Book Description
The simple revolution has begun. From the design of the iPod to the uncluttered Google home page, simple ideas are changing the world.
Simple Church clearly calls for Christians to return to the simple gospel-sharing methods of Jesus. No bells or whistles required, so to speak.
Based on case studies of four hundred American churches, authors Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger prove that the process for making disciples has quite often become too complex. Simple churches are thriving, and they are doing so by taking these four ideas to heart: Clarity. Movement. Alignment. Focus.
Each idea is examined here, simply showing why it is time to simplify.
Customer Reviews:
Concise and practical.......2007-09-07
Well, it would be awfully ironic if the book wasn't easy to understand. Fortunately, the authors do with the book exactly what they are calling leaders to do with their churches. They outline a simple structure for streamlining churches and letting loose the baggage that slows churches down.
The process is...simple (sorry to repeat). Churches should seek clarity, alignment, movement, and focus. Clarity is the singleness of purpose, stated in a single phrase. Movement is making sure there is a process of spiritual development that runs through the ministries of the church that fulfills the purpose. Alignment is the process of making sure that all the ministries of the church cannel people through a similar movement to fulfill the purpose. And focus is the challenging process of saying "no" to everything that distracts the church from its purpose. The authors have decided on this clear process as a saving grace to churches, repeat it fluidly, and walk the reader through all four steps.
The theory is based on a study of a number of churches that were considered thriving and many that were not. The authors say that their data shows highly significant difference between thriving churches that simplified and complex churches that did not.
The only part of this book, or the genre, that ought to give the reader pause is that the authors presume that ministry requires a strategic process through which people are funneled on the way to spiritual growth. While that is the reality of modern, institutional church management, it seems to overrule the fluid and organic (if not disorganized) ministry of Jesus and the disciples while co-opting their names. This is not a major critique of the book, just the observation that business management principles are governing the church whose founder had very little to say about business management.
Nonetheless, for those of us who find ourselves dealing with the necessities of management, this book is an essential read. It's well-written, accessible, and offers the bird's eye view that a lot of churches miss.
Good for discipleship and Church Growth.......2007-08-29
This is an excellent book that tells pastors and church leaders to keep it simple, rather than complex and this book tells you how. The basic premise of this book is that simple sells and that keeping it simple and maintaining focus is the best method of discipleship and church growth. If you have been trying to write long vision statements or missions statement or purpose statement and have come away frustrated, then this book is for you.
Simple, but could be simpler.......2007-08-23
I think this book will help many traditional North American churches to lower the bar of how church is done and raise the bar of what it means to be a disciple (to borrow from Neil Cole). But as a former pastor who has recently begun to enjoy the simplicity of a network of microchurches that has no paid staff, no building to maintain or enlarge, and yet enough time to be a small army of disciple-makers, I find Rainer & Geiger more complex than is necessary. If you like simple, you might like simpler even better!
Excellent example of making things simple.......2007-07-22
Simple church not only explained clearly how necessary it is to simplify our way of doing church,or more precisely making disciples, the book was a very good example of doing this. The demonstrated and illustrated in a straightforward way and the process suggested was very simple to follow and easy to apply. Great job!
Excellent -but felt slightly cheated.......2007-07-18
Excellent book, but really this should have been an article, or perhaps one chapter of a book. There's not really enough material to be a book.
Book Description
This is a foundational book for men's ministry in the context of the local church. The honesty and veracity with which these three men map out a successful men's ministry is very encouraging. Its theme is ''building faithful men'' and it targets leaders of men's ministry who can then reach the men of their congregations and neighborhoods for Christ in a very practical and meaningful way.
Customer Reviews:
Best Tool Kit Anywhere.......2007-06-01
This is the Best book available anywhere to help build or evaluate an all encompassing ministry to men. Any leader of Men would do well to study and apply these time proven principles to move and motivate their men to experience a deeper walk in Christ.
