What the Church Won't Talk about (Revised and Updated)

What the Church Won't Talk about (Revised and Updated) PDF

Author: J. Park

Publisher:

Published: 2015-08-06

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 9780692499528

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There are certain questions we're not allowed to ask in church. Forbidden issues. We're either ignored upfront or shut down with programmed responses. What about: Porn addiction? Homosexuality? Self-harm and cutting? Sex before marriage? Suicidal thoughts? The evil in the world? And long dry seasons of doubt? Over the last eight years as a pastor, blogger, and professional rambler, I've been asked thousands of questions through my blog from secretly hurting people who could no longer endure the pat, simplistic formulas found in church. Over and over, my heart was broken for such wonderful, struggling, fellow travelers. Now the toughest most viral questions have been organized into one place. From sex, dating, sexuality, marriage, depression, racism, abortion, apologetics, to family drama, these were questions that we've always wanted to ask in church, but were too afraid to stir the status quo. These are real stories. These are real people with real questions, about the raw, messy, gritty, uphill journey we call faith. For those looking for a safe, gracious space, for those looking for authenticity and honesty: this is what the church won't talk about. Whether you're absolutely skeptical of faith or you've been attending church for years, this is a journey of the questions we've always wanted to ask. It's also a critique and call for the church culture to examine itself with a more thoughtful, nuanced, self-aware honesty. - This is the revised and updated version, with over sixty pages of new content and questions! -

At Your Best

At Your Best PDF

Author: Carey Nieuwhof

Publisher: WaterBrook

Published: 2021-09-14

Total Pages: 241

ISBN-13: 0735291365

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“A perceptive and practical book about why our calendars so rarely reflect our priorities and what we can do to regain control.”—ADAM GRANT “Carey’s book will help you reorganize your life. And then you can share a copy with someone you care about.”—SETH GODIN You deserve to stop living at an unsustainable pace. An influential podcaster and thought leader shows you how. Overwhelmed. Overcommitted. Overworked. That’s the false script an inordinate number of people adopt to be successful. Does this sound familiar: ● Slammed is normal. ● Distractions are everywhere. ● Life gets reduced to going through the motions. Tired of living that way? At Your Best gives you the strategies you need to win at work and at home by living in a way today that will help you thrive tomorrow. Influential podcast host and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof understands the challenges of constant pressure. After a season of burnout almost took him out, he discovered how to get time, energy, and priorities working in his favor. This approach freed up more than one thousand productive hours a year for him and can do the same for you. At Your Best will help you ● replace chronic exhaustion with deep productivity ● break the pattern of overpromising and never accomplishing enough ● clarify what matters most by restructuring your day ● master the art of saying no, without losing friends or influence ● discover why vacations and sabbaticals don’t really solve your problems ● develop a personalized plan to recapture each day so you can break free from the trap of endless to-dos Start thriving at work and at home as you discover how to be at your best.

Rediscover Church

Rediscover Church PDF

Author: Collin Hansen

Publisher: Crossway

Published: 2021-07-28

Total Pages: 149

ISBN-13: 1433579596

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"A Christian without a church is a Christian in trouble." Since a global pandemic abruptly closed places of worship, many Christians have skipped church life, even neglecting virtual services. But this was a trend even before COVID-19. Polarizing issues, including political and racial strife, convinced some people to pull away from the church and one another. Now it's time to recommit to gathering as brothers and sisters in Christ. In Rediscover Church, Collin Hansen and Jonathan Leeman discuss why church is essential for believers and God's mission. Through biblical references and personal stories, they show readers God's true intention for corporate gathering: to spiritually strengthen members as individuals and the body of Christ. In an age of church-shopping and livestreamed services, rediscover why the future of the church relies on believers gathering regularly as the family of God. Published in partnership with the Gospel Coalition and 9Marks.

The New Copernicans

The New Copernicans PDF

Author: David John Seel

Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM

Published: 2018-01-16

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 0718098889

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"Our millennial children, as well as nonchurchgoing millennials, are both the church's greatest challenge and its most exciting new opportunity." —John Seel, PhD Warning: There is a fundamental frame of reference shift in American society happening right now among young adults. You may think of this group as millennials—those born between 1980 and 2000—but millennials resist this label for good reason: the national narrative on them is pejorative, patronizing, and just plain wrong. Here's what we do know: Of Americans with a church background, 76 percent are described as "religious nones" or unaffiliated—and it's the fastest growing segment of the population. Close to 40 percent of millennials fit this religious profile. Roughly 80 percent of teens in evangelical church high school youth groups will abandon their faith after two years in college. It's unlikely that the evangelical church can survive if it is uniformly rejected by millennials, and yet: Millennial pastors and youth ministers are disempowered; their perspective is often not taken seriously by senior church leadership. Most millennial research is framed in categories rejected by millennials; that is, left-brained, analytical communication is lost on right-brained, intuitive millennials. Evangelicals' bias toward rational left-brained thinking makes the church seem tone-deaf. What's next? Read on. John Seel suggests survival strategies—communication on-ramps for genuine human connection with the next generation. It can be done.

