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Just Say Yes! Leader Guide: Unleashing People for Ministry (Just Say Yes! series)
by Robert SchnaseIn Just Say Yes! Robert Schnase shows church leaders how to unleashpeople for fruitful ministry. He teaches leaders to spot their ownnay-saying, and gives specific instructions for reversing the culture of‘No’ that has become so prevalent in many churches. Step by step,Schnase shows readers—pastors, other church leaders, and congregants—howto make significant change in their attitude and actions, to become apermission-giving church.This set of resources is the next step in the author’s effort to reshapechurch leaders across the mainline denomination. Just Say Yes! Becominga Permission-Giving Church give church leaders what they need in orderto begin implementing the principles in the original book. It startswith a group study experience for church leaders, facilitated by asenior leader (typically the pastor). The study can be done in as littleas 3 hours or, if groups watch all the videos and do all the optionalexercises and activities, up to 6 hours total. The sessions can be usedas a single-day retreat or broken up into 3 or 6 separate sessions. Theycan be stand-alone sessions, or incorporated into meetings for staffand lay leaders. The Leader Guide includes instructions and guidance for leaders inplanning, hosting, debriefing and following up after the experience.Using this resource, plus the included customizable PowerPoint slidesand the video Stories of Permission, a pastor or other key leader caneffectively facilitate an extraordinary group experience resulting intransformation for the congregation.The Participant Guide is a complete workbook and devotion guide forchurch leaders—staff and laity—who participate in the Permission-Givinggroup experience. These will typically be church councils, staff teams,committee chairs, ministry team leaders, and the like. The Guideincludes prompts to reinforce the material shared in the videos and bythe facilitator, questions for reflection and discussion, and specificaction steps for becoming permission-giving leaders in the church. Itincludes plenty of room for writing and note taking during the groupexperience. It also includes a 30-day Devotional, which the participantcan complete either during or after the group experience. The groupexperience includes 6 inspiring and compelling videos from real churchsettings. Several additional video clips are also available, for groupswanting to spend more time exploring ideas together.A printed 4-Week Devotional is also available, and can be used byindividual church members autonomously, or (ideally) used by everymember as a personal study guide accompanying the 4-Week Sermon &Worship series. The material is flexible and accessible for all adultreaders, and can be done in one sitting or spread throughout the week. This study consists of a Leader Guide, Participant Guide, DVD, aDevotional Guide and free Customizable Downloadable Resources. The DVDhas 8 video stories showing the Permission-Giving Church in action, 3brief videos essays demonstrating the essentials of a permission-givingchurch and 1 video promo for inviting participation in the Just Say Yes!experience.
Just Say Yes! Participant Guide: Unleashing People for Ministry (Just Say Yes! series)
by Robert SchnaseIn Just Say Yes! Robert Schnase shows church leaders how to unleash people for fruitful ministry. He teaches leaders to spot their own nay-saying, and gives specific instructions for reversing the culture of ‘No’ that has become so prevalent in many churches. Step by step, Schnase shows readers—pastors, other church leaders, and congregants—how to make significant change in their attitude and actions, to become a permission-giving church.This set of resources is the next step in the author’s effort to reshape church leaders across the mainline denomination. Just Say Yes! Becoming a Permission-Giving Church give church leaders what they need in order to begin implementing the principles in the original book. It starts with a group study experience for church leaders, facilitated by a senior leader (typically the pastor). The study can be done in as little as 3 hours or, if groups watch all the videos and do all the optional exercises and activities, up to 6 hours total. The sessions can be used as a single-day retreat or broken up into 3 or 6 separate sessions. They can be stand-alone sessions, or incorporated into meetings for staff and lay leaders. The Leader Guide includes instructions and guidance for leaders in planning, hosting, debriefing and following up after the experience. Using this resource, plus the included customizable PowerPoint slides and the video Stories of Permission, a pastor or other key leader can effectively facilitate an extraordinary group experience resulting in transformation for the congregation.The Participant Guide is a complete workbook and devotion guide for church leaders—staff and laity—who participate in the Permission-Giving group experience. These will typically be church councils, staff teams, committee chairs, ministry team leaders, and the like. The Guide includes prompts to reinforce the material shared in the videos and by the facilitator, questions for reflection and discussion, and specific action steps for becoming permission-giving leaders in the church. It includes plenty of room for writing and note taking during the group experience. It also includes a 7-day Devotional, which the participant can complete either during or after the group experience. The group experience includes 6 inspiring and compelling videos from real church settings. Several additional video clips are also available, for groups wanting to spend more time exploring ideas together.A printed 4-Week Devotional is also available, and can be used by individual church members autonomously, or (ideally) used by every member as a personal study guide accompanying the 4-Week Sermon & Worship series. The material is flexible and accessible for all adult readers, and can be done in one sitting or spread throughout the week. This study consists of a Leader Guide, Participant Guide, DVD, a Devotional Guide and free Customizable Downloadable Resources. The DVD has 8 video stories showing the Permission-Giving Church in action, 3 brief videos essays demonstrating the essentials of a permission-giving church and 1 video promo for inviting participation in the Just Say Yes! experience.