Scratching my head.......2007-04-19
I have read this book in preparation for beginning a "mens ministry" in our local church. As I read through the book and made comments and marks in the margins, it seems that nearly every page is fraught with problems. There is very little scriptural support for this program, and when scripture is used, it is often misused or pulled out of context. Many outlandish assertions are made without any substantiation. Most of the principles are borrowed from the business and marketing world. I would love the opportunity to give all of the specifics, but suffice it to say, I had questions marks on virtually every page. In this book I see very little resembling biblical Christianity. God's Word tells us the true marks of a man of God and the true purpose of His church. This book does neither.
Great help in revitalizing our Men's Ministry.......2007-04-10
Our church's Men's Ministry was stagnant and in need of revitalization. Our Men's Ministry Leadership Team read the book together and worked through the blbilical, common-sense principles it prescribed. We are on our way to a revitalized and dynamic ministry.
No Man Left Behind - Indispensable Resource........2007-03-12
No Man Left Behind is a valuable resource for those who want to establish or strengthen men's ministry in their churches. What the reader won't find is "ten easy steps to men's ministry". This is because men's ministry is hard and the authors won't let us think otherwise. In a paraphrase of the authors the book is not "prescriptive" but "preceptive".
I found one fundamental jewel amidst the treasure contained here: these things should work for any type of discipleship.
I look forward to using this tool as we put together our own men's ministry.
Best book yet on Men's Ministry!.......2007-02-06
This book hits all levels of Men's ministry. If you are a small or large church this book applies great principles and techniques to utilize while forming your ministry. The practical steps needed are well formulated and provide an easy step by step process for implementation.
I highly recommend this book if you are serious about starting or enhancing a Men's ministry in your church. A true gift to any leadership team. The best book I have every read on the subject!
Ken Snover
Ascension Lutheran Church Men's Ministry
Waukesha, Wisconsin
Book Description
Transforming a church culture from one that provides programs to one that makes disciples. Get beyond the ldquo;ABCsrdquo; of attendance buildings and cash to a focus on carrying out Jesusrsquo; charge to ldquo;go forth and make disciples.rdquo;Recommended by Christianity Today magazine as ldquo;a call to evaluate the way we live and minister.rdquo;
Customer Reviews:
An excellent guide for authentic discipleship.......2007-09-09
The Disciple Making Church is an excellent, biblically based approach to discipleship as Jesus demonstrated in the gospels. McDonald uses strong biblical examples to show healthy images of discipleship (including having a discipler for ourselves as well as mentoring others). He continues with six areas in our lives to focus on for developing a disciple mentality that will allow us to grow deeply into Christlikeness. I strongly recommend this book to every Christian who longs to be a true follower of Christ and who desires to implement Jesus' instruction in Matthew 28:19-20 to "Go therefore and make disciples...."
Well developed and easy to read, this book encouraged me and strengthened me to move even more deeply in implementing discipleship into my own life.
The best book I've read on discipleship, period........2007-09-04
Author Glenn McDonald's easy going writing style is perfect for telling the story of how, as pastor of a large suburban congregation, his church was transformed from stressing the ABCs of attendance, building and cash to one that made disciples of Jesus Christ. The book is divided into two parts: six discipling relationships and six marks of a disciple. It correctly points out that being a disciple is based on relationships and on who a disciple is. McDonald weaves Scriptural insights and the wisdom of scholars with the experiences of his own congregation and others, distilling it into a helpful, valuable and enjoyable book. It is a book that will impact pastors, church leaders, seminaries, congregational study groups and individual church members. I recommend it highly.
Dem Bones - Hear the Word of the Lord!.......2007-07-20
A voice crying in the wilderness of the mainline church today - GET BACK TO WHAT GOD PUT YOU HERE FOR! Go and make disciples! This is an excellent book with meat on the bones, and the Breath of Life for the church, if we will only Be Not Afraid of being considered intolerant, live what we believe, and enjoy the blessings of the D,E,Fs (discipleship, evangelism and failthfulness) rather than the anxieties of A,B,Cs of attendance, buildings and cash. If God has called you to leadership in His church in any capacity, don't just read and reread this book and use it as a group study within your congregation - act upon it. As the saying goes, "Someone's life may depend upon it." Thank you, Glenn McDonald.
