Building on the congregational strategic planning resource, "Does Your Church Have a Prayer?" this Participant’s Book will guide Lay Servants seeking to be more empowered to lead their congregations toward vitality. Written with two distinct purposes, Lay Servants as Christian Transformational Leaders will first define the three disciplines of Christian transformational leadership and the four qualities of Christian transformational leaders. The accompanying Leader's Guide is in PDF form and...

"Tell me a story." Countless parents and grandparents have heard that request from children. People of all ages are captivated by a good story. Storytelling helps us makes sense of the events of our lives, the world around us, and God. When we tell stories, we speak a world into being—just as God did in the creation accounts in the book of Genesis. "Everyone is a storyteller," says author Michael Williams. You don't have to be a professional storyteller to be able to tell good stories. In thi...

This book is a must-read for anyone who has ever tried to energize or grow a ministry. Christian Coon takes us through his own missteps and mistakes as the co-founder of the Urban Village Church—as well as those of others working to do the same—and shows how failure can serve as a springboard to new possibilities and even a closer connection to God and what leadership means. Woven together with honesty, humility, and humor, Failing Boldly helps us learn to look on failure as an actual gift th...

With: Historical commentary Biographical info Appendix with further readings For nearly 2,000 years, Christian mystics, martyrs, and sages have documented their search for the divine. Their writings have bestowed boundless wisdom upon subsequent generations. But they have also burdened many spiritual seekers. The sheer volume of available material creates a seemingly insurmountable obstacle. Enter the Upper Room Spiritual Classics series, a collection of authoritative texts on Christian ...