The Discipling Dilemma

The Disciple Dilemma explains the realities and limitations of using classic business logic and strategy within the Christian community and makes the case that Christian leaders must restructure their organizations to conform to Christ's mission.

Anyone who wants to grow and wants to help others to grow in the Lord will find a practical approach within Beyond Discipleship to Relationship. Are you interested in growing a more intimate relationship with Christ? Think about how you first decided seriously to follow Jesus. Was it initiated in the midst of a crowd or during an intimate talk with one or two other believers? Beyond Discipleship to Relationship was written to: inspire individual intimacy with the Lord initiate shifts or revitalize your lifestyle as an imitation of the Gospel story delve into particular events in the Bible, pausing for further reflection nurture desire that others will see Christ in the lives we live. Psalm 100:5 And His truth endureth to all generations. Gods truth dwells in you. It is my belief that to Gods glory your work will magnify Him. Thank you for allowing me to be a small part of that process. Raymond Whitaker, Deacon Board chairman and Sunday school teacher, Angel Visit Baptist Church; Essex County School Board chairman

"A must-read for every leader." —Dan T. Cathy, Chairman and CEO at Chick-fil-A, Inc. Preston Poore has spent decades in corporate America. Despite all the excellent advice he was given for growing in leadership, there was something missing: a way to bring his Christian beliefs to bear in his professional life, not just his personal life. So Preston sought his own answer to how his faith could impact his management of hundreds of employees. What he discovered was this: the first step wasn't adjusting his leadership style. Instead, he needed to let God change him before he could effect real change in his workplace. And in order to model discipleship to his team, he needed to first be discipled by the Spirit. Here, in the day-to-day practice of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, Poore found where his faith and exceptional leadership intersect. Through personal stories, biblical principles, and hands-on workplace guidance, Poore offers readers a unique look at this seldom-discussed connection. He challenges struggling leaders to engage in the hard work of daily discipleship. And he charges experienced leaders to return to the fundamentals of their faith, encouraging them to disciple other Christians with leadership potential. For anyone wrestling with how to bring faith to the workplace, whether it be a cubicle or a boardroom, Discipled Leader reveals that leadership doesn't begin behind the desk--it begins in the soul.

More and more church leaders, pastors, and members are looking for guidance on how to practice church discipline in a biblical way. Here is a contemporary and concise how-to guide that provides a theological framework for understanding and implementing disciplinary measures in the local church, along with several examples of real-life situations. Drawing on both Matthew 18 and 1 Corinthians 5, this brief hardback helps leaders face the endless variety of circumstances and sins for which no exact scriptural case study exists, sins which don't show up on any list and need a healthy framework to be corrected appropriately in love. This volume is part of the 9Marks: Building Healthy Churches series. Look for upcoming, quick-read formats of the following marks of a healthy church: expositional preaching, biblical theology, the gospel, conversion, evangelism, church membership, discipleship and growth, and church leadership.

Why have people left Churches of Christ? Doctrinal Differences? Neglect? Instrumental Music Issues? The Role of Women? Divorce and Remarriage? Misunderstandings? Will the current generation of high school and college students remain in Churches of Christ after they graduate and leave home? In Flavil Yeakley's latest book, Why They Left: Listening to Those Who Have Left Churches of Christ, these and other essential questions will be answered. As former director of the Harding University Center for Church Growth Studies, Yeakley's extensive research in this area provides reasons given by former members explaining why they left Churches of Christ. Critically important lessons can be learned from listening to the ones who have left so that we can do a better job of ministering to those who are still faithful and encouraging future generations to remain in the church.

DIV God is building His body around the world in the most unexpected ways through the most unexpected people. Take a self-test to find out where your gifts lie and what area of ministry God may have custom-designed you for. /div

For Someone Else If You’re Concerned. For Yourself If You’ve Ever Wondered.You joined your church because of its intensity for God. Like no other place, it’s helped you discover the meaning of obedience. Of teachableness. Of death to self. If there’s one problem, it’s the confusion that sometimes comes from your own carnal thinking. But God has given you leaders who can lovingly correct a doubting, independent spirit and help you choose God’s best for your life.How can you go wrong with a church like that? Easily. What you’ve just read actually fits the profile of many abusive churches. Twisted Scriptures reveals in depth how the Bible can be distorted in ways that rob you of the liberty Jesus died to give you. You might be shocked at what you discover. This book uncovers the subtle but powerful techniques by which, in the name of truth, controlling leaders manipulate and intimidate countless believers. It also supplies tools for overcoming persuasive, deceptive teachings and practices. Thousands of Christians have already moved from struggle to true freedom and hope through Twisted Scriptures. If you truly want to grow in everything God made you to be, you owe it to yourself to read this book.

This book outlines digital discipleship principles for building an online community and provides practical instruction for how to do it no matter how big or small a local church may be. There are more than 2.3 billion professing Christians in the world and more and more new churches launching globally, yet statistics show that in-person church attendance is declining or plateauing in every nation. Although social technology has been around for more than two decades, church leaders have long bristled at the idea of church online, ranking it as the last concern on their minds in Barna's 2020 state of the church report published February 3, 2020. And then, three weeks later, COVID-19 closed the doors of every church on earth and suddenly forced them entirely online. Nona Jones, a globally acclaimed thought leader on leveraging technology for ministry, had been leading a movement and sounding the alarm for several years to make digital discipleship a central part of every church’s ministry approach. In From Social Media to Social Ministry, she outlines her digital discipleship principles and provides practical instruction for how to do it no matter how big or small a local church may be. There are plenty of books to help churches build a social media strategy, but this is the first book of its kind that goes beyond digital marketing to digital ministry. Readers will leave this book with: Clarity on what discipleship truly is The data that underscores the urgency for digital discipleship Understanding of the resources required to do it well A step-by-step guide on how to implement digital discipleship into ministry plans Knowledge of the differences among and purposes of the most popular social platforms, as well as the tools best positioned for digital ministry