B&H Church Growth Collection (21 vols.)

by Wayne McDill; L. Russ Bush; Ed Stetzer; David Putman; Charles Tidwell

and

23 more

Publishers:

B&H; Holman

, 1985–2008

Overview

The church is dying—or is it? For decades, churches have wrestled with declining membership and waning cultural engagement. Young adults have left the church, more and more people sleep in on Sunday, and, for many the Gospel seems irrelevant and unfocused. In the face of mounting challenges, how can the church continue to effectively and compassionately carry out the mission of God to a broken world?

The books in the B&H Church Growth Collection confront the central challenges that hinder evangelism and impede vital growth. This collection includes the contributions of top pastors and missions experts on important issues facing churches today, such as:

• Missional evangelism
• Spirit-led preaching
• Prayer ministries
• Leadership techniques
• Building strong ministry teams
• Sharing the Gospel

Most importantly, these authors offer practical advice for growing healthy churches, cultivating strong relationships, engaging culture, and helping the Gospel make sense in a post-modern context. The depth of analysis and practical advice offered in these books makes this collection ideal for pastors, evangelists, missional leaders, and for churches seeking to discern their role in meeting the real needs of a hurting world.

Key Features

• Contributions from top pastors, professors, and church growth experts
• Insightful commentary on the relationship between church and culture
• Explanations of various evangelism techniques

Product Details

• Title: B&H Church Growth Collection
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Volumes: 21
• Pages: 5,109

A Western Jesus: The Wayward Americanization of Christ and the Church

• Author: Mike Minter
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2007
• Pages: 256

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Is the Jesus of the modern western civilization the same Jesus found in the Bible? Is what we understand him to be in the United States and Europe the same as what’s perceived in Africa or the underground church of China? How can one person pray for a great parking space while another is praying for just enough food or safety to survive that day?

A Western Jesus speaks to the western world’s tendency to read God’s Word through the rose-colored glasses of a society that knows little persecution, risk, or sacrifice. Indeed, modern life lends itself to self-involvement, making it easier to over-domesticate the true Christ found in the Bible and forget what he’s really all about.

Here is a book that will answer the cry for authenticity being heard from today’s postmodern culture. Veteran pastor Mike Minter writes with a humble heart to those who have been insulted by religious hypocrisy, and who have claimed the modern church lacks relevance, or perhaps have even abandoned the Christian faith altogether.

Mike Minter has served as pastor of Reston Bible Church near Washington, D.C. for the past thirty-two years. A Western Jesus is Minter’s first book. Mike and his wife, Kay, have four grown children and live in Ashburn, Virginia.

Breaking the Missional Code: Your Church Can Become a Missionary in Your Community

• Authors: Ed Stetzer, David Putman
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 244

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Breaking the Missional Code by Ed Stetzer and David Putman is a clarion call for churches in the United States to act among their local communities as missionaries would in a foreign land. For in fact, the message of Jesus Christ is still foreign to many who stand in the shadows of American steeples. As our approach to outreach changes, so can countless lives in our own backyards.

Ed Stetzer, Ph.D. has planted churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia and has trained church planters and pastors across the United States and on five continents. A former seminary professor, he is now missiologist and director of research for the North American Mission Board. He also serves as co-pastor of Lake Ridge Church. Stetzer lives with his wife and three daughters in Cumming, Georgia.

David Putman is one of the pastors at Mountain Lake Church in the Atlanta area. He has trained, coached, and consulted with new and emerging churches across North America. Putman lives with his wife and two children in Cumming, Georgia.

Church Administration: Effective Leadership for Ministry

• Author: Charles Tidwell
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 1985
• Pages: 256

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Church Administration: Effective Leadership for Ministry contains guidelines and procedures for effectively administrating the work of a local church. Charles Tidwell relates information about organization, objectives, ministry plans, human resources, providing controlling factors, and basic skills of church administration. Church Administration: Effective Leadership for Ministry includes appendix and bibliography.

