Formational Children's Ministry (ēmersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)

Formational Children's Ministry (ēmersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)
Author: Ivy Beckwith
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2010-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 144120735X

Much ministry to children looks more like mere entertainment than authentic spiritual formation. But what if children's ministries were rooted in a mind set whereby we taught children, with our words and actions, how the story of God, the story of church history, the story of the local community, and the story of the child intersect and speak to one another? What if children's ministry was less about downloading information into kids' heads and more about leading them into these powerful, compelling stories? Beckwith aims to help ministers and parents create a ministry that captures children's imaginations not just to keep them occupied, but to live as citizens of the kingdom of God. In addition to providing theological reasons for formational children's ministry, the book offers examples of how Ivy and other practitioners are implementing a formational model.

Free for All (ēmersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)

Free for All (ēmersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)
Author: Tim Conder
Publisher: Baker Books
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2009-08-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441204520

Is our study of the Bible as pure as we think it is? In Free for All, Tim Conder and Daniel Rhodes show how the way we read the Bible is held captive by the dominant culture in which we find ourselves. They aim to expose the cultural authorities that influence our understanding of the Bible and provide a way for communities to encounter the text as communities. This journey into community interpretation of the Bible not only honors the text and liberates its voice, but also catalyzes transformative practices of proclamation, hospitality, ethics, mission, and imagination. Church leaders, pastors, small group leaders, and those interested in the emerging church conversation will find Free for All an energizing resource to infuse their study of God's Word with new life.

Church in the Present Tense (ēmersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)

Church in the Present Tense (ēmersion: Emergent Village resources for communities of faith)
Author: Scot McKnight
Publisher: Brazos Press
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2011-02-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1441214496

Much has been written by practitioners advocating the emerging church phenomenon, but confusion about the nature and beliefs of those who identify with the emerging church still exists. Now that the movement has aged a bit, the time has come for a more rigorous, scholarly analysis. Here four influential authors, each an expert in his field, discuss important cultural, theological, philosophical, and biblical underpinnings and implications of the emerging church movement. Their sympathetic yet critical assessment helps readers better understand the roots of the movement and the impact that it has had and is having on wider traditions.

Better Safe than Sued

Better Safe than Sued
Author: Jack Crabtree
Publisher: Zondervan
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2009-07-27
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0310828767

Most youth workers will admit that they don’t spend a lot of time thinking about safety in their youth ministry. Sure, they shout, “Seat belts!” when the crew loads into the van, or they use the buddy system when at theme parks. But beyond that, they’re mostly concerned with introducing students to Jesus. Nothing’s wrong with looking after their spiritual well-being, but overlooking their safety can lead to pain and problems for you, your students, your church, or your community.The reality is, whether it’s a game of dodgeball in the church gym, or a rock climbing trip during a summer retreat, you have precious cargo in your care, and it’s your responsibility to make sure they return home safely and in one piece.Better Safe Than Sued is an essential guidebook for anyone in youth ministry—paid or volunteer, veteran or rookie. Along with questions to get you thinking about your own ministry context after each chapter, inside you’ll discover how you can make your ministry a safe place for students and leaders as you read about:• Safety while riding in buses, vans, and cars• Camps, retreats, and conferences• Selecting staff• Avoiding sexual misconduct• Establishing a No-Bully Zone• How to handle injuries, and much moreMake sure your ministry is safe and that you’re protected so you never have to be the one saying, “I never took safety seriously until ...”

Handbook of Megachurches

Handbook of Megachurches
Author: Stephen J. Hunt
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 362
Release: 2019-11-26
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004412921

The megachurch is an exceptional recent religious trend, certainly within Christian spheres. Spreading from the USA, megachurches now reached reach different global contexts. The edited volume Handbook of Megachurches offers a comprehensive account of the subject from various academic perspectives.

