Bøger af Michael Adam Beck

Learn the essentials of fresh expressions for your church. This is a practical manual for understanding and implementing Fresh Expressions for a church in any denominational setting. Fresh Expressions is a new way of thinking about the local church and a new way of doing church as a congregation. It refers to new (fresh) iterations or types (expressions) of ministry, usually outside the confines of the church building. These iterations or types of ministries are formed intentionally but organically out in the community, where people are. They are based on shared activities or interests, where people are gathering already, and where the people are open to or interested in learning about Jesus. Christian people share their own stories of how Jesus is part of their lives. Often, these gatherings become regular and increasingly begin to adopt the practices of a church community, like worship, service, study, and giving. Thus, they become fresh expressions of the church from which they sprang.

"Transform your church with grace. Doing Justice Together introduces a process using Scripture as a souce of inspiration and instruction for pastors and church people to move through together, to re-envision and reorient themselves away from old, harmful habits. Beck and Hand show pastors how they can, over time, lead the congregation to become a place where racial harmony, justice, and liberation are intrinsic to the structure and life of the church. The authors lay out four pathways for discerning and correcting the unjust patterns that often sneak into church life unnoticed. They also share other leaders' stories from a variety of settings where this process has led to healing, revival, and hope. Following the pathways, pastors and congregants will be equipped to thoughtfully transform their church. They'll make changes with grace and care, honoring and including longtime members. And they'll begin new ministries--perhaps reaching people they could never have imagined reaching before--becoming a fresh expression of church in their community."

Can churches in the 21st century stop, reverse, or prevent decline - and even become healthy, thriving congregations?Missional innovator, pastor, and church renovator, Michael Beck, says they can.But the old cookie cutter ways of doing church won't cut it in today's world. If churches are going to stop the shocking rates of pastoral burnout and exodus from the pews, they must understand that every church has a distinct personality type, which can keep it stuck or propel it into maturity, depending on how it's used.Now, for the first time in history, you can understand and leverage your congregation's culture and personality using the groundbreaking 5 Congregational Personality Types¿ model. Based on proven methods from psychology and ministry archetypes in Scripture, The Five Congregational Personality Types will help you unearth:Which of the five congregational personality types your church isYour congregation's unique culture and how to nurture your church's strengthsThe "shadow side," or weak point, of your congregation's personality type - and how you can transform this into a strengthYour #1 strategy for growth and clear next steps to takeGet The Five Congregational Personality Types and discover exactly what to do next to grow your church in the 21st century.

Fresh Expressions is a canary in the coal mine, alerting congregations to reevaluate what the Church is, where and when it can happen, and who can lead it. Church as we know it is inaccessible to most people. A fundamental premise of the movement is that Church can become accessible again by emerging in every nook and cranny where life already happens. Fresh Expressions is based in simplification, returning to basic scriptural principles, and a recovery of a "e;priesthood of all believers"e;-in the three places where people live and relate to others.First Place: The home or primary place of residence. Second Place: The workplace or school place. Third Place: The public places separate from the two usual social environments of home and workplace, which host regular, voluntary, informal, and neutral spaces of communion and play. Examples are environments such as cafes, pubs, theaters, parks, and so on.During a pandemic, our two primary mission spaces were closed off; the second and third places were shut down. We couldn't have Tattoo Parlor Church; the tattoo parlor was closed. We couldn't gather in Moe's Southwest Grill for Burritos and Bibles; they were doing take-out only. The dog park was empty; no Paws of Praise. This limited us to the only spaces we have left: the first place, or the home place. The digital place, or the "e;space of flows."e; This forces us into recognizing the digital space as its own kind of third place, a new missional frontier.