An indispensable source of advice and encouragement for the small church pastor, including how to formulate a mission while understanding the cultures of the community and the church.

There is a growing recognition that God’s design is for us to read Scripture alongside the whole church in all of its cultural and linguistic diversity. Exploring the New Testament in Asia is a textbook for students and scholars of the New Testament to help the church hear and see the good news of Jesus anew. This collection of essays offers theological reflections on New Testament themes from Asian perspectives, while addressing contextual issues in light of the New Testament. Touching on topics such as salvation, holiness, poverty, ethnic tensions, reconciliation, honoring elders, persecution, and hospitality, the scholars in this book demonstrate the importance of a varied contemporary context for understanding the New Testament. The result is a theological contribution that is both contextually relevant and biblically faithful.

Effective leadership is required in the twenty first century churches, as these churches are facing numerous issues due to ineffective leadership. In order to lead churches, wounds of leaders must be healed up in the Christian ministry. Today, the churches of America are facing leadership issues because their leaders’ wounds are not treated and healed up. This results in critical, crippling and catastrophic effect on the Christian Ministry. Those life-threatening wounds must be identified. The healing of the wounded leader is essential to the Spirit well being of the people. The purpose of the study is to investigate the wounds face by church leaders. The study also investigates that how these wounds affect church leadership. This study also identifies methods of healing of wounded leader and interventions used from transforming wounded leaders into an active and effective leader. Many churches are facing numerous leadership issues due to leaders’ wounds. Identification of this issue is important for the development and implementation of churches in America. This study helps in investigating the wounds among leaders and their relationship with leadership ineffectiveness. The study helps in identifying the meaning of wounds. This study helps in studying impact of wounds on church leaders in detail. This study classifies wounds as divorces, childhood traumatic experiences such as rape, molestation and physical abuse through domestic violence, emotional abuse through verbal altercations and mental abuse from a sibling, parent, spouse, authority figure or partner in a relationship. For this study mixed method was done. Survey interview questions and observational research were done. According to the participants, many of the transformational leadership concepts are transferrable into the church context, however, including idealized influence, which espouses the leader as a role model with high moral standards and ethical conduct, and as one who considers the needs of others before his or her own. According to the participants, Old Testament suggested, there are numerous examples of leadership development in the Old Testament, the short space available in this review will dictate a focus on one of the most obvious and well-known leadership examples. According to the respondents, personality is becoming more and more associated with leadership style and ability. This is particularly true when one is discussing the concept of transformational leadership. Due to leadership issues in American churches, Christian community is reluctant to visit their nearby churches regularly. The results depicted that due to past wounds or inner wounds the church leaders are not able to have Holy spirits. The wounds must be healed up for attaining pure Holy spirits. If their wounds are properly healed up then they can more firmly believe as the apostle on the super natural healings signs and miracles. The unhealed wounds of the church leaders hinders in the way of the leaders for praying for the humanity or for those who are suffering from hardships regularly. The lack of pastoral visitations of the members is due to the wounded souls of the leaders. For increasing the pastoral visitations of the members, the church leaders’ wounds must be healed up by using various methods. Ineffective leadership is practicing in the churches; these leaders are not conducting the different counseling sessions for the Christian communities. The Christian communities are not interested in visiting churches because of the ineffective leadership. The ineffective leadership does not encourage Christian communities towards practicing God preaching at church. The church leadership is not effective to spiritually inspire Christian communities. the church leadership is not effective to initiate programs which are helpful for attracting and retaining Christian communities. missionary programs are not being implemented by many American churches because of lack of effective chur

