Imagine for a moment...that you can forget almost everything you've ever read, ever heard, ever been taught about preaching. Somehow, everything is new; nothing is impossible. Imagine if----with the Holy Spirit's working----missional communities could be formed, vibrant stories would be told and retold for generations, in new and ever vivid manners of communication. emergentYS author and pastor Doug Pagitt offers an invitation to the kind of preaching that 'creates followers of God who serve the world well and live the invitation to the rhythm of God.' He introduces you to an approach to engaging with the Bible with a focus on three questions: * What kind of communities are we forming? (Sociology) * What story are we telling? (Theology) * How can we tell it more effectively? (Communication) These questions are engaged through the introduction of Progressional Implicatory Preaching. This insightful combination of both theory and practical advice will open the floodgates of your imagination to once again dream big dreams for your church. Envision Preaching beyond speechmaking as an agent in the creation of Christian communities and take a hopeful look toward new approaches to encouraging the spiritual formation of your church body. Includes study/discussion questions.

This author and pastor offers an invitation to the kind of preaching that "creates followers of God who serve the world well and live the invitation to the rhythm of God."

Inside these pages, readers will spend a full week with Solomon's Porch--a holistic, missional, Christian community in Minneapolis--to discover a church community that moves beyond education-based practices by including worship, physicality, dialogue, hospitality, belief, creativity, and service as means toward spiritual formation.

If you’ve ever wondered how you could be more effective at engaging audiences, conveying what you have to say and, thereby, motivating them to change their attitudes and behaviour – you’re not alone. Robert Little has often wondered the same thing (but about himself, not you). He’s spent many years speaking in the world of business; advising other people on how to speak; listening to and watching others speak in a variety of contexts, as well as being a preacher. He’s also been a singer, performing as a soloist in concerts and operas around the UK. Cajoled into writing this book – outlining many of the tips and techniques you’ll need to be an effective public speaker – Robert has captured relevant thoughts and observations from many people. These include practical, pragmatic, preachers; assiduous academics, along with popular presenters and personable performers from the worlds of business, the arts and even sport. He’s contributed several of his own tried-and-tested techniques, too. Robert believes Christian communicators tend to miss out on some of this book’s tips and techniques which have been garnered from today’s business world. These tips and techniques focus on how to engage and keep an audience’s attention – and motivate that audience to put into practice what they hear and see. So, this book is worth at least a cursory glance from those who want their preaching ministry (or any other type of public speaking) to be effective – as well as, perhaps, to be memorable, popular and successful. *If you’re a Baptist, part of the Baptist church leadership, or just want to improve your biblical preaching and public speaking, this book can help you to prepare for worship leading. Discover the responsibilities of a worship leader; references to leading worship, Scripture and much more.

ENCOUNTER A RADICAL COMMITMENT TO PREACHING THAT WILL REACH THE EARS OF A NEW GENERATION OF CHURCHGOERS. People today want to connect with God; they crave spirituality. But inside the walls of the church they’re getting a 30- to 50-minute spiritual monologue. Simply put, sermons do not communicate effectively in a YouTube, Twitter, Google world. We just can’t keep doing business—preaching—as we always have in this fluid culture. Sermons Reimagined will teach you easy, practical ways to reach today’s audience, who: • Consume sound bites, not sermons • Process information visually, not verbally • Apply concepts through experiences and interaction, not passivity and lectures It’s time to reimagine the sermon to reach a new generation. This book will show you how.

Free Range Priest ministry is how clergy can work in the 21st century church. Too many congregations can no longer afford full-time salaries for their ministers. Clergy today are serving in multiple roles within and outside the traditional church model. Becoming a Free Range Priest helps support congregations and bring the Gospel to the world in new ways.

In Alive to the Word Stephen Wright offers a constructive introduction to preaching as an existing and varied practice throughout the church on which it is important to continue to reflect theologically, so that it is executed with developing spirituality, understanding and skill.Alive to the Word includes discussion of the full range of key components in the understanding and practice of preaching - from its basic theological rationale right through to the dynamics of live communication and its aftermath.The books begins by reflecting on the nature and the context of preaching, not least in a communications culture and moves on to setting a constructive agenda for the development of preaching as a core practice of the Christian church for the preacher, the congregation and the wider church.

In Baptists and the Emerging Church Movement, David Rathel examines the major ecclesiological proposals of the emerging church movement. Though many theologians argue that the emerging church movement emphasizes epistemology, Rathel contends that its primary concern is ecclesiology. Emerging church leaders offer a number of important ecclesiological proposals, including restructuring traditional church leadership models to accommodate the rise of postmodernity, changing the mission of the church so that the church may strike a more "missional" tone in contemporary culture, removing the categories of "in" or "out" within the church body, and adopting the multi-site church model. In assessing these proposals, Rathel draws upon historic Baptist convictions about the nature of the church, using Baptists' ecclesiological distinctives and long history of ecclesiological thought as a helpful reference point. This book will not only serve as a guide for those who wish to learn of emerging church ecclesiology, it will also be an aid to Baptists who wish to evaluate recent trends in ecclesiology in light of their denominational distinctives.

The Journey of Existing Churches into the Emerging Culture In our fast-growing post-Christian, postmodern culture, the church often finds itself marginalized and ineffective in mission. The new emerging church is both hopeful and frightening compared to more traditional forms of Christianity. However, these “two churches” need each other. The Church in Transition presents honest stories of the failures and successes of a variety of transitioning fellowships.

A Comprehensive Resource for Today’s Christian Communicators. This extensive encyclopedia is the most complete and practical work ever published on the art and craft of biblical preaching. Its 11 major sections contain nearly 200 articles, comprehensively covering topics on preaching and methodology, including: Sermon structure and “the big idea.” The art of introductions, transitions, and conclusions. Methods for sermon prep, from outlining to exercising. Approaches to different types of preaching: topical, expository, evangelistic, and more. Best practices for sermon delivery, speaking with authority, and using humor. Leveraging effective illustrations and stories. Understanding audience. and much more. Entries are characterized by intensely practical and vivid writing designed to help preachers deepen their understanding and sharpen their communication skills. The contributors include a virtual Who’s Who of preaching from a cross section of denominations and traditions, such as Dallas Willard, John Ortberg, Rick Warren, Warren Wiersbe, Alice Mathews, John Piper, Andy Stanley, and many others. Haddon Robinson and Craig Brian Larson—two of today’s most respected voices in preaching—provide editorial oversight. Includes audio CD with preaching technique examples from the book.