Thousands of Protestant churches are perplexed by plateaued or declining attendance, while other congregations nearby thrive. Is there a way for them to combine forces, drawing on both their strengths, in ways that also increase their missional impact?In Better Together, Expanded and Updated: Making Church Mergers Work, church merger consultant Jim Tomberlin and award-winning writer Warren Bird make the case that mergers today work best not with two struggling churches but with a vital, momentum-filled lead church partnering with a joining church. This much-needed resource describes the range of mergers for strong, stable, stuck, and struggling churches. No matter what type of merger a church may be considering, the authors address key questions about the process: How can a merger help a church go forward? How will a merger process unfold? Where can a declining church find another congregation to join? What are the pitfalls that both pastor and congregation should avoid? How can better together lead to more, rather than fewer, life-giving, high-impact, reproducing churches? They provide a complete, practical, hands-on guide for church leaders of both struggling and vibrant churches, so they can understand the issues, develop strategies, and execute mergers for church expansion and renewal--ultimately, so they can reinvigorate declining churches and give them a second life.No matter what your motivation for merging your church with another--to begin a new church life cycle, cross racial lines, reach more people for Christ, multiply your church's impact, or better serve your local community--Better Together will give you the tools you need to create a thriving new entity.
Thousands of Protestant churches are perplexed by plateaued or declining attendance, while other congregations nearby thrive. Is there a way for them to combine forces, drawing on both their strengths, in ways that also increase their missional impact? In Better Together, Expanded and Updated: Making Church Mergers Work, church merger consultant Jim Tomberlin and award-winning writer Warren Bird make the case that mergers today work best not with two struggling churches but with a vital, momentum-filled lead church partnering with a joining church. This much-needed resource describes the range of mergers for strong, stable, stuck, and struggling churches. No matter what type of merger a church may be considering, the authors address key questions about the process: How can a merger help a church go forward? How will a merger process unfold? Where can a declining church find another congregation to join? What are the pitfalls that both pastor and congregation should avoid? How can "better together" lead to more, rather than fewer, life-giving, high-impact, reproducing churches? They provide a complete, practical, hands-on guide for church leaders of both struggling and vibrant churches, so they can understand the issues, develop strategies, and execute mergers for church expansion and renewal--ultimately, so they can reinvigorate declining churches and give them a "second life." No matter what your motivation for merging your church with another--to begin a new church life cycle, cross racial lines, reach more people for Christ, multiply your church's impact, or better serve your local community--Better Together will give you the tools you need to create a thriving new entity.
Thousands of Protestant churches are perplexed by plateaued or declining attendance, while other congregations nearby thrive. Is there a way for them to combine forces, drawing on both their strengths, in ways that also increase their missional impact? In Better Together, Expanded and Updated: Making Church Mergers Work, church merger consultant Jim Tomberlin and award-winning writer Warren Bird make the case that mergers today work best not with two struggling churches but with a vital, momentum-filled lead church partnering with a joining church. This much-needed resource describes the range of mergers for strong, stable, stuck, and struggling churches. No matter what type of merger a church may be considering, the authors address key questions about the process: How can a merger help a church go forward? How will a merger process unfold? Where can a declining church find another congregation to join? What are the pitfalls that both pastor and congregation should avoid? How can "better together" lead to more, rather than fewer, life-giving, high-impact, reproducing churches? They provide a complete, practical, hands-on guide for church leaders of both struggling and vibrant churches, so they can understand the issues, develop strategies, and execute mergers for church expansion and renewal--ultimately, so they can reinvigorate declining churches and give them a "second life." No matter what your motivation for merging your church with another--to begin a new church life cycle, cross racial lines, reach more people for Christ, multiply your church's impact, or better serve your local community--Better Together will give you the tools you need to create a thriving new entity.
The first-ever collection of interviews with this well-known, prolific writer whose books include twenty-two volumes of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction published over a period of thirty-six years
Compiled from the literary estate of the singer who brought a wildly lyrical poetry of the damned to the world of rock 'n' roll. Includes unpublished poems, drawings, photos, and a candid self-interview.
Check out The Better Conversations trailer: https://youtu.be/y3FrWTXC8Uw “I thought I knew how to have a conversation; I’ve had millions of them. Some were good, others not so much so. But I want to have GREAT conversations, and Jim Knight has taught me how. The proof is in: better conversations are possible and the results are worth the investment.” --DOUGLAS FISHER Coauthor of Rigorous Reading and Unstoppable Learning Because conversation is the lifeblood of any school You don’t want this book—you need this book. Why this confident claim? Think about how many times you’ve walked away from school conversations, sensing they could be more productive, but at a loss for how to improve them. Enter instructional coaching expert Jim Knight, who in Better Conversations honors our capacity for improving our schools by improving our communication. Asserting that our schools are only as good as the conversations within them, Jim shows us how to adopt the habits essential to transforming the quality of our dialogues. As coaches, as administrators, as teachers, it’s time to thrive. Learn how to: Coach ourselves and each other to become better communicators Listen with empathy Find common ground Build Trust Our students’ academic, social, and emotional growth depends upon our doing this hard work. It’s time to roll up our sleeves, open our minds, and dare to change for the better of the students we serve. You can get started now with Better Conversationsand the accompanying Reflection Guide to Better Conversations.
