Slow Church Cultivating Community In The Patient Way Of Jesus

Author : C. Christopher Smith
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830895957
Total Pages : 251 pages
Book Rating : 4.53/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Slow Church written by C. Christopher Smith and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2014-05-06 with total page 251 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Readers' Choice Award Winner Best Books About the Church from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore Fast food. Fast cars. Fast and furious. Fast forward. Fast . . . church? The church is often idealized (or demonized) as the last bastion of a bygone era, dragging our feet as we're pulled into new moralities and new spiritualities. We guard our doctrine and our piety with great vigilance. But we often fail to notice how quickly we're capitulating, in the structures and practices of our churches, to a culture of unreflective speed, dehumanizing efficiency and dis-integrating isolationism. In the beginning, the church ate together, traveled together and shared in all facets of life. Centered as they were on Jesus, these seemingly mundane activities took on their own significance in the mission of God. In Slow Church, Chris Smith and John Pattison invite us to leave franchise faith behind and enter into the ecology, economy and ethics of the kingdom of God, where people know each other well and love one another as Christ loved the church.

Author : C. Christopher Smith
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 083084130X
Total Pages : 54 pages
Book Rating : 4.01/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Slow Church Study Guide written by C. Christopher Smith and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2016-03-22 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Slow Church by Chris Smith and John Pattison has been eagerly received by a people who are ready to be invited out of franchise faith and back into the kingdom of God. This eleven-session study guide provides an opportunity to reflect on the message of this groundbreaking book both individually and in community.

Author : Chris Lewis
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830869697
Total Pages : 177 pages
Book Rating : 4.95/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Letters to a Future Church written by Chris Lewis and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2012-04-07 with total page 177 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exiled on the island of Patmos, the apostle John found himself one day in the presence of the Son of God. As he fell down to worship, the apostle was commanded to write what he saw and heard, and to record and send messages to seven churches, encouraging them and challenging them in the way of the Lord. That was then; this is now. What might the Spirit say to our churches today? What might the Spirit be saying to you? Chris Lewis and the Epiphaneia Network put that question to their friends. This book includes some of the responses they got. With contributions from such significant voices as Andy Crouch Ron Sider Tim Challies Peter Rollins Sarah Lance Makoto Fujimura and others, Letters to a Future Church paints a portrait of the world as we have it and the mission we have in it. You may find your calling in this book; you may even find your own voice.

Author : Paul Sparks
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830895965
Total Pages : 212 pages
Book Rating : 4.60/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The New Parish written by Paul Sparks and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2014-04-04 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christianity Today Award of Merit Readers' Choice Awards Honorable Mention Best Books About the Church from Byron Borger, Hearts and Minds Bookstore "When . . . faith communities begin connecting together, in and for the neighborhood, they learn to depend on God for strength to love, forgive and show grace like never before. . . . The gospel becomes so much more tangible and compelling when the local church is actually a part of the community, connected to the struggles of the people, and even the land itself." Paul Sparks, Tim Soerens and Dwight J. Friesen have seen—in cities, suburbs and small towns all over North America—how powerful the gospel can be when it takes root in the context of a place, at the intersection of geography, demography, economy and culture. This is not a new idea—the concept of a parish is as old as Paul's letters to the various communities of the ancient church. But in an age of dislocation and disengagement, the notion of a church that knows its place and gives itself to where it finds itself is like a breath of fresh air, like a sign of new life.

Author : C. Christopher Smith
Publisher : Brazos Press
ISBN 13 : 1493417053
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.56/5 ( download)

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Download or read book How the Body of Christ Talks written by C. Christopher Smith and published by Brazos Press. This book was released on 2019-04-16 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In today's highly charged social and political environment, we often don't know how to talk well with others--especially with people whose backgrounds differ from our own. C. Christopher Smith, coauthor of the critically acclaimed and influential Slow Church, addresses why conversation has become such a challenge in the 21st century and argues that it is perhaps the most-needed spiritual practice of our individualistic age. Smith likens practicing conversation to the working of the human body. Bodies are wondrous symphonies of diverse, intricate parts striving for our health, and our health suffers when these parts fail to converse effectively. Likewise, we must learn to converse effectively with those who differ from us in the body of Christ so we can embody Christ together in the world. In community, we learn what it means to belong to others and to a story that is bigger than ourselves. Smith shows how church communities can be training hubs where we learn to talk with and listen to one another with kindness and compassion. The book explores how churches can initiate and sustain conversation, offers advice for working through seasons of conflict, suggests spiritual practices and dispositions that can foster conversation, and features stories from several congregations that are learning to practice conversation.