Just Say Yes!: Unleashing People for Ministry (Just Say Yes! Ser.)
by Robert SchnaseChurches say No in a thousand ways to new ideas, ministry initiatives, and creative people. Churches struggle with committees that are no longer conducive to their mission while pastors and laity have become conditioned to view anythingnew with suspicion and resistance. Churches operate with a pervasive culture of No.Just Say Yes! Unleashing People for Ministry is written for people whose passion has been simmering for years, who yearn to be told Yes! It’s for those whose energy and ideas have been tamped down by systems and attitudes that restrain ministry and who have felt frustrated by attempts to start programs, reach new people, or experiment with alternative worship services, only to be told No.Robert Schnase examines the systems and attitudes that restrain and control ministry. He demonstrates practical ways church leaders can rethink fundamental assumptions about organizations and leadership. Real-church examples show how every church can unleash its people for ministry—encouraging, emboldening, and equipping them. "Significant turnaround could happen in churches everywhere if each congregation worked through this book, chapter by chapter." —Sue Nilson Kibbey, Director of the Missional Church Consultation Initiative, West Ohio Conference of The United Methodist Church "Just Say Yes! is a valuable resource for laity and leaders who want to make a real difference in their mission field. I’m making it required reading in every church I coach and work with." —Ken Willard, Certified Consultant and Coach, Leadership 4 Transformation; author, Time Management for the Christian Leader from Abingdon Press"The energy of the Holy Spirit jumps off every page and right into your heart and mind in a way that could make all things new." —Patricia Farris, Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Santa Monica, CA"If we take this book seriously we will see people unleashed for ministry in the world. In the process we may just rediscover why our churches exist in the first place." —Clay Oliphint, Senior Pastor, First United Methodist Church, Richardson, TX"Schnase examines how churches say No, then provides an inspiring and practical look at how they can say Yes. We need this book!" —Steve Harper, Professor of Spiritual Formation (retired); author, Five Marks of a Methodist from Abingdon Press
Just Show Up
by Kara Tippetts Jill Lynn ButeynKara Tippetts's story was not a story of disease, although she lost her battle with terminal cancer. It was not a story of saying goodbye, although she was intentional in her time with her husband and four children. Kara's story was one of seeing God in the hard and in the good. It was one of finding grace in the everyday. And it was one of knowing "God with us" through fierce and beautiful friendship. In Just Show Up, Kara and her close friend, Jill Lynn Buteyn, write about what friendship looks like in the midst of changing life seasons, loads of laundry, and even cancer. Whether you are eager to be present to someone going through a difficult time or simply want inspiration for pursuing friends in a new way, this eloquent and practical book explores the gift of silence, the art of receiving, and what it means to just show up.
