You can serve God and his people for a lifetime and do it with passion and joy. You do not have to become another casualty in the growing number of leaders who have compromised their integrity, character, and ministry because they failed to lead an examined and accountable life. The road forward is clearly marked. Leaders must make a decision to humbly and consistently examine their inner lives and identify areas of needed change and growth. Also, wise leaders commit to listen to the voices of those who will love them enough to speak the truth and point out problems and potential pitfalls....

The demand for quality leaders constantly outstrips the supply. If you're a pastor, team leader, staff member, or board member, you're always challenged with a leadership shortage. But what can you do about it? More than you've ever imagined. The Leadership Baton equips you with a solution that's time-proven and right at hand: church-based leadership development. More and more churches are adopting it, and no wonder--the principles that made the early church such a spiritual powerhouse are just as effective today. Leadership was never a matter of institutional learning or professional...

No issue more polarizes American Protestants today than the church's stance on homosexuality. In recent years, a number of denominations have engaged in prolonged and divisive debates on the subject, and it appears that these debates will continue to occupy their attention. The contributors to this volume call for the formation of a "loyal opposition" that is serious in its commitment to the difficult process of reconciliation and forgiveness. Faithfulness to the gospel, they remind readers, requires nothing less than that Christians will be committed to the full inclusion of all persons...

Prepare yourself with practical ways to love others through their greatest challenges. People face difficult, painful stuff in life--and they shouldn't struggle alone. But what do you say? How do you help? What if you make things worse?

This rapid-response handbook gives you and your small group the confidence to share God's...

Over half of all North Americans live in the suburbs. In The Suburban Church, retired pastor Arthur H. DeKruyter encourages Christians to "go where the people congregate" and illustrates how to plant, grow, and renew suburban congregations. Throughout this book, DeKruyter relies on forty-five-plus years of pastoral ministry experience in which his own congregation grew from five families to more than five thousand members. He dispels myths about suburbia and demonstrates how to minister successfully, fit historic preaching and worship to suburban needs, finance church programs,...

Presbyterian Handbook has informed and amused thousands of Presbyterians and other Christians with a distinctive blend of historical and theological information, fun-filled facts, and practical tips on being a churchgoing follower of Jesus Christ. Now comes The Presbyterian Handbook for Pastors, which captures all the essential information any pastor needs to serve and lead in any situation in one volume. Complete with illustrations and bits of humor, this handy resource is ideal for Presbyterian pastors, lay pastors, seminary students, candidates for ministry, and all those...

An array of cultural forces is coming together to present the church with unprecedented challenge and unequaled opportunity. Such "category 5" realities as postmodernism, postChristendom attacks on belief in God, and the threat of global warming have coalesced to make a "perfect storm" that will leave people uncertain of their place in the world, and all they have previously believed in. Like the disciples when Jesus calmed the storm,...