Church Still Works: An In-Depth Study of the Practices and Potential of Twenty-First Century Local Churches by Paul Chappell & Clayton Reed
This is the second book on church planting that I have read so far this year and is another great resource for any church planter or pastor. The basis for the book is a national survey conducted of Independent Baptist Churches.
The book is composed of three parts – “Are We Making a Difference?”, “Seven Practices of Healthy Churches”, and “Striving Together for the Faith.”
The authors write, “God’s plan for local church ministry is still alive and healthy! He blesses His mandates: to go out and compel them to come in, to connect His Word to everyday life, to preach the Gospel to lost souls, to follow-up with authentic love and nurture, to use strategic tools to increase our harvest, to compel people to faith commitments, and to patiently develop devoted disciples” (p.228).
With comprehensive data and biblical principles, Chappell and Reed give hope to the twenty-first century pastor and church-planter.
When You Just Can’t Get Over It by R. B. Ouellette
Have you been through a difficult trial that you just can’t seem to overcome? This book gives a biblical approach to dealing with these difficult situations. It cover the topics of Injustice, Insecurity, Discouragement, Disillusionment, Depression, Bitterness, and Rejection among other topics. I found this book particular helpful in addressing the topic of difficult relationships. I highly recommend this book and plan on ordering several copies to pass out to friends.
Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald
MacDonald addresses the issue of maintaining our private world so that our public world will be in order. If we neglect our inner spiritual life, it will eventually show up in the form of anxiety, frustration, and ultimately burnout.
We often place our priorities on that which most people see – our jobs, our ministries, etc. – while at the same time ignore the most important elements of life – our relationship with God, our relationship with family members, etc. In order to be most effective in our public worlds, we must have order in our private worlds.
MacDonald says, “I have not met many who know how to listen to God. Busy people find it hard to learn how. Most Christians learned at an early age how to talk to God, but they did not learn to listen as well” (p.130).
If we want to learn how to listen to God, we must follow Jesus’s example by making time to come apart. If you are struggling to find this balance in your life, you find this book and excellent resource!