Ted Haggard presents a successful and tested model for a small group ministry here that can be implemented by a church of any size. By enabling members to embrace and capitalize on their own unique abilities, the diverse groups create an environment where people meet mentors that can disciple and guide them. This need-and interest based approach redefines the model for powerful church growth.

This is an expanded, 624-page reference tool for the 8-stage transition process found in How Do We Get There From Here? (formerly titled, Making Cell Groups Work). This sizable compilation is filled with hundreds of articles by pastors and experts, including helpful articles such as how to transition your church's calendar and budget to allow for a growing holistic small group (cell group) ministry, how to choose team members to implement the transition; tips on how to prototype groups; and much much more! One of the most valuable tools found in this resource is a revealing readiness assessment tool, which will help you determine weaknesses (if any) in four key areas of church health, all of which are required for a successful transition.

Is faith a necessary virtue in the contemporary world? May it be, or must it be, detached from religious commitment? What do genealogies of the secular tell us about faith? Does religion need secular faith? Secular Faith brings together leading and emerging scholars to reflect on the apparent paradox of "secular faith." Ranging over anthropology, religious studies, political science, history, and literature, from Muslims in China to Pentecostals in South Africa to a prison chapel in Texas, this collection of essays is as engaging and accessible as it is penetrating and rigorous. Communism was once labeled "the god that failed." Like Christianity, Communism involves faith in a superhuman endeavor, conversion, myth, discipline, and salvation--and, from the perspective of secular liberalism, both are unjustified and false. In recent years, scholars have begun to investigate whether secularism is itself based on faith in a god that failed, or is failing. Nevertheless, many still embrace such a faith, finding in the spirit of democracy an ethos of eternal renewal. Secular Faith enters and broadens this conversation, interrogating secular faith in a global context, tapping new theoretical resources, and grappling provocatively with the tragedies and opportunities of today's profane pantheon of beliefs.

"With fundamentalists dominating the headlines and scientists arguing about the biological and neurological basis of faith, religion is the topic of the day. But religion, Mark C. Taylor shows, is more complicated than either its defenders or critics think and, indeed, is much more influential than any of us realize. Our world, Taylor maintains, is shaped by religion even when it is least obvious. Faith and value, he insists, are unavoidable and inextricably interrelated for believers and nonbelievers alike. Using scientific theories of dynamical systems and complex adaptive networks for cultural and theological analysis, After God redefines religion for our contemporary age. Taylor begins by asking a critical question: What is religion? He then proceeds to explain how Protestant ideas in particular undergird the character and structure of our global information society--the Reformation, Taylor argues, was an information and communications revolution that effectively prepared the way for the media revolution at the end of the twentieth century. Taylor s breathtaking account of religious ideas allows us to understand for the first time that contemporary notions of atheism and the secular are already implicit in classical Christology and Trinitarian theology. Weaving together theoretical analysis and historical interpretation, Taylor demonstrates the codependence and coevolution of traditional religious beliefs and practices with modern literature, art, architecture, information technologies, media, financial markets, and theoretical biology. After God concludes with prescriptions for new ways of thinking and acting. If we are to negotiate the perils of the twenty-first century, Taylor contends, we must refigure the symbolic networks that inform our policies and guide our actions. A religion without God creates the possibility of an ethics without absolutes that leads to the promotion of creativity and life in an ever more fragile world"--Publisher description.

"We're mad as Heaven, and we're not going to take it anymore!" declares historian Robert McElvaine in this passionate and often hilarious rallying cry for sincere Jesus followers. He lets us know that the extreme right wing won't be allowed to speak for all Christians any longer. This polemic blends outrage and humor to expose the televangelists and the leaders of megachurches as the people Jesus warned us about. The religion McElvaine calls ChristianityLite promises, "Be saved without sacrifice or good works!" Run by a crew of politicians, megachurch preachers, televangelists, hypocrites, and snake-oil salesmen, it has hijacked true Christianity and distorted it into something Jesus wouldn't recognize, a religion that advocates war and intolerance, values money above charity, preaches hatred instead of brotherhood, and promises "true" believers the keys to the gates of the kingdom of God--and to the bank.--From publisher description.

There has been an intense and growing debate in recent years regarding "dominionism" and what it means for Christians' involvement in business, politics, education, entertainment and other realms of societal influence. Now Dr. Peter Wagner brings Spirit-inspired clarity to the conversation with this essential guide for believers who want to impact our world for God's kingdom. This invaluable study examines powerful strategies God has revealed to His people in recent days and answers persistent questions with clear, biblical wisdom: Is wealth a legitimate tool of the church? How do today's workplace apostles lead in spiritual battle? Does God allow His people to make some decisions about the future? How is dominion theology operational in our world today? This groundbreaking study lays a biblical, theological and inspirational foundation for the mandate God has given His people.