Effective Evangelistic Churches: Successful Churches Reveal What Works and What Doesn’t

• Author: Thom Rainer
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 1996
• Pages: 238

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Get the facts, not the theory, on what makes churches successful.

Part research project, part detective story, Effective Evangelistic Churches reveals once and for all what brings new souls to Christ—and what doesn’t. Regardless of size or location, churches with the highest rates of baptisms tend to use the same classic evangelism tools to achieve their success. Read all the results here, compiled and presented by the same church growth expert who directed the survey.

…packed with insights on how effective churches really reach out to their communities. Based on a well-conceived study of 576 churches, it gives us facts, not theory. Save yourself some time and read this book!

—Rick Warren, senior pastor, Saddleback Valley Community Church, and author of The Purpose-Driven Church and The Purpose-Driven Life

Thom Rainer is one of today’s foremost authorities on church growth, and one of a handful of scholars to hold a Ph.D. in evangelism. He is a founding dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, and Church Growth of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has also been a pastor of churches in four states.

EKG (Empowering Kingdom Growth): The Heartbeat of God

• Author: Ken Hemphill
• Publisher: B & H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 308

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

This is the keystone book of the Empowering Kingdom Growth (EKG) initiative. In thirty brief chapters, Ken Hemphill walks you through the history of God’s kingdom, tracing its roots and tracking its resiliency through the pages of the Old Testament and the teachings of Christ—watching it explode in the early church and cascade into our current century—rolling, pulsating through people’s lives and revealing God’s power through time and eternity.

With it comes the pure resolve of being focused on one thing—God’s kingdom—and discovering how this one-track mindset clarifies our calling in life, invigorates our everyday, and deepens our relationship with God and with others.

Ken Hemphill is president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has written a number of books, including Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, The Bonsai Theory of Church Growth, Growing an Evangelistic Sunday School, The Official Rulebook for the New Church Game, and The Antioch Effect. He resides in Fort Worth, Texas.

Future Church

• Author: Jim L. Wilson
• Publisher: B & H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 242

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The church today is poised on a precarious balance between culture and content, between cultural relevance and doctrinal integrity. Like a seesaw, the church swings back and forth, compelled both to reach an entertainment-driven culture and to remain true to the Gospel.

In Future Church, Jim Wilson presents seven clear principles which become fulcrum points: principles that will give the Church real leverage to reach people and push them upward toward the hand of God. These seven points are illustrated in real-life settings, as Wilson takes us on visits to churches that are utilizing them. This is the way of ministry in a post-seeker age. This is Future Church!

Jim L. Wilson started preaching when he was 17 and became a pastor when he was 18. He is the director of the Doctor of Ministry Program and an associate professor of leadership formation at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, where he teaches leadership and preaching seminars to DMin candidates.

Wilson is an award-winning writer with hundreds of pieces in print in 60+ publications, including some published by Christianity Today International, Focus on the Family, and Lifeway Christian Resources. He is author, contributor, or co-author of more than a dozen books, including Future Church and Soul Shaping.

Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics

• Author: Doug Powell
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 375

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In today’s pluralistic society, not every approach to sharing the gospel will work with all people. Being ready to give reasons for the hope we have in Christ means understanding the contextual framework of the people we are addressing.

In the Holman QuickSource Guide to Christian Apologetics, Doug Powell defends the Christian faith in a new key; taking time-honored approaches in apologetics and freshly presenting them for a new generation.

Doug Powell is a dynamic professional, combining his passion for Christian apologetics with his skills as a graphic designer and musician. He is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Christian Apologetics from Biola University.

Influencing Like Jesus: 15 Biblical Principles of Persuasion

• Author: Michael Zigarelli
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2008
• Pages: 176

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

From the classroom to the courtroom to the boardroom to your kid’s room, Influencing Like Jesus will show you how to be significantly more persuasive. Drawing from the timeless lessons of the world’s greatest influencer, Dr. Michael Zigarelli presents fifteen positive ways to open people’s eyes and change their minds, even when they’re highly resistant to change.

