Restoring The Soul Of A Church Book in PDF, ePub and Kindle version is available to download in english. Read online anytime anywhere directly from your device. Click on the download button below to get a free pdf file of Restoring The Soul Of A Church book. This book definitely worth reading, it is an incredibly well-written.
Restoring the Soul of a Church by Nancy Myer Hopkins,Mark R. Laaser Pdf
The Interfaith Sexual Trauma Institute has commissioned this pastoral work which focuses on the healing of congregations following clergy sexual misconduct. The book discusses the original problem of sexual misconduct and exploitation and then focuses on those neglected "secondary" victims of abuse: the congregation, the wider community, other clergy, the wider church, the offender's family, and the pastor who takes over.
The Pastor as Counselor (Foreword by Ed Welch) by David Powlison Pdf
David Powlison Examines the Unique Role of the Pastor as Counselor A pastor inhabits multiple roles—teacher, preacher, youth leader, and counselor. Yet many church leaders feel unprepared to counsel church members who are struggling with difficult, multifaceted problems. David Powlison reminds pastors of their unique role as the shepherds of God's people, equipping them to apply biblical wisdom to the thoughts, values, moods, expectations, and decisions of those under their care.
Restoring the Soul of the University by Perry L. Glanzer,Nathan F. Alleman,Todd C. Ream Pdf
Christianity Today's 2018 Book of the Year Award of Merit - Politics/Public Life Has the American university gained the whole world but lost its soul? In terms of money, prestige, power, and freedom, American universities appear to have gained the academic world. But at what cost? We live in the age of the fragmented multiversity that has no unifying soul or mission. The multiversity in a post-Christian culture is characterized instead by curricular division, the professionalization of the disciplines, the expansion of administration, the loss of community, and the idolization of athletics. The situation is not hopeless. According to Perry L. Glanzer, Nathan F. Alleman, and Todd C. Ream, Christian universities can recover their soul—but to do so will require reimagining excellence in a time of exile, placing the liberating arts before the liberal arts, and focusing on the worship, love, and knowledge of God as central to the university. Restoring the Soul of the University is a pioneering work that charts the history of the university and casts an inspiring vision for the future of higher education.
Many of us have endless demands and stifling daily routines. Learn why Sabbath is essential to our full humanity and faith, a rhythm of work and rest set by God that if restored to our lives will bring prolonged life, enriched relationships, increased fruitfulness, and abundant joy. We are waylaid by endless demands and stifling routines. Even our vacations have a panicky, task-like edge to them. “If I only had more time,” is the mantra of our age. But is this the real problem? Pastor Mark Buchanan believes that what we’ve really lost is the rest of God—the rest God bestows and, with it, that part of himself we can know only through stillness. In The Rest of God, you’ll: Form a deeper relationship with God by understanding Sabbath’s true purpose Learn how Sabbath allows us to live more fully into our status as free people, released from the grueling, incessant demands of life Connect Sabbath to the ultimate rest—heaven Receive practical advice for restoring Sabbath in your life With this book, Buchanan reminds us that Sabbath is about much more than going to church on Sunday. It's about the much-needed time to be still. The gift of Sabbath is essential to our full humanity and faith. God, knowing that and knowing how easily we might neglect it, made it a command. Begin your own journey of restoration and renewal!
During the past several years the mass media in the United States has been awash with reports of priestly pedophilia, ecclesiastical cover-up, and clerical intimidation or financial settlements intended to silence victims. Based on journalistic accounts, or scholarly research, it might be assumed that this is a recent phenomenon. Journalist reports began only within the past few years. Similarly, most sociologists of religion and particularly specialists in deviance and criminology did not reflect awareness of clerical misbehavior in their work. Despite this, Anson Shupe shows that clergy deviance, whether it is sexual or otherwise, is not merely a recent problem. It is as old as the church itself and is inevitably bound to recur due to the nature of religious groups. This comprehensive analysis offers the first up-to-date analysis of sexual, economic, and authoritative clergy malfeasance across faiths and denominational authority structures. Drawing on examples taken from antiquity up until the present day, and using reports by historians, theologians, church spokespersons, therapists, social scientists, and journalists, Shupe critically evaluates clergy deviant behavior, dividing it into various types. He also makes use of the therapeutic literature, addressing victimization at the level of the individual, church, and community at large. In this way, he compares the response of the clergy to victims' attempts to mobilize movements calling for church reform. Perhaps most controversial, this book considers the possible relationship of homosexuality in the clergy to the occurrences of scandals in all religious traditions across the board. As an overview of clergy misconduct, this book is singular. There is simply no other comprehensive serious examination of this subject. Written by a sociologist for a wide range of readers, its multi-disciplinary nature, vivid examples, and wealth of research, will make the volume of interest to sociologists of religion and crime, historians and theologians, as well as a general public.
