Church and Personal Health Books

Dr. Sam Warren

far more consulting began with a deep passion for the local church

A Church called TOV


Tragically, in recent years, Christians have gotten used to revelations of abuses of many kinds in our most respected churches - from Willow Creek to Harvest, from Southern Baptist pastors to Sovereign Grace churches. Respected author and theologian Scot McKnight and former Willow Creek member Laura Barringer wrote this book to paint a pathway forward for the church.

We need a better way. The sad truth is that churches of all shapes and sizes are susceptible to abuses of power, sexual abuse, and spiritual abuse. Abuses occur most frequently when Christians neglect to create a culture that resists abuse and promotes healing, safety, and spiritual growth.

How do we keep these devastating events from repeating themselves? We need a map to get us from where we are today to where we ought to be as the body of Christ. That map is in a mysterious and beautiful little Hebrew word in Scripture that we translate “good”, the word tov.

In this book, McKnight and Barringer explore the concept of tov - unpacking its richness and how it can help Christians and churches rise up to fulfill their true calling as imitators of Jesus.

Pivot

Transition Your Church into a TOV Culture


A practical guide to help you build a culture in your church or organization that resists abuse and cultivates goodness.

After the release of their groundbreaking book, A Church Called Tov, which recorded the stories of abuse and toxic church cultures at some of the most prominent churches in the United States, New Testament scholar and blogger for Christianity Today Scot McKnight and Laura Barringer heard from a flood of people who had experienced similar instances of abuse. After all they’ve seen and heard, they still believe it’s possible for church cultures to be transformed from toxic to tov―from oppressive to good.

In Pivot, Scot and Laura help churches to implement practices,establish priorities, and cultivate the Kingdom Gospel-centered qualities that form goodness cultures. Readers will find answers to the four most common questions people have about culture transformation:
  1. How can I transform the culture in my church or organization to make it tov?
  2. I believe my workplace has unhealthy values. How do I initiate change?
  3. How do I unleash a culture of goodness in my ministry?
  4. I’m not in a position of church leadership. What are some red flags that indicate a toxic culture, and what can I do if I see them?
Pivot also includes the following practical features:
  • The “Tov tool,” a survey to help you discern your organization’s culture and to promote spiritual conversations
  • A “getting to work” section at the end of each chapter with questions and next steps for application
Transformation is never easy. But for the sake of the next generation, we must do it.

Discipleship That Fits

For far too long, the church has tried to make disciples using a one-size-fits-all approach. Some churches advocate 1-on-1 discipling, others try getting everyone into a small group, while still others training through mission trips or service projects. Yet others focus all their efforts on attracting people to a large group gathering to hear biblical teaching and preaching. But does one size really fit everyone?

Based on careful biblical study and years of experience making disciples in the local church, Bobby Harrington and Alex Absalom have identified five key relationships where discipleship happens in our lives. In each relational context we need to understand how discipleship occurs and we need to set appropriate expectations for each context.

Discipleship That Fits shows you the five key ways discipleship occurs. It looks at how Jesus made disciples and how disciples were formed in the early church. Each of the contexts is necessary at different times and in different ways as a person grows toward maturity in Christ:

  • Public Relationships: The church gathering corporately for worship
  • Social Relationships: Networks of smaller relationships where we engage in mission and live out our faith in community
  • Personal Relationships: Small groups of six to sixteen people where we challenge and encourage one another on a regular basis
  • Transparent Relationships: Close relationships of three to four where we share intimate details of our lives for accountability
  • The Divine Relationship: Our relationship with Jesus Christ where we grow through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit

Filled with examples and stories, Alex and Bobby show you how to develop discipleship practices in each relational context by sharing how Jesus did it, how the early church practiced it, and how churches are discipling people today.

FLESH

Christ’s Body, Human Flesh If we’re honest, no one really cares about theology unless it reveals a gut-level view of God’s presence. According to pastor and ministry leader Hugh Halter, only the incarnational power of Jesus satisfies what we truly crave, and once we taste it, we’re never the same. God understands how hard it is to be human, and the incarnation—God with us—enables us to be fully alive. With refreshing, raw candor, Flesh reveals the faith we all long to experience—one based on the power of Christ in the daily grind of work, home, school, and life. For anyone burned out, disenchanted, or seeking a fresh honest-to-God encounter, Flesh will invigorate your faith.

MISLED

The gospel is under attack today--not only from outside cultural forces but also from within the church. In Misled, popular YouTuber and Bible teacher Allen Parr equips readers to identify and withstand seven of the most common false teachings that undermine the gospel and lead many well-meaning Christians astray.

For an anxious and weary world, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the one true source of deep peace and lasting joy. But today, many supposedly Christian teachers are spreading ideas that amount to what Paul called "another gospel."

The result? A generation of believers confused about what God really says, what he offers, and what he wants for his children. From the heavy burden of legalism to an overemphasis on prosperity or spiritual gifts to warped understandings of grace, every false teaching has two things in common: they all use half-truths that look and sound biblical (making them very difficult to identify) and they all harm and discourage those who are trying to follow the way of Jesus.