But They Won't Talk with a Woman

But They Won't Talk with a Woman PDF

Author: Leta Gorham

Publisher: University Press of America

Published: 1998

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780761810476

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Based on a workshop between clergy members of the United Methodist Church, 'But They Won't Talk With a Woman' focuses on justice issues between male and female clergy, relying on the personal experiences of the participants, as well as their reflections from points made in the book, Women's Growth in Connection by Judith V. Jordan, et. al. In this book, the group posits that unless injustices that female clergy are subjected to in their daily lives are changed, the Church may potentially be destroyed. Topics covered include the abuse of power by men over women, traditional gender roles, biblical interpretations of these roles, and communication between men and women.

Disappearing Church

Disappearing Church PDF

Author: Mark Sayers

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Published: 2016-01-19

Total Pages: 176

ISBN-13: 0802493467

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When church and culture look the same... For the many Christians eager to prove we can be both holy and cool, cultural pressures are too much. We either compartmentalize our faith or drift from it altogether—into a world that’s so alluring. Have you wondered lately: Why does the Western church look so much like the world? Why are so many of my friends leaving the faith? How can we get back to our roots? Disappearing Church will help you sort through concerns like these, guiding you in a thoughtful, faithful, and hopeful response. Weaving together art, history, and theology, pastor and cultural observer Mark Sayers reminds us that real growth happens when the church embraces its countercultural witness, not when it blends in. It’s like Jesus said long ago, “If the salt loses its saltiness, it is no longer good for anything…”

Hope in Times of Fear

Hope in Times of Fear PDF

Author: Timothy Keller

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2021-03-09

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 0525560793

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The Resurrection accounts of Jesus in the Gospels are the most dramatic and impactful stories ever told. One similarity unites each testimony--that none of his most loyal and steadfast followers could "see" it was him, back from the dead. The reason for this is at the very foundation of the Christian faith. She turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. (John 20:14) Hope in the Time of Fear is a book that unlocks the meaning of Jesus's resurrection for readers. Easter is considered the most solemn and important holiday for Christians. It is a time of spiritual rebirth and a time of celebrating the physical rebirth of Jesus after three days in the tomb. For his devoted followers, nothing could prepare them for the moment they met the resurrected Jesus. Each failed to recognize him. All of them physically saw him and yet did not spiritually truly see him. It was only when Jesus reached out and invited them to see who he truly was that their eyes were open. Here the central message of the Christian faith is revealed in a way only Timothy Keller could do it--filled with unshakable belief, piercing insight, and a profound new way to look at a story you think you know. After reading this book, the true meaning of Easter will no longer be unseen.

Confessions, Revised and Updated

Confessions, Revised and Updated PDF

Author: Matthew Fox

Publisher: North Atlantic Books

Published: 2015-11-10

Total Pages: 505

ISBN-13: 1583949356

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Matthew Fox's stirring autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author's continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in the Catholic church. Instead of living out his vows as a Dominican brother Matthew Fox was expelled from the Order after 34 years by Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. Fox took this as a warning from the Church that henceforth thinkers should not think, but get in line. It is from this anti-intellectual, inquisition-style mentality that the cover-up of priestly pedophilia also grew as the Vatican appointed several generations of bishops and cardinals whose only criterion for selection was that they be uncritical yes-men. Confessions tells the inside story of what it was like "standing in front of the train" when the Vatican was on the attack. It also reflects on the meaning of the encouragingly healthy papacy of Pope Francis, but holds little hope for the institutional church. Rather, this book points to the main interest and accomplishments of the author's work to bring spirituality and prophetic warriorhood alive again in society and religion. Fox draws inspiration from great mystics of the past, such as Hildegard of Bingen (a champion of the Divine Feminine) and Meister Eckhart (a profoundly mystical and ecumenical champion of those without a voice), and the return of the archetype of the Cosmic Christ alongside the teachings of the historical Jesus and the bringing forth of the wisdom traditions from all the world's spiritual traditions to stand up for eco-justice, gender justice, economic justice and social justice.

Comeback Churches

Comeback Churches PDF

Author: Ed Stetzer

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 242

ISBN-13: 0805445366

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Church growth experts Stetzer and Dodson explain why most congregations plateau and then eventually decline, and they reveal how to revive a body of believers. Readers can learn the importance of lighting a spiritual fire, intentional evangelism, making disciples, forming small groups, and then watch pews fill up again. (Church Life)

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