As the church and as a country, we've often neglected and avoided addressing the impact and ongoing reality of racism. We've been more focused on order than justice, more concerned with social media posturing than solidarity, more committed to judgment than repentance. But God's people are called to more. We need to lead the way to true racial healing, solidarity, and justice. Through enlightening history and eye-opening personal stories, Living Undivided will equip and empower you with the biblical, transformative tools you need to move from just hoping and wishing for racial justice to actionable change that makes a difference in your life and the lives of churches, neighborhoods, and cities.

Community Christian Church embraced the Big Idea and everything changed. They decided to avoid the common mistake of bombarding people with so many little ideas that they suffered overload. They also recognized that leaders often don t insist that the truth be lived out to accomplish Jesus mission. Why? Because people s heads are swimming with too many little ideas, far more than they can ever apply. The Big Idea can help you creatively present one laser-focused theme each week to be discussed in families and small groups. The Big Idea shows how to engage in a process of creative collaboration that brings people together and maximizes missional impact. The Big Idea can energize a church staff and bring alignment and focus to many diverse church ministries. This book shows how the Big Idea has helped Community Christian Church better accomplish the Jesus mission and reach thousands of people in nine locations and launch a church planting network with partner churches across the country. This book is part of the Leadership Network Innovation Series."

We love to share good news with the world. We tweet about a great new restaurant, we share pictures of our newborn child and we celebrate about receiving that sought-after promotion. We are evangelists for many great things. So why don't we do the same with Jesus? Simply put, Jesus is awkward for most of us. He's like that uncle who is really funny inside the family circle, but truthfully you would rather not take him anywhere. You know Jesus is great news. He is changing your life, he is giving you purpose and he has saved your soul. So how can you move out of your comfort zone and beyond the awkwardness to share the life-transforming power of God with others? Apostolic evangelist Beau Crosetto has spent years working with college students and churchgoers to help them break through to people in their everyday lives. Here, he moves you not only beyond the awkward feelings but through them so you can confidently take hold of evangelistic opportunities you encounter everywhere you go. In this practical, personal guide, Crosetto takes into account reasons we are not sharing our faith--the negative image of slick or pushy evangelists, the fear of not knowing enough or the dread of saying the wrong thing. He also reveals a dangerous lack of vocational empowerment in most churches today, reminding us that Ephesians 4 calls us to five roles: apostle, prophet, evangelist, shepherd and teacher. Why do we seem to be empowering only the pastoring roles of shepherd and teacher? If we are serious about the Great Commission, we must be serious about activating all five. People eager to hear the good news about Jesus are waiting for you, desperate for answers and guidance. If you grab hold of that reality and learn to listen to the nudgings of the Holy Spirit, you will be prepared to push past the awkwardness and step into the God moments waiting for you.

A tried-and-true classic in dynamic ministry growth, church building, and discipleship momentum. From professional church-planters Dave and Jon Ferguson comes the anchor book in the Exponential Series-envisioning new and practical methods of building churches, communities, and organizations on the cornerstone of Christ. Many of today's Christians consider the missional challenge of Jesus-feed the hungry, comfort the lonely, bring people to God's Word-as inspirational but not something achievable. Or they've heard the challenge of Jesus and are frustrated with how little they've done. Jesus gave his followers this mission because he wants them to hear it, be inspired, and then actually do it. And it is possible. Exponential lays out a concise and effective reproducing strategy, giving practical steps and case studies as you follow the growth of a church movement through four mains stages: The initial navigation of ministry image, set-up, and gradual growth. The gathering of a community around a cause and the conversations that take place at this point. The reproduction of communities into multisite growth and wider impact. The infrastructure and networking of large missional movements and how to stay focused on the bedrock of the Gospel. Weaved throughout this book is the amazing story of Community Christian Church, which was started by five friends who used these reproducing strategies to grow one of the most influential churches in the U.S. and develop a network of reproducing churches. Exponential is designed to help Christian leaders, groups, teams, churches, and networks experience rapid and spiritually healthy growth.

