Avoid "Get-Rich-Quick" Missions Strategies and Invest in Effective, Long-Term Ministry Trendy new missions strategies are a dime a dozen, promising missionaries monumental results in record time. These strategies report explosive movements of people turning to Christ, but their claims are often dubious and they do little to ensure the health of believers or churches that remain. How can churches and missionaries address the urgent need to reach unreached people without falling for quick fixes? In No Shortcut to Success, author and missionary Matt Rhodes implores Christians to stop chasing silver-bullet strategies and short-term missions, and instead embrace theologically robust and historically demonstrated methods of evangelism and discipleship—the same ones used by historic figures such as William Carey and Adoniram Judson. These great missionaries didn't rush evangelism; they spent time studying Scripture, mastering foreign languages, and building long-term relationships. Rhodes explains that modern missionaries' emphasis on minimal training and quick conversions can result in slipshod evangelism that harms the communities they intend to help. He also warns against underestimating the value of individual skill and effort—under the guise of "getting out of the Lord's way"—and empowers Christians with practical, biblical steps to proactively engage unreached groups. Biblical Ministry Advice: Examines the work of respected missionaries throughout history Encourages Professionalism in Missions: Rhodes teaches missionaries to invest in theological education, communication, and technical skills A Great Resource for Ministries: Includes specific advice for singles, parents, and other groups Insightful: Examines strengths and weaknesses of recent missionary movements

"An examination of strategies for effective organizing"--

Seven-year-old Kofi Mensah, a Year 2 primary schoolboy growing up in the little village of Kookookrom in Ghana, helps his parents on Saturdays and during the school holidays by carrying out various activities on their farm appropriate to his age. On one occasion he is given grains of corn to plant. In the course of his work, he grows tired and devises a quicker way of planting the seeds assigned to him. Initially, he thinks his mischief will go undetected. Is that indeed the case?

Year after year, Rafe Esquith’s fifth-grade students excel. They read passionately, far above their grade level; tackle algebra; and stage Shakespeare so professionally that they often wow the great Shakespearen actor himself, Sir Ian McKellen. Yet Esquith teaches at an L.A. innercity school known as the Jungle, where few of his students speak English at home, and many are from poor or troubled families. What’s his winning recipe? A diet of intensive learning mixed with a lot of kindness and fun. His kids attend class from 6:30 A.M. until well after 4:00 P.M., right through most of their vacations. They take field trips to Europe and Yosemite. They play rock and roll. Mediocrity has no place in their classroom. And the results follow them for life, as they go on to colleges such as Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford. Possessed by a fierce idealism, Esquith works even harder than his students. As an outspoken maverick of public education (his heroes include Huck Finn and Atticus Finch), he admits to significant mistakes and heated fights with administrators and colleagues. We all—teachers, parents, citizens—have much to learn from his candor and uncompromising vision.

Shortcut is the new catchphrase that identifies high-quality, influence and value in employees and executives. Be A Shortcut is a business book that provides new frameworks and tactics to help a broad range of individuals become the professionals their company can't live without. The book shows you how to actually become a Shortcut using Halford's proven, Shortcut success formula. You'll gain more influence, become more valuable, get promoted faster, find better customers, get better raises - no matter what you do. Shortcut is a way of thinking, a way of doing, a way of being - and when you commit yourself to it, you'll write your own ticket to wherever you want to go.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • This gripping and triumphant memoir from the author of The Mountain follows a living legend of extreme mountaineering as he makes his assault on history, one 8,000-meter summit at a time. “From the drama of the peaks, to the struggle of making a living as a professional climber, to the basic how-tos of life at 26,000 feet, No Shortcuts to the Top is fascinating reading.”—Aron Ralston, author of Between a Rock and a Hard Place and subject of the film 127 Hours For eighteen years Ed Viesturs pursued climbing’s holy grail: to stand atop the world’s fourteen 8,000-meter peaks, without the aid of bottled oxygen. But No Shortcuts to the Top is as much about the man who would become the first American to achieve that goal as it is about his stunning quest. As Viesturs recounts the stories of his most harrowing climbs, he reveals a man torn between the flat, safe world he and his loved ones share and the majestic and deadly places where only he can go. A preternaturally cautious climber who once turned back 300 feet from the top of Everest but who would not shrink from a peak (Annapurna) known to claim the life of one climber for every two who reached its summit, Viesturs lives by an unyielding motto, “Reaching the summit is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” It is with this philosophy that he vividly describes fatal errors in judgment made by his fellow climbers as well as a few of his own close calls and gallant rescues. And, for the first time, he details his own pivotal and heroic role in the 1996 Everest disaster made famous in Jon Krakauer’s Into Thin Air. In addition to the raw excitement of Viesturs’s odyssey, No Shortcuts to the Top is leavened with many funny moments revealing the camaraderie between climbers. It is more than the first full account of one of the staggering accomplishments of our time; it is a portrait of a brave and devoted family man and his beliefs that shaped this most perilous and magnificent pursuit.