Inspiring.......2006-08-13
This is one of several books that I have read in the past couple years that have been transformational for me.
McDonald is the senior pastor of Zionsville Presbyterian Church in suburban Indianapolis, which was organized in 1983 and has been named as one of the 300 excellent Protestant congregations in America by Westminster/John Knox Press.
McDonald bids "farewell" to the "ABC" church -- churches that make attendance, building, and cash their primary concerns. "It's safe to say," McDonald says in his first chapter, "that a large majority of Protestant congregations have made attendance, building, and cash -- as opposed to Christ's Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 to be and to make disciples -- their organizational bottom line." "The dirty secret of the ABC church," McDonald says, "is that its goals are far below the bar that is set in Scripture. It is disturbingly easy to make progress on the scales of attendance, building, and cash even while failing to sustain significant conversation with God or enjoying redemptive relationships with people."
The first half of the book is devoted to questions pertaining to spiritual transformation, framed around six key questions (which would make an excellent sermon series, by the way). The second half of the book identifies six marks of discipleship. I won't spoil the book by telling you what the six questions or the six marks are. Go read this for yourself!
As a mainline Protestant on the "left" end of the theological spectrum, I expected to have some theological issues with this book. I was surprised to discover that I really did not. McDonald is onto something huge here, and we better start listening.
Insights directly relevant to Christian congregations.......2004-04-13
Glenn McDonald is the senior pastor of Zionsville Presbyterian Church in suburban Indianapolis. The Disciple Making Church: From Dry Bones To Spiritual Vitality is the true and inherently interesting story of Pastor McDonald's reaction to a profound question: "How long would it take for someone who visits our church to learn about his or her need for Jesus and to find out what to do about it?" Taking this serious issue to heart, Pastor McDonald overhauled and reexamined everything about his church in light of Christ's call to "go forth and make disciples". Blending insights from scripture, the knowledge of biblical scholars, and highlighting the six discipling relationships and six marks of the disciple, The Disciple Making Church is an inspirational and spiritual testimony that is practical while replete with insights directly relevant to Christian congregations across America and around the world.
Product Description
This book offers a model for selecting and training church officers that is grounded in spiritual discernment and development. The book begins with a biblical understanding of leadership, moves into consideration for how to train a Nominating Committee to select leaders according to the biblical vision, and then offers a step-by-step plan for a training event with three components. The training plan is designed to build up the church leaders spiritually and to set their work in the context of discipleship, as well as to teach them some of the fundamentals of the rules of governance of their denomination. The book ends with concrete suggestions for how future work of the church board can be structured to reflect the emphases highlighted in the training session.
Customer Reviews:
excellent training resource.......2007-05-22
I am using this manual along with "Selected to Serve" and some other resources for an Officer Training Class. It is intense, but a fantastic training course. I recommend it very highly.
Book Description
Scripture places high priority on the disciplemaking capacity of the church, This book shows how to accomplish it.
Customer Reviews:
Implementing a discipleship strategy in the local church.......2000-05-12
Hull outlines what a church based on discipleship principles looks like. He casts a good vision of why discipling is important, talks about the core values, and then outlines the progression in the early church from first church, to mission church, and finally discipling church. He discusses how Jesus developed formed a group of twelve leaders to carry out ministry, and how every church needs this type of approach in the 21st century. His appendix on building a leadership community is relevant and exciting -- especially to those planting cell-based churches. There is also a good section on how to structure small groups. Hull's best work thus far. This is a book that every church planter and pastor wishing to increase the leadership quotient in his church should read.
Customer Reviews:
Are you an effective teacher?.......2002-10-12
Josh Hunt has done an excellent job with this book. Two very strong benefits the reader will glean from this book are 9 Types of Questions and what it means to Review in a Bible Study context. The benefits from understanding and applying these two sections of Hunt's work will be great and teachers will find they are becoming more effective in teaching the Bible.