Author : David Hansen
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830866531
Total Pages : 225 pages
Book Rating : 4.33/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Art of Pastoring written by David Hansen and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2012-09-27 with total page 225 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Named one of the Top Ten Books by the Academy of Parish Clergy Hundreds of books, tapes, workshops and seminars promise to answer these impossible questions. Some offer a set of practical guidelines; others suggest a system or pattern to follow. Some stress various ministry functions; others feature case studies as models of success or failure. Some are helpful. Others are not. But in The Art of Pastoring, David Hansen turns pastoral self-help programs on their heads. He tackles the perennial questions from within his own experience. From the Inside Out Hansen's fresh, bold narrative grows from nearly a decade of ministry. He draws you into his life and into the lives of Florence-Victor Parish in the mountains of Montana, including unforgettable encounters with unforgettable people--a stubborn pioneer woman who still chops her own firewood though she's blind and 90 years old, a championship rodeo cowboy who was baptized in his boots, and many more. Hansen's goal is to help you discover "that pastoral ministry is a life, not a technology . . . [that] life as a pastor is far more than the sum of the tasks I carry out. It is a call from God that involves my whole life." From Calling to Living Parable Every pastor has encountered those who struggle to hear God's voice in a hospital room, who reach for Jesus in the sacraments. No systematic answers can meet their deep, eternal needs. What can touch them, Hansen contends, is a life itself, a life lived as a parable of Jesus. "As a parable of Jesus Christ," Hansen writes, "I deliver something to the parishioner that I am not, and in the process I deliver the parishioner into the hands of God." It is this knack for getting to the heart of things that makes The Art of Pastoring valuable for pastors in any setting--rural, suburban or urban. Parachurch workers, missionaries, church leaders and ministry volunteers will also find inspiration here. In this significantly revised new edition, Hansen includes new insights into his view of pastorate as parable and adds a new postlude in which he comes clean on his "constant attempts to leave the ministry."

Author : Mandy Smith
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830841237
Total Pages : 211 pages
Book Rating : 4.33/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Vulnerable Pastor written by Mandy Smith and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2015-09-25 with total page 211 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sometimes pastors fear that if people knew who we really are, we'd be disqualified from ministry. Not so, says pastor Mandy Smith. Transparently describing her pastoral journey, Smith shows how vulnerability shapes ministry, unpacking the biblical paradox that God's strength is revealed in our weakness. God has called you to lead just as the human you are.

Author : Adam L. Gustine
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830873406
Total Pages : 224 pages
Book Rating : 4.01/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Becoming a Just Church written by Adam L. Gustine and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2019-02-12 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: IVP Readers' Choice Award Stop outsourcing justice! Many local churches don't know what to do about justice. We tend to compartmentalize it as merely a strategy for outreach, and we often outsource it to parachurch justice ministries. While these organizations do good work, individual congregations are left disconnected from God's just purposes in the world. Adam Gustine calls the local church to be just and do justice. He provides a theological vision for our identity as a just people, where God's character and the pursuit of shalom infuses every aspect of our congregational DNA. As we grow in becoming just, the church becomes a prophetic alternative to the broken systems of the world and a parable of God's intentions for human flourishing and societal transformation. This renewed vision for the church leads us into cultivating a just life together—in community, discipleship, worship, and more—extending justice out into the world in concrete ways. Let's hold being and doing together, so we can become just, compassionate communities that restore shalom and bring hope to the world.

Author : Dan Gibson
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 083085858X
Total Pages : 118 pages
Book Rating : 4.83/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Besides the Bible written by Dan Gibson and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2012-01-04 with total page 118 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: So many books, so little time. How do you decide what to read? Walking into a bookstore, a library, or looking online can be an intimidating and overwhelming experience, to say the least. With so many options and not knowing what's best for you, it's easy to just end up making an impulse buy or giving up on reading altogether. We barely spend as much time reading as we'd like, and then we often end up completely frustrated by what we chose to read. Besides the Bible is a guide to the really great books that you should read—ones that matter. Covering a wide array of subjects and authors, from Christian bookstore best sellers to classics of Christian history and more, you'll find yourself agreeing with some titles, shaking your head at others, and even shocked by a few. This isn't a dry catalog with dull summaries of books authored by a bunch of dead guys. Dan Gibson, Jordan Green, and John Pattison, along with an all-star team of today's most interesting Christian thinkers—including Donald Miller, Derek Webb, Phyllis Tickle, Steve Taylor, and William P. Young— will re-ignite your love for reading or if you're a little lazy, give you enough information to make it seem like you're incredibly well read.

Author : Jim Belcher
Publisher : InterVarsity Press
ISBN 13 : 0830878149
Total Pages : 235 pages
Book Rating : 4.47/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Deep Church written by Jim Belcher and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2009-09-25 with total page 235 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Christianity Today Book Award winner Golden Canon Leadership Book Award winner Feeling caught between the traditional church and the emerging church? Discover a third way: deep church. C. S. Lewis used the phrase "deep church" to describe the body of believers committed to mere Christianity. Unfortunately church in our postmodern era has been marked by a certain shallowness. Emerging authors, fed up with contemporary pragmatism, have offered alternative visions for twenty-first-century Christianity. Traditionalist churches have reacted negatively, at times defensively. Jim Belcher knows what it's like to be part of both of these worlds. In the 1990s he was among the pioneers of what was then called Gen X ministry, hanging out with creative innovators like Rob Bell, Mark Oestreicher and Mark Driscoll. But he also has maintained ties to traditionalist circles, planting a church in the Presbyterian Church of America. In Deep Church, Belcher brings the best insights of all sides to forge a third way between emerging and traditional. In a fair and evenhanded way, Belcher explores the proposals of such emerging church leaders as Tony Jones, Brian McLaren and Doug Pagitt. He offers measured appreciation and affirmation as well as balanced critique. Moving beyond reaction, Belcher provides constructive models from his own church planting experience and paints a picture of what this alternate, deep church looks like--a missional church committed to both tradition and culture, valuing innovation in worship, arts and community but also creeds and confessions. If you've felt stuck between two extremes, you can find a home here. Plumb the depths of Christianity in a way that neither rejects our postmodern context nor capitulates to it. Instead of veering to the left or the right, go between the extremes--and go deep.