Kirjahaku

This book explores the "Book of Acts" as a guidebook to help ministers develop their congregations.

A powerful plan to transform church members into impassioned disciples.Drawing on his experience at Prince of Peace, Foss makes the case for transforming congregations from a membership model to a discipleship model of church affiliation. The book begins with a careful analysis of recent patterns in church membership/demographics which argue for this paradigm shift. Subsequent chapters detail the unique leadership and organizational needs of a discipleship model; explore the building and maintaining of fundamental trust-in God and in His people-as the cornerstone of the model; and provide practical helps for assessing the present and strategies for moving into the future. Addressed to rostered and non-rostered professional and non-professional church leaders interested in transforming their churches into centers for discipleship and mission, Power Surge makes the case for a dynamic, functional model of church affiliation that moves away from a membership model centered on prerogatives of membership to a discipleship model centered on the notion of Christian vocation/calling. It proposes a grace-centered, rather than legalistic, model of discipleship and builds a bridge through transferable principles between congregational mission mindedness and the individual Christian's life of faith. This book utilizes assessment tools and practical helps so that congregations can make the transition between membership and discipleship paradigms, as it draws on the experience of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church as a case study illustrating the principles of a discipleship model of church affiliation.

Christians and their institutions are stuck, says Michael Foss, stuck in the thinking and dilemmas of the past. This short volume is a plea for Christians to rethink their point and purpose in light of larger cultural changes and a crisis in leadership. Foss detects a crisis in leadership in declining rates of church participation, stagnant levels of students preparing for ministry, and burnout among clergy. To energize a new generation of leaders able to transcend yesterday's thinking, Foss encourages a new style of ecclesial thinking. He first traces the larger cultural shifts that affect the church's position in the world and styles of leadership. He then diagnoses church thinking as largely reproductive of past successes and ineffective in this new context. Advancing to productive thinking empowers Christians to leave behind the most important and frustrating dichotomies or polarities in today's church: evangelism vs. social justice, control vs. freedom, growth vs. discipleship. Foss's model of moving from issues into conversation and then into compassion is a blueprint for new leadership "equipped to think productively for the sake of the reign of our God in the world." A Servant's Manual is aimed in part at bringing the key ideas and energy of Foss's earlier book, Power Surge, to a wider audience of concerned Christians, potential leaders for the next generation.

Focusing on the powerful theme of discipleship, "The Disciple's Joy" explores the joy of faith, helping readers discover joy in the midst of struggle. Foss explores the benefits of practicing discipleship and shows, through recent research, how a practicing faith provides meaning, belonging, and joy. Intended for both personal reflection and small group study, "The Disciple's Joy" builds on the six-time-tested marks of discipleship and introduces six practices for spiritual growth. It includes questions for reflection and discussion.

Pastoral leadership has always been challenging, but clergy and parish leaders today face unprecedented challenges, many of which simply didn't exist a generation ago. The questions of ministry and leadership in the church today range broadly across the financial and the managerial, the spiritual and the interpersonal. In such a time, a wise mentor who can articulate a way forward for others is an immeasurable help. In Reviving the Congregation, Michael W. Foss, best-selling author of Power Surge, steps forward as that mentor. Bringing decades of experience in congregational life and leadership and a winsome style to the work, Foss offers a compelling introduction to the new context in which we lead, and the personal and congregational strategies that will offer a way forward.