Based on God's vision for churches in Matthew 28:18-20, this book presents sound methods for making disciples, winning the lost for Christ, and planting new churches.

Have you ever wanted something more from your faith? More than religion? More than church? One lost and forgotten biblical word, "ekklesia," holds the key to a more vibrant and life-changing Christianity. --Modern English language Bibles quote Jesus as saying, "I will build My church." However, the earliest Bibles have Jesus saying, "I will build my ekklesia." For hundreds of years, this Bible word-switch has misdirected the way the body of Christ meets for worship. --So what does ekklesia mean? Ekklesia was the name of the city council in ancient Greek city-states. It was a democratic, interactive, participatory body of equal citizens sharing their concerns and needs with one another. --In the Western world, traditional church is in decline. Religious categories now include millions who are "Dones" (done with church) and "Nones" (have no church affiliation). --Perhaps it is time for more than church. Steve Simms invites you to go "beyond church" and experience ekklesia, HEAVEN's CITY COUNCIL, not as a theological concept, but as a practical and living reality.

If you feel caught between the traditional church and the emerging church, read Jim Belcher. He paints a picture of an alternate, "deep" church--a missional church committed to both tradition and contemporary culture, valuing innovation in worship, arts and community but also adhering to creeds and confessions.

Free to Be Bound chronicles Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove's experience as he crosses color lines that fragment the church.

In this book by pastor Jason C. Dukes, explore unity and discover how it can become part of the DNA of your local church.

Pastoral care has been traditionally understood as pastoral acts administered to individuals or small groups by an ordained or lay religious practitioner. As congregations in the twenty-first century begin to reclaim the missional nature of church, this view must be broadened to include care and concern for the needs of the larger community. A missional perspective of pastoral care embraces the notion that all of Gods peoplenot just trained professionalsare called to partner in the healing and redemption of the world. In Beyond Church Walls, Rick Rouse sets out to articulate precisely what such an approach to pastoral care looks likeand the substantial impact it can have on congregations and communities. A skilled teacher and pastor with deep experience in real communities, Rouse leads readers through the changing realities of the twenty-first century and to new ways for missional churches to succeed in offering pastoral care for the whole community.

Secularism is often imagined in Thomas Jefferson's words as 'a wall of separation between Church and State'. This book moves past that standard picture to argue that secularism is a process that reshapes both religion and politics. Borrowing a term from religious traditions, the book goes further to argue that this process should be understood as a process of conversion. Matthew Scherer studies Saint Augustine, John Locke, John Rawls, Henri Bergson and Stanley Cavell to present a more accurate picture of what secularism is, what it does, and how it can be reimagined to be more conducive to genuine democracy.

Forty-year-old Nikolis McQuaigecalled NikkiMacis a teacher in Trenton, New Jersey, and is smart, quick, and loyal to her friends. Shes also single and struggles to be a good Christian. She thinks of herself as a work in progress, and God has been helping her make improvements in various areas of her lifesuch as in her choice of men. But men arent the only thing on NikkiMacs mind. Theres her best friend, Jacee, and a new friend, Anna Maria. Theres her friend Cletus, whos trying hard to stay on the wagon and do right by the twins he finds out are his biological children. And then theres Sister Chloe, a new member of the church, who is coolalmost downright rudeto NikkiMac for reasons NikkiMac cant fathom. She even finds time to think of the new, eligible assistant preacher named Adam Greene. By turns humorous and poignant, Beyond Church Doors invites us into NikkiMacs world of urban grittiness and sass, where being a Christian means asking forgiveness when her anger at another woman leads to near tragedy. It means not giving up on asking friends to church. It means being willing to don a bright orange lifeguard outfit and whistle to stand by the baptistery so that a churchgoer, terrified of drowning, can let herself be baptized. NikkiMac doesnt practice Sunday-morning-only Christianity, but lives her faith in the community 24-7 with a refreshing candor. Author Sylvia Brown-Roberts reunites us with her vivid characters as they seek to translate their faith into Godly behavior. An inspirational novel. Dr. Michael A. Brown, author of In Search of the Narrow Way