Everybody wants to be a hero, but few understand the power of being a hero maker. In Hero Maker you will learn how to bring real change to your church and community by developing the practical skills to help others reach their leadership potential. Drawing on five powerful practices found in the ministry of Jesus, Hero Maker presents the key steps of apprenticeship that will build up other leaders and provides strategies for how you can activate gifts, help others take ownership, and develop a simple scorecard for measuring your kingdom-building progress. Besides rich insights from the Gospels, Hero Maker is packed with real-life ministry stories ranging from paid staff to volunteer leaders and from established churches to new church plants. A practical tool accompanies each of the five practices, with several illustrations for how to use it. Whether you lead ten people or ten thousand, Hero Maker will not only help you maximize your leadership, but in doing so you will also help shift today's church culture to a model of reproduction and multiplication. Authors Dave Ferguson (a Chicago pastor and church planter) and Warren Bird (an award-winning writer) make a compelling case that God's power and purpose are best revealed when we train and release others, who in turn do likewise. Become that rare breed of leader who brings change into our world by sacrificially investing in others who become the heroes. By becoming a hero maker, you will join a movement of influencers that are impacting hundreds, thousands and perhaps millions of people around the world.

Do you believe God exists but struggle to connect with him? Do you feel like you've forgotten a God you used to know? Or do you feel that God has forgotten you? Most people say they believe in God, but many don't feel connected to God. That's just as real for long-time church attenders as it is for long-time spiritual wanderers. Many times in the course of our lives, we sense a distance between where we are and where we want to be. Dave and Jon Ferguson help you start right where you are and take the first step in finding your way back to God.

This participant's guide is an accompaniment to the DVD Finding Your Way Back To God in which a high-profile evangelical pastor shows the disaffected and doubting how to reconnect spiritually with God.

God's mission needs movement leaders. Jesus pioneered something completely new in human history-a dynamic missionary movement intent on reaching the world. His mission is as clear and as relevant today as in the days of the early church: to make disciples everywhere, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded. But the potential of the church remains untapped. What does it take to lead movements that successfully carry out this mission? In Pioneering Movements, Steve Addison identifies what it takes to follow Jesus' example. Building on his previous books Movements That Change the World and What Jesus Started, he reveals the apostolic qualities and behaviors of biblical, historical, and contemporary pioneers who can guide church and ministry leaders today. This is a book for those who are called to embrace the mission-driven work that Jesus and his disciples began-making disciples of all nations, in all places.

Let's face it. Church isn't working. We hear sermons about the abundant life Jesus promised, but how many of us are actually living it? How many of our churches are thriving? How many people in our congregations are experiencing God's blessings? Maybe it's time to call it quits. Quit church? Well, not exactly. Drawing from his experience coaching hundreds of churches toward true growth, Chris Sonksen calls on us to quit our casual, cultural commitment to church as we know it. No more half-hearted attempts to win the favor of God and other people by doing the right thing. No more doing things out of a sense of duty. Instead, Sonksen reveals the spiritual habits that release the blessings of God, both on each individual and on the church. He explains why we struggle to put these practices into action and gives practical solutions to move us forward into health, growth, and maturity.

Readers' Choice Award Winner Outreach Magazine's Resources of the Year It's increasingly clear that leadership should be shared-for the good of any organization and for the good of the leader. Many churches have begun to share key leadership duties, but don't know how to take their leadership team to the point where it thrives. Others seriously need a new approach to leadership: pastors are tired, congregations are stuck, and meanwhile the work never lets up. But what does it actually mean to do leadership well as a team? How can it be done in a way that avoids frustration and burnout? How does team leadership best equip the staff and bless a congregation? What do the top church teams do to actually thrive together? Researchers and practitioners Ryan Hartwig and Warren Bird have discovered churches of various sizes and traditions throughout the United States who have learned to thrive under healthy team leadership. Using actual church examples, they present their discoveries here, culminating in five disciplines that, if implemented, can enable your team to thrive. The result? A coaching tool for senior leadership teams that enables struggling teams to thrive, and resources teams doing well to do their work even better.