Bücher veröffentlicht von Invite Press

Authentic Manhood is a guided journey to wholehearted masculinity as modeled by Jesus, the most authentic man who ever lived. Its daily reflections will draw you into your biggest struggles, deepest questions, and greatest fears and joys, helping you see yourself more clearly, connect with God more deeply, and become who you were created to be.

Do you rush from one day to the next, barely stopping to enjoy the goodness of God in your life?Do you want to believe your life matters...but if you're honest, you feel like God has forgotten about you?Do you ever feel like you've blown it - like you've missed your moment or messed up God's plan?Kingdom Moments and Movements is your guide to tracing the hand of God at work in each moment of your life - the everyday moments and the life-defining ones, the good ones and the bad.As you learn how to pay attention to the invitations of God intersecting with your day-to-day life, you will gain a fresh perspective on the significance of your life and develop the discernment to:¿ Map Your Past: Pause to notice God's gracious presence in your past, helping you connect the dots of your story, be reassured that nothing has happened by accident, and release shame, fear, and regret around missed opportunities.¿ Maximize Today and Tomorrow: Tune into the ways the Kingdom intersects with your everyday life, so you can uncover your purpose, maximize your moments, and turn them into movements of God.Whether you're in a transformational moment - those turning points that change everything - or the rhythms of going to work and raising a family, Kingdom Moments and Movements will help you see divine sparks everywhere you look, so you can savor each day, say "yes" to God-sent moments, and truly live life to the fullest - without regret and connected to your Kingdom purpose.

The church isn't about programs, buildings, or attendance, but about a community of people embodying God's presence and purpose in the world.Okay, but . . . then what? To truly embrace this statement leads to radically different ways of doing the daily work of ministry.Preparing to discard the old ways. Saving Church is a prophetic call for the future that will help you reframe, retrieve, and reclaim the Church's role as a healing force in the world.The 21st-century Church is in a state of distress. In the pulpit and the pews, people are disquieted, disenchanted, and dispirited. Some are afraid the church they love won't be there for the next generation, while others feel tired and desperate for something more. With skepticism on the rise and church attendance down, churches have a choice: cling to the way things were or stop and ask, "Could God want to do something new in and through us?" Saving Church is a hopeful, authentic vision for the future of the Church, rooted in the convictions that: 1) The Church is still God's chosen vehicle for accomplishing His purposes. 2) Things aren't going back to the way they were - and they shouldn't.Combining the expertise and experiences of two giants of missional theology and the Fresh Expressions movement, Saving Church will give you a fresh perspective on what church can be and help you reframe, retrieve, and reclaim the Church's role as a healing, saving force in the world.

Written to a church at risk of collapse from within, 2 Peter will help you spot dysfunction within the church, build authentic Christian community, and remain faithful to Jesus amid mounting pressure and changing cultural tides.

Your life depends on organizations. God created you in his image for purposeful relationships. No human can thrive, or ultimately even survive, in isolation. From the small groups like a nuclear family, church, or school to large secular companies, and the government, every such purposeful group of people is, by definition, an organization where everything is done by someone who is following or leading, and often both. These interdependent roles are equally important heads and tails of the organizational coin.The Kingdom of God has two realms of organizations. The heavenly realm is perfectly organized, so when Jesus taught his followers to pray, he told them to pray for God's Kingdom to come soon on earth as it is now in heaven. Later he repeated that instruction even more strongly and with a promise: seek the Kingdom of God above everything else, and he will give you everything you need.How do you bring Kingdom principles into every kind of organization, with following and leading equally valued under the perfect leadership of King Jesus? The heavenly realm provides the organizational and relational ideal for all organizations in the earthly realm, so the following and leading roles can be filled with maximum effectiveness.In the present earthly realm, Kingdom-formed organizations function as much as possible like the ideal model of the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ. Thus, in a heavily leader-centric world, extra-intentional effort must focus on the development of highly effective followership and truly humble leadership. Heads and Tails provides principles, illustrations, a practical framework, meditations, and challenging questions for a mindset that guides actions great and small to make following and leading in any kind of organization more like the coming Kingdom of God.