Guides both pastors and members to recognize key characteristics of a healthy church and then challenge each person to do his or her part in developing those characteristics in the local church body.

When Rick Pitino became the coach of the Kentucky Wildcats, he took them from NCAA probation to four spectacular final Four appearances, including the championship in 1996 and an incredible return to the NCAA Finals in 1997. Under Pitino's leadership, the Wildcats garnered a 70 percent winning record. Now the head coach of the Boston Celtics, Pitino has clearly become a master at molding great players and great teams. What's his secret to success?Pitino's method -- and the reason he's both a peerless basketball coach and one of the most sought-after motivational speakers in the country -- is built on a strategy of over-achievement. He simply doesn't believe in shortcuts.Success Is a Choice draws on Pitino's 17 years as a college and professional coach. In a friendly, one-on-one style, using anecdotes from his superstar career to drive home his message, Pitino presents a concrete, 10-point program for achieving success in every aspect of life, including: - How to make winning seem inevitable- How to achieve things that even you don't think are possible- How to subordinate your own ego and individual agenda for the common good- How to get people to work as a team- How to thrive on pressure- How to feel better yourself -- and improve the way you relate to othersPitino's winning techniques appeal to everyone from corporate managers to educators to parents. Based on the same proven methods that have earned him and his teams legendary stat

A remarkable story of friendship, love, and courage. When Maya Angelou and Tavis Smiley met in 1986, he was twenty-one and she was fifty-eight. For the next twenty-eight years, they shared an unlikely, special bond. Angelou was a teacher and a maternal figure to Smiley, and they talked often, of art, politics, history, race, religion, music, love, purpose, and -- more than anything -- courage. Courage to be open, to follow dreams, to believe in oneself. In My Journey with Maya, Smiley recalls a joyful friendship filled to the brim with sparkling conversation -- in Angelou's gardens surrounded by her caged birds, before lectures, sharing meals, and on breaks from it all, they sought each other out for comfort, advice, and above all else, friendship. It began when he, a recent college graduate and a poor kid from a big family in the Midwest, was invited to join the revered writer on a sojourn to Africa. He would be handling her bags, but Maya didn't let that stop a friendship waiting to happen. Angelou was generous, challenging, and inspirational. Like a mother to him, she was selfless. Here Tavis Smiley shares his personal memories of Maya Angelou, of a decades-long friendship with one of history's most fascinating women, one who left as indelible an imprint on American culture as she did on him.

What will it take to accomplish Christ's mission in our lifetime? That's the question evangelicals have been asking for over a century, but our efforts to reach the unreached and finish the task have often sacrificed the important for the immediate. The greatest challenge in evangelical missions isn't a lack of urgency, but a lack of discernment. As we've prioritized movements that are simple and reproducible, the gospel and faithful churches are now threatened. Our mission itself could be disqualified. In Mission Affirmed, Elliot Clark seeks to reshape our motivation by considering the example of Paul the missionary. The desire for God's approval is what formed his ambition and directed his methods, and it should guide ours too. In these pages, we rediscover how pursuing God's praise can both motivate and regulate our gospel ministries. We also refocus—as missionaries, pastors, churches, and individuals—on what matters more than a mission accomplished: a mission God affirms. Biblical Ministry Advice: Provides a holistic look at Paul's ministry, methods, and motivation A Great Resource for Church Leaders: Helps churches vet and send missionaries First-Hand Ministry Insights: Provides a practical solution for common weaknesses in modern missions, with descriptive examples from the author's experiences as a missionary Published in Conjunction with the Gospel Coalition (TGC)