Macs in the Ministry - Your ministry demands your time, energy, creativity, passion and commitment. But you've got a Mac, so you have a tool that can save you time and energy, spark your creativity, and enable you to keep your commitments without losing your passion. Find out how to harness the programs you already have, along with additional resources you may want to consider, to help you in nearly every aspect of your ministry. Part One of this book is about Inspiration: about discovering what's possible. Learn how to use online resources or Bible software to prepare a lesson or sermon. Discover the variety of ways you can present your message to a congregation or audience: using video created in iMovie, photo slide shows prepared in iPhoto, original music recorded in GarageBand, and more elaborate presentations using Keynote or specialized worship software. Learn how you can publish your message to a wider audience: through flyers, handouts, and other print publications; by creating podcasts and vodcasts (video podcasts) and distributing them through iTunes; by creating your own professional-quality CDs and DVDs; by making your videos available through websites like YouTube; or by developing your own great-looking websites using iWeb and Apple's MobileMe service. Once you're pumped about all the exciting ways you can present and publish your message, you'll probably need to enlist some help from others. Use the Mac to get members of your congregation or church youth group participating in your ministry. With so many different ways to use Macs in ministry, there are countless opportunities to get people using their gifts in service to the kingdom. Going one step further, you'll even see how the Mac can be used to meet practical needs. Forget car washes to raise money for youth retreats and mission trips! Why not develop and sell personalized greeting cards, calendars, audio CDs, or video DVDs? How about starting a ministry to train people in the community to do basic video editing, page layout, or web design? With a little creativity, you can use your Mac to minister to people's practical needs as well as to present a polished message. Part Two of this book is about perspiration: about actually making these things happen. Here you'll find a series of projects that will show you how to do all the things you're now inspired to do. Get step-by-step instructions for creating an iMovie, developing slide shows and print projects in iPhoto, recording and publishing podcasts, producing a DVD, and developing a web-site in iWeb. See what you can do using other applications like Pages, Keynote, Bible study software, and worship presentation software. Where Part One will get your wheels turning, Part Two will actually get you moving!

In this insightful training guide, Mac Lake brings over thirty years' experience of coaching church and organizational leaders. Biblically grounded and loaded with practical examples and questions to spark thought, discussion, and application, Leading Others will help leaders to personally grow in their relationship with Christ and enable them to develop the skills required to lead others well. Designed not just to impart information but to bring transformation, this book covers eight key areas essential for effective leadership. An ideal resource for churches that want to help develop leaders of groups and teams, this training guide equips people with the character and the competencies to step into leadership.

Do you wish you had more qualified, committed, and mission-oriented leaders in your church to share the ministry workload? Do you have a passion for cultivating the God-given leadership gifts in others? Most pastors say that the need to identify and develop leaders is critical to the health and growth of their church, yet most churches do not have an intentional plan for doing this. In The Multiplication Effect, Mac Lake reveals his practical, biblical, and proven strategy for addressing this leadership shortage and equipping future leaders to fulfill their kingdom mission. In this book, Mac Lake will help you: Identify potential leaders using unique training modules Equip and disciple leaders at every level of their leadership journey Empower leaders to multiply themselves by developing other leaders Inspired by the greatest leadership example of all, Lake writes, “Jesus was a master of leadership development who saw something in people and then patiently walked with them to transform their spirit and their skills.” Learn how to lead like Jesus and create a culture of multiplying leaders to expand God’s work in your community and beyond.

Learn to simplify your life through insight from God's Word. Mac Hammond expertly reveals the scriptural importance and benefits of simplifying your life and provides practical solutions for doing just that by addressing time, financial, and relationship management.

From a croft in the Hebridean island of Harris to the grim confines of the Nazis' notorious prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft III and the hallowed of Glasgow University, the life of Murdo Ewen Macdonald was one of extraordinary variety and richness. Macdonald was ordained as a Church of Scotland minister in 1939, and joined up in 1940. After volunteering in the First Parachute Brigade he was sent to North Africa, where, during a catastrophic mission in which he was severely wounded, he was taken prisoner in 1942. At the infamous Stalag Luft III he supported countless prisoners through their POW experience and assisted the 76 men who took part in the famous Great Escape. After the war he served in various charges in Scotland before being appointed Professor of Practical Theology at Glasgow University, a post which he held to his retirement in 1984. In this much acclaimed book he looks back over his long and eventful life.

Mac Brunson says that finding your way to God does not have to be left to chance. God has revealed Him self to the world in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the pages of His Word. The Bible reveals his thoughts, emotions, personality, and character so that we can know Him, not just know about Him. For those tired of searching for the meaning in life, or those weary of the humdrum routine of doing spiritual exercises with no apparent result, Brunson's book will help them find what they are looking for.

