Shelf Life

Growing God’s Church: How People Are Actually Coming to Faith Today

It's no secret that evangelism methods used in the 1970s and ‘80s aren’t yielding the same results as it did then. So then how are new Christians hearing the gospel today? How are they finding churches? What makes them stay at a church? Answers to these questions have the power to dramatically alter the way we do outreach — and Gary McIntosh has the answers. Based on 10 years of scientific research, Growing God's Church shows pastors and church leaders how people are coming to faith in the 21st century. Factors include our motive for ministry, priorities set by churches, the reality of churchless Christians, generational and gender-based differences in evangelism effectiveness, the name of your church, the influence of pastors and much more. The book also includes a copy of the survey and an overview of the study.

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Introducing Christian Ethics: A Short Guide to Making Moral Choices

Introducing Christian Ethics helps Christians form a sound basis for making ethical decisions in today’s complex postmodern world. Raising 14 key ethical questions on today’s most pressing issues including abortion, war, sexual ethics, capital punishment and more, Scott Rae guides his readers in making moral choices wisely. Based on the best-selling college and seminary ethics textbook Moral Choices, this book distills nearly two decades of teaching and study into a succinct and user-friendly volume. It is an ideal primer for pastors, students and everyday Christians who desire engagement with the world around them in an intelligent and informed manner.

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The Imago Dei as Human Identity: A Theological Interpretation

Theologians and Old Testament scholars have been at odds with respect to the best interpretation of the Imago Dei. Theologians have preferred substantialistic (e.g., image as soul or mind) or relational interpretations (e.g., image as relational personhood), and Old Testament scholars have preferred functional interpretations (e.g., image as kingly dominion). The disagreements revolve around a number of exegetical questions. How do we best read Genesis 1 in its literary, historical and cultural contexts? How should it be read theologically? How should we read Genesis 1 as a canonical text? In this book, Ryan Peterson charts a path through these disagreements by offering a dogmatically coherent and exegetically sound canonical interpretation of the image of God.

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Judges and Ruth, Teach the Text Commentary Series

The Teach the Text Commentary Series utilizes the best of biblical scholarship to provide the information a pastor needs to communicate the text effectively. The carefully selected preaching units and focused commentary allow pastors to quickly grasp the big idea and key themes of each passage of Scripture. Each unit of the commentary includes the big idea and key themes of the passage and sections dedicated to understanding, teaching and illustrating the text. The newest Old Testament release in this innovative commentary series is Kenneth C. Way's treatment of Judges and Ruth.