Showing titles in Ecclesiology

Originally written in 1656 and endorsed by generations of leading pastors as an essential book on the work of ministry, this abridged version of The Reformed Pastor presents the best of Richard Baxter’s timeless advice in simple, modern language that’s more accessible to a new generation of church leaders.

Have you ever wondered why we Christians do what we do for church every Sunday morning? Why do we "dress up" for church? Why does the pastor preach a sermon each week? Why do we have pews, steeples, choirs, and seminaries? This volume reveals the startling truth: most of what Christians do in present-day churches is not rooted in the New Testament, but in pagan culture and rituals developed long after the death of the apostles.

This is a book of wisdom and insight that explains how providential are the trials through which the Catholic Church is now passing. All these themes receive new clarity and depth from Cardinal Ratzinger.

The subject of the book of Ephesians is the church. There are seven aspects of the church revealed in Ephesians. The church is the Body, the new man, the kingdom, the family, the dwelling place, the bride, and the warrior.

This vision of and invitation to the work of global missions challenges Christians everywhere to cultivate a holy ambition to preach Christ where he has not yet been named.

A growing number of Baptist churches today are rediscovering their confessional heritage. The contributors to this book welcome this rediscovery. Indeed, they hope it continues! With that end in view, they have written and compiled these essays to celebrate and commend the use of creeds and confessions in Baptist faith and life. The primary audiences they have in view are local church leaders and members because sound theology is not just the province of the academy but is essential to the health and ministry of the local church. What's New in the Second Edition? This new Second Edition is ...

Most discussions on the subject of the Roman Catholic - Eastern Orthodox schism are written by apologists, typically with the agenda to prove that one side is ‘exclusively right.’ Often, these books focus on specific topics such as ‘Peter’s primacy’ and never tackle the underlying issues, such as ecclesiology, or the meaning of words, such as “church” or “primacy.” In this comprehensive, scholarly, yet easy-to-read study, the author cuts through the fog of popular apologetics and lays bare all the facts with unprecedented objectivity. Writing from an Orthodox perspective ...

Step into a deeper understanding of worship with Understanding Worship by pastor and scholar Sam Storms. Storms challenges conventional perceptions of worship, encouraging readers to approach God with a heart ready to receive all his goodness as we find our delight and satisfaction in God's love...

What does the Bible say about God's purpose for us, the witness of the church, and our mission to spread the message of the gospel? Chris Wright's pioneering 2006 book, The Mission of God, revealed that the typical Christian understanding of "missions" encompasses only a small part of God's...

Read by the authors. Rediscover the wisdom of the cross and the power that truly sets you free. Pastor Jamin Goggin and theology professor Kyle Strobel invite you on a journey to uncover Jesus' seemingly contradictory way to power: weakness. Why do so many rock-star pastors implode under the...

Author Frank Viola gives listeners language for all they knew was missing in their modern church experience. He believes that many of today's congregations have shifted from God's original intent for the church. As a prominent leader of the house church movement, Frank is at the forefront of a revolution sweeping through the body of Christ. A change that is challenging the spiritual status quo and redefining the very nature of church. A movement inspired by the divine design for authenticity community. A fresh concept rooted in ancient history and in God Himself.

In this short audiobook, Matt Smethurst makes the case that deacons are model servants called to meet tangible needs, organize and mobilize acts of service, preserve the unity of the flock, and support the ministry of the elders. Clearing away common misconceptions, Smethurst offers practical guidance for deploying deacons and helping churches to flourish.

Churches have split and denominations have formed over the issue of church government. While many Christians can explain their church's form of rule or defend it because of its "tried and true" traditions, few people understand their church's administrative customs from a biblical perspective...

Despite Jesus' prayer that all Christians "be one", divisions have been epidemic in the body of Christ from the beginning to the present. We cluster in theological groups, gender groups, age groups, ethnic groups, educational, and economic groups. We criticize freely those who disagree with us, don't look like us, don't act like us, and don't even like what we like. With a personal touch and the trained eye of a social psychologist, Cleveland brings to bear the latest studies and research on the unseen dynamics at work that tend to separate us from others.

Read by the authors. We are currently experiencing the largest and fastest religious shift in US history. It is greater than the First and Second Great Awakening and every revival in our country combined...but in the opposite direction. Yet precious little rigorous study has been done on the...

In times of trial the man who turns to God can compete with God's power—which has been made perfect in his weakness—to claim the choicest gifts from the tree of life as his spoils: patience, unflagging hope, the opening of the eyes of his heart, humility which places him on the path to Personhood, an expanded capacity to bear pain, the finding of unutterable joy within pain, and the invincibility of a life hidden with God.

A compassionate and practical framework to address the wounds of trauma and learn how to develop churches as trauma-informed spaces. Whether you're a pastor, counselor, church leader, or someone who has been hurt by the church, Traumatized Church—written jointly by New Testament scholar Scot...

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?

In this compelling book, Scot McKnight shares his personal experience in the church as well as his study of the Apostle Paul to answer this significant question: What is the church supposed to be? For most of us the church is a place we go to on Sunday to hear a sermon or to participate in...

What does it mean to be Protestant? How can its strengths shape faith in the modern world, and how should its challenges be addressed? With clarity, warmth, and theological depth, Beth Felker Jones explores these questions in Why I Am Protestant. This book offers a positive, theologically grounded reflection on both the beauty and complexity of the Protestant tradition, inviting listeners into a deeper understanding of the Protestant faith and its place within the broader Christian community.