Disciple Making Teachers.......2001-09-07
Lots of good ideas and encouragment for teaching adult classes. Great for new teachers or old ones who want to brush-up their skills. Very Biblically oriented -- not just a new fad on teaching, but a good balance of true Biblical discipleship and fresh, up-to-date ideas. WORTH READING!!! I plan to keep my copy to refer back to it in the years ahead.
Are you an effective teacher?.......1999-08-04
Josh Hunt has done an excellent job with this book. Two very strong benefits the reader will glean from this book are 9 Types of Questions and what it means to Review in a Bible Study context. The benefits from understanding and applying these two sections of Hunt's work will be great and teachers will find they are becoming more effective in teaching the Bible.
Great primer for a Teacher who wants to multiply groups.......1999-04-20
I think Josh has hit the problems in Sunday School on the head. This book will encourage teachers to be prepared but alse develop a strategy to grow and multiply other Sunday School or Adult Bible Fellowships. He know that we are called to make disciples and this book will help any teacher to start to thing and change inorder to accomplish the Great Commission
Book Description
This practical, strategic guide offers step-by-step planning techniques for the local church and parachurch.
Customer Reviews:
Best for Pastors of Smaller Churches.......2005-02-18
A fascinating thing about Malphurs' books on church strategic planning is that each one comes at the subject from a different perspective. In this title, the author describes the pastor of smaller, struggling congregation that needs to establish a godly direction for its future. Pastors of single-staff churches have challenges of a completely different nature than pastors of multi-staff churches. Malphurs here makes sure that strategic planning principles are seen as helpful to smaller church bodies as well as the larger ones.
Book Description
One of the most divisive issues in the church today concerns the place of lesbian and gay persons. Should the church sanction same-gender relationships? Should gay and lesbian people be allowed to serve as ordained ministers? These questions and many more spawn endless debate and create winners and losers. A better way to respond to this pain and confusion is to make use of a process of discernment. Listening to the Spirit presents a process of discernment that helps us to listen to the Holy Spirit for guidance as we consider the question, What is the gospel message to our church as we relate to gay and lesbian Christians? This question is addressed through a process that will help Christians approach the issues throughtfully, theologicaly, and prayerfully. There are no set answers or preconceived outcomes. The books was written by the Discernment Committee on the Participation of Gay and Lesbian Persons in the Life of the Church. This committee represents a broad range of theoological beliefs surrounding the issue.
Customer Reviews:
Let those who can hear, hear..........2004-12-23
One of the 'hot-button' issues in the church today is homosexuality. Almost every major denomination has had to make some sort of statement regarding the issue at regional, national and international levels within the past few years. This is an issue that often generates more heat than light, as they say, because it touches deeply-held convictions and emotions that go to the core of identity as human beings as well as what it means to be a Christian. If recent history is any guide, it serves to tell us that this issue is far from over, and the discussions, debates, and arguments are a long way from being settled in any definitive and satisfactory manner.
The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is one of the mainline denominations currently struggling to find answers to this issue. Different regions have different policies about acceptance; even within regions, it is often a local matter as to whether a congregation is going to be 'gay-friendly' or adhere to 'traditional values' (there are other labels that might apply, and I must also state having applied these that I do agree that labeling on the whole is generally unhelpful). This book, designed by a committee within the CC(DoC) appointed by General Minister Richard Hamm, seeks to use the process of discernment to approach the issue, rather than more directly-oppositional forms of engagement. The committee was formed from a diverse group of people, including seven women and seven men; it intentionally included three people who were gay or lesbian as well as three people whose idea of homosexuality is that it is a sin.
Discernment can be a long process, and indeed, true discernment is never completely finished. Discernment doesn't force issues or call for votes, but rather waits and listens as people share their stories, their understanding of biblical stories and texts, share worship experiences, and assumes no specific outcome by a particular timetable.
This is a practical guide, designed for use in congregation or regional-sized groups. While it is designed specifically with the CC(DoC) denominational structure in mind, it can be readily adapted to almost any particular framework. There are sample worship liturgies to be used by the groups, Bible studies and recommended questions for consideration, and suggestions for further work. The book divides the process into seven stages, but these are not meant to be applied for a set time period of seven weeks or seven months; certain stages may take longer, and other stages may take less time.
