Author: Jackson W. Carroll
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780687165629
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 196

Get Book Here

Book Description

Author: Nancy Tatom Ammerman
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780687006519
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 256

Get Book Here

Book Description
This handbook for seminarians and clergy professionals places the congregation itself, rather than individual scholarly disciplines, at the center of congregational analysis. Using a comprehensive systems approach to congregations, this volume enables readers to analyze the ministries, stories, and processes that are at work in congregations. It provides techniques for studying the congregation as well as a framework for understanding the nature of the congregation.

Author: Helen Cameron
Publisher: SCM Press
ISBN: 0334029600
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 146

Get Book Here

Book Description
This practical handbook - aimed at final year undergraduates, Masters-level students, student ministers, church leaders and policy makers interested in local faith communities - guides readers through the various tools, methods of analysis and research skills needed for studying local churches. This resource takes full account of the UK context and is an ideal basis for students undertaking research projects and dissertations. After an historical overview. the handbook identifies theoretical foundations for the study of local churches, drawing on the 4 disciplines of anthropology, sociology, organisational studies and theology. Guidance is provided on both quantitative and qualitative research methods. Research processes covered include such issues as selecting a church, gaining access, selecting methods,analysing data, maintaining confidentiality, research reflexivity, and completing the final report. There is also a critical review of existing literature, as well as case studies and worked examples, demonstrating how key concepts from the 4 disciplines apply to actual local churches.The handbook contains a wide range of contributors with extensive theoretical and practical experience of studying local churches.

Author: B. Hunter Farrell
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
ISBN: 1514000695
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 200

Get Book Here

Book Description
North American congregations face a deepening crisis of consumer-oriented "selfie missions" and practices based on colonial-era assumptions. Seeking to free congregational mission from harmful cultural forces, this book helps churches better partner with God's work in the world, offering the latest research and practical, step-by-step tools for churches.

Author: Miguel A. De La Torre
Publisher: Chalice Press
ISBN: 0827214634
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 358

Get Book Here

Book Description
The purpose of this handbook is to introduce the reader to Christian concepts from the perspective of U.S. marginalized communities. It explores the interrelationship between religion, community, and culture in the social context of different marginalized groups, specifically those rooted in the African American, Amerindian, Asian American, feminist, gay/lesbian, and Hispanic experiences, and their impact on the development of U.S. theologies of liberation. The handbook gives attention to the history, nature, sources, and development of these theologies and the theologians who contributed to their formation. Of particular interest is how Handbook of U.S. Theologies of Liberation clearly distinguishes both the differences and similarities between these U.S. theologies and their Latin American counterparts. The handbook is divided into two sections: Thematic Essays that provide a general overview of a specific theological theme from the perspectives of different marginalized groups; and Contextual Essays that focus on the specific contributions of scholars from various racial, ethnic, and gender backgrounds.

Author: Jay E. Adams
Publisher: Zondervan
ISBN: 0310535476
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 129

Get Book Here

Book Description
This is a handbook for pastors, elders, and all Christians who want to see how Scripture presents the process of discipline that should operate in the Christian community. It was written in response to the various concerns that threaten to tear apart marriages, families, friendships, and congregations--concerns that call for a biblical approach to discipline that can heal fractures, restore right relationship, and ensure the health of the church. Developed around the five corrective steps found especially in Matthew 18:15-17, this book helps church leaders deal with the sorts of problems that require the church’s disciplinary response. Charting a course that combines discernment with appropriate action, this simple, readable handbook can have a profound effect on the community of believers.

Author: Edwin David Aponte
Publisher: Chalice Press
ISBN: 0827214650
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 324

Get Book Here

Book Description
Handbook of Latino/a Theologies explores the varied theological, ecclesiastical, spiritual, and cultural expressions associated with the term 'Latino/a or Hispanic theology.' There is no single definition of Hispanic/Latino theology, but rather a multiplicity of perspectives within the diverse Latino/a communities that articulate a distinctive and relevant Hispanic viewpoint. This collection of thirty-four essays surveys how Latinos/as understand and do theology within those varied contexts. It gives attention to the history, nature, sources, and development of Latinos/as theological expressions within the U.S. and their contribution to the overall theological discourse and to the individual groups that gave rise to them. Part I of the handbook presents essays on many traditional topics in Christian theology representative both of the individual authors and various beliefs found in Latino/a communities. Part II focuses on trends and contextual issues within the overall Hispanic/Latino theological conversation.

