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.

Americans Believe Suicide Is Epidemic, Not Pathway to Hell

Religious beliefs and practice also play a role in attitudes toward suicide. Those with evangelical beliefs are more likely than those without evangelical beliefs to say suicide is selfish (48% v. 35%) and automatically leads to hell (39% v. 18%).

Love the Stranger

Once cleared by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the adult migrants the ministry serves arrive at a nearby bus station where they can catch a ride to their destination city. It is there that Navarro and his church greet the weary travelers.

Make Room for Young Leaders

Consider a plea for some older leaders not to get off the bus but to aggressively make room for young leaders at the front.

David Mathis: Workers for Your Joy

“Christ gives leaders to his people for their joy, which turns the world’s paradigm and suspicions about leadership upside down.”

Good News

My guess is that for most of us, this manifesto of Jesus’s kingship sounds attractive.

Rebecca McLaughlin: Confronting Jesus

“Jesus chose the cross so that the curtain could be torn and we could live eternally with him.”

Is Your Church an Oak or a Petunia?

Not long ago, I compared the list of growing, influential churches in the United States over a timespan of just under half a century (46 years).

Thy Will Be Done

And that was the last time I ever saw him. It was the last time I ever will see him on this side of heaven.