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Author: Nancy Tatom Ammerman
Publisher: Rutgers University Press
Published: 1997
Total Pages: 460
ISBN-13: 9780813523354
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Why do some religious institutions decline in the face of racial integration whilst others grow? How do congregations deal with economic distress? This study of congregations in the face of community transformation includes stories of over 20 congregations in nine communities across America.
Author: Mark Chaves
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Published: 2009-07-01
Total Pages: 304
ISBN-13: 0674029445
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →More Americans belong to religious congregations than to any other kind of voluntary association. What these vast numbers amount to--what people are doing in the over 300,000 churches, synagogues, mosques, and temples in the United States--is a question that resonates through every quarter of American society, particularly in these times of "faith-based initiatives," "moral majorities," and militant fundamentalism. And it is a question answered in depth and in detail in Congregations in America. Drawing on the 1998 National Congregations Study--the first systematic study of its kind--as well as a broad range of quantitative, qualitative, and historical evidence, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the most significant form of collective religious expression in American society: local congregations. Among its more surprising findings, Congregations in America reveals that, despite the media focus on the political and social activities of religious groups, the arts are actually far more central to the workings of congregations. Here we see how, far from emphasizing the pursuit of charity or justice through social services or politics, congregations mainly traffic in ritual, knowledge, and beauty through the cultural activities of worship, religious education, and the arts. Along with clarifying--and debunking--arguments on both sides of the debate over faith-based initiatives, the information presented here comprises a unique and invaluable resource, answering previously unanswerable questions about the size, nature, make-up, finances, activities, and proclivities of these organizations at the very center of American life.
Author: Monique M. Ingalls
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Published: 2018-09-17
Total Pages: 224
ISBN-13: 0190499664
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Contemporary worship music shapes the way evangelical Christians understand worship itself. Author Monique M. Ingalls argues that participatory worship music performances have brought into being new religious social constellations, or "modes of congregating". Through exploration of five of these modes--concert, conference, church, public, and networked congregations--Singing the Congregation reinvigorates the analytic categories of "congregation" and "congregational music." Drawing from theoretical models in ethnomusicology and congregational studies, Singing the Congregation reconceives the congregation as a fluid, contingent social constellation that is actively performed into being through communal practice--in this case, the musically-structured participatory activity known as "worship." "Congregational music-making" is thereby recast as a practice capable of weaving together a religious community both inside and outside local institutional churches. Congregational music-making is not only a means of expressing local concerns and constituting the local religious community; it is also a powerful way to identify with far-flung individuals, institutions, and networks that comprise this global religious community. The interactions among the congregations reveal widespread conflicts over religious authority, carrying far-ranging implications for how evangelicals position themselves relative to other groups in North America and beyond.
Author: Jane E. Vennard
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Published: 2005-06-30
Total Pages: 167
ISBN-13: 1566994616
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Pastors and others who want to develop their skills as teachers of prayer and spiritual practices will find in this book not only wisdom for themselves but easily accessible lesson plans, enabling them to share Vennard's insights with others while infusing the activities with their own spirit and creative ideas. Through this book, readers' hearts are made ready to explore the wonder of strengthening their relationship with God through prayer.
Author: Ken Wilson
Publisher: Read the Spirit Books
Published: 2016-05-20
Total Pages: 282
ISBN-13: 1942011407
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →“A breakthrough work coming from the heart of evangelical Christianity,” writes theologian David Gushee. “Wilson shows how God has led him on a journey toward a rethinking of what the fully authoritative and inspired Bible ought to be taken to mean in the life of the church today.” “This book … will shape what the church becomes,” writes anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann. “One of the most exquisite, painful, candid, brilliant pieces … that I have ever seen,” writes Christian author Phyllis Tickle. The second edition contains expanded material.
