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This attempt at writing a history of a community that has evolved from an English-Speaking Church Group (ESCG) through to St Joseph Parish (SJP) aims at putting the facts straight, and as early as possible, while some of the original and primary actors are still present. In this way, it is easier to avoid confusion and distortion of facts or even the introduction of fallacies. This book can thus serve as reference on matters of this topic in this Parish and in newly created Parishes.

All these questions are answered in this comprehensive special report that promotes spreading the gospel and honoring the creative people who help to make all church ministries possible. Pass this report on to songwriters, musicians, worship pastors, and church leadership so they are informed about current copyright laws and the practices of paying for the use of intellectual property.

What does a scrappy church look like? Let's take a look together.

In 48 Laws of Spiritual Power, bestselling author Frank Viola lays out the unchanging principles of tapping into God's power and releasing it to serve others. These laws are based on over thirty years of ministry experience—trench-tested in Frank's life and the lives of others who have spent decades in ministry. Though these laws may seem counterintuitive and uncommon, they will equip you to look for God's power in your ministry.

The future is now. Philip Jenkins has chronicled how the next Christendom has shifted away from the Western church toward the global South and East. Likewise, changing demographics mean that North American society will accelerate its diversity in terms of race, ethnicity and culture. But evangelicalism has long been held captive by its predominantly white cultural identity and history. In this book professor and pastor Soong-Chan Rah calls the North American church to escape its captivity to Western cultural trappings and to embrace a new evangelicalism that is diverse and multiethnic.

What image forms in your mind when you think of productivity? An assembly line? Spreadsheets? Business suits or workplace uniforms? In the ancient world, productivity didn't conjure images like these. Instead, it referred to crop yield and fruit bearing. This agrarian imagery helps us understand productivity through a biblical lens. Jesus taught, By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit (John 15:8). Who doesn’t want to have a truly productive life—to bear much fruit?

Researchers have uncovered the following three trends: First, distrust of institutions, including the church, is at an all-time high. Second, young people raised in the church are leaving at alarming rates and not returning. Third, loneliness and social isolation are at pandemic levels. What’s the connection? It appears that an entire generation is starving for the very thing the church is called to provide but has chosen to look for it elsewhere. Why is this happening?

Through an in-depth discussion of these seven wounds, Rosemarie Downer, without reservation, highlights the deficiencies and incompetence that for decades have slowed down and, in many ways, impeded the progress of the Church. She uncovers some sleeping giants in the Church but is careful to give some sound advice that are grounded in the word.

Throughout history, Christians have pictured the relationships between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit through analogies. Such illustrations—some from the West but also from Latin America, Asia, Africa, and other places—come laden with theological ramifications that the church has rejected (heresies) or embraced (doctrines). In Three in One, William David Spencer shares a lifetime of insights from teaching within the global church, bringing fresh images and analogies of the Trinity to deepen our theological vocabulary.

Do you pray for your pastors? Do you encourage them? Do you have realistic expectations for them? The office of pastor is simultaneously a rewarding and draining position. Pastors today have immense pressure on their shoulders and they need the support of their congregations. Peter Orr has written Fight for Your Pastor as an exhortation for church members to stand behind their pastors through the difficulties of ministry. Orr specifies ways in which congregations can be intentional in caring for church leaders, including prayer, encouragement, generosity, and forgiveness.

Pastor Joel Rissinger has served in vocational ministry for over 30 years in some very diverse settings. During that time, he has served as an associate pastor, senior pastor, church planter, church planting director, executive pastor, chaplain, and as a field shepherd for Standing Stone Ministry. In Things Your Pastor Would Love to Say...But Can't!, Pastor Joel shares an intimate look at some of the challenges faced by pastors, missionaries, ministry leaders, and their families. His goal is to inspire empathy toward these leaders from Christians everywhere.

Most parents faced with the pain of a child coming out have very little knowledge of how to navigate it. As a result, they are likely to experience many years of struggle and frustration and could make mistakes that could cause life-altering harm to their child.

Jesus' empowering leadership completely transformed the disciples from everyday men and women into revivalists who turned the world upside down. Today's revival needs the same kind of supernatural leadership! Whatever role you find yourself in, the fact is that you are called to be a leader to the people around you, through the power of the Holy Spirit. In Equipping the Saints, Paul and Susan Kummer share from their decades of experience as pastors and mentors, leading a culture that builds the Kingdom of God with signs, wonders, and miracles.

In Arrow Striker, you’ll discover how to live every single day with purpose so you can have an eternal impact on the people around you. Your actions, words, and deeds can powerfully impact others, and God will honor your diligence in living out your faith with passion and enthusiasm.

Are you turned off by religion? You're not alone. Jesus was no fan either. In his seminal sermon, Jesus addresses life in the Kingdom of God. Jesus paints a picture that looks starkly different from how many perceive today's American church. Salt and Light: Meditations on the Sermon on the Mount is a 43-day journey through Jesus' best-known sermon. It explores how the entirety of scripture shines a light on Jesus' words, and how the culture, environment, and circumstances of Christ's world reveal clues as to their meaning.

After slavery was abolished, how far would white America go toward including African Americans as full participants in the country's institutions? A schism over slavery split Methodism into northern and southern branches, but Union victory in the Civil War provided the northern Methodists with the opportunity to send missionaries into the territory that had been occupied by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. A Long Reconstruction details the denomination's journey with unification and justice.

While many histories of Christian worship exist, this project undertakes a task both more focused and more urgent. Rather than survey the whole history of the Christian church, it focuses on the formative period between the first and fifth centuries CE, when so many of the understandings and patterns of Christian worship came to be. And rather than include such developments as the monastic hours of prayer and the history of ordination, the authors deal primarily with those aspects of worship that recur on a weekly or regular basis: preaching, Eucharist, and baptism.

This is the most important book I have ever written or will ever write. There can be no greater need today than to disciple Christians one-on-one to obey Jesus Christ as Lord. The Great Commission is the fulfillment of the Great Commandment. To love is to obey, and to obey Jesus is to make disciples of all nations. Making disciples one-on-one is very simple, but it will cost you your life. Making disciples one-on-one is very powerful. You get to impart and teach Christians everything the Lord has commanded you. What a great advantage this is for new believers.

Pastors suffer a variety of anxiety by trying to make sense of this pestilence while pastoring a political pickle. As a result, the pastors who stick it out are tempted to chase greatness by becoming motivational speakers who carry the world's weight on their shoulders. We are all learning this only leads to more anxiety, trauma, pain, and sin. Instead, this pivotal moment calls for pastors to choose goodness by becoming maturational leaders who care for the world by creating apprentices of Jesus who are intentionally engaged in spiritual formation for the sake of the world.

Where are the leaders? Perhaps the greatest problem in the world today is the absence of true biblical leadership. The heart of a leader is found in the person who cares about investing in the lives of others over their own personal gain. Great leadership is a gift that, when given, influences every area of our lives. While leadership doesn’t always come naturally, everyone has the ability to become a leader worth following. In The Gift of Leadership, Andrew Burchfield unpacks what it means to embrace the position of a leader and how to develop the gifts in others.