Today's culture is more connected than any time in history, but all of this connectivity comes with a price. We live in a world that's become cluttered, distracted, and disrupted by social media, with the average person receiving as many as 5,000 messages a day in one form or another. If you're a pastor, nonprofit leader, artist, filmmaker, entrepreneur, or creative professional in this hyper-connected, highly distracted world, how do you get your...

Children's pastors and ministry leaders consistently point to recruiting and retaining dedicated volunteers as their number-one challenge. How can they keep volunteer workers engaged in ministry that will change people's lives? Larry Fowler, director of program and training for Awana Clubs International, believes that there are seven biblical principles, drawn from the book of Nehemiah, that will help pastors and leaders more effectively motivate...

What is the Kingdom of God? What does it mean to be part of the kingdom? These are questions that should occupy the mind of every Christian. But we frequently shy away from the full meaning of God's rule. In Christian Archy, Dr. David Alan Black examines the New Testament to find the truly radical and all-encompassing claims of God's kingdom. In doing so, he discovers that the character of this kingdom is widely different from what is commonly contemplated...

"Here Comes Sim!" That sign adorned the front of an old, beat-up pickup truck belonging to Sim Fryson, Sr., a black man born in the Deep South of Reform, Alabama, in 1896. "There Goes Sim!" read the sign on the back of the truck that Sim used to haul manure, dirt, and coal to help support his large family. Sim Fryson Jr., or "Simmy," as his mother called him, was often teased as a child about that battered old truck. But, he knew that his father,...

The church finds itself in a period of great diversification and multiple expressions. In the midst of great change, we have become confused about what really makes for healthy and authentic pastoral leadership. What are the basic and common characteristics necessary for pastors to be effective? How can lay people understand the pastoral call more fully and partner better with pastors for the health of their church? Here Mannoia and Walkemeyer examine...

There shall be showers of blessings. (Ezekiel 34:26)The goodness, kindness, and blessings of God did not "start" when we repented of our sins and came to Christ-because it was the goodness and mercy of God that "led us" to repentance.Romans 2:4 says that we did not know that it was the goodness and forbearance of God that leads us to repentance. This is due to the fact that before our conversion, our "spiritual birth," or our born-again experience,...

Hobgood examines new pressures on clergy that are emerging in the "post-Christendom era:" financial stresses, the effects of a conflicted and confrontational culture, the needs of an increasing number of people living broken or dependent lives, dysfunctional behavior on the part of pastors and parishioners, questions regarding clergy respect and job satisfaction. How is ministry being affected by these changes? What skills will clergy need as they...

Because it can be abused, leadership is a risky business for those in it and those under it. But God has good plans for leadership within the church. This study explores God's plans for authority by focusing on God's revelation of himself as shepherd, and how God calls leaders to image him. The rest of the study looks at the special responsibilities and roles within the church, fulfilled by elders, deacons, and church members themselves. A series...

Congregations need to learn new cultural languages and practices in order to speak to and be heard by new generations of people. But how do congregations enter the wilderness of ministry with these new generations when many of those in the entourage do not appreciate the trip? In contrast to many writers about church growth, Rendle works with three important observations: (1) Most congregations are not "pure markets," discrete groups with uniform...

Job Descriptions and Leadership Training is a handbook for congregations to develop leaders as a vital part of their discipleship system. The first portion of the book provides a framework for a nominating committee to build a culture of leadership development, including suggestions for ministry organization. It contains an exploration of both biblical roots and contemporary research for training leaders. The second part of the book has one-page job...