Book Review
Kunal John Onkar
In the book Churches that make a Difference: Reaching Your Community with Good News and Good Works, Ronald Sider lays emphasis on evangelism being incomplete without social outreach and discipleship. The church is not called to be a church concerned just about a small faction of what we understand of God’s mission rather, it is the holistic aspect of the ministry that God is most concerned with. Sider talks in depth about the different aspects of how a church working through the dynamic holistic ministry model should look like. He states that a church exists not just to meet the needs of the community, rather the church needs a strong ministry of discipleship and fellowship for it to remain healthy and continue
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Operating as a holistic church is not easy. It has its own set of challenges and difficulties. To be able to combat those challenges, Sider lists out the qualities that the Leadership must have to engage in effective Holistic Ministry. An interesting point to note here is when Sider says, “This list of critical qualities does not apply just to pastors. Often it is the pastor who is responsible for guiding and empowering the congregation’s journey into holistic ministry” (p. 187). It is very common for the ministry to be dumped entirely on the pastor’s shoulders while the congregation sits back. Because of this, ministry slows down and very often even results in the pastor burning out. I believe that all in the church are called to be leaders with different abilities. The pastor is more like a leader of the leaders. For the ministry to have a good impact, the church must recognize people with the ten essential qualities that Sider lists in his book, and work in leadership with them to fulfil the purpose of the church in the world, i.e. to reach out not just through the good news of the Gospel, but also our good works, through Christ who enables
How long will it take America’s streets to be clean? “In January 2014, there were 578,424 people experiencing homelessness on any given night in the United States” (Snapshot of Homelessness, n.d.). The number of homeless found on the streets continues to increase and more and more are left without food and shelter. They are left to survive off whatever resources they can find, and most nights it is nothing. This epidemic is beginning to grow out of proportion and action must be made to help change the brokenness found on the streets. Covina is one of many cities that has a numerous amount of homeless. The Calvary Chapel Cornerstone Church should implement a program that reaches out to help the homeless find jobs within the community due to
The thesis of the book Deep and Wide by Adam Stanley is simply put as making a church that the unchurched can’t resist to attend. This book may cause controversy in some Christian circles by leaving a traditional church view of the church’s purpose being for the churched, however, in this paradigm shift Stanley presents that the church’s purpose should be to reach the unchurched in order for people to receive the Gospel that would never step foot into a traditional church. Stanley has shown results with this mission and method by North Point Churches growth from its start with him as a church planter and senior pastor. Deep and Wide challenges the pastor to refocus and seriously convict them
Leadership within Christian community should be with distinct qualities and traits of an effective Christian leader. The author defined leadership by not focusing on profit when Christ said, “Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.” The author explored the leadership qualities and practices that are not only distinct within the community of Christian leadership but also applicable in any arena of leadership. Significance comes from working with associates and friends. Similarly, the joy of success comes from the journey toward it than its accomplishment. Grace-full leader is a responsive leader who allows an organization to discontinue practices that are no longer effective and replace them with other good ideas and effective methods.
Every page of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s book, Life Together, tested and equipped me. Dietrich’s core ministry philosophy caused me to be more introspective on what is truly important in Christian living. Ministry is more than a program, but a, “Christ-centered community…united in service to and for one another” (Bonhoeffer, 2015, p. 48).
“The call is something that is an indescribable joy and an indefinable burden at the same time.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 32). There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a congregation of the redeemed moving forward in their faith. However exciting this may be, it is usually not the thrill that propels the pastor in his service. It is the burden placed on the pastor by God that compels him in his work. The pastor understands that he is largely responsible for the work of God being accomplished by his faithfulness to his calling. “All through the Word of God and down through the annals of history, when God has moved it has almost always been attended by the preaching of the Word.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 31)
Although written for church leadership, everyday church members would also benefit from understanding the concepts that Dawn is directing at God-empowered leaders. Ms. Dawn's work is predominantly scholarly, and she cites several other works at great length.... ... middle of paper ... ...
