The Church That Works: Democracy vs. Theocracy is a focus on how giving back His church releases followers of Jesus Christ to serve and unleashes God's power to back them. When authority rises from the people, the enabling power for ministry goes no higher than their heads. When authority flows from the Head of the Church through the offices He gave, it brings His power, all power in Heaven and earth, to bear on human needs. The church that works wins its own children, reaches its neighbors, blesses its community, and makes God known to its generation, and the next, around the world. That church necessarily will be one in which the people, not just the clergy, do the work of the ministry. More than a body of believers, the church is a body of Christian workers. When the people falter in ministry, the church fails in its mission. The church cannot work if the people who are called to lead are forced to follow or if those called to follow are trying to lead. The Church That Works explores giving Real Power to the People.

Drawing on the work of Bowen and Friedman, and on his own many years of counseling experience, Peter Steinke shows how to recognize and deal with the emotional roots of such issues as church conflict, leadership roles, congregational change, irresponsible behavior, and the effects of family of origin on current relationships.

Some of the biggest challenges that pastors and church leaders face are rooted in a non-biblical church structure. These challenges lead to low morale and discouragement, and they can drain enthusiasm and kill vision faster than almost anything else. This book shows you how to build an effective biblical church structure so that troubling dysfunction can be transformed into a healthy environment. Additionally, a model Constitution and Bylaws, scrutinized by an attorney who specializes in church and denominational litigation, is provided for others to inculcate into their respective ministries. Pastors, missionaries, church planters, college and seminary professors, church leaders and church members will be greatly helped by reading and applying this book, which combines biblical scholarship with the practical insights of a pastor with over 30 years of experience. The foreword is written by the President of the largest seminary in the world. This book has also been endorsed in writing by thirteen other key evangelical leaders (professors, missionaries, pastors, editors, and institutional presidents and administrators). It can stand the test of scholarly scrutiny, but is succinct and promises to fill a huge void for years to come.

The face of America is growing rapidly more diverse, and many churches are wondering what it means to carry out the Great Commission in a community where different ethnicities are represented. Being the Church in a Multi-Ethnic Community is an introductory guide, a basic primer for pastors and congregation leaders who are wrestling with how to reach the ethnic groups next door and welcome them into the multi-ethnic body of Christ. Gary L. McIntosh and Alan McMahan offer a research-based overview of the issues, challenges, and essential principles for developing multi-ethnic churches in the United States. Rather than being a one-size-fits-all, this book describes a variety of approaches for bringing multiple ethnicities together into a single congregation. Learn how your church can be effective in welcoming disciples of all ethnicities.

This at-a-glance practical guidebook offers pastors and church leaders insights on a wide variety of issues to make their ministry more effective. It's like hiring a church consultant at a fraction of the cost.

"This book illustrates best practices for how leaders and followers should work together in churches"--

Now available in paperback. The inspiring story of how a church showed God's love to a dying culture by building bridges to its neighborhood, community, and world.