Restoring The Soul Of A Church

The Interfaith Sexual Trauma Institute has commissioned this pastoral work which focuses on the healing of congregations following clergy sexual misconduct. The book discusses the original problem of sexual misconduct and exploitation and then focuses on those neglected "secondary" victims of abuse: the congregation, the wider community, other clergy, the wider church, the offender's family, and the pastor who takes over.

David Powlison Examines the Unique Role of the Pastor as Counselor A pastor inhabits multiple roles—teacher, preacher, youth leader, and counselor. Yet many church leaders feel unprepared to counsel church members who are struggling with difficult, multifaceted problems. David Powlison reminds pastors of their unique role as the shepherds of God's people, equipping them to apply biblical wisdom to the thoughts, values, moods, expectations, and decisions of those under their care.

Christianity Today's 2018 Book of the Year Award of Merit - Politics/Public Life Has the American university gained the whole world but lost its soul? In terms of money, prestige, power, and freedom, American universities appear to have gained the academic world. But at what cost? We live in the age of the fragmented multiversity that has no unifying soul or mission. The multiversity in a post-Christian culture is characterized instead by curricular division, the professionalization of the disciplines, the expansion of administration, the loss of community, and the idolization of athletics. The situation is not hopeless. According to Perry L. Glanzer, Nathan F. Alleman, and Todd C. Ream, Christian universities can recover their soul—but to do so will require reimagining excellence in a time of exile, placing the liberating arts before the liberal arts, and focusing on the worship, love, and knowledge of God as central to the university. Restoring the Soul of the University is a pioneering work that charts the history of the university and casts an inspiring vision for the future of higher education.

Many of us have endless demands and stifling daily routines. Learn why Sabbath is essential to our full humanity and faith, a rhythm of work and rest set by God that if restored to our lives will bring prolonged life, enriched relationships, increased fruitfulness, and abundant joy. We are waylaid by endless demands and stifling routines. Even our vacations have a panicky, task-like edge to them. “If I only had more time,” is the mantra of our age. But is this the real problem? Pastor Mark Buchanan believes that what we’ve really lost is the rest of God—the rest God bestows and, with it, that part of himself we can know only through stillness. In The Rest of God, you’ll: Form a deeper relationship with God by understanding Sabbath’s true purpose Learn how Sabbath allows us to live more fully into our status as free people, released from the grueling, incessant demands of life Connect Sabbath to the ultimate rest—heaven Receive practical advice for restoring Sabbath in your life With this book, Buchanan reminds us that Sabbath is about much more than going to church on Sunday. It's about the much-needed time to be still. The gift of Sabbath is essential to our full humanity and faith. God, knowing that and knowing how easily we might neglect it, made it a command. Begin your own journey of restoration and renewal!

During the past several years the mass media in the United States has been awash with reports of priestly pedophilia, ecclesiastical cover-up, and clerical intimidation or financial settlements intended to silence victims. Based on journalistic accounts, or scholarly research, it might be assumed that this is a recent phenomenon. Journalist reports began only within the past few years. Similarly, most sociologists of religion and particularly specialists in deviance and criminology did not reflect awareness of clerical misbehavior in their work. Despite this, Anson Shupe shows that clergy deviance, whether it is sexual or otherwise, is not merely a recent problem. It is as old as the church itself and is inevitably bound to recur due to the nature of religious groups. This comprehensive analysis offers the first up-to-date analysis of sexual, economic, and authoritative clergy malfeasance across faiths and denominational authority structures. Drawing on examples taken from antiquity up until the present day, and using reports by historians, theologians, church spokespersons, therapists, social scientists, and journalists, Shupe critically evaluates clergy deviant behavior, dividing it into various types. He also makes use of the therapeutic literature, addressing victimization at the level of the individual, church, and community at large. In this way, he compares the response of the clergy to victims' attempts to mobilize movements calling for church reform. Perhaps most controversial, this book considers the possible relationship of homosexuality in the clergy to the occurrences of scandals in all religious traditions across the board. As an overview of clergy misconduct, this book is singular. There is simply no other comprehensive serious examination of this subject. Written by a sociologist for a wide range of readers, its multi-disciplinary nature, vivid examples, and wealth of research, will make the volume of interest to sociologists of religion and crime, historians and theologians, as well as a general public.

The Christian church in America is doing its best to be relevant. Its leaders are trying harder, working longer hours, offering more programs, and trying to solve more problems. Not coincidentally, more clergy than ever before are burning out or "browning out," losing their edge, becoming lethargic. How do we move beyond this sense of despair and hopelessness? What does it mean to restore the soul of the church? How can it become more relevant unto itself and to people like those with whom I talk in the workplace-those who eagerly seek meaning? In Not Trying Too Hard, Bob Sitze has taken the bold first step on this journey of restoring the soul of the church.

Three barriers keep us from being whole persons: (1) inability to receive forgiveness; (2) inability to forgive; (3) inability to accept ourselves.

In Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems, you’ll take an incisive look at why sexual misconduct occurs in religious systems and how to implement proactive strategies for holistic change. Applicable to both Jewish and Christian communities, this illuminating exploration takes a look at the psychology behind scapegoating, why it is perpetuated, and how you can quell the damaging tradition of silence. Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems helps you see leaders of religious institutions in a way that the world has been afraid to see them--in a glass clearly. Enriched with metaphoric myths and fairy tales instead of technical jargon, its unique systemic perspective reveals the psychodynamics behind the obsession with family secrets and lets you understand this dysfunction from the perspectives of victim, abuser, and counselor. These specific areas will both inform and aid you in dealing with this difficult subject: the religious institution as a family system the religious system as an illusion of the perfect family the concept of God-transference and the overidealization of clergy clergy personal relationships and clergy congregational relationships vulnerability and the psychology of the victim strategies for healing dysfunctional religious systems Understanding Clergy Misconduct in Religious Systems comes at just the right time--in an era when little has been written on the subject, especially from a systemic perspective, this work comes at a time when the phenomena of clergy sexual misconduct has rocked the very foundation of religious systems worldwide. Whether you’re a lay congregational leader, judicatory administrator, pastoral counselor, psychologist, or seminarian, you’ll find that the coping strategies and intervention techniques it outlines will guide you in pinpointing the sickness at its source and restoring felicity and order to your religious leaders and their communities.