A passionate call for theological thinking that challenges our intellect, enriches our faith, kindles our heart, and infuses our daily life. The assumption in much of the church is that theology is an obstacle to a vital, growing faith, not an aid to it. In fact, everyone is a theologian--either a good one or a bad one. So what are the advantages of thinking intentionally about matters of theology and how they can guide, inform, and nourish our faith? What are the components of good thinking and what are some ways we can cultivate it? As the contributors to this volume make clear, theology is for everyday and every person, as all are called to be thoughtful followers of Jesus. They make the case for how a living, thoughtful faith and how learning to think about God can launch your faith and make it powerful and alive.This engaging volume will help lay people, incoming college students, and prospective seminarians understand that vital faith is as much about our mind as it is about a warm heart. "Cultivating a Thoughtful Faith challenges the intellect while touching the heart. It advances our understanding of how to love God with all our minds. We in Christian higher education celebrate this contribution to a deeper understanding of our calling." --- Robert C. Andringa, President, Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, Washington, D.C. "Rather than reserving theology for a classroom or Sunday morning discussion, these essays challenge the reader to make sure that theology engages the imagination and the intellect, the heart and the mind. The writers remind us that a thoughtful faith compels us to change the world by transforming our daily lives from the inside out." --- Barbara Oliver Korner, Associate Dean, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida. Edited by Maxie Dunnam and Steve Moore (Essays by Paul W. Chilcote, Maxie D. Dunnam, Steve Harper, George G. Hunter III, Steve G. W. Moore, Howard A. Snyder, and Ben Witherington III) Maxie Dunnam is the Chancellor of Asbury Theological Seminary, and formerly served as the fifth President of the Seminary (1994-2004). His many books include The Workbook of Living Prayer, Staying the Course, and the forthcoming Praying the Story. Steve Moore, a well-known leader in Christian higher education and spiritual formation, is the Senior Vice President of Asbury Theological Seminary and the President of the Asbury Foundation for Theological Education. He is the author of College 101: A Guide to Getting the Most Out of College. Paul Chilcote is Professor Historical Theology and Wesleyan Studies at Asbury Theological Seminary. His recent works include Her Own Story and The Wesleyan Tradition. Steve Harper is the Vice President of the Florida campus of Asbury Theological Seminary (Orlando), and teaches spiritual formation and Wesleyan studies. He has written Devotional Life in the Wesleyan Tradition. George Hunter is Distinguished Professor of Communications and Evangelism, and formerly Dean of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary. His books include How To Reach Secular People (1992), Church for the Unchurched (1996), The Celtic Way of Evangelism (2000), and Radical Outreach (2003), all from Abingdon Press. Howard Snyder is Professor of the History and Theology of Mission at the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary. He has written Decoding the Church: Mapping the DNA of Christ's Body. Ben Witherington III is Professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary. A much sought-after speaker and prolific author, his recent work includes The Brother of Jesus.

Author Donald A. McGavran is considered a founder of the Church Growth Movement in America. In this 3rd edition of his standard work, McGavaran analyzes the causes, methods and strategies for successful church growth both in America and abroad.

All Abraham’s Children is Armand L. Mauss’s long-awaited magnum opus on the evolution of traditional Mormon beliefs and practices concerning minorities. He examines how members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have defined themselves and others in terms of racial lineages. Mauss describes a complex process of the broadening of these self-defined lineages during the last part of the twentieth century as the modern Mormon church continued its world-wide expansion through massive missionary work. Mauss contends that Mormon constructions of racial identity have not necessarily affected actual behavior negatively and that in some cases Mormons have shown greater tolerance than other groups in the American mainstream. Employing a broad intellectual historical analysis to identify shifts in LDS behavior over time, All Abraham’s Children is an important commentary on current models of Mormon historiography.

Step into a world of ancient challenges, timeless truths, and transformative wisdom. In "Unveiling the Wisdom of 1 Corinthians," journey through the depths of Paul's heartfelt letters to the Corinthians and discover a wellspring of guidance for your own life. Join a vibrant community wrestling with divisions, moral dilemmas, and the pursuit of wisdom. As you turn each page, you'll encounter Paul's powerful words that transcend time, speaking directly to the complexities of your modern world. Uncover the secrets of true wisdom and the transformative power of love. Explore the dynamics of leadership, relationships, and the profound calling to live as members of the body of Christ. Dive into the depths of freedom, holiness, and the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. Prepare to be challenged, inspired, and equipped to navigate life's challenges with confidence and grace. Discover how the unchanging truths of God's Word can shape your perspective, transform your relationships, and bring hope to a hurting world. Are you ready to embark on a journey that will ignite your faith, deepen your understanding, and empower your life? Get ready to unveil the wisdom of 1 Corinthians and unlock the transformative power of God's Word within your own story.

Howard A. Snyder probes the relationship between the kingdom of God and our daily experience of the church.