Resource Pack #12

How do I receive a Resource Pack?

We are offering this resource pack to Vanguard members at a cost of $50.00 plus shipping. To order, please call (800) 630-2838. You may charge your purchase to Visa or Master Card or make payment with a personal/business check.

In this Resource Pack, are five outstanding resources. You will find these tools, which are for instruction, personal development and encouragement, to be helpful resources for you and your staff and/or lay leaders. Here is an overview:

 

1. Book - The Present Future by Reggie McNeal

Reggie is the director of leadership development for the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Drawing on twenty years of leadership roles in local congregations, and his work over the past decade with thousands of church leaders, McNeal counsels local churches, denominational groups, seminaries and colleges, and para-church organizations in their leadership development needs.

 

According to The Present Future, Many of the old beliefs held by church leaders and congregations read as if they are self-evident, irrefutable truths – “If you build the perfect church they will come” . . . “Growing your church automatically makes a difference in the community” . . . “Developing better church members will mean better evangelism” . . . Time has failed to produce the evidence of these claims.

In this provocative book, author, consultant, and church leadership developer Reggie McNeal debunks these and other old assumptions and provides an overall strategy to help church leaders move forward in an entirely different and much more effective way. In The Present Future, McNeal identifies the six most important realities that church leaders must address including: recapturing the spirit of Christianity and replacing "church growth" with a wider vision of kingdom growth; developing disciples instead of church members; fostering the rise of a new apostolic leadership; focusing on spiritual formation rather than church programs; and shifting from prediction and planning to preparation for the challenges of an uncertain world. McNeal contends that by changing the questions church leaders ask themselves about their congregations and their plans, they can frame the core issues and approach the future with new eyes, new purpose, and new ideas.

Written for congregational leaders, pastors, and staff leaders, The Present Future captures the urgency of a future that is literally now upon us, in a thoughtful, vigorous way. George Cladis, author of Leading the Team-Based Church says, "This is the most courageous book I have ever read on church life. McNeal nails the problem on the head. Be prepared to be turned upside down and shaken loose of all your old notions of what church is and should be in today‘s world."

 

2. DVD - "Luggage" by Nooma

Nooma is a ministry who is committed to making biblical truths vivid and comprehensible in our constantly changing global community. That is the mission statement of a new media ministry I recently discovered.

 

This DVD are targeting the postmodern generation. Listen to their promo for the DVD:

We can get anything we want, from anywhere in the world, whenever we want it; Any information, products, movies, music, TV, games, day or night- with a single click. That's just how it is. Still, our lives aren't different. Our lives aren't any different than all generations before us. Our time is. We want spiritual direction, but it has to be real for us and available where and when we need it.

 

Nooma is a new format for getting Christian perspectives; it's a series of short films featuring the teachings of Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids , Michigan . They are compact, portable and concise; Each Nooma focuses on a different issue with relevance for Christians and the unchurched. I chose one titled, Luggage. I hope you find some good inspiration for new ways your church can be more effective in reaching this sight and sound generation.

3. Book - "Ravens: Unseen Evil, Unwilling Eyes"

 by Paul Cox

In this book Paul Cox shares his testimony of how God opened the eyes of a conservative Baptist pastor to new spiritual realities—the unseen world of angels and demons. I think you will find this book challenging some traditional theologies. See what you think!

 

Here is what one leader said about Cox’s book:

“This book is a common story to many of us in ministry. It is the collective experience of a number of individuals. The story is a chronicle of the call that God places on certain men and women in Christian service. It is not a call to ministry – that happens years before. Rather, this is a call to battle. To those of us who have walked this path, the story is personal – often painful. We bear the scars of conflict – scars inflicted by the flock. Still, no person in ministry would expose or embarrass a member of the flock. For that reason, this work takes the form of fiction. Any resemblance to specific individuals, living or dad, is purely coincidental. The truth of this experience lies in the principles, not the personalities, in the story. The coming of the Spirit was gradual in our lives and work. However, we are tempted to impart all that we know – immediately – to any willing listener. But we know better than to do that. In fact, we tell new leaders not to dispense information that people won’t know how to use. This work is a primer, an introduction to spiritual conflict. It is a vehicle to communicate the early lessons and experiences that await anyone who has a calling similar to ours. May God use it to shape their understanding, prepare them for ministry, and confirm their experience.”

 

4. Magazine - "The Voice" The Apostolic Voice for the 21st Century, Number 3

The Voice is a fairly new magazine targeting those who are interested in keeping updated with what’s happening among prophetic, apostolic, and renewal arenas.

5. CD - 2 Messages by Pastor Keith Spurgin

Keith Spurgin pastors New Hope Christian Church in Wylie , Texas . His relevant and life-changing preaching has helped to build a growing and dynamic church which is touching its community for Christ. Keith provides a background for each of these two messages.

“X-Games Rewound: Prayer-Wear”

This message is from an expository series we did over the past three summers on the book of James. This was actually the last message in the whole series and covered James 5:13-18. The series was called The X-Games because like the X-game athletes, James is bold and brash and pushes us to the limit.

 

“Extreme Makeover: Family Edition MC3 – Back to Basics”

This message was an introduction to the series and focused on Genesis 2:21-24. It’s called MC 3 – Back to Basics. We used a huge florescent triangle to represent the fact that a married couple (MC) is not simply two but three (3). This series began the Sunday after school started and has been very helpful for people as they re-engage school starting, juggle busy schedules, and try to engage their family all at the same time.