Facing Decline Finding Hope
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| Author | : Jeffrey D. Jones |
| Publisher | : Rowman & Littlefield |
| Total Pages | : 154 |
| Release | : 2015-02-05 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 156699733X |
Church today isn’t the same as it was fifty years ago—or even ten years ago. In spite of the powerful stories of turn-around churches with skyrocketing memberships, the difficult reality is that most congregations are getting smaller. Jeffrey D. Jones asks brave questions for congregations facing this reality—what if membership growth isn’t the primary goal for a church? How can churches remain vital, even with declining attendance? Facing Decline, Finding Hope is an essential resource to help congregations confront their shrinking size while looking towards the hopeful reality that God is calling them to greater faithfulness. The book draws on biblical and theological resources, as well as contemporary leadership studies, to help leaders—both clergy and laity—set aside a survival mentality and ask new questions to shape ministry more attuned to today’s world. Facing Decline, Finding Hope is a powerful book for leaders who want to honestly assess the size of their church and plan for faithful, invigorating service regardless of whether membership numbers are up or down.
| Author | : Joanna Macy |
| Publisher | : New World Library |
| Total Pages | : 290 |
| Release | : 2022-06-22 |
| Genre | : Nature |
| ISBN | : 1608687112 |
The challenges we face can be difficult even to think about. Climate change, war, political polarization, economic upheaval, and the dying back of nature together create a planetary emergency of overwhelming proportions. This revised, tenth anniversary edition of Active Hope shows us how to strengthen our capacity to face these crises so that we can respond with unexpected resilience and creative power. Drawing on decades of teaching an empowerment approach known as the Work That Reconnects, the authors guide us through a transformational process informed by mythic journeys, modern psychology, spirituality, and holistic science. This process equips us with tools to face the mess we’re in and play our role in the collective transition, or Great Turning, to a life-sustaining society.
| Author | : Richard P. Olson |
| Publisher | : Rowman & Littlefield |
| Total Pages | : 244 |
| Release | : 2018-09-10 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 1538107996 |
Ministry has never been an easy path, and the challenges of today’s changing church landscape only heighten the stress and burn-out of congregational leaders. A Guide to Ministry Self-Care offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of both the causes of stress and strategies for effective self-care. Written for both new and long-time ministers, the book draws on current research and offers practical and spiritual insights into building and maintaining personal health and sustaining ministry long term. The book addresses a wide range of life situations and explores many forms of self-care, from physical and financial to relational and spiritual.
| Author | : Jeffrey D. Jones |
| Publisher | : Alban Books |
| Total Pages | : 0 |
| Release | : 2008 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 9781566993807 |
Leadership, observes Jeffrey Jones, is never about you. What happens to you as a leader stems from a vast array of issues and dynamics over which you have little or no control. Leadership, Jones also insists, is always about you--Christ's disciple, part of the system, an individual with your own anxieties and a personal life that shapes both your personhood and your relationships.Heart, Mind, and Strength is about dealing with the tension between these two realities. What we know is important. So is who we are--maybe even more so. Of course, admits Jones, no book can tell u s everything we need to know about leadership--the "what" of it. And certainly no book can shape our personhood--the "who" of leadership. Jones, however, shares both theoretical and practical insights that will inform the "what' and influence the "who" of your leadership in transformative ways. Jones organizes the book around the daily practices of leadership, treating it as both a skill and an art. Heart, Mind, and Strength will enhance your practice of ministry by providing well-grounded theory related to the practical concerns you encounter in the daily work of balancing what you know with who you are.
| Author | : Dominic Dutra |
| Publisher | : Wipf and Stock Publishers |
| Total Pages | : 156 |
| Release | : 2021-12-23 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 1666711683 |
For decades, many different denominations have experienced devastating declines in attendance, finances, and influence. Thousands of church leaders have watched their congregations grow older, smaller, and, in many cases, whiter than their surrounding communities. Rising costs and decreased giving make it virtually impossible to sustain the staff and fabric of these organizations—let alone their spiritual mission. But all hope is not lost. In a clarion call that demands death to bring new life, the local church is tasked with evaluating and ultimately sacrificing all its resources—including underutilized real estate—to bring healing and hope to the poor, marginalized, and disenfranchised. Decades of decline do not foretell the death of the church, and by reimagining their church spaces, congregations can experience revitalization as they grow to better embody their missional purpose.
| Author | : Richard Trist |
| Publisher | : Wipf and Stock Publishers |
| Total Pages | : 154 |
| Release | : 2023-01-16 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 1666757462 |
Ministry in Context: A Guide to Theological Field Education and Ministry Internships in Australia and New Zealand has been written for students, field placement supervisors, and theological college coordinators to introduce the basic principles and practices of theological field education and ministry internships. The book covers all aspects of field-based learning, including biblical and historical foundations, the place of calling and vocation, the importance of supervision, the practice of theological reflection, and the setting and evaluation of goals. Chapters have been written by experts across Australia and New Zealand and reflect the diversity and cultural uniqueness of this region.
