth of church music ministry and by those on the outside who do not yet believe that ???contemporary??? worship is capable of the full breadth and depth of church music ministry.??????Terry W. York, School of Music and Truett Seminary, Baylor University ???TheArt of Worship provides great illustrations, solid theology of worship, and is not just for musicians; pastors will also benefit from learning about the dynamics of building teams that lead music in worship.??????Emily R. Brink, senior research fellow, Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Greg Scheer is a composer, a church musician, and a choir and music director who has served in several churches. He is currently minister of worship at Church of the Servant and a music associate with the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship, both in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

New York Times bestselling author Craig Groeschel is the founding and senior pastor of Life.Church, an innovative multisite church known around the world and an organization that Glassdoor has named a #1 U.S. Best Place to Work. But it didn't happen by accident. In 1996, a handful of congregants worshipped together in a two-car garage. Today, the church welcomes tens of thousands of attendees in multiple states across the country and globally at Life.Church Online.

Lead Like It Matters presents Groeschel's transformative insights on how to effectively build a thriving, enduring ministry and organization. Using his skills as a top leader, he combines straight-talk and wry honesty with biblical and leadership principles to equip you with the tools to:

• Recognize when your organization or ministry has the indefinable but tangible "it" that leads to success
• Identify and implement seven leadership principles for a church that lasts
• Ignite a fire in your team to leave behind "what we've always done" for the meaningful ministry you know is possible
• Discover the three areas every leader must master for success

Lead Like It Matters reveals the secret for building ministry momentum and then keeping it going.

Over 50% of the churches in the United States should not be marketing themselves. Shocked? You should be. Almost every church wants to grow, but why do some succeed while others struggle? If you're a pastor or a layperson serving on an outreach committee or evangelism team, reading this book will help you avoid the pitfalls that prevent churches from growing. The answer is simple. "God is not as interested in promotion as he is in preparation," says recognized church marketing expert Richard Reising. In ChurchMarketing 101, Reising demystifies basic marketing principles to show how simple changes can remove roadblocks to attracting visitors and future members. Tested in light of Scripture and the concerns of the local church, this empowering and practical book will help you see your church in a new way-and make adjustments to reach your community more effectively for Christ. "Richard Reising has done a great service to all who are interested in increasing the influence of the gospel by writing ChurchMarketing 101. You will finish this book with a clearer head and a hotter heart!"-David Shibley, president, Global Advance "Reising converts lofty corporate marketing strategies into simple, Christ-centered, and people-focused principles. Any organization will take away a clearer sense of vision and a greater understanding of how to get there."-Dave Dravecky, founder, Outreach of Hope Richard L. Reising is the founder and president of Artistry Marketing Concepts, an organization based in Dallas, Texas, that helps churches and ministries make wise use of marketing, design, and technology.