Just Show Up: How Small Acts of Faithfulness Change Everything (A Guide for Exhausted Christians)
by Drew DyckIf someone puts one more thing on my shoulders, I might collapse.Bestselling self-help book titles tell you that you&’re brilliant, awesome, powerful—usually with an expletive thrown in, just to pound home the point. Do these affirmations feel accurate? Instead of blasting through projects and conquering the world, most of us feel like we&’re crawling uphill.But Christians are still called to live a life that glorifies God and blesses others. How do we do that when we&’re stretched to capacity? Just Show Up answers that question with a liberating message: God doesn&’t expect you to do everything. And He certainly doesn&’t expect you to do it all overnight. Simply showing up is often the most important thing.This book looks at present-day examples and also stories from Scripture of imperfect people used by God. Moses, by his own admission, wasn&’t very eloquent, but he showed up and God used him to liberate and lead His people. We name churches and children after the disciples. But originally, they were just a bunch of uneducated nobodies with one thing in common: when Jesus said, &“Follow me,&” they showed up.With humor and candor, Dyck reflects on his own faltering progress while recounting inspiring stories of how God rewards the persistent presence of ordinary people. Just Show Up challenges readers to show up for God, family, community, and themselves.We tend to think it&’s the big, bold moments that matter. In reality, it&’s the steady accumulation of small acts of obedience to God that add up to a life of meaning and impact. –Dyck
Just Shy of Harmony (The Harmony Novels)
by Philip Gulley“Once again, Gulley gives us a triumph of homespun values, pitched somewhere between Jan Karon and Garrison Keillor.” —BooklistSam Gardner’s second year as minister in quaint and charming Harmony, Indiana, is fraught with trials and incidents, a crisis of faith, a marital catastrophe, and a church elder’s ill-hatched scheme to scramble scripture with eggs. But a loving heart and a strong sense of humor is almost certain to see Sam through . . . even if all of Harmony is expecting a miracle come Easter morn.“Just Shy of Harmony is just shy of perfect.” —Charles Osgood“A wonderful tale of a fictitious community of colorful characters who share goodness and gossip, controversy and compassion—a real-life microcosm of mankind. Gulley’s stories get at the heart of the simple joys, stranger-than-fiction humor, and day-to-day drama of small-town life, and reveal how even the largest of problems inevitably resolve themselves. No wonder he’s been called Indiana’s Garrison Keillor.” —American Profile Magazine“This story is a winner.” —Publishers Weekly“Filled with grace and forgiveness . . . Sam’s journey in faith teaches through the shared medium of laughter.” —Library Journal
Just Shy of Ordinary
by A. J. SassIn this heartfelt novel about family, friendship, and identity perfect for fans of The List of Things That Will Not Change and Ivy Aberdeen's Letter to the World, a thirteen-year-old nonbinary kid discovers that life doesn't always go according to plan—especially when they start public school for the first time. Thirteen-year-old Shai is an expert problem-solver. There&’s never been something they couldn&’t research and figure out on their own. But there&’s one thing Shai hasn&’t been able to logic their way through: picking at the hair on their arms. Ever since their mom lost her job, the two had to move in with family friends, and the world went into pandemic lockdown, Shai&’s been unable to control their picking. Now, as the difficult times recede and everyone begins to discover their &“new normal,&” Shai&’s hoping the stress that caused their picking will end, too. After reading that a routine can reduce anxiety, Shai makes a plan to create a brand new normal for themself that includes going to public school. But when their academic evaluation places them into 9th grade instead of 8th, it sets off a chain of events that veer off the path Shai had prepared for, encouraging Shai to learn how to accept life's twists and turns, especially when you can't plan for them.
Just Spirituality: How Faith Practices Fuel Social Action
by Mae Elise CannonMother Teresa's practice of silence compelled her to service.Dietrich Bonhoeffer's prayer life equipped his discipleship.Martin Luther King Jr.'s beloved community empowered his proclamation.Oscar Romero's discipline of submission prepared him to face martyrdom.
