FAMILY ON MISSION

When God wanted to act on his promise to save the world, he started with a family and gave them a mission. He spoke to Abram and his household and they became a family on mission.

We see Jesus operating in the same way, gathering an extended-family-like group of disciples around himself before embarking on his mission. Jesus needed a family on mission.

Within the Trinity, the unity of God is expressed in a diversity of persons, which means that at the very heart of God’s nature is family on mission. And thus God’s preferred mode of operation has always been family on mission. In fact, discipleship doesn’t really work apart from the context of a family on mission. Without that texture, discipleship becomes programmatic and mechanical, not really producing people with the character and competency of Jesus.

This book is about our journey in leading a family on mission, as well as looking deeply at how Jesus built his family on mission in the Gospels, as well as practical strategies for growing as a family on mission, imitating Jesus as his disciples.

Andrea LewisDecember 26, 2019Comment

A MEAL WITH JESUS

The meals of Jesus represent something bigger. They represent a new world, a new kingdom, a new outlook.

Tim Chester brings to light God’s purposes in the seemingly ordinary act of sharing a meal―how this everyday experience is really an opportunity for grace, community, and mission. Chester challenges contemporary understandings of hospitality as he urges us to evaluate why and who we invite to our table. Learn how you can foster grace and bless others through the rich fare being served in A Meal with Jesus.

Andrea LewisDecember 26, 2019Comment

UNLEADER

UnLeader: Reimagining Leadership

The last thing you need is another book on leadership. So how is UnLeader different?Leadership-centric conversations dominate the contemporary evangelical church scene. The largest church leadership conferences each year include talks from corporate business executives and world famous CEOs. We are drilled with the message that if it worked for them it will work for the church.There is one overwhelming problem. Jesus himself is not our first choice when it comes to who we model ourselves after as leaders. Many times the life of Jesus directly contradicts much of what is being imported into the church under the mantra of effective leadership.This book is not about eliminating leadership in the church. UnLeader will help you redefine and recalibrate your view of leadership according to Jesus’ life. Renew your ministry, reimagine your path to authentic servant leadership, and discover that the only leaders worthy of being followed in the Church are the ones who are following Christ himself.Reviews’In a culture obsessed with leadership and leaders, this book turns the pyramid upside down, provoking all Christians to reexamine what the New Testament really has to say about the subject.’-Frank Viola, author of Reimagining Church’UnLeader is a fast, engaging read that makes a compelling case for a different way - a starkly Biblical way - towards leading the church into God’s future. -David Fitch, B R Linder Chair of Evangelical Theology, Northern Seminary’As the church struggles through seizmic shifts, UnLeader unwraps the reality of true God-sized influence. The future of the church and the fate of the world, at least in your neighborhood, are at stake...so read only if you intend to give your life away.’ -Hugh Halter, author of The Tangible Kingdom and Sacrilege

Aaron C LewisDecember 25, 2019Comment

DELIBERATE SIMPLICITY

Less is more. And more is better. This is the new equation for church development, a new equation with eternal results.Rejecting the “bigger is better” model of the complex, corporate megachurch, church innovator Dave Browning embraced deliberate simplicity. The result was Christ the King Community Church, International (CTK), an expanding multisite community church that Outreach magazine named among America’s Fastest Growing Churches and America’s Most Innovative Churches. Members of the CTK network in a number of cities, countries, and continents are empowered for maximum impact by Browning’s “less is more” approach. In Deliberate Simplicity, Browning discusses the six elements of this streamlined model:• Minimality: Keep it simple• Intentionality: Keep it missional• Reality: Keep it real• Multility: Keep it cellular• Velocity: Keep it moving• Scalability: Keep it expandingAs part of the Leadership Network Innovation Series, Deliberate Simplicity is a guide for church leaders seeking new strategies for more effective ministry.

Aaron C LewisDecember 24, 2019Comment

EVERYDAY CHURCH

HOW DOES THE CHURCH REACH THE UNCHURCHED?

