Very often in the history of Christianity, "reformers", by whatever name, have aspired to return to "the early Church". The Church of their own day, for whatever reason, fails to live up to what they think Christianity should be: in their view there has been a falling away from the beautiful ideals of the early Church. Kenneth Whitehead shows in this book how the early Church has, in fact, not disappeared, but rather has survived and persisted, and is with us still. "Reformers" are not so much the ones needed by this Church as are those who aspire to be saints-to follow Christ seriously and always to fulfill God's holy will by employing the means of sanctification which Christ continues to provide in the Church. Whitehead shows how the visible body which today bears the name "the Catholic Church" is the same Church which Christ established to carry on and perpetuate in the world his Words and his Works-and his own divine Life-and to bring salvation and sanctification to all mankind. Despite superficial differences in certain appearances, the worldwide Catholic Church today remains the same Church that was originally founded by Jesus Christ on Peter and the other apostles back in the first century in the ancient Near East. The early Church, in other words, was always!-nothing else but-the Catholic Church.

A historical study of the adoption by Christianity of Jewish prerogatives and attributes.

This message from Chuck Pierce and Robert Heidler likens our spiritual defense to that of the children of Israel while in battle. Within the ranks there were those who carried huge shields to protect the bulk of the army. And just as we fight spiritual battles today, there is a mighty shield we can carry to protect us. This shield of faith is one of the main ways we can resist our enemy's attacks. We are fully capable of resisting the enemy's attacks, but we must first be able to recognize how Satan fights. His main weapons are to create fear and doubt in us and to tempt us to become complainers and murmurers. If we succumb, our faith is weakened. The keys to increasing our faith are found in knowing the Word of God, which engenders praise, thankfulness, trust and obedience.

Church planting is not just about gathering new communities of people who are already Christians. Planting churches flows naturally out of making disciples. In this concise guide, pastor J. D. Payne explains the process and stages of church planting, with biblical foundations and practical steps for planting teams both domestically and internationally.

A seismic wave of revolution is about to shake our world with the emergence of apostolic centers. In one of the most radical shifts for today's global church and the apostolic movement, Alain Caron shares strategic concepts from Scripture and personal experiences for transitioning today's church into dynamic training and sending bodies of believers called apostolic centers. Much more than a case study, this book delivers practical concepts any fellowship can implement to build a Spirit-led, apostolic gathering that actively impacts the world around us. If you desire greater kingdom impact in your region, if you want to unleash what God has purposed for His church, Apostolic Centers is your guide to transforming your local church into a vibrant body where every believer manifests exponential life and delivers healing transformation to a world in need.

Eschatology and ethics are joined at the hip, says Michael Allen, and both need theocentric reorientation. In Grounded in Heaven Allen retrieves the traditional concept of the beatific vision and seeks to bring Christ back into the heart of our theology and our lives on earth. Responding to the earthly-mindedness of much recent theology, Allen places his focus on God and the heavenly future while also appreciating ways in which the Reformed tradition provides a unique angle on broadly catholic concerns. Reaching back to classical ethics as well as its reformation by Calvin and other Reformed theologians, Grounded in Heaven offers a distinctly Protestant account of the ascetical calling to be heavenly-minded and to deny one’s self.

An ecclesiology textbook establishing theological grounds for ecumenism.