Just Tell the Truth: A Call to Faith, Hope, and Courage
by Richard LischerWhat does it mean to live the Christian life with conviction? Richard Lischer insists that Christians have a stake in the political and social conflicts that are dividing our culture. In whatever circumstance, Christians are obligated to tell the truth about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. In Just Tell the Truth, Lischer explores seasons of suffering, hope, and triumph in the light of the gospel. Drawing upon Scripture and the lives of both well-known and anonymous Christians, he helps his readers imagine what truthful living looks like. While remaining biblically and theologically rooted, the sermons eloquently engage the present moment, showing how Christian conviction has a place in the controversial realms of politics, racial justice, and the COVID-19 crisis. The nourishing meditations in Just Tell the Truth align the rhythm of the gospel with the curvature of human experience, empowering Christians to find the heart of God in what is too often a heartless world.
Just This Is It: Dongshan and the Practice of Suchness
by Taigen Dan LeightonThe joy of "suchness"--the absolute and true nature inherent in all appearance--shines through the teachings attributed to Dongshan Liangjie (807-869), the legendary founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism (the predecessor of S?t? Zen). Taigen Dan Leighton looks at the teachings attributed to Dongshan--in his Recorded Sayings and in the numerous koans in which he is featured as a character--to reveal the subtlety and depth of the teaching on the nature of reality that Dongshan expresses. Included are an analysis of the well-known teaching poem "Jewel Mirror Samadhi" and of the understanding of particular and universal expressed in the teaching of the Five Degrees. "The teachings embedded in the stories about Dongshan provide a rich legacy that has been sustained in practice traditions," says Taigen. "Dongshan's subtle teachings about engagement with suchness remain vital today for Zen people and are available for all those who wish to find meaning amid the challenges to modern life."
Just Try This: Pray for Today
by Barb RogersPray for Todaytells Barb Rogers' story of her climb out of poverty by praying every day. The book shares the invaluable lessons she learned as she listened for the answers to her prayers and shows readers how to pray simply and honestly, how to expect answers, and how to listen to them when they come. "I think,"writes Rogers, "one of the most potent prayers ever uttered is 'God help me!' . . . If the best you can do on a daily basis is say those three words, you will be amazed at the difference it can make in your life. You may not be in control of many things in your life, but you are in control of the light switch, of staying connected to a God of your choosing through prayer. " Pray for Todayis a book readers will reach for again and again to find comfort and the power to cope.
Just Universities: Catholic Social Teaching Confronts Corporatized Higher Education (Catholic Practice in North America)
by Gerald J. BeyerGerald J. Beyer’s Just Universities discusses ways that U.S. Catholic institutions of higher education have embodied or failed to embody Catholic social teaching in their campus policies and practices. Beyer argues that the corporatization of the university has infected U.S. higher education with hyper-individualistic models and practices that hinder the ability of Catholic institutions to create an environment imbued with bedrock values and principles of Catholic Social Teaching such as respect for human rights, solidarity, and justice. Beyer problematizes corporatized higher education and shows how it has adversely affected efforts at Catholic schools to promote worker justice on campus; equitable admissions; financial aid; retention policies; diversity and inclusion policies that treat people of color, women, and LGBTQ persons as full community members; just investment; and stewardship of resources and the environment.
Just Us or Justice?: Moving Toward a Pan-Methodist Theology
by F. Douglas Powe JR.Wesleyan theology and African American theology have both become fixtures on the theological landscape in recent years. While developing along parallel tracks both perspectives make claims concerning justice issues such as racism and sexism. Both, however, perceive justice from a particular vantage that focuses on just-us (just our community). Hence African American theology has not seriously studied John Wesley's stance against slavery or his work with the disenfranchised. And Wesleyan theologians have largely ignored the insights of African American theology especially in regard to certain injustices. To get beyond the "just-us" mentality, the author lays the foundation for a Pan-Methodist theology, which will draw from the strengths of African American and Wesley theologies.
