Category: Church Health

A Higher Call

On By mcbclibraryIn Church Health, FictionLeave a comment

A new and rather naive pastor, Dan Matthews accepts his church call with great anticipation. But he quickly runs into deeply rooted problems: judgments, party spirit, church politics and hidden agendas. Some problems come from well-intentioned people who don’t know better; others stem from selfishness and evil motives. In both situations, as Dan obeys the life and teachings of Jesus, the consequences are severe. Dan Matthews believed he had a calling from God. Faced with the loathsome hypocrisy in his church, what will become of him and those he befriends? How does a beautiful young nurse who seems to have no heart for the church fit into a pastor’s life?

Author: Harold Bell Wright

Culture Shift

On By mcbclibraryIn Church Health, MissionsLeave a comment

Culture Shift, written for church leaders, ministers, pastors, ministry teams, and lay leaders, leads you through the process of identifying your church’s distinctive culture, gives you practical tools to change it from the inside-out, and provides steps to keep your new culture aligned with your church’s mission. Real transformation is not about working harder at what you’re already doing or even copying another church’s approach but about changing church culture at a foundational level.

Authors: Robert Lewis and Wayne Cordeiro

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Strategic Church

On By mcbclibraryIn Church Health, MinistryLeave a comment

There’s no shortcut to a strong church. It takes vision, time, work, and a divine strategy. Strategic Church will give you the tools to build and equip a strong, relevant, life-changing local church as you follow God’s vision. Whether you’re a lead minister, small-group leader, worship pastor or church member, you’ll find clear and proven principles in this book to help you thrive as a builder of Christ’s church.

By Frank Damazio

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Creating a Prodigal-Friendly Church

On By mcbclibraryIn Church Health, Evangelism, MinistryLeave a comment

Most of us have prodigals in our lives, whether a child, brother, sister, husband, wife, or friend. The ache for these dear ones is like no other. They may hurt us and disappoint us, but somehow we cannot stop loving them. And yet we cannot live their lives for them. The Prodigal-Friendly Church looks at why people leave the church, how we can retain them, how we can reach those who have already gone, and how we can help those who return feel like they belong.

Jeff Lucas offers no easy recipes for success, but plenty of truthtelling, hope, and encouragement. This book discusses the principles of Reach: How do we reach those who’ve already left the church? Return: How do we help people return to the church? Retain: How do we retain the people we’ve worked so hard to reach? Ultimately we are called to bring our prodigals to the cross of Christ, for there we find the mingling of our own utter helplessness and God’s total power to intervene and save. When the Father’s house is filled with the Father’s love, there is hope that the prodigals will come home.

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The Irresistible Church

On By mcbclibraryIn Christian Life, Church Health, Evangelism, MinistryLeave a comment

The Irresistible Church: 12 Traits of a Church Heaven Applauds.

After more than twenty-five years of ministry in Hawaii, Wayne Cordeiro knows how to do church as a team. In his signature style, he shares this expertise with pastors, lay leaders, and people in the pew who want to see their churches become more vibrant. He presents twelve practical proven steps to develop a church God wants to bless, including ways to help people become part of a community, develop a culture of serving, turn visitors into regular attendees, and much more. This short, easy-to-read book is one pastors will want to share with their leadership team.

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Boomers, Xers, and Other Strangers

On By mcbclibraryIn Christian Life, Church Health, Family Dynamics, Ministry, Topical StudyLeave a comment

Ever wonder why your kids, parents, and even coworkers think and feel so differently than you do on core issues? Rick and Kathy Hicks contend and demonstrate that many of our core values are shaped largely by what was going on in our culture and world when we were about ten years old. By recognizing the factors that give rise to our own values and those of other generations, we can achieve greater mutual understanding and reconciliation with our children, peers, and coworkers, rather than finding ourselves in conflict. An effective tool for bridging the generation gap.

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Marriage Under Fire – Dobson

On By mcbclibraryIn Adult Subject, Apologetics, Bible Studies, Church Health, Marriage, Topical StudyLeave a comment

For the past forty years, the homosexual activist movement has sought to implement a master plan to utterly destroy the family. Unelectable and unaccountable rogue judges have made a habit of inventing rights that not only don’t exist in the Constitution but also contradict both the will of the people and the actions of the legislative branch.

Christians around the world have scrambled, wondering how to respond. How do we discuss this intelligently? What can we do to make our voices heard? In his newest release, Marriage Under Fire, Dr. Dobson addresses the dire ramifications of judicial activism and presents compelling arguments against the legalization of homosexual unions—mobilizing the Christian community to respond to a call to action.

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Community

On By mcbclibraryIn Bible Studies, Christian Life, Church Health, Ministry, Spiritual Growth, Studying the BibleLeave a comment

Community – Taking your small group off life support. By Brad House.

Community within the church today is hemorrhaging. Attention spans are dwindling, noise levels are increasing, and we can’t seem to find time for real relationships.

The answer to such social fragmentation can be found in small groups, and yet the majority of small groups―at least in the traditional sense―are often not the intentional, transformational community we really want and need. Somehow we need to get our groups off life support and into authentic community.

Pastor Brad House helps us to re-imagine what gospel-centered community looks like and shares from his experience leading and reproducing healthy small groups. With wisdom and candor, House challenges us to think carefully about our own groups and to take steps toward cultivating communities that are able to glorify Jesus, bless one another, and participate in the mission of God.

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Crushed

On By mcbclibraryIn Church Health, MinistryLeave a comment

Crushed offers a sympathetic look into the suffocating battlefield of full-time Christian ministry. The amount of pressure that pastors endure in their everyday ministry to their congregations is almost unimaginable to the average churchgoer; Crushed presents clear steps to help and protect the leaders of your church. Written by Dr. Gary L. Pinion.