Come explore the many biblical principles of persuasion, including praying for change, knowing your audience, and telling stories. You’ll also learn about five key traits of a godly influencer:

1. Be authentic
2. Be compassionate
3. Be honest
4. Be excellent
5. Be gentile

Whether you’re called to be an influencer at home, at work, at school, or anywhere else, you can do more than make an argument. You can make a difference!

Michael Zigarelli is an associate professor of management at Charleston Southern University and former dean of the Regent University School of Business. He holds degrees from Rutgers (Ph.D.), Cornell (M.A>), and Lafayette College (B.A.). His research in management, practical theology, law, and ethics has appeared in numerous scholarly journals, and he has authored ten books including Management by Proverbs and Cultivating Christian Character. Dr. Zigarelli lives with his wife and four children in South Carolina.

Leading from Your Strengths: Building Close-Knit Ministry Teams

• Authors: Dr. John Trent, Rodney Cox, Eric Tooker
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2004
• Pages: 112

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Do you know the four inescapable transitions that every ministry team must face?

The answer to that question lies at the heart of successful ministry teams and is found in the powerful book, Leading from Your Strengths: Building Close-Knit Ministry Teams. Whether you’re a pastor or in parachurch ministry, a lay leader, or a team member, the principles you learn here can make a tremendous difference in how effective and intimate your ministry team becomes.

From eye-opening stories, to understanding the four inescapable transitions, to taking an online strengths assessment, you’ll discover your unique God-given strengths, learn to understand and appreciate the strengths of others, and learn to blend the differences.

Building strong, effective ministry teams is like taking a whitewater-rafting trip, with many unexpected rapids along the way. Join Dr. John Trent, Rodney Cox, and Eric Tooker, your guides on the journey to Leading from Your Strengths.

John Trent, Ph.D., is chairman and CEO of Ministry Insights International. He has authored many best-selling books, including The Blessing, The Two Sides of Love, LifeMapping, and Love for All Seasons. He has also co-authored Parenting from Your Strengths: Understanding Strengths and Valuing Differences in Your Home, available as part of the Broadman & Holman Marriage and Family Collection (19 Vols.). Dr. Trent has been a featured guest on radio and television programs like Dr. James Dobson’s Focus on the Family and Dr. Charles Swindoll’s Insight for Living.

Management Essentials for Christian Ministries

• Editors: Michael Anthony, James Riley Estep
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 454

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

For a ministry to function at its peak effectiveness, it must function at its peak efficiency. The better an organization is run—whether it is a church, a denominational body, or a parachurch organization—the more it can bless those whom it seeks to minister.

Management Essentials for Christian Ministries is a thorough examination of management principles for Christian ministries and includes a list of contributors representing a diverse denominational cross section. Management Essentials for Christian Ministries is a treatment of all issues regarding church administration and function and provides a theological grounding for organizational approaches to church management.

Contributors include Dennis Williams, Gary Bredfelt, Gordon Coulter, Michael J. Anthony, James Estep, Jr., Jane Carr, Mark Henze, Mark Simpson, Michelle Anthony, Richard Leyda, and Tony Buchanaan.

Michael Anthony is professor of Christian Education at Biola University/Talbot School of Theology. Past president of the North American Professors of Christian Education, Dr. Anthony has authored numerous books in the field of non-profit management and serves as a consultant to non-profit ministries across North America.

James Estep, Jr. serves as professor of Christian Education and director of academic assessment and faculty development as well as associate dean of the Christian Ministries Field for Lincoln Christian College and Seminary. He has earned his Ph.D. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. He resides with his family in Lincoln, Illinois.

Planting Missional Churches: Planting a Church that’s Biblically Sound and Reaching People in Culture

• Author: Ed Stetzer
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 372

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Missional: a point-blank term that emphasizes the approach rather than the population. When it comes to church planting, missional implies taking the methods of a missionary—being indigenous to the culture, seeking to understand and learn, adapting to the mission field—but planting the biblical form of a church.

In Planting Missional Churches (now updated and expanded from its first edition, entitled Planting New Churches in a Postmodern Age), Stetzer offers the watershed instruction book for planting biblically faithful and culturally relevant churches.

