Books published by Abingdon Press

A wave of new Christian churches are emerging to reach unchurched and dechurched people who live in a culture that is increasingly non-religious and multi-religious. These new forms of church gather and network with people who typically have never been to church. The new faith communities listen to people and go where they are on the journey toward Jesus. They are deeply ecumenical but do not lose their distinctiveness because they learn fresh ways to communicate their identity through discipleship.Fresh Expressions began in the United Kingdom where it ignited over 3000 new faith communities. In the United States the movement is putting down roots in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Florida.Ken Carter and Audrey Warren offer this book as a group study for church leaders and congregations who are in the grip of Holy Spirit motivation to renew their tradition by reaching people who are dechurched or not yet in a discipleship relationship with Jesus.Each chapter includes two Bible study experiences for group conversation.

Before he was one of the best-known church consultants in the country, Bill Easum served a lengthy pastorate in San Antonio, Texas. When he arrived at the church it was in serious decline, with the possibility of having to close its doors beginning to loom over it. By the time he left it was the most vibrant, fastest-growing congregation in its city and region. Shortly after he arrived, Easum preached a series of sermons on the book of Acts that challenged the congregation to become an authentic New Testament church. He called on parishioners to step out of their comfort zones, stop expecting their pastor to be a personal chaplain, and join together to reach their city with the message of Jesus. Preaching for Church Transformation provides updated versions of the sermons Easum preached as he issued this challenge to the congregation shortly after his arrival. Interspersed with the sermons is commentary telling the reader how to adapt them for her or his own situation. Anyone wanting to lead a congregation from the status quo to growth and faithful witness will find Preaching for Church Transformation an indispensable resource.

Jim and Jen Cowart, authors of Start This, Stop That, offer a fresh strategy for developing community groups for your whole church and beyond. Harvest Church (www.harvestchurch4u.org), a young United Methodist congregation twenty miles southwest of Macon, met for seven years (on Sundays) on the move in a rented theatre. They learned about adaptive systems, digital tools, and flexible overhead. Since building a multipurpose facility on 43 acres near Warner Robins, Georgia in 2007, Harvest Church applied what they learned about mobility and sustained rapid growth to 2700 in worship attendance, with seven weekend services. They dispensed with a typical education wing (at significant cost savings) and classrooms in favor of four multipurpose rooms. They adapted a community groups strategy, which meets primarily in homes. They have expanded from 72 community groups to more than 300 in one year.In this leadership book, Jen and Jim offer a five-part method for transforming a congregation through launching community groups. Community groups become a multiplication strategy because they nurture an urgent expectation outside the congregation to share the good news with persons not yet professing faith, while creating a well defined path for growth in discipleship. The book will include the following themes: Group Explosion New Strategy for 100% plus group participation Overcoming Obstacles Structuring for Maximum Growth vs Control Crowd to Core Group Growth The Power of the Pulpit This system is driven from the stage Living the 5 through Group Life How the CG lives into Fellowship, Discipleship, Ministry, Evangelism, and Worship Creating Infrastructure for Facilitators

Children will ride through United Methodist history with John Wesley and the early Methodists.

Many church choir directors are not formally trained in all disciplines needed to direct a music program. One area which intimidates many directors is that of vocal training and how to increase the ability of the choir. Choral Therapy features a basic, practical, "hands-on" approach to learning skills in this area of choir leadership. These include the following areas: Breath Control Posture Resonance Basic principles of diction Blending of vocal parts Vocal exercises and warm-ups Problem-solving Other areas such as tuning and ensemble Choral Therapy presents its material in a conversational style with many concrete musical examples and exercises. Written by one of America's most respected choral directors and instructors, it is for new directors or the director wanting more training. Designed in an easy-to-read and easy-to-use practical format and style, containing examples and illustrations that convey key concepts. Helps music leaders become more comfortable with music leadership, while giving them a higher level of confidence in directing.

A fresh new look at the Bible, from beginning to end, and what it means in believers' lives.

A fresh new look at the Bible, from beginning to end, and what it means in believers' lives

Unlike weddings, funerals rarely take place after extensive planning. Often the deceased is not someone the pastor has known well, and preparations for the service of death and resurrection take place in the midst of pastoral care of the grieving, writing the funeral sermon, and the pastor's regular duties. These circumstances make it especially hard to plan an appropriate and meaningful order of worship for the funeral service.Christian Funerals will help pastors as they attend to this crucial ministry of the church. Drawing on the books of worship from a number of denominations and traditions, it provides several options for each of the elements of the funeral service, from gathering texts to opening prayers to scripture lessons to final prayers.The book is bound in a way that makes it suitable for use at church services and at the grave side.

Have you ever felt a little bored, tired, or stressed about your lifeand even your faith? Haven't we all? This ';world weariness' can happento anyone. Yet Jesus came that we might have exciting, joyful, abundantlife! The question is how?In Are You Fired Up or Burned Out?best-selling author James W. Moore explains how to move from fatigue tofavor. In short, encouraging, and practical chapters, you will learnhow to Recognize-Remember-Relax: Recognize your fatigue limit Remember your priorities Relax your soul in GodToday's busy world may bring a tiredness that cansettle on the human spirit. Struggling through hectic, frenzied,stressful lives, we scrape and scramble toward something that leavesus...empty...and feeling cheated, let down, and bone weary. God doesn'twant it to be that way for us. Find out how, with His help, you can stay excited,exhilarated, fulfilled, and truly fired up about life.

Every significant layer of the New Testament features the distinctiveconcerns of apocalyptic literature, including the expectation of amessiah, hope for a resurrection, expectation of a final judgment, and aspiritual world that includes angels and demons. Yet many contemporaryreaders shy away from things apocalyptic, especially the book ofRevelation. This introduction considers the influence ofapocalyptic literature throughout the Gospels and Acts, Paul's letters,and Revelation. It argues that early Christian authors drew uponapocalyptic topics to address an impressive array of situations andconcerns, and it demonstratesexample after examplehow apocalypticdiscourse contributed to their ongoing work of contextual theology.

Lucy and Charlie Tuttle agree on one thing: they're committed to each other for life. Trouble is, neither of them expected life to look like this. While Charlie retired early, Lucy is devoted to a long-term career . . . until the day she has no choice. Forced to retire from her position as music educator in a small Midwestern K-8 school, Lucy can only watch helplessly as the program her father started years ago disintegrates before her eyes. As the music fades and a chasm separates her from the passion of her heart, Lucy wonders if her faith's song has gone silent, too. The musical score of her life seems to be missing all the notes.When a simple misstep threatens to silence Lucy forever, a young boy and his soundless mother change the way she seesand hearseverything.

In this work, Moore explores the ways in which Jesus teaches how to make God the number-one priority.

When the church turned the world upside down.

Creative, interpretive worship for a fresh way of telling a familiar gospel story.