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Being a pastor is a complicated calling. Pastors are often pulled in multiple directions and must "become all things to all people" (1 Cor. 9:22). What does the New Testament say (or not say) about the pastoral calling? And what can we learn about it from the apostle Paul? According to popular New Testament scholar Scot McKnight, pastoring must begin first and foremost with spiritual formation, which plays a vital role in the life and ministry of the pastor. As leaders, pastors both create and nurture culture in a church. The biblical vision for that culture is Christoformity, or Christlikeness. Grounding pastoral ministry in the pastoral praxis of the apostle Paul, McKnight shows that nurturing Christoformity was at the heart of the Pauline mission. The pastor's central calling, then, is to mediate Christ in everything. McKnight explores seven dimensions that illustrate this concept--friendship, siblings, generosity, storytelling, witness, subverting the world, and wisdom--as he calls pastors to be conformed to Christ and to nurture a culture of Christoformity in their churches.
All too often Church leaders may want to work cooperatively with others, and yet find themselves frustrated. Clergy, Culture and Ministry considers the difficulties and challenges faced by any incumbent wishing to interpret and understand what is going on in their congregation and parish, and why it might be happening. Engaging with the work of Wesley Carr, Ian Tomlinson brings theory and practice into conversation by responding to each of Carr’s ‘propositions’ with a ‘critical incident’ from the author’s own parish experience. Table of Contents: Foreword – Martyn Percy Introduction 1 Critical Incidents 2 Behaviours and Boundaries 3 Practical and Pastoral Theology 4 Applications and Reflections 5 Propositions and Practical Wisdom 6 Pastors, Preachers and Priests – Some Prescriptions Conclusion Afterword – Martyn Percy
Does your life matter? How can you make a difference? James Emery White shows how you can live a life of significance at the front lines of what God is doing in the world today.
Jesus is Lord over everything. So his lordship should shape every aspect of life. But what impact does faith really have on our day-today existence? And how should we, as Christians, interact with the culture? In Every Square Inch, Bruce Ashford skillfully navigates such questions. Drawing on sources like Abraham Kuyper, C.S. Lewis, and Francis Schaeffer, he shows how our faith is relevant to all dimensions of culture. The gospel informs everything we do. We cannot maintain the artificial distinction between "sacred" and "secular." We must proclaim Jesus with our lips and promote him with our lives, no matter what cultural contexts we may find ourselves in.
Hip-hop is here. The beats ring out in our cities. Hip-hop culture is all around us: in the clothes youth wear, in the music they listen to, in the ways they express themselves. It is the language they speak, the rhythm they move to. It is a culture familiar with the hard realities of our broken world; the generation raised with rap knows about the pain. They need to know about the hope. Enter the hip-hop church. Like the culture it rises from, the hip-hop church is relevant and bold. And it speaks to the heart. In this book, pastors Efrem Smith and Phil Jackson show the urgency of connecting hip-hop culture and church to reach a generation with the gospel of Jesus Christ. They give practical ideas from their urban churches and other hip-hop churches about how to engage and incorporate rap, break dancing, poetry and deejays to worship Jesus and preach his Word. Hip-hop culture is shaping the next generation. Ignoring it will not reduce its influence; it will only separate us from the youth moving to its rhythm. How will they hear Christ's message of truth and hope if we don't speak their language? And how can we speak their language if we don't understand and embrace their culture? Hear the beat. Join the beat. Become the beat that brings truth and hope to a hungry, hurting generation.
Tilling the Church is a theology for the pilgrim church. In this book, Richard Lennan shows how the ecclesial community looks toward the fullness of God’s reign but lives within the flux of history, the site of its relationship to the trinitarian God. In this way, God’s grace “tills” the church, constantly refreshing the tradition of faith and prompting the discipleship that embodies the gospel. Tilling the Church explores the possibilities for a more faithful, just, and creative church, one responsive to the movement of grace. Fruitful engagement with grace requires the church’s conversion, the ongoing formation of a community whose words and actions reflect the hope that grace engenders.
What does “missional” mean for small Christian communities in a deeply secular society? Leading missiologist Stefan Paas asks what missional spirituality could possibly mean for today’s local church. This fully revised new international edition will make this an important introduction to contemporary thinking on mission and the church.
To preach effectively in today's world, preachers need cultural intelligence. They must build bridges between listeners who come from various denominations, ethnicities, genders, locations, religious backgrounds, and more. Experienced preacher and teacher Matthew Kim provides a step-by-step template for cross-cultural hermeneutics and homiletics, equipping preachers to reach their varied listeners in the church and beyond. Each chapter includes questions for individual thought or group discussion. The book also includes helpful diagrams and images, a sample sermon, and appendixes for exegeting listeners and for exploring cultural differences.
Have you ever felt out of place as an introvert in an extroverted church culture? With practical illustrations from church and parachurch contexts, McHugh offers ways for introverts to serve, lead, worship, and even evangelize in ways consistent with their personalities. This expanded edition is essential reading for introverted Christians and church leaders alike.
You'll hear it in news coverage of the Church scandals - Clerical Culture" - but what does it mean? In Clerical Culture: Contradiction and Transformation Michael L. Papesh provides an understanding for today's clerical system and present circumstances. Papesh describes the origin and contemporary formation of the clerical culture as well as eleven major contradictions in which today's clerical culture is trapped. To transcend these crises, Papesh calls for a spiritual approach to cultural transformation (both clerical and popular) through leadership: in holiness, in love, and in justice. Written in an engaging style and complete with raw data and appendices, Clerical Culture provides the knowledge needed to understand today's Church crisis. Chapters in Part One, Focusing the Issues are: *A Personal Story, - *The Problem, - *How the Clerical Culture Came to Be, - *The Clerical Culture: Set for the Ages, - and *Theological Underpinnings. - Chapters in Part Two, The Contradictions are: *Priestly Formation, - *Priest Accountability, - *A Priest's Personal Support System, - and *Living a Contradictory Life. - Chapters in Part Three, Considerations Toward Transformation are: *Cultural Transformation, - *Being Leaders in Holiness, - *Being Leaders in Love, - *Being Leaders in Justice, - and *The Spirit and the Bride Say 'Come'. - Also includes *Appendix 1: Cleveland Priests' Hopes and Concerns Based on Three Areas of Challenge, - *Appendix 2: Cleveland Priests' Large-Group Discussion Task Force Charges, - *Appendix 3: Summary: The Basic Plan for Ongoing Formation of Priests, - *Appendix 4: The Organizational Life Cycle: Change Grid, - and a Bibliography. Michael L. Papesh is Pastor of Our Lady of Peace Parish in St.Paul, Minnesota. "