So many Christians feel like it's on us to save the world - to solve every political and social problem or lead every person we meet to Christ.We're plagued by guilt when we spend our time and money doing anything else, and we feel like failures when we realize we can't do it all. Hello, overwhelm, exhaustion, agitation, and burnout!There has to be more to the abundant life Jesus promised.The Ping Life is a framework for living an authentic Christian life filled with peace, happiness, and purpose - one where you're free to enjoy the blessings God has given you while still having an impact for God's Kingdom.In it, pastor Shane Bishop teaches you how to establish a baseline of Christian discipleship and tune your receiver to the frequency of God's voice, so you can hear "pings" from the Holy Spirit and develop sustainable spiritual rhythms. Filled with stories of ordinary humans who listened to God's pings and became part of Kingdom history, this is an entertaining, easy read that willinspire you, free you, and invite you into an adventure with God.In an agitated, works-based world, discover a simple approach to life that is revolutionary, counter cultural, and life giving.

Can churches in the 21st century stop, reverse, or prevent decline - and even become healthy, thriving congregations?Missional innovator, pastor, and church renovator, Michael Beck, says they can.But the old cookie cutter ways of doing church won't cut it in today's world. If churches are going to stop the shocking rates of pastoral burnout and exodus from the pews, they must understand that every church has a distinct personality type, which can keep it stuck or propel it into maturity, depending on how it's used.Now, for the first time in history, you can understand and leverage your congregation's culture and personality using the groundbreaking 5 Congregational Personality Types¿ model. Based on proven methods from psychology and ministry archetypes in Scripture, The Five Congregational Personality Types will help you unearth:Which of the five congregational personality types your church isYour congregation's unique culture and how to nurture your church's strengthsThe "shadow side," or weak point, of your congregation's personality type - and how you can transform this into a strengthYour #1 strategy for growth and clear next steps to takeGet The Five Congregational Personality Types and discover exactly what to do next to grow your church in the 21st century.

Build healthy rhythms and harmonize your team: everything I wish I'd known as a young leader.A collection of leadership insights from former university president Jules Glanzer, The Sound of Leadership will show you how to become a Kingdom-minded leader who lives out their vision and inspires those around them to join in the song.

The old axiom is true: people don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. We find ourselves in a cultural moment where people simply want to feel seen, heard, and loved. The good news? A little kindness goes a long way. It's time for this overlooked and underappreciated fruit of the Spirit to get its due.Ready or not, be kind. - From the Preface

Have you wanted to share who Jesus is but feel like you don't have what it takes and don't know what to say? Through the parables of Jesus, humorous personal anecdotes, inspiring stories, and practical tips, That's Good News will motivate and equip you to share your faith. God isn't asking you to be perfect-He's just asking you to show up.

With courageous vulnerability, pastor Wes Olds tells the story of how God healed him from people pleasing, anger, breakdown, and burnout - and shows how you can live a life of true freedom, peace, and joy by reclaiming your identity as a child of God and person of worth.We all want to live with more peace and joy, but we get ambushed by anger, conflict, anxiety, and pain. We live in dysfunctional patterns of fear, shame, and insecurity, constantly seeking validation from others. We feel alone and broken, and don't know why...the only person who feels this way.With practical tools and insights from Scripture and psychology, Wes invites you stop trying so hard to change and to surrender your wounds and struggles to the healing power of God. As God transforms your view of yourself, others, and even God, you will experience true inner freedom, better relationships, and life to the fullest. This is for anyone who is tired of trying to do all the right things and still feeling awful on the inside. Learn a whole new way of living that's filled with freedom and joy: life to the fullest.