The how-to and why issues of church planting are here, providing practical guidance through all the phases of a church plant while also taking a mission-minded look at existing and emerging cultures.

Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., has planted churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, and has trained church planters across the United States and on five continents. A former seminary professor, he is now missiologist and director of research for the North American Mission Board. Stetzer lives with his wife and three daughters in Cumming, Georgia.

—Rick Warren, senior pastor, Saddleback Valley Community Church, and author of The Purpose-Driven Church and The Purpose-Driven Life

Ed Stetzer, Ph.D., has planted churches in New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, and has trained church planters across the United States and on five continents. A former seminary professor, he is now missiologist and director of research for the North American Mission Board. Stetzer lives with his wife and three daughters in Cumming, Georgia.

Resource Guide for Women's Ministry

• Author: Linda McGinn Waterman
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 194

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Many Christian women have a deep desire to share Christ’s joy in large and small ways. What is the best way to do this, consider the onslaught of busy schedules and individual needs?

Resource Guide for Women's Ministry provides a wealth of information on the types of creative ministries available today plus advice on how to select the ones that best suit each woman’s talents and time. Linda McGinn Waterman will help Christian women identify their spiritual gifts, talents, and skills, and use them to fulfill their own lives as well as the ministry of the church.

Linda McGinn Waterman is a national conference speaker and author of more than twenty books focused on equipping women in God’s Word and work. She has over twenty years experience creating and directing leadership development programs, designing and developing instruction curriculum, and identifying and instructing trainers of various prominent national ministries. Linda is a graduate of Gordon College and received a master’s degree from Regent University. As a board member of John Maxwell’s Injoy, she wrote Called to Influence, a spiritual development curriculum for the National Women’s Ministry Association. She resides with her husband in Chester, Maryland.

Revitalizing the Sunday Morning Dinosaur: A Sunday School Growth Strategy for the 21st Century

• Author: Ken Hemphill
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 1996
• Pages: 176

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Is your Sunday School program lumbering toward extinction? These action steps can help you turn it into a success.

According to leading church growth expert Ken Hemphill, Sunday School is not only worth saving, it has the potential to revitalize your entire church. Revitalizing the Sunday Morning Dinosaur gives you specific, detailed steps on how to lead your congregation in making it happen, including:

• Six reasons for the decline of Sunday School
• Nine reasons why Sunday School is the growth tool of the future
• How to revive an ineffective Sunday School program or start a new one
• How to keep a good Sunday School going strong

Dr. Ken Hemphill is president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a leading authority on church growth. Previously, he was director of the Southern Baptist Center for Church Growth. He is the author of The Antioch Effect: Eight Characteristics of a Healthy Church, and numerous other books on building and strengthening churches.

Share Jesus without Fear

• Authors: William Fay, Linda Shepherd
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 1999
• Pages: 195

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In recent years, the Share Jesus without Fear book and its growing family of ancillary products have sparked a faith-sharing movement that continues to gain momentum. It began with the jaw-dropping story of William Fay, once a money-driven businessman with Mafia ties who ran a house of prostitution until it was raided by police. Facing the threat of jail time, Fay turned to Jesus Christ for redemption and ever since has been turning others to him as well.

Share Jesus without Fear relays Fay's passionate, effective instructions on how to share the love of Christ with anyone—without feeling intimidated on either side of the conversation. Bold and joyful, the outreach movement continues without fear.

William Fay, prior to coming to Christ in 1981, was the president and CEO of a multimillion dollar corporation, had ties to the Mafia, and owned one of the largest brothels in the United States. Since his conversion, Bill has left his former lifestyle, graduated from Denver Seminary with a degree in leadership, and has taken up the mantle of an evangelist. He can be heard on his internationally syndicated radio program and on the Christian speaking circuit. His booklet How to Share Your Faith without an Argument currently has 3.5 million copies in print. Bill is the chief chaplain of the Colorado Police State Patrol as well as the Glendale Police. Bill and his family live in Englewood, Colorado.

