Books

Brandon O’Brien’s Top Books on Small Church Ministry

Rather than being a subcategory of American ministry, the small church is the norm. If you take a longer and broader view, most churches throughout history and in most parts of the world are and always have been small.

Grover Park Baptist Church: A Thread of Hope

At auction, the quilts go for hundreds or even thousands of dollars that directly help women and children in need, providing funds for baby and maternity items at the pregnancy resource center.

James N. Sells: The Best Books on Church Care

People in pain do not live in the “post-Christian era.” They go to church for help.

The View From the Mountaintop

You can see where God has been at work and what He has brought you through. You will be reminded that what felt so devastating or challenging earlier in the year is now behind you, and you are the better for it.

Judas Isn’t the Enemy

Forgive what you can in the moment. When God makes something right, there is true restoration, healing, forgiveness, and change.

A Comeback Story

Karen Smith credits much of that growth to how well the longtime members have welcomed new, younger members., Both groups have proven they're willing to compromise and adapt.

An Ordinary Life of Worship

The routes we walk—rhythms of embodied presence and prayerful listening to the small world outside our front door— help me to notice the small, and not-so-small, shifts in our season of life.

Tamara Hill Murphy

When we seek God, we discover that—through the invitations of Jesus—God’s love sought and found us first.

Rise and Lead

Do not settle for longing for the past or even managing what is now. Instead, rise and lead.

Who’s Following You?

Howard Hendricks was good at emphasizing the simplicity of the message he wanted to express. Jeanne, his wife, relates that he said all he wanted to do was “teach the Bible to men who lacked understanding.”

The Recency Effect

The way out of this unhelpful state for me is to step back and form a larger perspective of God's work in my life and the church. Unfortunately, what takes place in the short term is not always a clear picture of God's activity.