Just Walk Across the Room Participant's Guide: Four Sessions on Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith
by Bill Hybels Ashley WiersmaPastor Bill Hybels’s firm conviction is that the highest value in personal evangelism is being attuned to and cooperative with the promptings of the Holy Spirit. This means playing only the role you are intended to play—walking when the Spirit says to walk, talking when the Spirit says to talk, and falling silent when the Spirit suggests that you’ve already said enough. More than two thousand years ago, Jesus himself introduced the perfect model for evangelism. He left the marvelous adoration of the angels and the perfection of heaven, and he chose to “walk” clear across the cosmos. He had no memorized script, no forced formulas. Instead, he was armed only with an offer of redemption to people just like you and me, many of whom were neck-deep in pain of their own making. Today, the goal for every Christian is to reflect Christ’s love and follow his example by taking simple walks across rooms—leaving our circles of comfort and extending hands of care, compassion, and inclusiveness to people living far from God. Designed for use with the video.
Just Walk Across the Room: Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith
by Bill HybelsWhat if you knew that by simply crossing the room and saying hello to someone, you could change that person’s forever? Just a few steps to make an eternal difference. It has nothing to do with methods and everything to do with taking a genuine interest in another human being. All you need is a heart that’s in tune with the Holy Spirit and a willingness to venture out of your “Circle of Comfort” and into another person’s life. Just Walk Across the Room brings personal evangelism into the twenty-first century. Building on the solid foundation laid in Becoming a Contagious Christian, Bill Hybels shows how you can participate in the model first set by Jesus, who stepped down from heaven 2,000 years ago to bring hope and redemption to broken people living in a fallen world. Now it’s your turn. Your journey may not be as dramatic, but it can have a life-changing impact for someone standing a few steps away from you—and for you as well, as you learn the power of extending care, compassion, and inclusiveness under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The highest value in personal evangelism is cooperating with the Spirit, says Hybels. This means playing only the role you’re meant to play—walking when the Spirit says to walk, talking when he says to talk, and falling silent when he suggests that you’ve said enough. Hybels encourages you to “live in 3D” … —Developing friendships —Discovering stories —Discerning appropriate next steps … as a means of learning to understand the Holy Spirit’s promptings. With fresh perspectives from his own reflections and experiences collected during his most recent decade of ministry, Bill Hybels shows with convincing and inspiring clarity the power of this personal, richly relational approach to evangelism. The stakes are high. The implications are eternal. And you may be only a conversation away from having an eternal impact on someone’s life—if you will just walk across the room.
Just War Against Terror: The Burden Of American Power In A Violent World
by Jean ElshtainJean Bethke Elshtain advocates "just war" in times of crisis and mounts a reasoned attack against the anti-war contingent in American intellectual life. Advocating an ethic of responsibility, Elshtain forces us to ask tough questions not only about the nature of terrorism, but about ourselves. This paperback edition features a new introduction by the author, addressing the Iraq war and other events in the Middle East.
Just War Against Terror: The Burden of American Power in a Violent World
by Jean Bethke ElshtainAnalysis of the demands arising from the terror of 9-11.
Just War and the Ethics of Espionage (Routledge Studies in Religion)
by Darrell ColeThe War on Terror has raised many new, thorny issues of how we can determine acceptable action in defense of our liberties. Western leaders have increasingly used spies to execute missions unsuitable to the military. These operations, which often result in the contravening of international law and previously held norms of acceptable moral behavior, raise critical ethical questions—is spying limited by moral considerations? If so, what are they and how are they determined? Cole argues that spying is an act of force that may be a justifiable means to secure order and justice among political communities. He explores how the just war moral tradition, with its roots in Christian moral theology and Western moral philosophy, history, custom and law might help us come to grips with the moral problems of spying. This book will appeal to anyone interested in applied religious ethics, moral theology and philosophy, political philosophy, international law, international relations, military intellectual history, the War on Terror, and Christian theological politics.
Just War as Christian Discipleship: Recentering the Tradition in the Church rather than the State
by Daniel M. BellThis provocative and timely primer on the just war tradition connects just war to the concrete practices and challenges of the Christian life. Daniel Bell explains that the point is not simply to know the just war tradition but to live it even in the face of the tremendous difficulties associated with war. He shows how just war practice, if it is to be understood as a faithful form of Christian discipleship, must be rooted in and shaped by the fundamental convictions and confessions of the faith. The book includes a foreword by an Army chaplain, Scott Sterling, who has served in Iraq and study questions for group use.