We live in an increasingly post-Christian culture. More and more we find ourselves on the margins as less and less people have any intention of ever attending church. What used to work doesn’t work anymore and we need to adapt.

Helping us to see the way forward, this book offers practical ideas and personal stories for engaging with Western society. Find out how to effectively reach people in the context of everyday life and take hold of the opportunity to develop missional communities focused on Jesus.

Aaron C LewisDecember 22, 2019Comment

THE FORGOTTEN WAYS

Alan Hirsch's paradigm-shifting classic remains the definitive statement of the church as dynamic missional movement. The bestselling first edition ignited a conversation about how to harness the power of movements for the future growth of the church. In this major update, Hirsch shares significant insights gained along the way, provides fresh new examples of growing churches, and reflects on the last ten years of the missional movement. The new edition has been thoroughly updated and revised throughout and includes charts, diagrams, an expanded glossary of terms, new appendices, an index, a new foreword by Ed Stetzer, and a new afterword by Jeff Vanderstelt.

Known for his innovative approach to mission, Hirsch is widely acknowledged as a thought leader and mission strategist for churches across the Western world. He considers The Forgotten Ways the guiding work to all of his other writings. The book explores the factors that come together to generate high-impact, exponentially explosive, spiritually vibrant Jesus movements in any time and context. This extensive update to Hirsch's influential work offers a system of six vital keys to movements that will continue shape the future of the missional movement for years to come.

Aaron C LewisDecember 21, 2019Comment

SATURATE

What does it look like to live for Jesus in the everyday stuff of life?

Many Christians have unwittingly embraced the idea that “church” is a once-a-week event rather than a community of Spirit-empowered people; that “ministry” is what pastors do on Sundays rather than the 24/7 calling of all believers; and that “discipleship” is a program rather than the normal state of every follower of Jesus.

Drawing on his experience as a pastor and church planter, Jeff Vanderstelt wants us to see that there’s more―much more―to the Christian life than sitting in a pew once a week. God has called his people to something bigger: a view of the Christian life that encompasses the ordinary, the extraordinary, and everything in between.

Packed full of biblical teaching, compelling stories, and real-world advice, this book will remind you that Jesus is filling the world with his presence through the everyday lives of everyday people...

People just like you.

Andrea LewisDecember 20, 2019Comment

COMMUNITY

Community within the church today is hemorrhaging. Attention spans are dwindling, noise levels are increasing, and we can't seem to find time for real relationships.

The answer to such social fragmentation can be found in small groups, and yet the majority of small groups―at least in the traditional sense―are often not the intentional, transformational community we really want and need. Somehow we need to get our groups off life support and into authentic community.

Pastor Brad House helps us to re-imagine what gospel-centered community looks like and shares from his experience leading and reproducing healthy small groups. With wisdom and candor, House challenges us to think carefully about our own groups and to take steps toward cultivating communities that are able to glorify Jesus, bless one another, and participate in the mission of God.

Andrea LewisDecember 19, 2019Comment

REIMAGINING CHURCH

A revolution is moving through the body of Christ, challenging the spiritual status quo and redefining the very notion of corporate worship. A movement inspired by the divine design for holy fellowship. A fresh concept rooted in ancient history. Author Frank Viola presents a compelling case for a new kind of church based on the model for fellowship found in Acts. Redefine expectations and reimagine a life-changing church.

Aaron C LewisDecember 18, 2019Comment

THE HOUSE CHURCH BOOK

While the NOMAD gathering is hybrid, and not an organic house church, the issues, principles, and ideals that Wolfgang addresses within this work are of universal value to all gathering methodologies of the church.

In a world where the church is being ignored, it is time to bring the church to the people, and not the people to the church, says researcher and church strategy consultant Wolfgang Simson. His book Houses that Change the World (originally published in the UK) is widely recognized as a classic of the house church movement. Now revised as The House Church Book, this definitive work offers a comprehensive understanding of the past, present, and future of the house church movement―and the vital role of “ordinary” people in saturating the world with God’s truth.

Andrea LewisDecember 17, 2019Comment