The Christian church in America is doing its best to be relevant. Its leaders are trying harder, working longer hours, offering more programs, and trying to solve more problems. Not coincidentally, more clergy than ever before are burning out or "browning out," losing their edge, becoming lethargic. How do we move beyond this sense of despair and hopelessness? What does it mean to restore the soul of the church? How can it become more relevant unto itself and to people like those with whom I talk in the workplace-those who eagerly seek meaning? In Not Trying Too Hard, Bob Sitze has taken the bold first step on this journey of restoring the soul of the church.
Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems by Candace R. Benyei Pdf
In Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems, you’ll take an incisive look at why sexual misconduct occurs in religious systems and how to implement proactive strategies for holistic change. Applicable to both Jewish and Christian communities, this illuminating exploration takes a look at the psychology behind scapegoating, why it is perpetuated, and how you can quell the damaging tradition of silence. Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems helps you see leaders of religious institutions in a way that the world has been afraid to see them--in a glass clearly. Enriched with metaphoric myths and fairy tales instead of technical jargon, its unique systemic perspective reveals the psychodynamics behind the obsession with family secrets and lets you understand this dysfunction from the perspectives of victim, abuser, and counselor. These specific areas will both inform and aid you in dealing with this difficult subject: the religious institution as a family system the religious system as an illusion of the perfect family the concept of God-transference and the overidealization of clergy clergy personal relationships and clergy congregational relationships vulnerability and the psychology of the victim strategies for healing dysfunctional religious systems Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems comes at just the right time--in an era when little has been written on the subject, especially from a systemic perspective, this work comes at a time when the phenomena of clergy sexual misconduct has rocked the very foundation of religious systems worldwide. Whether you’re a lay congregational leader, judicatory administrator, pastoral counselor, psychologist, or seminarian, you’ll find that the coping strategies and intervention techniques it outlines will guide you in pinpointing the sickness at its source and restoring felicity and order to your religious leaders and their communities.
As Christians, we know that we are new creations in Jesus. So we try to act differently, hoping this will make us more like Him. But changing our outward behavior doesn’t change our hearts. Only by God’s grace can we be transformed internally. Renovation of the Heart lays a biblical foundation for understanding what best-selling author Dallas Willard calls the “transformation of the spirit”—a divine process that “brings every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God.” This fresh approach to spiritual growth explains the biblical reasons why Christians need to undergo change in six aspects of life: thought, feeling, will, body, social context, and soul. Willard also outlines a general pattern of transformation in each area, not as a sterile formula but as a practical process that you can follow without the guilt or perfectionism so many Christians wrestle with. Don’t settle for complacency. Accept the challenge Renovation of the Heart offers to become an intentional apprentice of Jesus Christ, changing daily as you walk with Him.
Most of us lead busy, frenzied, fragmented lives. Our inner fragmentation keeps us from fully experiencing the wholeness and peace -- the sense of flourishing -- that our hearts so deeply long for. In this book Chuck DeGroat invites readers to admit the exhaustion and fragmentation they experience on a daily basis even as he casts a vision for wholeheartedness. With wisdom gained through his years of pastoral care and counseling, he explores the phenomenon of human dividedness and wholeness through the Christian story, examines how others have experienced it, and looks at how psychologists and researchers suggest addressing it. With insights derived from a rich diversity of sources, including poets, scientists, philosophers, psychologists, and the Christian tradition, DeGroatsWholeheartedness will enable readers to discover the remedy for their frenzied lives.
