Selling the Church

Selling the Church
Author: Robert C. Palmer
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
Total Pages: 366
Release: 2002
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780807827437

"Palmer analyzes an extensive set of data drawn from common law records to reveal a vigorous and effective effort by the laity to enforce the statutes of 1529. Motivated by both economic incentives and traditional ideals, the litigants used the statutes to compel the residence of their clergy and to make the commercial activities of lease-holding and buying for resale and profit the sole province of the laity. Inserting the rector back into the parish. Palmer shows, dramatically altered the economic, educational, and religious context of parish life."--BOOK JACKET.

Selling Out the Church

Selling Out the Church
Author: Philip D. Kenneson
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 177
Release: 2003-07-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 159244296X

Marketing the church is hot. For many church leaders, marketing might even be the first article of their creed, which goes something like this: We believe that our church determines its identity and mission through the tactics of marketing strategies. Theologians Kenneson and Street offer a thoughtful and provocative protest, with a foreword from Stanley Hauerwas. The authors expose the theological presuppositions that inform the marketing project. . . and help us to see that the marketer's presumption that form can be separated from content of the gospel betrays an understanding of the gospel that cannot help betraying the gift that is Christ. The authors propose an alternative, constructive account of the church's mission and purpose that is not based on exchange of value but on reminding us that the gospel is always a gift - a gift that makes impossible any presumptions that there can be an exchange between human beings and God that is rooted in the satisfaction of our untrained needs. The cross and resurrection challenge the world's understanding of what our needs should be.

Selling Jesus

Selling Jesus
Author: Douglas D. Webster
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 164
Release: 2009-08-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1725226405

It's one thing to market cars and deodorant and hamburgers. It's another thing, says Doug Webster, to market Jesus and the gospel. Standing up to a spate of books and seminars that urge churches to model their mission on Madison Avenue methods, Webster sounds an urgently needed wake-up alarm. Selling Jesus is a hard-hitting book that shows how Jesus is more than a product to be hawked, how seekers are more than a matter of meeting "felt needs." But Selling Jesus doesn't merely challenge. It moves beyond penetrating criticism to the next step, suggesting faithful and powerful alternatives to marketing the church. Selling Jesus is a necessary book for those who are beginning to wonder if evangelism and missions really aren't synonymous with product promotion.

Sojourners and Strangers

Sojourners and Strangers
Author: Gregg R. Allison
Publisher: Crossway
Total Pages: 498
Release: 2012-11-30
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 143353603X

What is a church? This can be a difficult question to answer and Christians have offered a variety of perspectives. Gregg Allison thus explores and synthesizes all that Scripture affirms about the new covenant people of God, capturing a full picture of the biblical church. He covers the topics of the church's identity and characteristics; its growth through purity, unity, and discipline; its offices and leadership structures; its ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper; and its ministries. Here is a rich approach to ecclesiology consisting of sustained doctrinal reflection and wise, practical application. Part of the Foundations of Evangelical Theology series.

Toward the Better Country

Toward the Better Country
Author: L. Gail Irwin
Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2014-01-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1625642318

At a time when pews are not as full as they used to be, many churches are struggling to stay open. But no matter how creative or hard-working, some congregations are unable to revitalize their ministry. Is it time to talk about closing your church? Are there any other options for your future? Toward the Better Country tells the stories of real congregations that have faced a significant downsizing, merger, or closure and found positive ways to move forward in ministry. While no local church is meant to live forever, congregations that have chosen to faithfully complete their ministry are finding hope in the new ventures born from passing on their spiritual and material legacies.

Simple Church

Simple Church
Author: Thom S. Rainer
Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
Total Pages: 296
Release: 2011-06
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0805447997

Now in paperback, this multi-awarded national best seller shares a clear message from case studies of 400 North American congregations: church is done best when it's kept simple.

Selling Worship

Selling Worship
Author: Pete Ward
Publisher: Authentic Publishing
Total Pages: 252
Release: 2005
Genre: Religion
ISBN:

The evangelical church has undergone a significant change in culture and theology over the last thirty-five years. Selling Worship argues that this has been achieved through the adoption of a particular style of worship. In effect the songs, or rather the practice of singing and listening to the songs, carry the culture and practice of the church. This has come about through the contextualization of worship in the production, selling, and consumption of associated popular music. Selling Worship tells the recent history of evangelicalism through the lives, actions, and economic processes of festival organizers, record companies, magazines, and worship leaders. It presents a comprehensive account of how these changes have come about and offers a multilayered pattern of interpretation to show how what we sing has changed the church. The book concludes with a critical appreciation of worship and offers practical guidelines for the future.

Selling the Church

Selling the Church
Author: Robert C. Palmer
Publisher: Univ of North Carolina Press
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2003-10-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 0807861391

In the years of expanding state authority following the Black Death, English common law permitted the leasing of parishes by their rectors and vicars, who then pursued interests elsewhere and left the parish in the control of lay lessees. But a series of statutes enacted by Henry VIII between 1529 and 1540 effectively reduced such clerical absenteeism. Robert Palmer examines this transformation of the English parish and argues that it was an important part of the English Reformation. Palmer analyzes an extensive set of data drawn from common law records to reveal a vigorous and effective effort by the laity to enforce the new statutes. Motivated by both economic and traditional ideals, the litigants made the commercial activities of leaseholding and buying for resale and profit the exclusive domain of the laity and acquired the power to regulate the clergy. According to Palmer, these parish-level reformations presaged and complemented other initiatives of the crown that have long been considered central to the reign of Henry VIII.

Marketing the Church

Marketing the Church
Author: George Barna
Publisher: NavPress Publishing Group
Total Pages: 184
Release: 1988
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9780891092506

Leaving Church

Leaving Church
Author: Barbara Brown Taylor
Publisher: Canterbury Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2013-01-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1848253575

Tells how a renowned preacher left her ministry to rediscover the authentic heart of her faith. A moving reflection on keeping faith amidst the relentless demands of modern life.