As the chapter on preparation makes clear, there will be times (regardless of what side one finds oneself) where there will be disagreement and discomfort with the process, and perhaps with others engaged in the process. This is to be expected, and should be accepted as part of the 'cost' of doing the important work of discernment.
The text gets high marks from me for referring to scholars in the fields of theology, biblical studies, and ministry such as Luke Timothy Johnson and Walter Wink. The bibliography is a valuable resource. It also gets high marks from me for not having a bias against either side, but rather works to bring all voices to the table for inclusion and understanding.
Book Description
Perfect book for evangelism-minded churches and small groups. Details nine principles for reaching others for Christ through networks of family and friends.
Customer Reviews:
This Book Should Be Used in Every Church!.......2003-08-18
I have ready many books on reaching out to people who have yet to know Christ as their best friend, Savior, and Lord. This book has one of the most down-to-earth, freeing, and Biblical ways of talking to others about the most important relationship in your life. It is easy to read, and sheds light from the New Testament that the most effective sharing is done among friends, neighbors, and relatives to have the greatest impact. The book helps takes the pressure off of relationships between believers and those yet to know Christ, while helping you to understand that people are most interested in turning to God as they sense a need for Him during periods of life change. I HIGHLY recommend it!
Proven ways to effectively share your faith.......1998-10-06
The Master's for Making Disciples is a must have book for every Christian who is serious about sharing their faith. The best news is there is little theory here. Only a plan that is biblically based and backed by perhaps the most thorough research ever done on personal evangelism. The book shares the "web" philosophy of lifestyle evangelism but takes a proactive approach to sharing Christ. For people tired of confrontational approaches to evangelism, this approach is a breath of fresh air.
Download Description
How is it that we come to know ourselves as Christian? What were the elements, and their interrelationships, of John Wesley's work that contributed to spiritual formation for a Christian life? Focusing on matters of formation and transformation in faith, Sondra Matthaei answers such questions in light of early Methodist practices of formation. Through research and dialogue with Wesleyan scholarship and constructive proposals related to the life of the church, this insightful study encourages faithful and imaginative approaches to spiritual formation in churches today. Key Features: * Focus is on matters of formation and transformation in faith * Answers the question: "How do we come to know ourselves as Christian?" * Analyzes these questions in light early Methodist practices of formation and an ecology of education within the Methodist movement Key Benefits: * The reader will understand John Wesley's idea of character formation and moral transformation * The reader will understand how Christian and vocation are shaped through spiritual formation * The reader will understand the role of structures and relationships in spiritual formation (family, school, church, etc.)
Books:
- Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense
- Soul Searching: The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers
- Spirit of Animals
- Spiritual Emergency (New Consciousness Reader)
- St Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica (translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province) (5 Volume Set)
- St Thomas Aquinas Summa Theologica (translated by Fathers of the English Dominican Province) (5 Volume Set)
- SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine
- Talk to the Snail: Ten Commandments for Understanding the French
- The Amazing Power of Deliberate Intent: Living the Art of Allowing
- The Analects (Penguin Classics)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- The Freedom Line: The Brave Men and Women Who Rescued Allied Airmen from the Nazis During World War
- History: Fiction or Science
- At Paradise Gate: A Novel
- Elizabeth and Mary: Cousins, Rivals, Queens
- Famous Monster Movie Art of Basil Gogos
- Human Physiology: An Integrated Approach
- Field Guide to Beetles of California
- Decentralization And Rural Property Taxation
- El Futuro De Dilbert
- Directory of Japanese-Affiliated Companies in the U. S. A. and Canada, 1997-98
Discipleship
| Christian Living
| Christianity
| Religion & Spirituality
| Subjects
| Books
Communicating for a Change: Seven Keys to Irresistible Communication
Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders (J-B Leadership Network Series)
Organic Church: Growing Faith Where Life Happens
Comeback Churches: How 300 Churches Turned Around and Yours Can, Too
The Big Idea: Focus the Message-multiply the Impact (The Leadership Network Innovation Series)