Once upon a time, humans lived in intimate relationship with nature. Whether disillusioned by the dominant church or unfulfilled by traditional expressions of faith, many of us long for a deeper spirtuality. Victoria Loorz certainly did. Coping with an unraveling vocation, identity, and planet, Loorz turned to the wanderings of spiritual leaders and the sanctuary of the natural world, eventually cofounding the Wild Church Network and Seminary of the Wild. With an ecospiritual lens on biblical narratives and a fresh look at a community larger than our own species, Church of the Wild uncovers the wild roots of faith and helps us deepen our commitment to a suffering earth by falling in love with it--and calling it church. Through mystical encounters with wild deer, whispers from a scrubby oak tree, wordless conversation with a cougar, and more, Loorz helps us connect to a love that literally holds the world together--a love that calls us into communion with all creatures.
The North American church is struggling. Our society seems to be coming apart at the seams and Christianity appears on the verge of losing its voice, its leadership, and its youth. The church’s calling is to cooperate with her Creator in the repair of the world. Instead, we struggle in the loss of the simplicity of the natural images of Jesus which compel us to engage tension, dependency, and the lesson of being on the margins. Until we learn to take our cues from a world we did not build, our actions will continue to prop up a society struggling from the weight of its own ethos. Part history, part cultural dialogue, part travelogue—always in conversation with the ancient and compelling biblical vision of shalom—Landscape of the Soul will encourage you to see beyond the shells of your constructed world to those places where dynamic spiritual rhythms can still be found.
Restoring All Things by John Stonestreet,Warren Cole Smith Pdf
It's easy to get discouraged by the headlines. It can often feel as if God has left the building, like we are on our own. We want to believe God's promises to us, and we search for signs of his continuing restoration of the world in which we live. Now, with passion and heart, two leading experts on Christianity and culture cut through the chaos and uncertainty to show readers how God is powerfully active and intensely engaged in fulfilling his promise to restore all things unto himself. Through inspiring real-life stories of justice, mercy, love, and forgiveness in our midst, Smith and Stonestreet present a God who is intimately involved in his creation and using his church to work out the redemption of this world.
When a Congregation Is Betrayed by Candace R. Benyei,E. Larraine Frampton,Nancy Myer Hopkins,Patricia L. Liberty,Deborah J. Pope-Lance Pdf
Other books have been written about clergy misconduct and its effects on congregations. Some are by victims. Others are written by professionals for a professional audience. Until now, however, there hasn't been a book for the congregational leaders who must deal with the fallout of clergy misconduct. Both the afterpastors--the interim or settled pastors who follow misconducting pastors--and lay leaders need guidance about how to assess and effectively respond to the misconduct, how to care for the victim/survivor, and how to carry out the mission and ministry to which the congregation has been called.
Revitalizing the Declining Church by Desmond Barrett Pdf
Standing in the small foyer of his first ministry assignment, Desmond Barrett prayed, "Lord send us someone new." Each week the same eight to thirteen people walked into that tiny church, sat in the same pew, and spoke to the same handful of people content in where they found themselves. As the pastor Barrett questioned, doubted, and cried to himself, praying that God would turn around this church that was at death's door. Death had not come to this once vibrant church overnight, but gradually as it seemed to have snuck up on them through deaths, families moving away, and a series of pastors over twenty years. A new young pastoral family with children was not going to change the trajectory of the church without the church willing to transform. The church was dying, but was it willing to do what it would take to grow again? This story has been played out countless times over the years. If you are a pastor of a dying and struggling church searching for hope, then this resource is for you. It consists of ten stories of churches who faced death and lived to tell the story.
We need to state the obviousprayer is about asking. If we deny, dilute, or diminish that, the bones of our prayer lives will suffer from spiritual osteoporosis. Prayerlessness is a failure to ask and keep on asking. Isnt it obvious what asking is about? Perhaps, but that is precisely why it is taken for granted and not even mentioned in most books about prayer, and if it is, it is treated as if it were a lesser and lower form of prayer, equated with the immature requests of a child. Nothing could be further from the biblical truth. Asking is not simple prayer. Prayer is simply asking. The assumption is that asking will be transcended by more mature forms, so prayer is presented in an ever-increasing number of levels, which seem to make the climb to the throne ever more arduous and unattainable. Just Asking is just about asking. The majority of books about prayer discuss any number of kinds of prayers in general. Asking is all that this book talks about specifically. It invites you into a comprehensive biblical study of asking and then encourages you to just do it. After all, it was Jesus who said, Ask and you will receive and then repeated the invitation no less than six times in his last conversation with his disciples. Arent last words important? Why can we ask with confidence? What makes for effective asking? Read this book and lets just ask together!