Just War on Terror?: A Christian and Muslim Response
by Brian WickerFollowing the 9/11 attacks by Al-Qa'ida, President Bush declared war on terror. In the succeeding years, Western governments have struggled to find the right way to respond to the new and deadly threat posed by terrorism. With the election of President Obama the rhetoric has softened and policies have been adjusted but the underlying problems and challenges remain the same. Meanwhile, the war on terrorism in Afghanistan has been intensified. Drawing on just war teaching as developed within both Christian and Muslim traditions, this book examines whether, and how, liberal democracies can combat the new global terrorism both effectively and justly. The authors, including distinguished academics from both sides of the Atlantic, Christian and Muslim theologians, former senior civil servants and a General, deploy a wide range of experience and expertise to address one of the most difficult and pressing ethical challenges to contemporary society.
Just Wives?: Stories of Power and Survival in the Old Testament and Today
by Katharine Doob SakenfeldGiving astute attention to social worlds of women of both ancient and modern times, Katharine Sakenfeld explores the stories of eleven women in the Old Testament. In clear and engaging fashion, she reveals the complexity of these women's lives, drawing out the issues they faced and relating their struggles to those women around the world face today. By encouraging women from across the world, in various cultures, to bring their own experiences to the biblical texts, and sharing the interpretation of some who already have, Sakenfeld allows her readers to see new possibilities for meaning in the Scriptures. Issues discussed include violence, sexual allure, personal betrayal, marginalization, power, and economic survival. Includes study questions for group discussion.
Just Your Average Muslim
by Zia ChaudhryToo often we see Islam and Muslims portrayed as fanatical jihadists or helpless victims of western oppression. This book provides a rare insight into what, as the book"s title states, the average Muslim makes of it all.
Just Your Average Muslim
by Zia ChaudhryToo often we see Islam and Muslims portrayed as fanatical jihadists or helpless victims of western oppression. This book provides a rare insight into what, as the book"s title states, the average Muslim makes of it all.
Just a Bite
by Istvan PivarcsiMustering his extensive experience on the scene of the world's richest source of vampire lore, Transylvania, historian and author István Pivárcsi seeks to peel away the effects of popular culture and set the record straight, addressing essential questions in dozens of bite-size chapters: How did vampire legends emerge in the Balkans, Romania, and Transylvania? How did other monsters eventually coalesce as what we know as vampires? Who was the real Vlad the Impaler, and how did he come to personify the classic vampire? How did vampire-related oral traditions evolve over the centuries--and then explode with unprecedented force in both literature and popular culture from the mid-nineteenth century on? The ideal short reference for anyone with at least a passing interest in the undead, Just a Bite includes an extensive two-part appendix comprising a comprehensive glossary of vampire terms as well as a chronology of human beings' fascination (and interaction) with vampires through history.
Just a Girl: A True Story of World War II
by Lia LeviIn this award-winning memoir translated from Italian to English, a Jewish girl grows up during a difficult time of racial discrimination and war, and discovers light in unexpected places. This classic, powerful story from Lia Levi is adapted for young readers, with beautiful black-and-white illustrations, a family photo album, and a powerful author’s note to readers. 1938, Italy. Six-year-old Lia loves to build sandcastles at the beach and her biggest problem is her shyness and quiet, birdlike voice—until prime minister Mussolini joins forces with Hitler in World War II, and everything changes.Now there are laws saying Jewish children can’t go to school, Jews can’t work, or go on vacation. It’s difficult for Lia to understand why this is happening to her family. When her father loses his job, they must give up their home and move from city to city.As war comes closer, it becomes too dangerous to stay together, and Lia and her sisters are sent to hide at a convent. Will she ever be “just a girl” again?The memoir is full of poignant moments of friendship and loss, dreaded tests at school, told in Lia's captivating voice, as she grows into a young teen. Just a Girl is an important addition to the WWII Jewish canon.