Kategoria BISAC: Religion >> Christian Ministry - General

Richard Armstrong and Kirk Morledge present this practical guide for pastoral ministry, offering counsel about a wide range of topics related to a pastor's professional ministry and personal life. Topics include beginning a new ministry, balancing one's personal life and ministry, wrestling with conflict, worrying about church finances, and preaching. This introduction to ministry can function as a textbook as well as an invaluable handbook or desk reference for pastors in the midst of congregational ministry.

Why is it that people who read the same Bible and talk about the same Christ, even when they belong to the same church, have trouble getting along with each other and committing themselves to a common witness in the world? In this highly original book, Shirley Guthrie looks at these questions and provides a framework that will help Christians better understand their own beliefs, learn from each other, and be more open to working for greater union in addressing serious issues.

This work challenges pastors, seminarians, and active members of the laity to rethink the social character of their ministry. Dieter Hessel calls on parish communities to "meet human need with good Samaritan love while acting for justice with prophetic boldness." In this updated edition, Hessel assesses major new developments that have occurred in both church and society since the first publication of Social Ministry. He gives special attention to the uncertainty that churches face today in regard to their public role.

This much-needed work examines the three most litigated areas in clergy counseling: breaches of confidentiality, sexual misconduct, and the content and quality of counseling service. The authors provide clear and concise explanations of clauses in the U.S. Constitution pertaining to religion as well as up-to-date accounts of cases against clergy and their employers.

This book takes a novel, cultural approach to studying mainline denominations, focusing on the denominations' religious and moral vision--the beliefs, values, symbols, stories, and style that make a denomination distinct. Of special concern are the ways in which denominations passed on their vision and how they maintained plausibility under changing circumstances. Contributors include a variety of authors, historians, sociologists, anthropologists, educators, and liturgists who examine ways in which denominations have sought to transmit their culture with varying degrees of success or...

How does a congregation best serve its own neighborhood? This practical guide for congregations and parishes addresses this question by reviewing the growth of the ecumenically oriented community ministry movement in recent years. David Bos believes the typical "community ministry" rising from that movement possesses three vital and energizing characteristics: it is congregation-based and very local; it is a social ministry that sees issues through the prism of its own community; and it is ecumenical. He focuses on community ministry as a particular way of ministering to society, in which...

Over a period of years, Donald Smith probed, analyzed, interpreted, and reinterpreted data pertaining to what makes for effective ministry. Through all his research, one fact kept emerging: pastors who focus on empowering others are recognized as the most effective. This book distills the best information about cultivating an effective ministry from the voices of several hundred highly effective congregational leaders.

As record numbers of women graduate from seminaries, they are increasingly filling positions once held exclusively by men. Sally Purvis documents what happened in the lives of two congregations that appointed women senior pastors and the impact these appointments had on all concerned. She carefully assesses the changes and discerns the significance of female leadership as opposed to male leadership in these two churches.