Meet God in the dark places of life. Find hope and new life.With unbridled honesty, pastor Jorge Acevedo explores the "caves" we all experience in life - anger, fear, depression, temptation, grief, hopelessness, and death - and how these caves can be a surprising place where we discover hope, redemption, and space to be with God.Everybody Needs Some Cave Time will help you embrace the messiness of life, live in the tension of pain and joy, and discover how God can form your character even in dark seasons. Without denying, dismissing, or avoiding pain, you will learn how to use it to develop more capacity for hope and a spiritual resilience that will transform you into the person you were created to be.

Comfort and Joy speaks to the heart of those who long for hope and to those who find joy in thesacred celebration of Christ at Christmas.Advent is the period in the Christian calendar that culminates in the celebration of the birth ofChrist. During this holy season of waiting, we reflect, meditate, and prepare our hearts for thecoming into the world of the promised Messiah.Advent reminds us of our longing for light, comfort, love, and joy, the eternal qualities of God.Advent is a time to look within and listen for the voice of God. Advent responds to our deepyearning for a closer, more intimate relationship with God through Christ.In this book of devotions, you will find:· a daily thought· a prayer suggestion· a study scripture· a question for consideration about how God is alive in Christ in your life and in the world.As you read the devotional for each day, may you feel the presence of God in Christ in the lovethat holds you close at Christmas and always.

You feel like there's a God-given dream in your heart, but you can't figure out how it fits into your life as a Christian.You're tired of feeling like you have to stay in the box, follow a certain path, or fit the status quo to serve God.You want more...out of life, out of faith, and for this world. How can you integrate all of who you are with God's plan for the world?Heirs of Eden is a book about your dreams, your work, and your creative potential that will wake you up to what lights you up inside and show you why your dreams are holy.Through artistic reflections on God's plan of restoration for the world, you will understand the true purpose of humanity, the theology of creativity, and why it's not just about going into ministry or "being used by God" - it's about manifesting the Spirt of God within you simply by being you.Whether you're a woodworker, a stay-at-home mom, a mechanic, or an investment banker, and whether your passion is your profession or your hobby, you will discover how you are meant to participate in the divine creative life by existing, working, dreaming, doing, and bringing flourishing to those around you.This book will ignite the fire in your belly, the light in your eyes, and the dreams in your soul as you see how your work, faith, and art blend together to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.

How do you understand grief when your heart is broken by the death of a loved one?To survive and live forward, you must find answers. Beyond the Broken Heart is for anyone who is grieving the loss of a loved one. Author Julie Yarbrough chronicles her personal experience combined with a deep love of Scripture and shares an authentic and deeply personal journey through grief. The book explains both the spiritual and practical issues of grief and suggests specific strategies to guide you back to fulness of life. This book is also designed to be used as the participant book for grief support groups and grief ministry programs.This edition celebrates the 10th anniversary of this profoundly helpful guide through the journey of grief.

Your small, everyday choices have eternal effect.Philosophers from Plato to Pixar all assume we have a soul. But what does that actually mean, and why does it matter? In this bold new work, pastor Arthur Jones weaves together Scripture, history, theology, and pop culture to reclaim the ancient concept of a soul. A soul is not afterlife vapor but something very real and very specific: the resurrection of the body. Jesus'' message is that the kingdom of heaven is here now.Some think the state of our soul only comes down to one big spiritual decision in life. However, while we depend on the grace of God, our soul is shaped by life''s little everyday decisions, not just a few big ones. These small decisions in our relationships, in our work, and for ourselves put us on a trajectory towards a more solid soul, or a more shriveled soul, one that is isolated from others and God.The choices that we make in every moment lead us toward heaven or away from it. In Solid Souls, learn to see your life and the lives of others with eternal eyes, and learn how to live life in such a way that you find yourself on a trajectory toward fulfillment and flourishing. Discover how to make your soul more solid today.

Present Comfort is for those who have experienced loss as well as for those who are at a loss to understand the myriad emotions of grief. It offers compassion and encouragement to those who grieve, and insight for those who desire to share in the heart and language of grief. The hope is that Present Comfort will inspire a deeper sense of the presence of God in every circumstance of life.Includes a Guide for individual and group study.