Showing titles in Discipleship

Over five hundred years ago, the Western church underwent a period of massive recalibration that exposed abuses and theological blind spots and revived the historical foundations of Christianity. Today, signs suggest that we have entered another such religious reformation as new technologies, ecclesial scandals, and a crisis of biblical authority leave many Christians adrift or deconstructing the faith they once took for granted. The Christian story the church has been telling has become too small, and we are at a dead end.

We all want life change, but achieving it is hard. As Christians, we know we’ve got God’s help. Jesus has made it possible. The Holy Spirit even lives inside us! And yet, too many Christians are stuck in the mud when it comes to life change. What’s going on? Can things ever get better? Can my life ever turn the corner?

In What Does Depression Mean for My Faith?, author and physician Kathryn Butler addresses common misconceptions about mental illness in the church. She offers grace, relief, and practical help to Christians who feel shame, and she equips church leaders with the tools they need to extend Christ's love to the vulnerable.

En un mundo que parece estar girando fuera de control, necesitamos la esperanza más que nunca. ¿Y si la esperanza que sostiene la vida que usted necesita se encuentra dentro de las páginas de la Biblia?

Insights from Philip Yancey's personal pilgrimage away from and back to the church. Why are there so many more professing Christians than churchgoing Christians? Is it because something is wrong with the church? In his candid, thought-provoking manner, award-winning author Philip Yancey reveals the reasons behind his own journey back from skepticism to wholehearted participation in the church, and weighs the church's human failings against its compelling worth as the body of Christ.

You may think you're not ready to make a difference in God's kingdom or that you're too young for others to take seriously. But that's not what God thinks. At some point, you have to understand your own purpose and significance in the kingdom of God. How does God want to use you? This book uses the Old Testament leader Joshua as a model for stepping up to God's big calling

In her upbeat, practical style, bestselling author Elizabeth George encourages women to embrace radical faith as they serve God by helping people and accomplishing His projects.

Doug Logan pastors in Camden, NJ, a city of great need where God is doing great things. Amid drug abuse, gang violence, and extreme poverty, God is using Doug and Epiphany Fellowship to rewrite broken stories and bring life to the block. With teachings from Scripture and powerful stories from his urban context, Doug will help you change the story on your own block, wherever that may be. If you are a pastor trying to mobilize your church, or a Christian trying to live with purpose, this theology of missions will help.

Stop just doing songs and start leading worship by making disciples who know what it means to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. This book is full of prophetic, practical, and power-filled truth. It will change the way you view kids' worship, as well as your own ability to lead. By using examples from the life of King David, as well as her own personal experiences, Yancy is purposed to empower you to raise up kids who desire to live a life of worship on a daily basis, not only on Sundays.

These days, brokenness feels more comfortable to discuss than holiness. It’s easier to say that we are messy than holy, that healing is a long way off. To say that we are holy seems like one step away from holier than thou, and no one ever wants to be that. Listen on your own or with a group, Holiness Here is a rich spiritual formation and discipleship resource that will inspire you to seek out the beauty and wonder of a holy life.

There is a great need today to clarify the enormous difference between accumulating religious information and baggage, and embracing a long-term commitment to deeply knowing, and following Jesus Christ. Jesus Changes Everything brilliantly illuminates the person and principles of Jesus, and His clarion call to each person to follow Him as a daily lifestyle. More than ever, there is a need to clarify the difference between doing Christian service (working for God), and making a radical commitment to knowing His Son (working with God).

Part one of the book reminds us that an individual or a church can teach sound doctrine, be faithful to the gospel, be morally upright and hard-working, and yet be lacking love and therefore, be displeasing to Christ. Love can grow cold while outward religious performance appears acceptable - even praiseworthy. Part two of Love or Die presents practical ways to cultivate love in the local church, including chapters that challenge us to study love, pray for love, teach love, model love, guard love, and practice love.

Much of what we see expressed in the church today is built on more than just the New Testament. It's built, instead, mostly on the Old Testament, church culture, and Paganism. It is therefore imperative that we as God's people dare to stop and take a closer look at the church today and compare it to the first church we read about in the Bible. If we are to succeed in making disciples of all nations, then we must go back to the "template" we find in the Bible. Let the reformation begin!

Smith Wigglesworth was a man mightily used of God in the area of Healing! This book is filled with his wonderful insights and revelations on HEALING! The early church in the book of acts reveals that healing flowed like a river in the lives of the disciples of Christ. Somehow the enemy has robbed us of this reality. Smith was a twentieth-century believer who by the grace of God stepped back into that realm were all things are possible. May this book help us to once again step into that place Of Divine Healing!Smith Wigglesworth: DIVINE HEALING"When things are not going right, there are ...

Stephen A. Macchia seeks to upend the one-eyed and limited Christian understandings of spiritual discernment and invite listeners and leaders to reconsider how they prioritize the care of their souls, the grace of their communities, and the mission of their lives, churches, and organizations. When we have a fuller understanding of how spiritual discernment matters to the whole of our lives, we will in turn encourage others to follow likewise and then lean fully into the mission, mandate, and message of the whole counsel of God.

Churches committed to following Christ's example want this world changed for the sake of eternity. While the supernatural piece of making that happen goes without saying, how does a body of believers do its part to be in that "sweet spot" where true spiritual transformation occurs?

We know that in a fallen and broken world there will always be pain and poverty, sickness and sadness. Yet as followers of Christ, we are called to bring hope and healing to those who hurt. What, then, is our responsibility to alleviate human suffering this side of eternity? With so many needs everywhere we look, where do we start? The Least of These brings together a collection of respected Christian thought leaders to provide a multifaceted look at the body of Christ’s relationship and responsibility―both individual and corporate―to the marginalized of our society.

In Sticky Faith, the team at FYI presents youth workers with both a theological/philosophical framework and practical programming ideas that develop long-term faith in teenagers. Each chapter presents a summary of FYI’s quantitative and qualitative research, along with the implications of this research, including program ideas suggested and tested by youth ministries nationwide. This resource will give youth pastors what they need to help foster a faith that sticks with all the teenagers in their group long after they’ve left the youth room.

The community of Christ has a great tradition of invitation. Inviting others to faith requires leaning in to your own story, overcoming fear, and stepping out. But the good news is for everyone, always. And you can help keep it going. Using Scripture and story, Steve Carter casts a vision for nonthreatening conversations that point people to Christ. Most significantly, Steve shows that only through risking it all will we discover what God is truly like.

The five-fold ministry, as outlined in Ephesians 4:11-13, plays a crucial role in the spiritual development, unity, and mission of the Church. These ministry roles are foundational to the health and growth of the body of Christ and serve as a means through which the Church is equipped to fulfill its divine calling. The five-fold ministry consists of the roles of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, each contributing uniquely to the mission of guiding believers into maturity and preparing the Church for the second coming of Jesus Christ. The purpose of these ministries is ...