The author’s purpose for writing this book is to help young ministers who are seeking to pastor their first church. There are many young ministers who don’t know the procedures for accepting a church. Therefore, the author has penned those procedures from the Called into the Ministry to the First two years of the Pastorate. There are many books for the young minister that address what to do once the church calls a pastor, but there are very few books that give instructions on what to do in order to acquire a church. This book not only focuses on the young ministers, but also may be helpful for the veteran preachers who have been in the ministry for some period of time never pastoring a church. The author covers eight chapters in this book: I. The Call To The Ministry 1)The pastoral ministry is a calling 2)What is meant by the called II. Pray For Spiritual Guidance 1)The aspiration to pastor 2)Personality acceptance 3)The importance of mentoring III. Submitting A Resume/Philosophy Of Ministry/Be Professional 1)The letter of intention 2)Things to submit to the pastoral search committee 3)Example of a complete (pastor’s) resume 4)A concept of leadership 5)The visionary/philosophy of ministry statement IV. The Pastoral Interview 1)How to dress/what to do in an interview 2)The two types of interviews 3)The personal application 4)Questions for pastoral search committee V. The Invitation To Preach 1)You have made it pass the interview process 2)What to preach 3)How should you dress 4)Who will accompany you to the church VI. The Pastor’s Compensation 1)Negotiating the pastor’s salary VII. The Letter Of Acceptance 1)I will accept the position of pastor 2)Sample letter of acceptance VIII.The First Two Years At Your New Church 1)The honeymoon years 2)The do’s and don’ts of the new pastor 3)The installation service 4)Sample of a pastoral installation service 5)Can you produce 6)Ministering to the needs of the people 7)The new pastor relating to his board of directors 8)How do you handle troublemakers 9)Preaching that get results 10)The pastor compared to another pastor 11)The days of trouble for the pastor 12)The pastor being an example to his congregation 13)The pastor and funerals 14)The counseling ministry of the pastor 15)The counseling rules for the pastor 16)How to properly resign a church 17)Sample letter of resignation 18)The final rewards for the pastor It is the author’s prayer that those who read this book will gain some knowledge about how to accept a church. May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you! Grace, Love, and Peace, Roy Wade, Sr., D.Min.

Is your church facing a period of change? Are you overwhelmed with too much to do? Or are you searching for a new vision? If you are looking to take your church in a new direction, then How to Develop Your Local Church can help you decide which path to follow. Written by an experienced practitioner, it will help you to understand your congregation better: how it operates, what its members take for granted, what their priorities are and what the 'character' of the congregation is. The book then explains some of the reasons for frustration and conflict in church life, and points to positive ways forward, giving guidance on planning and decision-making. Just as no two churches are the same, there is no 'one-size-fits-all' answer to how your church might develop. Rather, it is only by drawing upon the collective wisdom of the local congregation that worthwhile change will begin to happen.

This book provides an important study of the theology of Thomas F. Torrance, who is generally considered to have been one of the most significant theologians writing in English during the twentieth century, with a view toward showing how his theological method and all his major doctrinal views were shaped by his understanding of the doctrine of the Trinity. Torrance pursued a theology that was realist because he attempted to think in accordance with the unique nature of the object that is known. In holding to such a methodology, he drew an analogy between theology and natural science. This book demonstrates how, for Torrance, God relates with humanity within time and space so that creation finds its meaning in relation to God and not in itself; this enabled him to avoid many theological pitfalls such as agnosticism, subjectivism and dualism while explaining the positive implications of various Christian doctrines in a penetrating and compelling manner. This book offers an important resource for students of theology and for scholars who are interested in seeing how serious dogmatic theology shapes and should shape our understanding of the Christian life.

Understanding American Politics provides a unique introduction to the contemporary political landscape of the United States by using as its core organizing feature the idea of "American exceptionalism," a concept that is at least as old as Tocqueville's study of American democracy. The second edition of Understanding American Politics maintains the unique strengths of the first edition while offering improved coverage of political institutions. A single omnibus chapter on institutions has been reorganized and split into three separate chapters on Congress, the presidency, and the courts. A new chapter on public opinion has also been included, and the chapter on religion and politics has been completely rewritten with a deeper appreciation of religion's influential role. The book has been revised throughout, taking into account the dramatic changes that have emerged since the 2010 congressional elections and the 2012 presidential election. The text also pays close attention to what is seen as the irreversible decline in America's global influence. Visit www.utpamericanpolitics.com for additional resources.

The names of Noah's three sons are Shem, Ham, and Japheth. The meaning! The meaning of Ham is dark "dark" or "black"; Shem means, "name," "dusky," or "olive-colored"; and Japheth means "bright" or "fair." One of the most intimidating questions that plagued the mind of many today is how could one son be of Black decent and not the others? According to medical research, it tells us it is possible to have children that are very different, particularly if one or both of the parents is dark-complexioned, but according to medical research it is impossible for a bright or fair-complexioned person to produce a dark-skinned child. (NOTE: NOTHING IS TOO HARD FOR GOD) According to historians and their findings, Ham is the ancestral father of the Blacks, Mongoloids, and the Indians. Shem is the ancestral father of the Jews and Arab nations; and from the loins of Japheth came the Caucasians, "nationalized" the Indo-European- Countries.

Debate about church order has gone on for centuries within Christianity, and an end is nowhere in sight. Perhaps that is good, since the debate shows the weaknesses of many ideas that need correction. Corporate Decision-Making examines church order from a careful exegetical perspective, with particular attention to the social world of the New Testament. While most works about church government address structure and qualities of leadership, Brown deals with the interaction of the people of the church, both with their leaders and with one another, in setting policy. In brief, though all believers in the young church of the New Testament revered Christ and his Word as authoritative, not all church decisions were "top down" from earthly leaders. On the contrary, many were "from the bottom up." This should come as no surprise to those familiar with Jesus' admonition in the Gospels, "You have one teacher, and you are all brothers."

The idea of a state religion is seldom connected to religious freedom and liberal, modern, and democratic states. However, such a situation existed in Norway until 2012, when the Lutheran Church was the state church of Norway. A large majority of the population belonged to the church, even though the percentage in 2013 had fallen to well over seventy-five. The relationship between the church and minority religious movements demanded adaptation and compromises from the minority churches. The Salvation Army's enculturation and accommodation during its 128-year history in Norway illustrates such a situation. The book examines how The Salvation Army accommodated itself both doctrinally as well as practically to the situation of a dominant state church. The study reveals such a close affiliation of Salvationists to the Norwegian Church as a state institution, that it raises the question of whether a concept of civil religion was implicitly present in Salvationists' view of the state church and their own adherence to the church. This situation also raises the question of what constitutes a real church. The book indicates the tension between Lutheran and Salvationist ecclesiology as well as the influence from the Lutheran Church.