If your church isn’t in need of this yet, it will be. . . .
Russell N. Small. Church Revitalization:A Pastoral Guide to Church Renewal. 240p., $23.99, Kregel Ministry.
There are more churches needing revitalization than there are leaders skilled for the work. Church Revitalization guides current and future leaders through the often-complex process of bringing a church to a place of vibrancy. This book demonstrates how the overarching goal of seeing people come to faith in Christ and develop into Christlikeness can and must inform the most foundational to the most fleeting aspects of revitalizing a struggling church.
Church revitalization strategist Rusty Small systematically walks readers through the many considerations of leading a church out of a decline. He helps identify the best approach for addressing what a particular church’s revitalization need may be:
- Refresh—often most fitting after a difficult season in the church’s life
- Renovate— needed when a decline has lasted five to ten years
- Restore—appropriate for churches with generational patterns focused on survival
- Replant—best for a church facing imminent closure
Few joys compare to seeing God’s life and power realized for the local church when believers begin to think and serve as Jesus did. Small will encourage pastors and church leaders engaged in this critical task.
If God is calling you to church revitalization, take and read!
The Psalms: Jesus’ Prayer Book
A very readable and illuminating commentary on the Psalms. . . .
Douglas D. Webster. The Psalms: Jesus’ Prayer Book. 4 vols., 1144p., $89.99, Kregel Academic.
The Old Testament Psalter testifies both to the universal human condition and the redemption wrought for believers in the person and work of Christ. In The Psalms: Jesus’s Prayer Book, longtime pastor and seminary professor Doug Webster distills ancient and modern scholarship on the Psalms into theological, canonical, apostolic, linguistic, and pastoral edification to students of Psalter. By focusing on both the most consequential and the less developed aspects of Psalm studies, Webster shows how living a Christ-centered life goes hand in hand with digesting the Psalms as a complete collection prefiguring Christ.
The volumes of The Psalms follow the internal divisions Psalms presents:
Designed with preachers and teachers in mind, The Psalms strikes a middle ground between a technical commentary and a book of sermons. Webster offers pastoral insight in both interpretation and application of the Psalms for worship, unveiling purpose and significance for worship, devotion, and reflection.