Do these sound like qualities you express each day? Have you tried to get rid of them? Have you not been successful? What if you could replace them with happiness, peace, and forgiveness? What if these were qualities that could triumph in your life and finally bring you the joy you have searched for? In a world filled with unimaginable pain, suffering, and hardship, God has promised us abundant, overflowing joy, joy that is deeper than any situation we face and greater than any person we meet. Can you imagine such joy? A joy that overflows during the good times of life and a joy that carries us through the difficult valleys as well, a joy that does not depend on people or on circumstances. This is what God readily offers us. It is part of our birthright as children of God. But are we willing to claim it? Join author Lorraine Hill as she guides you through an eight-week daily Bible study to find joy for your life. Follow along asReclaiming Your Joyteaches you about your God-given privilege to find everlasting joy through him. This inspirational study will encourage and guide you to find solutions that will allow you to reclaim your joy: how to be obedient, how to overcome worry, how to promote peaceful relationships, and so much more. Prepare for the most important growth in your life, the growth from achieving eternal joy!

Professional church workers run the risk of becoming depleted-spiritually, relationally and vocationally, as well as physically and financially. Nearly every minister endures times of significant hardship, but few are willing to admit how overwhelmed they often feel by the demands and expectations placed on them. Reclaiming the Joy of Ministry will guide you on a detailed analysis of the hazards of the ministerial lifestyle and help you discover new possibilities for a long, joyful and fruitful career in ministry. Written by a longtime parish pastor, the insights draw on the latest research into church worker stress and burnout and the author's vast experience as a pastor, mentor and guide to other church workers.

"A timely and groundbreaking take on the roots of the Christian church and its place in the entirety of God's kingdom. . . . There is no better time than now to learn about and become firmly grounded within your spiritual heritage." —from the foreword by Perry Stone The early church was made up of Jewish and Gentile followers of Jesus, and the church's culture was rooted in Judaism and a Jewish understanding of God's relationship to His people. Over time, however, Christianity became increasingly more Roman than Jewish, and the church lost its identity. Rabbi Curt Landry's personal story is remarkably similar. Born to a Jewish mother and a Catholic father, Landry was put up for adoption, and for more than thirty years he had no understanding of his heritage, his roots, or who his parents were. But when he discovered the truth of his story, his life changed completely. The key to a life of power and purpose is understanding who you are. In this revelatory book, Curt Landry helps Christians discover their roots in Judaism, empowering them to walk in the revelation of who they really are and who they are born to be. Reclaiming Our Forgotten Heritage reveals the mysteries of the church, letting Christians grasp the power that comes from connecting with their true identity.

What is there about a dying church that brings glory to God? Mark Clifton's convicting answer is "Nothing." Because a local church is intended to represent the work of God in a community, when that church "loses it saltiness," not only is God's work pictured as irrelevant in that community, but also dishonor and disrepute may well become associated with God's name as a result. In Reclaiming Glory, Clifton draws not only upon his own burden for revitalizing dying churches but also upon years of church replanting experience to offer passionate counsel for how to breathe new life into a dying church . . . all for the glory of the God who is building his church upon the immovable rock of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Every year thousands of God's servants leave the ministry convinced they are failures. Years ago, in the midst of a crisis of faith, Kent Hughes almost became one of them. But instead he and his wife Barbara turned to God's Word, determined to learn what God had to say about success and to evaluate their ministry from a biblical point of view. This book describes their journey and their liberation from the "success syndrome"-the misguided belief that success in ministry means increased numbers. In today's world it is easy to be seduced by the secular thinking that places a number on everything. But the authors teach that true success in ministry lies not in numbers but in several key areas: faithfulness, serving, loving, believing, prayer, holiness, and a Christlike attitude. Their thoughts will encourage readers who grapple with feelings of failure and lead them to a deeper, fuller understanding of success in Christian ministry. This book was originally published by Tyndale in 1987 and includes a new preface.