| Author | : Michael Plekon |
| Publisher | : Wipf and Stock Publishers |
| Total Pages | : 163 |
| Release | : 2016-09-30 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 1498239560 |
The origin of the phrase "the church has left the building" lies with Elvis. In order to clear halls of his riotous fans after concerts, it was announced that "Elvis has left the building." Here, the expression highlights intense change within the church. Not only does the church change for its own existence, it also does so for the life of the world. The church cannot avoid the many past and future changes of our constantly transforming society, demographic changes long in process. What you have before you is a gathering of first-hand reflections--stories really--from a diverse group of Christians, lay as well as ordained. While each has a distinctive experience of the church in our time, all of them have something to say about the many changes in our society and how these are affecting our faith, the parish, and pastoral work. Contributors: Mary Breton Nicholas Denysenko Adam A. J. DeVille John C. Frazier David Frost Carol Fryer Kenneth J. Guest Brett Hoover Abbie Huff Wongee Joh Justin Mathews Maria Gwyn McDowell William C. Mills Robert Corin Morris Sarah Hinlicky Wilson Michael Plekon
| Author | : Jeffrey D. Jones |
| Publisher | : Rowman & Littlefield |
| Total Pages | : 145 |
| Release | : 2023-07-10 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 1538174510 |
Congregations today exist in an in-between, or liminal, time. The customary answers about what it means to be and do church and strategies for renewal based on those answers no longer work. But there is no certainty about the new answers. It is a time of searching—of letting go of the old and experimenting with the new. This means facing the reality of death, which may come as institutions die or as established ways are abandoned. This book addresses this reality while maintaining a constant focus on the Christian promise of resurrection. It offers three images that recognize the differing contexts of congregations and help them shape their future as they seek to discern God’s work in their midst. Congregations shaped by each of the three images (remembering, letting go, and resurrecting) have the potential to faithfully engage in God’s work in their setting. For each of the three there are suggestions for helping a congregation move toward an even more faithful expression of the image. The book includes Bible studies and other resources that congregations will find helpful in this process. Some congregations may continue in traditional ways, while others seek a new way of being church. But all can join in God’s work in their time and place with a new and deeper understanding of the ministry that is theirs. This book helps them do that. Because a different kind of leadership is needed the book offers an approach to leadership that is grounded in a spiritual process of inward reflection and outward involvement.
| Author | : Kathleen A. Cahalan |
| Publisher | : Wipf and Stock Publishers |
| Total Pages | : 260 |
| Release | : 2017-03-09 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 1498278809 |
If only we could do a better job of helping students at "connecting the dots," theological educators commonly lament. Integration, often proposed as a solution to the woes of professional education for ministry, would help students integrate knowledge, skills, spirituality, and integrity. When these remain disconnected, incompetence ensues, and the cost runs high for churches, denominations, and ministers themselves. However, we fail in thinking that integrating work is for students alone. It is a multifaceted, constructive process of learning that is contextual, reflective, and dialogical. It aims toward important ends--competent leaders who can guide Christian communities today. It entails rhythms, not stages, and dynamic movement, including disintegration. Integrating work is learning in motion, across domains, and among and between persons. It is social and communal, born of a life of learning together for faculty, staff, administrators and students. It is work that bridges the long-standing gaps between school, ministry practice, and life. It's a verb, not a noun. Here a diverse group of theological educators, through descriptive case studies, theological reflection, and theory building, offer a distinctive contribution to understanding integrating work and how best to achieve it across three domains: in community, curriculums, and courses.
| Author | : Trystan Owain Hughes |
| Publisher | : SPCK |
| Total Pages | : 75 |
| Release | : 2012-04-10 |
| Genre | : Religion |
| ISBN | : 0281065187 |
Everyone suffers at some time or other - it's simply a part of life. But however bad things seem, we are never completely helpless. For the deeply affirming truth is that we can choose how to respond to adverse circumstances. Trystan Owain Hughes suggests that learning how to suffer and how to wait patiently may be the secret of finding joy in our lives. Diagnosed with a degenerative spinal condition, he was surprised to discover that, instead of increasing his unhappiness, it spurred him on to seek out sources of hope and meaning. The book opens by encouraging us to take a step back from our anxieties and worries and rest in the love of God. We then explore five areas where that love may be found in the midst of pain: in nature, memory, art, laughter and other people. By becoming conscious of the echoes of the transcendent in these areas, we will gain new strength. And paradoxically, through facing our suffering, learn to truly live.
