Can This Church Live

Nothing on earth lives forever—not even congregations. Alban Institute senior consultant Alice Mann explains how the natural life cycle of a congregation, as well as other internal and external factors, can produce a congregation that is in real trouble. She then offers hope for congregations that want to change. Practical options for congregations, leadership challenges for laity and clergy, and ways to work with denominations are detailed and engaging discussion questions provide a basis for congregational planning

Churches should be the backbone of our neighborhoods . . . Many American churches are faced with the decisions of their lives. Will we live? Or will we die? . . . the question of 'Will we live or will we die' is a question of will, as in having the will to live; and it is also a question of who is included in the 'we.' --from Chapter One The State of Mainline Churches Can This Church Live? is the true story of a church that had an opportunity to thrive in the midst of a community that greatly changed its demographics. Matthews directs readers through this painful process he experienced with the pastor and church leaders as they faced a harsh dilemma--a dilemma that more and more churches are facing today--can or will a predominantly white church embrace and welcome the people of color who live within the community? Using H. R. Niebuhr's famous text Christ and Culture, Matthews uses Niebuhr's five categories to analyze churches in crisis: 1) Christ against Culture; 2) Christ of Culture; 3) Christ above Culture; 4) Christ and Culture in Paradox; and 5) Christ the Transformer of Culture. The book also discusses moral and ethical issues as they relate to the Gospel and social transformation. Clergy and lay leaders will find this a valuable resource to help them discuss ways in which they can stabilize their church before they are confronted with a similar predicament.

Bill Henard believes that there is hope for the established church – for your church. Some people may have already pronounced the church “dead,” but these dead bones can live. Whether your church is seven years old or one-hundred and seventy, you may be seeing evidences that your church needs vision, direction, and revitalization.

Turning around an old, established church is not an easy task. Waters have to be stirred, people have to be shaken out of their comfort zones, and often there are enormous costs to bear.Change does not come easy in established churches. Many churches make the mistake of changing programs or worship styles without first changing the core values of the church. Change does not happen overnight. Anyone who would transition a church had better pack a lunch and make a commitment for the long haul.Can a Church Live Again? tells the story of one church's renewal and revisioning over the past decade. A long-tenured pastor and other church leaders had a vision for a spiritual restoration of their church through its disciple-making roots. The result has been that a century-old church in rural North Carolina has become a model for church renewal.This story is told in Pastor Ronny Russell's own words, sharing principles of how this all happened for his church...and how a similar renewal can be felt by any church. This is not a quick-fix for church stagnation or decline. Rather, it is the inspiring story of one church's journey into hope and life.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the author of Relationship Goals . . . Will you be remembered as a person who claimed to follow God but liked to play it safe? Or as a person who lived your life out on the limb and trusted God enough to live in crazy faith? Noah looked crazy when he started building the ark . . . until it started raining. It was crazy for Moses to lead a nation of people into the desert away from Egypt . . . until the Red Sea parted. It was crazy to believe that a fourteen-year-old virgin would give birth to the Son of God . . . until Mary held Jesus in her arms. There are many things that seem normal or average today that at one point in time seemed absolutely crazy. Smartphones, Wi-Fi, and even the electric light bulb were all groundbreaking, history-making inventions that started out as crazy ideas. Our see-it-to-believe-it generation tends to have a hard time exercising true faith—one that steps out, takes action, and sees mountain-moving results. Many of us would rather play it safe and stand on the sidelines, but it’s crazy faith that helps us see God move and reveals His promises. In Crazy Faith, Pastor Michael Todd shows us how to step out in faith and dive into the purposeful life of trusting God for the impossible. Even if you have to start with baby faith or maybe faith, you can become empowered to let go of your lazy faith, trust God through your hazy faith, and learn to live a lifestyle of crazy faith. With powerful stories of modern-day faith warriors who take their cues from biblical heroes, Michael Todd equips you to • believe for the impossible • choose hope over fear • be alert to the voice of God • cope with loss and doubt • develop a deeper level of trust in God • speak faith-filled declarations • inspire crazy faith in others God’s not looking for somebody to give Him all the reasons why His plans can’t happen. He’s looking for somebody to believe they will happen. In fact, He has so much He wants to do through you. The question is, Are you crazy enough to believe it?

Shares uplifting advice about the virtues of forgiveness, offering strategic and biblically based advice on how to achieve peace and personal fulfillment by letting go of past wrongs.

Finally, a complete guide for your church to start live streaming with an included online course on UDEMY.com. Inside this book, you will find insights for ministry leaders who are considering the use of live streaming as an outreach tool for their church. This book will help church leaders understand how they can leverage the power of live streaming as a visual bridge connecting your church to the world. This book will provide perspective on best practices for live streaming church services and helpful reflections on real-life case studies from churches and pastors who are happily filling their pews with new members each week. Learn how to set up a digital donations strategy and enable your social media accounts to accept donations directly through YouTube and Facebook. This book will include actionable checklists for ministry leaders considering live streaming at their organization. It should become clear to you how your church can use live streaming and social media to reach new members and extend your reach to shut-ins. This book is accompanied by an online training course for technology directors and volunteers alike who may become the next “champions” of your live streaming program. Our online training course also includes a PowerPoint presentation template you can use to present the benefits of live streaming to your church leadership.At the end of this book, you will find a glossary of terms that will help you and your team familiarize yourselves with the type of technological vocabulary frequently used in live streaming. For many pastors, learning this type of information is like learning a new language. If you are interested in learning about church media and live streaming this book will be a walk an in the park. Feel free to download the audio version of this book and literally take a walk in the park as you listen. Finally, this book was written to inspire readers to use modern tools to tell their organizations unique story about their faith. At the end of the day, live streaming is a storytelling tool helping organizations reach those who may need guidance, education, or simply a nudge in the right direction. Social media has become a medium for empowering individuals to like and share the things they believe in. We live in a world that is more connected than ever before. Understanding that everyone on earth is connected in some way, within six degrees of separation, will be an important stepping stone in our thinking about social media. Your church now has the power to reach people in large connected networks which include groups of family members and friends. These are the people that are most important and most influential in lives of your church’s current members and their extended online network.One of the main reasons why western religion has succeeded so greatly to this day is because it has always taken advantage of emerging technologies… The medium isn’t the message; it’s the medium that you use to communicate the message. In the 1500s, we saw the printing press emerge, and bibles were being printed for the first time in history. We saw an explosion of what was being made available in written form, with new translations that were suddenly available all over the world… Over the past one hundred years, we have churches moving on to the radio with the early evangelical churches that have now moved into TV and televangelism… and now today we are moving into a new form of communication, where you can distribute your message on digital platforms using social media. The churches that are the most successful and most resonate with people are the ones delivering their message in the places that people are listening. Those who are producing content in a form that is consumable and makes sense in the day and age that we live in, we be to prosper from the fruits of new communication pathways.

“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.