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Books of Interest Visit the Presbytery Library and check one out today! |
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| BK I02 023 |
A Failure of Nerve—Leadership in the Age
of the Quick Fix by Edwin H. Friedman Ten years after his death, Edwin Friedman's insights into leadership are more urgently needed than ever. He was the first to tell us that all organizations have personalities, like families, and to apply the insights of family therapy to churches and synagogues, rectors and rabbis, politicians and teachers. Failure of Nerve is essential reading for all leaders, be they parents or presidents, corporate executives or educators, religious superiors or coaches, healers or generals, managers or clergy. Friedman's insights about our regressed, "seatbelt society," oriented toward safety rather than adventure, help explain the sabotage that leaders constantly face today. Suspicious of the "quick fixes" and instant solutions that sweep through our culture only to give way to the next fad, he argues for strength and self-differentiation as the marks of true leadership. His formula for success is more maturity, not more data; stamina, not technique; and personal responsibility, not empathy. This book was unfinished at the time of Friedman's death, and originally published in a limited edition. This new edition makes his life-changing insights and challenges to a new generation of readers. |
| BK H05 098 |
Leading from the Table by Paul
Galbreath The communion table stands as an intersection between Word and Sacrament, between memory and hope, between pastor and congregation, between receiving and serving, and between community and individual. Leading from the table, says Paul Galbreath, professor of preaching and worship, is a way of thinking, speaking, acting, and living that grows out of learning to recognize and embody these connections in our lives as a congregation and as individuals. Developing leadership skills that connect the congregation's eucharistic practice to the life and work of the church is essential to moving toward unity within congregations, denominations, and throughout the church. This book is not a how-to manual on presiding techniques, however. Rather, this book is a series of reflections about the way the prayer at the communion table provides a pattern for our lives. The goal is to shift our understanding of table prayer from a formula led by the pastor to a road map that highlights intersections between the practices at the table and the daily practices in the life of the community that gathers around the table. When congregations are grounded in word, water, bread, and wine, then the transformative power of God's Spirit has room to work among us. Then we are blessed with a community that will sustain us to work for justice and peace in this world. |
| BK I06 022 |
Never Call Them Jerks—Healthy Response to
Difficult Behavior by Arthur Paul Boers No church is immune to the problems that can arise when parishioners behave in difficult ways. Responding to such situations with self-awareness and in a manner true to one’s faith tradition makes the difference between peace and disaster. In this must-read book, Boers shows how a better understanding of difficult behavior can help congregational leaders avoid the trap of labeling such parishioners and exercise self-care when the going gets rough. |
| BK I02 024 |
Attentive to God—Spirituality in the
Church Committee by Karen Marie Yust Attending to the unique needs and missions of church committees, Yust proposes a theology of church committee work and explores ways to maintain a spiritual focus. Included are devotional resources for use in seven committees. |
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My Boat Is So Small: Creating a Harbor of Hope and Health Care for All Children This Manual focuses on how we can create a safe harbor of hope and health care for all our nations children, including the 9 million children in America without health insurance and the poor and minority children facing risks and disadvantages that often pull them into a "cradle to prison pipeline."
The
resource guides you in developing worship services, education programs,
direct service activities and social justice initiatives for your
congregation, organization or community.
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The Cradle of Our Faith: The Enduring Witness of the Christians of the Middle East
The
seven countries profiled in this book span two continents and vast
stretches of geography. The Christians who live in the Middle East today
are the "living stones" of the early church: a vital, dynamic presence
in a region that is both the cradle of ancient civilizations and the
site of contemporary geopolitical developments that affect the whole
world..
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With God, For the
People -- The autobiography of Laszlo Tokes
with David Porter
The man who sparked the Romanian Revolution. When the congregation of Laszlo Tokes' Hungarian Reformed church in Timisoara refused to permit his eviction, their show of resistance spread throughout Romania. Nicolae Ceausescu angrily blamed Tokes for the escalating unrest, and the thirty-eight year old pastor knew that his days were numbered. No one survived the personal censure of the Great Conducator. Events were to prove him wrong. The Romanian revolution was gathering speed, and within ten days Ceausescu and his wife were dead. In this exciting and moving book, Laszlo Tokes tells his own story for the first time. BK L04 012
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Fire and Bread
by Ruth Burgess
Fire and Bread is a collection of resources for Eastertide - prayers, responses, liturgies, songs, poems, reflections, meditations, sermons and stories, written by Iona Community members, associates, friends and others. It offers resources for groups and individuals covering the weeks from Easter Day to Trinity Sunday. BK E03 008
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The Gospel
According to Hollywood by Gregg Garrett
Garrett looks at the theological elements in dozens of classic and recent Hollywood films, including a discussion about what the new openness to spirituality in the movies might mean for the future of American Cinema and American religion. This is a new addition to the Gospel according to . . Series, which contains classic and recent films. BK H01 048
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Tokens of Trust:
An Introduction to Christian Belief by
Rowan Williams.
Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams uses classic statements of the Nicene and Apostles’ Creeds to guide readers through central elements of Christian faith. Questions such as: What does it mean to believe in God? Can God possibly be almighty in the midst of so much evil and disaster? What does it really mean to follow Christ in today’s broken world? Williams demonstrates that each of the basic tenets of Christian faith flows from the fundamental believe that God is worthy of our trust.
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Healthy Disclosure—Solving
Communication Quandaries in Congregations by Kibbie Simmons Ruth &
Karen A. McClintock
Knowledge is power, and the way knowledge is shared in a congregation can build up or break down community. When congregational leaders are sensitive to the ways that information should be shared, the congregation can become safe and strong. Congregations can easily fall into patterns of communication that lead to disastrous interpersonal and organizational outcomes. Even in times of crisis, however, congregations can learn and practice new skills and healthy communication management. Congregational consultants Kibbie Ruth and Karen McClintock show
clergy and laity how to appropriately handle information. From proper
ways to respond to rumors to relating information about a staff firing
to the congregation, Healthy Disclosure is filled
with step-by-step ideas for handling different types of sensitive
material. It helps clergy and other congregational leaders understand
levels of disclosure, including how and when to reveal
information, the difference between privacy and secrecy, legal issues
related to public knowledge, and the power of secrets from a
congregation’s past.
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Holy Places - Matching Sacred Space with Mission and Message by Nancy DeMott, Tim Shapiro, and Brent Bill
This book is
designed to be used by congregations who are involved in or are
contemplating work on their facilities. This includes renovation,
remodeling, expansion, or building. No matter how extensive the project,
approaching the work with mission at the forefront is the key to having
a final result that strengthens the congregation’s ministry.
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Church on the Edge of Somewhere - Ministry, Marginality, and the Future by George B. Thompson, Jr.
George
Thompson feels that most congregations today exist in what he calls the
"middle of anywhere." They live comfortably with their surrounding
culture, focusing their energies on serving the needs of the current
members. These congregations have many strengths and gifts that they can
exercise without changing a thing. Thompson envisions a deeper, more
prophetic call for congregations to explore the meaning of being in the
world but not of it—a church on the "edge of somewhere." He sees a
church that is deeply engaged in ministering to the community while
calling on others to commit to doing the same. By analyzing the
interaction between a congregation’s focus of identity and their stance
with the world, Thompson has created a helpful grid for congregations to
place themselves on today’s cultural map. A congregation that sees
itself as existing on the margins of society will look different than
one that sees itself as embedded in society. A congregation that hears a
call to serve the surrounding community will look different from one
that focuses on its internal needs. Knowing where they stand now is the
key for congregations to discover where they must go in the future to
fully live out their call to be God’s people in the world.
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Behavorial
Covenants in Congregations—A Handbook for Honoring Differences
by Gilbert R. Rendle This down-to-earth workbook gets to the heart of modern congregational life: how to live creatively together despite differences of age, race, culture, opinion, gender, or theological or political position. Gil Rendle explains how to grow by valuing our differences rather than trying to ignore or blend them. He describes a method of establishing behavioral covenants that includes leadership instruction, training tools, resources, small-group exercises, and plans for meetings and retreats. An essential resource for all ministers. BK I02 021
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Tribal
Church—Ministering to the Missing Generation
by Carol Howard Merritt Many churches are seeking ways to reach out to the younger generations. Unfortunately this often manifests as either a “come be just like us!” attitude—suggesting an unwillingness to change in order to be inclusive of young people—or as a slick marketing campaign that targets young adults in much the same way secular advertising does. Carol Howard Merritt suggests a different way for churches to be able to approach young adults on their own terms. Outlining the financial, social, and familial situations that affect many young adults today, she describes how churches can provide a safe, supportive place for young adults to nurture relationships and foster spiritual growth. Merritt casts a vision of the church that embraces the gifts of all members while reaching out to those who might otherwise feel unwelcome or unneeded. By breaking down artificial age barriers and building up intentional relationships, congregations can provide a space for all people to connect with God, each other, and the world. BK C02 025
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The Shelter, Nurture and Spiritual
Fellowship
The Great Ends of the Church express basic convictions that can help our church remember its foundations with renewed appreciation. In this fine addition to the Great Ends of the Church series, Elizabeth F. Caldwell fills out the contours of the particular mission form sketched by the second Great End, "Shelter, Nurture and Spiritual Fellowship of the Children of God." Each chapter of her book focuses on biblical texts and a connection with one of two recent confessions of your church, The Confession of 1967 and A Brief Statement of Faith. Caldwell is not naive about the challenges this end can present, even in the best of times. In each chapter, Caldwell identifies challenges that this end often presents before showing it is precisely in the process of meeting these challenges and responding to it's mission in the context of hope that faith is shaped. This book is great for both individual and group study. Caldwell has provided questions at the end of each chapter crafted to guide reflection upon the meaning of "being at home with God who is our shelter, who nurtures us from the moment of our first breath until the last one on our lips and who surrounds us with the children of God of all ages, colors and faith traditions." From the strength of this nurture and shelter, God sends us out as God's good stewards active in mission. BK H08 021
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