What Does God Require of Everyone? Two spiritual leaders and friends-one Black, one White-have seen the injustice and racial hatred that has simmered under the surface of culture for decades, escalating in recent years. In Required, Bishop Claude Alexander and Dr. Mac Pier, both theologians and practitioners who have crossed the racial divide for over thirty years, take their readers down the pathway of awareness, ownership, and action regarding how Christians participate in the conversation of race from a faith perspective. Readers will be shown how they can: Engage their world with justice, humility, and mercy. Model behaviors that bridge difficult divides. Follow God's call toward conciliation and unity. Make a practical difference in their own spheres of influence. The vision of this book is to accelerate current and inspire future efforts toward the vision of justice expressed through a Church united across racial, ethnic, and tribal lines. Over forty Christians and Christian organization, institution, and movement leaders strongly endorse Required as a must-read book on overcoming racial division. Endorsements In Required, Claude Alexander and Mac Pier bear witness to the transformative power of cross-cultural exposure, cultural translation, and a passion for Christ-mandated conciliation and unity. With great transparency, they urge us to reflect on how our racial story connects to His Story and mission of reconciling our diverse world to Himself and each other. -Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner, Co-Convener, National African American Clergy Network Mac and Claude are two extraordinary men whom I admire deeply. Their work to advance racial justice and advocate for city transformation has been stellar. This book serves as both inspirational and a framework for advancing the gospel and overcoming racial division. -Bryan L. Carter, Senior pastor, Concord Baptist Church, Dallas, TX This book teaches, guides, and propels us toward God's design of racial reconciliation while highlighting the role of relationships and movements such as the Lausanne Movement and Movement.org in bridging the divide. A timely and challenging reminder that racial equality and racial justice are required of those who belong to God's new kingdom. -Las G. Newman, Ph.D., Global Associate Director for Regions, Lausanne Movement My two good friends have collaborated to write this book that, given their respective backgrounds and friendship, speaks powerfully into the call on each of us to practice justice, mercy, and humility to overcome racial tensions. -Bob Doll, Chief investment officer, Crossmark Global Investments In Required, two internationally respected Christian leaders allow us to "overhear" them as they have the kind of conversation many wish they could have: honest, direct, vulnerable, reasonable, and full of love. This book will equip the reader with a path toward seeking justice and mercy, as followers of Jesus are called to do, and to standing with and for one another, as brothers and sisters must. -Russell Moore, Christianity Today About the Authors Bishop Claude Alexander has served as the senior pastor of The Park Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, for more than thirty years and is one of the most respected voices around the globe on the subject of race. He is a past president of the Hampton University Ministers Conference and serves on the boards of various respected organizations. Dr. Mac Pier is the founder of Movement.org and a Lausanne co-catalyst for cities. He has lived in New York City for thirty-five years where he founded the Concerts of Prayer Movement and cofounded Movement Day, which has engaged leaders from six continents and nine hundred cities.

Stories Help Readers Impact Their Communities What would happen in your city if 10 percent more people became vibrant Christians who worked together for the good of the community? Mac Pier knows from firsthand experience that when the gospel invades your city, big things start to happen. For thirty years he's watched and participated in what God has been doing in New York City. Now he shares true stories of transformation to inspire readers who long to see God move in their own communities. He helps readers understand the greatest barriers to the gospel in major cities all over the world, shares hopeful stories of reconciliation, highlights the passion and leadership of millennials advancing the gospel, and offers insight into how to start or join a gospel movement wherever in the world readers find themselves. Anyone looking for motivation and inspiration to join God where he is working will love these exciting dispatches from the front lines of outreach on five continents. Foreword by Tim Keller.

Man up; it’s the best thing you can do for others—and yourself Men are so busy doing so many different things; when not working, their free time is often full of the trivial or sinful. But what society and church so desperately need are men who embrace all that God created them to be, who long to follow God without limits and meet the needs of those around them without hesitation. To get there, we need what Pastor James MacDonald calls “radical surgery”—a deep, probing exploration and reparation of all that it means to be a man. In his definitive, bold voice, MacDonald calls men to be watchful, firm in their faith, strong, and loving. This isn’t a call for bravado and bluster. It’s a call for men to mix tender and tough, to be humble, to follow Jesus. It is a call to be leaders, men of God, husbands who are present and caring and strong. It is straight talk—no posturing or posing or beating around the bush—inviting men to redemption and restoration in their manhood. Read Act Like Men and take bold steps toward being all that God designed you to be.