Vulnerable Pastor : How Human Limitations Empower Our Ministry
$22.00
Foreword
Introduction: God Is An Odd Leader
Part I: Getting Over Ourselves: Vulnerability With God
1. Filled With Emptiness
2. What Makes Us Feel Weak. And What Doesn’t: A Confession
3. Save Me! Vulnerability And Salvation
4. Feeling Exposed: How Vulnerable Pastors Handle Emotions
5. I Need You! How Vulnerable Pastors Pray
6. Letting The Bible Read Us: How Vulnerable Pastors Read The Bible
Part II: Being True To Ourselves: Vulnerability Behind The Scenes
7. Learning To Like The Mess: How Vulnerable Pastors Create Culture
8. Changing The Mold: How Vulnerable Pastors Recognize And Develop Leaders
9. Taking Our Own Sweet Time: How Vulnerable Pastors Use Their Time And Energy
10. Thriving For Others: How Vulnerable Pastors Measure Success
Part III: Practicing In Public: Vulnerability With An Audience
11. Welcome To The Process: How Vulnerable Pastors Teach And Preach
12. The Right Kind Of Desperate: How Vulnerable Pastors Engage With The World
Epilogue: Unfading Treasure In Jars Of Clay
Discussion Guide
Acknowledgments
Notes
Additional Info
Often pastors feel like we need to project strength and competency in order to minister effectively. That’s why we go to conferences and emulate the latest superstars. But we know we can never live up to those images. Deep down, we know our own limitations, our weaknesses, our faults. We fear that if people knew who we really are, we’d be disqualified from ministry. Not so. Mandy Smith unpacks the biblical paradox that God’s strength is revealed through our human weakness. Transparently describing her pastoral journey, Smith shows how vulnerability shapes ministry, through our spiritual practices and relationships, influencing our preaching, teaching and even the nuts and bolts of the daily schedule. Understanding our human constraints makes our ministry more sustainable and guards us against disillusionment and burnout. We don’t have to have it all together. Recognizing our weakness makes us rely on God, so our weakness can become a ministry resource. God has called you to lead not as a demigod, but as a human, so the world can see that the church is a place for humans like them.
in stock within 3-5 days of online purchase
SKU (ISBN): 9780830841233
ISBN10: 0830841237
Mandy Smith
Binding: Trade Paper
Published: November 2015
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Print On Demand Product
Related products
-
Magic Of Motherhood
$19.99Add to cartThe ups and downs and joys and struggles of motherhood are not for the faint of heart. No matter where you are in your journey, find a new strength, beauty, and sisterhood you never truly believed possible in The Magic of Motherhood, a beautiful and encouraging book written for an imperfect, trying-her-best mom just like you. Motherhood can feel overwhelming. You hope you’re doing the very best you can for your child, but life with little ones can leave you feeling isolated and unsure. You find your feelings swinging between joy and uncertainty, intense love and anxiety, laughter and tears. The old adage is true: the days are long and the years are short. But how do you make the most of all the hours in between? The Magic of Motherhood celebrates your life-the good stuff, the hard stuff, and everything in between. Full of encouragement, humor, and wisdom that will speak to you right where you are, The Magic of Motherhood is like a long-overdue coffee date with your best girlfriend, the one who can look at you and say, “I see you, girl. You’re doing a great job. You got this, mama.” From the writers behind the popular blog Coffee + Crumbs comes a beautiful new book to remind you of your identity, both as a woman and as a mother. The encouraging essays in The Magic of Motherhood will inspire and refresh you, and flipping through the pages will remind you of some of the universal experiences of motherhood-joy, love, the good and bad kinds of heartache, and plenty of laughter. Through the beautiful words and inspiring messages in The Magic of Motherhood, be reminded of your own story and the sisterhood of motherhood that surrounds you and supports you. The moments of calm and chaos, beauty and mess, that happen between your coffee and crumbs are worth reflecting on and valuing.
-
Faith Still Moves Mountains
$28.99Add to cartFrom FOX News anchor and author Harris Faulkner comes a collection of powerful, true-life stories of resilience, healing, rescue, and protection.
We need reminders of God’s power now more than ever.
We often think about prayer as a wish list, with God as Santa Claus. The reality is that the power of prayer reminds us not only how small we are, but also how big God is. Prayer is hope put into action. And prayer works.
From the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Haiti to the theater shooting in Aurora, Colorado, believers testify to how God inspired hope even when all seemed lost.
Two teenagers who were saved from treacherous seas by a vessel named Amen now give thanks for the rescue that changed their lives. A woman’s near-death experience with COVID-19 turned out to be the crisis freeing her from despair. Others speak to how prayer helped them navigate family trauma, overcome abuse, and cope with mental illness and depression. Historical accounts of miracles testify to God’s power throughout time, and Faulkner recounts the role of faith and prayer in her own life and the life of her father.
Along with these stories of God’s presence, the book includes an exclusive packet of newly written prayers. Created to reflect the current times, this prayer booklet will provide a road map for putting the lessons of these stories into action.
Faith Still Moves Mountains reminds us that God’s light always shines through the darkness. Through these testimonies, we learn prayer isn’t just a ritual, it’s a vital spiritual strategy in a world that wants us to give up the fight.
-
Mothers And Daughters Of The Bible Speak
$26.99Add to cartGod always keeps His promises, but not always in the way we expect….
“Have faith” is a phrase we hear all the time. But what does it actually look like to live it out? In The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak, Shannon Bream examines the lives of biblical women to see how God’s plans can turn our worlds upside down. She tells the story of Jochebed, a mother who took enormous risks to protect her son, Moses, from Pharaoh. Could Jochebed have imagined that God’s actual design for her son involved flight into exile and danger? And yet this was all part of the master plan to deliver Israel from slavery. Another biblical mother, Rebekah, made terrible choices in an attempt to ensure her son’s place in history. And a daughter, Michal, struggled to keep her faithless father, Saul, from sin, while battling pride in herself.
Through these stories, Shannon explains the intimate connection between faith and family–and how God’s unexpected agenda can redefine the way we think about family. Not all of these mothers and daughters in the Bible were paragons of virtue. Like us, they were human beings who faltered and struggled to do their best. While some heard God’s voice, others chose their own paths. Through the lens of their imperfections, we can see how God used their stories to bring about His divine plans. He’s still doing the same work in our lives today.
The Mothers and Daughters of the Bible Speak shows that faith is more often a twisting road than a straight line. Yet, as the stories of biblical families attest, at the end of these journeys lies greater peace and joy than we could ever imagine.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.