Christianity Today Book Award winner Leadership Journal Top Book of the Year Copastors Kent Carlson and Mike Lueken tell the story of how God took their thriving, consumer-oriented church and transformed it into a modest congregation of unformed believers committed to the growth of the spirit--even when it meant a decline in numbers. As Kent and Mike found out, a decade of major change is not easy on a church. Oak Hills Church, from the pastoral staff to the congregation, had to confront addiction to personal ambition, resist consumerism and reorient their lives around the teachings of Jesus. Their renewed focus on spiritual formation over numerical growth triggered major changes in the content of their sermons, the tenor of their worship services, and the reason for their outreach. They lost members. But the health and spiritual depth of their church today is a testimony of God's transforming work and enduring faithfulness to the people he loves. Honest and humble, this is Kent and Mike's story of a church they love, written to inspire and challenge other churches to let God rewrite their stories as well. Read it for the church you love.

As Christians, we know that we are new creations in Jesus. So we try to act differently, hoping this will make us more like Him. But changing our outward behavior doesn’t change our hearts. Only by God’s grace can we be transformed internally. Renovation of the Heart lays a biblical foundation for understanding what best-selling author Dallas Willard calls the “transformation of the spirit”—a divine process that “brings every element in our being, working from inside out, into harmony with the will of God.” This fresh approach to spiritual growth explains the biblical reasons why Christians need to undergo change in six aspects of life: thought, feeling, will, body, social context, and soul. Willard also outlines a general pattern of transformation in each area, not as a sterile formula but as a practical process that you can follow without the guilt or perfectionism so many Christians wrestle with. Don’t settle for complacency. Accept the challenge Renovation of the Heart offers to become an intentional apprentice of Jesus Christ, changing daily as you walk with Him.

Bob Farr asserts that to change the world, we must first change the Church. Rearranging the pews, painting the fellowship hall, or paving the parking lot are just not enough. With clear language and practical tips, this book will inspire and help you organize your church for new life. Learn how to grow your church and discover the commitments that leaders must make to guarantee the fruitfulness of local congregations. --Book Jacket.

Christianity has tended to focus on right beliefs and right choices as the keys for personal growth. But biblical evidence and modern brain science show that our character is shaped more by whom we love than what we believe. Through conversations he had with Dallas Willard at the Heart & Soul Conference shortly before Dallas's death, Jim Wilder shows how we can train our brains to relate to God based on joyful, mutual attachment--which leads to emotional and spiritual maturity as our identity and character are formed by our relationship with God.

New edition for congregations planning to build or renew their church facilities. Now includes elements, which have become prominent in recent times including the use of visuals, electronic instruments, and the need for flexible space to accommodate the various configurations and multiple uses to which church space is put.

When Kyle Tackwell Ball’s search for a quaint country home near Florence, Italy, in move-in condition somehow led to the purchase of an abandoned church in a small borgo near Greve-in-Chianti called Le Convertoie, she ended up with much more than a project to overcome her newly contracted “empty nest syndrome.” Ball soon found herself starring in a “Stones and Bones Classic”; the ruin she’d purchased would require years of renovation and an endless amount of money before it would become habitable. But her journey had unexpected rewards, too: she reconnected with some wonderful friends, made new ones, learned the language of her newly adopted home country, and became experienced in the Italian knack of getting around the system. Most importantly, she learned to appreciate Italian culture, food and wine, and how rewarding it is to give new life to a beautiful old building. Ball’s renovation was featured in the March 2010 “Before & After” issue of Architectural Digest, beautifully documented by Kim Sargent of Sargent Architectural Photography.