Linda Evans Shepherd is an award-winning author who can be found speaking at women’s retreats around the country. She was named the 1997-98 Colorado Christian Author of the Year. Linda, her husband, and their two children live in Longmont, Colorado.

Spirit Led Preaching

• Author: Greg Heisler
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2007
• Pages: 156

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

In the words of author Greg Heisler, “Spirit-led preaching is a call issued to preachers, pastors, and teachers of homiletics to recover the Holy Spirit for expository preaching in the same way we have recovered the biblical text. . . . My plan for doing this is to recover the doctrine of pneumatology (the study of spiritual beings/phenomena) for our theology of preaching, resulting in a renewed emphasis on the powerful combination of Word and Spirit working together as the catalyst for powerful expository preaching.”

Heisler thoroughly examines how the Holy Spirit illuminates and empowers the preacher, opens the hearts of the hearers, and applies the message to their lives. Indeed, to ignore the Holy Spirit’s role in sermon preparation and delivery would be a considerable oversight.

Greg Heisler has written an important book that will help to educate a new generation of evangelicals about the power of preaching through the Holy Spirit and the Word.

—R. Albert Mohler, Jr., president, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky

Greg Heisler serves as assistant professor of preaching at Southeastern Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and was a senior pastor for eight years at churches in Kentucky and Florida.

Spiritual Leadership

• Authors: Henry T. Blackaby, Richard Blackaby
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2001
• Pages: 306

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

Whether you are a leader in the business world or the church, for those called to lead, Spiritual Leadership is a guide to understanding God’s design for spiritual leaders.

Drawing upon their own extensive leadership experience as well as their ministry to leaders in all walks of life, Henry and Richard Blackaby offer insightful counsel into the ways God develops, guides, and empowers spiritual leaders. Clear guidance is given on how leaders can make a positive impact on the people and organizations they are currently leading.

Filled with practical, biblical principles, Spiritual Leadership is a book leaders will refer to over and over again as they seek to be the man or woman that God intended for them to be.

Henry T. Blackaby is one of the world’s most popular speakers and writers. His Experiencing God study course has sold more than three million copies. Now president of Henry Blackaby Ministries, he lives in Rex, Georgia.

Richard Blackaby is president of the Canadian Southern Baptist Seminary in Cochrane, Alberta. He previously co-authored Experiencing God Day-by-Day, When God Speaks, God’s Invitation, and The Experience with his father, Henry T. Blackaby.

The Advancement: Keeping the Faith in an Evolutionary Age

• Author: L. Russ Bush
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 160

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The Advancement unapologetically presents the biblical solution as the only satisfactory worldview for modern life in contrast to the naturalistic worldview that dominates thought today. A unique Christian apologetic approaching Darwinian naturalism from a history-of-ideas perspective, Bush argues that progress and advancement are better metaphors to characterize the late twentieth century and early twenty-first century than the term postmodern. The illusion of spiritual progress is now no truer than it was during the Enlightenment of the eighteenth century.

L. Russ Bush is academic dean and professor of Christian Philosophy at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary at Wake Forest, North Carolina. He is also a former president of the Evangelical Philosophical Society and a former president of the Evangelical Theological Society. He is the author of Classical Readings in Christian Apologetics, Handbook for Christian Philosophy, and co-author of Baptists and the Bible, available from Logos as part of the Broadman & Holman Baptist History Collection (11 Vols.).

The Issachar Factor: Understanding Trends that Confront Your Church and Designing a Strategy for Success

• Author: Glen Martin
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 1999
• Pages: 208

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When the future King David was running from Saul, God sent hundreds of thousands of men to help him. All of the men were chosen for battle for a reason. Some for their fighting ability. Others for their expertise with special weapons. And still others were chosen for their character, courage or loyalty. But perhaps the most important men in the entire army were the 200 “men of Issachar.” They were the strategists who developed the master plan of battle. And they were chosen for their insight and foresight—their ability to look beyond the details of day-to-day life, discern the underlying issues, and chart an accurate course into the future.