A Review of Deviant Nonprofit Groups

A Review of Deviant Nonprofit Groups
Author: David Horton Smith
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2019-10-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 900440015X

This book studies the deviant form of Nonprofit Groups (NPGs), mainly volunteer-based associations, but occasionally paid-staff-based nonprofit agencies. A Deviant Nonprofit Group (DNG) is defined as “a Nonprofit group that deviates significantly from certain moral norms of the society” (Smith, Stebbins, & Dover, 2006, p. 68). The aim is to develop and present an empirically grounded theory with eighty-three hypotheses about many of the key analytical features or operational and structural characteristics of DNGs. Such DNGs were usually voluntary associations with memberships and usually run by volunteers, not nonprofit agencies without memberships and usually run by paid staff (Smith, 2017a).The total theory may be termed a Grounded General Theory of DNG Operation-Structure. The book is based on an extensive review and qualitative content analysis of about 260 published research documents representing twenty-five common-language (vernacular) purposive-goal types of DNGs (vs. analytical-theoretical types, which do not exist in detail). Moral norms are the broad, emotionally charged, customary directives concerning what is right and wrong, by which members of a community or society implement their institutionalized solutions to problems significantly affecting their valued way of life (Stebbins, 1996, pp. 2–3).All the grounded hypotheses reported here were supported by empirical evidence for at least one (often two) of the two or three specific DNGs studied for all DNG types in source documents. Indeed, all reported hypotheses were supported by most of the twenty-five DNG types studied, giving significant qualitative validity to the author’s Grounded General Theory of DNG Operation-Structure. Such support suggests these hypotheses are valid at least sometimes for most DNG types and deserve further investigation. Collectively, the hypotheses of the present theory can be seen as a new theoretical paradigm for studying NPGs that helps bring analytical order to a previously chaotic realm of nonprofit sector deviant (rule-breaking) phenomena.

New Keywords

New Keywords
Author: Tony Bennett
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 470
Release: 2013-05-29
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1118725417

Over 25 years ago, Raymond Williams’ Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society set the standard for how we understand and use the language of culture and society. Now, three luminaries in the field of cultural studies have assembled a volume that builds on and updates Williams’ classic, reflecting the transformation in culture and society since its publication. New Keywords: A Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society is a state-of-the-art reference for students, teachers and culture vultures everywhere. Assembles a stellar team of internationally renowned and interdisciplinary social thinkers and theorists Showcases 142 signed entries – from art, commodity, and fundamentalism to youth, utopia, the virtual, and the West – that capture the practices, institutions, and debates of contemporary society Builds on and updates Raymond Williams’s classic Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture and Society, by reflecting the transformation in culture and society over the last 25 years Includes a bibliographic resource to guide research and cross-referencing The book is supported by a website: www.blackwellpublishing.com/newkeywords.

Does God Have a Big Toe?

Does God Have a Big Toe?
Author: Marc Gellman
Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
Total Pages: 88
Release: 1989
Genre: Bible stories, English
ISBN: 9780060224325

A collection of humorous stories derived from the Old Testament.

Reimagining Christian Education

Reimagining Christian Education
Author: Johannes M. Luetz
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 365
Release: 2018-07-04
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9811308519

This book is an arresting interdisciplinary publication on Christian education, comprising works by leading scholars, professionals and practitioners from around the globe. It focuses on the integrated approaches to Christian education that are both theoretically sound and practically beneficial, and identifies innovative pedagogical methods and tools that have been field-tested and practice-approved. It discusses topics such as exploring programmes and courses through different lenses; learning challenges and opportunities within organisational management; theology of business; Christian models of teaching in different contexts; job preparedness; developing different interpretive or meaning-making frameworks for working with social justice, people with disability, non-profit community organisations and in developing country contexts. It offers graduate students, teachers, school administrators, organisational leaders, theologians, researchers and education practitioners a fresh and inspiring reimagining of Christian education perspectives and practices and the ramifications of their application to life-long learning.