Companion Workbook to "Reclaiming the Joy of Ministry: The Grace Place Way to Church Worker Wellness" focusing on the Intellectual Wellness of professional church workers.

There is a friendship revolution happening in dementia care across the country. Since the birth of the Respite Ministry in 2012 at a southern church in Montgomery, Alabama, their outreach to friends and neighbors living with dementia has been innovative and all welcoming. Originally a faith-born ministry, Respite's place in the community and now the world has been an open-arms embrace--a great welcoming to friends, neighbors, and strangers of any ethnicity or faith who are living with dementia of any variety. Respite is mainly staffed with volunteers. Director Daphne Johnston calls these volunteers the forerunners in dementia care the force that drives this friendship revolution. "In the Respite care environment everyone is a volunteer. Everyone needs help. Everyone is needy because he or she needs to either receive help or give help." Daphne Johnston knows that "Volunteers make a Respite community thrive in any locale. It is an adaptable model that can be tailored to your community and fit your resources and gifts. This book Reclaiming Joy Together is the current summary of what we at Respite have learned, become, and it explains our vision for the future. The model is now replicated in 17 other Respite programs with modifications for their own local neighborhood. Different names are chosen by each community, but the core values of volunteer Respite are all guided by one driving purpose: to come alongside others who need the help of neighbors and new friends." Daphne Johnston explains how this friendship revolution began: "My boss at the time and mentor Bishop Lawson Bryan asked me to create a business plan to establish a faith community at our church. He felt that people who have been worshipping and fellowshipping in their home church shouldn't have to be excluded when they developed any illness or even dementia. The vision originated with and was inspired by Lawson Bryan, and with his guidance and encouragement, I just started asking people to help. They got on board in a big way." As a result of Respite's individual story, the global narrative of dementia care began to change. "When people first hear the diagnosis of dementia, Alzheimer's or Parkinson's, they brace for what they assume will become an overwhelming tsunami--a flood of worry and work that will overtake and erode all normalcy and subsume a quality of life that can never be had again. That doesn't have to be true," Daphne asserts. "The diagnosis of dementia is like other kinds of diagnoses that something is now wrong that needs to be tended. We simply need to provide a kind of care tailored to the needs of people with memory or reasoning impairment, which vary significantly depending upon the person." About Daphne Johnston: After serving in long-term care administration for 15 years, Daphne Johnston accepted the challenge in 2012 at the First United Methodist Church to develop the Respite Ministry for families affected by Alzheimer's in the tri-county area of Montgomery, Alabama. Since then, Daphne has helped to plant the volunteer-driven model in 17 different program sites in AL, FL, and GA. Her mission is to help individuals with dementia and their family members find purpose, dignity, and opportunity to serve their community while living with new life challenges. Daphne and her husband Frank make their home in Montgomery, Alabama and have two children: Bo and Kathleen. She is an avid reader and tennis player.

Companion Workbook to "Reclaiming the Joy of Ministry: The Grace Place Way to Church Worker Wellness" focusing on the Financial Wellness of professional church workers.

Companion Workbook to "Reclaiming the Joy of Ministry: The Grace Place Way to Church Worker Wellness" focusing on the Emotional Wellness of professional church workers.

Why do so many young adults (18 to 22) leave the church, and what will it take to bring them back? This important question is examined and duly answered in Essential Church?, a follow-up to Thom S. Rainer’s best-selling Simple Church cowritten this time with his son, research expert Sam Rainer. The book is based on a study of one-thousand so-called "church dropouts" who were interviewed about why they left. Their answers are quite surprising, having less to do with "losing their religion" and more about the desire for a community that isn’t made stale by simply maintaining the status quo. In turn, the Rainers offer churches four concrete solutions toward making their worship community an essential part these young people’s lives again: Simplify - develop a clear structure and process for making disciples. Deepen - provide strong biblical teaching and preaching. Expect - let members know the need for commitment to the congregation. Multiply - emphasize evangelism, outward focus, and starting new churches.