Showing titles in Ecclesiology

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.

Why is the city a battleground of hostile principalities and powers? What is the mission of the church in the city? How can the church be supported in accomplishing that mission? These are the questions that Robert Linthicum treats in his comprehensive and probing biblical theology of the city...

In our quest to renew the church, Christians have walked through seeker-friendly, emergent, missional, and other movements to develop new expressions of the body of Christ. Now, in the post-Christian world in North America, we're asking the question again: Is there a way to be the church that engages the world, not by judgment nor accommodation but by becoming the good news in our culture?

Cutting through the controversies and doctrinal debates, two trusted Dallas Theological Seminary professors offer a practical, foundational handbook on the basics of Christian theology—and why it matters to everyday life. From humanity and sin to the Trinity to the end times, Svigel and Holsteen show why these topics matter and how you can apply them to your life every day. 

The Zondervan Biblical and Theological Lectures series provides a unique audio learning experience. Unlike a traditional audiobook's direct narration of a book's text, Kingdom of God: Audio Lectures includes high quality live-recordings of college-level lectures that cover the important points...

Cultural Bridges is a timely and transformative resource for the church in a rapidly changing world. Drawing from biblical foundations, church history, and global movements, Matthew Fretwell invites readers to rediscover the dynamic interplay of right belief, right practice, and right alignment—what he calls the triadic balance of orthodoxy, orthopraxy, and orthopathy. This book challenges traditional models of church and leadership, offering a vision for Spirit-led, adaptive communities that thrive amid cultural diversity, urban migration, and global displacement. Through immersive ...

America has become a beautiful mosaic filled with many colors and ethnicities—but does your church reflect this change? Are you longing to be a cross-cultural leader who can guide the church into a multicolored world for the sake of the gospel? If so, Building a Multiethnic Church will give...

In recent years, something curious is happening in the church scene. Some Evangelicals are drawn to the Eastern Orthodox Church (or to Roman Catholicism). The ancient churches offer an alternative to liberal mainline Protestant churches and theologically compromised charismatic and Evangelical churches. They reject the LGBTQ+ agenda, promote protective masculinity, and stand for pro-life issues. While many Christians would still affirm these values, what else is involved in the trade-off? What about the authority of scripture or tradition? Is faith in Christ enough for salvation, or must ...

There is an unseen realm where the eternal struggle between the seeds of God and the seeds of Satan rages. This profound cosmic conflict has unfolded since the dawn of time. The ancient scriptures tell of fallen angels descending to Earth in physical form and creating an illegal act against God, seeking to create a hybrid race of humans known as the Nephilim. These were the offspring of fallen angels and human women, bridging the gap between the celestial and the earthly. This is the story of the “Seed Wars,” a titanic battle that revolves around the essence of creation and the attempt ...

Can we trust the Bible, or has it been distorted over the centuries? If Christians believe that the Bible contains the very words of Almighty God, why have most never read it cover to cover or made it part of their daily lives? How did we get the Bible? How should one respond to legitimate criticism? Everyone believes something when it comes to religion. Atheists believe there is no God. Atheists are not unreasonable, they are just arguing from a different starting point. How should we think about atheism? Are angels and demons real, or just a Hollywood invention? If the devil exists, why ...

In Finding Jesus, author Herb Montgomery delves into the profound and often overlooked political dimensions of the gospels. Through meticulous analysis of biblical texts, historical context, and social discourse, this thought-provoking book unveils the gospels’ socio-political, economic teachings as rooted in a profound concern for justice, compassion, and the well-being of the marginalized. The book navigates the intersections between faith and societal justice, presenting a compelling argument for a more socially engaged and transformative Christianity.

What if everything you believe about God, salvation, heaven, hell, sin, and Scripture was built on assumptions—and you didn’t even know it? The truth is, millions of Christians live out their faith with a fragmented understanding of the Bible. But God never meant for His Word to be confusing or compartmentalized. You were created to know truth deeply, believe rightly, and live boldly. *Systematic Theology* is the key that unlocks clarity in the chaos. Whether you're a pastor, seminary student, Bible teacher, or curious believer, chances are you've wrestled with complex questions: What ...

After thirty years building a technology company and fifty years as an evangelical churchman, Jonathan Bentley could no longer reconcile his faith with the God he'd inherited — unchanging, all-controlling, untouchable. So he did something he couldn't fully explain. He walked 120 miles through Italy following the Way of Saint Francis, from Florence to Assisi to Rome. On the trail, accompanied by a mysterious Italian guide named Franco who asked questions Bentley couldn't answer, something unexpected happened. The old certainties fell away — and what replaced them was better.

Belong: The Beauty and Necessity of the Local Church – How the Bible Defines the Church What is the church? Is it a building? A global network of believers? Or is it something far more specific—and far more vital—to the heart of God? For centuries, Christians have wrestled with these questions. Many today see the church as optional, outdated, or merely symbolic. But Scripture paints a very different picture: the church is God’s chosen instrument for reaching the world, the bride of Christ, and the place where believers are called to grow, serve, and stand together for truth. In this...

The Reformation restored the Scriptures to the people, but the job was only halfway finished. Today the church is awakening to the truth that ministry is not just the domain of clergy, but belongs to the entire body of Christ. God is moving her to complete her unfinished business of placing the...

If you truly want to grow in everything God made you to be, you owe it to yourself to read this book. You joined your church because of its intensity for God. Like no other place, it’s helped you discover the meaning of obedience. If there’s one problem, it’s the confusion that sometimes...

History amply demonstrates that the truths of Paul's message cannot be overstated or repeated too often. The appalling, centuries-long failure to stop false teachers from invading churches can be traced directly back to ignorance of or disobedience to Paul's prophetic warnings to the Ephesian elders. Paul's instructions and pleas to the Ephesian elders are just as critically needed today as they were that day on the shores of Miletus.

What comes to mind when you think of the word church? In this volume, Gregg R. Allison helps define the church and its mission by presenting an overview of the specific doctrines and practices of different churches and denominations. He lays a basic foundation for better understanding the common practices among local church communities (“mere ecclesiology”) and the ways that they diverge from one another (“more ecclesiology”).

How should we think about church growth in our current cultural moment? The golden era ushered in by the industrial revolution led the Protestant church in America to experience unprecedented growth and prosperity in the twentieth century. This environment has formed our understanding of and...

A cautionary look at 10 dangerously appealing half-truths. Not long ago, I came across a list of 10 principles set forth by proponents of progressive Christianity. They are, in effect, a new 10 commandments. What’s striking is that they are far less about God revealing his desires and far more about man expressing his own - less Moses, more Oprah. Yet each of these commandments is partially true. Indeed, that is what makes this list, and progressive Christianity as a whole, so challenging.