Bold transformation is needed in many of the congregations that cover the American landscape, argue Jim Herrington, Mike Bonem, and James H. Furr, authors of Leading Congregational Change: A Practical Guide for the Transformational Journey. Drawing on their more than one hundred years of combined experience in a wide variety of church-related positions and a deep commitment to the biblical role of the local church, the authors present practical and concrete principles and concepts applicable across a broad spectrum of congregations. Leading Congregational Change presents a simple, memorable, and transferable framework along with principles of congregational transformation--such as God's call for transformation, the central role of spiritual vitality, the sequential nature of effective change, and the learning disciplines. Illustrations and action items offer adaptable suggestions and starting points for discussion. Leading Congregational Change is designed primarily for pastors and other congregational leaders who sense that things are not "just fine" in their churches and realize that deep change is needed. Judicatory staff and church consultants will also find the model for congregational transformation helpful. Individual ministries within a congregation, new congregations, and parachurch organizations can also use it to facilitate their own transformation. A church will grow when it understands and is genuinely committed to demonstrating and sharing the gospel in relevant ways. Growth will be manifested in the deeper commitment of its members. And more people in the community will hear God's call and become faithful disciples of Christ. Leading Congregational Change is a wise and faithful guide for the journey toward such transformation.
The general practices related to church funding aren’t producing the same results they have in the past. There is a general acceptance that something has changed but little talk or interest is coming from traditional church leader training sources such as denominational entities and seminaries. Pastors are largely left to their own devices to “figure this out.” They need a lifeline. While some churches are experiencing exponential growth, some churches - despite their best efforts - have been unsuccessful at moving beyond survival mode. Coupled with increased competition from other nonprofits and a decline in the commitment to give to the church first, churches risk losing the funding they need. A growing number of leaders are beginning to discover there is another way and are struggling to understand what makes one church generous and another not. There is a need in the market to offer a simple, working definition of “generosity” and reveal the “secrets” some church leaders seem to have simply stumbled upon which are resulting in unexplainable ministry growth and unprecedented church funding even in the midst of tough economic times. The content of this material was developed and refined by Jim Sheppard and Chris Willard through years of ministry leadership in the local church, consulting with church leaders across a broad spectrum of church settings, and through participation in and leadership of the Generous Church Leadership Community facilitated by Leadership Network. Of particular benefit will be the collection of observations and best practices gleaned during the Generous Church Leadership Community that originated within real-life church leadership situations and scenarios by highlighting specific challenges, methods, and successes.
Get the experts’ perspective on the top journals of the 20th century! The Journals of the Century project gathered some of America’s top subject expert librarians to determine the most influential journals in their respective fields. Thirty-two contributing authors—led by Editor Tony Stankus—reviewed journals from over 20 countries that have successfully shaped the evolution of their individual specialties worldwide. Their choices reflect the history of each discipline or profession, taking into account rivalries between universities, professional societies, for-profit and not-for-profit publishers, and even nation-states and international ideologies, in each journal’s quest for reputational dominance. Each journal was judged using criteria such as longevity of publication, foresight in carving out its niche, ability to attract & sustain professional or academic affiliations, opinion leadership or agenda-setting power, and ongoing criticality to the study or practice of their field. Journals of the Century presents wholly independent reviewers; none are in the employ of any publisher, but each is fully credentialed and well published, and many are award-winners. The authors guide college and professional school librarians on limited budgets via an exposition of their analytical and critical winnowing process in determining the classic resources for their faculty, students, and working professional clientele. The chapters are logically grouped together in six clusters that reflect the commonly shared interests of library liaisons and the range of like-minded academic departments they typically serve. These clusters include: The Helping Professionals (chapters on social work, education, psychology, sociology, and library and information sciences) Music, Museums, and Methodists (chapters on visual arts, anthropology, archaeology, philosophy, and the American religious experience) Business and Law (chapters on business and economics, plus legal literature) War and Peace (chapters on modern history, political science and international relations, and military affairs) Physical Sciences and Engineering (chapters on mathematics and the physical sciences as well as engineering and computer science) Life, Health, and Agriculture (chapters on medicine and surgery, pharmacy, physical therapy and nutrition, agriculture, and veterinary medicine) Journals of the Century answers questions such as: Which university press leads in high-ranking titles in the helping professions? In what crime-fighting journal, ironically mentioned within the Music, Museums, and Methodists cluster, do anthropologists routinely publish? What two journals cover the biggest yearly expense of most working Americans and rankly highly within both chapters of the Business and Law cluster? What family of British publications has remained indispensable reading for political and military readers for over a century in the War and Peace Cluster? What society in the Physical Sciences and Engineering cluster publishes more journals than any other publisher in this book, covering topics from light bulbs and computers to MRIs and windmills? What one-word-titled journal has joined the venerable pair of Nature and Science as the most important reporters of world-class breakthroughs in basic biomedical science? and many, many more! Journals of the Century includes extensive commentaries on each cluster by the editor, with graphical representations by world regions and publishing sectors contributing to each chapter. ISSN numbers for print editions, and URL addresses for online editions are provided in a comprehensive title index. This unique book is an essential resource for serials librarians in academia, new reference librarians familiarizing themselves with classic titles, and collection evaluators and college accreditation examiners.
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