Author: Andrew Root
Publisher: Baker Academic
Published: 2021-01-19
Total Pages: 288
ISBN-13: 9780801098482
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Churches often realize they need to change. But if they're not careful, the way they change can hurt more than help. In this culmination of his well-received Ministry in a Secular Age trilogy, leading practical theologian Andrew Root offers a new paradigm for understanding the congregation in contemporary ministry. He articulates why it is so hard for congregations to change and encourages an approach that doesn't fall into the negative traps of our secular age. Living in late modernity means our lives are constantly accelerated, and calls for change in the church often support this call to speed up. Root asserts that the recent push toward innovation in churches has led to an acceleration of congregational life that strips the sacred out of time. Many congregations are simply unable to keep up, which leads to burnout and depression. When things move too fast, we feel alienated from life and the voice of a living God. This book calls congregations to reimagine what change is and how to live into this future, helping them move from relevance to resonance.
Author: Susan Beaumont
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Published: 2011-10-25
Total Pages: 265
ISBN-13: 1566995612
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →For five years, Alban Institute senior consultant Susan Beaumont has been giving voice to the organizational and leadership demands of large congregations. Through her work, she has identified five basic leadership systems that need to stay in alignment for the large church to function well for its size: clergy leadership roles, staff team design and function, governance and board function, acculturation and the role of laity, and forming and executing strategy. She has also learned that these five systems operate with some important but subtle distinctions in what Beaumont calls the professional church (400-800 in worship attendance), the strategic church (800-1,200), and the matrix church (1,200-2,000). Often, she has discovered, problems in a large congregation are related to the fact that one or more of the five systems is inappropriately structured for the size of the congregation. In other words, the church isn't acting its size. Beaumont is invested in helping large congregations 'rightsize' their leadership systems to better serve their ministry context. This book articulates why size matters and how it matters in the world of large congregations. It is written for anyone who wants to better understand the leadership and organizational dynamics of the large church anyone seeking to understand the challenges of leading from inside the large congregation.
Author: Andrew Root
Publisher: Baker Academic
Published: 2021-01-19
Total Pages: 391
ISBN-13: 1493429728
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Churches often realize they need to change. But if they're not careful, the way they change can hurt more than help. In this culmination of his well-received Ministry in a Secular Age trilogy, leading practical theologian Andrew Root offers a new paradigm for understanding the congregation in contemporary ministry. He articulates why congregations feel pressured by the speed of change in modern life and encourages an approach that doesn't fall into the negative traps of our secular age. Living in late modernity means our lives are constantly accelerated, and calls for change in the church often support this call to speed up. Root asserts that the recent push toward innovation in churches has led to an acceleration of congregational life that strips the sacred out of time. Many congregations are simply unable to keep up, which leads to burnout and depression. When things move too fast, we feel alienated from life and the voice of a living God. The Congregation in a Secular Age calls congregations to reimagine what change is and how to live into this future, helping them move from relevance to resonance.
Author: Hashim Conner
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2009-12-21
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781449986124
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →There is no need for a video tape, when Sex, Lies, & unfaithfulness is cast upon your eyes within the Third Street Baptist Church. Come on in and let the hypocrisy commence. "Come as you are..." is the invitation that is given with welcoming arms, while Rev. Coleman digs deep into his spiritual bag every Sunday, oddly enough the Congregation leaves the same way they came; indulging into their sinful ways exploring some of the Seven deadly sins.Greed, Lust, Envy and more. Of course, everything is not always what it seems, and these Sinners' would love to convince you of their Sainthood, with a closer glance you will GET THE TRUTH! Please make your way down to Third ST. this Sunday and grab a seat next to one of our favorite families. After you get the word you cant leave without getting the gossip from sista Patton-Silver. Protesting to be one of the most honest and faithful servants there, her nose is in everyone's Business. She has all the latest news on her son Issac, and daughter-in-law Veronica (the Patton's) as well as the low down on the Coleman's and the Williamson's too. So come on in we look forward to having you as a member of The Congregation. The Place where the truth should set you free!
Author: Phil A. Newton
Publisher: Kregel Academic
Published:
Total Pages: 194
ISBN-13: 9780825494789
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →(Foreword by Mark Dever) A biblically functioning church requires intentional devotion to the New Testament model of the church. In this practical book, Phil Newton gives a definitive and biblical study of elder-based leadership.
