Church Is A Team Sport

To win the game, you need the whole team Pastor Jim Putman, a former wrestler and coach, helped his staff build Real Life Ministries into an army of thousands. But there was a problem. Early on too many sat on the sidelines. Not enough wanted a piece of the action. His voice was faltering from so many sermons and he teetered on the edge of burnout thanks to the mixed blessing of an enormous but needy flock. So he hit his knees. Hard. God's solution surprised him. Putman and his entire leadership team stood before the congregation and gave up. They were done carrying the whole load. There were too many spiritual babies and they needed mature believers to step up. They knew there must be some raw talent hidden in the pews. God led them to use a Bible-based strategy for ministry revitalization that can help bring your church to the next level. Whether you're a burned-out leader or someone ready to tackle an active role in your congregation, Church Is a Team Sport will lead you to both personal growth and renewed spiritual strength. If you're ready to get the whole team in the game, this is the playbook that will show you how to make it happen.

Now available in trade paper, Church Is a Team Sport shows proven ways to push believers, new and mature, toward growth as both Christians--and leaders. Through this powerful, thought-provoking volume, ministers both in the congregation and on staff will discover how to expand the church one soul at a time. Making disciples is the crux of pastor Jim Putman's message. The plan works. Caring for people, following up on stray sheep, and teaching what it means to love God and obey him. That's how Church Is a Team Sport transforms Christians from Monday-morning quarterbacks into dynamic players.

Most Christians already know that they should be telling their friends about Jesus. But they have been poorly equipped with methods that are no longer effective in today's post-Christian world. As a result, many people become frustrated, blame themselves, and simply give up. Evangelism in a Skeptical World is a textbook on evangelism that is ideal for the church or the classroom to equip Christians with the principles and skills they need to tell the unbelievable news about Jesus to friends in a skeptical world. Many of the older principles and methods of evangelism in the twentieth century no longer work effectively today. In a post-Christian, post-churched, post-reached world we need new methods to communicate the timeless message of the gospel in culturally relevant ways. Dr. Chan combines the theological and biblical insights of classic evangelistic training with the latest insights from missiology on contextualization, cultural hermeneutics, and storytelling. Every chapter is illustrated with real-world examples drawn from over fifteen years of evangelistic ministry. These are methods that really work - with university students, urban workers, and high school students - getting past the defensive posture that people have toward Christianity so they can seriously consider the claims of Jesus Christ. Field-tested and filled with unique, fresh, and creative insights, this book will equip you to share the gospel in today's world and help as many people as possible hear the good news about Jesus.

The Christian Athlete is a gospel-centered guide that assists athletes who identify as Christians and are seeking to understand how to practically apply their faith to their sport. Athletes desire—and deserve—a more substantive expression of the Christian faith in the context of sport, but they don’t know what it looks like or where to turn to learn more. Author Brian Smith shares his story as an athlete and coach, and his experience working with high-level athletes in the last decade to help readers better understand how to integrate faith and sport by: Assisting those who want a wide-angled understanding of how to live the Christian faith in the context of sports Walking through the many questions Christian athletes ask about winning, losing, injuries, practice, and everything in between Moving Christian athletes from simply having clichéd spiritual sayings decorating their bodies or t-shirts to actually living out their faith through all the opportunities their sport offers them The Christian Athlete will show readers how to live out a biblical perspective on athletics and urge them to engage in the gifts they are given to glorify God whether they are the team MVP or riding the bench.

In Sticky Teams, Larry Osborne exposes the hidden roadblocks that all too often sabotage the health and harmony of even the best intentioned ministry teams. Then, with practical and seasoned advice, he shows what it takes to get a leadership board, ministry team, and an entire congregation headed in the same direction.

An introduction to the Bible's teaching on sport and a compendium of practical advice for maximising the blessings of sport while avoiding its potential dangers.

In Church Reset: God's Design for So Much More, Jack Wilkie traces the problem back to its roots to show how we've deviated from God's plan and how we can get back on track. How can we stop operating as an organization and start living like a family? How do we stop creating church customers and start making dedicated disciples? How do we abandon man-made strategies and rediscover the power of God's design? Church Reset casts an exciting vision for what Christ's church can be by pointing back to what it was meant to be from the very start.

If there's a recurrent theme that runs through any team sport, it's fairly obvious that it's likely to have something to do with teamwork. But strangely, there seems to be an epidemic in the modern world of sports that breeds personal agendas, selfish attitudes and win-at-all-cost mentalities. The Teamwork devotional offers a very different way of looking at teamwork, one that advocates dependence, empowering and equipping, working, celebrating and hurting together, as well as appreciating each individual's giftedness. In these meaningful readings, coaches and athletes will discover how a band of brothers are even stronger when they become a band of believers, how to spot the enemies of team unity and how to build an amazing team. Learn from those who have found a higher plane of play when there is unity within the team.

We live in a sports-obsessed world. From fans wearing their favorite team’s colors to high school soccer players practicing after school, we encounter sports every day. Nothing else in our culture produces so much passion and intrigue. Such obsession, for the Christian, must produce critical reflection. How should the Christian think about sports? What does Christ have to do with athletic competition? Can sports be redeemed? In the Arena will answer these questions so that readers: Understand how the gospel of Christ shapes our understanding and enjoyment of sports. Receive practical instruction on how to use sports in parenting and discipleship. Become confident in using the arena of sports for discipleship, parenting, and recreation.