Don T Blow Up Your Ministry

There's a ticking time bomb in your ministry. Is it you? The pressures of pastoring are endless, leading many to burnout and depression, sexual misconduct, or substance abuse. But moral failures can be averted and shipwrecked ministries can be repaired. Counselor Michael MacKenzie, a longtime expert in helping pastors at risk, deals with the issues beneath the issues, such as shame, fear, and pain. If we don't address our own weakness and brokenness, we will hurt ourselves and those around us. With vivid pictures of both self-destructive patterns and reconstructive grace, MacKenzie shows how to lay the groundwork for restored identity and service. God can use those exact areas of vulnerability as a catalyst to you becoming the pastor and person he intends you to be. Defuse the bomb before it goes off. Find hope for healing and recovery.

James used to laugh and joke with the other third graders. Now he was angry, aggressive, and defiant. James was hurting, but Pastor Becky didn't know how to help. Like many children's pastors, she didn't realize that a child in her ministry was experiencing symptoms of trauma. She wasn't sure how to respond to his big feelings and challenging behaviors. Trauma-Informed Children's Ministry: A Practical Guide to Reaching Hurting Kids helps children's ministry leaders understand trauma and strengthen their ministries to serve and disciple hurting kids. Divorce, bullying, adoption, abuse. Learn how trauma touches the children you love and what most churches get wrong when it comes to teaching and disciplining children who have experienced trauma. Why does Isaac keep talking back? Why is Sara under the table crying? Make sense out of the most frustrating, confusing, and heartbreaking child behaviors. Through inspiring, real-life stories, discover practical, research-based strategies to begin transforming your ministry this Sunday. Good intentions are not enough. Our changing society craves authentic churches equipped to reach all children. This powerful, groundbreaking book will help you: Cultivate caring relationships. Eliminate challenging behaviors. Encourage your team. And amplify your church's impact in the community!

Smaller Church Youth Ministry highlights the big impact small churches can have on the faith journey of their young people. It is designed to encourage and help small churches start, build, and lead effective disciple-making youth ministry. Topics include a biblical foundation, practical helps, tools and activities.

John Piper pleads with fellow pastors to abandon the professionalization of the pastorate and pursue the prophetic call of the Bible for radical ministry.

Women long to be loved, to be known, to be understood. But who can meet those needs at their deepest level? Only the One who created women--who knows them by name and who designed them--can bring fulfillment that truly satisfies. "Letting God Meet Your Emotional Needs" shows how God desires to help every woman: I need acceptance... God loves, forgives, and accepts I need security... God promises He will never leave I need to feel pretty... Christ sees me as new, spotless I need a companion... He is the perfect friend I need communication... He talks to me intimately through His Word Formerly "Heart Hunger."

Illumination Book Award Nautilus Book Award Elijah Campbell is on the verge of losing his writing career, his faith, and his marriage when a recurring childhood nightmare drives him back to his hometown, Bradford's Ferry. There, his encounters with loved ones both past and present shed light on the reason his wife left him—and the meaning of his nightmare. However, beyond the light he begins to glimpse something even more terrifying—a decision he must make either to continue hiding the secrets of his past or unhide the only thing that can save his marriage: himself. In psychologist Kelly Flanagan's non-fiction works (Loveable, True Companions), he drew from clinical insight to explore the spiritual depths of identity and relationships. Now, in this debut novel, he weaves a page-turning and plot-twisting tale that brings new life to those insights, along with fresh revelations about personal growth, spiritual transformation, and the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. This visit to Bradford's Ferry will linger long after the final page has been turned, and a guide for group discussion invites further conversation about the story's themes of healing, grace, faith, forgiveness, and freedom.

In Be Angry But Don't Blow It! Lisa Bevere encourages women to stop hurting the ones they love, learn to say things so they'll be heard, get rid of bitterness and find forgiveness for themselves.

A relevant and timely novel by the New York Times bestselling author of Redeeming Love and The Masterpiece. He seemed like the perfect pastor to lead Centerville Christian Church. She was the perfect pastor’s wife. When Paul Hudson accepted the call to pastor the struggling church, he had no idea what to expect. But it didn’t take long for Paul to turn Centerville Christian Church around. Attendance was up-way up. Everything was going so well. If only his wife could see it that way. Still, he tried not to let her quiet presence disturb him. She knew something wasn’t right, and it hadn’t been for a long time. . . . Eunice closed the bedroom door quietly and knelt beside her bed. “I’m drowning, God. I’ve never felt so alone. Who can I turn to but you, Lord? Where else does a pastor’s wife go for help when her marriage is failing and her life is out of control? Who can I trust with my anguish, Lord? Who but you?” Grasping her pillow, she pressed it tightly to her mouth so that her sobs would not be heard. “This book is a powerful and almost-prophetic statement of the church in America. . . . And the Shofar Blew is a must-read.” —Anne Graham Lotz, bestselling author and speaker “[Rivers] as usual turns in a strong narrative, posing issues that ring loud and clear.” —Booklist “Meticulously plotted, Francine Rivers’s new masterpiece, And the Shofar Blew, brims with unforgettable characters.” —Romantic Times Also available in The Francine Rivers Contemporary Collection (e-book only).