That’s the Issachar factor—the ability to understand the times and know what to do. That ability—or the lack of it—will determine your church’s future. With it, the future holds the promise of vibrant growth and effective service. Without it, the future leads to stagnation and decline.

Dr. Glen Martin is senior pastor of Community Baptist Church in Manhattan Beach, California and adjunct professor at Talbot School of Theology. He is an active seminar leader and consultant on leadership, small groups, evangelism, and assimilation.

Dr. Gary McIntosh is director of the Doctor of Ministry Program and associate professor of Practical Theology at Talbot School of Theology. He is a nationally known seminary leader and an experienced church consultant who has analyzed more than five hundred churches from fifty-two denominations throughout the United States and Canada.

Twelve Essential Skills for Great Preaching

• Author: Wayne McDill
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2006
• Pages: 305

Sample Pages: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

The premise of this book is simple: Preachers can improve their preaching significantly by strengthening specific skills used in the preparation of expository sermons. Twelve Essential Skills for Great Preaching concentrates on twelve tasks that are necessary to the most effective sermon preparation:

1. Diagramming the text structure
2. Noting the text details
3. Asking research questions
4. Naming the text idea
5. Bridging from text to sermon
6. Writing sermon divisions
7. Balancing persuasive elements
8. Exploring natural analogies
9. Drawing pictures, telling stories
10. Touching human experience
11. Aiming for a faith response
12. Planning the oral presentation

Recent seminary graduates and seasoned pastors alike will easily identify skills that need personal improvement, and McDill encourages readers to address those areas at their own pace and in whatever order they feel is best. Every chapter of this new edition is revised and updated; also included are immensely helpful worksheets and real sermon examples.

Live up to your God-given gospel-sharing potential with Twelve Essential Skills for Great Preaching.

Wayne McDill is senior professor of preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina. His books have been translated into several languages for pastor-training around the world.

Who Rules the Church?: Examining Congregational Leadership and Church Government

• Author: Gerald P. Cowen
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2003
• Pages: 160

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Does the New Testament present an implicit system of church government? What group in the church is vested with sovereignty under God? Does the New Testament authorize election of a board of elders or deacons to govern a church?

Gerald Cowen offers answers to these critical questions concerning how the New Testament church is to be governed. Who Rules the Church? contends that the New Testament model for congregational government is pastoral leadership-congregational rule. In other words, authority is given by the Lord to the congregation itself, but the pastor is God-called to that congregation not only to serve and take care of the congregation but also to be the leader.

Gerald Cowen is professor of New Testament and Greek and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. His previous books include Sermon Starters in the Greek New Testament and Salvation: Word Studies in the Greek New Testament.

Why Churches Die: Diagnosing Lethal Poisons in the Body of Christ

• Authors: Mac Brunson, Ergun Mehmet Caner
• Publisher: B&H Publishing Group
• Publication Date: 2005
• Pages: 216

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Right now, there are congregants who would rather stay in bed each Sunday morning and soon enough will. Likewise, preachers who want to resign every Monday after another uninspired weekend worship service may study the want ads more closely than upcoming sermon notes.

Authors Mac Brunson and Ergun Caner draw parallels between sicknesses of the human body and ailments among members of the body of Christ. Practicing a science of spiritual forensics to prevent churches from dying, they examine, diagnose, and offer treatment for the cancer of gossip, the atrophy of shrunken faith, shortsighted vision, hardening of the heart, and more.

Why Churches Die is a spiritual breakthrough for the church uniquely conveyed through a medical motif.

Mac Brunson is senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. He served as president of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention and as president of the Pastors’ Conference of the Southern Baptist Convention. Mac and his wife, Debbie, have three children.

Ergun Caner is dean of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary of Liberty University. He is the best-selling author of Unveiling Islam: An Insider’s Look at Muslim Life and Belief and co-author of The Sacred Trust: Sketches of the Southern Baptist Convention Presidents, available from Logos as part of the Broadman & Holman Baptist History Collection (11 Vols.). Ergun and his family reside near Lynchburg, Virginia.