Author: Sharon Henderson Callahan
Publisher: SAGE Publications
ISBN: 1506354904
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 825

Get Book Here

Book Description
This 2-volume set within The SAGE Reference Series on Leadership tackles issues relevant to leadership in the realm of religion. It explores such themes as the contexts in which religious leaders move, leadership in communities of faith, leadership as taught in theological education and training, religious leadership impacting social change and social justice, and more. Topics are examined from multiple perspectives, traditions, and faiths. Features & Benefits: By focusing on key topics with 100 brief chapters, we provide students with more depth than typically found in encyclopedia entries but with less jargon or density than the typical journal article or research handbook chapter. Signed chapters are written in language and style that is broadly accessible. Each chapter is followed by a brief bibliography and further readings to guide students to sources for more in-depth exploration in their research journeys. A detailed index, cross-references between chapters, and an online version enhance accessibility for today′s student audience.

Author: Karen Lampe
Publisher: Abingdon Press
ISBN: 1791013392
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 155

Get Book Here

Book Description
Pastors and church leaders genuinely want to care for people in their congregations and communities. But pastors cannot care for an entire church, and most laypersons don't have the training to do it. The Caring Congregation Ministry is a model for person-to-person care that's been proven to work in small and large churches across the U.S. It is a laity-centered ministry, where laypersons receive rigorous training and then are commissioned to serve as Congregational Care Ministers, caring for others in their own congregation and their extended community. This remarkable approach to congregational care was first developed by author Karen Lampe and her team at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, in Kansas City. It has been tested, refined, and strengthened, and is now being adapted in all sorts of congregational settings. One early adapter was co-author Melissa Gepford, who launched a Caring Congregation Ministry in her own rural church. Together, they have created this immensely practical guide for any pastor or leader seeking to create a congregational care ministry. This Implementation Guide is the main book for getting started. It introduces the ministry model and explains the Five Essentials which form the ministry's foundation. It is extremely practical, full of checklists and other tools to help pastors and other leaders understand (and explain) this way of providing congregational care. The Implementation Guide also includes a section focused on the crucial component of this ministry–the Congregational Care Minister, or CCM. This section fully describes the characteristics of CCM's, how to recruit people to this ministry, how to discern if candidates are a good fit, and how to conduct the CCM training over a multi-week period. It details the critical information CCM's must know, and the behaviors and habits they must practice in order to be effective. Note that the companion book, The Caring Congregation Ministry: Care Minister's Manual, is required for the CCM training. It serves as a training workbook, which then becomes the CCM's personal reference manual.

Author: Mark Lau Branson
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1566995825
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 173

Get Book Here

Book Description
A second edition of Memories, Hopes, and Conversations is now available! With helpful updates throughout, the new edition features five new chapters on Appreciative Inquiry applied in real congregations. When First Presbyterian Church in Altadena, California, was asked to provide a mission study report for its pastor nominating committee, the congregation was afraid they would find themselves engaging in busy work and producing a report that would wind up in a file gathering dust. They then asked professor Mark Lau Branson to consult with them on writing this report. He invited them to join in a process of Appreciative Inquiry--a transformational organization change process--which resulted in a major shift in congregational conversations and a new sense of hope. Memories, Hopes, and Conversations recounts the experience of First Presbyterian and outlines a process that any congregation can utilize to harness the energies of the congregation at all levels of its common life. Branson first leads readers through the foundations of Appreciative Inquiry and bracingly explores biblical texts for understanding the practice in a faith context. He then outlines and illustrates a four-step process--Initiate, Inquire, Imagine, Innovate--that creatively employs constructive conversations and questions to evoke storytelling and spur imaginations. Branson persuasively demonstrates how concentrating on needs and problems can mire a congregation in discouragement and distract it from noticing innate strengths. By focusing on memories of the congregation at its best, members are able to construct "provocative proposals" to help shape the church’s future. Grounded in solid theory and real-life practice, Memories, Hopes, and Conversations is a groundbreaking work of narrative leadership and the first book to apply the principles of Appreciative Inquiry to the lives of congregations.