In Misled, Allen Parr weaves together stories from his own spiritual journey and the lives of those he's ministered to in order to show the painful consequences of following false teachings and to provide clear explanations of what the Bible really teaches about the gospel. Readers will

  • learn about seven of the most misleading and harmful messages that run rampant within the church today;
  • be equipped to identify not only "wolves in shepherd's clothing" who peddle counterfeit gospels, but also well-intentioned teachers whose half-truths are no less harmful to the church; and
  • discover how they can find the freedom, peace, and joy that only comes from embracing the gospel in all its purity and simplicity.

With the same balanced, Bible-based approach that has made Parr's YouTube channel a go-to resource, Misled offers clarity and hope for anyone who has felt discouraged or confused in their spiritual journey—and invites readers to find everything they've been searching for in the true gospel.

Real Life Discipleship

Real-Life Discipleship explains what should happen in the life of every Christian and in every small group so that the church becomes an army of believers dedicated to seeing the world saved. With the overriding goal to train disciples who know how to make more disciples, this book offers proven tools and strategies from Real Life Ministries, one of America’s fastest-growing churches. Discover what the Bible says about true and effective discipleship with these strategies and practices.

Is your church making disciples…who make disciples…who make disciples?

Is your membership dwindling? Are you growing only at the expense of a smaller church?

It’s timie to reexamine your methods of discipleship. But how do you effectively disciple an entire body? It’s not about making converts. The responsibility falls to every believer in your fellowship to create intentional followers of Christ, who in turn create other intentional followers. The secret is in your small groups, Discover a new vision for what the church can be by challenging how you create disciples.


Leading Me

Eight Practices of a Christian Leader’s Most Important Assignment


Leading Me will help you get traction on living a Christ-centered, holistic, sustainable and fruitful life of impact. Grounded in biblical truth, utilizing the latest research and drawing on the proven process of the Arrow Leadership Program, Leading Me provides practical next steps for your most important leadership assignment...you.

Leading Me will help you get traction on living a Christ-centered, holistic, sustainable and fruitful life of impact. Grounded in biblical truth, utilizing the latest research and drawing on the proven process of the Arrow Leadership Program, Leading Me provides practical next steps for your most important leadership assignment…you.

5 Dysfunctions of a Team

After her first two weeks observing the problems at DecisionTech, Kathryn Petersen, its new CEO, had more than a few moments when she wondered if she should have taken the job. But Kathryn knew there was little chance she would have turned it down. After all, retirement had made her antsy, and nothing excited her more than a challenge. What she could not have known when she accepted the job, however, was just how dysfunctional her team was, and how team members would challenge her in ways that no one ever had before.

For twenty years, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team has been engaging audiences with a page-turning, realistic fable that follows the travails of Kathryn Petersen, DecisionTech’s CEO, as she faces the ultimate leadership crisis. She must unite a team in such disarray that it threatens to derail the entire company.

Equal parts leadership fable and business handbook, this definitive source on teamwork by Patrick Lencioni reveals the five behavioral tendencies that go to the heart of why even the best teams struggle. He offers a powerful model and step-by-step guide for overcoming those dysfunctions and getting every one rowing in the same direction.

Today, the lessons in The Five Dysfunctions of a Team are more relevant than ever. This special anniversary edition celebrates one of the best-selling business books of all time with a new foreword from the author that reflects on its legacy and lessons.

MISLED

The gospel is under attack today--not only from outside cultural forces but also from within the church. In Misled, popular YouTuber and Bible teacher Allen Parr equips readers to identify and withstand seven of the most common false teachings that undermine the gospel and lead many well-meaning Christians astray.

For an anxious and weary world, the gospel of Jesus Christ is the one true source of deep peace and lasting joy. But today, many supposedly Christian teachers are spreading ideas that amount to what Paul called "another gospel."

The result? A generation of believers confused about what God really says, what he offers, and what he wants for his children. From the heavy burden of legalism to an overemphasis on prosperity or spiritual gifts to warped understandings of grace, every false teaching has two things in common: they all use half-truths that look and sound biblical (making them very difficult to identify) and they all harm and discourage those who are trying to follow the way of Jesus.

In Misled, Allen Parr weaves together stories from his own spiritual journey and the lives of those he's ministered to in order to show the painful consequences of following false teachings and to provide clear explanations of what the Bible really teaches about the gospel. Readers will

  • learn about seven of the most misleading and harmful messages that run rampant within the church today;
  • be equipped to identify not only "wolves in shepherd's clothing" who peddle counterfeit gospels, but also well-intentioned teachers whose half-truths are no less harmful to the church; and
  • discover how they can find the freedom, peace, and joy that only comes from embracing the gospel in all its purity and simplicity.

With the same balanced, Bible-based approach that has made Parr's YouTube channel a go-to resource, Misledoffers clarity and hope for anyone who has felt discouraged or confused in their spiritual journey—and invites readers to find everything they've been searching for in the true gospel.

FLESH

Christ’s Body, Human Flesh If we’re honest, no one really cares about theology unless it reveals a gut-level view of God’s presence. According to pastor and ministry leader Hugh Halter, only the incarnational power of Jesus satisfies what we truly crave, and once we taste it, we’re never the same. God understands how hard it is to be human, and the incarnation—God with us—enables us to be fully alive. With refreshing, raw candor, Flesh reveals the faith we all long to experience—one based on the power of Christ in the daily grind of work, home, school, and life. For anyone burned out, disenchanted, or seeking a fresh honest-to-God encounter, Flesh will invigorate your faith.



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