I agree with Kitchens, Mead, and Roxburgh who all basically say in their own way that one change in ministry that we need to focus on more is the congregational life of the church. However, I think Mead explains it best when he says that the future church must be more intentional in the spiritual formation of its laity (Mead, location 919). According to Mead, the church is moving towards becoming a more missional institution that cares for the needs of the community. Therefore, oftentimes laity will be the ones on the front lines and will need the capacity to minister to people on their own without the help of clergy. In order to do this they will need more directed and intensive training to deal with...
Philosophy of Ministry: God's desires come first, I must always live my ministry God's way. I must live as a Christian (1 Corinthians 9:27) I must have a proper relationship of surrender to the Leader. In my personal life or in the Church I must understand that Christ is Head and Chief Shepherd (Ephesians 1:22, Hebrews 13:20). The “management” of Church is about relationships with God and Man, not just maintaining a social organization.
As my friend Jenni and I entered the hall of the big church, a feeling of apprehension overwhelmed us. Our feelings were soon comforted when we entered a sea of smiling faces and outstretched hands. A sense of belonging engulfed us. Ms. Shirley, an older colored woman was first to extend her arms. She did not know us from Adam, but it did not matter. She threw her arms around us. "You girls have the prettiest smiles", she declared. "I am so glad you came to be with us this morning." Words can not describe what the act of kindness did to our feelings of apprehension, and that was just the beginning.
The religion part showed renewal movements but also some limitations and sex segregation in those days. In “Church for Unbelievers?” it was stated that renewal movement in American Protestantism was in progress slowly. The major goals of the movement were total involvement of the church in social issues, the development of more pertinent forms of worship, re-evaluation of dogma, creation of an authentic theology of the laity, traditions and church structures, and an effort to achieve a united church. However, the success of the movement was broadened the gap of two Protestant camps that one was neo-orthodox and liberal churches of the mainline denominations and the other was evangelical and conservative churches.
Nations crumble, churches and business fail, families become dysfunctional, children lose their way, and men stray from God for one disturbing reason; lack of leadership. These failures are often because of the lack of instruction, proper leadership, and confusion over what Christian leadership is and how that leadership is applicable to every facet of business and personal life.
The Catholic Church’s corruption during the late Middle Ages further enabled church reforms due to the ever-increasing view of the loss of credibility within the church by both the laity and clergy. Thus implementing the ideas of reform. Martin Luther is considered the father of the reformation where he instigated the challenging for the church, papal authority, and changed how the people were allowed to worship. Carlstadt and Zwingli, much like Luther, practiced Evangelical traditions, however, they expanded further than Luther in regards to doctrine and practice. John Calvin on the other hand challenged some of the Evangelical and Reformed Traditions by various religious changes politically and socially. Lindberg examines the Evangelical
Christian Pastors are not granted the liberty of setting their own model for leadership. Throughout scripture God has laid down the criteria for those who will lead his people. The image which is often used is that of 'Shepherd Leadership`. Indeed, the word 'Pastor` derives from the Latin word which means 'To Shepherd.` Within this paradigm, Christian leadership remains distinct, and pastors who are called to lead the church fulfil a unique role.
What is the church? This can be a very deep question, or a rather simple one depending on one’s context, theology, and general understanding of Scripture and faith. From my personal experience, most members of the congregations I grew up in if asked this question would point to the church building or sanctuary. This is not that surprising in my opinion when we consider the gorgeous monuments we have built as houses for God. As a child, I would have answered the exact same way as most people in a congregation, and it was not until later in my adulthood that I came to understand “the church” not as a physical building, but as much more. A very common response to this question has been that the church is “the people of God” or even “God’s chosen people.” I, however, prefer the definition of the church as “the community of Christian faith,” a much more inclusive definition than the previous mentioned definitions.
Another aspect of pastoral ministry is that every pastor is unique. God has gifted each pastor differently and with his own style. It is imperative that a pastor use the gifts that he has to bear witness about Christ. It is also important to preach Christ and not self. It is crucial that a pastor understand who he is, accept himself, and to develop the gifts given by God. Too often, preachers compare themselves to others and envy what they do not have. That is dangerous and sinful. One must accept the gifts given by God and to use them for His glory.