Showing titles in Ecclesiology

The Church has been both sanctuary and source of deep wounding—offering healing in one moment and harm in the next. In Fractured Witness: Reflections on the Redemption, Reformation, and Reclamation of the Church, Dr. Matt Pandel dares to confront this paradox head-on with unflinching honesty and unwavering hope.

For nearly 2000 years, virtually every Christian woman wore a headcovering during worship. Today, the practice has nearly disappeared. What happened? Dale Partridge walks Christians verse by verse through 1 Corinthians 11: 2-16 to help them understand the doctrine of headcoverings and how these biblical symbols visually preserve God’s design for men and women. But more than that, he demonstrates that when these visual symbols are eliminated from the church, society's definitions of men and women are forgotten.

Why do so many churches struggle with dysfunction, declining attendance, and ineffectiveness despite having good intentions and dedicated leaders? The answer isn't found in better programs, modern strategies, or cultural relevance. It's found in returning to God's original blueprint for His church—a design so comprehensive and powerful that Jesus promised "the gates of hell will not prevail against it." Discover God's Complete Vision In God's Blueprint for His Church, you'll explore seven divinely inspired metaphors that reveal exactly what God intended when He designed the church: Family...

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 ...

Much-Afraid had been in the service of the Chief Shepherd, whose great flocks were pastured down in the Valley of Humiliation. She lived with her friends and fellow workers Mercy and Peace in a tranquil little white cottage in the village of Much-Trembling. She loved her work and desired intensely to please the Chief Shepherd, but happy as she was in most ways, she was conscious of several things which hindered her in her work and caused her much secret distress and shame.

“Este es el mejor y más equilibrado estudio del Día del Señor que he leído. Michael Seewald sostiene que el Día del Señor es algo deleitoso, encantador y hermoso. Lo más importante es que Michael despierta en el lector el afecto, aprecio y agradecimiento por el reposo que tenemos en Cristo. Su equilibrada exposición del Día del Señor hará que aquellos que aman a Cristo no solo esperen con ansias la adoración del domingo, sino el gran Día del Señor en el que descansaremos de nuestras labores para siempre”. ― Jeffrey D. Johnson, pastor de la Grace Bible Church y decano ...

Of all things Catholic, there is nothing that is so familiar as the Mass. With its unchanging prayers, the Mass fits Catholics like their favorite clothes. Yet most Catholics sitting in the pews on Sundays fail to see the powerful supernatural drama that enfolds them. Pope John Paul II described the Mass as "Heaven on Earth," explaining that what "we celebrate on Earth is a mysterious participation in the heavenly liturgy."

There is a church...not the one that man is building...but the one that Jesus himself has been constructing in the hearts and lives of believers throughout the ages.

Who Stole My Church? is a fictional story that tells the all-too-real tale of many church communities today. In this audiobook, you can walk alongside an imaginary community, led by real-life pastor Gordon MacDonald and his wife, Gail, and discover how to meet the needs of all believers without abandoning the dreams and desires of any.

The office of deacon is God's gift to His church, but today it is often undervalued, misunderstood, and perceived to be of little importance. In The Deacon, the author considers the Old Testament background for this calling, the deacon in New Testament times and in church history, and the current function of the office. You will rediscover the high and privileged calling of deacons and come to a better understanding of what God requires of them.

Discover the joy and simplicity of learning from Jesus in your living room. With a few friends, a Bible, the Holy Spirit, and place to meet, your house can be a gospel house.

The Heart of the Artist will give you a better understanding of yourself and your unique place in the body of Christ. You'll find wisdom and encouragement that can help you survive the challenges and reap the rich joys of a ministry in the creative arts. Each chapter includes provocative questions for group discussion and personal action steps for individual application. Somewhere between pride and self-abasement lies true humility - just one aspect of the balanced character God wants to instill in you as a creative person involved in ministry.

Evangelical Christianity is a paradox. Evangelicals are radically individualist, but devoted to community and family. They believe in the transformative power of a personal relationship with God, but are wary of religious enthusiasm. They are deeply skeptical of secular reason, but eager to find scientific proof that the Bible is true. In this groundbreaking history of modern American evangelicalism, Molly Worthen argues that these contradictions are the products of a crisis of authority that lies at the heart of the faith.

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.

Congregations often seek to combat the crisis of decline by using innovation to produce new resources. But leading practical theologian Andrew Root shows that the church's crisis is not in the loss of resources; it's in the loss of life—and that life can only return when we remain open to God's encountering presence. This new book, related to Root's critically acclaimed Ministry in a Secular Age project, addresses the practical form the church must take in a secular age.

When I was called to pastor my first church, I was certain of only one thing—I was in over my head! This small church had nearly closed its doors. They were running about 35 on a Sunday, were steeped in tradition, and I was bi-vocational. I had a dream of revitalizing our church to become a healthy, evangelistically effective church that was fulfilling the Great Commandment and the Great Commission but wasn’t sure how to do it. The D.R.E.A.M. Church shares the strategies that our church and thousands of others have used to experience healthy, long-term growth.

In this compelling audiobook, 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?

The term evangelical is often poorly defined and frequently comes with cultural and political baggage. As the label has become more controversial, many Christians have begun to wonder if they should abandon it altogether. Michael Reeves argues from a global, scriptural, and historical perspective that, while it's not necessary to discard the label altogether, Christians must return to the root of the term—the evangel, or "gospel"—in order to understand what it truly means.

For years, Douglas Wilson was a credobaptist, even after accepting Calvinism and Postmillennialism. However, when he sat down to write a book on baptism, he came to question his own views and to realize that the Biblical teachings point in exactly the opposite direction. The result of that study is this audiobook, To a Thousand Generations.

Trendy new missions strategies are a dime a dozen, promising missionaries monumental results in record time. These strategies report explosive movements of people turning to Christ, but their claims are often dubious and they do little to ensure the health of believers or churches that remain. How can churches and missionaries address the urgent need to reach unreached people without falling for quick fixes?